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26-ish books in 2022

791 replies

StColumbofNavron · 31/12/2021 11:49

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.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
6
mathanxiety · 17/03/2022 02:39

Finished The House on Mango Street - great book.

Now reading Malcolm Gladwell, 'Talking to Strangers'.

dollybird · 17/03/2022 07:37

7. We Begin at the End by Chris Whittaker
'This is a story of ordinary people and the decisions that come back to haunt us. It's a story of a small town, and the violent act that tore it apart. It's a story about absolute love and the lengths we will go to protect our family, but it's also a story about good and evil - and how life is lived somewhere in between'

I loved this book. Beautifully written, sad, but uplifting.

BaconAndAvocado · 17/03/2022 16:53

3. The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré
A good read.
I loved the main character of fiesty, ever-questioning Adunni but, like another poster commented, I thought it was a little too easily resolved at the end.
Although still joyful all the same.

BaconAndAvocado · 17/03/2022 16:55

Just had a look at my Reading Lust app...this time last year I had read 9 books!

The only difference I can think of is that we now have a puppy! He's obviously stealing my reading time 😂

StColumbofNavron · 18/03/2022 10:52

I'd read 13 by this point last year, but that included books with DS3. We have struggled to find something he likes so haven't finished anything. Still, I am on 9 and that seems reasonable.

OP posts:
livingonpurpose · 19/03/2022 10:16

@BaconAndAvocado we got a puppy last summer and I hardly read anything in several months as I couldn't dare to take my eyes off him for long enough (to avoid toileting accidents!).

BaconAndAvocado · 19/03/2022 13:34

livingonpurpose
Absolutely and the long walks!
I was going to say it's all completely worth it but our pup has been an utter lunatic this morning so I won't 😂

DonEmmanuelsDingleberries · 19/03/2022 20:40
  1. The Inheritance Of Loss by Kiran Desai
  2. The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida by Clarissa Goenawan
  3. Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson
  4. Milkman by Anna Burns
  5. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
  6. Can't Even: How Millennials Became the Burn Out Generation by Anne Helen Petersen
  7. The Secret History by Donna Tartt
  8. The Unwomanly Face of War by Svetlana Alexievich
  9. Whistling for the Elephants by Sandi Toksvig
10. Ariadne by Jennifer Saint 11.The Girl With The Louding Voice by Abi Daré
  1. Violeta by Isabel Allende - This is the 2nd book I've read by Allende, the first being Daughter of Fortune. I think she's fast becoming one of my favourite authors.

Set in an unnamed South American country, Violeta is the eponymous narrator nearing the end of her 100 year life. The book is essentially Violeta's memoir, focussing on her often turbulent relationships (both familial and romantic), and interspersed with historical events such as pandemics, natural disasters, political upheaval, and military coups. Loved it.

humblebumble · 19/03/2022 22:18

1.Midnight Library

  1. American Dirt
  2. How we disappeared
  3. The Beekeeper of Aleppo
5. How to kill your best friend
  1. Seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo (just about to start)

I loved both books in bold. I listened to them on audio book.

drspouse · 20/03/2022 18:48

No 12 The Cat and the City by Nick Bradley.
I loved this - thanks to my DD and whoever recommended it!

highlandcoo · 20/03/2022 19:18

DonEmmanuel I loved The House of the Spirits and Eva Luna by Isabel Allende. I'm sure you would enjoy both.

DonEmmanuelsDingleberries · 22/03/2022 19:07

@highlandcoo - Thanks for the recommendation. Both are on my To-Read list Smile

Just finished number 13, The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw, a collection of short stories, each showcasing the lives and desires of different black women and girls. Philyaw does an amazing job at conveying complex relationships in the space of a few pages, particularly between mothers and daughters. Thoroughly recommend it.

DonEmmanuelsDingleberries · 27/03/2022 16:56

On a bit of a reading streak!

