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My Unofficial Trim December pick is Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy and at least one other person suggested abuddy read - BooknBlues I recall.

I am starting it in next day or two. Any interested or have read already welcome to join in.

I am really excited to read this as it has been on top of a highly visible TBR Tower since Poll Tally.

I will finish the book I am reading momentarily, so also will be ready to start in a day or two.

We can be sure to add it to the Buddy read list.

BnB - there are all those upcoming in 2023 buddy reads for Unofficial Trim too.

Theresa wrote: "BnB - there are all those upcoming in 2023 buddy reads for Unofficial Trim too."

Theresa, I know how you love rabbit holes and there are a few rabbit holes with me in this book.

First of all and it can't be ignored, growing up and into my 20s many people called me "Franny", but what makes it more interesting is my maiden name means Stone Hardy.

From the reading stand point, I've read a number of books in which sea birds are featured this year: Haven,The Colony and Butterflies in November. I can't forget that one of my favorite children's books is Swim the Silver Sea, Joshie Otter and there are any number of sea birds in it.

Booknblues wrote: "Theresa wrote: "BnB - there are all those upcoming in 2023 buddy reads for Unofficial Trim too."

Theresa, I know how you love rabbit holes and there are a few rabbit holes with me in this book.

F..."

Oh I do love a good rabbit hole! This definitely is a good fit for your seabird reading rabbit hole this year.

When you talk about your name and how this read connects to you -- it reminds me of when I read Miller's Valley by Anna Quindlen - it was down right eerie because the protagonist had a brother 10 years older named Eddie who changed it to Ed when he went away to college, it centers on a family farm, she goes away to an Ivy League college, and on and on. Of course major plot points were different, especially as the story evolved -- like our farm is still standing whereas Miller Valley was flooded for a reservoir which overshadows everything. Adding to that familiar feeling was the fact that Quindlen and I are both active alumnae at Barnard College and she only graduated three years before I did. I have no recollection of telling her my family background but I certainly could have done so.

Identifying in that personal way truly does create a special connection with a book.

Theresa wrote: "Identifying in that personal way truly does create a special connection with a book. ..."

It does. It created my connection with Cold Mountain with the two main characters having my father's first name and my grandmother's maiden name. I immediately felt positive toward the book.

Just a few pages in, I am already charmed and looking things up.

The walk through Tasiilaq is hilly and lovely. Colorful houses perch on the uneven terrain, red and blue and yellow, and such a contrast to the wintry world beyond. They’re like cheerful toys dotting the hills; everything feels smaller under the gaze of those imperious mountains.

You know me. I had to find images immediately!





That description is perfect!

I just learned friends went to Greenland as part of a cruise to above the Artic Circle in Scandinavia. They thought Greenland fantastic. Also Iceland.

Me, I just wish someone would show on cable tv the Christmas movie from the late 20th Century called 'The Night They Saved Christmas' which is set in Greenland. Although I think it is finally available from Amazon Prime.

Theresa, you and I are the same that way. I loved how quaint it looked. It reminded me a bit of the houses we saw when we drove around Cape Breton (that was a long time ago when I was in high school).

I did have to look up 'on the lash' though truthfully I knew immediately what any sailors would be doing.

UK, slang) Out drinking socially; usually involving heavy alcohol consumption.

Yup. That summarizes it nicely.

What's funny is that the SciFi futuristic nature of the plot was one I both knew and did not know. Or maybe forgot? Until the bar discussion on p. 24. It startled me but then I thought about how a contemporary realism permeates the beginning of the story. It feels contemporary. Well done by the author.

Booknblues wrote: "Theresa, you and I are the same that way. I loved how quaint it looked. It reminded me a bit of the houses we saw when we drove around Cape Breton (that was a long time ago when I was in high school)."

I also looked up images of the Arctic Tern and its red beak and feet. Glorious images popped up! Especially the ones in flight.

I could easily read this book in a day...except for the Google rabbit holes. 😅

I looked up the Storm Petrel as well. I've been thinking about migrations in general. A few months ago I found an article about a bar-tailed godwit that flew over 8 thousand miles in 11 days. I took note of it because it arrived in Tasmania where my niece lives.

