The Mighty Red

July 9, 2026July 9, 2026 ~ MaryG ~ 5 Comments

What’s a book you think deserves a sequel?

We read The Mighty Red (c. 2024) by Louise Erdrich for my book group this month. It was my first time reading her. I liked the book and can certainly understand why she’s such an esteemed author.

The Mighty Red is really a portrait of a community along the Red River in North Dakota, where sugar beet farming and processing is the major industry. There are at least 15 different characters, from the local teenagers to the town priest. A tragedy has occurred, but you don’t find out exactly what happened until late in the book.

The last chapter jumps forward ten or so years, so you get a brief look at how things “turned out” for the major characters. But I think it would be interesting to visit this community in thirty years—when the teenagers are approaching 50. Did they stay? Did they go? Did they ever process their grief from the tragedy? Which couples stayed together and which didn’t? Did the farmers embrace a less devastating crop?

The challenge for Erdrich would be imaging a future that doesn’t exist yet. She’d have to create the world they live in without knowing it.

OK, on second thought, she should wait 15 years before writing the sequel. She’s 72 now. She can make it to 87. If it takes her three years to research and write the book, this could be her 90th birthday present to readers.

Louise, take note!

100 Best Books of the 21st Century

June 27, 2026June 27, 2026 ~ MaryG ~ 20 Comments

According to the New York Times Book Review, these are the 100 best books of the first quarter of the 21st century.

My second child is a Golden Dragon. (He was born in the Year 2000.) So I’m going to go ahead and blame him for how few of these books I’ve actually read. I was busy!

I have read some. And I’ve seen many movies and limited series (and one Broadway musical) based on others.

These are the ones I’ve read:

Bel Canto; Olive Kitteridge; The Great Believers; Demon Copperhead; Middlesex; The Goldfinch; Small Things Like These; A Visit From the Goon Squad; Between the World and Me; Sing Unburied Sing; Atonement

So, 11 out of 100. Pretty bad!

How many have you read?

One book that I can’t believe I never read because everyone was always talking about is: Joan Didion’s The Year of Magical Thinking.

One book I assume I’d like, based on other books I’ve read by the author is: The Runaway by Alice Munro.

Predictably, readers of the New York Times had a different list. Here in the main article, you can see which ones readers chose that didn’t make The Book Review’s list. I concur with readers on many of those including A Gentleman in Moscow, The Nightingale, The Glass Castle and Just Mercy.

If I had to pick one book that was left off both lists, I’d say Trevor Noah’s Born a Crime. Such a great memoir!

And one author that was left off both lists: Anne Lamott. I mean, I know she wrote a lot of great stuff before the year 2000, but I feel like at least one of her later books should have been included, like maybe Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith.

Thoughts?

NYTBestBooks.pdf Download

Angela’s Ashes

June 26, 2026 ~ MaryG ~ 20 Comments

What’s a piece of media (book, movie, song) that changed how you see the world?

Weirdly the book that’s coming to mind is Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt, which came out in 1996 and won a Pulitzer. It seemed that everyone read it at the same time.

It’s a memoir of McCourt’s desperately impoverished childhood in Limerick, Ireland, after his family returned from Brooklyn. It follows young Frank navigating alcoholism, death, hunger, and humiliation, centered on his father’s chronic drunkenness and his resilient mother Angela.

McCourt was the same generation as my parents—born in the 1930s. Their parents were also poor Catholic immigrants, including some from Ireland to Brooklyn like McCourt.

I still think of that book when people talk about income inequality, tenements, an alcoholic father, or “food insecurity” (aka starvation) in a country of plenty.

I know they made a film out of it, but it’s the book that stayed with me.

Pasta alla Gricia

June 25, 2026June 25, 2026 ~ MaryG ~ 19 Comments

If you could change the ending of any book, which one would it be?

I don’t really like this prompt.

