Today, Saturday, was such a stellar weather day here, which buoyed us as we ran around scurrying to get LOADS of chores done before an unprecedented, extended heat wave hits our area. At least 4 days of 92+ degrees weather next week starting Tuesday, for our home in the mountains. This has never happened before. In fact, we have not had a single day of 90-degree weather here in at least four years. Fortunately, we recently purchased a new AC unit for our second story, which gets hit hard by heat. I realize so many of you will be suffering from much higher temperatures, so I do wish you the best. Just get that cool drink by your side and dive into books!
I am still listening, with the utmost fascination and appreciation, to Doris Kearns Goodwin's memoir An Unfinished Love Story. I have 6 hours of listening left of the more than 17 hours total. It is SO good! I love the conversations that she details with her husband Dick Goodwin, which she relates in total, as she prepared to write this book. Going over his entire history in the Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson administrations. An incomparable speechwriter, Goodwin was! Excerpts from the speeches are included in the audiobook. What can I say? It's a MUST! Listen. Especially now. I hope many of you will be able to hear what political life was like in the 1960s, when Lyndon Johnson's "Great Society" brought us Medicare, Medicaid, Civil Rights, the Civil Rights Voting Act, and so much more.
I realize that Doris is in her 80s now--Gosh! She seems so vital on MSNBC and NBC. I do hope she has the strength and the will to keep writing, in whatever form! Maybe not 400-page books, but whatever she can manage. I so hate to lose such gifted, accomplished historians and writers!
Yes, everyone, I DEVOURED a thriller! In 2 DAYS. Last weekend! You know, thrillers are a dime a dozen these days, and so many of them are schlock, so I really searched and searched for a good one. It's on my Twenty Books of Summer List: Invisible Girl by Lisa Jewell, published in 2020, a year when many great books got lost in the shuffle due to Covid. I was mesmerized and not disappointed, which is a huge boon, given how many waste-of-time thrillers are out there. Such a great way to relax, when a thriller is clever and smart beyond belief.
I have finished another book on my list, an historical novel, The Storms We Made by Vanessa Chan. I was attracted to this book because I knew nothing about how Malay (now Malaysia) was affected by World War II. This was Chan's debut novel. It was a heart-wrenching story of how the people of Malay were subjugated by the Japanese, but there was a more compelling story within, of how a Malaysian woman, a wife and mother, was subverted to become a spy for the Japanese. Much more to this story, of course, but I hesitate to give it a strong recommendation because the writing was not strong, and I hesitate to say this, but I felt it had many flaws, including the ending, which was so over the top and unnecessarily brutal in way that was pointlessly contrived. I'm sure others have felt differently about this novel. I would love to hear your comments if you've read this. I would hope to be persuaded otherwise!
Looking forward to reading about your summer literary adventures!
I'm hoping to listen to DKG's new memoir, and am glad to hear that it's a winner on audio. It's been years (decades?) since I read Wait Til Next Year, which I loved, but I haven't read anything else by her. Hard to believe she's in her 80s!
ReplyDeleteHi Les,
DeleteI do hope you are able to read or listen to this one. I must admit that in the first few hours of her narration, I thought just maybe she should have had someone else narrate it, but by the fourth hour I was so deeply enthralled by her narration, because this was her life, and most of all, it was about the incredible life of the most important person in her life. This one was a labor of LOVE. And it is such an IMPORTANT book, one that deserves to be read more than anything. That era has so much to offer all of us who are suffering through the Today in our country.
Thanks for the heads-up about DKG's narration. I'll give the audio sample a listen, and maybe I'll go with a read-listen approach. I may want to highlight passages... We'll see how it goes.
DeleteOh, Les! I should mention that the audio version has absolutely wonderful passages from Richard Goodman's speeches, via the mouths of JFK, LBJ, and RFK!! A very good reason to do the read/listen approach.
DeleteI have met her at lectures and she exudes vitality, so while she is mourning her husband I think that zest for life will endure. There was an article in the Globe a few months ago about her move to downtown Boston and a club she has joined that is full of vibrant people (it sounded like something we'd want to join if we had a huge amount of disposable income). Early in her career I have heard that some said her husband wrote her books but that is nonsense - she speaks exactly as she writes.
ReplyDeleteWhen I visited the Concord Library a year or so ago, she had just donated much of their personal library and they had her books on their own table. I was very tempted to buy one just to own it but really I have thousands of books already. I stood strong!
We have tomorrow off for Juneteenth and it is supposed to be 100 degrees. I am so grateful that I splurged about 8 years ago on central air but it wouldn't surprise me if the electricity is so overloaded we all lose power.
Do you read the Washington Post? If so, you should read E.J. Dionne's columns. He is a great writer and very congenial.
So interesting to know that Doris has moved Downtown. I think that is a great option for her now. I do love Concord--back when I lived nearby I drove to walk there after work--such great architecture, so much to see.
DeleteAnd I DO HOPE you have a large stack of books by your side today! Do post on what you read.
I should say I subscribe to The Washington Post, though I so much prefer the NYT. But thanks for the head's up about E.J. Dionne. I will check out his column.
I'm so glad to hear how much you are enjoying DKG's latest! My slow read of Team of Rivals has slowed further due to continued travels, but I'm still turning the pages... just a remarkable book! We have avoided the heat dome thus far in coastal CT, thanks to a cooler than normal Long Island sound. But we are headed to Pittsburgh tomorrow (our daughter's future MIL is hosting a bridal shower) so we'll experience mid-90s anyway. I recently finished Horse by Geraldine Brooks, which was excellent, and have started Olga Dies Dreaming for book club.
ReplyDeleteOh, JoAnn!
DeleteSafe travels! What a huge event. My best wishes for your daughter and her husband-to-be!
Since I last posted, I came upon an even more moving and profound part of DKG's An Unfinished Love Story! So moving...I believe you will absolutely love it beyond belief. It is such a profoundly human story. Anyway...
I am very curious about Olga Dies Dreaming, and will search that one up!
I hope your trip will be a great one!
Best wishes to you and your family.