26-ish books in 2022

1. How We Disappeared - Jing Jing Lee

2. The Confession - Jessie Burton

3. A Gentleman in Moscow - Amor Towles 4) The Vanishing Half - Brit Bennett

4. The Siege - Helen Dunmore

5. Rivers of London - Ben Aaranovitch

6. Moon over Soho - Ben Aaranovich

7. Circus of Wonders - Elizabeth MacNeal 9) The Mad Women's Ball - Victoria Mas. 10) The Light Between Oceans - ML Stedman

8. The Sin Eater - Megan Campisi

9. The Paper Palace - Miranda Cowley Heller

10. The Huntress - Kate Quinn - this was an exceptionally compelling read. A carefully researched novel set in the aftermath of WW2, combing the stories of an American young woman, a British war journalist and a female Fighter Pilot for the Russian Army's 'night witches'. structurally this book is clever and it's a real page turner , I've devoured it over 3 days and will keep an eye out for other books by Kate Quinn.

19. Hungry by Grace Dent - Grace is The Guardian's restaurant critic, this is the story of her life from the early days in a working class home in Carlisle to her move to London after university and rise to fame as a restaurant critic. It is also the story of her relationship with her parents which changes dramatically over the years. Very enjoyable read.

12 Find Them Dead by Peter James
This is the 16th Roy Grace book, I enjoy them well enough, but I don't think they are as good as they used to be. Perhaps time to retire him off. I have the next one to read, which my mum says has a good ending.

My next read is The Brighton Mermaid by Dorothy Koomson which I am REALLY enjoying so far!* *

1. How We Disappeared - Jing Jing Lee

2. The Confession - Jessie Burton

3. A Gentleman in Moscow - Amor Towles 4) The Vanishing Half - Brit Bennett

4. The Siege - Helen Dunmore

5. Rivers of London - Ben Aaranovitch

6. Moon over Soho - Ben Aaranovich

7. Circus of Wonders - Elizabeth MacNeal 9) The Mad Women's Ball - Victoria Mas. 10) The Light Between Oceans - ML Stedman

8. The Sin Eater - Megan Campisi

9. The Paper Palace - Miranda Cowley Heller
   I liked this enough to see it through, but there were times I found it long winded. I found it quite hard to empathise with the main character, but some of the others were well developed. Worth a read but not top of my list.

Book 6 Coraline

17. Marriage Of A Thousand Lies by S.J. Sindu - I enjoyed this one. The novel focuses on Lucky (Lakshmi), but I would have liked to have some more development of some of the side characters, particularly her husband, Kris, whose sudden desire for a family was never fully fleshed out. As an immigrant in need of a green card, he arguably had more motivations to marry than Lucky did, but also seemed at times to have developed genuine feelings for Lucky. Showing his perspective would have made for a more complex and interesting story. Despite that, I'd recommend this book overall.

18: Summerwater by Sarah Moss (audio) - a day in the lives of several families staying on a remote Scottish holiday lodge park, in the rain. Then something shocking happens. One of those books where on the face of it nothing much happens and yet you get drawn into the lives of each family and individual (all in separate chapters) and their deepest thoughts. The locations are vividly described and I found it completely gripping, listened to the whole thing in one day.

17: Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix - audio. Needs no explanation really. Taken several weeks!

I've just finished book number 5 - Pretending to dance by Diane Chamberlain.

Need to up my game. I'm behind

1. How We Disappeared - Jing Jing Lee

2. The Confession - Jessie Burton

3. A Gentleman in Moscow - Amor Towles

4. The Vanishing Half - Brit Bennett

5. The Siege - Helen Dunmore

6. Rivers of London - Ben Aaranovitch

7. Moon over Soho - Ben Aaranovich

8. Circus of Wonders - Elizabeth MacNeal

9. The Mad Women's Ball - Victoria Mas.

10. The Light Between Oceans - ML Stedman

11. The Sin Eater - Megan Campisi - I picked this up in a charity shop and wasn't sure at first but actually I enjoyed it a lot. It's a mixture of Historical Fiction and crime, quite an original and imaginative book. I read it in two days so it captured my attention!

I've not read the book but love the film, it's such good family watching.

Thanks @MargotMoon, I've added Stardust to my list!

@Puddock1 Neverwhere is great, isn't it! I liked Stardust as well, and the film of it is really good

Sorry for the bad formatting in my post!

Haven't posted for a long time!

1. Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie. Quite enjoyed this although kind of guessed the ending.

1. The Long Call by Ann Cleeves. I loved the Shetland series so gave this a go. The story followed a similar formula and main characters were interesting. Pretty good but not sure I'll read the rest of them.

10. A Month in the Country " by J.L. Carr. A real gem of a book! Tim Birkin, a veteran of World War I reminisces about his time in Yorkshire during the summer of 1920. It's a beautifully written account of his time spent uncovering a church mural in the Yorkshire countryside. There's not much of a story to it but it is very poetic and nostalgic, and demonstrates the healing power of art, nature and love.

11. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. Brilliant book! I've never read anything by Neil Gaiman before but will definitely try some others if anyone can recommend. I loved the descriptions, humour and characters in this book. Highly recommend!

12. How the Marquis Got His Coat Back by Neil Gaiman. A short story that continues on from Neverwhere. Really enjoyed this too.

13. Learning to Swim" by Clare Chambers. Got this in a kindle deal and bought on the back of having read and enjoyed Small Pleasures*. A coming-of-age family drama which was a good read although ending was maybe a bit too perfect and possibly more suited to young adults.

14. The Foundling by Stacey Halls. Another kindle deal bought based on having enjoyed "The Familiars". Historical fiction about the Foundling Hospital in London and set in the 1750s. I wasn't so keen on this, especially the ending.

Currently reading and enjoying 12 Birds to Save Your Life: Nature's Lessons in Happiness by Charlie Corbett.

16.The Marmalade Diaries by Ben Aitken. Ben needs somewhere to live, so goes to lodge with Winnie who is 50 years his senior and recently widowed. In the middle of a covid pandemic. Winnie needs a bit of help around the house but is very set in her ways. Not a lot happens (lockdown anyone) but the relationship between the pair develops from polite and distant to fondness and full of banter, as they breakfast on toast and marmalade every day.

Does anyone know how to switch off the automatic paragraph numbering which is on here now?

1. How We Disappeared - Jing Jing Lee

2. The Confession - Jessie Burton

3. A Gentleman in Moscow - Amor Towles

4. The Vanishing Half - Brit Bennett

5. The Siege - Helen Dunmore

6. Rivers of London - Ben Aaranovitch

7. Moon over Soho - Ben Aaranovich

8. Circus of Wonders - Elizabeth MacNeal

9. The Mad Women's Ball - Victoria Mas.

10. The Light Between Oceans - ML Stedman I've had this on my TBR pile for a long time and I really really enjoyed it. It was so sad, but very well written and an engaging exploration of loss, grief, guilt and the different ways it can manifest. So glad I found time to read it.

16, The Very Hungry Bookworm by Lucy Mangan. I've had to go and order a few old favourites on the back of this!

Yes, it was. I should probably read up on Russian history to fully understand all the references!

Have been lurking but haven't posted yet this year.

So far I've only read 7, the one I'm reading is Love Marriage by Monica Ali which was 99p on Kindle is well above the usual standard of 99p books.

Don't think I'm going to make the 26 this year but I'm going on holiday soon abs have another week booked in August so you never now

10. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo Absolutely brilliant, loved it!

11. Animal Farm A very quick read, enjoyed it, if that's the right word to use.