Carolien 2022 Annual Reading Challenge - Complete

[Carolien]

I thought it would be fun to revisit my annual challenges and choose 2 authors from each year.

Preference to books that I already own. I may move house next year and my books will end up in storage for months, so I also chose ebooks where possible.

2014 I took every 14th book on my TBR and chose those that I already owned. https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
1. The Man Who Cast Two Shadows by Carol O'Connell Completed 27 July 4 stars
2. A Death in the Family by Michael Stanley Completed 4 April 4 stars

2015 I had borrowed sufficient books to construct a challenge! And my one choice is still from that list! https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
3. The Watsons by Jane Austen Completed 22 February
4. The Patience of the Spider by Andrea Camilleri

2016 I read books by the contributors to the Murder is Everywhere blog which added a pile of authors to my ongoing series challenge! https://murderiseverywhere.blogspot.com/ https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
5. Target: Tinos by Jeffrey Siger Completed 10 December 4 stars
6. Murder at Cape Three Points by Kwei Quartey Completed 13 November 4 stars

2017 was a project to read a century of crime by female authors. https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
7. The Studio Crime by Ianthe Jerrold Completed 14 September 3 stars
8. Death in the Andamans by M.M. Kaye Completed 14 January 4 stars

2018 was an effort to reduce my TBR by reading translated crime novels https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
9. Her Enemy by Leena Lehtolainen Completed 3 September 4 stars
10. The City of Blood by Frédérique Molay Completed 9 September 4 stars

2019 I read books by authors who contributed to Sunshine Noir https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
11. The Snake Stone by Jason Goodwin
12. City of Silver: A Mystery by Annamaria Alfieri Completed 20 March 4 stars

Alternates:
2020 and 2021 I focused on female African authors
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

13. Ancestor Stones by Aminatta Forna Completed 28 April 4 stars
14. Bird Summons by Leila Aboulela Completed 27 February 3.5 stars
15. The First Woman by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi
16. She Would Be King by Wayétu Moore

[Bill, Moderator]

I have Murder at Cape Three Points on my list. The remaining books are new to me.. Good luck, Carolien.

[Vikki, Moderator]

Great idea for choosing your books!

[Alondra, Moderator Schmoderator]

I really loved this idea. Like I said before; I will definitely be lurking for new books to read.

[Denise]

I haven't read any of your selections. Wish you luck on your challenge.

[Zora]

I've never heard of most of these, reminding me how very many books there are yet to be read in the world! Have fun with your challenge.

[Martha]

Great list! I look forward to your thoughts on them. Happy reading!

[Desley (Cat fosterer)]

Good luck, I haven't heard of any of these

[Lea]

I think the last time I read your post, I thought you were re-reading books you'd already read on the challenges in years past, but now I see that you are selecting books in the same manner as challenges past. The Watsons is the only book on this list that I've already read, but you've got some great choices. Best of luck!

[Ioana]

I love the way you picked your books, and again, I haven't read any of them. Your selections are always interesting, so I can't wait to see your reviews. Happy reading!

[Lillie]

Love how you set up your challenge. Can’t wait to see your reviews. I already know, based on past experience, that I’ll be putting several of these books on my tbr because of your reviews, lol

Good luck on your challenge.

[Kim. E.]

I remain fascinated by you and the way you develop your reading plans, and this continues that pattern. I only hope I stay focused enough throughout the year to savor your responses.

[Carolien]

First one down, Death in the Andamans by M.M. Kaye. A solid plot and characters, but the setting turns this into a 4 star read for me. In the introduction, M.M. Kaye explains how she visited the islands which are formally part of India, but much closer to Thailand and Myanmar, prior to WWII. In the book, a storm strikes the islands and a small group of British residents and visitors are marooned on tiny Ross island, This in itself was a prison for convicted murderers who were allowed to live on the island and act as servants after a few years of their sentence were served. And then murders are committed while no police can reach the island in the storm.

It's the final book by publication date in the series (1960), but they are in fact all stand alone books which share a title "Death in". M.M. Kaye's husband was in the British army and she wrote books set in places as she travelled the world with him -Kashmir, Zanzibar, Berlin, etc. She actually visited the islands before WWII, wrote the book in what is now Iran during the war and the house in the book was destroyed by Japanese bombs during the war. Really enjoyed it.

