2022 What Are You Reading?

[Alice]

I am reading a wonderful historical mystery A Shrine of Murders by C.L. Grace. aka Paul Doherty. Set in 1471 England. Mr. Doherty is a wonderful story teller and Historian. This is a first in a series about Healer Kathryn Swinbrooke. Very good story.

[Sarah-Hope]

Whee! I just finished the most recent (and hilarious) volume in Graham Brack's Master Mercurius mystery series set in late 17th Century Europe. The Lying Dutchman

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

[Abigail]

Great title, and that series sounds like a lot of fun! Thanks for letting us know about it.

[Alice]

I am enjoying The Last Night in London by Karen White. Set in WWII and 2019 London. I am not that far in but it is well written and story has grabbed my attention.

[Kathryn]

Sea of Tranquility. It turns out to be about time travel. Really enjoying it.

[Abigail]

Reading a charming classic, The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim.

[Tanisha]

Tomb of Sand by Geetanjali shree. It's first Hindi translation to be shortlisted for Booker prize 2022. As a Hindi speaker I'm amazed how well this translation has captured the essence of what author wanted to convey. Kudos to Daisy Rockwell, English translator of the book.

[Abigail]

Great that you gave a shout-out to a translation! When it’s well done it’s extraordinary, and so many people take it for granted.

[Janice]

Abigail wrote: "Reading a charming classic, The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim."

I love The Enchanted April <3

[Margaret]

I’ve just finished A hundred Crickets singing and Night bird calling

[Margaret]

Both are by Cathy Gohlke and concern the same families , love loyalty and racism from 1860, World wars and the sixties. Five stars for me

[Abigail]

Me too, Janice! This was my second reading and I think I loved it more than the first time.

[Alice]

I have started A Trust Betrayed . Book one in the series set in 1297 Scotland. I am enjoying it so far. I have not read many books set in that time period in Scotland. Our main character, Margaret Kerr, is interesting and well written.

[Don]

I just finished a compelling book, "Searching for Nora: After the Doll's House" by Wendy Swallow. Very well written. It felt like a long read, but I was hooked throughout. She used the end of Henrik Ibsen's play, A Doll's House, to launch her own story of the main character, Nora Helmer, who walks out the door leaving her husband and three children to escape a stifling, loveless marriage. I recommend it highly. Here's the link of my review:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...

[Janice]

Don wrote: "I just finished a compelling book, "Searching for Nora: After the Doll's House" by Wendy Swallow. Very well written. It felt like a long read, but I was hooked throughout. She used the end of Henri..."

Great review! I just added it to my TBR list. Do I need to read The Doll's House first?

[Jim]

Finished reading Dream Town

by David Baldacci

My Review

[Don]

Janice: Thank you, so happy the review was helpful. No need for a detailed understanding of the play, the book captures well Nora’s motivation for leaving. But you might want to glance at a general overview of Ibsen’s play, since it is the launching pad for the book. I sure hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Don

[Peggyzbooksnmusic]

Finished Saint Peter's Fair #4 The Chronicles of Brother Cadfael by Ellis Peters. Historical mystery set in 12th century England. Rated 4 stars. Love Cadfael!

[PattyMacDotComma]

It's unusual to cheer for a bad guy who steals just because he's good at it, but I did find myself warming to Aussie author Garry Disher's Wyatt. Kickback is one of Disher's earliest books and the first in the Wyatt series.
4★ My review of Kickback with no spoilers

[PattyMacDotComma]

I just enjoyed the first of this entertaining, quirky historical mystery series. Lady Hardcastle is seeking A Quiet Life in the Country, but author T.E. Kinsey ensures her sleuthing talents don't go to waste. Just what I needed - a good cosy!
4★ My review of A Quiet Life in the Country (with quotes, but no spoilers)

[Alice]

It is a fun series. I really enjoy it

[Patricia]

I'm reading The Magnolia Palace and have also started Death of an Avid Reader for a library book club. I've enjoyed the Kate Shackleton series so far, so looking forward to getting into this one. (Plus I love the title!)

[Abigail]

I got an early start on The Murmur of Bees and am enjoying it a lot, despite a confusing beginning.

