Reading and Roaming

Carolina Spring Plus

SPRING HAS SPRUNG!

Redbuds & a tree with tightly held leaves

I have now lived in North Carolina for 2 years, and I still marvel at the beauty of Carolina springs. I think, living in Florida for 10 years, I was spring-deprived.

In any case, spring this year is again delicately beautiful, and then lushly so when the magnolias, wisteria, and soon the azaleas bloom. The trees too are coming alive, gently unfurling their new leaves into full-fledged glory.

FORTHCOMING NOVEL: A DEAL WITH THE DEVIL

The Take by Kelly Yang

In The Take, Maggie, a young woman in her twenties, is eager to get her first novel published. An encounter with Ingrid, a seasoned movie producer, gets Maggie help with her writing, some useful introductions, and maybe the chance to create the screenplay for a new film. This assistance, however, is part of a lucrative deal she enters into with Ingrid that has momentous consequences for them both, especially Maggie.

Initially, I thought the novel’s premise was wacky, but then I bought into it and got hooked. I found Maggie incredibly naïve and trusting and wasn’t sure she would truly see what was happening and how she was being used. A fast-paced read about money, morals, race, and gender, it’s played out against the movie industry.

This is Yang’s first novel for adults, and it has a breezy quality to it. Issues are not treated in depth, and some characters are less well defined, but the book is still good entertainment. (~JWFarrington)

(A version of this review appeared in Bookbrowse.com as part of their First Impressions feature. The book will be released to the public in mid-April.)

NO KINGS 3

On a cool, sunny March afternoon (cold compared to the 85 degrees of the previous day), the Chief Penguin and I lent our support to Cary’s No Kings protest. Angered and saddened by affairs in the U.S. and by the country’s loss of stature in the world, we believed that by demonstrating peacefully with our neighbors, we helped send a message.

Note: All photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved.)

Carolina Comments: Flower Artistry & More

ART IN BLOOM

This is the second year we have gone to Art in Bloom at the art museum in Raleigh. I enjoyed this year’s paired arrangements (flowers with paintings or sculpture) as much or more than last year’s. A few I found too drab or just not interesting, but overall, there was a plethora of showy and unusual blooms in vibrant colors creatively constructed to evoke some resemblance to the art piece. Here are photos of some of the arrangements.

This time, I focused more on the shapes of the blooms themselves or their vivid coloring.

In some cases, representing a painting with people or animals in it in flowers was a real challenge. The lion in a standing arrangement was spectacular and complete with long tail and paws.

Lion’s head in a massive upright arrangement

Great pairing with the art object in the background!

RECENT READING: THE OTHER ROOSEVELT

The Old Lion by Jeff Shaara

Author Jeff Shaara is perhaps best known for his Civil War trilogy focusing on several of the key battles, bookending novels written by his father. Years ago, I read The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara, a fascinating portrayal of General Joshua Chamberlain and the Battle of Gettysburg.

In The Old Lion, another historical novel, Jeff Shaara takes up presenting aspects of Theodore Roosevelt’s life and career. Done partly as a memoir, with a young reporter interviewing TR in the last year of his life, it provides detailed accounts of Roosevelt’s explorations in the American wilderness, his service in the Spanish American War, and his dangerous expedition in the depths of Brazil. Interspersed are briefer passages about his political life, his accomplishments in government, and his personal life with his wife Edith. The book is long, and while Shaara captivates Roosevelt’s ebullient, brash, and sometimes flamboyant personality, I got bogged down at times in too many details. Recommended for American history buffs.

Watching: The Forsytes (PBS)

The Chief Penguin and I watched and throughly enjoyed Season 4 of Bridgerton focusing on second son Benedict and his love for a household maid. I thought it was excellent and the best of the four seasons. Season 5 is currently in the works.

Netflix hugely hyped and promoted Bridgerton. Likewise, PBS has been advertising and promoting The Forsytes for several months. Lots of short clips and a whole series of lavish video vignettes focusing on different characters and various aspects of this 19th century series. It finally begins this evening.

This series is not a new version of The Forsyte Saga, but rather a re-cast rendition of John Galsworthy’s novels focusing more on the women in the family with more contemporary, i.e. faster, pacing. I’m a big fan of the Forsyte Saga, having read it several times and, excited by all the teasers, I’m very ready for The Forsytes!

Note: Flower photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved.)

Lazing in the Caribbean

ISLAND INTERLUDE

Last week, we took the kind of vacation we hadn’t had in years. We returned to beautiful St. Lucia after 20 years away. Same lovely lush island, but a different resort this time. The air was warm, the breezes soft, the sun mostly out, and the occasional rain showers brief and almost magical.

We spent the bulk of the time outside, reading, relaxing, eating too well, and just being lazy. It was a welcome respite from our busy retirement life.

