What I'm Reading Now -- Laundry Love

As I was writing my last post about Andorra, I realized I had never written about the book I started reading a few weeks prior.  It's Laundry Love: Finding Joy in a Common Chore, by Patric Richardson.  I heard about through The Splendid Table, on which he was interviewed about how to deal with the sometimes-unfortunate aftermath of all the delicious foods that they discuss cooking.

What I really liked about his take on the whole "I don't want to wear my fanciest clothes, because I might stain them" question was that he had such a logical response.  Basically, it was "don't worry about that, we'll just get the stains out."  He had such a lovely attitude about, yes, laundry, that I got his book from the library.

As I started reading it, I realized that it contained a mix of general ideas and very practical tips, so I decided I should probably get my own copy.  I did that, and returned the library's copy, but unfortunately I haven't made much further progress since then.  But, it's still there on the table, waiting to be read.  I'll get it done.

What I'm Reading Now -- Andorra

I realize that we're almost at the end of January already, but I'm finally starting my January book for my 2024 Reading Challenge: Andorra, by Peter Cameron.  This late start does not bode well for the next 11 months, but I'll keep at it.

I have had this book for a long time and had absolutely no recollection of what it was about when I picked it to start the year.  Given how busy I've been with other things (mostly work) which delayed my start, this seems like it was probably a good choice. 

I'm one chapter in, and what I know so far is that the narrator has fled his prior life to move to Andorra, a tiny bubble of a country on the Spain-France border, which I have actually been to!  I remain hopeful, because often books with a mystery at the core are quick reads, so perhaps I can get back on track.

Movies -- A Recap -- Part XXXIV -- Feel-Good Sports Movies

My mom loved Bend It Like Beckham, but I don't think I'd seen it probably since my days of going back to live with my mom during my college summers.  It was pretty new at the time.  I watched it again recently, and it was a candy-coated treat; I forgot what a wholesome, uplifting movie it is.  It's very early Keira Knightley (who's now in everything) and Parminder Nagra (who I know from diligently watching all 15 seasons of ER during the Pandemic).  It's a movie about soccer, culture clashes, women's empowerment, and soccer. A total win.

National Velvet sports a fantastic cast of folks: Elizabeth Taylor as Velvet, Mickey Rooney as her horse trainer Mi, Angela Lansbury as her sister Edwina, and Donald Crisp as her father.  Velvet wins a spirited horse in a town lottery and decides, with the help of Mi, to ride it in the Grand National, a prestigious horse race.  Not unlike Beckham, it's a good movie about good people.  Perhaps my favorite bit in the whole movie comes right at the end when her dad looks at the family dog and asks, "How can there be so many currents in such a little puddle?"  It's such a simple question that gets at the bigger world.  Have any of you read the book?  I haven't, but curious to know your thoughts if you have. 

The Battered Bastards of Baseball is a fantastic film!  It's a documentary about the Portland Mavericks, a semi-professional baseball team.  They were put together by Bing Russell, father of Kurt Russell, and played from 1973 to 1977.  You can find a history of the team -- which still exists in a slightly different form -- here.  I was fascinated to learn that Kurt, the actor, even played for the team for a short time in 1973.  What an interesting upbringing he must have had!  It's a great story about someone bucking the system and crushing it, and what a fascinating piece of fun baseball history it is!

If you want a movie with a killer soundtrack, try Air.  It's great, and I'm not just saying that because it stars my boyfriend, Matt Damon.  He's back with his good buddy Ben Affleck, and they've thrown Jason Bateman into the mix for good measure; how can you go wrong?  It's the story of that plucky upstart, Nike, just as they get their big break, against all odds, by signing Michael Jordan to an endorsement deal.  Viola Davis plays Michael Jordan's mom, and she's also fabulous.  But, back to where we started: you can find the track listings for the movie soundtrack here; it's a collection of straight winners. 

