I'm choosing hope for 2022
Conversazioni75 Books Challenge for 2022
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1JenMDB
Hope - that I will actually read 75 books but hope for so much more: that family and friends will keep well, that people look out for one another, and work together to help those who can't help themselves...
Stay well all.
Stay well all.
2JenMDB
January
#1 The Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan. Great way to spend a New Year's Day when omicron seems to be devouring all the airspace.
#2 Bewilderment by Richard Powers. I loved The Overstory but this novel was almost unbearable, and certainly devoid of hope. The reference to Flowers for Algernon early in the book foreshadowed the arc, and any news story this week just seems to feed the not unimaginable happenings in the novel. Felt like a eulogy to science.
#3 The Glass Room by Ann Cleeves. My first Vera Stanhope. Will probably come back for more.
#4 500 Miles From You by Jenny Colgan. A good read for a stressful Omicron weekend.
#5 The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls by Anton Discleafani. An irritating read for a stressful Omicron week.
#6 My Italian Bulldozer by Alexander McCall Smith. A nice, gentle toodle along Tuscan roads in a bulldozer, a glass of wine or two along the way, some tiny dramas, then back to the airport we go.
#7 The Apollo Murders by Chris Hadfield. Enjoyed this Cold War space thriller especially the long-winded scientific descriptions of everything from rocket fuel mix to bullet ballistics.
#8 Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr. Complex structure but loved one mythical but very human story woven through the fall of Constantinople, the Korean War & 1950s Idaho to "outer space" many years from now.
#1 The Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan. Great way to spend a New Year's Day when omicron seems to be devouring all the airspace.
#2 Bewilderment by Richard Powers. I loved The Overstory but this novel was almost unbearable, and certainly devoid of hope. The reference to Flowers for Algernon early in the book foreshadowed the arc, and any news story this week just seems to feed the not unimaginable happenings in the novel. Felt like a eulogy to science.
#3 The Glass Room by Ann Cleeves. My first Vera Stanhope. Will probably come back for more.
#4 500 Miles From You by Jenny Colgan. A good read for a stressful Omicron weekend.
#5 The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls by Anton Discleafani. An irritating read for a stressful Omicron week.
#6 My Italian Bulldozer by Alexander McCall Smith. A nice, gentle toodle along Tuscan roads in a bulldozer, a glass of wine or two along the way, some tiny dramas, then back to the airport we go.
#7 The Apollo Murders by Chris Hadfield. Enjoyed this Cold War space thriller especially the long-winded scientific descriptions of everything from rocket fuel mix to bullet ballistics.
#8 Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr. Complex structure but loved one mythical but very human story woven through the fall of Constantinople, the Korean War & 1950s Idaho to "outer space" many years from now.
3ffortsa
>1 JenMDB: A good list of hopes, Jen. Me too.
5FAMeulstee
Happy reading in 2022, Jen!
6PaulCranswick
This group always helps me to read; welcome back to the group, Jen.
7thornton37814
Happy 2022 reading!
8alcottacre
>2 JenMDB: Sorry to hear that you found Bewilderment not to your taste. I have it set aside to read this year. I do hope you enjoy your next read more.
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year!
9JenMDB
>6 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul. Thanks for the welcome and great list - I do them all. Need to add, "Quit your high stress, life consuming job" to it.
10JenMDB
>8 alcottacre: Hi. It's not that Bewilderment is not to my taste it is just so painful on so many levels. I found it a difficult read.
11kaida46
Right now I am about half way into my first my Jenny Colgan book, and yes it is good for relieving some Omicron stress! The Bookshop on the Corner
Happy reading!
Happy reading!
12JenMDB
>11 kaida46: Hope you enjoyed it. I'll look out for more Jenny Colgan - my favourite second hand bookstore gets them in regularly.
13JenMDB
February
#9 A Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton-Porter. My mum gave this to me when I was 13. She adored it when she had read it at that age. Apart from her excitement about finding it and buying it for me while we were on a camping trip in Oregon, I remembered little about the book even though I have kept it all these years. I did not remember the moths, or nature generally, the romance, the mother-daughter relationship. Think I'll hang on to it a few more years.