LEISURE READING

When you are spending all your time lazing around, what do you do? If you are like me, you read and then read some more. I read a stack of books, nearly all virtual books on my Kindle. They were generally light fare, fluff or a good mystery. Here are two of those titles:

Beach Vibes by Susan Mallery

Beth is divorced and the owner of a popular sandwich shop. She has just started volunteering at the local food bank where she meets Jana, a single mother of a 4-year old, who has a job and is going to community college part time. The two become friends and then Beth’s brother Rick, a surgeon, asks Jana out. Jana lives with her brother Teddy and his three kids since his wife died several years ago.

When Beth later meets Teddy and starts dating him, life for these friends and their sibling brothers quickly becomes complicated. Teddy is protective of Jana and Beth of brother Rick. Beach Vibes is an engrossing romance that is as much about friendship and family loyalty. A great beach read!

The Woman in Blue by Elly Griffiths

The Woman in Blue is the eighth book in the Ruth Galloway series and is one of the best I’ve read. I’m approaching this series slowly with many books in between each title and the next one. Published in 2016, the setting is Walsingham, England, a real shrine town with an actual cathedral, to which Griffiths has added some fictional buildings.

When a beautiful former model, Chloe Jenkins, a patient at the nearby hospital, is murdered, DCI Nelson and his team are on the case. Meanwhile, Hilary, an Anglican priest and a college friend of Ruth’s surfaces, and shares threatening letters she’s received denouncing women clergy.

A second murder occurs, and Ruth, advisor to Nelson and the single mother of his young daughter Kate, becomes more closely involved in the investigation. Who has sent the letters and did the same person kill both women? It’s a winning combination of likable complex characters, some ancient history, and a bit of religious myth tossed in.

If you like archaeology and local history, then you will be quickly captivated by Ruth and Harry Nelson. Recommended! (~JWFarrington)

Footnote

Today is the 2nd anniversary of our move from the Florida coast to North Carolina. It was so much the right thing to do, and we remain delighted with our new home! To celebrate, we had lunch downtown at Zest: Sushi and Small Plates, one of several favorite Cary restaurants.

Carolina Comments: A Book & A Meal

RECENT READING: DAILY LIFE LIVED WELL

The Irish Goodbye: Micro-Memoirs by Beth Ann Fennelly

The term, “Irish goodbye,” means leaving a party or a gathering quietly without saying goodbye to anyone.

Poet Fennelly in 2013 (en.wikipedia.org)

The Irish Goodbye is a collection of short to extremely brief writings by the former poet laureate of Mississippi. It ranges from her quick thoughts on married life (a cracked knee when presenting a 25^th anniversary ring to folded oven mitts in a drawer), to contemplating friendships old and new, to mourning the sudden death of a sister, to facing the deaths of other family and friends. Much space is devoted to Fennelly’s recollections of her sister and the deep hole she left in Fennelly’s life. Mixed with the sadness and the wondering, there is also humor and wit.

I found this book a delight. As it progresses, Fennelly removes a few more layers and candidly exposes more of herself. Her prose is succinct and precise and often sparkles. She makes you smile as you admire her adept turn of phrase. Recommended for book clubs looking for a short powerful punch! (A version of this review appeared in BookBrowse online.)

Another recently published book, getting quite a bit of attention, is also entitled The Irish Goodbye. It is a Read with Jenna Book Club Pick and Heather Aimee O’Neill’s first novel. I have not yet read it.

EATING OUT: A FOCUS ON BEEF

Tribeca Tavern (Cary)

A group of 12 of us went to dinner at the expansive Tribeca Tavern. The interior features warm dark wood tables and floors and is both rustic and comfortable with a fireplace in one section. The restaurant’s mission is “pasture to plate,” and they partner with local farmers and ranchers to provide fresh ingredients. On the menu are more than ten burgers, a host of sandwiches, small plates ranging from beet hummus to wings to brussels sprouts, and a number of salads and entrees. If you’re not a carnivore, choose from jambalaya, fish tacos, shrimp, or salmon.

Many in our group ordered burgers with fries or chips; the Chief Penguin and I took a different approach. I like fried green tomatoes and was eager to try their rendition. Finished with bourbon bacon jam and pimento cheese, they were delicious. I also sampled the French dip which was a generous and tasty sandwich on focaccia, while the C.P. went for shrimp and grits, another good-sized portion.

He had an Old Fashioned, while I sipped a local lager from Clayton. The drinks list is long, and if you’re so inclined—it is a tavern after all— there is also a separate multi-page whiskey list. Whiskeys from the Carolinas, bourbons and ryes from Kentucky, Tennessee, and everywhere. Most impressive. Our young waitress did an admirable job serving our table and, liking the food, we’d happily return.

JOTS & JAUNTS

Carolina Spring Plus

Like this: