Jennifer's 2022 Category Challenge (japaul22)

Hi everyone! I'm Jennifer and I've been a Category Challenge member since 2011. I feel like every year I make this a bit simpler, and 2022 will be no exception. I love that having "categories" planned helps me balance my reading. I'm not feeling any themed reads this year (last year I read a lot of Indigenous authors), but I do want to make sure I'm balancing all the brand new books that come out with reading from my shelves, rereading, and getting to a few books from the 1001 books to read before you die list. Looking forward to following everyone's reading in 2022!

Here are my simple categories:
1) New Release Fiction (2020-2022) - 25 books
2) Off the Shelf or Kindle - 20 books
3) Books from my library or amazon wish list - 8 books
4) Nonfiction - 12 books
5) 1001 books - 7 books (this will finally get me to 350 - my reading from this list has really slowed)
6) Rereads - 4 books

New Release Fiction (2020 and later)
1. Ariadne by Jennifer Saint
2. Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica
3. My Monticello by Jocelyn Nicole Johnson
4. The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen
5. Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak
6. Copenhagen Trilogy by Tove Ditlevsen (older book but new complete translation in 2021)
7. Cold Coast by Robyn Mundy (2021)
8. What's Mine and Yours by Naima Coster
9. Elektra by Jennifer Saint
10. Companion Piece by Ali Smith (2022)
11. The Colony by Audrey Magee (2022)
12. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (2022)
13. The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell (2022)
14. The It Girl by Ruth Ware (2022)
15. Haven by Emma Donoghue (2022)
16. Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng (2022)
17. Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (2021)
18. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.

Off the Shelf or Kindle
1. Paradise by Gurnah
2. Insurgent by Veronica Roth
3. Frost in May by Antonia White (virago)
4. Corregidora by Gayl Jones
5. Tea at Four o'Clock by Janet McNeill
6. The Perpetual Curate by Margaret Oliphant
7. After me Comes the Flood by Sarah Perry
8. The Greengage Summer by Rumer Godden
9. The Way to Paradise by Mario Vargas Llosa
10. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie
11. Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Adichie
12. The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley
13. Rules of Civility by Amor Towles
14. The Lying Game by Ruth Ware
15. The Farm in the Green Mountains by Alice Herdan-Zuckmayer
16. As I lay Dying by William Faulkner
17. Eight Months on Ghazzah Street by Hilary Mantel
18. The Sweet Dove Died by Barbara Pym
19. Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner
20. The Fruit of the Tree by Edith Wharton
21. Nothing but the Night by John Williams
22. The Blue by Nancy Bilyeau

Books from my library, litsy, or amazon wish list (this is where I tend to keep lists of books that catch my eye but I don't buy immediately. And I want to make sure I read some of them!)

1.My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh
2. One by One by Ruth Ware
3. Washington Black by Esi Edugyan
4. The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware
5. Jane Steele by Lindsay Faye
6. Bitter Orange by Claire Fuller
7. Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths
8. The Frozen Thames by Helen Humphreys
9. Eileen by Otessa Moshfegh

Nonfiction
1. World on the Wing by Scott Weidensaul
2. Lady Fanshaw's Receipt Book by Lucy Moore
3. Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe
4. The Nineties by Chuck Klosterman
5. The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben
6. Madame Secretary by Madeleine Albright
7. The Mother of All Questions by Rebecca Solnit
8. In the Shadow of the Empress by Nancy Goldstone
9. The Story of Mount Desert Island by Samuel Eliot Morison
10. The Saddest Word by Michael Gorra
11. The Sewing Girl's Tale by John Wood Sweet
12. Menopause Manifesto by Jen Gunter
13. I Am, I Am, I Am by Maggie O'Farrell

1001 books (this gets me to 350 books read off the list)

1. Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin
2. Therese Raquin by Emile Zola
3. The Devil's Pool by George Sand
4. Asphodel by H.D.
5. Old Masters by Thomas Bernhard
6.
7.

Ideas:
Anniversaries
Dickens
Cloudsplitter
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass
Therese Raquin
Nightwood
Giovanni's Room
The Devil's Pool by George Sand
New Grub Street
The Hour of the Star by Clarice Lispector
Passion According to GH by Clarice Lispector
Old Masters by Thomas Bernhard
THe Woodlanders by Hardy
The Wings of the Dove by Henry James
The Devil's Pool by George Sand
A Woman's Life by Maupassant

Rereads (I love rereading and rarely make time for it - 4 books is a very reasonable amount of my reading time to spend on rereads, so I hope to make it happen!)

1. Dangerous Liaisons by Choderlos de Laclos
2. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson - maybe???
3. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
4. Middlemarch by George Eliot

Miscellaneous
1. Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac (read to see if good for William)
2. The Law and the Lady by Wilkie Collins
3. The Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett
4. Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz
5. The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope
6. The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata massey

Group reads or challenges (these will all fall in one of my 6 main categories, but this is a place to track which books I read in a social way which I enjoy and want to make time for):
1. Frost in May, January Virago monthly challenge
2. Corregidora by Gayl Jones, February Virago monthly challenge
3. Tea at Four o'Clock by Janet McNeill, March Virago monthly challenge
4. The Perpetual Curate by Margaret Oliphant, Virago group read with Liz
5. The Law and the Lady by Wilkie Collins, Club Read Victorian group read
6. Middlemarch by George Eliot, Club Read Victorian group read

Sometimes simple is best!

Good luck with your 2022 reading!

Happy reading and re-reading!

Good luck and a happy new year of reading.

Happy reading in 2022!

Always look forward to seeing what you're reading and taking a few BBs along the way.

Good luck with the simple categories in 2022.

Good idea to carve out space for re-reads. I do the same :) Have a great reading year!

Good luck with your 2022 reading. I am looking forward to following along.

Good luck in 2022!

Have fun with your reading in 2022.

I like your "simple" approach! I still haven't decided if I'm going to do a thread over here in addition to the 75ers, but if I do, I expect I'll be doing something similar to your categories.

Hello all! Thanks for stopping by - it's good to see familiar faces. :-)

>19 katiekrug: I can't give up the category challenge even though I don't love maintaining two threads because it's a different group of people than Club Read and I like both groups of people! And because the categories really help me balance my reading now that I'm realistic about how I want to do it when I set up my categories.

Like your set up, Jennifer. Simpler is always better!

>21 kac522: Me, too. I like both groups (75ers and here) and like setting up the Challenges. Gives me some structure and goals--which I need, since I have way too many books!

>20 japaul22: >21 kac522: I think a lot of us maintain threads in two or more groups, for similar reasons! I post in the ROOTs group and Global Challenge group as well as here (and take part in the 75 group Non-Fiction challenge, although I don't have a 75 thread - it's far too fast-paced for me there!

Two threads is about my limit as well; my home base is here, but I also keep a thread in the ROOTs group to make sure I'm reading books off my own shelves.

Between Litsy and LT, I'm trying to see if I can put together a 2022 year long group read of Uwe Johnson's Anniversaries. This is both a book on the 1001 books to read before you die list and a NYRB publication, for those who follow either.

Here's a description from the NYRB website:
It is August 1967, and Gesine Cresspahl, born in Germany the year that Hitler came to power, a survivor of war, of Soviet occupation, and of East German Communism, has been living with her ten-year-old daughter, Marie, in New York City for six years. Mother and daughter find themselves caught up in the countless stories of the world around them: stories of work and school and their neighborhood, with its shifting and varied cast of characters, as well as the stories that Gesine reads in The New York Times every day—about Che Guevara, racial violence, the war in Vietnam, and the US elections to come. Now, with Marie growing up, Gesine has decided to tell her daughter the story of her own childhood in a small north German town in the 1930s and ’40s. Amid memories of Germany’s criminal and disastrous past and the daily barrage of news from a world in disarray, Gesine, conscientious, self-scrutinizing, with a sharp sense of humor, struggles to describe what she has learned over the years and what she hopes to pass on to Marie. Marie, articulate, quizzical, with a perspective that is very much her own, has plenty of questions, too.

Uwe Johnson’s intimate portrait of a mother and daughter is also a panorama of past and present history and the world at large. Comparable in richness of invention and depth of feeling to Joyce’s Ulysses and Proust’s In Search of Lost Time, Anniversaries is one of the world’s great novels.

It is very long - 1700 pages, but is told in journal form from August 1967-August 1968, so it should be pretty easy to split up over the year. Let me know if there is any interest!

What a mess! We got 11 inches of snow so far out of an unexpected snow storm. They were predicting 3-6 inches. And two 30 foot pine trees in our yard fell down from the heavy, wet snow. One took out our fence and the other is on top of our attached garage. Miraculously, it doesn't seem like there's too much damage. I filed an insurance claim. Hopefully tree removal will happen soon, but I'm sure they are busy because there seem to be trees down all over our neighborhood. After the trees are gone, the insurance inspector will come out and we'll see if there is roof damage.

Always something . . .

But, I finished my first book.

For my "off the shelf" category:

Paradise by Abdulrazak Gurnah
Gurnah won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2021, and this brought his work to my attention. I then found out that he is well-respected by several LTers and knew I had to give his books a try. Paradise is about a young man, Yusuf, who is sold to a merchant, his "Uncle" Aziz, to pay his father's debts. He moves from rural Africa to a city on the East Coast to help run Aziz's shop. There he meets Khalil, who becomes an older brother figure to him. They run the shop and explore the city. Then Yusuf is taken with Uncle Aziz on a purchasing trip where he meets even more colorful people and has some funny and some dangerous experiences. To the reader, this trip reveals the multi-cultural experience in Africa at the turn of the 20th century. There are tribes that speak Swahili and have a traditional African culture; there are groups that are devout Muslim; groups that are heavily Arabic; and the newly arrived Germans. And of course among these there is plenty of mingling - they aren't all exclusive. It truly feels like a sometimes dangerous melting pot of interests and priorities.

I enjoyed this novel for the most part. I liked the relationship between Yusuf and Khalil. And the mix of culture was fascinating. But it was such a foreign culture to me that I was confused and lost the trail of the plot a few times. This happens to me sometimes when I don't have a lot of cultural/historical background with a novel. I always appreciate learning about the culture, but sometimes don't quite enjoy the book as much because of the work I have to do to stay on track (this happens a lot with the Japanese literature I've read also).

I would like to read more by Gurnah and will keep him on my list of authors to keep on my TBR pile.

Original publication date: 1994
Author’s nationality: born in Sultanate of Zanzibar
Original language: English
Length: 246 pages
Rating: 3.5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: purchased
Why I read this: nobel prize winner

>25 japaul22: - That's awful about your trees and the garage. I had heard that there was more snow than expected. A friend of a friend in is Va in a hotel and they traveled there with no boots, or heavy coats and the hotel is without electricity as is everything surrounding so no food delivery either.

>26 japaul22: - I'm not going to take a BB because I had heard of this book already but like you, I sometimes struggle with cultural/social references when reading a book set in an unfamiliar place.

>25 japaul22: - Yikes! Sorry the snow has been a hassle rather than a delight. My MIL sent photos from where they are in Stafford, VA, and I was impressed! Apparently, my nephew is thrilled.

>25 japaul22: So glad nobody was injured! Good luck with the repairs.

>25 japaul22: What a mess, indeed! I hope everything with the insurance can be resolved quickly.

Thanks for the concern, everyone! Everything is cancelled again today (school, work, etc.) so I'll be making phone calls about the trees and damage repair today. Hoping to at least get the tree removal scheduled, though I'm sure they are incredibly busy.

And I'll for sure make time for some reading!

>25 japaul22:

Trees down are always a mess but once they've been removed maybe the damage won't be too bad. Hope you can get started on everything sooner rather than later.

Wow! Glad the damage wasn't too bad, but still, dealing with tree removal and insurance is a pain.

>31 japaul22: The joys of being on hold! I had to call the bank this morning and was on hold for a while, but I used the time to check that all my latest audiobooks had been catalogued properly :D Hope everything gets sorted out quickly!

>32 hailelib: tree guy came to assess today and hopefully will have them removed by Monday at the latest. Considering all the damage in our area, I feel pretty good about that.

>33 mstrust: It is, but so far so good!

>34 rabbitprincess: that is an excellent use of time. I should remember to be more resourceful ;-)

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Those of you who have followed my reading over the past years know that I don't usually read much YA lit, but now I have a 12 year old son who doesn't want me to read out loud to him anymore, but doesn't want to read "alone" either. It doesn't seem that most of his friends read much, so I'm sometimes reading books along with him so he has someone to chat with. (My mom/his grandma, who lives right by us, also reads along with him sometimes - love that!)

Anyway, I did like this second book in the Divergent series. As is typical for second books in a series, this one does a little more back story and the action revolves around trying to figure out what is going on in their world. The world building is exciting, but not completely thorough. I feel like there are some pretty big gaps in logic. But, then again, there is good propulsion through the plot and a lot of drama. The "plot twist" at the end really shouldn't surprise anyone, but it's what you want to happen, so it's ok.