[Lillie]

I remember MM Kaye! I think I read Death in Zanzibar and maybe one other mystery novel by her back in the 80's. Maybe I need to revisit them. Wonder if they're in audio at the library.

The novels I do remember by her were The Far Pavilions and Shadow of the Moon and I think they're on my shelves somewhere. Memories.

[Carolien]

Lillie wrote: "I remember MM Kaye! I think I read Death in Zanzibar and maybe one other mystery novel by her back in the 80's. Maybe I need to revisit them. Wonder if they're in audio at the library..."

I've read most of her books, her autobiography is excellent. A trilogy starting with The Sun in the Morning: My Early Years in India and England.

[Lillie]

Carolien wrote: "I've read most of her books, her autobiography is excellent. A trilogy starting with The Sun in the Morning: My Early Years in India and England. "

I've put it on my tbr, thanks for the recommendation :)

[Carolien]

In the midst of an atrocious month for reading, I did manage to finish The Watsons by Jane Austen. It dates back to my 2015 challenge. It's difficult to rate as it is only the first 2 and a bit chapters, but I would have liked to see more of the characters. In any case, that means I have now read all her uncompleted manuscripts and am left with Emma and Mansfield Park to read.

[Martha]

Carolien wrote: "In the midst of an atrocious month for reading, I did manage to finish The Watsons by Jane Austen. It dates back to my 2015 challenge. It's difficult to rate as it is o..."

I'm reading Mansfield Park now & read Shadow of the Moon a year or so ago. Would like to read more of hers.

[Carolien]

I've just realised I finished one of my books in February, Bird Summons was my third by Leila Aboulela and I really enjoyed the characters. Three women sets off on a road trip to the grave of Lady Evelyn (Zainab) Cobbold. the first British woman to convert to Islam. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zainab_... Along the way the women have to change in themselves. I found the historical references very interesting, but a book to be read slowly. My favourite remains Lyrics Alley.

I need to take a strategic view of my remaining books, In the midst of the chaotic IT project at work (these days its something like 3 steps forward, 1 step back compared to the 1 step forward, 5 steps back in February, we call that progress), I accepted a new job offer for a great role in my field. However, it does require relocation to a different continent. My books will be in a container on the seas in about a month. We'll be in Chester, England in June. So the 4 actual books either needs to get read in April or will have to wait until sometime much later in the year. Wayne and I have a buddy read of one of them in April at least.

[Ioana]

I haven't read any Leila Aboulela yet, but thanks to your recommendation I have Lyrics Alley on my TBR. I just need to get to it...

Moving to another continent, how exciting! Is this a permanent or temporary move? I'm curious if/how your reading habits will change. I hope you'll keep reading lots of good African authors and recommend them to us, even though a lot of times their books are not easily available. Happy packing and good luck with the IT project. Will it go live by the time you leave?

[Carolien]

Ioana wrote: "I haven't read any Leila Aboulela yet, but thanks to your recommendation I have Lyrics Alley on my TBR. I just need to get to it...

Moving to another continent, how exciting! Is this a permanent o..."

Definitely a long-term move. My kids are 12 and 14 and we need them to at least finish school before we move anywhere else.

I'm planning to continue my African authors, I enjoy them too much!

The tragedy on my IT project is that it is live, our customers became our main testers! Not ideal at all.

[Ioana]

Carolien wrote: "The tragedy on my IT project is that it is live, our customers became our main testers! Not ideal at all."

Oh, test in production...sadly, I am very familiar with that concept. One of our clients is on the process of upgrading their system, constantly changing their code, and continuing the interface with our system, with terrible results (for us). It got so bad, we closed their gate, they are banned now. Manual data entry only, when we can control the data they are sending us.
Hope your project gets better soon.

[Carolien]

Ioana wrote: "Carolien wrote: "The tragedy on my IT project is that it is live, our customers became our main testers! Not ideal at all."

Oh, test in production...sadly, I am very familiar with that concept. On..."

I think that is what some of our clients would like to do to us...

[Ioana]

Carolien wrote: "I think that is what some of our clients would like to do to us..."

Ouch! For us, it was easy to do, we are the gate keepers...