Friday Night Lights is a feel-good football movie in the tradition of Rudy and Remember the Titans.  It's a pretty basic plot: football star is out for the season, and the town will either come together or tear itself apart in its effort to win the big game.  One thing I think this movie does really well is hint that there are loads of relationships that impact the characters, but they don't really get fleshed out.  It leaves just the right amount to the viewer to interpret.  I don't give a hoot about football generally, but I cared enough about the characters to be interested in the outcome of the big game.  I haven't watched the TV series; thoughts on that? 

When we were on our flight home from Ireland, I watched The Wall: Climb for Gold on the airplane.  The film profiles four climbers in the run-up to the 2020 (which became the 2021) Olympics in Tokyo.  Personally, I loved seeing so many powerful female climbers, and the movie made me crave going back to climbing again.  I'm a sucker for the Olympics (even if I don't care about the sport), and also for anything climbing-related, so this movie was catnip for me.  It may not be for everyone, but it was right in my wheelhouse.

Another home-from-Ireland airplane move was Vettel: More Than a Champion, a documentary about the recently-retired F1 driver Sebastian Vettel.  I hate to say anything negative about this film because I love Seb and think he's a great role model both as an athlete and a human.  But I think the movie could have done more to give some color and detail to his racing career.  It was good, but not great.  Also, weirdly, I couldn't find any cover image from this movie, so here's a random screen grab of a Seb photo.

What I Read -- Ireland (Part I) and McCarthy's Bar

As is my habit, I wanted to read a book either about or set in Ireland during S's and my recent trip there.  As it was a bit of a last-minute holiday adventure, I didn't have a lot of time to peruse the variety of options available, and instead had to go for whatever I had on my shelves.  Lucky for me, I found two:

First up was a lovely reminder of last summer's trip with K&J to London and Edinburgh.  At the conclusion of S's bookshop tour, we popped into the doubly charming shared space of Typewronger Books and McNaughtan's Bookshop & Gallery.  While in McNaughtan's, I found one volume of a two-volume 1892 pair of travel books about the Emerald Isle and acquired it for the bargain price of 10 pounds, since it was missing its partner.  Ireland (Part I): Northern Counties Including Dublin and Neighbourhood is not what I would call current, but it's descriptions of the cities and towns remain spot on, and the descriptions of the travel from place to place is fascinating to read 120 years on.  How little changes over the years!  The train timetables are a bit out of date, and I'm not sure I can still water my horse at all the same places, but otherwise it remained surprisingly spot on!  (The link above is to the 1909 edition, which is available at that link in full in case you want to have a look before your next trip to the northern half of the island.)

I also found an old copy -- I'm not sure whose it was originally, not mine -- of McCarthy's Bar: A Journey of Discovery in Ireland.  It is a travelogue written by the half-Irish Pete McCarthy.  He spent his early childhood in Ireland before growing well into middle age in England.  He decides to head back to the smaller island to do some solo traveling and write about Irish people, the Irish countryside, tourism in Ireland, and of course Irish pubs.  I laughed out loud several times, perhaps especially so because much of what he discussed in the book I nearly simultaneously witnessed with my own eyes.  As with Ireland (Part I), I guess some things just don't change too much over time.  In all, this was a quite enjoyable, amusing read, and you will likely find it especially so if you are predisposed to find all things Irish quaint and adorable.

Movies -- A Recap -- Part XXXIII -- More Documentaries

It was a sad day when we lost RBG.  To say she was an inspiration to women -- and to women lawyers specifically, is an understatement.  RBG is a videographic ode to her legal and personal legacy.  Legally, it highlights her novel approach to equal protection cases, first bringing cases to the Supreme Court with male clients as those potentially being discriminated against in order to build the necessary framework, then bringing cases with women as plaintiffs.  Personally, it highlights the support she received throughout her marriage from her husband, and then wraps up with reflections from her granddaughter.  This is a retrospective worth watching, if you have interest in the subject.