#10 22 Brittannia Road by Amanda Hodgkinson. Pleasantly surprised by this book - a new perspective on WWII for me - that of a Polish couple separated in August 1939, reunited in England in 1946 - trying to find themselves and their marriage in the aftermath of their wartime experiences.
#11 August into Winter by Guy Vanderhaeghe.
#9 A Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton-Porter. My mum gave this to me when I was 13. She adored it when she had read it at that age. Apart from her excitement about finding it and buying it for me while we were on a camping trip in Oregon, I remembered little about the book even though I have kept it all these years. I did not remember the moths, or nature generally, the romance, the mother-daughter relationship. Think I'll hang on to it a few more years.
#10 22 Brittannia Road by Amanda Hodgkinson. Pleasantly surprised by this book - a new perspective on WWII for me - that of a Polish couple separated in August 1939, reunited in England in 1946 - trying to find themselves and their marriage in the aftermath of their wartime experiences.
#11 August into Winter by Guy Vanderhaeghe.
14kac522
>13 JenMDB: Gene Stratton-Porter looks like such an interesting person; do you know if there are any biographies of her life?
15JenMDB
>14 kac522: I know nothing at all about her. I didn't even know Gene was a woman until recently :)
16Tosta
I love your reading mission of "hope". Mine as of this month is along similar lines being "happy, quirky, funny" to relieve stress so I'll be following along with your thread for possible recs. Really enjoyed The Bookshop on the Corner so I definitely need to dig into more Jenny Colgan.
17JenMDB
March
#12 The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles. The ending really threw me. Top notch storytelling until that point.
#13 A Slow Fire Burning by Paula Hawkins.
#14 A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson. Love the setting of Mary Lawson's books. Child's point of view well imagined in this story of all kinds of loss. There is hope here.
#15 Mitford Murders by Jessica Fellowes. Could definitely detect the Downton Abbey vibe.
#16 Oh William by Elizabeth Strout. Makes me realize how much of Lucy Barton I have forgotten. The road trip to Maine to discover family roots was most interesting.
#17 When We Lost Our Heads by Heather O'Neill. Not what I was expecting - interesting, disturbing in places, feminist romp in others.
#12 The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles. The ending really threw me. Top notch storytelling until that point.
#13 A Slow Fire Burning by Paula Hawkins.
#14 A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson. Love the setting of Mary Lawson's books. Child's point of view well imagined in this story of all kinds of loss. There is hope here.
#15 Mitford Murders by Jessica Fellowes. Could definitely detect the Downton Abbey vibe.
#16 Oh William by Elizabeth Strout. Makes me realize how much of Lucy Barton I have forgotten. The road trip to Maine to discover family roots was most interesting.
#17 When We Lost Our Heads by Heather O'Neill. Not what I was expecting - interesting, disturbing in places, feminist romp in others.
18JenMDB
April
#18 The Spectacular by Zoe Whittall. Does not live up to its name. Plot got very lost towards the end. One important character keeps disappearing because it seems other than making them trans, the author can't figure out how to make something worthwhile happen. One of the big reveals was so obvious I had to read the page a few times to see if I'd missed something actually revelatory. Disappointing.
#19 Unreconciled: Family, Truth and Indigenous Resistance by Jesse Wente.
#18 The Spectacular by Zoe Whittall. Does not live up to its name. Plot got very lost towards the end. One important character keeps disappearing because it seems other than making them trans, the author can't figure out how to make something worthwhile happen. One of the big reveals was so obvious I had to read the page a few times to see if I'd missed something actually revelatory. Disappointing.
#19 Unreconciled: Family, Truth and Indigenous Resistance by Jesse Wente.
19JenMDB
May
#20 The Sentence by Louise Erdrich. Sorry to the next person waiting for this at the library. I know it's really overdue but I've been super busy and I just found this a really slow read. Lots of ghosts and first taste of the pandemic making its way into the books I'm reading for fun.
#21 Atomic Love by Jennie Fields. Cold War Lite in 1950s Chicago.
#22 The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis.
#23 Witch Hunt by Ian Rankin.
