Where Did the Summer Go?

Yikes, it's almost September! Hope everyone managed to have safe fun for the last couple of months. We went up to Maine a couple of times, but we mostly prefer to avoid crowds (now more than ever, obvs), so we're very much looking forward to our favorite time to head north—at the end of September! We did finally eat outdoors at a restaurant (twice!) up there. And I have finally gone to Trader Joe's (twice) and Whole Foods (a handful of times). My city has a mask ordinance in place, so that helps me feel more comfortable. I still prefer the convenience of having regular groceries delivered, but there's no question that choosing your own produce is ideal. (And Trader Joe's doesn't have a delivery option.) 

My book group has been postponed two or three times, and by now I've forgotten everything I wanted to tell you about Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell. Well, I do remember that I loved it! The very first page says:

Historical Note

In the 1580s, a couple living on Henley Street, Stratford, had three children:
Susanna, then Hamnet and Judith, who were twins.

The boy, Hamnet, died in 1596, aged eleven.

Four years or so later, the father wrote a play called Hamlet.

And the very next page says:

Hamnet and Hamlet are in fact the same name, entirely interchangeable
in Stratford records in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries.

That information, plus the subtitle—"A Novel of the Plague"—tells you pretty much what the book is about. But it doesn't tell you how beautifully it's written! Really, the writing was so lush and vivid throughout, I read the whole thing in three sittings. O'Farrell's description of a mother's grief was positively searing. And given our current plague, there was lots to think about (and discuss, if my group ever finally gets to meet...). HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

I then turned to my most recent shipment of used book from Better World Books and picked one at random. These are generally older books that have been languishing on my to-read list; once in a while I order five or eight books from them. I chose one at random from my pile, and guess what? It was written by Maggie O'Farrell! I don't remember who recommended it to me or when, but there it was: This Must Be the Place. The only thing this book has in common with Hamnet is the terrific writing! It takes place in the modern era. Our main character is Daniel, an American living in Ireland, with an ex-wife and two children in California. I won't give away any more because it was fun learning about him and the other characters. The chapters are told by various characters, which really adds to the sense that you're getting to know each of them from different angles. The plot, which covers several decades and hops around quite a bit, mostly is about Daniel repeatedly making big mistakes in his life and trying to either forget them or make up for them—and trying to keep those he loves close without letting them find out what he fears are his worst qualities. I really, really liked this one too and recommend it.

A while ago I finally watched Nomadland, starring one of my all-time favorite actresses, Frances McDormand. She did not disappoint. I found this movie extremely moving, if at times pretty sad and bleak. My only regret was that I didn't see it on the big screen, because the western scenery was magnificent. This won Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress, all well deserved in my opinion. I watched it a couple of months ago and I still think about it from time to time. 

Another movie I'd been meaning to see and finally did was Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, which was great fun if you're a Tarantino fan (me!). This is the story of a cowboy actor (played by Leo DiCaprio) and his long-time stuntman (played brilliantly by Brad Pitt). The story takes place in 1969 and intersects with the Charles Manson murders going on at the time, but I won't say any more than that. I just love Brad Pitt—yes, he's gorgeous, but I also think he's a terrific actor, no matter what type of part he's playing. And Tarantino absolutely nailed all the details of that era. It's a tad overlong but I didn't mind one bit. 

I haven't decided yet whether to watch the second season of Ted Lasso. Season 1 was just perfect, and ended so perfectly, that I hate to risk spoiling it. I would like to spend time with those characters again, but I don't know... I've read some reviews that suggested that they should have left well enough alone. (I still rewatch the darts tournament scene on YouTube whenever I need a pick-me-up!)

Let's see ... what else ... OH! I've been rocking an iPhone 6 (not even 6S!) all this time and perfectly happy with it, thank you very much. But the battery was really becoming a problem—not that I go anywhere, but when I do it could barely hold a charge for a couple of hours. So I finally replaced it! I fully intended to buy the SE, because it's the last model that has the "home" button, which I love. But there I was in the Apple Store and thinking that since I (obviously) tend to keep my phones for a long time, I should probably get a newer model. So I was going to get the 12 mini, but then I thought about how I sometimes have trouble seeing things even on a normal-size screen ... and I ended up with a 12! It's blue and I like it. I do wish it had the fingerprint thing instead of the face recognition—especially when I need to use ApplePay and have to take off my mask for it to see me. (Or else I have to type in my passcode.) But so far, so good, and it's amazing how fast it is and how long the battery lasts. I got a clear case to show off the blue back, and it came with a little easel for free. I find I really like having it propped up like that at my desk all day.

And that's about all that's going on here. I'm working steadily on a bunch of (mostly) interesting manuscripts; one of these days I'll post a recap of some of the recently published books I worked on.

Comments

[Marta]

Thanks for the book recommendations! I will check them out.

[Margaret]

"Hamnet" was such a lovely book and the ending was incredibly beautiful. I'm on the fence about Ted Lasso; I like it but not as much as many people do. "Nomadland" was one of my favorite movies of last year; it was very well-acted and poignant.