Fun to read and a great series to get tweens/teens reading.

Original publication date: 2012
Author’s nationality: American
Original language: English
Length: 512 pages
Rating: 3 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: purchased kindle
Why I read this: with my son

Frost in May by Antonia White
The Virago group is doing themed monthly reads and the first was "Nuns, Teachers, and Governesses". I have about 6 unread viragos on my shelf, so I'm trying to read them when they fit a category. I had never read Frost in May, which is Virago #1, so I took the opportunity and I'm so glad I did!

Frost in May is about a young girl whose father has recently converted to Catholicism. He sends her to a conservative Catholic boarding school. There, 9 year old Nanda whole-heartedly discovers the Catholic faith, makes friends, and begins to know herself. She is immersed in the closed world of the convent, where self-control, discipline, and humility are demanded of these young children. The glimmers of non-conformity come from a few of her friends at the convent who have more worldly families and from Nanda's mother, who during brief visits, obviously shows that she does not buy in to the system. Though internally Nanda embraces the lifestyle, some of her actions don't fit with the convent rules and the book does not end happily from Nanda's point of view.

I unexpectedly found this book delightful. There is a subtle and slightly subversive humor throughout from the author, but at the same time she perfectly captures the rigidity of a child's mind as it opens up through the teen years.

I would love to know more about the politics/cultural ramifications of converting to Catholicism in England in the early 1900s. I'm curious if there was a deeper cultural statement being made in the book that I didn't have the background to comprehend.

Original publication date: 1933, Virago publication date 1978 (#1)
Author’s nationality: British
Original language: English
Length: 221 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: given to me by Barbara/romain from the Virago group
Why I read this: virago monthly challenge

>37 japaul22: - I have this one, and the others in the series, on my shelf. I should mosey on over to the Virago group and see what's up!

>37 japaul22: It's sounds like an interesting and worthwhile read!

>38 katiekrug: I need to look in to getting the rest of the series. I'd like to know what happens to Nanda!

>37 japaul22: Sounds delightful. On my WL Is goes!

Ariadne by Jennifer Saint

I really enjoyed this Greek myth retelling. Jennifer Saint obviously has an excellent command of myths, how they fit together, and the possibilities that they lend to story-telling. Ariadne's story has several different versions, most famously that she is the daughter of Minos and helped Theseus defeat the Minotaur in the labyrinth. In Saint's novel, this part of the myth sets the stage and develops characters for what happens later. I would say the most action takes place when Ariadne is abandoned on Naxos and becomes the wife of a Greek God, Dionysus.

Saint focuses on Ariadne and her sister, Phaedra - as in many of the current myth-retelling novels being published, her goal is to illuminate how the women in these stories would have experienced the action. Overall, she does a good job, creating a page-turning novel with a lot of detail and good themes. I was, though, a little unsatisfied at the ending and also thought that if she'd kept the focus a little tighter on Ariadne, the novel also would have been more focused.

This was an enjoyable read and a fun diversion. Certainly not as good as Madeline Miller's works, but good for an engrossing story.

Original publication date: 2021
Author’s nationality: British
Original language: English
Length: 305 pages
Rating: 3.5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: BOTM choice
Why I read this: off the shelf

>37 japaul22: I was hit by a book bullet on that one at some time in the past. Glad to see you enjoyed it.

World on the Wing: The Global Odyssey of Migratory Birds by Scott Weidensaul

Excellent book that meshes the new information that scientists are discovering about the mysteries of bird migration with the environmental issues that are harming them. In the past 20 years, the study of bird migration has taken off, as technology has enabled scientists to fit birds with extremely light weight geo-locators. Even with the advances in technology there are still so many questions about bird migration. But, there is also a lot of fascinating information coming out that will hopefully make humans care about how they are affecting the world these birds inhabit with us.

As I look through my kindle notes, I could write pages about all the things I learned. I was particularly fascinated by the way birds navigate, the way they prepare for migrations that are thousands of miles long, and the various routes they take. Weidensaul makes you really care about each bird he focuses on (probably about a dozen throughout the book). It helped me to also look up some pictures of the birds as I read about them.

And then he starts talking about all the ways the world is changing and making things more difficult for the birds such as the fragmentation of forests, changing weather patterns, farming practices, light pollution, and hunting practices. The good news is that solid information about bird migration, including global hot spots that many different species of birds all rely on, is helping conservationists convince people and governments to make changes to help birds. Of course, this is not always an easy road and is met with resistance in many places, but at least there is now the beginning of the information we need to even know what change needs to happen.

Some of my favorite birds that I learned about in this book were the spoon-billed sandpiper, the red knot, the godwit, frigatebirds, kirtland’s warblers, and swainson’s hawks. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in birds, nature, conservation, and/or environmental issues.

Original publication date: 2021
Author’s nationality: American
Original language: English
Length: 400 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: purchased for kindle
Why I read this: off the shelf

>44 japaul22:, Thanks for that fantastic review--I'm going to have to look this one up!

My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh

I remember being intrigued by reviews of this when it came out it 2018, but it took a friend handing me a physical copy to finally read it. I wish I'd done it earlier - I loved this book! The protagonist (I just realized I don't think we ever find out her name) is in her mid-20s in 2000, living in NYC. Her parents have died and she's tired and depressed. She has a loser boyfriend who doesn't love her, a boring job as a receptionist at an art gallery, and plenty of inheritance money. So she decides to sleep for a year to reset herself. She finds the comically worst psychiatrist ever, who can't even remember that her parents are dead from session to session, and prescribes her any medication she wants. She takes cocktails of pills, drinking coffee in between blackouts, and stays in her apartment for most of a year. Her only friend, Reva, is her only visitor and contact with the outside world.

The writing in this book is fantastic. It's darkly humorous, and captures the pointlessness of modern life without human connection perfectly. Of course, also hanging over the book throughout is that it's 2000 and she's living in NYC, so 9/11 is ever-present.

I just really loved this. Maybe because I was the same age as the protagonist in 2000. I don't usually like novels about rich, sad people who have plenty of ways to be happy, but this really worked for me. I can't wait to read Eileen and anything else Ottessa Moshfegh writes.

Original publication date: 2018
Author’s nationality: American
Original language: English
Length: 289 pages
Rating: 4.5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: borrowed paperback
Why I read this: off my TBR list

>46 japaul22: - This was a pick for my book club a couple of years ago, and I couldn't finish it. But I also didn't like Eileen, so I think Moshfegh is not for me. But I'm glad you liked it. It's always fun to discover a new writer. I think she has a new one coming out this year...

>47 katiekrug: I can definitely see how it would be a polarizing book and not work for everyone!

I'd seen the title before but had no idea what it was about. Sounds pretty good, thanks for the review!

Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac

Code Talker is a YA novel about the Navajo code talkers in WWII. It is a first person fictional account from a Navajo man who recounts his life to his grandchildren. He details his life from his time in a school that tries to take his Navajo identity, through enlisting in the Marine Corps, being trained as a code talker, and his WWII experience, including the battle of Iwo Jima.

This is a really good YA book. The language and syntax are easy, but the topics are in depth and the author doesn't shy away from hard discussions. He talks about being forced to assimilate as a child and what that did to Native Americans, about how language can define a culture and person, and war topics such as losing friends, fear, and PTSD.

I read this because my mom always does a summer book club with my son and was thinking about this book. She wanted to make sure it wouldn't be too upsetting or adult in topic. I think that it's a really great book and would recommend it to middle grade and high school readers. And actually, I think a lot of adults would enjoy it too.

Original publication date: 2005
Author’s nationality: Nulhegan Abenaki Citizen
Original language: English
Length: 205 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: borrowed paperback
Why I read this: at my mom's request

Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica

I raced through reading this book and felt as though I were watching a horror movie with my hands over my eyes. The premise is that the world's animals have gotten a virus that makes them deadly to humans, both if eaten and if they have any contact with humans at all. So the animals of the world are killed and a sub-class of humans is created that is farmed and butchered like cattle is today. We are told in vivid detail of the process and taste of humans. The main character is the manager of a processing facility.

So why did I read this? Well, a friend of mine loaned it to me as a book that made a big impression on her. To tell the truth there is no other way I would have read this. I suppose it has worth as a polemic against farming, but there wasn't any heart to the story anywhere. And the ending is even more brutal than what I've described so far.

Also, if we really couldn't eat meat any more, I would have zero problem being vegetarian or vegan and feel confident that eating humans is not what I would resort to. The book says doctors were saying that everyone was anemic without meat. There's also a rumor that governments decided there were too many people and the first wave of cannibalism was the poor, refugees, etc. to thin the population. Once that was done they starting breeding and farming humans.

I cannot recommend reading this and will try my best to forget it.

Original publication date: 2020
Author’s nationality: Argentinian
Original language: Spanish
Length: 223 pages
Rating: 2 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: borrowed paperback
Why I read this: to try to figure out why my friend liked it

>51 japaul22: Oh, my. {shivers} That's all I can say.

Lady Fanshawe's Receipt Book by Lucy Moore

In the mid-1600s, Lady Ann Fanshawe kept both a receipt book, filled with her personal recipes for medicines, food, and drinks, and wrote a memoir of her life to pass down to her children. Lucy Moore uses these documents to recreate the life of this woman, who lived through the English Civil war that pitted Charles I against Oliver Cromwell. Ann and her husband, Richard, were staunch Royalists, so their life during this time was full of quick departures, new countries, and uncertainty. Through it all they seem to have maintained a loving and respectful partnership. They had thirteen children together, only five of whom survived to adulthood. Moore reprints a receipt at the beginning of each chapter, mainly medicinal recipes, and then uses the recipe as a jumping off point to talk about what was going on in Ann's life or in the larger English world.

I love this kind of nonfiction, that takes primary source material from long ago to illuminate the life of a woman. Certainly Ann, who was literate and wealthy, did not live an "average" woman's life of the 1600s, but her experience still sheds light on what life was like for the less known and studied people of the era. I really enjoyed this and would recommend to anyone who likes this sort of nonfiction - I think you know who you are!

Original publication date: 2017
Author’s nationality: British
Original language: English
Length: 416 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: gift
Why I read this: off the shelf, interested in the topic

>53 japaul22: - I'm always amazed that these types of diaries and memoirs, etc have survived to be made into books. It's such an interesting way to look at the past.

Dangerous Liaisons by Choderlos de Laclos

My first reread of the year was this 18th century scandalous classic. The book is entirely epistolary, which I always think is impressive for an author to manage. They have to work out location, keeping characters apart so that letters are necessary, and also create a unique voice for each character. I think Laclos does a very good job with this. He creates characters that are "evil" but also have so much life and wit that you can't help enjoying them. Both times I read this, I was actually sort of sad at the ending, where everyone sort of gets what is coming to them.

I do think the book drags a bit in the middle, and the letters between Valmont and the righteous Presidente de Tourvel are intolerably annoying. But the Marquise de Merteuil is fabulous even though she's trying to ruin lives, and I also love the innocent but life-loving Cecile Volanges.

A 250 year old book that is still highly readable and still salacious today is well worth reading in my opinion.

Original publication date: 1782
Author’s nationality: French
Original language: French, translated by Helen Constantine
Length: 418 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: purchased paperback
Why I read this: reread

>55 japaul22: - I really should read that one. I love the film.

Have a great weekend, Jennifer!

>55 japaul22: I wouldn't have thought of reading Dangerous Liaisons except that it was a book club choice. I really enjoyed it.

Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin

James Baldwin is a masterful writer. There is something about the way he understands and uses the English language that I find impressive but not pretentious. Giovanni's Room is a short novel about a young American man who is living in Paris and experimenting with love. David is engaged to a woman named Hella, but while she is traveling, he takes up with a young man named Giovanni and they develop a passionate relationship. As David attempts to untangle his feelings, lives around him fall apart.

This is a short novel that packs a huge punch. The events are dramatic, and David's actions and indecision set into motion a string of events that he doesn't intend. I'm looking forward to continuing to read more by Baldwin.

Original publication date: 1956
Author’s nationality: American
Original language: English
Length: 176 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: kindle library book
Why I read this: 1001 books

>58 japaul22: - That was the first Baldwin I read, and I was blown away. And now I've read 3 more by him and feel the same way about all of them.

Corregidora by Gayl Jones

This was not the book for me. Important, yes, in brutally revealing the lives of black enslaved women and their subsequent generations of daughters. But detailing domestic abuse, sexual assault, violent relationships, and graphic sex and language just was too much for me to stomach.

I feel some guilt when I react this way to a book. Who am I to not even be able to read about these topics when so many women lived it? But there it is. I skimmed sections and made it to the end. Barely.