  1. Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid - An enjoyable, quick read. I liked the interview style prose, and thought the author did a good job conveying the intangible 'coolness' of It Girl/Muse/Rockstar Daisy.
mathanxiety · 27/03/2022 22:44

I'm about to get stuck into Daisy Jones today Smile

Finished 'Talking to Strangers' by Malcolm Gladwell.
A book that was cobbled together with only a very tenuous thread linking the examples of miscommunication and the tragic effects thereof, apparently inspired by the well known encounters between black Americans and police over the last few years. The book features an examination of the policing studies which have resulted in aggressive policing, racial profiling, and essentially justifying the enormous magnification of the crime of 'driving while black'.

All fair enough as a topic of study. The basic notion that misunderstandings are taking place left, right, and center doesn't hold water though. I kept on waiting for him to examine power imbalances but that never happened.

One example of what Gladwell considers miscommunication, the Stanford rape case, made me want to hurl the book violently across the room and leave it to the cat to do what she wanted with it. Malcolm Gladwell does not understand the word CONSENT. Rape is not an example of miscommunication.

Also finished 'The Boys in the Boat' by Daniel James Brown.
This was a great book, an account of the University of Washington varsity crew team which competed at the 1936 Olympics, centering on one of the team, his painful childhood and struggles at the height of the Great Depression to pay his way through university, but also examining the bonds tying a team together and a lyrical description of the sport of rowing.

EventuallyDelighted · 27/03/2022 23:23
  1. Freckles by Cecelia Ahern (book)
  2. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig (audio)
  3. The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri (audio)
  4. Goodnight Mr Tom by Michelle Magorian (audio)
  5. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by JK Rowling (audio)
6 The Christmas Chronicles by Nigel Slater 7 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling (audio) 8 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Askaban by JK Rowling (audio) 9 Persuasion by Jane Austen audio/kindle mix. 10 Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery (audio) 11 I Love the Bones of You by Christopher Eccleston (audio). 12. How to Grow Old by John Bishop (audio) - a mixture of memoir and observations about the ageing process, humourous as you'd expect and a nice easy listen.1. Freckles by Cecelia Ahern (book)
  1. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig (audio)
  2. The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri (audio)
  3. Goodnight Mr Tom by Michelle Magorian (audio)
  4. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by JK Rowling (audio)
6 The Christmas Chronicles by Nigel Slater 7 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling (audio) 8 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Askaban by JK Rowling (audio) 9 Persuasion by Jane Austen audio/kindle mix. 10 Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery (audio) 11 I Love the Bones of You by Christopher Eccleston (audio). 12 How to Grow Old by John Bishop (audio) - a mixture of memoir and observations about ageing, narrated by the author, entertaining and easy to listen to. Jamaica Inn by Daphne Du Maurier (paperback) a classic that I'd never got round to reading before. A gripping tale of a woman's plunge into the world of smuggler gangs in Cornwall with vivid descriptions throughout.
AnGofsMum · 28/03/2022 09:25

8 My Cousin Rachel by Daphne DuMaurier
The only ‘big’ Du Maurier novel which I hadn’t read. I really enjoyed this. Dark and twisty with a brilliantly unreliable narrator.

StColumbofNavron · 29/03/2022 11:38

10. My Family and Other Animals, Gerald Durrell

Just a delightfully sunny and witty book. Its one part of the memoir of Gerald Durrell and I have wanted to read this since the TV series a few years ago. It did not disappoint. I loved the way he talks about his family drawing out their eccentricities and his descriptions of nature are wonderful.

Ohhh... a lot of du Maurier love happening. I only really discovered her work last year/year before so I have lots to catch up on (only read Rebecca and Frenchman's Creek - I have read Jamaica Inn but other than smuggling can remember nothing at all).

OP posts:
BaconAndAvocado · 30/03/2022 09:15

4. Q by Christina Dalcher

A quick read which was just ok.
The premise is a society where worth is measured by intelligence. The less academically able children are taken from their parents and placed in boarding schools.
The main protagonist is married to one of pioneers of the system and the story follows her struggles when her own daughter is moved to one of these schools.
The author also wrote Vox, (which I preferred) another dystopian novel.

dollybird · 31/03/2022 10:20

8. I follow You by Peter James

Man becomes obsessed with beautiful woman and takes it to extremes. This was average, not as good as some of Peter James's books (although I have gone off his later Roy Grace ones, think his writing style is starting to grate on me). It did pick up pace in the last third and I wanted to see what happened, so there's that.

YingMei · 05/04/2022 07:27

Joining in! I changed jobs this year to something with a far better work life balance and have actually had time to read!

  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

I just finished Circus of Wonders - it was a really great read, thoroughly recommended to anyone interested in books set in the Victorian era. It had lovely themes.

drspouse · 05/04/2022 09:35

A few more:
13 Again, Rachel by Marian Keyes. I love all her books but interestingly the traits of the non-main characters are irritating (not when in their own books though), I suppose like one's own family members.
14 Dark Lullaby* by Polly Ho-Yen. Wow. Was my science fiction novel in the end but who can say if it's really science fiction. It's certainly dystopian. Also a very quick read (I was on a journey though).
15 Unfollow by Megan Phelps-Roper. Former member of Westboro Baptist Church. Really scary childhood though partly not what I expected.
Goodreads is telling me I've read 16 now so I've miscounted somewhere.

drspouse · 05/04/2022 09:40

Ok I am only up to 14 (I think Goodreads is counting books with no date read)

MargotMoon · 06/04/2022 21:13

7. Ramble Book - Adam Buxton
I love Adam Buxton and I loved this book when I read it last year and now I love the audio version even more. It's full of extras, like little jingles for each chapter, rambly asides, and an interview with Joe Cornish at the end. Marvellous

8. The Shell Seekers - Rosamunde Pilcher
I've seen this book mentioned on here SO MANY TIMES. But now I see why - a great big warm hug of a book.

mathanxiety · 06/04/2022 23:38

Finished Daisy Jones and The Six.
I liked it a lot. It was much better written than I had expected - agree with pp that the interview structure boosted the tale. DD4 had been bothering me for ages to read it and I thanked her heartily for the recommendation.

Currently reading The Riddle of the Sands, by Erskine Childers, a book set in the same time as The Thirty Nine Steps, and in some ways very like it, but set on the water. It's an oldie, written in 1903, and the English language has changed a lot since then. Very enjoyable so far.
Childers, an Irish Republican born in London to wealthy Anglo Irish parents, was executed by the Irish Free State government during the Irish Civil War. His son (also Erskine) served as President of Ireland about 40-50 years ago.

EasterDecorations · 09/04/2022 17:27
  1. Freckles by Cecelia Ahern (book)
  2. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig (audio)
  3. The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri (audio)
  4. Goodnight Mr Tom by Michelle Magorian (audio)
  5. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by JK Rowling (audio)
6 The Christmas Chronicles by Nigel Slater 7 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling (audio) 8 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Askaban by JK Rowling (audio) 9 Persuasion by Jane Austen audio/kindle mix. 10 Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery (audio) 11 I Love the Bones of You by Christopher Eccleston (audio). 12. How to Grow Old by John Bishop (audio) 13. Jamaica Inn by Daphne Du Maurier (paperback) 14. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (audio) - the story of a poor, black woman whose cancer cells were taken for research without her consent as she was treated in the USA in the 1950s (she died shortly afterwards). The cells proved to be the first immortal human cell line (known as HeLa cells) and have contributed to every aspect of medical research and continue to do so to this day. The book is more focussed on Henrietta’s children than Henrietta herself and is told in several strands. The story of Henrietta, that of her children, particularly Deborah, who shares the research journey with the author, the science and ethics are all told and it is absolutely fascinating. I was vaguely aware of Henrietta’s story from many years ago when I did some training in cell culture for a former job, so it was great to read the full story.

I love the Shell Seekers too Smile

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