To me, the most memorable ending of any book I’ve ever read was the final scene of John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath. I wouldn’t change a thing.

In the spirit of being grateful for FOOD, here’s a photo of a “Pasta alla Gricia” that my husband made last night. He used *guanciale* (pig’s jowl) that my thoughtful son got him from an Italian store for Father’s Day.

Did I tell you that my husband’s first name is Mario and he’s of 100% Italian ancestry?

Recipe

Yesteryear

June 15, 2026June 15, 2026 ~ MaryG ~ 26 Comments

I read the book that “everyone” is talking about—Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke. This debut novel reportedly received a low 7-figure advance and was optioned for a film starring Anne Hathaway before it was even finished. (How does a new author do that?)

In case you haven’t heard, it’s about a tradwife influencer (think Ballerina Farm) who mysteriously finds herself back in the old western pioneer days with no electricity or modern conveniences. The plot twists are compelling and au courant—both in the modern world and in the pioneer one. (Raw milk, going viral, the manosphere, immigrant farm workers, “organic” food, nepo babies, homeschooling, Target—it’s all in there.)

So it’s definitely a page turner, but I can’t say I loved it. The problem is that the main character is so unlikable. And maybe that’s the point. Women my age have been complaining for decades that we were taught to be “nice” and likable above all else. When we grew up, we realized that being nice all the time led to an awful lot of getting taking advantage of, harassment, and even abuse. So we taught our daughters to be strong, confident and to make their own money—in many cases, for their safety. (You shouldn’t need to rely on a man for anything!)

And now there is a myth (I think) that some of those girls then grew up to “hate men.”

But honestly, are there really a bunch of childless “Girl Bosses” running around Manhattan just despising men and their former friends who decided to be stay-at-home moms?

To be perfectly honest, I have said a disparaging thing or two about women in my town who did not do any paid work while raising their kids. Obviously they were fairly wealthy…who else could afford to not work? And I felt that some of them tended to get exceedingly wrapped up in their children’s lives. (Like, the results of travel basketball tryouts could send them into a tailspin for weeks.)

But back to the book…the main character really doesn’t like anyone. Not her sister or the women she grew up with, not her Harvard classmates, not her dumb rich husband, not her babies, not her fans.

It’s almost like the author is saying that women can’t win, no matter what they do.

Maybe they will make the main character more sympathetic in the film. Anne Hathaway can be complex, right?

I’m sure the setting—in the mountains of Idaho—is going to look spectacular.

That’s my two cents. Let me know if you read it.

Passionate about me

June 13, 2026June 13, 2026 ~ MaryG ~ 29 Comments

What are you passionate about?

I’m still celebrating my own birthday (which was last Tuesday), even though everyone else is over it.

On my actual birthday the weather was spectacular. My son met us at a new-to-me restaurant with a great waterside location. That’s obviously the parking lot side behind us in the picture, but we were looking out onto a lovely lake.

Turnpike Market in Billerica, MA has been nearby for years with this nice view and I had no idea.

The food was good too!

I like when a restaurant knows it’s my birthday, so my husband told them. They didn’t sing to me, but I did get to meet the owner and they sent out a lovely tiramisu for dessert.

Birthday flowers from my very thoughtful son

On Thursday, I got to see my daughter and my granddaughter. Yay!

“Birthday week” continued last night with the opening of the new Steven Spielberg movie Disclosure Day. I got a delicious “Passion Star Martini” and fried dumplings beforehand.

Passion Star Martini: Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Licor 43, passion fruit liqueur, mango infused syrup, lime, sparkling wine float

Today I’m making my husband go to a downtown Boston art museum with me.

After that, I don’t think I’ll be able to play the birthday card again until next year.

Project Hail Mary

April 12, 2026April 12, 2026 ~ MaryG ~ 23 Comments

We went out! For the first time since total knee replacement #2 on March 16, we went to a movie. Thanks to reclining theater seats, my husband was able to elevate his leg enough to make it through a 2+ hour film. He did have to take an oxy about halfway through, but still…he made it…and mostly enjoyed it.

