Hosted by The Book Date

Life

I am just now back from a 10-day period of three separate trips! It's been a whirlwind, and we're glad to be home, but we had a lot of fun.

Last weekend, we drove to Connecticut to stay with my mother and her husband, help them out, and enjoy their company. And, even though it seemed a little crazy, we left their house about noon on Sunday, drove through NYC traffic, got home at about 4 pm, and turned around and left again! After quickly unpacking, showering, repacking, and having a quick dinner with our son, we hooked up our camper and went to our favorite waterfront campsite at Elk Neck State Park in Maryland, less than an hour from home. It was pouring rain, but by afternoon the next day, the rain ended, and we enjoyed a beautiful, peaceful two-night camping trip. I just love being near the water!

Within the park, we walked to the Turkey Point Lighthouse, on the Chesapeake Bay. It rained again on us, but it was still a nice walk with beautiful views.

After a relaxing evening and campfire, the next morning we walked down to the little private beach on the Elk River (which feeds into the Chesapeake), very close to our campsite. Then, we packed up and came home to do laundry and clean up. 

Two days later, on Friday morning, we drive to northern New Jersey to a lake house I rented for us and our sons and their girlfriends (one girlfriend had surgery recently so couldn't make it). Friday evening was beautiful, and we crammed in all our outdoor activities: kayaking, enjoying the deck, and having a fire in the firepit. We also saw the most magnificent sunset I've ever seen!

By morning, the rain had started, and Tropical Storm Ophelia sat right on top of the entire Northeast and Mid-Atlantic region for the past three days! But you know what? It didn't matter. We hunkered down in our lovely rental house, played games, ate, talked, and laughed a lot. It was a very relaxing weekend and such a treat to just hang out with our family. My heart feels full. They all left yesterday afternoon, and my husband and I drove home today (through more rain!).

On the Blog

 Movie Monday: Air - We were both very entertained by the all-star cast; clever, funny writing; and '80's setting and soundtrack.

TV Tuesday: Daisy Jones and the Six - I loved the book, and my husband hasn't read it, but we both thoroughly enjoyed this adaptation about a '70's rock band and its damaged lead singers.

Nonfiction Review: Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard - my book group was engrossed by this gripping story of President Garfield and his assassination, by a talented author of narrative nonfiction.

__________

On Video

Friday Reads 9-14-23 (The Last Policeman, Countdown City, Destiny of the Republic)

Behind the BookTube Tag - a short video about my YouTube channel: content, subscribers, comments, and future plans

Friday Reads 9-22-23 - my most recent update on what I'm reading

__________

 

Most people, myself included, know very little about the 20th president of the United State, James A. Garfield, because he was only president for six months in 1881 and spent the last two of that bed-ridden. Here, the author provides a dual narrative, of both the president and his assassin, along with some fascinating history about medicine and inventions of the time. Garfield was a remarkable man who was born into poverty but went on to become well-educated and work in academia. He graduated from law school, worked as an attorney, and was a major general in the Union Army during the Civil War. Afterward, he represented Ohio in Congress, though he had no intention of running for president until a unanimous vote at the Republican National Convention made him their nominee. Meanwhile, a man named Charles Guiteau was becoming more and more delusional, thinking that he was an important, powerful man who helped get Garfield elected and then getting angry when he wasn't appointed ambassador to France. Madness is definitely the right term for this man who eventually shot Garfield in the back in a Washington train station. Garfield didn't die of the shot, though. He died of horrible infection after a power-hungry, ignorant doctor insisted he be the president's sole caregiver. Alexander Graham Bell even got involved in trying to save the president's life, but Garfield died in September, leaving Chester A. Arthur as the new president.

