January 2026 Books

* Bear by Marian Engel - A short book that I heard about on a podcast, maybe? Or a TV show? Who can remember. It was written in 1977, set in Canada, and is the story of a woman, Lou, who goes to a rather remote island to study and catalog the contents it. There she meets the island's bear, who is somewhat tame, and takes a liking to him. This then turns into her falling in love with Bear which then becomes a sexual relationship with him. It's unique, to say the least, and very strange, but rather compelling. I'd love to have a cup of tea or two with someone else that has read it and dig into the deeper meanings presented. Definitely loneliness is the central emotion. It's the kind of book that people are either intrigued by or disgusted by. I fall into the former. 

♥ Darkness Descends on Princeton by Jeff Jacobs - Princeton-area artist Kate Gabrielle mentioned on an Instagram story that her father wrote two books and that he is her favourite author. I ordered both and dived right in to the first, Darkness Descends on Princeton. I absolutely love love loved it! It has a very Nancy Drew quality to it; a mystery involving a young woman in 1939, with a lovely beau who is always willing to go above and beyond to help his beloved, and the knowledge that no matter the pickle or predicament that Eve Krell finds herself, the reader always knows that everything will turn out okay in the end. Virtually anxiety free-reading! There's no swearing or vicious violence and the story is peppered with characters named after famous and not-so-well-known actors from back in the day. The writing is the sort that 100% plays out as a movie in your mind's eye. Absorbing and brilliant. 

* The Nightingale ¹ by Kristin Hannah - This is one of my mother's favourite authors and it's Isabella's number one book. I gave the audiobook version a try and it was good, but I didn't love either of the sisters or feel any real connection for most of the book. The end was well done and I genuinely liked it. 

♥ A Waffle Lot of Love by Ben Clanton - After the heaviness of World War II in The Nightingale I needed something fun and read the newest Narwhal and Jelly book. Oh my gosh it was cuteness overload and I want every book in the series. It's joyful reading and utterly adorable. 

♥ One Lonely Night ¹ ² by Mickey Spillane - I really can't stand when an audiobook version is abridged, buuuut I had to listen to Stacy Keach narrate. This early Mike Hammer novel was fabulous and I will be reading the paperback copy I have in the not-so-distant future.

¹ - audiobook
² - abridged version
* - liked
♥ - loved
Any unmarked titles were, in my opinion, so-so.

Snowie-men!

I was driving back from a doctor appointment the other day and squealed with joy when this gi-wom-bus snowman caught my eye. I made sure to go home the same way so I could snap a photo. It's as cool as the one Amy and her hubs built on Halloween back in 2011!

Bizarro Dream

On February 25th, 2022 I texted the following to Amy, having just woken up from a truly odd dream.

Mick Jagger, Ringo Starr, and Keith Richards had commissioned a mansion to be built for them to live in together. The unveiling was a huge thing in the press and the fellas came in on buses - Mick wore a robe like Christ, naturally - and the place was lousy with reporters and fans. So you and I went in to the house to one of the basement rooms to relax on couches. You were there bc Keith had asked you to be his carer for the last years of his life, you being a doctor and all. You declined. I assured you it was the right choice, it would've been fulfilling, no doubt, but can you imagine? Keith passed away and a Ghostbusters era ambulance came around back to take him out via the old coal chute. Bc clearly when building a new manor where money is no object you would want to include a coal chute. Just in the off hand chance that coal heating comes back in fashion. 

Amy's response was a succinct, "Hahaha. That's amazing. And you're right, I would not want to be Keith's caregiver."

Dream Life

How utterly charming is this sweet little home? I love the curving brick walkway, the purple hydrangea, the ivy around the window, and of course, the lil' yellow puppers on the stoop, clearly named Scuttlebutt and Astrid Buttercup. The best is that those shutters are functional. I loathe fake shutters on homes. Talk about an eyesore...

(OMG - this photo has been sitting in my phones photo archive since July 2018! - apparently I kidnapped it from robertdnorris Instagram account.)

The Breakers

One of the most gorgeous Newport mansions that Bella and I toured in December of 2022 was this stunning Vanderbilt palace. It was all done up for the holidays but here are some snaps of the non-Christmasy corners.

Philly By Morgan

I kidnapped this photo that Morgan took in December 2025. I love it when snow sticks to the branches.

And this one from yesterday's blizzie.

Network Speech

Paddy Chayefsky wrote some brilliant screenplays. The Hospital, The Americanization of Emily, and Marty, are among his best. Nothing, though, can touch the following speech from Network. I recently rewatched this film and this time the line that really struck me was "We sit in the house, and slowly the world we are living in is getting smaller, and all we say is: 'Please, at least leave us alone in our living rooms...'" With everything going on in my country politically, and the terror that dwells outside my door, it's become increasingly more apparent that I just want to feel safe and be left alone. That's what the powers that be want. They want us to be sad, frightened little creatures that hide and allow the horrors to take place. I feel, more than ever, that I truly need to go to my door, fling it open, shouting that I am as mad as hell and that I'm not gonna take it anymore.

 

I don't have to tell you things are bad. Everybody knows things are bad. It's a depression. Everybody's out of work or scared of losing their job. The dollar buys a nickel's worth. Banks are going bust. Shopkeepers keep a gun under the counter. Punks are running wild in the street and there's nobody anywhere who seems to know what to do, and there's no end to it. We know the air is unfit to breathe and our food is unfit to eat, and we sit watching our TVs while some local newscaster tells us that today we had fifteen homicides and sixty-three violent crimes, as if that's the way it's supposed to be.