Original publication date: 1975
Author’s nationality: American
Original language: English
Length: 176 pages
Rating: I can't rate this because I don't know wether to prioritize my reaction or the writing (which was good) or the importance of the topic
Format/where I acquired the book: ER book
Why I read this: off the shelf, Virago American author monthly challenge

Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe

Empire of Pain is fast-paced, compelling nonfiction that will turn your stomach at the greed it presents. Keefe has combed through thousands of documents to put together the story of the Sackler family. The Sacklers are well-known as philanthropists to the arts, museums, and higher education. But the way they made their money has made many of these institutions begin to turn away their donations and rename their buildings.

The Sacklers are in the pharmaceutical business and are the producers of Oxycontin, the opioid that has cause so many addiction problems in our country. What is really horrifying about this account is that it points out all of the information that the company had early on about the addictive properties of Oxycontin and that Purdue Pharma blatantly ignored, covered up, or outright lied about. And they bought the FDA to go along with them. The lack of FDA oversight in marketing this kind of drug was absolutely shocking to me and the opportunities for corruption in this case and in the marketing of any medication was deeply disturbing. The Sacklers also knew exactly where to market their addictive drug to get the highest sales, knew which doctors were overprescribing and kept supplying them, knew the pharmacies that were giving out more oxycontin pills per day than the local population could possible ingest, and yet they kept selling.

Keefe gives a complete picture of the Sacklers, starting with the 3 brothers growing up in an immigrant family, succeeding in the medical field, and melding ambitious marketing skills with their medical degrees by getting into pharmaceuticals. The first round of money they made was largely based on valium (hm, another addictive pain killer). The second generation was the one that came up with Oxycontin. Some readers may be a little bored by the detailed family history presented in the first section, but I liked the background.

I think this is an important book for all Americans to read. It's pretty eye opening to see how the system for making and marketing medication works and how deeply flawed it is. Highly recommended.

Original publication date: 2021
Author’s nationality: American
Original language: English
Length: 558 pages
Rating: 5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: purchased kindle book
Why I read this: interested in the topic and lisapeet's review pushed me over the edge to get to it

My Monticello by Jocelyn Nicole Johnson

My Monticello is a collection of 4 short stories and a novella by debut author, Jocelyn Nicole Johnson. The stories are all set in Virginia, my adopted home state, so I was curious to read them. They also deal with race and racism. The most memorable story to me was the first one "Control Negro" about a Black professor who fathers a son and then sets up his life at a distance to see if providing the same physical and emotional set up that an "Average Caucasian Male" receives will result in similar life outcomes.

My Monticello is the title of the novella included in this collection. It is set in Charlottesville,VA in what I assume to be the near future. Chaos has ensued and white men are "taking back" the country. A mixed group ends up fleeing together to Jefferson's home, Monticello. The main character is a young woman who is related to Jefferson through her mother's line, going back to Sally Hemmings. I thought it was very effective to set the place of refuge for this group at Monticello, which, as the large slave plantation of one of America's founding fathers, could be viewed as one of the seeds of the problem in the first place.

This is an impressive debut collection that is culturally relevant and a pleasure to read. I recommend.

Original publication date: 2021
Author’s nationality: American
Original language: English
Length: 215 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: purchased kindle book
Why I read this: review by Beth/BLBera

The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

This is an ok thriller/suspense type book. It alternates chapters between a therapist, Avery, who uses unconventional methods to help her clients work through their problems with her client, Marissa, who has come to Avery for marriage counseling with her husband. Marissa reveals that she cheated on her husband and as they try to rebuild several mysteries come to the surface.

This was fun enough to read and I do like to read something that is just for fun and takes no thought once in a while. I was not surprised at the reveal, but it was an ok ride to get there.

Original publication date: 2022
Author’s nationality: American
Original language: English
Length: 329 pages
Rating: 2.5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: BOTM
Why I read this: off my shelf

Tea at Four o'Clock by Janet McNeill

I loved this quiet novel about a middle-aged woman who finds her life suddenly changed when her invalid sister dies. Laura has been caring for Mildred for 6 years and has led a completely sheltered and isolated existence, completely controlled by the domineering Mildred. When Mildred dies, Laura inherits their large home and estate and her life begins to have motion. A long lost brother returns, bringing up memories of a friend of his who she loved in her youth and bringing to light a family secret that could change how Laura has viewed her whole adult life. Laura will have to decide for herself how she wants her life to look from here on out.

This is a simple novel with a simple plot that gives plenty of room for a deeply drawn character and situation. It's one of my favorite kinds of novel and reminded me of Barbara Pym, Anita Brookner, and Penelope Fitzgerald. Thanks so much to Alison for bringing this novel to my attention. I'll be on the lookout for more books by Janet McNeill who doesn't seem to have much currently in print in the U.S.

Original publication date: 1956
Author’s nationality: British
Original language: English
Length: 187 pages
Rating: 4.5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: purchased at book depository
Why I read this: Virago March group read, off the shelf

Anniversaries Volume 1 of 4 by Uwe Johnson

I've finished the first of four volumes of Uwe Johnson's epic novel, Anniversaries. This novel follows one year in the life of Gesine Cresspahl, the single mother of Marie, who is a German immigrant living in NYC. The book is told in the format of daily journal entries and volume one covers August 21, 1967 - December 19, 1967. Gesine is a dedicated reader of the New York Times and most entries involve some of the stories from the Times that day. In this way we follow the Vietnam war and the race riots of the era. Competing with the current day events are the stories of Gesine's parents and grandparents in 1930s Germany that Gesine tells to her daughter, Marie. Marie is the star of the book for me so far. She is a precocious, opinionated, funny 10 year old and when the focus is on her I'm absolutely entranced by this book. At other times, though, I'm a bit annoyed. Johnson has no compunction in shifting point of view, pronouns, voice, etc. and I'm often confused about who is supposed to be speaking. I also don't totally buy that the daily format was necessary since many entries seem to be completely untethered to the day to which they are assigned. After 400 pages, though, I think I'm accepting it and getting the hang of it. I think it helped that I read the last 150 pages of this rather quickly and stayed in the flow of the story. Moving forward, that will be my strategy. I'll take breaks between the remaining 3 volumes, but read them as a novel over a few weeks instead of reading a few pages a day (my initial idea).

At the end of this first volume I feel like I'm getting a handle on the important characters and have sorted out the key people both in 1930s Germany and in NYC. I have a lot of questions, but Johnson has 1200 pages left to answer them, so I suppose I'll be patient.

I am counting each volume as a "book" for my personal accounting system. It will help me stay motivated to get to count it as 4 instead of 1 and it was published in four separate volumes initially, so I'll justify it that way. :-)

The Perpetual Curate by Margaret Oliphant

The Perpetual Curate is a novel that is part of Oliphant's Chronicles of Carlingford series. The focus here is a young curate named Frank Wentworth working in a low-paying Curate position and focused on the poorer area of Carlingford, Wharfside. He has a family with money but his father had three marriages and tons of children, and the three aunts who were hopefully going to provide him with a family living do not approve of his High Church ways. This is unfortunate since Frank Wentworth has his eye on a lovely young woman, Lucy Wodehouse, who doesn't have money to bring to a marriage. While this is going on, Frank is erroneously marked as having an inappropriate relationship with a pretty, young, lower class girl.

This Victorian novel rolls along well. The plot and characters are entertaining and we get a glimpse of church politics of the time and a bit of the class divide as well. I enjoyed this and think Oliphant has every right to be considered with the other more well-known Victorian authors of the time.

Original publication date: 1864
Author’s nationality: Scottish
Original language: English
Length: 540 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: purchased used Virago edition
Why I read this: group read, off the shelf

One by One by Ruth Ware
I really needed something light and compulsive to read, and I've been reaching for Ruth Ware when that's my mood. One by One is her take on Agatha Christie's And Then there were None. A business group with a decision to make about agreeing to a buyout for their popular music app arrives in the Alps on a skiing trip. The 8 of them and the two chalet caretakers get snowed in after an avalanche and there are murders, missing people, and lots of secrets.

It was lots of fun and definitely fit what I was looking for.

Original publication date: 2020
Author’s nationality: British
Original language: English
Length: 383 pages
Rating: 3.5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: kindle library book
Why I read this: fit my mood

Also need to report a DNF. I started Under the Wide and Starry Sky and just couldn't get into it. It's historical fiction about an American woman, Fanny Osbourne, and her love affair with Robert Louis Stevenson and I realized quickly it would be too romanticized and unauthentic for me right now. Sometimes I like that kind of historical fiction, just for fun, but not in the mood.

#20 The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak

Loved it! The story of two young lovers who meet in Cyprus during the civil war between Turks and Greeks. Largely narrated by a fig tree, I found this book a beautiful mix of environmental writing and human drama.

Original publication date: 2021
Author’s nationality: British-Turkish
Original language: English
Length: 350 pages
Rating: 4 stars (maybe 4.5?)
Format/where I acquired the book: purchased hardcover
Why I read this: looking for a really good new book and trusted LT reviews

#21 The Nineties by Chuck Klosterman
This was largely fun but sometimes boring. The 90s were my pivotal decade and it was fun to reminisce. I was expecting mainly popular culture essays, which I did get, but there's a healthy dose of politics as well. He covers: Nirvana, video rentals, telephones, Ross Perot, the baseball strike. I did some skimming, but enjoyed this overall. Only recommended for those who feel a connection to the 90s.

Original publication date: 2021
Author’s nationality: American
Original language: English
Length: 350 pages
Rating: 3 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: kindle library book
Why I read this: piqued my interest

After Me Comes the Flood by Sarah Perry
I picked Sarah Perry's first book up on a whim because I've really enjoyed her other two. This was also good and in the same vein, with a gothic, mysterious feel. A man leaves his bookstore rather dramatically to visit his brother and on the way becomes ill and his car breaks down. He ends up stumbling upon an old house where he is welcomed by name, though he knows no one there and doesn't know how they know him. The inhabitants are all a little off, and it is slowly revealed where he has ended up and the back story.

I liked this and saw a lot of promise in it, but the plot seemed like it would have been better suited to a short story. It lost some of the creepiness and suspense of the first section as the book went along. Fans of Sarah Perry might like this to see how she's developed as a writer, but I'd recommend The Essex Serpent as the better book and better starting place.

Original publication date: 2014
Author’s nationality: British
Original language: English
Length: 229 pages
Rating: 3 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: purchased paperback
Why I read this: like the author and the only one of her novels I hadn't read

Washington Black by Esi Edugyan

I'm so glad I picked up this creative and captivating novel. I remember it coming out in 2019 and being intrigued, but uneven reviews kept it on the backburner. I really enjoyed it, though, so I'm glad I finally read it.

Washington Black is a young slave on Barbados when he is chosen by his owner's brother to aid in his experiments. Christopher Wilde is a scientist and is working on a "cloud cutter", which seems like an early hot air balloon. Wilde, called Titch, initially chooses Wash because of his small size, but quickly finds out that Wash is an intelligent boy who learns quickly and is a gifted artist as well. The two end up escaping Barbados and Washington travels to Virginia, the Arctic, London, and Morocco, meeting friends and enemies along the way.

I was sucked right in to Edugyan's writing style and how she mixed the brutal reality of the life of the enslaved with the fanciful, creative world of science and experimentation in the 1800s. She had me all the way to the end . . . until the very last page where I'm sad to say I was really disappointed in the ending. I got what she was trying to do (there's some parallel symbolism to something that happens earlier to a different character) but it felt abrupt and out of character for Washington.

Anyway, I'd still recommend this because I really did love it overall. I will put her other books on my library wish list.

Original publication date: 2019
Author’s nationality: Canadian
Original language: English
Length: 383 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: purchased paperback
Why I read this: on my backlist

I loved Washington Black when I read it a few years ago.

>71 katiekrug: Have you read any of her others? I think I've heard of Half-Blood Blues.

>72 japaul22: - I haven't. I might have Half-Blood Blues on my Kindle? That's the only other one I've heard of - I think it was short-listed for the Women's Prize?

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

So, funny story, I have always thought of The Haunting of Hill House as the first Shirley Jackson book I read and the one that hooked me on her writing. I thought this was due a reread and checked my LT records to see when I'd last read it. But it wasn't in my catalog. So I searched my threads. Not there either that I could find. Oh well - I started reading, and now I'm pretty sure I never actually read it. Not one word was familiar. I don't have the best book memory, but I always have scenes that stick with me or themes or memorable characters.

As for the book itself, I liked this one. It is a haunted house story and a bit more literal in being a "scary story" than some of Jackson's other books. In this one, Hill House is known to be haunted and researcher of ghosts and the supernatural, Dr. Montague, invites a group of people to stay in the house and observe what happens. Plenty of scary, unexplainable things occur, but the real story is in how the characters react to each other and to the stress of the situation.

I liked this, but though it's probably Jackson' most famous book, I don't actually think it's her best. My favorite is Hangsaman of the five Shirley Jackson novels I've read. Even so, I'm glad to have (finally??) read this.

