libraryperilous browses further among her own stacks in 2023

I'm Diana, and I read mostly science fiction, historical fantasies and mysteries, classics, and middle grade adventures. I also like nonfiction about marine biology, zoology (esp. birds), maritime history, and WWII Resistance movements.

I have three reading goals for 2023:

1) Read each monthly book club pick. My mom always completes our book club's assignments.
2) Read books off my own shelves. I've made a TBR shelf. By coincidence, over 3/4 of the spines have shades of blue on them. The selection looks pretty!
3) No buying books in 2023 until SantaThing (except on September 26th, when the last Cece Rios book publishes.)

October update: I've failed at all three of these goals.

I hope everyone's remaining 2023 reads are delightful, edifying, and/or comforting.

Favorite 2022 reads (limited to books published in 2022):

Picture books:

Hot Dog
Night Lunch
Poopsie Gets Lost
The Sea in the Way

Middle grade:

Always, Clementine
Cece Rios and the King of Fears
Duet
Looking for Emily
A Rover's Story

Nonfiction:

Otherlands
The Secret Perfume of Birds
Why Sharks Matter

Fiction:

Daughter of the Moon Goddess
Even Though I Knew the End
Heart of the Sun Warrior
The Immortality Thief
The Matchmaker's Gift
The Murder of Mr. Wickham
Under Fortunate Stars
The Wild Hunt

YA:

Strike the Zither

Best (and favorite!) book of 2022: The Wild Hunt, by Emma Seckel

Welcome!

>1 libraryperilous: "October update: I've failed at all three of these goals.

Hahaha! Love it. I believe that even when we fail the goals we set, they still help us to have focus. At least until the next squirrel passes by.

Happy new thread! Goals are overrated ;)

>1 libraryperilous: Now, now. Let's not say it's a complete failure. Let's recognize that it can take many small steps before we achieve stated goals and those steps don't always fall within the 30 day span of a month.

You might rather look at #3 of you goals and think to yourself that by buying books, you've been supportive of the needs of others to earn a living. (That's how I've always excused my own profligacy.) As for the other goals, monthly book group selections don't always satisfy one's own emotional requirements. And consider how removing some of those "nice shades of blue" books from the TBR shelf would disturb the aesthetic pleasure. All these aspects should be factored in.

Happy new thread!

>4 MrsLee:, >5 curioussquared:, >6 jillmwo: Thank you for your support during this difficult time. :)

>6 jillmwo: I do find my blue shelf soothing.

monthly book group selections don't always satisfy one's own emotional requirements

My mom gets stressed if she DNFs a book, and I DNF liberally. I try to select titles I'm 99% sure she'll like. We do have overlapping tastes, so for the last three months I've been reading books and then picking them for the next month's selection. It's kind of cheating, but not really?

We're getting three new Singing Hills Cycle novellas! Announcement on Tor Books' blog.

Happy new thread!

Happy new thread.

I DNF a lot these days. I'm not wasting time on a book that I'm not enjoying. I've also been trying not to buy as much, but sometimes you just have to. I share my Kindle library with my daughter, so I tend to buy books that I think we'll both enjoy when they go on sale. (But I don't set goals.)

>7 libraryperilous: It's great news that there will be more of the Singing Hills stories, but to have to wait until May of next year?

Also I think your handling of the book group selection is entirely sensible. I've used that form of "cheating" myself upon occasion.

>8 Karlstar:, >9 clamairy: Thank you!

>9 clamairy:, I've been DNFing for several years now, and it's so liberating!

>10 jillmwo: The next one is perfect for spooky season! What marketing guru settled on May?!

100. Hamlet: a psychological thriller of life under an authoritarian's thumb; or, tell me you miss Kit Marlowe without telling me you miss Kit Marlowe. 4.5 stars.

101. A Traitor in Whitehall: first in a new cozyish historical mystery series set inside Churchill's War Rooms during WWII. Fun but nothing special. The heroine, Evelyne Redfern, loves the Lord Peter Whimsy series. Her new colleague, David Poole, prefers Dashiell Hammett. 4 stars.

