QuestingA's 2022 ROOTS

Total books read: 75
Fiction: 68
Non-fiction: 7
Updated 31 Dec 2022

New books: 78
Books from my sister: 21
Books from other sister: 1
Total new books: 100

1. Short Stories From Mongolia

I started this in 2019, then put it down. Picked it up again and finished it. Short stories from Mongolian communist authors.

Welcome back, QA. Good to see you back with the ROOTers.

Welcome back and happy ROOTing!

Welcome back, and happy new year!

Welcome back and have a great reading year!

>3 connie53: thanks Connie, MissWatson, Jackie_K and rabbitprincess !! Looking forward to seeing what you all read this year!

2. Q by Luther Blissett

This has been on my TBR pile forever. I can't remember where it came from, but I possibly got it in Australia. It was great.

3. Murder's a Swine by Nap Lombard

Well this was fabulous. I bought it last year.

>9 QuestingA: That looks really good! I'll have to keep a lookout for it. Cheers!

>10 rocketjk: hi rocketjk, I hope you find it and like it!

4. The Witch of Prague by F. Marion Crawford

Not sure what I expected, but this was pretty good. According to the receipt I bought it in May 2017.

5. Wake Up, Sir by Jonathan Ames

Not sure how many years this has been on the pile. I bought it after watching, and loving, Bored to Death. It wasn't what I expected. Not particularly funny, but it was interesting. The reviews on the cover declaimed it as "hilarious", which it was not. The narrator is struggling with alcohol addiction and has an imaginary Jeeves to help him cope and make sense of the world.

Prague in Legends illustrations by Jan Klimes

I got this in June 2017.

6. The Infatuations by Javier Marias and translated by Margaret Jull Costa

I bought this in October 2016 in Madrid during a book group trip.

been busy reading, glad you're back with us!

>16 cyderry: Hi cyderry! Im pleased to be back! January is always the best ROOT month as all my books are eligible. Things tend to slow down from February. Last year I read a crazy number of books (for me).

7. These Names Make Clues by E.C.R. Lorac

I bought this last year. Quite fun.

8. Due to a Death by Mary Kelly

Bought last year.

9. Celtic Myths and Legends by Eoin Neeson

Not sure how long I've owned this. Maybe 15 years or more. Very pleased I have read it.

10. The Crime of Father Amaro by Eça de Queiròs and translated by Margaret Jull Costa

This has been on the pile for about 10 years. It was very good.

11. The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett

I think this has been on the pile for maybe four or five years.

12. The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chabon

I've had this a few years, not sure how many. It took me a while to appreciate the story, and I spent as much time looking up words in google as I did reading the book.

Hi QA, I've been away from LT Threads for a while. Too much going on in my life the last months. I see you are still going strong with your reading. 12 books read already! Great job.

13. Revelations of a Lady Detective by William Stephens Hayward

I've had this since 2013. Sorry it took so long to read.

>24 connie53: hi Connie! I hope you're well. Yes, I'm reading lots at the moment. Hope you're reading some good things.

14. Holy Disorders by Edmund Crispin

This has maybe been on the pile since 2015 or 2016. My favourite Edmund Crispin yet. I think Fen is growing on me.

15. Crisis by Frank Gardner

Think I've had this since maybe 2017. Think I picked it up at a literary festival, while I was waiting in the bookshop for a friend. Anyway, an easy to read thriller with an easy to follow plot. I'm pleased the hero saved London, but he seems to have experienced no reprecusions for his horrific cock-up early on in the book, which doesn't sit right.

16. Two-Way Murder by E.C.R Lorac

Another good mystery. I bought this last year.

17. Till Death Do Us Part by John Dickson Carr

I bought this last year. It was good.

18. Murder in the Basement by Anthony Berkeley

I bought this last year.

19. Himself by Jess Kidd

I've had this more than three years, but can't be more accurate than that. I found it slightly unsatisfying and I'm not sure how everything fit together.

Hi Q, Yes, I'm still reading. I had a bit of a dip in March, but some great thrillers brought me back in my reading mood.

20. The Widow of Bath by Margot Bennett

I bought this last year. It was very clever and entertaining.

21. Murder After Christmas by Rupert Latimer

I bought this last year.

22. Requiem for a Mezzo by Carola Dunn

Goodness knows how long this has been on the pile. Daisy is always enjoyable.