Jonah is a documentary about New Zealand rugby legend Jonah Lomu.  His career was incredible, but I found the doc a bit difficult to watch.  It jumped back and forth in time, and it was unclear if some things were supposed to be his memories or what exactly was going on.  Regardless, if you're into rugby and don't know about him, it's probably worth a watch.

We found the Amanda Knox documentary on one of our streaming services.  To be honest, I'm not sure what prompted us to watch it -- I wasn't super interested in the story when it was going on -- but we did.  It is a pretty wild legal nightmare, regardless of what you think of Ms. Knox herself.

Most people don't like Mondays.  But most people don't go on shooting sprees just because they feel that way.  I Don't Like Mondays is a documentary about one of the earlier U.S. school shootings, which occurred in 1979.  It was very weird, and very 1970s.  The shooter, Brenda Spencer, told a reporter that she did it because of the way she felt about Mondays; she is still in prison in California.

S's growing interest in all things marine led us to Pirate Hunting.  I give it credit for having a full spectrum of the various perspectives related to the issue of Somali piracy.  Often when I watch docs, I find myself having a different perspective from that of the filmmaker; with this one, I struggled to figure out what the film's perspective even was.  I'm still not sure there was one, which I suppose is okay, albeit uncommon. It had a weird ending.

Keeping with the theme of marine films, The Sailor profiles Paul Johnson, an 80-year-old man who has spent his entire adult life on a small sailboat.  He's a heavy drinker and knows he's nearing the end of his time.  He looks back, and forward, and leaves us wondering. 

It was quite some time ago that I watched The Social Dilemma, and I can't believe I didn't write about it (or at least I can't find anything about it).  It's mostly a documentary made up of interviews with current and former tech executives, primarily talking about the creepiness and ills of social media.  Of course, we all know that, but in the same way we generally love being in echo chambers that reflect our own beliefs back to us, we love being assured that we're right about how stalky and weird and manipulative social media is.  This will affirm all those beliefs, and then some.

Christmas

My Christmas festivities this year (technically last year, I suppose) started early and went late.

Beginning on the day after Thanksgiving, when S and I were in Phoenix, we helped decorate my in-laws' house and watched Love Actually, one of my must-sees.  

Back at the ranch but still before Christmas, we decorated our own house and watched a mess of additional movies -- some new, some old, some new to me, some previously seen: Four Christmases; National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation; The Shop Around the Corner (the early inspiration for You've Got Mail); Christmas as Usual; A Christmas Story; Miracle on 34th Street; and EXmas.

My father-in-law sent us a advent-calendar-style whiskey tasting box tasting box as a Christmas present, and that really gave us the spirit of the season in the run-up to the holiday proper, with a new whiskey to taste each evening.  Great idea!

My sister-in-law and I were treated to the Ambassadors of Harmony's holiday show at UMSL, which -- as it was last year -- was delightful.  I love any Christmas concert, but I especially love an a cappella Christmas concert.

For the holiday itself, we headed off to Ireland.  It was S's first trip there (besides one prior flight layover in the Dublin airport), so we did a driving tour to take in as much as we could.  More on that in a separate post, perhaps.  But specifically as it relates to Christmas, there was lots of Christmas music on the radio and compliments of streaming services as we cruised around the country.  Though every shop in town except the kebab shop was closed, we saw the Christmas lights of Galway on the day, which were lovely.  I especially liked the decorated sailboats.  All of the hotels we stayed in had some sort of holiday decorations up, and the Canal Court Hotel in Newry was dressed to the nines for the occasion.  They win the decorating prize!

I still had one of my must-see movies to watch when we returned from Ireland, so prior to taking down my decorations, I snuggled in to watch Little Women as the weather in St. Louis takes a turn towards the very cold for a while.

Now that that's done, I suppose it's time to begin the wintertime activities in earnest.  I've been saving up many, many "inside projects" since the first warm day of spring last year.  Time to get started on them!

2024 Reading Challenge

Never two people to be daunted by a lack of success (I scored a solid D+ in my 2023 Reading Challenge), K and I are again undertaking an annual reading challenge!