I knew absolutely nothing about Garfield when I started this book and not only learned a lot but was gripped by the story right from the start. The author weaves together the dual narratives of Garfield and Guiteau, including their early lives, Garfield's rise to the presidency, and some of the key turning points that fed Guiteau's delusions. I was especially riveted by the account of the Republican National Convention in 1880: it took hundreds of votes to come to consensus and ultimately, Garfield was nominated in spite of insisting he didn't want to be (two things that would never happen today!). Along the way, the author also provides fascinating historical details about inventors of the day, Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell, and Dr. Joseph Lister, who first applied Germ Theory to medicine and discovered ways to prevent infection during and after surgery. All of these various threads eventually come together in a perfect storm that doomed Garfield. I listened to this book, and the audio production was excellent, pulling me right into the story from the first chapter. My book group gave this book an average rating of 8 out of 10, so it was a hit with almost everyone. For another engrossing historical story from Millard, our group also enjoyed River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey. 

368 pages, Doubleday

This book fits in the following 2023 Reading Challenges:

Nonfiction Reader Challenge - History category

Literary Escapes Challenge - District of Columbia

R.I.P. Challenge

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Purchases from these links provide a small commission to me (pennies per purchase), to help offset the time I spend writing for this blog, at no extra cost to you.

Visit my YouTube Channel for more bookish fun!

Listen to a sample of the audiobook here and/or download it from Audible.

Or get this audiobook from Libro.fm and support local bookstores (there's also an audio sample at the link).

You can buy the book through Bookshop.org, where your purchase will support the indie bookstore of your choice (or all indie bookstores)--the convenience of shopping online while still buying local!

It's the story of a 70's rock band, from it's humble beginnings in Pittsburgh to its skyrocket to fame in California to its sudden, unexplained demise. But it's also the story of its two lead singers who were both passionate, charismatic, damaged people: Billy Dunne and Daisy Jones. As with the novel, the story is told in hindsight, as an oral history of the famed (fictional) band, based on interviews with its members and other people who were involved. So, from the very beginning, you see the band members as they are today, talking about their propulsive rise to rock icons. The whole thing began with Billy Dunne, played by Sam Caflin, and his brother, Graham (played by Will Harrison) pulling together a band in their hometown of Pittsburgh with their friends. Their band was called the Dunne Brothers, and after playing some local and regional venues and slowly growing over the course of six years, they were noticed and invited to record their first album. The band's members had changed a bit over the years, finally comprising Billy as lead singer, Graham on lead guitar, Warren (played by Sebastian Chacon) as the easy-going drummer, Eddie (played by Josh Whitehouse) as the ever-resentful bassist who wanted to be lead guitar, and keyboardist Karen (played by Suki Waterhouse). After moving to L.A. and being renamed The Six, they recorded an album and went out on tour, living the wild rockstar life. Billy, in particular, got out of hand, with excessive drinking, drugs, and women, in spite of his beloved (and pregnant) wife, Camila (played by Camila Morrone), back home. Meanwhile, a young girl who had named herself Daisy Jones (played by Riley Keogh) grew up in that world of rock and roll, first as a groupie, but with dreams of being a star herself. Eventually, their mutual manager, Teddy Price, played by Tom Wright, brought Daisy's raw songwriting and singing talents to The Six, and there was instant chemistry between Billy and Daisy. Billy, though, was reformed by then and fully committed to Camila and their daughter. That passion and tension are at the heart of this band, as Daisy's inclusion takes them from moderately successful to global superstars.

It was really fun to see this novel as a TV series because while I was reading it, I kept wishing I could hear the music, which is at the heart of the story. The casting here is excellent for all of the characters, but Sam Caflin and Riley Keogh as Billy and Daisy really make their larger-than-life roles feel real (Riley is the granddaughter of Elvis Presley, so charisma and musical talent run in her family). The show is filled with catchy, original music; the band's full album, Aurora, is brought to life in recording sessions and scenes on stage. The story encompasses both the personal lives of the band members as well as the band's meteoric rise to fame, with spotlights on Billy and Daisy. My husband and I were both fully immersed in this fictional rock band's story and enjoyed going along for the ride.

Daisy Jones and the Six is available on Amazon Prime.

