Reading, Listening, Watching
Education and entertainment
Saturday
6:15 am: I open a bleary eye, burrow deeper under the covers. A long mental list of pending chores scowls at me. Shut it out! There is a whole weekend to complete it.
6:18 am: … did I tell Eusebio I’d join them for lunch on Sunday…
6:20 am: … and when Prianka says Mediterranean dinner on Saturday, did I respond, “It will be lovely to see you again. I’ll bring dessert…”
6:23 am: …will I have time to wash the bed linens? The cover is thick with gray, black and white fur…
6:28 am: … business trip on Monday. I need to pack…
6:30 am: … when will I post on Substack? And do I have anything to write about?
6:39 am: … books. Yep, that’s a topic to consider. Because, after an excruciatingly long time, I work my way through a few delightful books last year.
6:58 am: Tabby, sensing that cat chores are not adequately prioritized, yodels, “Yeah-OW-ow-ow-ow-ow-ow-ow…” What starts as a mellow sound turns rather menacing as it ends.
6:59 am: Groan. I’ll just feed the cats, then work on my post. Everything else can wait.
7:30 am: Cats are fed, litter boxes cleaned, everyone’s had their treat, my daily 3-question chat with Mum is done.
“What are you up to?”
“Nothing.”
“What did you eat for lunch today?
“Hmmm, let me think. Usha used yesterday’s leftovers to make parathas.”
(Oh really? That story sounds awfully familiar. It was yesterday’s response as well.)
“What are the cats up to?”
“The little one and Goldie are beside me. Sundari is outside, unwilling to come home. Hanging up now. Bye. Take care.”
FaceTime curls back into its icon. Yes, that’s our exhilarating conversation each morning, with an occasional reference to weather. A sulky teenager is more forthcoming than Mum when she wants to get back to her Marathi soap operas or YouTube recipe videos. She assures me that she looks forward to the daily call. And she truly does enjoy it.
At the end of 2024, Jeffrey Brown gets book recommendations from Maureen Corrigan and Gilbert Cruz. A few sound interesting to me - James Norbury’s The Dog Who Followed the Moon, Percival Everett’s James (even though there are so many things I find challenging about Huck Finn). These are bookmarked for the future. Here then are books and other media, not in any particular order, that made an impression on me recently. I give little to nothing away about the content, focusing only on the way they make me feel.
Sci-fi is not my preferred genre but:
I have a week off over the holidays
I am determined to READ a book
I’m curious about a co-authored book
And in a rare but happy circumstance, eLibrary NJ actually has a copy!
So, I read Prophet by Sin Blaché and Helen Macdonald. There are times when I almost give up on it, aspects of the book I think are unnecessary, others that I wish the authors to explored in greater detail. It is a gripping narrative, though, and I stay up super late (11 pm to you) on January 1 to finish it. Ah, it feels good to be back in that space even though I pay for it the following day, the first day back to work after the holiday break.
After listening to an Tonya Mosley’s Fresh Air interview with the author, I read Zoë Schlanger’s ‘The Light Eaters’. My library hold materializes just as I leave for vacation (Fields of Gold). Bad timing. It is a great book but there is too much to see and do in Montreal. I renew the loan once, but my reading stalls and there are others waiting to read the book. I return it and buy a copy at Labyrinth Books. It travels with me to Mumbai, where I finally finish it. It is very good, there are so many references to explore and I will refer to the book in the future. There are a couple of glaring (to me) errors. I would love to get into the mind of the editors - did they let these in on purpose? Did Schlanger’s many sources read the draft?
9:10 am: I have to drop the compost can at West Windsor Community Farmers’ Market. NO stopping at any other stall, I tell myself. A quick shower and breakfast, then I’m off. It’s a windy day. 2024’s holiday gift of choice was… furniture? There are several couches sitting forlornly by mailboxes, a little bedraggled after the recent rain. Up the street a ways, a trash can rolls gently back and forth at the side of the road, as uncertain as a deer in headlights. In a corner of a fenced yard is a tangle of children’s toys. I manage to get out of the market with a fresh compost can. And a chocolate-peanut-tahini square, a rosemary and brie biscuit, a small tub of eggnog pudding and some chorizo. Did you think I could resist shopping?
When I live in Greenville SC, South Carolina Public Radio is a constant companion. There, Walter Edgar charms me, reading from various southern gems. I think his show is called A Southern Read. Dr. Edgar introduces me to books like Robert Inman’s Dairy Queen Days. The show disappears from the local station at some point and I can find nothing about it on the web. And I thought the internet had EVERYTHING? Sorely disappointed.
Searching for information about the show, I come across the podcast, Walter Edgar’s Journal. It’s a pleasure to hear Dr. Edgar, his guests and that familiar southern drawl.