Doing a search today I found this site which is pretty cool.

Booknblues wrote: "I looked up the Storm Petrel as well. I've been thinking about migrations in general. A few months ago I found an article about a bar-tailed godwit that flew over 8 thousand miles in 11 days. I too..."

Just did that. So interesting.

For me, I have vaguely tuned into migration due to the recent references to the Monarch Butterflies and their migration coupled with spotting several flocks of geese migrating south while driving to Philadelphia this Thanksgiving. I have seen them flying over NYC though not this year.

I can see this exceptionally difficult arctic tern migration will be fascinating.

Link does not work on devices - a helpful screen pops up to view on desktop, mobile app coming soon. I will indulge later.

Booknblues wrote: "I looked up the Storm Petrel as well. I've been thinking about migrations in general. A few months ago I found an article about a bar-tailed godwit that flew over 8 thousand miles in 11 days. I too..."

Had to open the laptop so checked out the link. It was a slow load and it took me a bit to figure out the site -- especially since a key piece downloaded last and a bit after the rest - but that is pretty cool!

Theresa wrote: "Booknblues wrote: "I looked up the Storm Petrel as well. I've been thinking about migrations in general. A few months ago I found an article about a bar-tailed godwit that flew over 8 thousand mile..."

I thought so, I did look it up on my desktop. Cornell also has a migrations site, but it is more for the US.

We get many ducks, Canada geese, swans and others in the Sacramento valley every year.

These ocean birds are interesting to me, because I've never seen them and first became interested with my Joshie Otter book, such a lovely tale.

Have you ever seen the video about albatross and other birds on Midway Island? It needs and adult warning before view, but it impactful and reminds me of this book.

This is one of those books in which you feel sounds of doom while reading so you have to steel your heart a bit.

Booknblues wrote: "Theresa wrote: "Booknblues wrote: "This is one of those books in which you feel sounds of doom while reading so you have to steel your heart a bit...."

I was just realizing that is the feeling I have as I pick it up to read or decide how much further to read.

I also just came to p. 66 and the bit about (view spoiler)[her father being a monster and murdering someone and being in prison. (hide spoiler)] I was like 'What! Did I overlook a previous mention?' And then came here to comment or warn!

I am reading a bit more then putting it aside to read something else leading up to going to bed. There is something very unsettling and darkly disturbing that would no doubt give me bad dreams unless I am careful.

The writing is just brilliant. I can read violence in thrillers, np, but stuff like this? Sun needs to be shining.

Theresa wrote: "Booknblues wrote: "Theresa wrote: "Booknblues wrote: "This is one of those books in which you feel sounds of doom while reading so you have to steel your heart a bit...."

I was just realizing that..."

I read her other book which is less highly rated with no problem, so I am going to press on. Not sure if I noticed that or am not quite there. Plenty of other stuff giving warning.

I love this season for light fluff, but I am always interested in environmental/animals/climate change.

Today's research is Point Nemo.



You are close by 😅

I do wonder if the concept that lack of ocean currents needed for area to affect life and ecology will be proven wrong eventually.

Right after reading the info on this image about the space junk cemetery, I read this passage in the book and it resonated to addressing more than Franny herself.

A life’s impact can be measured by what it gives and what it leaves behind, but it can also be measured by what it steals from the world.

Very end of Chapter 11 - another bit of shocking info about Franny.

I am starting to read this like a mystery, sorting clues and coming up with a theory.

Theresa wrote: "Very end of Chapter 11 - another bit of shocking info about Franny.

I am starting to read this like a mystery, sorting clues and coming up with a theory."

I'm not sure what chapter I'm on, but currently at Gammy and Sam's lighthouse in Newfoundland.

There definitely is a mystery about Franny.

My googling today involved Newfoundland. Pictures of the villages remind me of Greenland. I did a search for lighthouses as well.

We are at about the same point. I might be a couple chapters ahead. Switching back to my other book which I think I can finish tonight.

I did some looking at maps of St. John.