Air is based on the true story of how the concept behind Air Jordans revolutionized the athletic shoe industry and changed Nike from being last among its competitors in basketball shoes to the undisputed leader (not to mention earning many millions of dollars). In 1984, Rob Strasser, played by Jason Bateman, is working in marketing in the lagging basketball division of Nike. Sonny Vaccaro, played by Matt Damon, works in a unique position in the group, as a talent scout, going to high school and college games around the country, looking for upcoming new talent to convince them to wear Nikes on the court. Nike is losing this race, though, with most pro basketball players wearing Converse or Adidas shoes. Then Sonny spots a young Michael Jordan and sees something special in him, something that no one else has noticed yet. The basketball team at Nike usually chooses three or four players to sponsor, but Sonny goes to Nike CEO, Phil Knight, played by Ben Affleck, and convinces him to spend their entire budget on this one young, inexperienced player. When Jordan's agent won't work with him, Sonny goes right to the center of power: Michael's mom, played by Viola Davis. Sonny shows up at their house and talks with Michael and his parents, just asking them to hear him out. They agree to come into Nike to hear their pitch (over the complaints of a very angry agent!). Now Nike needs something spectacular to lure the Jordans to Nike. Sonny comes up with the wholly new idea of designing a shoe around Michael Jordan and works with shoe designer Peter Moore, played by Mathew Mayer, to make it happen. The rest is sports and pop culture history!

In case I wasn't clear up front, I have absolutely no interest in televised sports, basketball, sports icons, or athletic shoes. But I loved this movie. That top-notch cast is paired with great writers (and the incredible true story) to create an engrossing, gripping drama. In spite of not really caring about the subject matter, my husband and I were both rooting for the team at Nike and got caught up in the excitement of their ground-breaking approach. Sonny, with his enthusiasm and vision, is an especially likable character. And the nostalgia here is wonderful! The 80's clothes, cars, TV ads, and setting are backed up by an awesome 1984 soundtrack. We were thoroughly entertained by this compelling movie.

Air is now streaming, available on Amazon Prime.

Hosted by The Book Date

Life

Last week was pretty hectic here, just packed full of medical appointments for me (nothing unusual--just everything scheduled at once).  So, I didn't do a whole lot of fun stuff, though I managed some short walks. This weekend, we went out for breakfast Saturday (a rare treat because of my immune issues) and had takeout dinner with good friends in the evening. There's nothing like old friends to lift your spirits!

It looks like fall, but it was 95 degrees that day!

I waited so long for September, and last week, it was high 90's and humid all week! We got big storms all weekend, and it's still raining, so it should finally be cooler and drier after this.

 

Stormy skies this weekend

We have a LOT going on in the coming weeks: visiting my mom this weekend, coming home Sunday and immediately leaving on a 2-day local camping trip (squeezing it in to enjoy the nice weather), then a lake house we reserved next weekend for us and our sons and their girlfriends, then friends visiting from Australia, and our 34th anniversary at the end of the month. Whew. It will be busy but with plenty of fun.

On the Blog

 Fiction Review: Afterland by Lauren Beukes - fast-paced, gripping sci fi thriller about a mother and son on the run 

2023 Big Book Summer Wrap-Up - a record #BigBookSummer for me and for the overall challenge! 60 participants, a giveaway winner, and my own list of Big Books finished, in print and on audio.

__________

On Video

Big Book Summer Challenge 2023 Wrap-Up - the video version! I recap both the entire challenge and also my own Big Book Summer, with a quick overview of each book. 

Friday Reads 9-7-23 - my brief weekly update of what I am reading and listening to

__________

 

Chillingly, this dystopian and post-apocaylptic novel begins in June 2023 in a world that looks very different from our own present. In the aftermath of a new, unique pandemic that only affects those with a Y chromosome, more than 99% of the males around the globe have died. In this new post-pandemic world inhabited mainly by women, the few remaining boys and men have become much sought-after. As the novel opens, a woman named Cole escapes with her twelve-year-old son, Miles. They are on the run from the U.S. government, from their latest luxurious but stifling protected custody, and even from Cole's own sister, Billy. Everyone wants something from Miles, and Cole's instinct as a mother is to keep him safe from all of it. They got stuck in the U.S. during the pandemic when her American husband died, but now Cole desperately wants to get herself and Miles back home to South Africa, and away from the U.S. government. As they travel across the country, switching cars and hiding in various abandoned homes, Miles dresses like a girl and pretends to be Mila. In escaping from Billy's horrible scheme involving Miles, Coles is worried she may have actually killed her sister. They encounter groups of women along the way--including artists in a communal-living home in Salt Lake City and some crazy female church group all dressed in neon-colored robes in Colorado--but Cole doesn't know who she can trust. Meanwhile, in alternating chapters, Billy is reluctantly teamed up with some really rough characters chasing after Cole and Miles, to make sure Billy keeps her promise to deliver the precious boy to the highest bidder.