102. The Hexologists: first in a new fantasy mystery series, set in a steampunk Victorian analogue, and featuring a middle-aged happily married couple who reluctantly agree to help the king's secretary solve a buried family mystery. Isolde is a hexologist, and her husband, Warren, is a baking aficionado / himbo. I honestly found their happy marriage annoying. They have a magic bag that houses magical artifacts, including a learned and gourmand dragon. Anyway, this was interesting. The overwrought prose didn't bother me. It's supposed to sound like a steampunk penny dreadful. 4 stars.

103. A Bright Heart: Mingshin backed the wrong horse in a deadly dispute between four crown princes. Unfortunately, she discovers this while broken-boned and lying in a pool of her own blood. With her dying breath, she begs the gods for a second chance and is astonished to wake up the next day ... only it's two years earlier and Mingshin can remember every betrayal. She sets out to make better choices in this timeline, but she'd also like to know why the gods answered her prayer and what an inherited stone pendant might mean.

This timeline also features an enigmatic emissary from a nearby kingdom, and I found him a lot more smolderingly interesting than the prince.

4.5 stars. This was a fun, fast-paced YA historical fantasy.

104. Nothing Else But Miracles: Twelve-year-old Dory and her two brothers fend for themselves after their dad heads Over There. Their Lower East Side neighbors help with meals and kindness, but a nasty new landlord threatens to send the kids to an orphanage. Dory finds an abandoned hotel through a local restaurant's dumbwaiter, and the kids make themselves a temporary home.

Albus' first middle grade WWII novel, A Place to Hang the Moon, knocked it out of the park, so I was curious to see what she'd do with the New York City setting. I loved Dory's big yet angry heart, her love for the Statue of Liberty, and the atmosphere of a city both apart from the war and waiting on baited breath for its end. Plus, the abandoned hotel (which really exists) was amazing. This is a proper middle grade adventure! Highly recommended. 4.5 stars.

Hi Diana. 😀 I'm slowly catching up with the threads of those who commented on my new thread (two weeks ago... 😳), and you were the first! To follow up on your comment, The Manor House Governess was very interesting - clever approach indeed. I kept forgetting that it was set in the modern day until Bron mentioned his phone or some other technological invention!

>1 libraryperilous: I concur that you should be gentle with yourself for your goal "failures", and I especially like the idea of patting yourself on the back for supporting authors' efforts. Yay, you!

>13 libraryperilous: A Bright Heart sounds intriguing!! I hardly ever read YA, but I love the idea. Thanks for the BB.

>14 libraryperilous: Ooh, I just put this on hold. I also loved A Place to Hang the Moon so looking forward to this one!!

In this house we read Christmas mysteries before Halloween

>16 curioussquared: I hope you enjoy it. It took me a little time to warm up to Dory, but it really does feel like a classic 'when the adult's away the children will play' adventure story!

>15 PlatinumWarlock: No worries! I lose track of threads all the time. A Bright Heart is very YA. If the Chinese court intrigue story appeals, I think Daughter of the Moon Goddess is the best one, although it has a YA-ish love triangle, lol.

I kept forgetting that it was set in the modern day until Bron mentioned his phone or some other technological invention

I love this! I definitely will read this soon. :)

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105. The Wildstorm Curse: theater kids put on a cursed play and try to foil a centuries-old demon. 4 stars.

106. The Puppets of Spelhorst: five puppet friends lose one another before finding their purpose in life. 4.5 stars.

107. The Twelve Books of Christmas: bookbinder goes to a Scottish castle to solve the theft of missing Christmas books. These characters have so much money, lol. 4 stars.

108. Murder Under the Mistletoe: Jane Wunderly meets Danvers' family, but the holiday is awkward with a crook in their midst. 4.5 stars.

109. Murder by Degrees: well-written debut historical mystery featuring an Anglo-Indian doctor living in Philadelphia after the Civil War. She uses her medical skills to solve a murder, but she faces skepticism from the police and from male doctors. Great series start! 4.5 stars.

110. The Fellowship of the Ring: audiobook narrated by Andy Serkis. Enjoyable, although some of the voices were too reminiscent of the films' characters, and I didn't like the Gandalf voice at all. Thanks for the rec, clam! 4 stars.

