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.

Welcome @mamaduckbone. It’s never too late. I read Gentleman and Players by Joanne Harris a couple of years ago and have been waiting for the others set at the school to be in kindle deals (or tye charity shop). Chocolat comes up every other week (not yet read). I get her email updates and I really like her.

Finished my first book Where the Crawdads Sing which contrary to lots of you recently I have to say I loved. I bought it on a Kindle deal about a year ago and then read so many negative reviews on here that I ignored it. However, from the very first page I was completely absorbed by it. I loved Kya's resourcefulness in the early chapters - reminded me of Dicey in Homecoming by Cynthia Voigt. I googled North Carolina marshes and grits and biscuits so I could get a better mental image of everything...enjoyed the mystery element and the ending...

So that'll teach me to listen to other people instead of trying a book for myself!

I'm enjoying the love on here for One End Street. I read it as a child in a block of flats in London and couldn't picture what their street looked like, but after living in Leeds for nearly 3 decades I've got a much better idea!

@MargotMoon it is very much a love or severe dislike, there doesn’t appear to be much in between. I’m glad you loved it, there is a lot or mediocrity in books I find so it’s great when we find something we really connect with.

@MargotMoon

I agree with you about the dangers of taking on other peoples opinion before you’ve read the book. Individual opinions are a pretty poor gauge unless you know that persons tastes and generally align with them. A collective “star” rating can be useful although I’m struck by how extreme a lot of people can be on places like Goodreads and Amazon - a lot of 5 star and 1 star reviews. I would seriously need to be reading a pile of crap to give 1 star and would only give 5 stars to something engrossing that I thought was also well written.
Sometimes a book finds you at the right time… I remember being enchanted by Wild by Cheryl Strayed because of what I was feeling in my life at the time. That book faced a lot of criticism which I felt was irrelevant to my enjoyment of it. I lived in North Carolina for a while in my 20’s so have a certain nostalgia for some of the domestic details of Crawdads - sometimes it’s the little things that resonate

There can also be a lot of virtue signalling and posturing around some titles… look how intellectual or progressive I am ( not referring to Crawdads here) I was listening to Jane Garvey on her podcast talk about reading and her enjoyment of Ken Follett and her dislike of intellectual snobbery around reading or literature. I will remind myself of that when feeling guilty for enjoyment of some populist or “middle brow” title.

@Divebar2021 you are absolutely right about snobbery. I also agree about the star ratings. There are only about 17 books EVER that have 5 stars from me, a large proportion of what I read is 3 Stars which means I liked or enjoyed it and would probably mention it to someone who I thought would like it. 4 stars I get about 2-3 a year.

Book 4 The Bad Beginning- Lemony Snicket read to the children and we have moved on to book 2.

Book 5 Three Hours by Rosamund Lupton I found this book brilliant, I could hardly put it down. Now I'll be honest I did predict some of the end fairly early on and it was all a little neat - however, despite that I still found myself holding my breath quite a lot and thoroughly enjoyed it. I highly recommend this book.

I've moved to something lighter now and am reading Aisling and the City, the fourth in this series.

For me A Gentleman in Moscow was one I nearly DNF! It took me a while to get into it, but I was so glad I kept going.

@Divebar2021 I loved Wild too - read it in the aftermath of my marriage breaking down and found her voice to be hugely comforting

@MargotMoon and @Divebar2021 I enjoyed Wild too though I found the last 1/3 really rushed - I would have liked more of her trek through Oregon

@Tinkhasflown it took me a while for Gentleman in Moscow too, I’ve actually grown to like it more post-reading as I often find myself thinking about it. Might be a better re-read

Welcome @mamaduckbone I’ll have to check that out, I love Frederick Back man’s work too

I’m having to move onto a YA book series as DS loves it and really wants someone to talk to about it. First book was so simplistically written I’ve put off the next but it’s a little better so will grit my teeth and do it for him.

11. The Only Plane in the Sky - Garrett M. Graff
The oral history of 9/11, this was an interesting and impactful book that I couldn't put down. I have watched many documentaries about the events on 9/11 but this was the first book I've read about it, and there were many new stories that I hadn't come across before. Like the author, I was left with a sense of how luck played such a huge part in the outcomes of people on that day.

12. Mythos - Stephen Fry
Listened to the audiobook via my library app as I wanted to hear Stephen Fry narrate his own book. An enjoyable ramble through various Greek myths, many of which I hadn't come across before, and told in an entertaining way by Fry. Enjoyable.

A Series of Unfortunate Events 1: The Bad Beginning - Lemony Snicket
Read to my son so not counting in my number tally. After reading the various reviews by StColumb I thought it was time we tried this series. It was a fun and quick read that we both enjoyed, so I'm sure we'll pick up the next in the series.

13. The End of Men - Christina Sweeney-Baird
An interesting premise for this debut novel - a highly infectious and deadly plague sweeps across the world that only kills men. The multi-layered implications of such an event are explored in the book, from the new opportunities presented in a major-majority female world to the devastation on a personnel level when 90% of all men - fathers, sons, husbands, brothers, etc - are likely to die if a vaccine cannot be produced quickly enough.

@mathanxiety - I read it a few years ago and was a bit disappointed, but watched the film last year and actually thought it was better than the book, highly unusual.

I loved American Dirt too, didn't hear about the controversy until I'd read it.

For reasons I am unclear of DS3 would not let me read the first Unfortunate Events @livingonpurpose - no idea why. I definitely counted them though

Haha that so funny StColumb - did it still make sense starting at number 2?

It did. Mostly because I’ve seen the film and snippets of the TV series, but also because Lemony Snicket opens each book and with some musings and weaves in the back story.

Oh that's good. I've put books 2 & 5 on my Kindle wishlist to monitor for a 99p bargain. The rest of the books I'll be able to borrow via my library app. I can't bring myself to pay £6 for the paperbacks when they're such short books!

I happened to manage to get the whole lot on Kindle on a deal for 99p or £3 or similar.

Margot - glad you liked Crawdads. I'm one of the haters, but feel the same as you about not just going along with other people's views, I only bought it because I'm in a FB book group and so many people were raving about it, I should have used my own judgement and not got swept along. It clearly is a good book, it has been a massive global success, just not to my taste.

@StColumbofNavron

I happened to manage to get the whole lot on Kindle on a deal for 99p or £3 or similar.

Wow, what a bargain! The complete set is currently £44

@livingonpurpose I’ve just checked and we have hard copies of 2 and 5. Very happy to post them and pass them on. We won’t go back to them and will read them on kindle anyway.

Oooh, thanks yes please. I will PM you @StColumbofNavron

1. Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel

3: Magpie, Elizabeth Day
A book about a couple who use a surrogate who turns out to have mental health issues.
It was an OK read.

2, Piranesi - loved this so much, thank you for the recommendation.

It started out a bit too confused for me but then I fell for Piranesi and I feel sad to have finished it. I will reread this at some point as there is a lot to take in.

The best book I've read in a while

Bit late to this thread! But can I join? I am aiming for 50, doubt I'll get there though. So far this year is below

1. The Man Who Died Twice - Richard Osman - January
2. Billy Summers - Stephen King - January
3. Gwendy's Button Box - Stephen King & Richard Chizmar - January
4. Gwendy's Magic Feather - Richard Chizmar - January

I am currently reading NOS4A2 by Joe Hill (Stephen King's son)

I’d like to join too . Every year I promise to read more and watch less tv and to use my phone and iPad less . I think I did about 20 last year but not as many as I intended in the end . There are still about 15 books in my drawer I want to read through and more on kindle . This year I have so far read
1 . The girl who takes an eye for an eye - David Lagercrantz (finished this early Jan , I’ve read all the others and quite enjoyed them as well , there seems to be one more I haven’t yet read I
will get on kindle )
2 . The night she disappeared - Lisa Jewell - (early Jan ,my DH got it for me for Christmas, it was a quick read I got into it but not sure I’d read her other ones )
3 . the Testaments - Margaret Atwood (am nearly finished with this late jan , I
Not decided yet what to read next …