2022 50 BOOKS - OR AS MANY AS YOU CAN MANAGE

Cs783, Reservoir 13 is one of my favourite books. I re-read it, making notes on the different threads as I went. It made it even more rewarding.

I haven’t ever joined in this thread, as my reading rate is quite slow (too much time spent following links to articles on Twitter is partly to blame). But I keep an eye out for inspiration. I’ve just read Kamila Shamsie ‘Home Fires’ which was a powerful reimagining of the Antigone story, with a Muslim family brought to tragedy through involvement with an extremist.

Maybe I will aim for 50 books in 2023 🙂. Thank you to all who have posted in 2022.

Hello, DiggingDoris.

43 Taste by Stanley Tucci. A memoir of his life in food. It’s a lovely book, although his brush with ill-health was daunting.

44 The Book Store Sisters by Alice Hoffman. It’s a short story but I didn’t know that when I bought it on Kindle so I’m counting it as a book.

58#. Murder In Paradise by Ann Cleeves.

Book 140, The Ripper Secret, by Jack Steel. It`s built around the Jack the Ripper case in 1888, just the author`s idea of what went on, but seeing as the case was never solved, anything`s possible. I`m enjoying it anyway.

#49 Jon McGregor ‘Reservoir 13’ turns from the shock horror of a 13 yo girl’s disappearance into a very different kind of genre. Wish I’d paid more attention to names/who’s who. Meditative effects of the changing seasons, turning lives. All human life in an English village…memorable.

#57. Dead Simple by Peter James.

Mr Starlight was an OK story, but I wasn`t very fond of most of the characters. Now reading book 139, Nothing Lasts Forever, by Sidney Sheldon. No opinion yet, too near the begining.

I quite enjoyed Too Damn Famous, never read a Joan Collins book before. Now reading book 138, Mr Starlight, by Laurie Graham, it`s OK, but not great.

Now on book 137, Too Damned Famous, by Joan Collins. A bit chick-littish, but not bad.

#48 Anthony Trollope ‘The Way We Live Now’ published 1875, a scathing takedown of dishonesty among UK and US speculators and in UK ‘society’, originally serialised so unfolding scene by scene. Very long… extreme contrast to the sweet joys of my #47 ‘Wind in the Willows’! Very readable but remarkably tame and old hat given The Way Some Live Now.

Book 136 was Last Voyage of the Valentina, by Santa Montefiore, I do enjoy her books.

did didn't

Welcome Diiggindoris, no apologies needed. Look out for the '23 one which will be starting in January so you can join us for the whole year.

Yes I agree with you Sarah about Sarah I think Tina Brown wrote sympathetically about most of them........but Andrew Oh dear! and woe betide anyone who did get the bed load of teddy bears back in their designated place weirdo strange person

I've just discovered this thread so apologies for butting in.
Just started reading Kazuo Ishiguro 'never let me go' , but 60 pages in I cannot so far, see what all the rave reviews are about. I'm pleased I hadn't paid for it, but found it in our village swap kiosk. Is it worth continuing with it? Anyone a big fan?

TerriBull
I agree with you regarding The Palace Papers, not a lot that we didn’t already know, but very readable.
I also agree about Prince Andrew, but it did change my mind about Sarah in a favourable way.

I quite liked Everything to Gain. Now reading Murder at the Theatre Royale, by Ada Moncrieff. It`s set in 1935, so has a lot of luvvies in it, and to me it`s a bit amateurish, but I will finish it.

58 The Palace Papers - Tina Brown I ordered this book from the library so long ago, I'd quite forgotten about it when my turn came up. She writes well, pretty much of it wasn't a revelation most is in the public domain with more bombs being detonated all the time. Of course it was written before the death of The Queen so much has moved on since then, on the whole I think she was pretty even handed about most of the main players, although it has to be said that after the chapter or two on Prince Andrew it's hard to see any redeeming qualities there.

59 The Carer Deborah Moggach. The carer of the piece, Mandy, somewhat overweight and loud and rather grating to the brother and sister who hire her to look after their ageing, once brilliant, but increasingly befuddled father, arouses suspicions in the family when found going through father's papers. However, just when the reader thinks what the outcome of Mandy's indiscreet foraging is going to be, the story takes a completely different twist. Bittersweet in its recollections of memories of the siblings' childhood and their disappointment with relationships within the family and beyond. An unexpected conclusion, insightful plotting in the various stages of the book and DM concludes it well.

60 The Killing Doll - Ruth Rendell vintage Rendell, one of her earlier ones.

61 Nonfiction - Julie Myerson Narrated in the first person, the author tells the story of how she tries to save her teenage daughter from self destruction and drug addiction to the detriment of her marriage. The narrative weaves back and forth in time, describing her difficult relationship with her own mother and recollections of a previous love affair with a controlling man.

62 The Skeleton Key - Erin Kelly ploughing through this overly long and for me tedious book, Over 300 pages in so committed too much time before I realised I'm just not enjoying it. 150 pages to go, looking forward to finishing it, plot sort of a treasure hunt for bones, just not engaged with it in spite of enjoying previous books by this writer, but then there's always one!

Book 134 is Everything to Gain, by Barbara Taylor Bradford.

#56. Cross And Burn: Val McDermid.

Hearts and Hymns and Voices has been a lovely read, a gentle tale of the arranging of a Songs of Praise programme from a sleepy Suffolk village. Some quite comical bits in the story as well.

#72 The Untold Story Genevieve Cogman.
The 8th, and I think probably final, book in the Invisible Library series. I shall miss the characters and have really enjoyed the series.

#55. Charles, The Heart Of A King by Catherine Meyer.

Dear Amy was good, much better than I expected. My next book is going to be With Hearts and Hymns and Voices, by Pam Rhodes, one time presenter of Songs of Praise.

#47 Kenneth Graham ‘’Wind in the Willows’ never read it as a child despite being cast as The Judge in my primary school play. Read it now after a talk by an enthusiast and it has some beautiful writing. Glad to have read it as an adult.

Should have been built a school, sausage fingers and the age old problem of lost glasses and my second pair at the opticians, along with a lost phone to boot