26-ish books for 2023

[Tinkhasflown]

A shiny new thread for 2023. There didn't appear to be one do hope it's ok that I have created it this year.

All welcome and note 26 is just a number. Everyone can set their own target and you are welcome here even if you only read 3 books a year.

I personally count the larger novel style books I read to my children and audio books I listen to. Others don't and there are no rules.

I look forward to all your suggestions again this year.

1)Case Histories by Kate Atkinson
2)Little Boy Lost by Marghanita Laski
3) My Name Is Why by Lemn Sissay
4) Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys, the back story to the "mad woman in the attic" in Jane Eyre.
Hard to comment on without spoilers. Glad I read it but blimey it made me cross! I enjoyed the character studies. Liked the last part the least but that's only a few pages.

2. Betrayal by Harold Pinter
A play rather than a novel but I read a lot of plays as an English teacher so am going to include these this year. Read this for work (A level set text) and really loved it. Typical Pinter - sparse, stichomythic dialogue, lots of understatement. This is the story of an affair but is structured in reverse chronological order. Very thought provoking - must see this on stage now.

1. Murder Before Evensong - Rev Richard Coles 2) Dry - Augusten Burroughs

This was good. Well written, funny and sad. It is a memoir of a man who has a pretty bad drinking problem and goes to rehab under duress.

It isn't "quit lit" afaic as it is more about the author's particular experience and life. You don't have to want to quit drinking to get a lot out of reading it basically.

3 The Herd - Emily Edwards

Didn't do much for me this one, the story was okay but I found the characters two dimensional.

1. Magic Tides by ilona Andrew's finished.... disappointingly short as was a long novella. V readable though.

1. Hope for the Best by Jodi Taylor started.

I've just finished my first book of the year

Before the Coffee gets cold: Tales from the cafe - Toshikazu Kawaguchi

It's actually the second book in a three book series which I didn't realise but it was fine as a stand alone book. Really interesting concept and I loved the writing style. I really enjoyed it and would definitely recommend.

Mine so far (reading much faster

A Maigret Christmas by Georges Simenon
Zone of Interest by Martin Amis
A Morbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters (would not recommend, I loved this book when I was about 12 but it is not as good as I remember!)
Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell
Lolly Willoes or the loving huntsman by Sylvia Sylvia Townsend Warner
LOVED this, definitely recommend. It's quite a subtle parody of domesticity and the nature of wildness. It also has one of my favourite depictions of Satan.

I am now reading Diary of a Nobody by George Grossmith. Jury out so far, it's very readable and quite funny but a bit sneering maybe? I want to finish it and form my own view a bit and then read around it a little. I know lots of people really love it.

Oh my first bit got cut off! Reading much faster than usual that's meant to say.

Finished book 3 The Beautyful Ones are Not Yet Born, by Ayi Kwei Armah. Am amazing book though it took me a while to get into it. Really evocative - I always think that No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency is evocative but this is very different - also philosophical, political, and funny. It's part of the Big Jubilee Read and though I don't want any themed challenges this year I'll tick off any of the books I read on that list. I have read 16 but that's over my lifetime!

3: Run Rose Run by Dolly Parton and James Patterson (audio). A nice light listen, beautifully narrated by a cast including Dolly, the tale of a young country singer fleeing her past life to make it big in Nashville. Very enjoyable.

@EspeciallyDetermined ❤️Dolly❤️

One thing I especially liked about the book was the "Dolly" character making many observations about the way women are disadvantaged against men in the music industry, quite timely in the light of what has happened with the Brit award nominations this year.

Finished book 2. Really enjoyed it.

1. The Midnight Library - Matt Haig
2. What Lies Between Us - John Marrs

1. Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr.
2. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus.

Absolutely adored Lessons in Chemistry and didn’t want it to end.
Great to read a hyped book that lived up to my expectations too.
It was refreshing, funny, moving. Will be recommending it to my friends and family.

I've just started Lessons in Chemistry!

Just finished my second book of the year

1. The Catch by T.M Logan

2.Scattered Showers by Rainbow Rowell - recommendation from a friend after I said I needed something light and easy. It’s….. bizarre. A collection of short stories, some of which are about characters from the authors previous books. The first few stories were sweet enough. Simple love stories, exactly what I was looking for. But then it took a weird turn. Fantasy, but very random. I wasn’t familiar with Rainbow Rowell’s other work, so i didn’t know what to expect, but a lot of these stories just weren’t for me.

I’m reading slowly that one as well!

1. The Duke and I by Julia Quinn. Loved it almost as much as the TV series
2. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. Started this before Christmas. Really slow going. Story felt a bit pointless. I like the writing style, but found the characters unlikeable and nothing really happened.

Book 2 Anybody Out There by Marian Keyes (audio) I really enjoyed a couple of her books last year but found this one very disappointing.
I wouldn't recommend it.

Book 3
Invisible Girl - Lisa Jewell This really kept me intrigued.
I have loved all the Lisa Jewell books I have read so far.

I have 3 books on the go now, The Dictionary of Lost Words, which I'm really enjoying and two audio books and I'm not loving either of them. Ok, Let's do your Stupid idea and the very high brow Freed (a fifty shades book). I'm not sure I'll finish either if I can get a decent new one.

Tinkhasflown I loved Invisible Girl!

I may be the slowest reader on the thead😳

1. "The devil you know" by Eileen Horne & Gwen Adshead recommended by @Tinytigertail . Thanks for the tip- I enjoyed it and was inspired by the quotes towards the end.
2. "The Wedding Guest" Jonathan Kellerman....standard "attractive young woman murdered, smart detective solves the crime" book... struggled to stay awake at night to finish it but got there so I could post a number on here 😁

I'm on to "Traces" by Patricia Wiltshire....not sure what I think about it. I took umbrage in the first chapter where she refers to a young woman being murdered by her DP after she "nagged him" about laundry. Surely a young woman can nag request a partner to pull their weight without being murdered. I'll stick with it for the moment.
I have "Passengers" (Cormac McCarthy) queued.

@HilarysMantelpiece

You are definitely not the slowest. I've not even finished the second book of the year yet

Me neither. My 2nd book is just under 800 pages and going painfully slowly!

I'll avoid that one @Orangebadger then. Took me about 3 years to finish Alexander Hamilton.

@dollybird The Night She Disappeared is brilliant too.