The Improbable Victoria Woodhull by Eden Collinsworth

The subtitle is more revealing as well as more sensational: Suffrage, Free Love, and The First Woman To Run For President. Here's what I have to say about this: It is a great story about a woman that I never heard of, and fills out some of the mid-19th century American history that I am fuzzy on. Victoria Woodhull was a contemporary of Mark Twain, even had some overlap with him when they both lived in England, and I had just finished that highly detailed and voluminous biography earlier this fall, so even though up on some things, there was a lot to learn here. Woodhull pushed the limits in everything she did, from her hardscrabble upbringing in Ohio to her death in 1927 at age 88 as a wealthy widow on an inherited estate in England. Her father, Buck Claflin, was a classic con man, a swindler, and a cheat--he used his children, and everyone else he could, for personal gain, and they learned those skills well. Victoria and her sister were raised to perform as child clairvoyants, and between their beauty and their charm they were able to scam Cornelius Vanderbilt, and with his backing, the two women parlayed their connection to him and opened the first women-owned stock brokerage in America. Victoria managed to accumulate great wealth and unlike her father, she managed to hang on to it. She also sought fame in addition to fortune and allied herself with high profile causes in pursuit of that. She became, in 1871, the first woman to speak before a House of Representatives committee to promote women’s suffrage and she improbably also ran for president as a candidate when she herself could not vote. This is a pretty quick one and quite interesting, if not riveting, to read.

Yoshikien Garden, Nara, Japan

May the New Year bring new beginnings. Last year was a very rocky ride, but here is to new beginnings. Here is a bit of history of gardens in Japan (spoiler alert--they were influenced by China, which is very clear to see ). During the Asuka period (538–710), Japanese merchants were inspired by gardens in the imperial courts of China. The first gardens in Japan were created using Chinese building methods and designed to channel Buddhist beliefs through an appreciation of the natural world. Few gardens still exist from this time, but many modern versions echo Buddhist principles. Each following period has influenced garden design in its own way, reflecting the society of that time. Some of the best-known gardens are for strolling, made popular by the nobility of the Edo period (1603–1868), where society’s elaborate social structure encouraged a patronage of the arts.

Here is what they say about the garden’s history: An old illustration of Kohfukuji Temple reveals that the "Manishuin," a branch temple of Kohfukuji used to be on the Yoshikien premise. This site was privately owned during the Meiji period (1868-1912) and then its current structures and garden were designed and built in 1919 during the Taisho period. At the end of the Showa period (1926-1989) ownership of the property was transferred from a corporate guest house to Nara Prefecture. With the intent of having it be widely used for viewing the garden and tea ceremony, it was opened to the public on April Ist, 1989.

Something From Nothing by Alison Roman

In the interest of full disclosure, I have Alison Roman's first three cookbooks, and while I am not often opening Sweet Nothing, the other two are in regular rotation for me, especially Nothing Fancy, which has a number of salad recipes that are outstanding--they easily scale up for a crowd, allow you to have a varied looking array of vegetable side dishes that are quite easy to make. My most recent child who got married had my spouse and I do the food for both the groom's dinner (130 guests) and the wedding (200+ guests) and I did several of her recipes. The prep can be done ahead of time and the salad assembled right before with surprisingly delicious and beautiful results. So that is a long way around saying I am a big fan. This cookbook, which is all about assembling a casual yet stylish table of food using mostly things that you have in your "pantry"--which includes refrigerator, shelf, and freezer--things that you should have on hand, not necessarily what you actually have on hand. The recipes are inspired, especially if you like anchovies, and this approach to eating is quite timely what with the rising cost of basic food in the United States. She emphasizes things that are available year round--celery is one of her favorites--and that are not high cost. Lastly, this is a fun read, and I recommend what I did--read it cover to cover.

The Thursday Murder Club (2025)

If you are not acquainted with the popular murder mystery series written by Richard Osman, well, they are great fun and you should be. The movie adheres closely to the characters, and the casting for them is top notch. The action takes place in the poshest of retirement communities called Cooper's Chase. It is converted supposedly from a convent, but the nun's were not living an abtemious life--the accomodations are palatial, as are the grounds. But there isn't much action and a club to solve cold murder cases was started by D.I. Penny Gray, a retired police officer who now lies in the hospice wing in a coma, watched over by her husband. Elizabeth and Penny were dear friends, so Elizabeth has kept the club going. Elizabeth herself is driven and steely-eyed, coming up with the club’s plan of attack and handing out assignments. She drops hints suggesting she was probably pretty high up in MI6. Being a “little old lady” gives her a great cover. It’s useful to be underestimated. Ron is a former trade unionist, a rabble-rousing and energetic figure, and Ibrahim, a former psychiatrist, adds psychological nuance to their investigations. Joyce is a newcomer to the club, eager to help out and make some new friends. We first see them investigating a head-scratcher of a cold case from 1973, but this is derailed by the real-life murder of Tony Curran who owns the place. I know there was some grumbling from long time fans of the books, but we thoroughly enjoyed this, and hope it goes the way of the Knives Out series and becomes a repeat.

A Gentlemans's Gentleman by T.J. Alexander

This made it on to the 100 Notable Books of 2025 list by the New York Times--I like this list because it is robust. One hundred books is a lot of books, more than most people read in a year, and so it gets away from being too reductive. This is a romance, but with a few twists. Lord Christopher Eden is a a man of unusual habits for someone of his class: he prefers to live in the countryside, and would rather have the comfortable company of his childhood cook and his aged butler than a swarm of servants. His pleasant, if lonely, life is upended when he receives word from his lawyers that, according to his late father’s will, he must find a wife by his next birthday if he intends to keep his family’s fortune and the Eden estate. Christopher is appalled-- he isn’t attracted to women, his chances of making a wife happy are slim. Furthermore, if his quest to marry has any hope of succeeding, he must move to London posthaste and acquire some more suitable staff. Enter James Harding, Christopher’s new, distractingly handsome—if rigidly traditional—valet. After a rocky start, the two strike up a fragile friendship and make their choices.