Original publication date: 1959
Author’s nationality: American
Original language: English
Length: 182 pages
Rating: 3.5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: purchased paperback
Why I read this: reread???

The Copenhagen Trilogy by Tove Ditlevsen
I really enjoy reading Scandinavian fiction and I've been curious about the hyper-personal narrative autobiographies that are around (like Knausgaard) so I was intrigued right away by this book, especially since it is by a woman. The Copenhagen Trilogy is writer Tove Ditlevsen's memoir told in three parts, her childhood, her youth, and her adulthood where she becomes addicted to painkillers. Ditlevsen wrote this in the 1970s after she had established herself as a well-respected author.

In the Childhood section, we get to know Tove's family and her relationship with her mother, father, and brother. We also learn about the poverty her family grows up in and how it affects her ability to have the confidence and support to become a writer. In the Youth section, Ditlevsen begins to come in to her own - publishing some of her writing, moving out into her own apartment, working, and meeting men. The third section, Dependency, is probably the most compelling section as Tove becomes addicted to demerol supplied by a mentally unstable man who marries her and abuses her for years. I always have a hard time reading about addiction, which is a topic that just terrifies me.

This autobiography reads like a novel and is very personal and revealing. While I enjoyed it and appreciated it for stretching the boundaries of personal narrative, I can't say I loved it. I guess, being a private person myself, I'm not that excited about knowing the details and confessions of a real person. I would rather lose myself in fiction or read nonfiction that is at a bit more of a remove. Even so, I would recommend this, especially if you are interested in the inner thoughts of writers, the struggles of female writers, or the time period in general (spans about 1925-1960?).

Original publication date: 1967-71, published in three volumes, 1985/2019 translation by Tiina Nunnally and Michael Favala Goldman
Author’s nationality: Danish
Original language: Danish
Length: 386 pages
Rating: 3.5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: purchased kindle ebook
Why I read this: interested in the author

This summer (if covid and Putin cooperate) I'm traveling to Prague, Innsbruck, and a small town in the Netherlands (Kerkrade) with work. I love to read fiction set in places that I travel leading up the trip and while I'm there. I also am interested in nonfiction (mainly history - maybe something about the Prague Spring?). Any suggestions? I haven't read a ton from those regions.

>76 japaul22: Sounds like a lovely trip. Trollope's Nina Balatka is set in Prague, and he does give a little bit of description of the place.

>76 japaul22: Josef Skvorecky's The Engineer of Human Souls is one of my favourite books. It's set partly in Czechoslovakia and partly in Canada and features Skvorecky's alter ego, Danny Smiricky. There's a series of Smiricky books, covering life in Czechoslovakia during the Soviet occupation, the German occupation, post WWII, the Prague spring and subsequent Soviet invasion. Most of them are humorous, but there's an underlying seriousness. (I've called the country Czechoslovakia because that's what it was when these books were written.)

I can also recommend Judge on Trial and Waiting for the Dark, Waiting for the Light by Ivan Klima.

Have a great trip!

>76 japaul22: >77 kac522: Škvorecký also wrote some detective stories set in early 60s Prague, The Mournful Demeanour of Lieutenant Boruvka, which I recommend.

>77 kac522: thank you! Trollope in Prague . . . interesting!

>78 pamelad: >79 NinieB: And two recommendations for Skvorecky, who I had never heard of. Much appreciated!

Any other recommended Austrian, Dutch, or Czech Republic authors out there I should try?

>80 japaul22: Not the greatest Trollope, but yes, interesting and relatively short. He traveled to both Prague and Nuremberg and wrote books set in those places--Linda Tressel is set in Nuremberg. And they were both initially published anonymously, I think.

>80 japaul22: More Czech writers I've read and liked.

Too Loud a Solitude by Bohumil Hrabel
The Good Soldier Svejk by Jaroslav Hasek
War with the Newts, The Absolute at Large by Karel Capek
The Castle, The Trial by Franz Kafka

One I don't like.
The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera

Adding some Austrians.

The Radetsky March by Joseph Roth
Wittgenstein's Nephew by Thomas Bernhard
The Man Without Qualities by Robert Musil (very long)
Baddenheim, 1939 by Aharon Appelfeld

I hope you'll post some pics of your trip!

The Law and the Lady by Wilkie Collins
I picked up this novel because it was chosen as a quarter 2 group read for our Victorian theme in Club Read. I loved The Woman in White and The Moonstone but had never branched out to Collins's lesser known works. I found The Law and the Lady an entertaining novel, about a woman who's mysterious marriage leads her to detective work to clear her husband's name.

If I give too much plot description, it will be very spoiler-y and this novel is very plot driven. I don't think the actual mystery was much of one, but this book does get credit as possibly the first novel where a woman does most of the detective work. I was a little disappointed that she doesn't really follow through to the end - leaving the pivotal last investigations to the men to solve.

This novel centers around two characters that will give modern readers pause. One is a crippled man, Misserimus Dexter, in a wheel chair who is, at times, treated as almost a circus act - racing around rooms on his hands only and horrifying those who get a glimpse of his entire body. And his "sidekick" is a woman, Ariel, described sometimes as a man in appearance who has some sort of developmental disability. I actually wondered if she was based on early knowledge of those with Downs' Syndrome based on how her physical attributes were described and on her mental state plus her extreme loyalty to Misserimus.

I found this an "entertaining enough" novel but I wouldn't widely recommend it. If you haven't read Wilkie Collins, this is not the place to start in my opinion.

Original publication date: 1875
Author’s nationality: British
Original language: English
Length: 413 pages
Rating: 3 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: purchased paperback
Why I read this: group read

The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben
I really enjoyed this nonfiction book that reads almost like a memoir of the forest. Wohlleben is a forest manager in Germany and he's written a book about his observations and scientific knowledge about trees. It's fascinating to hear about how trees communicate with each other, support each other, and defend themselves. The time scale they live in is completely different from the human lifespan, making them foreign and fascinating. I also was struck by how, though they reproduce so slowly that their evolution pace is extremely slow, they have great diversity within each species that protects them.

We've done so much damage to our forests, and this book will make you want to be on the side of the trees.

Highly recommended.

Original publication date: 2016
Author’s nationality: German
Original language: German
Length: 290 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: purchased kindle edition
Why I read this: LT review

Well, covid came for the rest of us! My younger son got covid back in January of 2022, and none of the rest of us got it. Last week my husband and older son got it and today I tested positive. I thought my symptoms could easily have been seasonal allergies, but I've been doing daily rapid tests with two sick people in the house, and today's was positive. I do feel a bit of a chesty cough developing, so I'll just relax for my quarantine period. Maybe I'll get some extra reading done. Extremely grateful that so far everyone in my family has had relatively mild cases.

>85 japaul22: Hope your family's symptoms are mild, and wishing you all a speedy recovery!

Best wishes for a speedy recovery!

>86 christina_reads: >87 MissWatson: Thank you both! I'm feeling ok - but definitely got a wheezy cough right away. Just resting up the next few days since I'll be off work.

So sorry to hear you caught The Vid. We had it back in early February and only knew it because I'm so paranoid and insisted we test. It just felt like a minor head cold/allergies. Hope you continue to avoid the nastier parts of it.

Wishing you a mild case that's over quickly.

I'm wishing for a speedy recovery for you and your family.

>89 katiekrug: I'm glad you both had such a mild case. I think mine was a little worse than that, but I can't complain because I'm feeling quite a bit better on day 6. It was mainly a bad cough and trouble sleeping. Not so bad, overall.

>90 pamelad: Thank you! I feel like I've rounded the corner :-)

>91 DeltaQueen50: Thank you - the whole family is doing well. I feel grateful that we all had relatively mild cases.

I turned to two comfort reads the past week and they were both perfect for what I wanted.

#28 The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware
I really enjoy Ruth Ware's mysteries. This one is about a lonely, poor young woman in a dangersous situation who finds herself named to inherit a large fortune. But the family she inherits with it is both full of secrets and possibly the bigger reward.

Original publication date: 2018
Author’s nationality: British
Original language: English
Length: 368 pages
Rating: 3.5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: purchased kindle edition
Why I read this: like the author's other books

#29 Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
A reread for the - I'm not sure, 4th time? Mansfield Park used to be my least favorite Austen book (which still means I loved it) but it grows on me every time I read it. I now think it's actually one of her more mature books, with tons of opportunity to read between the lines, really interesting set up of believable characters, and lots of subtle humor and authorial commentary.

Fanny herself has also grown on me. She is often described as meek and mild and maddeningly won't ever put herself first. But I didn't see her that way on this reading. I saw that she is quiet and introverted and has been taught that her opinion isn't wanted, but her interior comments are quite perceptive and intelligent. And humanizing her even more, her interior thoughts, when revealed, are often self-centered, can be petty, and stubborn. I like this.

I happily look forward to my next rereading of this book.

ETA: A really large part of me wanted Henry Crawford to succeed with Fanny this time and become the person he thought he could be with her. First time to feel that way too!

Original publication date: 1814
Author’s nationality: British
Original language: English
Length: 488 pages
Rating: 5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: Collector's library edition, owned
Why I read this: reread, favorite author

Cold Coast by Robyn Mundy

This novel checked a lot of boxes for me. It's set in the Arctic, specifically Svalbard, the far north of Norway in the Arctic Circle. It has beautiful setting descriptions and insight to the region while keeping the descriptions a part of the story. It's historical fiction about a woman, Wanny Woldstad, who was the first female trapper in the 1930s.

Overall, this worked for me. Yes, the descriptions of hunting and trapping were a bit disturbing to a modern mind who doesn't believe in killing animals for their fur. But the author does a good job of also creating a story around the animals, focusing on foxes, that somehow both humanizes them and shows the cruelty of their own lives as hunters. Kind of a "circle of life" feeling.

I liked that the author gets into the relationship between Wanny and her trapping partner, Anders, and what it would have been like for a man and woman to attempt this together. And I liked how she showed the hardships of trapping and the climate. Mainly, I enjoyed that she did all of the above without becoming overly dramatic. This is a quiet book where the vast scenery really takes center stage, above human or animal drama.

At times, though, I got a little bored and wanted something more - I'm not even sure what. If the topic and setting interests you, I think there is enough here to make reading this worth your while, but otherwise I think it's ok to prioritize a different book.

Original publication date: 2021
Author’s nationality: Australian
Original language: English
Length: 272 pages
Rating: 3.5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: purchased for kindle
Why I read this: topic caught my interest

>93 japaul22: - That one sounds interesting! (I think the touchstone goes to the wrong book...)

Hope you're over the covid, or at least can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

>94 katiekrug: fixed it, thanks!

I am over covid! I only felt bad for about 4-5 days, luckily, and I've not had any lingering fatigue or cough.

The Greengage Summer by Rumer Godden

A family of five children travel to France with their mother for a vacation. Unfortunately, she falls ill, leaving their care to the small hotel they were planning to stay in. There they become entwined with an adult world that they don't really understand the dynamics of and become tangled up in a mystery.

I loved this - my first experience with a Rumer Godden novel. Pleasant writing, fun characters, plot driven, and a great setting. If her other novels are similar, I could see her become a great "comfort read" author for me.

Original publication date: 1979
Author’s nationality: British
Original language: English
Length: 227 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: library sale purchase
Why I read this: off the shelf challenge

>96 japaul22: I loved The Greengage Summer too. Two others I've read and recommend from Rumer Godden: Kingfishers Catch Fire and In This House of Brede.

I've heard great things about China Court and In This House of Brede, although I haven't read either.

>97 NinieB:, >98 kac522: Thank you both! Is Rumer Godden a Virago and/or Persephone author? I wouldn't be surprised to find her in those catalogues.

>99 japaul22: Virago Modern Classics republished a large number of (but not all) Godden's novels.

Life is still crazy busy and I'm still behind on reviews!

#34 Madame Secretary by Madeleine Albright

Loved this memoir of Madeleine Albright's life. She really covers everything from her childhood in Prague and Europe, her teen years in Colorado, her marriage, her divorce, being a single parent, trying to find her footing as a woman in politics and academia, her time in the U.N., and her role as Secretary of State.

I got just a tiny bit bored during some of the minutia about the politics and world events toward the end of the book, but overall this was really good. At its best when she's describing her "real life" vs. her work life.

Original publication date: 2001
Author’s nationality: American, Czech born
Original language: English
Length: 736 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: kindle purchase
Why I read this: interested in the topic/life

#35 The Way to Paradise by Mario Vargas Llosa

This was so-so for me. I loved Feast of the Goat by the same author, so I had high expectations for this. It is a dual historical fiction biography of painter Paul Gaugin and his grandmother, Flora Tristan. Flora was an early feminist and organizer for workers' rights. She of course ran into many roadblocks and ended up dying early, in her 40s. Paul is know for his colorful paintings of Tahitians. He was also a giant ass in how he treated women, the native Tahitians, and his family in Europe which he deserted.