I read this book earlier in the year and gave it 5 stars. I was afraid it would be preachy or dry but I loved it. It is beautifully written and the main character's emotional arc is compelling.

Theresa, there is a French movie, called something like A Trip to Greenland. It's basically a documentary, or at least based on real events - a young Frenchman and his friend go there because the main guy's father had been there, fallen in love with the place, and stayed. It was on Netflix a couple years ago. I don't know if it's currently on any platforms or maybe at libraries. For a lot of it the natives speak int their own language. (of course there are subtitles.) There is an issue about how the Frenchman has to get online to confirm his unemployment payment each week and internet is extremely sporadic, as you can imagine. There is some humor, romance and drama and a fascinating glimpse into the way of life.

I was surprised that St. Johns was on a peninsula connected by an isthmus to the rest of Newfoundland.

Booknblues wrote: "I was surprised that St. Johns was on a peninsula connected by an isthmus to the rest of Newfoundland."

Between reading the Modern Witch series (in 2020 I think) which are in part set in Newfoundland, and about Gander after 9/11, plus a cozy mystery series primarily set in Maine but has occasional roadtrips north, I had a pretty solid sense of the general geography and location and of St. John in particular which is a tad isolated from the west and north coasts.

Robin P wrote: "I read this book earlier in the year and gave it 5 stars. I was afraid it would be preachy or dry but I loved it. It is beautifully written and the main character's emotional arc is compelling.

Th..."

That sounds fab!

I have been sporadically reading the essays in This Cold Heaven: Seven Seasons in Greenland which are wonderful. Onlyy teason not finished is i like savoring them...reading one or two here and there.

I've finished. Processing it,

I've read no further - busy day. Had dinner with a client tonight plus a call with a friend who needed a shoulder to lean on. Now organizing for tomorrow and hopefully reading a few pages.

I think I should finish by Thursday given what's happening with work and other things.

Here is the review:
/review/show...

Much to discuss and google rabbitholes.

I love this book. I’ve read it twice already, once with a book club. I loved Franny, who is stronger than anyone I know, but more fragile too. I love the emotional nuances and surprises in this story. The writing and narration were mesmerizing. I felt like I was near the ocean, with crashing waves and supercharged air (like after a storm).

This book is set in the near future, but it’s closer than we know. The extinction crisis is much worse than I thought. There was a report recently that the earth has lost about 70% of the species that existed in 1971. [We might not have heard of most of them, but even tiny forms of fungus and bacteria are necessary to sustain the lives of people, forests or other creatures. ] This book stimulated me to read more books that involve important environmental issues.

I also liked the environmental information in her book about wolves, but the murder mystery wasn’t as interesting as the story in Migrations.

So busy. Might be Friday before I can read and finish. I decided to take Friday off to have a 4 day weekend. I want to spend some time reading and cooking.

I just finished, while getting a mani-pedi. Leave it to me to read the most emotional part of the book in public. I actually had anticipated it, in concept, since at least half way through, maybe even earlier. I was more startled by the reality of each of her parents.

Needs a little thought before rating and writing my review. Powerful beautiful book and my rating is between 4 and 5 stars.

It is a powerful book. I have long been an environmentalist and sensitive to nature and animals around me, so this book certainly effected me.

I think that is instinctive when you come from an agrarian background or rural community, particularly the small single family type which is so far from Big Agriculture, where the environment is your lifeline. Even if certain practices are not socially or ecologically acceptable now - like having 'the dump' by a flowing stream or burning trash or using pesticides at all - there is a deep connection still.

I also found the concept of 'wandering feet' as a euphemism for running away from truth, guilt, shame, yet taking it along as evidenced by sleepwalking, nightmares, lack of sleep to be a fascinating metaphorical concept and one very well employed here.

For a book that frequenting had a doom tolling under it all, it ends on a singular note of hope, positivity.

I just realized that I finished this not long after the Solstice and the longest night of the year started. Interesting synchronisity considering I had only about 75 pages left to read over the past 3 or 4 days and kept not having the time.

Or my subconscious at work.

Theresa wrote: "like having 'the dump' by a flowing stream or burning trash l..."

Absolutely, and I am familiar with the above as well.