The suspense never lets up here, as Cole and Miles/Mila travel across the U.S., trying to stay safe, keep Miles' real identity a secret, and make it to the East Coast so they can find a ship to take them back home. Beukes' world-building here is creative and immersive in this post-apocalyptic all-female world that is still new and unstable.  With Billy and her criminal handlers hot on the trail, the danger to Cole and Miles is very real and imminent, keeping the narrative moving at a fast pace and the tension high. It's a pulse-pounding, action-packed thriller set against a fascinating, unique backdrop. I very much enjoyed the ride.

404 pages, Mulholland Books

This book fits in the following 2023 Reading Challenges:

Mount TBR Challenge

Diversity Challenge

Literary Escapes Challenge - Utah

Big Book Summer Challenge

Visit my YouTube Channel for more bookish fun!

Listen to a sample of the audiobook here and/or download it from Audible. It sounds like a great audio production.

Or get this audiobook from Libro.fm and support local bookstores.

You can buy the book through Bookshop.org, where your purchase will support the indie bookstore of your choice (or all indie bookstores)--the convenience of shopping online while still buying local!

Hosted by The Book Date

Life

Happy Labor Day to those in the US! We are doing what we do most holiday weekends--staying at home and avoiding the crowds. I know, we're wild and crazy!

We needed this quiet weekend because last week was packed full. Well, my husband golfed three times, but I had medical appointments almost every day. I did manage to squeeze in a walk and picnic lunch with a friend at our local nature center. She and I have been trying to get together for about six months, and we talked nonstop! Her sons were in my sons' grades/classes all through school, so we've known each other a long time, and it was great to catch up. I took my photos of our beautiful surroundings but forgot to take a photo of us.

Butterfly garden is working!

Lovely creek on a summer day

Gorgeous scenery

This weekend, my husband and I have been doing some long overdue things around the house. We were out in the yard, mowing and weeding on Saturday before our heat and humidity returned (mid 90's all this week!). Yesterday, we finally got a start in clearing out and cleaning up our home office, which is right near the garage door and so is a dumping ground for everything. To give you an idea of the age of the stuff we were going through, we threw away a bunch of floppy discs!! We still need to get rid of our sons' old PC computer in there.

We also enjoyed watching the movie Air last night (review coming soon), which was excellent. We've been walking in our neighborhood and admiring the flowers. And I've been reading out on our screened porch.

My namesake

Finishing my last Big Book Summer read

On the Blog

Movie Review: Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret. - I watched this wonderfully nostalgic, fun adaptation with my childhood best friend, which was perfect! 

Middle-Grade Review Lines of Courage by Jennifer Nielsen - outstanding novel set during WWI, following 5 young people in different countries. Engrossing story, and I learned a lot. 

And, today is the LAST day of Big Book Summer 2023! Finish up those last Big Books (I'm finishing one in print and one on audio today), and share your wrap-up on the challenge page or in the Goodreads group (I started a Wrap-Up thread there), if you'd like. Later this week, I'll be posting both my Big Book Summer Wrap-Up video and a blog post, including the name of the giveaway winner!

Whether or not you participated in Big Book Summer this year, you can check out the Big Book reviews and wrap-up posts/videos on the challenge page or in the Goodreads group.

I feel like we need a Big Book Summer parade ... or at least some fireworks! 

__________

On Video

 My Big Book Summer - A Quick Recap - this very short video (under 1 min) shows the Big Books in print I enjoyed reading this summer and the one I am finishing today.