The most annoying thing about the writing in this book was an odd shift to second person that happened frequently - like every page or two.
For example:
"He was almost out of canvas and stretchers, his heavy paper had been used up, and he had only a few tubes of paint. Should you return to France, Paul? In the state you were in, and with the dismal future that awaited you here, was Tahiti still worthwhile? .. . . "
Then right back to
"That same day, his body still aching . . .

It was so weird and disorienting. And it happened in Flora's sections too.
Not really a book I'd recommend running out to read.

Original publication date: 2003
Author’s nationality: Peruvian
Original language: Spanish, translated by Natasha Wimmer
Length: 454 pages
Rating: 3 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: library book sale
Why I read this: off the shelf

>101 japaul22: - I'm not much of a memoir/biography reader, but this had me a little interested until I saw the 700+ pages.

>102 dudes22: She has written quite a bit. The other one I'm interested in (and kind of wish I'd read instead) is Prague Winter, which focuses on her family history in Prague around WWII.

Still reading, but still behind on reviews. I've stuck with my off the shelf challenge and my next four reviews are all of books from my shelves.

#36 What's Mine and Yours by Naima Coster

What's Mine and Yours is a novel full of great characters and a plot with competing timelines that slowly reveal the connections between characters. It all begins with a promising young Black man getting shot and killed. He leaves behind a young wife and son and a friend whose lives will be changed by his death. The timeline shifts around, introducing a school integration fight, a young woman whose marriage in falling apart, and a family whose father is addicted to opioids. It's a bit messy with all the different timelines, but Coster handles it pretty well. In the end, it's one of those books that shows the interconnectedness of lives and the domino effect of one tragedy.

Original publication date: 2021
Author’s nationality: American
Original language: English
Length: 341 pages
Rating: 3 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: BOTM
Why I read this: off the shelf

#37 Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie

During the Cultural Revolution in China, youth from the cities were sent to the country to be "reeducated". In this novel, two young men are sent to a remote mountain village where they do physical labor and leave their city comforts and learning behind. The meet a beautiful young seamstress and also discover a fellow city youth with a treasure trove of novels. Reading and retelling these stories to the seamstress keeps their minds and hearts alive. I really enjoyed this tale - simple on the surface, but plenty to contemplate.

Original publication date: 2000
Author’s nationality: Chinese
Original language: French, translated by Ina Rilke
Length: 184 pages
Rating: 3.5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: library book sale
Why I read this: off the shelf

#38 Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Purple Hibiscus is a fantastic novel. Set in Nigeria, Adichie creates a detailed sense of place while also detailing a tragic family story that could happen anywhere. Kambili and Jaja are siblings with an abusive father. They are living life in fear and under strict control when their Aunt Ifeoma convinces her ultra-Catholic, wealthy, and abusive brother to let his children come to her home to spend time with their cousins. When Kambili and Jaja arrive, they begin to see a new way of living, based on love and mutual respect. They also have their eyes opened to the struggles those with less money face. How they respond to this knowledge is at the heart of this novel.

Adichie is an adept writer who creates real characters and draws the reader in - even to challenging and uncomfortable themes. I really loved this. I've read all of her novels now and hope she has another in the works!

Original publication date: 2003
Author’s nationality: Nigerian/American
Original language: English
Length: 307 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: library book sale
Why I read this: off the shelf

#39 The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley

Entertaining mystery, but I liked Ruth Ware's similar One by One better. Lucy Foley does this thing where she starts close to the end of the action and then does flashbacks but just within a few days. She did it in The Guest List also and it annoyed me both times.

I'd say this was ok, but not great. There are better mystery writers out there for sure.

Original publication date: 2019
Author’s nationality: British
Original language: English
Length: 406 pages
Rating: 2.5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: library book sale
Why I read this: off the shelf

The Mother of All Questions by Rebecca Solnit
I really respected this collection of essays. They are smart, challenging, and on point. Sadly, they are also very applicable to current events, though the essays were written from 2014-16. She writes about silence, gun control, abortion, and women's rights. Solnit is one of the best essay writers out there, in my opinion.

Original publication date: 2017
Author’s nationality: American
Original language: English
Length: 176 pages
Rating: 5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: purchased
Why I read this: off the shelf

#41 Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

I picked this up at a library sale a few years back after loving A Gentleman in Moscow, but then it sat on my shelves as I read conflicting reviews. I'm glad I finally read it, because I really enjoyed it. The bulk of the story takes place in a pivotal year fo the narrator, Katey. It's 1939 and she is a young woman in NYC, working a secretarial job, having fun with her best friend Evey, and meeting several young men.

As I read this, I kept thinking of that ubiquitous book descriptor - "transporting". Cliche for sure, but I was immersed in late 1930s New York so I think it actually applies this time!

Original publication date: 2011
Author’s nationality: American
Original language: English
Length: 335 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: library book sale
Why I read this: off the shelf

And I'm going to call that a wrap on my June off the shelf challenge. I read exclusively off the shelf books and knocked out 10!

The Greengage Summer by Rumer Godden
The Round House by Louise Erdrich
The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thorton Wilder
The Way to Paradise by Mario Vargas Llosa
What's Mine and Yours by Naima Coster
Balzac and the Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie
Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Adichie
The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley
The Mother of All Questions by Rebecca Solnit
Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

I really enjoyed Rules of Civility, too. I haven't read AGiM or his new one yet...

Well done on reading off your shelf!

Glad to see you enjoyed Rules of Civility! I bought it after loving A Gentleman in Moscow, but I haven't read it yet. Also, congrats on reading only books off your shelf this month!

>106 japaul22: - I did the same as you and christina and bought it after AGIM and it's still sitting on the shelf because of the conflicting reviews. I seem to like a lot of the books you do so maybe I'll give it a nudge closer to the top of the TBR pile. (I just noticed it again the other day but was looking for something I thought I could finish before June ended)

Excellent work on your off the shelf challenge!

>107 katiekrug: I actually had a copy of the new Amor Towles book, something with Lincoln in the title, and I donated it to the library book sale because I was so sure I wouldn't like it after reading a few reviews. Now I'm wondering . . .

>108 christina_reads:, >109 dudes22: two more like me who bought this after reading A Gentleman in Moscow! I really did like it. It's very different in setting but has the same introspective tone from the main character.

>110 rabbitprincess: Thank you!

>111 japaul22: - I saw an interesting comment on his new book The Lincoln Highway when an interviewer asked him how it was different to write a book that only takes place over 10 days as opposed to TGIM which spanned decades. I think for that reason alone, I'll read it sometime.

Therese Raquin by Emile Zola

I really love Zola's writing and was interested to try this early novel that predates his Rougon-Macquart series. Though Therese Raquin is not quite as developed as his later writing, it is a good novel and really shows where he'll go with his focus on the middle and lower economic classes and his extreme realism.

The eponymous character is raised with her Aunt and cousin when she is orphaned. They treat her as one of the family, but raise her in their sheltered life. Her cousin, Camille, is a sickly young man, and though they are raised as brother and sister, they are expected to marry. As expected, when they move to the city and a handsome young artist joins their social circle, Therese's sexuality is awakened. She and Laurent start a torrid affair and begin to plan how they can rid themselves of Camille. The ramifications of their decision form the rest of the novel.

This is a good novel by a great writer.

Original publication date: 1867
Author’s nationality: French
Original language: French, translated by Leonard Tancock
Length: 199 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: used book store, old folio society edition
Why I read this: off the shelf, 1001 books

The Devil's Pool by George Sand

Decided to try this French novella off the 1001 books to read before you die list. It was just ok. It's a simple story about a widowed farmer who finds love with a poor girl in his village. Sand begins by describing a Holbein painting of peasant and farming life and transitions into this tale of the working/lower classes.

I didn't find it particularly memorable. Likely I'd need to understand more about how it fits into French literature as a whole to get more out of it.

Original publication date: 1846
Author’s nationality: French
Original language: French
Length: 109 pages
Rating: 2.5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: purchased used paperback
Why I read this: off the shelf, 1001 books

Asphodel by H.D.
I bought a used copy of this book a couple of years ago when the 1920s author kept popping up in book related discussion. H.D. was an American author, mainly of poetry, who is often spoken of with Virginia Woolf, Gertrude Stein, and Dorthoy Richardson. H.D. also wrote a couple novels, Asphodel being one of them. It is a stream of consciousness work that I was a bit apprehensive of reading because I thought it might be hard to read and comprehend. Actually, though, I really loved this book and I'm glad I made time for it.

In Asphodel, H.D. writes a flowing, colorful, autobiographical novel about her experience before, during, and just after WWI. Her love life is central to the book and frames the action. Pre-WWI, her love is her female friend Fayne Rabb; during the war it's Jerrol Darrington, who she has a stillborn baby with; and then Cyril Vane, who is less a love and more a diversion, but who she does have a child with.

The book doesn't necessarily have much forward motion, it sort of swirls around the plot, but I liked that. I was happy to dwell in the descriptions of the main character's experiences, feelings, and observations. You can tell that H.D. wrote a lot of poetry when you read this novel. She has a beautiful way of using color in her writing.

I highly recommend this for readers interested in the 1920s era of British and American writing. I think this book deserves to be more widely read!

A note also that the edition I could get my hands on, edited by Robert Spoo, has an incredibly helpful appendix that gives background info on the real people that the fictional characters are based on. It really helped me understand what was going on.

Original publication date: completed in the 1920s, not published until 1992 I believe
Author’s nationality: American
Original language: English
Length: 207 pages
Rating: 4.5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: purchased used paperback
Why I read this: off the shelf, 1001 books

>114 japaul22: Oh, I've had that one sitting unread on my shelf for more years than I know. Even though it wasn't great, I'm glad to see your review. Thanks!

I am back from my 12 day trip to Europe with the Marine Band. We had a heavy performance and travel schedule, playing 6 concerts in Prague, Innsbruck, and Kerkrade, Netherlands. We didn't have time for a ton of sight-seeing, but I did get a taste of each city and our performances were in beautiful venues with appreciative audiences. All in all a fantastic, though tiring, trip.

While I was on the airplane and on 11 hour bus rides, I finished two books and made a good dent in two more.

#45 Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye
This novel draws its inspiration from Jane Eyre. The young woman narrator identifies with Jane Eyre, as she grows up in the household of an unsupportive Aunt, goes to a suspect boarding school, and winds up a governess where she falls in love with her employer. However, Faye creates Jane Steele as a murderess and there is a large subplot once she becomes a governess in which the man she falls in love with is tied up with a scandal that happened during his time in India.

Part of this novel were completely ridiculous, but overall I enjoyed the ride.

Original publication date: 2016
Author’s nationality: American
Original language: English
Length: 432 pages
Rating: 3 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: library kindle
Why I read this: to be entertained

#46 The Lying Game by Ruth Ware
This is my least favorite mystery by Ruth Ware so far. It follows a group of 4 women who were friends at boarding school in their youth, and it slowly reveals the truth of what really happened to the father of one girl (also an art teacher at the school) after he went missing during their time at school.

I found it predictable and not that suspenseful.

Original publication date: 2017
Author’s nationality: British
Original language: English
Length: 370 pages
Rating: 2 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: purchased kindle sale
Why I read this: off the shelf, to be entertained

>117 japaul22: Wow, your trip sounds amazing! Glad to see you enjoyed Jane Steele, as I've got that one on my shelves.

Elektra by Jennifer Saint
This is an "entertaining enough" Greek myth retelling focused on Clytemnestra, the wife of Agamemnon and sister of Helen, and Cassandra, the princess of Troy who is a seer. Elektra is daughter of Clytemnestra and the two don't see eye to eye on Agamemnon to say the least.

I've read a bunch of these Greek myth retellings and I always enjoy them as escapist reading. This one works just fine, though it's not as special as Madeline Miller's forays into the genre.

Original publication date: 2022
Author’s nationality: British
Original language: English
Length: 291 pages
Rating: 3 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: purchased for kindle
Why I read this: traveling and wanted something entertaining and easy

In the Shadow of the Empress by Nancy Goldstone

I picked up this biography of Empress Maria Theresa, who ruled the Habsburg Empire in the 1700s, because I was traveling through Austria, Prague, and the Netherlands, and because I knew Nancy Goldstone's historical writing is entertaining and fairly easy to read. I got just what I wanted - a look at a strong female ruler and a focus on 3 of her daughters, Marie Antoinette - Queen of France, Maria Carolina - Queen of Naples, and Maria Christina - Governor-General of the Netherlands.

Goldstone writes history that is fun to read because she focuses on what I'm most interested in - the human side of things like family relationships, ruling challenges, personal strengths and faults, rivalries with other rulers, etc. I think her work is well-researched, but I also think she tends to take fairly well-known research and use it to create a good story. I don't think her books generally reveal much new research or enlighten the historical record.