111. What the River Knows: Inez's parents die while on an archaeological dig in Egypt. She travels from Buenos Aires to Cairo to uncover their secrets, but she's foiled by Whit, her uncle's mysterious and handsome secretary. Ooh, that ending. You're a meanie, Isabel Ibañez! 4.5 stars.

112. Murder at Midnight: Lily Adler is snowed in for Christmas at a house party. Someone dies, and her dear friend Captain Jack Hartley confesses to the crime. Who really did it? 4 stars.

113. Sweetness All Around: Josephine and her seamstress mother experience financial difficulties, so they move from their comfortable apartment to a trailer park. Jo discovers that her new neighbor's daughter was kidnapped, and she decides that she's meant to solve the crime. This is steeped in the 1970s. 4.5 stars.

114. Bookshops and Bonedust: prequel to Legends and Lattes. A young, overly confident Viv is injured during battle and must recover in the bland seaside town of Murk. Despite her restlessness, she makes some new friends and helps one, Fern, restore her bookshop. There's also a light mystery to solve, and I think the epilogue sets up the next volume in the series nicely. I listened to this and enjoyed the author's narration. 4 stars.

115. A Christmas Vanishing: Mariah Ellison, the crusty grand dame who is Charlotte Pitt's grandmother, is invited by an old friend to spend Christmas in a village outside London. When Mariah arrives, she is rudely turned away from her friend's home, and her friend hasn't been seen for a couple of days. Mariah reconnects with another old friend and meets a handsome former naval captain who is eager to assist her. It feels fitting for Perry's last Christmas novel to focus on an old woman who did bad things when she was younger but finds her way to redemption in her dotage. 5 stars.

>18 libraryperilous: I'm glad you enjoyed Fellowship enough to give it 4 stars. I appreciated the fact he was imitating his co-stars, but I also wondered if some people would find that disconcerting. Bookshops and Bonedust is up next, as soon as I finish System Collapse.

>19 clamairy: I'm starting Wells' book soon. I hope you enjoy Viv's latest adventure! I'm number 60 on the hold list for the The Two Towers. I definitely liked it well enough to listen to the whole series on audio.

My 2023 SantaThing entry is up. As always, comments and suggestions are appreciated. This year, I'm asking for classics, including British crime classics and Victorian novels, as well as Sue Lynn Tan readalikes. Thank you!

libraryperilous' SantaThing entry

Just popping in to wish you a happy holiday, Diana! I hope the coming year is full of peace and joy. :)

>18 libraryperilous: I'm intrigued by Murder by Degrees and What the River Knows, and have Bookshops and Bonedust on my list already :)

Have you read The Hands of the Emperor? I think you might like it. It could stand to be a little shorter, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading ~1000 pages of characters who are good and kind and working hard to put that energy into the world.

It's been a while since you've posted. I hope that's because you've been busy with good things. Sending you my best wishes for the season!

Happy New Year! Hope you’re doing well!

>21 PlatinumWarlock: Thank you, Lavinia! I hope you had a joyful holiday season!

>22 curioussquared: I think What the River Knows might be up your alley. :) Thanks for the rec. That one has been making the rounds in the Green Dragon. It sounds like Goblin Emperor fan fic, which is intriguing!

>23 Sakerfalcon: Thank you, Claire. Happy belated holidays!

>24 LibraryLover23: Thank you! Happy 2024!

116. Meet Me Under the Mistletoe: I really liked Bayliss' A Season for Second Chances, but this was disappointing. The main character has awful friends and does something awful to her new boyfriend. It's presented as okay because her intentions were good. Three stars.

117. Out There: Julia's father is convinced he was abducted by aliens, so the two go to Roswell to pinpoint the location of his abduction. Julia begins to realize that her father is not reliable but she loves him anyway. I think this book was a little too kind to conspiracists. Four stars.

118. Wizkit: Wizkit the cyclops cat is ordered by her teacher to return overdue Book to his library. She'd rather stay home and conjure snacks all day, but Book's enthusiasm for adventure is infectious. Four stars.

119. The Princess and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich: The Prince and the Dressmaker vibes but not as successful, largely because Count Camembert is written as a ditz who only knows fashion. The fashions were grand, though! Four stars.

