2022 50 BOOKS - OR AS MANY AS YOU CAN MANAGE

14 Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid.

It’s a tale about a rock and roll band in the 70’s onwards. It’s based on Fleetwood Mac. All of the characters were very annoying, apart from the babies.

Oops I’ve double counted ‘Eventide’

#25 Kent Haruf ‘Eventide’. Follows on from ‘Plainsong’ and a similar delight.

Then, not novels but following my interests in Eng Lit and poetry:
#26 Daisy Hay’Young Romantics’ - group biography showing that Shelley, Byron, Keats and others valued sociability for creativity - and the particularly devastated lives of the women around them
#27 Hannah Lowe ‘The Kids’ - a teacher’s experiences, in a collection of short poems
#28 Stephen Greenblatt ‘Tyrant: Shakespeare on Power’. Insights on how Shakespeare’s plays explore the processes of power and its corruption, with obvious contemporary relevance to Trump, and beyond.

Why didnt you just do w
hat you were told? by Jenny Diski...book of short stories, not one of her best offerings

Invisible Girl by Lisa Jewellery... Good read, dark and twisty.

Why has nobody told me this before by Dr. Julie Smith ...self help tips on coping tips for life, nothing really new in it.

The Foundling by Stacey Halls...really interesting read, enjoyable.

Kiss River by Diane Chamberlain...love and mystery combined an ok read.

I enjoyed Private Paris. Book 37 is going to be A Widow`s Courage, by Anna Jacobs.

#25. Those People by Louise Candlish.

Gave up on Tales of the Suspected, so book 36 is now Private Paris, by James Patterson and Mark Sullivan.

#25 Working For The Devil - Dante Valentine Lilith Saintcrow.
I believe the genre is 'urban fantasy'. Very dark and bleak but a good read. I will probably read the rest of the series at some point.
#26 Exit Belinda Bauer.
A very unusual crime novel which has as its central theme an assisted suicide that may be murder. Charming, funny and quirky. I really enjoyed it.

I loved The Silent Wife, took me longer than usual to read it, a lot of distractions. Book 36 will be Tales of the Suspected, by Joe Beltrami.

Irritating l meant to say.

#31 was My Wild and Sleepless Nights by Clover Stroud. I found this a very inward looking and somewhat account of motherhood and what it means to the author, who is a mother of five.
#32 was Diamond and the Eye by Peter Lovesey. This is the latest Peter Diamond book, one of my favourite detective series, and it did not disappoint.
#33 was The Night Hawks by Elly Griffiths. I really enjoy the Ruth Galloway books and this was no exception but I do feel the political correctness grating.

It came up as a Kindle 99p book email I received. The author was raised in the castle that features in the book, which is about 12 miles from where I live, so it has local interest for me.

Sue
I have this book in my TBR pile, I hadn’t heard of it, but it was featured on radio 4, could have been A Good Read, I can’t remember.
Glad to know you enjoyed it.

13 O Caledonia by Elspeth Barker.

This is a ‘rediscovered modern classic’ much praised by Maggie O’Farrell. It was first published in 1991 but was then forgotten until recently. It’s beautifully written. Hard to say what genre, it’s partly a coming of age tale, a nature story, a murder book, a family saga. It’s set from the main character’s birth during WW2 and follows her life as she grows to womanhood. Less than 200 pages, too!

#24. The Other Passenger by Louise Candlish.

Book 20
The Living Sea of Waking Dreams
Richard Flanagan
I’m afraid I didn’t like this book at all, I’ve read the reviews, I know I’m in the minority, but I found it a very depressing read.
It’s about Francie, very old and close to death, but her three adult children refuse to let her die. They demand intervention after intervention, they are successful and wealthy, they are also cruel and uncaring.
There’s also the other part of the story where the daughter, Anna notices body parts missing from herself and other people.
I know it’s all tied up with the terrible fires sweeping Australia, and the extinction of so many species , I suppose it’s meant to signify that they can’t save the planet, but they can save Francie, but I’m not really sure.
Tommy, the only decent son, is over ruled, dismissed humiliated, despised. I might very well be missing something deep, but I want to feel a warmth for at least some of the characters, not so in this case.

Alibee I’m glad you enjoyed The Stoning!

I read Middlesex years ago. It was our book group choice and was well-received.

No 12 (I think) GREAT CIRCLE by Maggie Shipstead. I loved this. It tells the story of a woman aviator in the early days of flight with a parallel story set in modern times. If you like a long book, at almost 600 pages this is one to read.

Private Moscow was quite good, made me wish I`d read the rest of the series, might do yet! Just started book 35, The Silent Wife, by Karin Slaughter.

#24 Kent Haruf ‘Eventide’ a follow-on from his ‘Plainsong’ which I loved. Enjoyed this just as much.

#23. The Heights by Louise Candlish.

I liked The Bone Code. Now reading book 34, Private Moscow, by James Patterson and Adam Hamdy, not too sure of it just yet.

Enjoyed Salt Lane by William Shaw, a thriller.
Book 3- Barbara Taylor Bradford's The Cavendon Luck. Hadn't read the first two of this trilogy but still enjoyed it. A bit like Downton Abbey!
Book 4 - Paul Beatty: The Sellout. Rubbish, only managed a few chapters.
Book 5- Jane Harper, The Survivors. Just as brilliant as The Dry. Love her books.
Book 6- Adam Kay: This is going to Hurt. Glad that I found this in a charity shop while the TV series was on. Enjoyed it, certainly an eye-opener.
Book 7- Peter James ( a favourite): I Follow You.
Book 8- Lesley Pearse: Liar. Like some of her books but not so much this one. Bit slushy!
Book 9- Abi Dare: Girl with the Louding Voice. Excellent
Book 10- Jodi Picoult : Plain Truth. Set in an Amish Community. Really good story about the discovery of a newborn baby's body.
Book 11-William Broderick: The Sixth Lamentation. Seems good but gave up halfway through. May return to it later.
Book 12-Ruth Jones (Writer and actress from Gavin and Stacey): The Three of Us. Good story following the lives of 3 childhood friends.
Book 13- Fiona Neill: The Betrayals. Excellent story of 2 families and how their lives change over time. One of those books I didn't want to end!

Book 19
Lily - Rose Tremain
Really sad tale about Lily, a founding child.
Found by a young police officer, Sam Trench, she is taken to the London Foundling Hospital.
For the first six years of her life, she is fostered by a family, who love her, but at six she must be returned.
Rose Tremain, writes so tenderly about her relationship with her foster family.
I don’t want to spoil the story, but it’s a sad and cruel life, not much joy for Lily
The final pages had me crying my eyes out.

#28 was The Stone Chamber by Kate Ellis. This is the latest DI Wesley Peterson book - a series set in Devon that combines history and modern crimes and I enjoyed it as much as the earlier books.
#29 was The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman. I thoroughly enjoyed it and the murder was almost incidental to the humour.
#30 was The Funny Thing About Norman Foreman. Again, I really enjoyed this heartwarming story of a young boy whose best friend has died of an asthma attack but who carries on their mutual dream to perform at the Edinburgh Fringe.

#22. The Sound Of Laughter by Peter Kay.