Original publication date: 2021
Author’s nationality: American
Original language: English
Length: 640 pages
Rating: 3.5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: purchased for kindle
Why I read this: traveling through the region

The Farm in the Green Mountains by Alice Herdan-Zuckmayer

I quite enjoyed this memoir of a woman who emigrates to the U.S from Germany just before WWII. She and her husband live in NYC and LA, but ultimately wind up running a farm in Vermont. The book took shape with letters she wrote to her family back in Germany. It's basically a series of essays in which she observes American life, specifically New Englanders, and the joys and trials of farming.

Parts of this I absolutely loved and part I found a little boring. It's sort of a niche book, but I'm glad I read it and will remember it fondly.

Original publication date: 1949
Author’s nationality: German
Original language: English
Length: 216 pages
Rating: 3.5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: purchased nyrb edition
Why I read this: off the shelf

The Story of Mount Desert Island by Samuel Eliot Morison

A chatty, gossipy, and dated (especially when discussing the "Indians" that first lived on the island) history of Mount Desert Island. This is the island in Maine where Acadia National Park is located and where I recently vacationed. It is an absolutely beautiful spot. I picked this book up in a gift shop. It was ok, but not really what I was looking for. I would have preferred more info about the original inhabitants of the island, info about the creation of the national park, and about the 1947 fire. Instead this was mainly about the first European explorers and then life on the island in the mid to late 1800s. Fine, but not for everyone.

Original publication date: 1960
Author’s nationality: American
Original language: English
Length: 116 pages
Rating: 2 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: purchased in a gift shop
Why I read this: traveling in the region

The Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett

Sarah Orne Jewett was a late 19th/early 20th century American author that I had not yet read. When I saw that she was from Maine and that this novel was set there, I knew I had to read it during our vacation. I really enjoyed it. There isn't a lot of plot in this slim novel - basically a woman writer goes to Maine for the summer looking for a quiet place to write and instead finds herself enamored of both the setting and the people in the community. The nature writing is beautiful and really captures the beauty of coastal Maine - the fir trees, rocky coasts, and fresh pine and ocean smells. And she captures the lifestyle as well - the reliance on the sea, coastal farming, and close-knit though reserved communities.

I enjoyed this and recommend it to anyone who enjoys American writers from this era. It's slow and filled with conversation in dialect, but I liked it.

Original publication date: 1910
Author’s nationality: American
Original language: English
Length: 134 pages
Rating: 3.5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: kindle freebie
Why I read this: traveling in the region

>123 japaul22: - I keep meaning to read that one. I have a copy on my shelf...

>123 japaul22: I loved this quiet book--it reminded me of Cranford in a way, but very regional and very--for lack of a better word--American.

>123 japaul22: - This sounds like something I'd like. I'm pretty sure I've heard of it somewhere.

>117 japaul22: I recently read The Lying Game, too, and like you I rated it two stars. I loved the setting, but not much else.

Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz

This mystery is an homage to Agatha Christie. The premise is that an editor receives the latest mystery from an author of a series featuring Atticus Pünd, a Poirot-style detective. She reads the book and we do too - all 200-some pages. Then, the last chapter is missing and the author is found dead. This kicks off a second mystery that the editor tries to solve.

I thought this was a clever premise, but in the end I found it extremely predictable. I think the embedded book was TOO derivative of Agatha Christie, and the mystery about the author's death just wasn't that interesting.

A pleasant-enough diversion, but not something to run out and read immediately.

Original publication date: 2017
Author’s nationality: British
Original language: English
Length: 477 pages
Rating: 3 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: library kindle
Why I read this: I think it's gotten attention because it's being made into a tv show? It's in book news and a friend recommended it.

Companion Piece by Ali Smith

I loved this new novel by Ali Smith. Sometimes her writing is a bit too experimental for me to connect with, but this one hit just the right balance. Set in 2021 in England, the pandemic is still a concern for our narrator, but a lot of the world has moved on. Sandy's father is in the hospital recovering, hopefully, from a heart attack, and Sandy gets a strange call from a woman she briefly knew in college. The woman, Martina, relates an odd experience she had recently which sets the novel off in two different directions: one the current day family drama of this friend and her young adult daughters, and two the story of a young girl blacksmith during the Plague years in the Middle Ages. All this is based around a sentence Martina heard - "curlew or curfew - you choose" - and couldn't understand. Sandy was always known for being quirky and understanding words and poetry in college, so Martina seeks her out for an explanation.

Somehow, this totally works. Running through the whole book is a love of words and poetry that matters more than the actual plot. It's a book I devoured and now really want to reread sometime soon to savor.

It's odd, I can't say I really understood the point of all of it, and it won't be for everyone, but it really worked for me.

Original publication date: 2022
Author’s nationality: British
Original language: English
Length: 230 pages
Rating: 4.5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: kindle purchase
Why I read this: always interested in this author's work and the book description looked like something I would like

Old Masters by Thomas Bernhard

I had a rough start with this, but ended up being moved by it - something I was not expecting. Bernhard writes one long, no paragraphs or page breaks, rant about the state of Austrian society and culture. This rant is by a man, Reger, in his 80s who goes daily to an Austrian art museum to sit in front of one painting, Tintoretto's White-Bearded Man. His rant is retold by a friend, Atzbatcher - an interesting authorial device in itself - sort of removes the reader one step. We know also that Reger's wife has recently died.

Reger rants about many things: Austrian bathrooms, Austrian government, Austrian composers (spoiler - he's not a fan of Brucker or Mahler), Austrian authors, Austrian artists, and the Austrian people themselves, among other topics. This was amusing at times, especially the topics I had better context for, and really annoying at times. It's very repetitive, which does help hammer the points home.

So just when I was about to give up and skim to the end, the details of Reger's wife's death start to come out. And then I was hooked. Lots of things become clear about just why Reger is so annoyed with Austria and why he's been ranting specifically about some of his topics. You also understand his anger is mixed with grief. It's all very moving and is a realistic portrait of grief, which is rarely just sadness and often includes anger.

I did not find this an easy book to read, but I am very glad I read it and think it will be a memorable book for me.

Original publication date: 1985
Author’s nationality: Austrian
Original language: German
Length: 156 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: purchased paperback
Why I read this: 1001 books, Austrian author and I visited Austria recently

Bitter Orange by Claire Fuller

After loving Claire Fuller's recent novel, Unsettled Ground, I decided to try some of her backlist. Unfortunately, Bitter Orange didn't really work for me. The narrator, Frances Jellico, is dying and tells a visiting vicar about an episode in her life when she spent time at a dilapidated English country home with another troubled couple, Peter and Cara. Frances has been hired to study and report on the gardens, and Peter to report on the architecture of the house. Peter and Cara's backstory becomes central to the book and the three become close, though it's obvious that everyone is keeping secrets.

The problem was that I found most of it predictable and I also just didn't really care about the characters. And it's the kind of book that needs full investment in the characters, because there isn't much else.

I still highly recommend Unsettled Ground, but I'd pass on this one.

Original publication date: 2018
Author’s nationality: British
Original language: English
Length: 317 pages
Rating: 2 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: kindle library book
Why I read this: interested in the author, off of my library wish list

>131 japaul22: - Oh, that's disappointing. I also loved Unsettled Ground and picked up Bitter Orange in a Kindle sale.

>132 katiekrug: It just feels like a book I've read a million times - older woman at the end of her life relating a story as a slightly unreliable narrator. And everything feels more dramatic than it needs to be.

Still good writing in a way, but the story itself just didn't work for me.

As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner

Faulkner is an author I discovered in high school and come back to periodically. I think his writing is pretty close to brilliant. I also find it difficult to really understand one of his novels with only one reading. As I Lay Dying is no exception.

In this novel Addie Bundren, mother and wife, dies, and at her request the family is tasked to bring her body to her home town of Jefferson, Mississippi for burial. For this poor, large, rural family, this is a large undertaking. It's a slim novel, but so much happens - destroyed bridges and dangerous river crossings, a broken leg idiotically set with cement, a hard-earned horse sold by a shiftless father, an arson and arrest, and a quest for an abortion. Seriously, all of that. But I didn't even realize how much I was learning about the family until the short book ended and I reflected back.

The story is told by 15 different narrators and each has a distinctive voice and point of view to add. It did make it hard to get in the flow of the book, but it also works very well.

Reading this has gotten me back on a Faulkner kick which I hope to continue into next year.

Original publication date: 1930
Author’s nationality: American
Original language: English
Length: 288 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: purchased paperback
Why I read this: a favorite author

Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths
The first in a mystery series with main character Ruth Galloway, an archaeologist who gets wrapped up in helping to solve a missing child case. Easy and entertaining - I imagine I'll slowly continue with the series. It didn't fully grab me, but I think I'll try the next couple to see how it goes.

Original publication date: 2009
Author’s nationality: British
Original language: English
Length: 304 pages
Rating: 3 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: kindle purchase
Why I read this: looking for a new mystery series

>135 japaul22: Earlier this year I went on a Ruth Galloway book binge because of what they're not: not too cosy, not too bleak, not too gruesome. And the main characters aren't too depressed.

>136 pamelad: That's a perfect way to describe them!

I feel compelled to acknowledge on my thread how much I love the writing of Hilary Mantel, who died suddenly this week. When I came to LT over a decade ago, I was in the reading headspace that only classics were worth my time, and that contemporary fiction really wasn't up to par. Hilary Mantel was one of the authors I discovered through LT that immediately changed my mind on that narrow 20-something year old view. My favorites from her are her historical fiction titles - A Place of Greater Safety and the Wolf Hall trilogy. But I have also read several of her other novels - A Change of Climate, Beyond Black, and Fludd - and they are all excellent.

I've bought a few more of her novels that I haven't yet read, and I am at least consoled that I have unread titles from her on my shelves. And her books will be rereads for me over the coming years as well. If you've never read anything by Hilary Mantel, I highly recommend.

The Colony by Audrey Magee

I loved this book just as much as everyone else on LT. It's a beautifully written book with many layers that explores the life of the very few inhabitants on a remote Irish island. A Frenchman comes every summer to study the Irish language and to try to preserve it as it is on this isolated island. And an English artist comes to find inspiration for his landscapes from the dramatic cliffs and ocean views. Of course the two bring the outside world to the island inhabitants, changing and influencing them while they themselves are changed as well.

As all of this is happening, the Troubles are also happening, and Magee interrupts her story with short updates on the violence. At first it seems sort of remote from the island life, but as the book progresses you see how deeply everything is connected and that the islanders, even in a remote setting, have feelings and opinions about this as well.

This novel has so many layers to unpack. It's a book that will be well worth rereading and I'm glad I purchased a hardcover copy.

Original publication date: 2022
Author’s nationality: Irish
Original language: English
Length: 376 pages
Rating: 5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: purchased hardback
Why I read this: LT buzz, Booker long list

The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope
This one took me a while to finish, but I really enjoyed it. I would consider this one of Trollope's best stand alone novels. Many of his common themes make an appearance. I'm always particularly struck by how the misbehavior of the wealthy with their money was apparently as much of an issue back in the 1800s as it is today.

Central to this novel is the Melmotte family. The father is a wealthy financier type who has zero social standing. And is apparently more of a swindler than an actual businessman. His daughter attracts several men with the promise of her father's wealth, but her choice (a poor one!) is not to her father's taste. We also meet several young men who are stringing along one woman that they prefer to marry and one woman who they are more in love (or lust) with. And Lady Carbury, an author and mother of two of the adult children struggling with their love lives and money. And Roger Carbury who holds the money in the family but is out of luck in the love department.

It's really amazing that Trollope can convincingly keep track of all of these characters and plot lines and satisfactorily tie it all up in the end. I'm glad he wrote so many novels, because I really enjoy them.

Original publication date: 1875
Author’s nationality: British
Original language: English
Length: 776 pages
Rating: 4.5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: kindle
Why I read this: a favorite author

>140 japaul22: Reading Trollope is like visiting with an old friend. So glad you enjoyed it--I am so itching to read this one, but am trying to stick to reading the stand-alones in chronological order. Right now I think I'm about 3 novels away, and plan to read 1 (The Vicar of Bullhampton) this month.

>141 kac522: You are so disciplined with your Trollope reading! I have less interest in reading all of the stand-alones, though I might end up getting to them all. I really think I want to reread the Barchester series soon. That was where I started and I'd like to read them again with more Trollope knowledge.

>142 japaul22: I've started doing that on audiobook and it is wonderful! I've finished the first 3. Mr Harding playing air cello when he's stressed! Slimy Mr Slope and awful Mrs Proudie! Lovely Mary Thorne and young Frank Gresham (who must marry money) and the wise (and rich) Miss Dunstable. I'm having so much fun.😊

>143 kac522: rereading on audio works so well! I miss all of those Barsetshire characters!

