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Original poster

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.

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6
DonEmmanuelsDingleberries · 15/04/2022 08:08

I've had a bit of a reading slump as I'm recovering from Covid, but just finished book number 15, Tender Is The Flesh by Augustine Bazterrica.

This is a dystopian novel set in a world where a virus has made animal meat poisonous to humans, so cannibalism is now legal and humans are bred for consumption.

I think 'brutal' is the best word to describe this novel. There is little in the way of sentiment, and the writing is very stark, which fits with the horrorific world it's set in. Not sure I enjoyed this book particularly, but it was thought provoking. Feel like I need something a bit lighter now though!

Tinkhasflown · 15/04/2022 11:29

I haven't updated in a while, but have been very slow to finish books due to my current workload going into the evenings and a family bereavement.

Book 8 - The Wide Window - next book in A Series of Unfortunate Events. My children are still really enjoying this series, when I am here to read to them!

Book 9 The Underground Railroad - Colson Whitehead. I couldn't wait to read this book and expected to love it, but I really didn't. I found the language sometimes hard to follow what was happening and didn't really like how the story was told. I actually started to avoid reading it and hence it took me an age to actually finish the book.

Book 10 Under the Hawthorn Tree - Marita Conlon McKenna, a book given to me to read by my DD about the Irish Famine and a sad very read.

Book 11 The Other Bennet Sister - Janice Hadlow I loved this book, but them I am a huge Pride and Prejudice fan. This is Mary's story. I really enjoyed it, however, I think the book is much longer than it actually needed to be!

I definitely won't be making my book target again this year at this rate!

Original poster
StColumbofNavron · 15/04/2022 21:14

I've fallen off, but not actually finished anything for ages. I'm hoping that the long weekend will allow me to at least finish one book.

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Original poster
StColumbofNavron · 16/04/2022 19:06

And the weekend has provided …

11. The Age of Innocence, Edith Wharton

Set in turn of the century upper class New York this is about the old and the new, passion and duty, love and contentment. It centres around Newland Archer who is set to make a very good marriage with May, but May’s cousin from Europe arrives and she and Newland fall in love. The setting is brilliantly evoked, the characters are not particularly likeable but aren’t awful either, but all are constrained by the society that they love in. This was a good read, the writing was very good. I’m watching the film tonight film 🍿

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EasterDecorations · 16/04/2022 21:02

Another HP for me:

15. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling (audio). I'm not going to summarise as most have probably read it but suffice it to say I'm enjoying them more and more as the series progresses.

Yingmei · 18/04/2022 19:10

  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.
    This was a short novel which was a very interesting fictional account of the Salpetriere Hospital in Paris when it was a 'mad women's' hospital in the late 1800's. It's well translated from the French original and worth a read.

Original poster
StColumbofNavron · 18/04/2022 20:22

I bought that in the recent Kindle deals. Looking forward to reading it.

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dollybird · 18/04/2022 22:01

9. Three Sisters by Heather Morris

Third book by this author centring on the true story of three sisters from Slovakia sent to Auschwitz.

Original poster
StColumbofNavron · 22/04/2022 19:52

12. O’ Caledonia, by Elspeth Barker

Not sure what I thought about this. Someone I share an uncanny amount of reading taste with raved about it. Alas, I thought it was fine. It’s similar to I Capture the Castle, which I also thought was just ok. This was funny and witty in lots of ways, but overall it was just fine.

it centres on Janet who is a bit of an outcast in her family, she doesn’t conform and it takes us through her childhood and adolescence to her untimely death (not a spoiler, it is on the first page I think).

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drspouse · 24/04/2022 22:37

Ok this is now 15 - From Aberystwyth With Love by Malcolm Pryce.
I used to love this series but now I'm not so sure. Still good but I think it's been too long since I read one.

Jonny56 · 25/04/2022 09:20

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CaptBuckyOHare · 25/04/2022 15:40

I've posted on this thread before under the name DonEmmanuelsDingleberries, but unfortunately got logged out with the site update and apparently registered with a now defunct email. So this is my new username!

  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 12. Violeta by Isabel Allende 13. The Secret Lives Of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw 14. Daisy Jones And The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid 15. Tender Is The Flesh by Augustina Bazterrica
  1. Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi - I thought Homegoing was fantastic, so had really high hopes for Gyasi's second novel, but sadly I couldn't get into it. It's beautifully written, and I know lots of people loved it, but it just wasn't for me.
CaptBuckyOHare · 25/04/2022 16:00

My next book will be Marriage of a Thousand Lies by S.J. Sindu. It's about a gay woman and a gay man in a marriage of convenience to appease their conservative Sri Lankan-American families.

Original poster
StColumbofNavron · 26/04/2022 12:08

@CaptBuckyOHare I know I’ve said before how much I enjoy your list, where do you get your recommendations from?

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CaptBuckyOHare · 26/04/2022 14:17

@StColumbofNavron Why thank you 😊

It's a mixture to be honest. We have a Little Free Library near us, so that's good for random finds. I also follow a few real life friends on Goodreads, and if I see they're reading something interesting I'll download a Kindle sample of it, even if it's not something I want to read straight away. It helps me to remember them, plus I like having a range of samples to choose from depending on my mood.

Oh and I love a good old fashioned charity shop browse!

mathanxiety · 27/04/2022 18:25

Finished The Riddle of the Sands.
Good yarn, very old fashioned language and some rather offensive comments/descriptions (to be expected in a book from 1903) plot a little contrived, and ending was too jam packed into a couple of chapters.

On to The Bletchley Girls, by Tessa Dunlop. I started this a good while ago but misplaced it.

Original poster
StColumbofNavron · 01/05/2022 11:55

The Island Home, Libby Page

I really liked this. It gave the impression of being something very fluffy with a pastel pink and Green cover, but actually was significantly deeper. It did all tie up as expected, but I thought it was well done. It explores relationships - with place, with siblings, with friends, with community, with parents, with children all on a Scottish island. I’d recommend if you are after something easy but with a bit of bite.

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dollybird · 02/05/2022 18:41

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.

PritiPatelsMaker · 04/05/2022 05:38

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 Smile

Original poster
StColumbofNavron · 04/05/2022 22:02

@PritiPatelsMaker 6 or 26 it doesn’t matter. May your holiday bring you fruitful reading nonetheless.

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Original poster
StColumbofNavron · 04/05/2022 22:03

@dollybird i thought Animal Farm superb. So clever.

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dollybird · 05/05/2022 08:43

StColumbofNavron · 04/05/2022 22:03

@dollybird i thought Animal Farm superb. So clever.

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

drspouse · 05/05/2022 15:38

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

YingMei · 05/05/2022 21:46

  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.

EspeciallyDistracted · 06/05/2022 21:16

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?