2022 What Are You Reading?

[Alice]

I am reading A Dark Night Hidden book 6 in the Hawkenlye mystery series.
This one has Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine in it, so it is a special treat.
Alway a good glimple into history with a good mystery.

[PattyMacDotComma]

Jess Kidd has taken the difficult history of the 17th century Dutch ship 'Batavia' and tied it to a contemporary Australian story through two wonderful nine-year-old children. The Night Ship is well-researched and beautifully written, with a little bit of magical realism readers should love.
4★ My review

[PattyMacDotComma]

I liked learning a bit more of DCI Vera Stanhope's background in The Woman on the Island, a short story by Ann Cleeves. Why did the daughter of a petty crim become a cop?
4★ My review

[Jayme(theghostreader)]

I am reading Spin the Dawn

[PattyMacDotComma]

I reckon Neil Armstrong deserved better than he got from Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara in this addition to a children's biographical series I am usually enthusiastic about.
3.4★ My review with some pictures

[PattyMacDotComma]

I loved The Secret Life of Birds by Moira Butterfield. it is an entertaining delight for kids and their grown-ups. The fact that it's full of information doesn't hurt either (meaning I learned things 😊).
5★ My review with several illustrations

[Carolyn]

I really enjoyed The Bookseller of Inverness by S.G. MacLean, a gripping blend of historical fact and fiction in a tale of deceit and intrigue in the Scottish Highlands in the aftermath of the Battle of Culloden.

review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Jayme(theghostreader)]

I finished reading First Test and reading Ten Big Ones

[Peggyzbooksnmusic]

Finished The Winter Crown #2 Eleanor of Aquitaine by Elizabeth Chadwick. Rated 4 stars. Set in 12th century England & France. Those Plantagenets were a ruthless family!

[Lizet]

The Notebook, by Nicholas Sparks.

[Kathryn]

Marrying the Ketchups. It's a perfect summer read: warm, witty and fairly light.

[PattyMacDotComma]

Mick Herron's Slough House series is the perfect mix of political intrigue, action, and humour. Here the Slow Horses are up against some Bad Actors indeed. Love it!
5★ My review

[Lizet]

byNicholas Sparks
I feel bad for not finishing this book, but it didn't grab my attention.

[PattyMacDotComma]

Lizet wrote: "byNicholas Sparks
I feel bad for not finishing this book, but it didn't grab my attention."

Don't feel bad, Lizet - enjoy the time reading something else. Good luck with your next choice!

[PattyMacDotComma]

The current FBI stories have reminded me of the Bureau's connection with First Nations Peoples, whose treatment around the world is also much in the news.

David Grann of 'The New Yorker' wrote Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI. I am still furious about this case, as I'm sure most readers would be.

5★ My review with a couple of photos

[Kathryn]

I'm reading a real weird one now: The Mirror. Written in the 1970s, it's about a "modern" (for the 70s) young woman who changes places in time with her grandmother in 1900. Not quite sure I'm loving it, but I'm interested enough to see where this concept goes.

[Christina]

I'm reading the Guest List by Lucy Foley. Just started it! Hopefully its
the thriller it claims to be.

[Christina]

Sounds interesting. Curious to see what you think!

[Jenny]

The River Rose
I am reading The River Rose by Gilbert Morris. It is one of a series of three books based on life on the mighty Mississippi in the early 20th century. Morris is a historical fiction Christian author who is able to romanticize life on the river steamboats of those days making me wish that I could go back in time.

[Margaret]

I’m reading American Dirt set in Mexico and telling of a brave mother and son fleeing the drug cartels who had murdered her family.

[Cheryl A]

Took a long weekend on the beach - sand, sun & books! With no internet rabbit hole to fall into and no household chores to distract me, I managed to make a little inroads into the TBR pile. Finished a few that had been hanging on my list for years!! Sarah's Quilt by Nancy E. Turner, The Low Road by A.D. Scott and Thus Was Adonis Murdered by Sarah Caudwell. The drive there and back also cut into the 31 hours of The Gilded Hour by Sara Donati, which I've been listening to for a couple of months in the car - a short commute makes audio book listening a drawn out affair, especially with big chunkers like this!

[Don]

Congratulations, Cheryl. You made significant inroads in your stack of books, not to mention audiobooks. And what a great place to read, too. Must have been pure joy.

[Ashley Marie]

I'm determined to finish Dreaming the Eagle, which has been on my owned-TBR for years. I picked it up over a month ago and it's dense with small print, and I've barely scratched the 100-page mark. I keep getting distracted by shorter/easier books but I do enjoy myself any time I'm able to pick it up.

[Peggyzbooksnmusic]

Finished A Test of Wills #1 Inspector Ian Rutledge by Charles Todd. Rated 4 stars. Listened to Hoopla audio narration by Samuel Gillies while reading library e-book. Very strong beginning for this historical mystery series set in 1920's England post WWI. Compelling characterizations and a mystery with a surprise ending.

[PattyMacDotComma]

I recently enjoyed a famous, creepy old story, The Yellow Wallpaper with the Short Story Group. Very 'Twilight Zone' and good fun ... or is it?
4★ My review

[PattyMacDotComma]

Just finished How We Disappear: Novella & Stories. Each of these stories is interesting and unique, with memorable characters in settings all over the world. Tara Lynn Masih is an author worth watching.
4.5★ My review

[PattyMacDotComma]

I've just read and loved The Queen of Dirt Island by one of my favourite authors, Donal Ryan, who captures the sound and cadence of Irish speech better than anyone I can think of. His writing is the best!
5★ My review

[Jayme(theghostreader)]

Finished Ten Big Ones and Eleven On Top and starting Home from the Sea

[Jenny]

Margaret wrote: "I’m reading American Dirt set in Mexico and telling of a brave mother and son fleeing the drug cartels who had murdered her family."