R.I.P. (Readers Imbibing Peril) Challenge - Fall Reading - The end of Big Book Summer means the start of R.I.P. season! I love this time of year for many reasons, including reading darker stuff. See my massive pile of possibilities for the next two months!

__________

 As usual, my last book read for Big Book Summer is also my first book for the R.I.P. Challenge (which started September 1): The Night Fire by Michael Connelly, book 3 in the Renee Ballard series (and book 22 in the Harry Bosch series. I love this new female LAPD detective Connelly created, and I enjoyed book 1, The Late Show, and really loved him bringing the two detectives together in book 2, Dark Sacred Night. This novel is a triple-header and includes Ballard, Bosch, and Mickey Haller, the Lincoln Lawyer. Ballard and Bosch are working a very cold case together, as Ballard also works on a current case. As usual, Connelly's writing is top-notch, and the suspense and unexpected twists are plentiful.

I do the same on audio, so my last choice for Big Book Summer also counts for R.I.P. Challenge: A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny, book 18 in her Inspector Gamache series. I was late to this series and have only read #1, Still Life, #15 A Better Man, and #17, The Madness of Crowds, but I enjoy these books on audio very much. This one goes back to when Jean-Guy and Inspector Gamache first met, working a horrific case involving murder and child abuse, and that case's continuing repercussions today. Then they find a mysterious hidden painting, and some modern-day murders come to light. It's been excellent, with emotional depth, an intriguing, complex mystery, and lots of surprises!

 

In June 1914, twelve-year-old Felix is proud to be a part of Austria-Hungary, one of the oldest and largest empires in the world. He and his parents visit Sarajevo, and while there, Felix sees a gunman on the crowded streets kill Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife as they drive through the streets waving from the back of a convertible. It's a moment Felix won't ever forget. Back home, family friends visit from Germany, including their eleven-year-old daughter, Elsa. Felix isn't thrilled to be entertaining the chatty younger girl, but Elsa is excited to tell him all about the homing pigeons she trains. She hopes they can become pen pals. As the war moves forward, and Felix's father goes to the front, Felix and his mother struggle to remain safe, as Jews living in Austria-Hungary. In Britain, as the war begins, Kara goes along with her mother, who is a Red Cross nurse, on a hospital train. They travel throughout France and England, picking up wounded soldiers, caring for them, and transporting them to hospitals for full care. Kara yearns to be old enough to help, earn a Red Cross pin herself, and maybe even someday become a nurse or a doctor. In France, Juliette is fleeing her small town with her mother and little brothers, as the Germans move into town. Her father has been imprisoned, and Juliette wants to help her mother, but she gets separated from her family. Dimitri comes from a poor farming family in Russia and joined the military in order to earn money to send back home. He's only a teenager and is sent to the front without a weapon. He just wants to survive and continue to support his family, but being in the midst of the fighting is a horrifying experience. 

Each of these five young people is experiencing different parts of the war in different parts of Europe, though their paths will all cross at one point or another. In this way, the reader gets an inside look at what it was like for families during WWI, dealing with starvation, being put out of their homes, fearing for their lives and their fathers' lives, and even, as the story moves forward, being immersed in the battles themselves in the later years of the war. The narrative moves through the different characters' perspectives and shows that war isn't a clear case of the good guys and the bad guys but all shades of gray and suffering on all sides. These brave and remarkable (yet ordinary) young people show caring, courage, and friendship as they strive to stay safe and help others. The audio production was very well done and provided an immersive experience. I've read many books about WWII, both fiction and nonfiction, but I knew very little about WWI. This middle-grade novel was suspenseful, engrossing, and very informative.

400 pages, Scholastic

Scholastic Audio

Note: The novel covers the full period of WWI, from 1914-18, so the characters age into their mid- to late teens as the narrative moves along. It is appropriate for middle-grade or teen readers.

This book fits in the following 2023 Reading Challenges:

Diversity Reading Challenge

Travel the World in Books - England, France, Germany, Austria/Hungary, Russia

Big Book Summer Challenge

Visit my YouTube Channel for more bookish fun!

Listen to a sample of the audiobook here and/or download it from Audible. The sample is from a chapter where the Russians have begun to come to Felix's village, and Jewish families have begun to disappear.