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

I read this 2022 novel at the recommendation of two "real life" reading friends who loved it. It's about a youthful friendship between a young woman and young man who bond over video games It starts off strong and I read the first 100 pages in a day. But as the story goes on and the friends age into their late 20s and 30s, I grew tired of the author's tone. I never could put my finger on what exactly I didn't enjoy about the writing, but it was definitely annoying me.

Despite that, this is a strong story. The background of these friends developing video games in the 90s (right when I was also coming of age) adds a unique cultural view point to the book. The characters are interesting and have a great character as a third friend - setting up the classic 3-way friendship dramas.

If you enjoy keeping up with books that have a lot of buzz, I would recommend giving this a try. It's not a bad book and was certainly entertaining at points. But overall, there are better new novels out there in my opinion.

Original publication date: 2022
Author’s nationality: American
Original language: English
Length: 401 pages
Rating: 3.5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: borrowed hardcover
Why I read this: work friend recommendation

>145 japaul22: I've heard a lot about this book but never the fact that it's about people developing video games in the 1990s! One of my all-time favourite books, Microserfs, is about people working at Microsoft in the early 1990s, then launching their own startup company, so I'll have to give Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow a go. (Also, a title taken from Macbeth, my favourite Shakespeare!)

>146 rabbitprincess: I did actually think of you when I posted this review! I do think it's one you should try. I don't know a lot about video games, so I don't know how accurate the writing is about it, but it's an enormous part of the book. Really central to the whole story and remains that way throughout. I would love to read your opinion of it if you get to it!

The Saddest Words: William Faulkner's Civil War by Michael Gorra

This is a slow but interesting book for Faulkner enthusiasts. Gorra explores what Faulkner's writings can teach us about the American South - particularly the white American South in the aftermath of the Civil War and Reconstruction. He does this by delving deeply into the world that Faulkner created in his novels and short stories. He does not stick to any sort of ordered approach which can be a little frustrating, but ultimately I thought the approach really shows how Faulkner's work is best taken as a whole. He brings characters and plot lines in and out of his various works, developing both in more than one book. It made me realize how much I have left to read before I get a good grasp on Faulkner.

In addition to his writing, Gorra spends time on Faulkner the man and also Civil War and Reconstruction history. He doesn't spend any time romanticizing Faulkner or trying to make him something he isn't. Gorra pretty brutally reveals the prejudice and racism present in Faulkner's work. He points out the lack of Black characters and the narrow-mindedness with which he approaches many of the Black characters he does include. And any Faulkner reader will already know how many characters idealize the pre-Civil War South. But Gorra also contextualizes this well to point out just how much these fallacies and blindnesses teach us about the American South in the 1930s and 40s, when Faulkner did the bulk of his writing. Faulkner's white characters are haunted by the South's history and by the turning points where they can imagine things could have been different.

I think Gorra is sadly right that many of the racial issues that Faulkner grappled with (or ignored) are still large issues today in the U.S. Gorra's ultimate point is that though Faulkner's writing is often uncomfortable because of its characters who glorify or long for the pre-Civil War times of slavery, there are all too many modern-day Americans who continue to do the same. Faulkner's books bring up plenty of themes that we need to open our eyes to and keep talking about.

I only recommend this book for those who have read quite a bit of Faulkner. It's not good as an intro to his work and instead seems geared to people who are already fairly well-versed. I've only read four of the novels (The Sound and the Fury, Absalom, Absalom, Sanctuary, and As I Lay Dying) and I was a little lost at points. I'll keep this book and consider rereading it once I've read more Faulkner.

Original publication date: 2020
Author’s nationality: American
Original language: English
Length: 407 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: purchased paperback
Why I read this: interested in the author and topic

The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell

I've only read one other book by O'Farrell, Hamnet, which I was blown away by. The Marriage Portrait was similarly well-written and engaging to read, but struck quite a different tone. Because it is set in the 16th century and is based on the life of Lucrezia de'Medici, I was expecting something a bit more erudite from Maggie O'Farrell. Instead, I got a domestic abuse thriller. I liked it once I accepted that.

Lucrezia grows up at the comfortable court in Florence, always the odd child out, but still loved and cared for. Then her older sister dies and she takes her place in a marriage to the Duke of Ferrara at the very young age of 15. At first she is impressed with his kindness to her, but cruel streaks in his personality begin to show through. He is desperate for an heir, and if Lucrezia can't provide she fears for her life.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this, but as I said earlier, it's better approached as a suspense novel about a dangerous marriage that happens to be set in the 1550s. Fun characters and setting and writing that propels you along. But not a deep historical dive.

Original publication date: 2022
Author’s nationality: British from Northern Ireland
Original language: English
Length: 355 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: kindle library book
Why I read this: enjoyed the last book I read by this author

My library branch started this program called "concierge book services" where the librarians pick books for you after you fill out a short form. I answered questions about my favorite genre, all time favorite book, and a "book I liked but don't pick for me". And they do this for different age groups of kids or adults. I thought it sounded fun so I gave it a try and I'm pleasantly surprised. Here are the books they picked.

American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins (I've not read this but remember all the discussions about it)

In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume (a childhood favorite author but I've not yet read her adult books)

City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert (this one I've read and liked)

The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey (I didn't know this book but it's a historical mystery set in 1920s India and looks fun)

The Red-Haired Woman by Orhan Pamuk (I've read 2 other books by him with mixed results)

All in all I think whoever picked these nailed it! I probably won't read all of them, but I will read 1 or 2 and it was really fun to use this program. I might use it for my kids as well if they get in a reading slump.

>150 japaul22: That sounds like a cool program! Off to see if my library does something like this...

The It Girl by Ruth Ware
I generally enjoy Ruth Ware's mystery/suspense novels for what the are - clever enough and fun to get sucked into. This brand new one was sort of mediocre compared to some of her better books. The story centers on a group of friends at Oxford and the murder of the group leader - beautiful and wealthy April. Ten years later, her roommate is finally ready to reassess what might have happened that night and whether the person she accused was actually guilty.

I liked this, but the ending was REALLY predictable. I rarely figured out "who did it" before the end, partially because I don't care to think while I'm reading a mystery. I'm there to not think and just enjoy. But this one was just really obvious, and I don't think it was meant to be.

So, I don't know, if you really like Ruth Ware, go for it, but she has better books.

Original publication date: 2022
Author’s nationality: British
Original language: English
Length: 423 pages
Rating: 2.5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: kindle library book
Why I read this: usually like her mysteries

>152 japaul22: I was a bit disappointed by The Lying Game and The Turn of the Key, and I don't think I will pick up The It Girl. Your review confirms my opinion. Somehow, the story just does not interest me.
But I loved The Woman in Cabin 10 and I still have a few others to go.

The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey

I really enjoyed this first book in a mystery series featuring a young woman named Perveen Mistry who is a lawyer in 1920s India. Well, she's not a licensed lawyer because that's not allowed for women. But her father has a law business and wants her to be part of the firm, so he sends her to Oxford to complete a law degree.

The mystery here involves a family where the husband passes away leaving three wives behind living in purdah - that's the custom where women seclude themselves from all men except their husband. There is a complicated will and then their executor gets murdered in the home. The investigation is complicated with the women in purdah, but Perveen's value as a female lawyer is evident.

The mystery, as is often the case in series starters, takes a bit of a back seat to Perveen's own backstory. She has a sad story about a disastrous marriage that is told in flashback throughout the book.

I thought this was a solid book because of the interesting setting. The mystery is secondary to the cultural set up and character building, but I was fine with that. I'll read the second one and see if it keeps my interest to continue the series.

Original publication date: 2018
Author’s nationality: not sure - born in England, raised in the U.S., parents were from India and Germany
Original language: English
Length: 375 pages
Rating: 3.5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: library book chosen for me through the library concierge program
Why I read this: received from my library and it looked fun

>153 MissBrangwen: I haven't read The Woman in Cabin 10 yet! I'm looking forward to it since I've heard it's one of her good ones.

Middlemarch by George Eliot
I was prompted to do a reread of one of my favorites by the group read here in Club Read. I never regret taking the time to read this tome! This time I was struck by how Eliot positions her characters - keeping them apart at times and then bringing them together. And again I noticed the way she compares and contrasts the various couples in the novel (and there are a lot of them), both between the younger and older generations and among them.

Also, her portrayal of Rosamund is simply brilliant. She develops her dialogue, inner thoughts, and mannerisms so well. Eliot must have known a Rosamund from somewhere in her real life . . .

Original publication date: 1872
Author’s nationality: British
Original language: English
Length: 853 pages
Rating: 5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: folio society edition
Why I read this: reread with the club read group read

Haven by Emma Donoghue

I'm not sure why I loved this book, but I really did. It's an odd premise for a contemporary novel - a well-respected monk, Artt, has a vision of himself living for the glory of god on a remote island off the coast of Ireland with two monks from the monastery he is visiting, an older man named Cormac, and a young man name Trian. They are honored to be chosen and the 3 set off through the ocean with minimal supplies and only Artt's vision in mind. They land on "Great Skellig" a virtually inhabitable island of rock, and Artt declares it their stopping point. Instead of finding food, water, and shelter, Artt insists they keep the focus on God by carving a cross, making an altar, and copying the Bible.

How long will faith alone preserve these three?

I was totally enamored with this book. I thought the setting, the exploration of how destructive one man's idea of faith can be, and the survival elements were all so interesting. I just really loved it. Donoghue's books can be hit or miss for me, and this was a huge hit.

I just can't imagine anyone else will like it!

Original publication date: 2022
Author’s nationality: Irish
Original language: English
Length: 272 pages
Rating: 4.5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: kindle from library
Why I read this: sometimes like the author, new release

Eight Months on Ghazzah Street by Hilary Mantel

When Hilary Mantel passed away earlier this year, I wanted to make an effort to read her novels that were still on my shelf. Eight Months on Ghazzah Street looked interesting so I picked it up. Frances and her husband, Andrew, move to Saudi Arabia in the 1980s. They know it's going to be a culture shock, especially for Frances considering how women are restricted there, but they'll be making a considerable amount of money, so it's deemed worth it. Also, they've lived several places in Africa and are used to adapting to different cultures.

They move into an apartment building and Frances immediately realizes this is going to be harder than she thought. Andrew leaves for work every day and she is trapped inside, both because women can't move about freely and because of the heat. She can't work or even go out to shop or sight see. For independent, intelligent Frances, this is tough. After a month or so she begins to develop relationships with the other women in her building. As she gets to know them, she also gets to know some of the other expats that Andrew works with. And a mystery about the empty apartment above her begins to develop. Though it's supposedly empty, there is noise up there and obviously people spending time in the apartment. And then things start getting dangerous. It's no longer just the foreign culture that is upsetting Frances, it's clear that there are nefarious activities going on as well. And the ending - well, I'm not sure exactly what Mantel intends the reader to assume at the end, but all of the options are disturbing.

Hilary Mantel is masterful at layering a book with interesting plot and characters with deeper themes and cultural observations. I really enjoyed this and definitely recommend it.

One weird thing - the paperback I had has extremely sharp corners on the spine and it was really uncomfortable to hold! I don't remember ever encountering that before.

Original publication date: 1988
Author’s nationality: British
Original language: English
Length: 320 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: off the shelf, paperback
Why I read this: reading Mantel's books that are still on my shelf

We've just missed the centenary of Proust's death on November 18th. Thank you for the In Search of Lost Time group read, because I doubt I would have finished without it!

>159 pamelad: Oh, I didn't see that - thanks for pointing it out. That was such a satisfying group read!

The Sweet Dove Died by Barbara Pym

I am a huge Barbara Pym fan, but this one gets a pan. It was written later in her life and I think she tried to get a different vibe by throwing in some sex, references to cannabis, and a main character who has relationships with both men and women. But the weird thing is that her main character, Leonora, is really just like all the main characters in her earlier novels. So it felt confusing.

Only recommend for Barbara Pym completists.

Original publication date: 1978
Author’s nationality: British
Original language: English
Length: 167 pages
Rating: 2 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: purchased paperback
Why I read this: I always like to read Pym in November for some reason

>156 japaul22: Middlemarch is one of those books I keep meaning to read. I did start it at one time and had been enjoying it, but then put it down and never got back to it. Your review reminds me that I should pick it up again!

Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng

This was one of those books that started out slow and uninteresting to me, but I stuck with it and by the end, it really packs a punch.

Our Missing Hearts is different than Ng's other books, though it still has a focus on being a mother. But the setting - a near-future dystopian America that is all too easy to believe in - is the driving element of the book. There is an economic Crisis that wracks the country, and in the aftermath, the country passes the PACT act, an attempt to preserve our country's culture and traditions. The enemy that is set up is China, and all Americans of Asian descent end up being persecuted. They, and those who choose to help them or speak out, have their children taken away to be raised in "better" "American" families.