Sounds interesting . this book might help us understand why so many people flee from their home countries.

[Diana]

I read American Dirt. I didn’t realize how haunted and tense I was until I finished the book. I ‘lived’ the whole story! How awful to fear for your life from people who are so ruthless and cruel and to not know who to trust. This is a very gripping story!

[Phair]

Just finished The Girl in His Shadow . It was good but I felt like it needed a little editing down - sometimes too much detail. Or maybe I was just too tired.
Decent period atmosphere (1845-46) and some vivid descriptions that stick in my mind. You learn lots about period medical practices. Be glad we live in more enlightened times. Definitely left scope for a second book which is already out there. The Surgeon's Daughter. Not ready for that yet but Mt TBR just got higher.

[PattyMacDotComma]

Diana wrote: "I read American Dirt. I didn’t realize how haunted and tense I was until I finished the book. I ‘lived’ the whole story! How awful to fear for your life from people who are so ruthless and cruel an..."

I didn't quite "live" American Dirt, but I sure was furious about the situation we create for people all over the world. I thought Jeanine Cummins did a good job of showing the US-Mexico border issues.

Did you write a review, Diana? Or post a few thoughts? Do!

I read and reviewed it a couple of years ago. Here are my thoughts, if you're interested. There was quite a conversation below it in the comments, too!
5★ My review of American Dirt

[PattyMacDotComma]

I can see why Alex North's mystery/thriller The Whisper Man was such a hit a couple of years ago. There is nothing like a serial killer who is kidnapping children to get the heart racing and put the community and police force on edge!

4.5★ My review

[Carolyn]

It's been a while since I read a book in Candace Robb's excellent medieval series featuring Owen Archer, ex captain of the King's archers and then a spy. Now in this fourteenth book in the series, it is 1376 and he is Captain of the Bailiffs in York, living with his apothecary wife and children. A murder on the sheriff's land sparks off an investigation into a heinous plot that will require all Owen's skill and intuition to prevent.

A Fox in the Fold

review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Chris]

Just finished Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum
Dual timeline, but majority set in WWII Germany.

[Jayme(theghostreader)]

Finished Home from the Sea, starting First Warning: Acorna's Children

[PattyMacDotComma]

I just read The Thing Around Your Neck, a collection of short stories by Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Her people and settings range from the United States to both cities and traditional villages in Nigeria.
4★ My review

[PattyMacDotComma]

I have also read an old, but still hair-raising, short story about four men in a small dinghy on the high seas! The Open Boat by Stephen Crane is excellent. I have added links to the story and other info in my review.
5★ My review

[Margaret]

I’m
Reading Saviour Fish about living on an island on Lake Victoria. A fascinating glimpse into rural life in Africa.

[Jayme(theghostreader)]

I finished First Warning: Acorna's Children and starting Twelve Sharp

[Alice]

I finished Horse by Geraldine Brooks The book comes from 3 different time lines 1850s , 1950s and 2019. Lot's of interesting horse discussion, and current day of finding painting and skeleton of horse. I enjoyed the horse part of the story much more than modern day Smithsonian part.. Check out the Thomas Scott's portrait of Lexington. Beautiful horse. I do not know much about horses so this was a good learning book for me.

reply | edit | delete | flag

[Nan]

I’m reading The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (I don’t know how much I link it).

[PattyMacDotComma]

The Partisan has everything: hot war, cold war, spies, assassins, history, and real people who fight, love, and care. It's hard to believe it's Patrick Worrall's debut novel. A great story about a dark time in Europe.
5★ My review

[Carolyn]

Jonas Flynt is the honourable thief of the title, a swashbuckling ex- soldier and spy taxed with retrieving a missing document, rumoured to be Queen Anne's will naming her heir. Set in Jacobite England and Scotland, it's a rollicking good tale and enjoyable historical fiction.

An Honourable Thief by Douglas Skelton

review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Peggyzbooksnmusic]

Finished Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James. Rated 2 stars. Disappointed in this Jane Austen/Pride and Prejudice mystery. On a positive note it has inspired me to re-read in the future the beloved original novel and re-watch the marvelous mini-series with Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy!

[Janice]

I am rereading Middlemarch by George Eliot

[Peggyzbooksnmusic]

Finished The Autumn Throne #3 Eleanor of Aquitaine by Elizabeth Chadwick. Rated 4 stars. Very much enjoyed reading this trilogy on the life of one of the most important and influential females from the 12th century.

[〰️Beth〰️]

Just finished
Love by Maayan Eitan
The Salvage Crew by Yudhanjaya Wijeratne

Currently
Pollak's Arm by Hans von Trotha
Masters of the Broken Watches by Razi Imam
They Who Do Not Grieve by Sia Figiel

Up next
The Adventures of China Iron by Gabriela Cabezón Cámara
Faces on the Tip of My Tongue by Emmanuelle Pagano
The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree by Shokoofeh Azar

[PattyMacDotComma]

It's impossible to figure out who all The Liars are in Aussie author Petronella McGovern's new small town mystery. From colonial crimes to more recent rapes and disappearances, it seems nobody is safe and anybody could be under suspicion.
3★ My review of The Liars

[PattyMacDotComma]

I wish all books written for young people were as appealing as Blueback is to readers of any age. Much-awarded Aussie author Tim Winton knows exactly how to talk to kids, without talking down, when describing his beloved coast and its precious underwater world.
5★ My review of Blueback