For those who haven’t heard, Project Hail Mary is a blockbuster, feel good, space odyssey, based on the book by Andy Weir, which I have not read.

Here are a few thoughts:

The theater was full of people, including many families. This made the movie going experience more fun. We happened to go to a Saturday matinee the day after the Artemis 2 crew returned safely to earth. The poignancy of the film’s main message (nobody wants to be alone) was enhanced by the good vibes that our stellar astronauts evoked. As eloquent Artemis astronaut Christina Koch told the world upon her return: Planet Earth: You. Are. A. Crew.

Ryan Gosling is charming! We knew this already from Barbie, LaLa Land and other films. But this is his most charming role yet. He’s cute, he’s humble, he’s funny, he’s adorable. Give me Ryan Gosling any day of the week over Matthew McConaughey, Mark Wahlberg or any of the Chrises.

At 2 hours and 36 minutes, the film is a bit too long. I had to leave once to pee during the film and I had already left to pee during the final preview. (I should’ve been able to make it through the whole film.) The boys next to me also had to leave to pee once. But honestly, all films seem too long to me these days. Filmmakers need to edit better. If your average 60-year old woman and 10-year old boy can’t make it through the whole film without peeing, cut some stuff.

But all in all, I give it a thumbs up. It’s a good way to build on the warm vibes the astronauts gave us. Goodness knows, we need all the positivity we can get in light of the total shit show in the White House.

Bread offering

March 10, 2026 ~ MaryG ~ 26 Comments

At certain points during his recovery from his first total knee replacement, my husband described me to others as an “Angel of Mercy.” Believe me, he is not one to toss out religious metaphors (nor am I particularly angelic), but he was in so much pain, that I apparently glowed with an angelic light and golden halo as I fetched his ice and doled out his Oxy.

Now that he feels better, but total knee replacement #2 is less than one week away, I’m wondering if I’ll achieve “Angel of Mercy” status again. Our joke is that there’s an equal chance I’ll be more of an Annie Wilkes from Stephen King’s Misery (famously played by Kathy Bates in the 1990 film) this time around. We even joke that if he totally annoys me, I’ll use the mallet we have around to break up bags of ice and the foam roller from PT to “hobble” him like poor James Caan in the film.

Given the Annie Wilkes possibility, he’s been extra helpful these past few days. Cooking, fixing stuff, and baking many loaves of his incredible homemade bread. It’s soooo good.

The bread offering is appreciated and has been duly noted. I do love homemade bread.

😇

Watercolors—botanicals 10

February 21, 2026 ~ MaryG ~ 18 Comments

These are the last few pages in my botanicals “Watercolor Workbook” by Sarah Simon, a very thoughtful Christmas gift from my daughter.

It was great because it kept me painting through January and February in this very cold and snowy Winter of the Knee, where we’ve mostly just stayed home. (Part 2 of The Year of the Knee—aka “The Other Knee”—is now scheduled for March 16. 🙄)

I enjoyed inking the pre-printed designs with my new artists pens and learned a few good techniques for painting flowers and foliage. Also, I got a lot of useful color mixing information. Each page preserves my color recipes, which will be convenient for future reference.

Finally, hurray for flowers and plants! I’m bad at growing them, but they’re fun to draw, paint. and photograph.

🌺🌿🌷🌻🌼🪴🌱🌸

This design is called “Plant Lady Besties” 😊

Did you notice that iPhone has hidden “portrait mode” in a new place? I had to Google where to find it.

Watercolors—botanicals 9

February 16, 2026 ~ MaryG ~ 13 Comments

Almost done with my Watercolor Workbook by Sarah Simon.

I painted the center flower as one big wet boundary, but I think it might’ve looked cooler if painted each petal separately. Would’ve taken longer though!

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