Booknblues wrote: "Theresa wrote: "like having 'the dump' by a flowing stream or burning trash l..."

Absolutely, and I am familiar with the above as well."

I know - we did bond over Locally Laid: How We Built a Plucky, Industry-changing Egg Farm - from Scratch on that. In part it is why I mentioned it.

I posted my review

Ultimately gave it 5 stars. What few reservations I had about it --primarily the use of flashbacks to different time periods as revealing Franny's dark secrets and motivations -- were necessary to the emotional impact and pacing of the story. Another time I might not even have noticed them or cared.

This is one that will stick with me, and one I will no doubt be discussing with others for a long time.

I may end up giving it 5 stars, I need to think on it a bit.

I wondered what you thought of (view spoiler)[Franny's father turning up at the very end. His story never fully emerged. It seemed right to me. (hide spoiler)]

Yes, we both did enjoy Locally Laid and also The Cows of Bangalore: Adventures with My Milk Lady. I'm thinking that they both would work for food this month and may search my stack for something in a similar vein to read.

Totally agree with you on the spoiler. It was the last bit she had to learn, accept, and forgive.

McConaghy has an incredible mastery of the subtle in writing and structure, I thought, especially given this is a mash-up of genres - mystery, thriller, scifi, and literary fiction just to name a few. There is a rich spareness, if you know what I mean.

I forgot to mention -- (view spoiler)[ that scene in Antartica with the birds eating the fish, the whale tale breaching -- I could totally envision as over Thanksgiving I visited friends who in January took a really high level month long trip to Antartica, and Geoff's photos... he had photos that mirrored that description! Well maybe not Arctic Terns...But close enough. (hide spoiler)]

Something else that occurred to me just now. (view spoiler)[ The title is Migrations, plural. But -- and here is where the author started misleading us, trailing red herrings -- We only hear about one migration - the final migration of the Artic Terns. Yet there's that plural title. She's clued us in that there are multiple migrations being discussed here - not just arctic terns. AND she's hinting at a positive ending - that there are future migrations by the terns. (hide spoiler)]

I may be overthinking things, but I seriously doubt it.

About the title Migrations(view spoiler)[at the end we have the Whale, the fish, the terns and Franny and Ennis whose migrations are not just physical but also emotional. And in the final we have Franny's father who has obviously made a migration, but we know little about it, except that he wanted to be there for Franny. (hide spoiler)]

I'm anxious to see what McConaghey comes up with next and if she stays with the precarious state of animals and connection to humans through an emotionally fragile being or if she veers to another direction.

The other thing I thought of is this could be a great movie and a chance for great acting.

I chance for a woman to be a bit of a badass and yet show incredible emotional range.

I was thinking the same thing. It has opportunity for great acting, fantastic cinematography, even thriller aspects, and best of all it is highly relevant. It needs however the independent film handling, not pure Hollywood. It needs a name like George Clooney and his film company aligned with it, known for taking on socially and politically important films and making them right and successfully. So many strong women actresses have film companies that I would like to see bring this to the screen.

Another author you might like who is writing on similar subjects is Maja Lunde in a quartet starting with The History of Bees. She is Norwegian meaning we wait for the English translations. Lunde's series is not getting the attention it desrves. I have the second in my TBR, absolutely loved the first. First is about loss of the bees, second shortage of water (growing drought and water table depletion in Europe more alarming than here), third wild horses, and last I don't know though seems to be out or soon out in Norway.

(view spoiler)[ Did you get the impression at the end that what she and Ennis found in Antartica they have kept secret? Even though others arrived to take them into custody? (hide spoiler)]

One of those moments of suspending disbelief. But a good one.

Theresa wrote: "Another author you might like who is writing on similar subjects is Maja Lunde in a quartet starting with The History of Bees. She is Norwegian meaning we wait for ..."

The History of Bees is on my tbr, I'll have to move it up. I have a thing for books about bees and beekeepers. I just read The Music of Bees which I think you would love.

I think that you may well be right about them keeping it to themselves. Franny had already observed how scientist tried to change animals nature so they could survive and both she and her husband disagreed with them.