#24 Westwind by Ian Rankin.
#25 The Blue Bistro by Elin Hilderbrand. If you've ever worked in a restaurant, or want to, lots of detail here, and a yummy menu.
#26 The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman. Better than Book 1. Characters more solid.
#20 The Sentence by Louise Erdrich. Sorry to the next person waiting for this at the library. I know it's really overdue but I've been super busy and I just found this a really slow read. Lots of ghosts and first taste of the pandemic making its way into the books I'm reading for fun.
#21 Atomic Love by Jennie Fields. Cold War Lite in 1950s Chicago.
#22 The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis.
#23 Witch Hunt by Ian Rankin.
#24 Westwind by Ian Rankin.
#25 The Blue Bistro by Elin Hilderbrand. If you've ever worked in a restaurant, or want to, lots of detail here, and a yummy menu.
#26 The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman. Better than Book 1. Characters more solid.
20JenMDB
June
#27 Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult. The most interesting bit, the part where the author explores experiences of people who have had "hallucinations" while in comas, comes too late in the book by which time I was not really gripped by story of woman sitting out first weeks of pandemic in the Galapagos.
#28 Vanished Days by Susannah Kearsley. I'm not to bad on my Scottish history but this was a bit complicated in places. Good sense of Edinburgh once upon a time.
#29 The Strangers by Katherena Vermette. Excellent. Sad. Real. Loved the perspectives of all the family members.
#30 A Killer in King's Cove by Iona Whishaw. Nancy Drew vibes, Kootenay setting.
#31 Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead. Epic in geographic and time terms. Intimate and profound on human ones. Definitely has hope.
#32 The Mitford Trial by Jessica Fellowes.
#27 Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult. The most interesting bit, the part where the author explores experiences of people who have had "hallucinations" while in comas, comes too late in the book by which time I was not really gripped by story of woman sitting out first weeks of pandemic in the Galapagos.
#28 Vanished Days by Susannah Kearsley. I'm not to bad on my Scottish history but this was a bit complicated in places. Good sense of Edinburgh once upon a time.
#29 The Strangers by Katherena Vermette. Excellent. Sad. Real. Loved the perspectives of all the family members.
#30 A Killer in King's Cove by Iona Whishaw. Nancy Drew vibes, Kootenay setting.
#31 Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead. Epic in geographic and time terms. Intimate and profound on human ones. Definitely has hope.
#32 The Mitford Trial by Jessica Fellowes.
21JenMDB
July
#33 Birth Road by Michelle Wamboldt.
#34 Our American Friend by Anna Pitoniak. If Melania's dad had been a Russian KGB agent, this could be her story.
#35 Deep House by Thomas King. Here for the banter.
#36 Bluebird by Genevieve Graham. This history parts were strong and interesting, especially the bits of rumrunners in 1920s Windsor. The romance stuff not so much.
#37 Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel. Anomalies in time or is it all a simulation? observing the butterfly effect when an investigator reveals his humanity.
#33 Birth Road by Michelle Wamboldt.
#34 Our American Friend by Anna Pitoniak. If Melania's dad had been a Russian KGB agent, this could be her story.
#35 Deep House by Thomas King. Here for the banter.
#36 Bluebird by Genevieve Graham. This history parts were strong and interesting, especially the bits of rumrunners in 1920s Windsor. The romance stuff not so much.
#37 Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel. Anomalies in time or is it all a simulation? observing the butterfly effect when an investigator reveals his humanity.
22JenMDB
August
#38 Bloomsbury Girls by Natalie Jenner. Perfect Holiday Monday read. Smarter and more satisfying than I imagined. Girl power in a 1950's London bookstore.
#39 Fault Lines by Emily Itami. I appreciated the modern Tokyo setting and domestic details. And I also appreciated the nuanced take on an extramarital affair.
#40 The Rose Code by Kate Quinn. Much, much better than the Alice Network (which I really disliked). The fact-checking was solid as was the story and the weaving of true stories with fictional ones.
#41 Run Towards the Danger by Sarah Polley. Excellent selection of essays reflection on chapters of the actor/director's life. So much crammed into 40 years already - and the toll of various traumas manifesting itself through the body in different ways.