[Desley (Cat fosterer)]

Wow, moving to the UK! You might not like the weather in Chester, unless you like a lot of rain! I went a few years ago, it's a lovely place and I hope you enjoy it.

[Lea]

Congratulations on your new opportunity and all the best for your move! A move is always a little bit crazy, and one of the important bits is making sure that you have the right books that you want to read at hand. Best wishes during this time of transition! :-)

[Carolien]

Another one done, City of Silver: A Mystery by Annamaria Alfieri. A solid plot, but fascinating setting - seventeenth century Potosi (in modern Bolivia) when the mine was responsible for most of the silver of the Spanish empire. I know very little about the Spanish conquest of South America, and even less about Bolivia, so the whole place and time was new to me. There is a vast cast of characters and it took me a while to sort out the names, but well worth the read.

[Lillie]

Congrats on the new job and the move. Super exciting!

[Alondra, Moderator Schmoderator]

Carolien wrote: "I've just realised I finished one of my books in February, Bird Summons was my third by Leila Aboulela and I really enjoyed the characters. Three women sets off on a ..."

Kudos on your reading progress and congratulations on the new job and move. I don't envy the moving though; I hate moving.

Good luck, Carolien!!

[Bill, Moderator]

Carolien wrote: "Another one done, City of Silver: A Mystery by Annamaria Alfieri. A solid plot, but fascinating setting - seventeenth century Potosi (in modern Bolivia) when the min..."

You're off to a great start, Carolien

[Carolien]

Fifth one done, A Death in the Family by the duo of Michael Stanley set in Botswana. Inspector Kubu is one of my favourite detectives, well-adjusted, eats a lot, drinks wine, sings opera and has a loving family. I wasn't enamoured with the previous instalment, but this is an easy read. Inspector Kubu gentle father who was struggling with Alzheimer's is stabbed to death. Kuba may not investigate and is assigned to investigate the murder made to look like suicide of an important civil servant. I enjoyed the characters and the plot. I highly recommend this series

[Patricia]

Sounds like a good series! I'll check it out (just what I need!)

[Carolien]

Half way. I finished Ancestor Stones by one of my favourite authors, Aminatta Forna. She tells the story of Sierra Leone through the eyes of four half-sisters starting in the 1920s and ending in 2003. The structure takes a bit of effort as the book is divided in 4 sections with 4 stories in each section and so you have to keep track of each woman's story across the sections. At some point, this will warrant a reread of each storyline in isolation. My favourite remains The Memory of Love, but this was a lovely read,

[Carolien]

Finally some progress, I have 2 left to go. If you like books set in New York, then The Man Who Cast Two Shadows is a good option.

I highly recommend Frédérique Molay's series set in Paris. It is an excellent police procedural. The City of Blood was my third one of the series.

I enjoy Leena Lehtolainen's Maria Kallio series set in Finland as well. Nice main character and good plots.

[Kristine]

Caroline~you are getting so close~great job. I have not heard of the books you’ve just mentioned, but all sound interesting set in New York, Paris, and Finland. Nice way to travel the world.

[Carolien]

Kristine wrote: "Caroline~you are getting so close~great job. I have not heard of the books you’ve just mentioned, but all sound interesting set in New York, Paris, and Finland. Nice way to travel the world."

It is a lovely way to see the world. I have 14 different countries on the list, I've just realised!

[Carolien]

And we're done! 12 down, it was a fun year!

[Pam]

Congrats! 😃

[Linette]

Congratulations on a challenge finish!

[Bill, Moderator]

Congratulations, Carolien! I hope 2023 is as enjoyable.

[Lillie]

Congrats Carolien!

[Martha]

Congratulations!! OK, you've drawn me in ,,, I'm checking out the Inspector Kubu series. I love M. M. Kaye ... need to read another.

[Lea]

Congratulations, Carolien! Glad to hear this was a fun year and hope next year will be the same!

[Alondra, Moderator Schmoderator]

Carolien wrote: "And we're done! 12 down, it was a fun year!"

Woo-hoo!! Congratulations, Carolien. So proud of you. Amidst a move across the way, and still completed many of your challenges while enabling the rest of the group. Truly, Commendable!! 🤔☺️🤣

[Desley (Cat fosterer)]

Well done