Here are this year's categories and the books I've selected to fill them:

January: a book with a one-word title
Andorra, by Peter Cameron

February: a book based on a real event
Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Storm in History, by Erik Larson

March: a book that will stretch you
Love Her Wild, by Atticus

April: a book recommended by a friend
Faster, by Neal Bascomb

May: a book your mom loves
Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight, by Alexandra Fuller

June: a book about hiking/road tripping
The Ultimate Journey: Canada to Mexico Down the Continental Divide, by Eric and Tim Ryback

July: a book about books
The Library Book, by Susan Orlean

August: a book that has a cover you love
Greyfriars Bobby, by Eleanore Atkinson

September: a book set in an intriguing city
Tangerine, by Christine Mangan

October: a used book
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, by Ken Kesey

November: a book with an ugly cover
The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams

December: a book with a number in the title
Three Day Road, by Joseph Boyden

I suppose I shall also apply my usual rules:
1. It has to be a book I already own;
2. It has to be a book I have not read yet (or at least haven't finished yet);
3. Though I can go out of order, some of the months are clearly themed (specifically, May), so I will try to read those books at least close to the month they are selected for; and
4. If I want to include a book I've already listed but didn't read, that's okay.

What I found notable about many of the books I have selected this year is that loads of them could have fit in many categories.  For example, Andorra, Faster, or Tangerine could have been my one-word-title book.  Faster, for that matter, also could have been the August selection, as it has a lovely, artistic cover.  At least nine of the books (possibly more; I can't recall where I acquired a couple of them) are used so could have been the October selection.  At least five of them could have be the February "based on a real event" selection.

2023 Reading Challenge Recap

How did I do on my 2023 Reading Challenge?  A solid 66.67%.  The summary:

January: a book with a "home" word in the title
House of Sand and Fog, by Andre Dubus III
READ

February: a book with red on the cover or spine
Our Own Devices, by Edward Tenner
STARTED AND QUIT.  JUST NOT GOOD.  But I'm counting it, because I tried.

March: a book recommended by a friend
The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls, by Anton DiScalfani
READ

April: a book with at least five words in the title
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, by Dave Eggers
DID NOT START

May: a book you should have read in high school
Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
READ

June: a book with an animal on the cover
Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know, by Alexandra Horowitz
READ

July: a book that starts with the first letter of your first name
Morning Poems, by Robert Bly
READ

August: a book in a series
Outlander, by Diana Gabaldon
READ

September: a translated book
If On a Winter's Night A Traveler, by Italo Calvino (translated from Italian)
DID NOT START

October: a book set in a country other than your own
Ali & Nino, by Kurban Said
DID NOT START

November: a book with a night scene on the cover
After Henry, by Joan Didion
READ

December: a book with a winter element on the cover
Solo Faces, by James Salter
DID NOT START

On to 2024, and some new reads!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

What I Read -- After Henry

I have read only one Joan Didion book prior to After Henry, and it was The Year of Magical Thinking.  I may be entirely making this up, but it feels to me that Magical Thinking constituted a rediscovery of sorts vis a vis Joan Didion.  I read it, when it was popular.  I didn't make any notes about it, but I recall thinking at the time that it was an insightful look at love and loss.  It was published in 2005.

Somewhere along the way, I picked up After Henry at a used book shop, hoping for more of the same.  It is not.  It's a collection of essays, short memoirs, but many of them I found dull and vapid to the point of skipping on to the next one without even finishing.  

There were a few gems -- I particularly enjoyed "Girl of the Golden West," "Times Square Mirror," and "Sentimental Journeys" -- but for the most part I found them to be sort of a meh who's who collection of excuses to name drop.

This one was originally published in 1992, 13 years prior to Magical Thinking.  Perhaps that explains some of the difference in style?  I also have her book Slouching Towards Bethlehem on my to-read list (published in 1968).  Now I'm not sure if I want to read it.  Any thoughts?

Happy New Year!