Sacred Deer of Nara, Japan

These deer are everywhere. I wondered about getting off the city bus we took from the metro station when I saw the first ones, but we perservered and took it to the furthest destination, which was a very good move because there are lots of deer everywhere. There is no missing them.

The Nara Park deer are wild animals inhabited the area for over 1,300 years. They have long been regarded as divine envoys of the kami (Gods) of Kasugataisha Shrine and have, therefore, been carefully protected. The deer of the Nara Park are the same species as the Japanese Sika found in other places, but they have inherited DNA from ancient deer species and are designated natural monuments of Japan. Genetic analysis conducted by Fukushima University revealed that the deer around Kasugataisha Shrine probably branched off from an ancestral group during the Asuka period (592-710) and have survived as a lineage with a unique genetic type for a long time. As a result, this unique genetic type has been maintained without interaction with other deer populations. The World Heritage Site, Kasuga Taisha Shrine, is said to have been founded in 768, roughly overlapping with the period when the deer in Nara Park branched off as a unique lineage. It has become clear that these deer are extraordinary creatures protected by people for over 1,000 years and are considered living cultural assets.

The South by Tash Aw

This was long listed for the 2025 Booker Prize, and as so often happens, I liked it better than some of the books that made it to the short list. It is also highly evocative of nominees for this particular prize, which is that the excellence of the prose outweighs the execution of the plot. In this case, maybe there is a reason this doesn't wind up quite as neatly, because it is the first of a quartet of novels about Malaysia. This is an ambitious portrayal of a family navigating profound transformation and the complexities of identity and belonging within Malaysia’s rich and challenging political context of the late 1990s. Following his grandfather’s passing, sixteen-year-old Jay ventures southward with his family to inspect their inherited failing farm. Blighted trees and drought-stricken fields greet them upon arrival. There are stories that are interwoven throughout the book of Jay and his family, as well as Chuan, who he meets in the south, and Chuan's family--one review likened the narrative of Jay's internal life with that of Jay Gatsby, and there is something to that as I think back. There is an awareness of historical and social fault lines that shine a light on what’s broken, what needs healing and how that affects each of them. Cultural displacement, the ambiguity of belonging, and unspoken wounds passed down through generations are central themes that echo throughout the novel.

Wake up Dead Man (2025)

Speaking of the Knives Out sereis, as I was just a few days earlier, there is a new installment and it is just as fun as the first one. Benoir Blanc is back, called in to solve a locked room murder mystery. The suspect is Reverend Jud Dupenticy, a young priest who is sent to a troubled New York parish after he punches a deacon--with justification, but a change of scenery was necessary. Jud ends up working with the irascible Monsignor Jefferson Wicks, a monster of a man who believes in ruling with anger instead of hope. He preaches from a pulpit of fire, using tools like shame and guilt to keep people under control. He argues with Jud that their very faith is under attack, and the only way to stay relevant is to fight back. Jud disagrees but obstacles are placed in his way at every turn, and so when the Monsignor is stabbed, he is the natural suspect. This is a star studded cast, with Daniel Craig playing the Poirot like detective to perfection, and if you were disappointed by the second installment in this series, give this one a chance. Your faith may be restored.

The Land In Winter by Andrew Miller

This was short listed for the Booker Prize in 2025, and while I did not love this book, there is a air of tragedy about it that is hard to create. It hangs over the book like a cloak of gloom--think Claire Keegan. To magnify that atmosphere, the events take place in the winter of 1962, which was a particularly harsh and brutal winter in real life, the coldest known in England in the 20th century. The book opens with a suicide, not related to what happens thereafter, but it is in keeping with the dark tone and mood that follows. The book centers on 4 people and follows two couples in their uneasy marriages as they endure physical and emotional isolation that none of them is quite used to. Eric and Irene are better off: Eric as a doctor and Irene a devoted homemaker. Bill and Rita run a small farm and come from more colorful upbringings: Bill, the child of an immigrant, and Rita, a former showgirl. Both wives are pregnant, and both feel the impending change that will inevitably bring about. Bill is more of a dreamer, distanced from his family and while he has big hopes for the future, he is not naturally talented as a farmer. There is a profound lack of communication that pervades the book, and the coldness of the weather is a reflection of some lack of warmth interpersonally. The events roll out slowly, almost methodically. Not a lot of action, and a lot is left to the reader to unravel.

Izakaya Hamagumi, Kanazawa, Japan

We arrived at the restaurant about 10 minutes before it opened and there were two parites waiting ahead of us--this is a popular place, and reservations would be recommended. We sat at the bar and had a good view into the kitchen--this was a common theme on this trip, and for me it definitely added to the fun. I had the best saki of the trip here, and enjoyed watching them prepare carafes for other tables as well. To begin we had pickles a raw shrimp dish, an octopus amuse bouche, and small whole shrimp tempura that I failed to photograph but loved best of all. A close second was the collar of yellow tail--I love this dish, because it is fish on the bone that is easily managed and also not to much food.

This restaurant was in the samurai district in Kanazawa, which was noticably old architecturally and also distinct from the districts we had been in up to then. It's historical value lies in its unusual state of preservation. It has escaped large-scale fires, including the firebombing that damaged other large cities such as Tokyo and Osaka during World War II. Accordingly, it retains many features from the Edo period: narrow streets, a drainage and water supply system that remains in use, and restored samurai houses. Many of these residences maintain their original earthen walls (tsuchi-kabe), which are still covered in the winter with straw mats to protect them from frost and subsequent cracking