23. Death of Riley by Rhys Bowen

I think this was given to me last year, by my sister. It was good and I enjoyed it slightly more than the first book.

Hi QA. I've been neglecting the ROOTers for some time. Live, sunny days, babysitting the grandkids and doing volunteer work for the library at Lonne's school. And reading of course. Today is a rainy day with some thunderstrokes. A perfect Sunday for reading al those neglected threads.

I see you are still reading those ROOTs. Great job.

24. Devoured by D.E. Meredith

I can't remember where this came from or how long I've had it. It was OK but would've benefitted from better editing. And there was, to my mind, a glaring oversight in the reasons people were so interested in Broderig's letters.

>38 connie53: Hi Connie, hope you're well. It sounds like you're enjoying the spring/summer weather. It is nice to read outside in the sun. I've been doing a bit of that too the last few weeks. Thanks for checking in!

25. The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster

I remember buying this from my local bookshop, but can't remember when. A while ago.

>40 QuestingA: I'm fine and busy. The weather now is rainy but next week will be very fine, they say.

26.To Kill the President by Sam Bourne

Again, not sure when I bought this. A while ago.

27. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

28. The Third Policeman by Flann O'Brien

This came from my sister, who read it with her book group last year.

29. The Dungeon House by Martin Edwards

I picked this up off the library sale trolley a number of years ago.

Hi QA. So good to see you are still reading a lot. You have almost reached your goal, I see. Great job.

Yesterday it was to hot to be outside, up to 40 C. I just took it easy inside with all doors, windows and curtains closed.

>47 connie53: thanks Connie! My work cranked up the air conditioning over the two really hot days and I was wearing a cardigan to warm up! Crazy. Pleased you found a way to deal with the heat.

30. The Corpse in the Waxworks by John Dickson Carr

Got this last year. It was good fun.

31. Strange Hate: Antisemitism, Racism, and the Limits of Diversity by Keith khan-Harris

32. The Order of the Day by Eric Vuillard

I don't know how this got on the pile. Maybe from 2019. It was great.

33. Epitaph for a Spy by Eric Ambler

I think i got this is 2020, maybe 2019. It was good.

Funny coincidence, I just read this, too, in a very ancient edition that's been with me for decades.

34. Pilgrims by Matthew Kneale

I bought this last year. It was good. Not as good as English Passengers, which was great, but I was very invested in the characters by the end and hoped everything would turn out ok.

>52 MissWatson: hi MissWatson! I discovered Eric Ambler a few years ago and then bought a stack of his books in a sale. I enjoyed Epitaph for a Spy. Hope you liked it too.

>54 QuestingA: Yes, I was happy to find that it hasn't lost its charm over the years.

35. The Lights of Prague by Nicole Jarvis

My sister gave me this last year after reading it with her book group. I enjoyed it very much.

And that's 35! It looks like I'll go over the target again this year.

Congrats on reaching your goal!

Hurray! Congrats!

Congrats on reaching your goal, QA. Good job!

36. Bodies from the Library 4 selected and introduced by Tony Medawar

I bought this last year.

>57 MissWatson: thanks!

>58 rabbitprincess: Thank you!

>59 connie53: Thanks Connie. Next year I'll think about a larger target.

37. Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi and translated by Jonathan Wright

My sister read this with her book group last year then gave it to me. It was very good.

38. Kitty Peck and the Music Hall Murders by Kate Griffin

If I didn't buy this in 2019 then it was earlier than that.

39. Settling Scores: Sporting Mysteries edited by Martin Edwards

This has been on the pile since 2020.

40. The Shroud Maker by Kate Ellis

I got this from a library sale trolley, way before covid but I can't remember the year. It was good.

Hi QA. I want to wish you and yours all the best for 2023 and Happy Holidays.

I hope to see you in 2023 and see if you set a bigger target.

41. The Ugly Game: The Qatari Plot to Buy the World Cup by Heidi Blake and Jonathan Calvert

Borrowed from my sister who bought it last year.

>68 connie53: hi Connie, best wishes and Merry Christmas to you and your family.
I'm planning to go for a bigger target next year as my post-pandrmic reading rate doesn't look like slowing down. Thanks for running the challenge. I look forward to seeing what you and everybody is reading next year.