We know things are bad - worse than bad. They're crazy. It's like everything everywhere is going crazy, so we don't go out anymore. We sit in the house, and slowly the world we are living in is getting smaller, and all we say is: 'Please, at least leave us alone in our living rooms. Let me have my toaster and my TV and my steel-belted radials and I won't say anything. Just leave us alone.'

Well, I'm not gonna leave you alone. I want you to get MAD! I don't want you to protest. I don't want you to riot - I don't want you to write to your congressman, because I wouldn't know what to tell you to write. I don't know what to do about the depression and the inflation and the Russians and the crime in the street. All I know is that first you've got to get mad. You've got to say: 'I'm a human being, god-dammit! My life has value!'

So, I want you to get up now. I want all of you to get up out of your chairs. I want you to get up right now and go to the window. Open it, and stick your head out, and yell: 'I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not gonna take this anymore!'

I want you to get up right now. Sit up. Go to your windows. Open them and stick your head out and yell - 'I'm as mad as hell and I'm not gonna take this anymore!' Things have got to change. But first, you've gotta get mad!...You've got to say, 'I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not gonna take this anymore!' Then we'll figure out what to do about the depression and the inflation and the oil crisis. But first, get up out of your chairs, open the window, stick your head out, and yell, and say it: 'I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not gonna take this anymore!'

The New Reigning Favourite

For the past quarter of a century Henry Rollins has been my favourite writer. Six years ago I started reading Dunne's non-fiction and then moved into his real-life-based novels. Now that I am cracking in to what will be the last two Dominick Dunne books I have left to read, I've come to the conclusion that I enjoy his writing much more than Rollins'. While I saw my younger self (20s and 30s) in Henry Rollins' words, now I want to strive more for seeing a larger life than my small existence. So it looks like Mr. Dunne has been moved to the position of Lisa Star's Favourite Author of All Time. I only wish I knew someone who read his books, so we could chat about him...

(photo kidnapped from Griffin Dunne's Instagram account)

Charlatan Dancer

Save It For Later - The Beat

Getaway Car - Taylor Swift

A Message to You Rudy - The Specials

The Path of Thorns - Sarah McLachlan

The First Taste - Fiona Apple

Tupelo - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

How Bad Do U Want Me - Lady Gaga

Tenderness - General Public

4 Ever 2 Gether - ABC

I Won't Close My Eyes - UB40

That's All - Nat King Cole

Everywhere - Fleetwood Mac

Man I Need - Olivia Dean

Hit the Ground Running - Jonny Lang

Can You Feel My Heart - Bring Me the Horizon

Your Love Is My Drug - Kesha

Mother - Charlie Puth

Painkiller* - Judas Priest

Je t'aime moi non plus - Jane Birkin

Groove Master - Arrow

- September 2025 Playlist

*Jackson played Painkiller for his September School of Rock concert and KILLED it!!

The Ideal Tea

This tiny clip of Amy Sedaris and Cole Escola is utterly hysterical. 

Wisdom & Whimsy

This thousand-piecer was fun until the very end when I had to do the green edgings. It became tedious and irritating. But I stuck with it and all in all, it was fun and I'll hang on to it and do it again in a few years. Normally I'm not interested in puzzles with more than 500 pieces, but this one actually fit on my puzzle desk and I couldn't resist the bookstore-front window. Plus kitties!

(artwork by Holly Maguire)

We Still Love Bluey

Lucy is approaching ten in a couple months. When the kids in my life grow older, I always worry that we will lose our connection and especially the things that ran like a thread through our friendship. With Lucy, we have both loved Bluey since we began hanging out together as pals. When a new season would drop we would FaceTime and chat about our fave moments. Yesterday I was a gooey puddle of salt water taffy after getting this text from her.

St. Denis Medical

Oh my gosh, I have watched the entire series thrice since the last week of January and it is so freakin' funny. I'm doubled over with pains in my sides from laughing. I am talking HUGE tears rolling down my cheeks. I swear to you that I lost five pounds. Watching this show will make you laugh so hard, it's like a freakin' workout. 

Quarter Past Nine

2080 - Yeasayer

World We Knew - Frank Sinatra

The Second One - Remy Shand

Pedestal - Portishead

Rootless Tree - Damien Rice 

Aperture - Harry Styles

Another - Richard Davis Quartet

I Wish I Knew How To Quit You - sombr

Violet - Keeton Coffman

Stay This Way - The Brand New Heavies

Here, There and Everywhere - The Beatles

Summertime Sadness - Lana Del Rey

Lavender Haze - Taylor Swift

So Easy (To Fall In Love) - Olivia Dean

Wristwatch - MJ Lenderman

One Step Beyond - Madness

Caravan - Duke Ellington

Easy Does It - GoldFord

Chorale - Nicholas Krolak

The Old Law - Father John Misty 

Tones for Joan's Bones - Christian McBride

Knowing - Tessa Violet

Mystical Magical - Benson Boone 

Driven to Tears - The Police 

Spirit Bones - Pioneer

Telephone Line - ELO

Dead Men Don't Rape - Delilah Bon

- January 2026 Playlist

Happy Valentine’s Day 2026!

These Dino-Valentines from Jelly Armchair are too cute!