2022 What Are You Reading?

[Carolyn]

I've just finished the first in an Australian series of historical mysteries set during the 1940s, quite dark and gritty with a truly evil murderer
The Holiday Murders by Robert Gott

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

[Sophie]

Currently reading ‘The Swift and the Harrier’ by Minette Walters as I leave my Tudor/ James I history behind and delve into the English civil well and restoration.

[Alice]

I am reading a new to my historical mystery author
Death at Greenway by Lori Radar-Day. Set in WWII England. Very good so far.

[Brooke]

I am about to start Violeta by Isabel Allende. Picking it up this afternoon.

[Ashley Marie]

Currently listening to A Clash of Steel: A Treasure Island Remix and while it's pitched as a Treasure Island retelling, it comes across as more of a straight historical fiction piece set in the South China Sea. I'm not complaining either way, and Emily Woo Zeller reads wonderfully, as always.

[Janice]

I have stopped reading Cider with Rosie by Laurie Lee and am now rereading Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

[Kimberly]

Just started The Second Mrs Astor - enjoying its so far!

[Julia]

Kimberly wrote: "Just started The Second Mrs Astor - enjoying its so far!"

This has been on my TR list for awhile, let us know how you like it.

[Kathryn]

Just started The Whole Five Feet: What the Great Books Taught Me about Life, Death, and Pretty Much Everything Else. It's about a young man who decided to read the whole Harvard Classics in one year. A nice follow-up to The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary, which I just finished.

[PattyMacDotComma]

I loved Geographies of the Heart by Caitlin Hamilton Summie. She writes wonderful short stories, but this is her first novel.
4.5~5★ Link to my review of Geographies of the Heart

[PattyMacDotComma]

How disappointing. I have enjoyed many of Aussie author Di Morrissey's historical fiction novels, but this contemporary one, Before the Storm, seems embarrassingly amaeurish as well as preachy. Could do better.
2.5★ Link to my review of Before the Storm

[Ashley Marie]

I started listening to A Most Clever Girl yesterday, about Elizabeth Bentley, someone I've never heard of. Excited!

[Gareth]

I’m reading Michael Fass’s Napoleon’s Drop. I discovered it because he is an expert on Bonaparte’s confinement on St Helena and a substantial part of my recently published novel, Needing Napoleon, is set on that island.
I have certainly not been disappointed by the in depth historical detail married to a well-paced story of a possible escape attempt.

[Abigail]

Started How Beautiful We Were by Imbolo Mbue.

[Sarah-Hope]

Another great addition to my favorite historical mystery series.
Fierce Poison

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

[Christopher]

Nonfiction rather than historical fiction, but currently reading The Bright Ages: A New History of Medieval Europe by Matthew Gabriele & David M. Perry. I'm only about 4 chapters in, but I'm really enjoying it. Fascinating insights, and the writing itself is superb—even beautiful at times.

[PattyMacDotComma]

I knew nothing about Letters to Camondo or Edmund de Waal, but just happened upon this fascinating biography, written as letters to "you", Count Moïse de Camondo, who lived in Paris during WWII.
4.5★ Link to my review of Letters to Camondo with a few photos and a link to more

[Dem]

Finished A Woman Made of Snow by Elisabeth Gifford

www.goodreads.com/review/show/4264946247

[Ashley Marie]

I reread The Complete Maus yesterday and gosh is it still an incredible story.

[Rosina]

Another non-fiction book - I have just started The Surgeon of Crowthorne: A Tale of Murder, Madness & the Love of Words . I had read something of Dr Minor in other books, but this looks as if it is going to be interesting.

[Sharon]

I'm about 50 pages into The Magician. It's a little slow going but I've got about 450 more pages in which to adjust myself to the pace.

[PattyMacDotComma]

I have missed Mick Herron's spies, the Slow Horses. These two novellas slot neatly into his much-loved Slough House series but can be enjoyed together without reading the rest.

The List is #2.5 and shows John Bachelor doing 'the milk run', babysitting retired, elderly spooks. Tricky!
4.5★ My review of The List

The Drop is #5.5 and follows the action from The List. Old-school tricks are recognised by old-school spooks!
4.5★ My review of The Drop


These are also available as a single book.
The Drop & The List

[Abigail]

Finishing up How Beautiful We Were by Imbolo Mbue and about to read a historical novel about Jane Austen’s sister, Miss Austen by Gill Hornby.

[PattyMacDotComma]

My non-review shows why book reviewers are important. I also link to a very informative real review by a scientist and the interesting NZ article that sent me down this rabbit hole! Please avoid this book, though.
Charles Darwin: Victorian Mythmaker by A.N. Wilson
1★ (for the cover) Link to my non-review and reasons I posted it

[Alice]

I have started The Frangipani Tree Mystery yesterday. Love it. Set in 1936 Singapore. Ms. Yu does a great job describing the time period and the people of Singapore and how colonial rule effects the country. Only 40 pages in but really enjoy it. Will be reading more today.

