26-ish books in 2022

[StColumbofNavron]

Roll up, roll up ...

Shiny new thread for 2022.

I am setting my target at 25 this year.

I want to read at least a min of 5 in hardcopy and at least 4 non-fiction.

DonEmmanuel, your list always reads like my absolutes goals TBR.

@WeeFae I absolutely loved The Family From One End Street when i was young. I think because I was the sort of wee girl who would go around the doors asking if there were any babies I could borrow (as you could in those days) so i really identified with the big sister. I can still visualise the illustrations.
Good luck with the chemo - not fun. Hope the reading helps.

@KobaniDaughters I'm going to order Still Life on audible based on your review. I have five credits to use up, and I'm not really getting into the swing of it, having joined nine months ago.
When I'm cooking or whatever, I tend to listen to a podcast like A Good Read or World Book Club rather than a full audiobook. I don't think I'm a very good listener actually; I tend to drift off and seem to concentrate better on the written word.
So far I've listened to Mayflies, Simon Schama's History of Britain part 1, a bit of The Dutch House and have Alan Cumming's autobiography waiting, which I'm looking forward to.

I listen to The Sleepy Bookshelf but that's deliberately designed to make you drift off!

@DonEmmanuelsDingleberries

I fancy some non-fiction next, so I'm going to start on Murderous Contagion: A Human History of Disease by Mary Dobson.

It's about the impact that diseases have had in shaping history from the Black Death to the AIDS epidemic.

That sounds interesting! Have added to my want to reads on Goodreads

Five Days in May, by John Lukacs - a reconstruction of the week Churchill became PM, up to and touching on Dunkirk. Fairly intense and detailed as it covers a limited time frame.

3. A Theatre for Dreamers, Polly Samson

This is a coming of age story told through a sort of stream of consciousness. 19 year old Erica travels to the Greek island of Hydra after her mother dies and to escape her abusive father. Her mother has left her a sum of money to live her dreams. She ends up mingling with a colony of writers, artists and poets who made Hydra their home in the 1960s. Overall, I thought that this was overwritten, but I stuck with it because I could really envision Hydra and the way it is spoken about mirrors how I feel about a particular space so it kept pulling me back in. I didn't know who a lot of the real life characters were, but I knew that they were there so I think that probably took away from the experience a little bit. A decent read though - 3 stars.

1. The House at Old Vine by Norah Lofts
2. The House at Sunset by Norah Lofts
3. Paperback Crush: The Totally Radical History of '80s and '90s Teen Fiction by Gabrielle Moss
4. The Girl with the Louding Voice by Adi Dare
5. The Red Tent by Anita Daimant
6. The Family from One End Street by Eve Garnett
7. Rock, Paper, Scissors by Alice Feeney

8. Small Pleasures by Claire Chambers Quite enjoyed this, a story about a journalist who investigates a 'virgin birth' and gets very involved with the family. Ending wasn't what I expected and I was left wondering what happened to them all afterwards.

8. The Dutch House - Ann Patchett
The life story of a brother and sister who lose both their parents, and then their home when their stepmother kicks them out. The books flips back and forth on the timeline of the narrator's (the brother) life, which can be a little confusing but is for the most part very well done. I liked the book a lot, even though I didn't really get much of an emotional connection with the main characters. I found it quite a soothing read, so I might try more of the author's books.

@livingonpurpose

8. The Dutch House - Ann Patchett The life story of a brother and sister who lose both their parents, and then their home when their stepmother kicks them out. The books flips back and forth on the timeline of the narrator's (the brother) life, which can be a little confusing but is for the most part very well done. I liked the book a lot, even though I didn't really get much of an emotional connection with the main characters. I found it quite a soothing read, so I might try more of the author's books.

I have this in my TBR pile, will try it soon.