#42 Double Crossing by Carolyn Keene. A Nancy Drew & Hardy Boys Super Mystery. Oh for the old school Nancy Drew books to scratch that August itch.
#43 On Rotation by Shirlene Obuobi. An emotionally intelligent, thinking person's beach read about the trials and tribulations of third year med student in Chicago.
#44 All the Queen's Men by S J Bennett. Once again, the Queen and her APS do all the work and others get the credit for solving a murder - this time at Buckingham Palace.
#45 The Dreamers by Karen Thomson Walker. Eerie to think this was published pre-COVID. Lots redolent with early phase of the pandemic, especially in terms of human behaviour. Wish there had been a little more interesting out of all the dreaming in the end.
#38 Bloomsbury Girls by Natalie Jenner. Perfect Holiday Monday read. Smarter and more satisfying than I imagined. Girl power in a 1950's London bookstore.
#39 Fault Lines by Emily Itami. I appreciated the modern Tokyo setting and domestic details. And I also appreciated the nuanced take on an extramarital affair.
#40 The Rose Code by Kate Quinn. Much, much better than the Alice Network (which I really disliked). The fact-checking was solid as was the story and the weaving of true stories with fictional ones.
#41 Run Towards the Danger by Sarah Polley. Excellent selection of essays reflection on chapters of the actor/director's life. So much crammed into 40 years already - and the toll of various traumas manifesting itself through the body in different ways.
#42 Double Crossing by Carolyn Keene. A Nancy Drew & Hardy Boys Super Mystery. Oh for the old school Nancy Drew books to scratch that August itch.
#43 On Rotation by Shirlene Obuobi. An emotionally intelligent, thinking person's beach read about the trials and tribulations of third year med student in Chicago.
#44 All the Queen's Men by S J Bennett. Once again, the Queen and her APS do all the work and others get the credit for solving a murder - this time at Buckingham Palace.
#45 The Dreamers by Karen Thomson Walker. Eerie to think this was published pre-COVID. Lots redolent with early phase of the pandemic, especially in terms of human behaviour. Wish there had been a little more interesting out of all the dreaming in the end.
23JenMDB
September
#46 The Long Call by Ann Cleeves. Liked the North Devon setting, the human aspects of the detectives, the plausible suspects, the lack of grisly details.
#47 Light Perpetual by Francis Spufford. Very taken by this "what if..." book. Strong descriptions of thought processes of all the characters, and of the mechanics of singing, and of bombs crashing through ceilings.
#48 The Heron's Cry by Ann Cleeves. Had to finish the summer off with the second Matthew Venn novel set during a North Devon heatwave.
#49 Piranesi by Susanna Clarke. Once I stopped trying to visualize all the rooms, i enjoyed not really knowing where this book was going, or where it was happening.
#46 The Long Call by Ann Cleeves. Liked the North Devon setting, the human aspects of the detectives, the plausible suspects, the lack of grisly details.
#47 Light Perpetual by Francis Spufford. Very taken by this "what if..." book. Strong descriptions of thought processes of all the characters, and of the mechanics of singing, and of bombs crashing through ceilings.
#48 The Heron's Cry by Ann Cleeves. Had to finish the summer off with the second Matthew Venn novel set during a North Devon heatwave.
#49 Piranesi by Susanna Clarke. Once I stopped trying to visualize all the rooms, i enjoyed not really knowing where this book was going, or where it was happening.
24JenMDB
October
#50 Local Gone Missing by Fiona Barton.
#51 Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. Heartening & heartwarming and lots of chemistry in a light-hearted way.
#52 Mindful of Murder by Susan Juby. Cortez Island reimagined with a very creative way to decide who gets a stake in an inheritance.
#53 The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins. A bit long and the ending unsatisfying but a worthy prequel to Hunger Games.
#54 Companion Piece by Ali Smith. I'm always torn with Ali Smith books. Parts are brilliant, others mystifying. Maybe it's me.
#55 Tomorrow and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. Love, friendship and gaming.
#50 Local Gone Missing by Fiona Barton.
#51 Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. Heartening & heartwarming and lots of chemistry in a light-hearted way.