[Sarah]

Picked up The Lost Letter off of my shelf yesterday after it was sitting there for at least four years and I'm so glad that I did. I loved every piece of this book and was so entrenched in the story. My Review

[Joanne]

Finished with The Stolen Lady-very good reading!
Now reading Violeta, which is just OK at this point (about half way). I usually love Isabel Allende, but I am having a rough go with this one.

[PattyMacDotComma]

The only short story Toni Morrison ever wrote, Recitatif, has been reissued with an introduction by Zadie Smith. It is a real mind-bender. Which girl is black, which white? I loved it.
5★ Link to my review of Recitatif with a link to an article by Zadie Smith.

[PattyMacDotComma]

Edgware Road by Yasmin Cordery Khan tells the story of an international banking scandal and how an English-Pakistani family living in London got caught up in it, to the point that someone ends up dead. Excellent!
4.5~5★ Link to my Edgware Road review

[Abigail]

Finished How Beautiful We Were by Imbolo Mbue and started a histfic story about Jane Austen’s sister, Cassandra: Miss Austen by Gill Hornby.

[Kathryn]

Just started Harlem Shuffle. I enjoyed Whitehead's previous book The Underground Railroad

[Sarah-Hope]

Very much enjoyed The Zig Zag Girl —a new Elly Griffiths series for me. Post-WWII with an eclectic mix of characters.

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

[PattyMacDotComma]

I'm really enjoying this historical mystery series by C.S. Harris, set in London in the early 1800s with England and France at war (again? still? always?). In Why Mermaids Sing, Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Lord Devlin, is investigating a murder, and then another, and then . . .
4.5★ Link to my review of Why Mermaids Sing

[PattyMacDotComma]

I enjoyed Aussie author Kerry Greenwood's glamorous and fearless (almost) Phryne Fisher flying her Gipsy Moth over the Australian Alps in the 1930s in The Green Mill Murder, #5 in this entertaining series.
3.5~4★ Link to my Green Mill Murder review

[Abigail]

You remind me that I really must read the Sebastian St. Cyr series, Patty!

[Bruce]

I finished by

[PattyMacDotComma]

Abigail wrote: "You remind me that I really must read the Sebastian St. Cyr series, Patty!"

I kept being prompted by reviews from a GR friend in another group and finally succumbed this year. Love it! Great mix of history, mystery, and intrigue with a touch of romance.

[PattyMacDotComma]

The Things They Carried in Vietnam include more than stuff. This phenomenal book by Tim O'Brien was a finalist for the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Included in a soldier's burden are shame, fear, and embarrassment. I feel like I know his people, and I wish they hadn't had to go.
5★ Link to my review of The Things They Carried

[Abigail]

Finished Miss Austen and was somewhat disappointed (though it’s way better than The Lost Apothecary); moving on to a group read in a different group, The Sorrows of Satan; or, The Strange Experience of One Geoffrey Tempest, Millionaire by Marie Corelli.

[Kathryn]

Just started Small World. Enjoying it so far. It checks a lot of my boxes: a historical family saga that shuttles back & forth between different time periods.

[Kelli]

I'm currently reading Savage Beginnings (The Moretti Crime Family, #1)

[Janice]

I finished Dinner with Edward: A Story of an Unexpected Friendship by Isabel Vincent and Anne of Green Gables (a reread). I loved them both!! Today I started March: Book One by John Lewis.

[Dem]

Finished and enjoyed The Last House on the Street by Diane Chamberlain

My Review: /www.goodreads.com/review/show/4528828653

[Dem]

Finished and enjoyed The Woman in the White Kimono by Ana Johns

My Review: www.goodreads.com/review/show/4188565914

[Rosina]

I have just finished The House by the Lake: A Story of Germany. I found it interesting - the history of a house in Germany, from the 1920s to date - but thought it could have been better organised.

[PattyMacDotComma]

Author Chris Gill is originally a 'product' of the UK and NZ who now lives in Australia. (YAY!) His latest book, Boy Fallen, takes place on the rugged west coast of NZ's South Island. Accident or murder? It's a good story in a great setting - worth a look.
3★ My review of Boy Fallen

[PattyMacDotComma]

Buzz Books 2022: Spring/Summer has a long list of books coming out this year, and it includes excerpts from many of them. Authors range from winners of the Nobel and Pulitzer Prizes to debut authors new to the market. It's a great way to get a taste of what's out there.
5★ My review of Buzz Books 2022 Spring/Summer, which has a link to where you can download a copy for free

[John]

Really enjoying Amor Towles The Lincoln Highway - BTW, the audio book is terrific. Have also enjoyed the Pam Jenoff Kommandant books, Kate Quinn's Rose Code, and Victoria Thompson's Gaslight series.

[Peggyzbooksnmusic]

Finished two historical mysteries.
The Beekeeper's Apprentice #1 Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes by Laurie R. King. Rated 4 stars. An interesting interpretation of the Sherlock Holmes legend.
Murder at the Mena House #1 Jane Wunderly by Erica Ruth Neubauer. Rated 3 stars. Enjoyable cozy mystery set in 1920's Egypt.

[Jayme(theghostreader)]

Currently reading Intriguesby Mercedes Lackey