120. Northranger: Cade is closeted and stuck in rural Texas. He survives by watching horror films, but his overactive imagination leads him to think his new boyfriend is a murderer. Four stars.

121. Misfit Mansion: Iris and the other monsters live with a kind former monster hunter, but Iris longs for the freedom to explore the nearby town, especially during its scary fall festival. Adorable! Five stars.

122. The Snowcat Prince: Syv is sent on an impossible quest by his scheming older brothers, but he discovers that the snowcats' legends are twisted tales. Can Syv right a terrible wrong, or will he be exiled for his trouble? The artwork is gorgeous, especially the sandfoxes. 4.5 stars.

123. Cat of Death!: odd graphic novel about a spoiled cat YouTube star who's framed for an atomic weapons attack. Four stars.

124. Chef's Kiss: Ben Cook has trouble landing a publishing job after college. In desperation, he takes a job as a cook in a vegetarian restaurant. The restaurant's pet pig, Watson, and handsome sous chef, Liam, both want Ben to succeed. Ben's parents aren't as supportive. A sweet story. 4 stars.

125. Ghost Book: July Chen feels invisible. Even her father doesn't notice her much. She can see ghosts, but she's surprised when William, a boy her age caught between the living and ghost worlds, notices her. The two strike up a friendship, and set out to solve the mysteries of William's bad luck near death experiences and July's near invisibility. 4 stars.

126. Crimes of Cymru: crime short stories set in Wales or written by Welsh authors. This was my first introduction to the British Library's Crime Classics reprints. While most of the stories were fun to read, they weren't really mysteries. They mostly were crime stories. Interesting, but not a keeper. I passed it to a seatmate on a flight who'd forgotten her books on her nightstand. Four stars.

127. The Art of Destiny: This series just gets better and better. I loved the way each main character's story arc developed in this one, and I can't wait for their destinies to clash in the next volume. This is a really fun and fast-paced fantasy series with humor and martial arts action. 4.5 stars.

128. Grave Expectations: Claire is a Hot Mess, but that's okay, because she's Not Like the Other Girls. She has Sophie, her best friend who's now a ghost. Together, the two set out to solve a murder. I know Europeans view smoking differently than Americans, but your heroine is not cool because she smokes so much that she's out of breath when running. Three stars.

129. The Unexpected Adventures of C.A.T.: Chaya loves cats and discovers that eating a bite of magical cat food will turn her in to a cat each night. Adventures ensue. Four stars.

130. Where Peace Is Lost: fantastic planetary romance in the vein of Janet Kagan. Kel, a refugee living in anonymity, is sucked into duty as guard for a mission to deactivate a deadly war machine. This is really, really good science fiction with fantasy elements to the technology Kel uses. Five stars.

131. The Ghosts of Rancho Espanto: Rafa is shipped to a ranch in New Mexico for the summer after an RPG-style heist of the lunchroom slushie machine goes pear-shaped. The ranch is more fun than Rafa thought, and there's the small matter of the ghost who keeps trying to get Rafa in trouble. Four stars.

132. Chaos Terminal: not as good as the first one, and less of a mystery. Still a fun read, although I dislike the romance Lafferty has introduced. Four stars.

133. Sherlock Holmes and the Twelve Thefts of Christmas: part of the Titan Books' reimagined Holmes. This was okay, but the mystery was too convoluted and had gaps. Some reviews mentioned that this owes more to the BBC show than the original stories. I've not seen the show. Was Watson an insecure whiner in it? Three stars.

134. My Not-So-Great French Escape: Rylan and his ex-best friend go to a summer camp in the French countryside. The farm seems like a fun place, and Rylan learns to make his own friends. Four stars.

135. The Apartment House on Poppy Hill: basically an author-as-celebrity vanity project, and not nearly as cute or charming as the breathless reviews would have one believe. Three stars.

136. A Study in Crimson: my kind of Holmes retelling, set during WWII and with a Jack the Ripper imitator on the loose. I love what Harris has done with this series, and you can tell he loves both the original stories and the 1940s film adaptations. 4.5 stars.

2024 thread here: https://librarything.com/topic/356964.