#52 Mindful of Murder by Susan Juby. Cortez Island reimagined with a very creative way to decide who gets a stake in an inheritance.
#53 The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins. A bit long and the ending unsatisfying but a worthy prequel to Hunger Games.
#54 Companion Piece by Ali Smith. I'm always torn with Ali Smith books. Parts are brilliant, others mystifying. Maybe it's me.
#55 Tomorrow and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. Love, friendship and gaming.
25JenMDB
November
#56 The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin. Life stories of two unlikely friends whose ages add up to 100.
#57 The Maid by Nita Prose. Quick read. Fine but the unreliable narrator story has a predictable ending.
#58 The Murder of Mr. Wickham by Claudia Gray. I really wish this book had a list of the characters and which Jane Austen books they were from. I'm not as well versed as I should be. An amusing Regency whodunit.
#59 Lost Immunity by Daniel Kalla. Will vaccines save Seattle from a deadly meningitis outbreak or will anti-vaxxers win the day?
#56 The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin. Life stories of two unlikely friends whose ages add up to 100.
#57 The Maid by Nita Prose. Quick read. Fine but the unreliable narrator story has a predictable ending.
#58 The Murder of Mr. Wickham by Claudia Gray. I really wish this book had a list of the characters and which Jane Austen books they were from. I'm not as well versed as I should be. An amusing Regency whodunit.
#59 Lost Immunity by Daniel Kalla. Will vaccines save Seattle from a deadly meningitis outbreak or will anti-vaxxers win the day?
26JenMDB
December
#60 The Sleeping Car Porter by Suzette Mayr. The exhaustion of sleep deprived Baxter is palpable. I've never taken such a stressful train journey!
#61 The Canterbury Sisters by Kim Wright. Rough start but once the pilgrims starting telling their stories, the book got much more interesting. That route from London to Canterbury doesn't seem to bear any resemblance to real life though.
#62 The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn. The real life Soviet sniper, Lyudmila Pavlichenko, has an impressive story. Dressed up in this novel, it's a bit long-winded but interesting.
#63 Mistletoe Matchmaker by Felicity Hayes-McCoy. Too many characters made the book clunkier than it needed to be. Also, the young people just didn't sound like young people - the main character Cassie definitely did not sound or behave like a young person from Toronto.
#64 A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny. Boxing Day complete. Have we met Fiona in previous books? All of a sudden she's like a niece to Gamache?
#65 French Braid by Anne Tyler. The paintings main character, Mercy, does are like Anne Tyler books - extreme close ups of very ordinary parts of family life against blurry backdrops of the rest of the world.
#66 The Winners by Fredrik Backmann. Sad but satisfying end to this trilogy. 673 pages went by quickly with familiar characters back to see things to logical conclusions in Beartown. A bit repetitive in places but the author is forgiven.
#60 The Sleeping Car Porter by Suzette Mayr. The exhaustion of sleep deprived Baxter is palpable. I've never taken such a stressful train journey!
#61 The Canterbury Sisters by Kim Wright. Rough start but once the pilgrims starting telling their stories, the book got much more interesting. That route from London to Canterbury doesn't seem to bear any resemblance to real life though.
#62 The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn. The real life Soviet sniper, Lyudmila Pavlichenko, has an impressive story. Dressed up in this novel, it's a bit long-winded but interesting.
#63 Mistletoe Matchmaker by Felicity Hayes-McCoy. Too many characters made the book clunkier than it needed to be. Also, the young people just didn't sound like young people - the main character Cassie definitely did not sound or behave like a young person from Toronto.
#64 A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny. Boxing Day complete. Have we met Fiona in previous books? All of a sudden she's like a niece to Gamache?
#65 French Braid by Anne Tyler. The paintings main character, Mercy, does are like Anne Tyler books - extreme close ups of very ordinary parts of family life against blurry backdrops of the rest of the world.
#66 The Winners by Fredrik Backmann. Sad but satisfying end to this trilogy. 673 pages went by quickly with familiar characters back to see things to logical conclusions in Beartown. A bit repetitive in places but the author is forgiven.