Or get this audiobook from Libro.fm and support local bookstores. You can hear that same audio sample here.

You can buy the book through Bookshop.org, where your purchase will support the indie bookstore of your choice (or all indie bookstores)--the convenience of shopping online while still buying local!

Welcome to the September 2023 newsletter for the Book By Book blog! 

E-mail me at sljackson@suzanjackson.com to let me know what you think of this newsletter, what you would like to see here in the future, or any questions or comments.

Book Quote of the Month

“Ma, you scared a goin’? You scared a goin’ to a new place?”

Her eyes grew thoughtful and soft. “A little,” she said. “Only it ain’t like scared so much. I’m jus’ a settin’ here waitin’. When somepin happens that I got to do somepin—I’ll do it.”

“Ain’t you thinkin’ what’s it gonna be like when we get there? Ain’t you scared it won’t be nice like we thought?” 

“No,” she said quickly. “No, I aint. You can’t do that. I can’t do that. It’s too much—livin’ too many lives. Up ahead, they’s a thousan’ lives we might live, but when it comes, it’ll on’y be one. If I go ahead on all of ‘em, it’s too much. You got to live ahead ‘cause you’re so young, but—it’s jus’ the road goin’ by for me.”

---from The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, one of my Big Book Summer books this year. I absolutely loved this classic, with its rich, historical detail, gripping plot, and wonderful characters. In this quote, while riding on the long road to California, Ma is explaining to one of her sons why she just lives in the moment and doesn't worry about the future. Like so many passages in this thoughtful novel, it's surprisingly relevant to our world today, too. You can read my full review of this outstanding novel on my blog.

Blog of the Month

Cindy's Book Corner is a great blog with the tagline: "serious book addict reviewing clean reads across multiple genres." I discovered Cindy's blog when she signed up for this year's Big Book Summer Challenge. You can see Cindy's wrap-up for both Big Book Summer and the 20 Books of Summer Challenges here. Besides that, she writes reviews and has fun new posts almost every day of the week, including First Line Friday and Top Ten Tuesday. Check out her blog and leave a comment!

Booktuber of the Month

Aurélie is another new Big Book Summer participant--our first-ever from France! She has a wonderful channel on YouTube where she reviews books and talks about all things bookish! This was her sign-up video for Big Book Summer, where you can get a good idea of the breadth of her reading tastes. Fun fact: You CAN watch videos recorded in other languages! Just click on settings (the little gear icon) in the lower right corner of the video, select Auto-Translate and your language of choice, and turn on closed-captioning. Check out her channel!

My Reading Life

Today is September 1st, so I am in the middle of transitioning from my Big Book Summer reads to darker fall reading for the R.I.P. Challenge! My current reads, The Night Fire by Michael Connelly and A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny on audio, are cross-over books that fit both challenges, so I hope to finish those by Monday, when Big Book Summer officially ends (if you participated, feel free to post a wrap-up on your blog or YouTube channel or in the Goodreads group).

I always have HUGE stacks to choose from for the R.I.P. (Readers Imbibing Peril) Challenge because my husband reads a lot of great mystery, thriller, and suspense novels, so our shelves are full of them! You can see my giant Pile of Possibilities in my new R.I.P. Challenge video for fall. I love this time of year!

A Look Back

In honor of the start of the R.I.P. Challenge today, I looked back on my blog to my first time participating. I started doing this annual fall challenge in 2015 (so this is my 9th year). This was my very first R.I.P. Challenge post, with some great books on my plan-to-read list--I ended up reading all but one of those that fall.

What are YOU reading this fall?