At the heart of this story is Margaret Miu, whose book of poetry is adopted by those who protest PACT. This forces her to open up her eyes to what is happening and she has to choose between being a present mother and standing up for what is right.

I tried really hard not to like this book after being pretty unimpressed at the beginning. But in the end I found it emotional and all too realistic.

Original publication date: 2022
Author’s nationality: American
Original language: English
Length: 335 pages
Rating: 3.5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: library kindle
Why I read this: I've liked the author's other novels

You had me at "near-future dystopian". Another BB - although I was aware that she had a new book, I hadn't taken the time yet to see what it was about.

The Sewing Girls's Tale by John Wood Sweet

Excellent nonfiction about one of the first rape cases that was prosecuted in colonial America in the 1790s. 17 year old Lanah Sawyer meets a young gentleman, obviously above her station, who convinces her to go on a walk with him one evening. The night ends with him forcibly taking her to a brothel and raping her. She then will have to decide if she should tell, who she should tell, and whether they will believe her. After she chooses to tell her mother and stepfather, her stepfather makes the somewhat unusual decision to press charges against the gentleman. We then hear about the trial, the laws surrounding rape, and how it affects Lanah and her family.

The whole book is fascinating and disturbing and sad. Also frustrating. So many of the issues Lanah faces in trying to "prove" what happened to her are STILL issues for women who are raped today. And witnessing Lanah be pushed to the side as men decide the fate of her case and men are at the center of all the laws and courts is maddening.

It would be easy to lose Lanah Sawyer in this story since once the initial event is over, the action all moves to the world of men, but the author does a pretty good job attempting to keep Lanah in the picture. I'm glad I read this and highly recommend it.

Original publication date: 2022
Author’s nationality: American
Original language: English
Length: 384 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: library kindle
Why I read this: LT review that caught my eye

>164 dudes22: The scenario she sets up really feels like something that could happen. It's scary, but I also think it's important to consider these things and that how we are behaving as a country right now is making these sorts of dystopian novels feel way too plausible.

The Frozen Thames by Helen Humphreys

This is a beautiful set of vignettes set in all the recorded years the Thames has frozen between 1142 and 1895. It's a lovely book - a small hardcover with glossy pages and beautiful illustrations. The vignettes are also beautifully written, invoking the pain of ice and cold, but also the beauty and the transformative properties.

I loved it.

Original publication date: 2007
Author’s nationality: Canadian
Original language: English
Length: 192 pages
Rating: 5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: purchased hardcover
Why I read this: it's been on my list for a long time and someone here read it recently and I remembered I wanted to read it!

Great reading, Jennifer! I also liked The Frozen Thames, though not quite as much as you :)

>168 katiekrug: I think I just loved the experience of reading this so much - the actual book itself, the idea, etc. I suppose it's probably not actually five star reading in terms of content, but I thought it was clever and I read it at the perfect time for me!

#72 The Menopause Manifesto by Jen Gunter

As a 45 year old woman with very little idea of what’s coming for my body in the next decade or so, I thought this would be an important book to read. Gunter does a good job of separating fact from fiction and backing up her info with high quality studies. Problem is that there still just isn’t a ton of info about menopause that is reliable and thorough. But, she does a good job at covering what there is, and it was reassuring to know that there are options to treat many of the symptoms that women experience.

Because she sticks to the science, there were lots of anecdotal symptoms that I’m heard from friends that she does not cover, or covers lightly.

But I learned a lot about when to consider MHT (that’s what they call hormone therapy now), what to combine, the different ways to take it, and how to weigh the pros and cons.

She also goes through non-medication options that are proven to help menopause symptoms - like diet and exercise. She is very against supplements but does give thorough reasons why. And there is a good chapter on osteoporosis -which often occurs with menopause.

I did not get all my questions answered and definitely want to read more to have a balanced view, but I’d recommend this if you’re going through it or have a partner who is.

Original publication date: 2021
Author’s nationality: American
Original language: English
Length: 400 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: purchased
Why I read this: to gain knowledge about the topic

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

I now understand why I've seen so many rave reviews of this slim novel that says a lot in few words. Keegan has taken the time to consider every sentence in this novella, and it is practically perfect.

In 1980s Ireland, a man named Bill Furlong discovers something about his town that disturbs him, makes him realize he probably should have noticed this earlier, and also brings up memories from his past. It takes place leading up to Christmas and will be a perfect book to reread every holiday season. I read it on my kindle, but will buy a hardcover version for my shelves. I think it's the sort of book that will reveal something new on each reread.

Original publication date: 2021
Author’s nationality: Irish
Original language: English
Length: 118 pages
Rating: 5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: kindle library book, purchasing hardcover
Why I read this: it's been on my radar since last years rave LT reviews

Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner

In writing Lolly Willowes, Warner masterfully describes the awakening of Laura Willowes from a single woman being cared for by her family to a woman who takes control of her own life. Laura grows up attached to her father, caring for him and helping to run their household. When he dies, she is expected to live with one of her brothers' families. Because in 1902, an adult woman surely could not live on her own. She spends years living with this family, spending time with her nieces until they also grow up and move on. And there she still is. But a chance encounter with a guidebook about a small village in the country leads her to take control of her own life and strike out on her own, much to the horror of her conservative family.

People in this village that she moves to keep to themselves, but as Laura connects to more and more to nature, she realizes there is magic all around her. The end really takes a strange turn, and while I got what Warner was doing, it also felt a little out of the blue to have Laura make a deal with Satan for her independence and to find that the sleepy town is full of witches!

I'm not sure yet if this book was brilliant or crazy.

Original publication date: 1926
Author’s nationality: British
Original language: English
Length: 222 pages
Rating: 3.5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: purchased for kindle
Why I read this: read an LT review that piqued my interest

>171 japaul22: - I picked up her book Foster when Amazon had a deal. I've been wanting to get Small Things Like These after seeing all the enthusiastic reviews. I think now I'll wait until Christmas to see if I get it as a gift or a gift card.

You've reminded me that after I read Small Things Like These, I bought the audio because I thought it would make a good listen around the holidays. And I've just finished what I had been listening to, so now I know what's next :)

#75 The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

This was exactly what I wanted it to be - an engaging novel full of diverse characters, a bit of humor, and a lot of good relationships being developed. Plus some room to grow since I see it’s a series.

It’s set in an upscale retirement home and discovering who everyone was before they came together is part of the charm. The mystery(s) are a bit weak, but the characters are the point. I’ll gladly try the next one.

Original publication date: 2020
Author’s nationality: British
Original language: English
Length: 382 pages
Rating: 3.5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: purchased paperback
Why I read this: wanted to gift this to my mom but she hates when I buy her brand new books (prefers used or the library) so I figured I’d buy it “for myself”, read it, and then give it to her “used”. :-) She just moved into one of these upscale retirement homes!

>174 katiekrug: I bet it will be great on audio!

>173 dudes22: would be well worth using a gift card on!

The Fruit of the Tree by Edith Wharton

This is a lesser known novel by Edith Wharton that nevertheless has her characteristic deep dive into her characters' motivations and a look at social issues. In this novel, Wharton tackles two big issues of the day - the plight of factory workers and what the responsibility of the owners should be to improve their lives, and end of life decisions regarding prolonging a painful life through medication vs. choosing to end it.

Pretty different topics, right? And the novel is a bit like that. The first third has a pretty thorough focus on factory life and owner responsibility, the middle third becomes more of a bad marriage story, and the end is a happy ending disrupted by this end of life issue. Wharton does manage to tie it all together with some well thought out and developed characters, but I thought it was less successful than some of her other masterpieces.

There is still plenty to enjoy and appreciate here, but I wouldn't recommend it as a place to start with Wharton's writing.

Original publication date: 1907
Author’s nationality: American
Original language: English
Length: 416 pages
Rating: 3.5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: kindle
Why I read this: I've read Wharton's better known novels, so diving a bit deeper

I Am, I Am, I Am by Maggie O'Farrell

Brilliant memoir that uses the author's seventeen brushes with death to illuminate her life. O'Farrell writes a series of vignettes from various points in her life when she has had close calls with dying. As a woman only six years older than me, a lot of her life experiences resonated with me. I've never read any book that describes experiencing a miscarriage more accurately.

I absolutely loved this and highly recommend it.

Original publication date: 2017
Author’s nationality: British
Original language: English
Length: 304 pages
Rating: 5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: kindle, but I will likely buy a copy to reread
Why I read this: I've been meaning to and an LT review caught my attention to get to it next

Nothing but the Night by John Williams

In this dramatic novella, the main character is a young man who is obviously struggling. He has a troubled relationship with his father and is clearly in some sort of mental crisis as the short timeline unfolds. The root of his issues is finally revealed after an increasingly frantic unfolding of events.

This is John Williams's first novel. His writing is already confident and succinct, but I felt the dramatic subject matter didn't quite suit his writing style. I still highly recommend reading Stoner first. I think it's clearly his best book (I've now read all 4 of his novels), though all of his writing is good and worthwhile.

Original publication date: 1948
Author’s nationality: American
Original language: English
Length: 123 pages
Rating: 3.5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: paperback NYRB edition
Why I read this: off the shelf NYRB which I'm purchasing faster than I'm reading

Eileen by Otessa Moshfegh

Merry Christmas, everyone! Now for a review of the most non-Christmas-y Christmas book you can find. Only Otessa Moshfegh could write this.

It's 1964 and Eileen is a 24 year old young woman in a crisis. Her mother has died and her father is a violent alcoholic ex-cop. She lives with her father in filth, eating nothing, never cleaning herself, wearing her dead mother's clothes, drinking too much, and taking laxatives. She works at the local juvenile detention center in a meaningless desk job. When a new, glamorous woman comes to work at the detention center, events are put in motion in the week leading up to Christmas - what they will lead to becomes a mystery.

Seriously, Moshfegh pushes the boundaries of what is acceptable to say, especially by a woman author about a woman character, and I love it. Her writing is dark, sarcastic, and shocking. I imagine most people will be put off by her novels, but I love them.

Original publication date: 2015
Author’s nationality: American
Original language: English
Length: 260 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: kindle library book
Why I read this: it's been on my library wish list for a long time

The Blue by Nancy Bilyeau

This is a fun historical mystery set in the 1700s. The main character, Genevieve La Planché is a second generation Huegenot refugee living in London. She would like to be an artist, but finds most paths closed to women. Her grandfather is able to get her a job painting porcelain in Derby, but before she leaves a mysterious nobleman recruits her to spy for him. Her mission is to figure out the formula for a new blue paint color that Derby is working on.

While Genevieve finds out more about the porcelain industry she, of course, falls in love and has many adventures. Yes, it gets a bit unbelievable. But I was happy to go along for the ride. This is the kind of mystery I enjoy, with a fun setting, a little romance, light on the mystery elements, and a strong female lead character.

Perfect light and engaging reading for over the holidays, just don't read it expecting perfection. It's for fun!

Original publication date: 2018
Author’s nationality: American
Original language: English
Length: 439 pages
Rating: 3.5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: kindle sale purchase
Why I read this: off the kindle and in the mood for something light

And I think that's a wrap for my 2022 reading. Here are my stats - it's been a solid reading year for me.

2022 Book Stats

Books Read: 80
Pages Read/Pages per day: 26,940 total pages/74 pages per day
Average book length: 336 pages

Female/Male author ratio: 56/24
Print/kindle: 46/34

Nationalities:
US – 30
UK – 28
French – 3
German -3
Irish -3
North American Indigenous – 2
Canadian - 2
Zanzibar
Argentina
Turkey
Danish
Australian
Peruvian
Chinese
Nigerian-American
Austrian

Publication by decade:
2020s - 25
2010s – 19
2000s - 7
1990s – 1
1980s - 2
1970s – 4
1960s - 2
1950s – 3
1940s - 2
1930s – 2
1920s – 3
1910s – 1
1900s - 1
1870s - 3
1860s – 2
1840s - 1
1810s - 1
1780s - 1

Favorites:
My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh
Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe
Tea at Four o’Clock by Janet McNeill
The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak
The Mother of all Questions by Rebecca Solnit
Asphodel by H.D.
Companion Piece by Ali Smith
The Colony by Audrey Magee
The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope
Haven by Emma Donoghue
The Frozen Thames by Helen Humphreys
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
Middlemarch by George Eliot (reread)
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen (reread)

As much as I enjoy the category challenge, I think in 2023 I'm only going to maintain my Club Read thread. I have still joined the 2023 category challenge group and will follow everyone's threads. If you'd like to follow my reading, please star my Club Read 2023 thread!

https://www.librarything.com/topic/346894#n8012329

I usually follow you in both places, but I can see how it would be hard to maintain both. You'll probably still be hitting me with BBs.

>184 dudes22: It's a lot of copy and paste! I think I might end up missing my categories, but I'm going to give not using them a try. I'll look forward to following your reading!

Dropped a star to follow your Club Read thread!