Kate Atkinson has the ability to enthrall me with every book she writes. My most recent read is Behind the Scenes at the Museum. I loved it but my all-time favorite is Life After Life, now also available as a beautifully crafted TV series.
In Pencils, Punctuation and a Perfect Spring Day, I talk about the fun I had with Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen. Mary Norris’ book Greek to Me: Adventures of the Comma Queen inspires me to think about a trip to (hopefully less traveled) Greek paradises. Both of those I consume as audiobooks read by the author. When I need a quick chuckle, I browse through The Comma Queen’s New Yorker posts and videos. And she leads me to The Angry Grammarian. I signed up to the Substack but oh, where can I watch the musical?
In an effort to edify my mind and get back to the microbiology I love, I buy Life’s Engines: How Microbes Made Earth Habitable by Paul Falkowski from Princeton University Press and make it through a decent chunk. Not the most compelling prose, so I set it aside for another day. There the paperback lies on my nightstand, mocking me each evening.
1:48 pm: Amtrak calls to say that all the morning Northeast Regional trains are canceled on Monday and they are putting me on the Acela. Fingers crossed…
2:00 pm: I drive to Prianka’s and spend a few happy hours eating delicious food and laughing with little Gia.
Levar Burton Reads is a favorite podcast although I don’t appreciate every story he reads. My special loves are Ken Liu’s The Paper Menagerie, Chivalry by Neil Gaiman, and best of all, Open House on Haunted Hill by John Wiswell. I listen to this nugget again as I drive to Prianka’s. Searching for the episode, I discover a new forum to explore, Diabolical Plots.
As someone who is a little dorky and definitely a stickler for doing things the right way, how could I not be charmed with Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman?
And, as a person who loves leisurely strolls, my unkempt garden and the outdoors, it was a delight to hear Margaret Renkl read The Comfort of Crows. I bought a print copy for Mum and she loved it. Bought one for myself too. I’ll dip into it over time.
10:30 pm: Tabby yowls to let me know it’s way past my regular bedtime.
Sunday
8:02 am: SO many chores. They keep coming back week after week.
11:01 am: Sutir messages, Would you like to join us on a Banff vacation?” There’s a possible day trip to Glacier National Park. OMG, amazing!
1:01 pm: Kishia checks in on me when she hears the weather forecast. She wishes me safe travels. Hasty rechecks of weather forecasts and Amtrak status follow, then Korean barbecue lunch with the Ryan, Eusebio and the kids.
5:26 pm: Banff air travel booked. Quickest vacation decision ever. I normally dither for ages, meanwhile airfares and hotel prices skyrocket.
Remarkably Bright Creatures is a twisting, turning novel by Shelby Van Pelt. It is a very pleasant story, mostly set in a part of the country that I like very much. I encounter another woman protagonist who is particular about the way things should be.
I stumble on Ann Patchett’s Tom Lake on Hoopla and I am so happy I did. So well written! Then, through something Margaret Renkl mentions, I realize Ann has a store in Nashville. The Parnassus Books site has these cute hedgehogs that make perfect little gifts for close friends and family.
A colleague at work sends me the link to this HBR article. I enjoy it so much that I borrow and read Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic’s Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders? This is a good book for anyone who navigated workplace politics. Or life. A couple of other books come my way this year - Kim Scott’s Radical Candor, which I reread, and Barbara Trautlein’s Change Intelligence. I’m not a huge fan of this genre but these books stand out. Of course, my favorite is Patrick Lencioni’s Five Dysfunctions of a Team. I read it years ago and occasionally refer to it. Everyone looks askance at the title but I wish they’d read the book. His podcast? Meh…
Helene Tursten’s An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good - I see it in my list of borrowed books on Libby, the summary sounds very familiar and I recall it as wickedly hilarious but… I don’t remember details. So, I just have to reread it, I guess.
Mrs Davis on Peacock. I watch a portion of season 1 on my flights to and from Mumbai (I mention Season 2 in my previous post but there isn’t one yet.) I watch the entire season again over the holidays. OMG, this duo needs to return. OK, there were some cringeworthy portions of the show but Betty Gilpin’s expressions are SO good.
Substacks I enjoy:
Shital Morjaria’s Living Pictures
Logan Juliano’s Light Hive
Nathaniel Bowler’s Birding with BillBow
Andrew James’ Coffee in drawings out
Richard - Out Walking: Whilst Out Walking - 1001 Species
7:35 pm: Still watching forecasts and train status… and now, there’s laundry to fold.
Thanks so much for the mention Ahalya. Just back from my break! I have really enjoyed reading all your posts in 2024. Look forward to 2025.
Remarkably Bright Creatures is one of my favorite books of all time!