Hi folks and happy new year. I haven’t posted any updates for a while, but I have kept a list, all scored out of 10. I made it to 62 in 2022, pretty good for me.
I have enjoyed reading your recommendations and have added a few to my wish list as a result. I get most of my books from Little Free libraries or charity shops, but every now again I treat myself or ask for books as gifts.
Here my list:
1. Something Might Happen by Julie Myerson 8
2. Redhead by the Side of the Road by Anne Tyler 9
3. Monogamy by Sue Miller 8
4. A Sweet Obscurity by Patrick Gale 8
5. Summer Water by Sarah Moss 8
6. The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Haddow 6 (200 pages too long!)
7. Apologise, Apologize by Elizabeth Kelly 8
8. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig 8
9. The Absolutist by John Boyne 7
10. An Experiment in Love by Hilary Mantel 7
11. Out of Bounds by Val McDermid 9
12. Possession of Mr Cave by Matt Haig 6
13. Wolf Winter by Cecelia Ekback 8
14. 1979 by Val McDermid 9
15. Cunning Women by Elizabeth Lee 6
16. All Adults Here by Emma Straub 9
17. The Japanese Lover by Isabelle Allende 8
18. The Madonna of the Mountains by Elise Valmorbida 8
19. Grandmothers by Sally Vickers 8
20. Containment by Vanda Symon 9 (my first from this author, really enjoyed it and have read a couple more since)
21. Benediction by Kent Haruf 9
22. The Sealwoman’s Gift by Sally Magnusson 8
23. The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman 8
24. The Prisoner of Heaven by Carlos Ruiz Zafon 8
25. Plainsong by Kent Haruf 10 (a re read)
26. Eventide by Kent Haruf 10
27. This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay 8
28. The Architect’s Apprentice by Elif Shafak 6 (very disappointing)
29. Some Luck by Jane Smiley 9
30. Trio by William Boyd 8
31. Modern Lovers by Emma Straub 8
32. Overkill by Vanda Symon 8
33. Worst Case Scenario by Helen Fitzgerald 6
34. The Death of Remembrance by Denzil Meyrick 8
35. In This Grave Hour by Jacqueline Winspear 7
36. Angels Burning by Tawni O’Dell 8
37. The Blackwater Lighthouse by Colm Tobin 8
38. We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates 7 (disappointing)
39. The Last Flight by Julie Clark 8
40. Dreaming Water by Gail Tsukiyama 7
41. The Summer Without Men by Siri Hustvedt 6
42. Surface Rights by Melissa Hardy 9 (a real surprise, found in a charity shop in the US)
43. The German Heiress by Anika Scott 7
44. So Lucky by Nicola Griffith 7
45. Good night, Beautiful by Dorothy Koomson 7
46. Should We Stay or Should We Go by Lionel Shriver 7
47. After the Party by Cressida Connolly 7
48. Commonwealth by Ann Patchet 7
49. Mrs England by Stacey Halls 7
50. The Cardturner by Louis Sachar 8
51. The Wild Silence by Raynor Winn 8
52. Cold Case by Quintin Jardine 8 (the first l’ve read of his, so I have a lot of catching up to do)
53. Death of a Sunday Writer by Eric Wright 8 (left by a visitor from Canada)
54. The Ninth Child by Sally Magnusson 7
55. Different Class by Joanne Harris 8
56. The Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Strout 8
57. The Light They Left Behind by Tessa Harris 7
58. The Ringmaster by Vanda Symon 8
59. A Room Made of Leaves by Kate Grenville 8
60. Nantucket Nights by Edin Hilderbrand 7
61. I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith 8 (first time I’ve read this classic)
62. The Tie That Binds by Kent Haruf 9
My favourite books of the year were Plainsong and Eventide by Kent Haruf, such beautiful writing. It’s good to read over my list again, there are a lot of good memories in it.
Now…on to 2023.
Old sayings with a theme 2 ( continuing *nanna8*'s thread)