You can connect with me on:

My blog: http://bookbybook.blogspot.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SueBookByBook

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/bookbybook

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SueJacksonDE

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzan-jackson-8436878/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20014156.Suzan_L_Jackson

In case you somehow missed this childhood rite of passage, as the story opens in 1970, eleven-year-old Margaret (played by Abby Ryder Fortson) is devastated to come home from summer camp to find out she and her parents are moving from their New York City apartment to a home in New Jersey. Margaret's Jewish grandmother, Silvia (played by Kathy Bates), is even more upset because she and Margaret are close and spend a lot of time together. As her dad, played by Benny Safdie, and her mom, played by Rachel McAdams, unpack boxes in their new suburban home, Margaret begins to meet some of the kids her age in the neighborhood. Nancy, played by Elle Graham, is a little overwhelming at first, but she's very welcoming to Margaret, saying she can be the fourth in their group of best friends, and Margaret is both impressed and intimidated by Nancy's confidence and sophistication. As Margaret's mom, who is an artist, struggles to fit in with the other suburban mothers, Margaret experiences all kinds of firsts--first bra, first boy-girl party, first kiss, first period--along with the exciting and frightening onset of adolescence. She visits her beloved grandma in New York, and she struggles to figure out what religion she wants to be (her mom was brought up Christian, so they say it is Margaret's decision). All of these classic coming-of-age moments are set against the nostalgic backdrop of 1970's suburbia.

This novel was first published in 1960, and it seems like Judy Blume made the right decision to wait until now for a film adaptation. Director Kelly Fremon Craig does an outstanding job of bringing this beloved icon of adolescence to the screen. The 1970's fashions, furnishings, hairdo's, music, and sets bring that era to Technicolor life with great authenticity. It's the perfect backdrop for Margaret's struggles with growing up, which girls today can still relate to. The cast is wonderful, with young Abby creating a Margaret who is exactly as we imagined. Rachel McAdams is excellent as a mom struggling to fit in with the other parents (I don't recall if that was a part of novel, but it works perfectly here, with all us grown-ups watching the film), and Kathy Bates is her usual fabulous self as Grandma Sylvia. The adaptation is faithful to the original book (as best as I remember, anyway), including the important focus on Margaret's struggles with religion, as she talks to God in her own way. My friend and I were delighted with this nostalgic step back in time and recreation of one of our favorite books. It was fun, joyful, funny, and worth the decades-long wait!

I highly recommend inviting your childhood best friend over to watch this movie--or calling her up to watch at the same time while on the phone.

Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret. is currently available to rent on Amazon and several other streaming services.

Michelle and I as kids in 1971, and last month when she came to visit:

Hosted by The Book Date

Life

We had a fairly quiet week here. I had a painful procedure at the podiatrist on my toe, but it wasn't as bad as it's been previously. I was actually able to take a short walk the day after, and it's healing well, so that was a pleasant surprise. My energy and stamina are still lower than what I consider normal for me, due to some issues flaring up in my chronic illness, but I did manage several short walks in our neighborhood. On Sunday, I suggested to my husband that we take a walk, and he said, "Beyond the cul-de-sac?" So, we enjoyed a lovely walk along a creek on our favorite nearby trail. The humidity had dropped (back up now), so it was comfortable out, and this place to me is just the epitome of an idyllic summer day! I said that next time we should brings chairs and books and just set up by the creek for a while.

Cool, shady trail through the trees

My husband looking at the fish in the creek

 

My husband and I in our favorite spot!

Perfect summer day!

On the Blog

  TV Tuesday: Togetherness - I really enjoyed this funny drama with a great cast and excellent writing, about four adults (in their 40's, I think) trying to figure out their lives. My review and the trailer at the link.

Fiction Review: The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles - I loved this delightful coming-of-age story about the heroes' journeys of three young men and an 8-year-old boy on a road trip in 1954. I;m still thinking about it more than a week later!

NOTE: The 2023 #BigBookSummer Challenge officially ends a week from today, on Monday, September 4. If you've been participating this summer, you are welcome to write or record a wrap-up post/video (not required) and add your link to the second links list (for Reviews and Updates) on the #BigBookSummer Challenge page. If you don't have a blog or YouTube channel (or even if you do), you can leave a comment on the challenge page or leave a comment in the Big Book Summer Goodreads group - I added a Wrap-Up discussion thread.

__________

On Video

Currently Reading Tag - this fun video is all about how and where I read. Check it out and tell me about YOUR reading habits! 

Friday Reads 8-25-23 - my brief weekly update of what I am currently reading and listening to

__________