2. The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter

This has been on my to do list for about ten years and I have been putting it off, I don't know why. Anyway, I loved it, it was magical and dark and I really enjoyed reading short stories, especially ones that lead into the next one in some form. I will definitely dip into them again.

My next read will be The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave, another Christmas gift.

@livingonpurpose I recommend Bel Canto by Ann Patchett, probably her most famous book. Also State of Wonder.
Neither is anything like The Dutch House. AP is like Rose Tremain in that she doesn't turn out different versions of the same book every time - one of the things I like about her as a writer.

No 2 finished yesterday. *Small Pleasures by Claire Chambers.
Really enjoyed this book and I really warmed to the Jean the main character.

highlandcoo thanks for those recommendations!

[quote highlandcoo]**@livingonpurpose* I recommend Bel Canto by Ann Patchett, probably her most famous book. Also State of Wonder*.
Neither is anything like The Dutch House. AP is like Rose Tremain in that she doesn't turn out different versions of the same book every time - one of the things I like about her as a writer.[/quote]
Thanks highlandcoo - I've reserved them both via my library app. I also saw that her book The Patron Saint of Liars is 99p at the moment so I picked that up. Have you read that one?

I think it's the only one I haven't read actually. I should, as she's one of my favourite authors.

Do come back and tell us all what you think of the books

Will do!

@Theworkhouse I LOVED The Mercies and gifted it to quite a few friends this Christmas

4. Wayward by Dana Spiotta
Kind of forced myself to finish this one, in the vein of spilt white middle aged woman, had the potential to be so much more than it was but was ultimately just whingey. I don’t recommend

@KobaniDaughters It's absolutely engrossing, I only wish that I could spend all day reading it!

4. The Adventures of China Iron, Gabriela Cabezón Cámara (trans. Fiona Mackintosh and Iona Macintyre)

I really enjoyed this. It came as part of a diverse book sub that was a gift.

It is inspired by a famous Argentine poem Martin Fierro but is a fictionalised story of his wife, who turns up in one line of the poem. There are three main sections, her travel over the pampa with and English woman and a man they pick up along the way; some time that they spend at a fort; and then in Indian territory. She is very young, around 14 but has a sexual and life awakening along the way. The sex is quite graphic but well done I thought. It does touch on lesbianism and I guess what we would now call trans but it was matter of fact and not preachy. Things just happened. The language was absolutely wonderful, in as much as I was reading the translated words.

3.5 I think because it is better than my standard 3 stars but not quite there with my 4 stars. That might change by the end of the year if it stays with me.

6. The Algebraist by Iain M Banks

This is the third time I’ve read it so it’s a firm favourite for me! If you like sci-fi then I strongly recommend it. It’s a rambling epic about the search for a formula that will reveal the location of a series of wormholes allowing cross galaxy travel. It’s set during the threat of a terrible war. It’s quite funny in places and quite moving.

My next book is Death comes for the Archbishop by Willa by Willa Cather. It was written in 1927 and is about a catholic bishop trying to set up diocese in Mexico. I don’t know much about it other than it’s a classic I haven’t got around to yet.

I’m trying to mix up “easier” more familiar stuff with things to challenge me a bit. I’m gearing up to tackle The Sound and the Fury which I’ve been meaning to read for years but I’m intimidated by its reputation!

1. The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4 by Sue Townsend. Sniggered away at this - just as funny as I had remembered!
2. Bess Of Hardwick: First Lady of Chatsworth, 1527-1608 by Mary S. Lovell. Fascinating biography of one of England's most powerful women of the Tudor era. Intricately researched and very enjoyable.

Currently reading The House of Glass by Hadley Freeman. Started this last year but my concentration span was very poor!

I love Mary Lovell, she is an excellent biographer.

1. The Shape of Darkness buy Laura Purcell. Gothic thriller about a silhouette artist whose subjects are being killed. She consults a child medium. It was a good read but I found the ending upsetting.

I not sure I can keep up with you lovely lot but this thread is great for recommendations