[Ashley Marie]

Currently working my way through a nonfiction book, Dismembering Lahui: A History of the Hawaiian Nation to 1887, to wrap up AAPI Heritage Month.

[Margaret]

I really enjoyed The Lincoln Highway

[PattyMacDotComma]

Doctor Ice Pick sounds like some kind of snake-oil salesman from a couple of centuries ago, but this short non-ficton piece by Claire Prentice explains how recently he and his trainees were poking into brains of disturbed patients. ACK!
3★ My review of Doctor Ice Pick

[PattyMacDotComma]

I really enjoyed the characters in The Secret World of Connie Starr, Aussie author Robbi Neal's new novel. It begins during the Depression and goes to 1952 in the small country town of Ballarat, Victoria. It's hard to keep secrets in a small town.
4★ My review of The Secret World of Connie Starr

[Berit]

Since the attack on Ukraine began, I’ve read ridiculously many books about war. Currently I’m reading The Passion by Jeanette Winterson. Young Henri is far too young and innocent to go to war, but still joins Napoleon’s army. Lovely book so far.

[Peggyzbooksnmusic]

Finished Death in Focus #1 Elena Standish by Anne Perry. Historical mystery/espionage series set during 1930's England, Italy and Germany. Rated 3 stars. Enjoyed enough that I'll probably continue the series.

[PattyMacDotComma]

Berit wrote: "Since the attack on Ukraine began, I’ve read ridiculously many books about war. Currently I’m reading The Passion by Jeanette Winterson. Young Henri is far too young and innocent to go to war..."

I enjoyed that one, Berit. Winterson is an interesting writer!

[PattyMacDotComma]

All readers should download these Buzz Book samplers for free when they are offered. Buzz Books 2022: Fall/Winter has excerpts from heaps of new Fiction, Debut, Nonfiction, and Young Adult books due out soon. I've mentioned some I like, of course!
5★ Link to my review of the latest Buzz Books with some quotes

[PattyMacDotComma]

Home for a While by Lauren Kerstein, brightly illustrated by Natalia Moore is the story of little Calvin, who is arriving at yet another foster home, feeling unwanted and angry. But Maggie knows what she's doing!
4.5★ Link to my review of Home For a While with several illustrations

[PattyMacDotComma]

I think readers who enjoyed Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine are going to enjoy meeting Nita Prose's lovable Molly The Maid. She's a square peg who's much more genuine than most who fit in the round holes of the world.
4★ My review of The Maid

[Cheryl A]

My reading has been a hot mess lately. Started listening/reading A Second Chance (love the narration of this series) and did an early start of the TBR Summer Challenge with The Gilded Hour - two totally separate genres, so I figured I could keep up with both. And I did, until...oops, IRL HF Book Club was in three days and I hadn't started the book. Put both A Second Chance and The Gilded Hour aside and did a quick speed re-read of The Pull of the Stars, finishing just in time for Book Club. Continued on with A Second Chance and started The Most Dazzling Girl in Berlin for work. Had to leave The Gilded Hour aside - can't do two HF at the same time.

So, I've now finished everything but The Gilded Hour, which will be a small chunk book. Picked up How the Finch Stole Christmas! as I need light, fluffy and cold right now!

May need to find the local chapter of Readers Anonymous :)

[Peggyzbooksnmusic]

Cheryl A wrote: "My reading has been a hot mess lately. Started listening/reading A Second Chance (love the narration of this series) and did an early start of the TBR Summer Challenge with [book:Th..."

Cheryl; Loved your comment at the end of above post:
"May need to find the local chapter of Readers Anonymous" lol!

[Peggyzbooksnmusic]

PattyMacDotComma wrote: "I think readers who enjoyed Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine are going to enjoy meeting Nita Prose's lovable Molly The Maid. She's a square peg ..."

Patty; Great review! My book radar completely missed this title! Now on a long wait list at library :)

[Sarah-Hope]

Barbara Hambly's Death and Hard Cider is the best volume yet in the Benjamin January mystery series set in Pre-Civil War New Orleans—both in terms of mystery and in its examination of the politics of the time. That Benjamin January, the central character, is a free man of color makes the perspective of this novel particularly interesting.

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

[Ashley Marie]

I started The Invention of Wings on audiobook this morning. This is one of those books where I feel like I'm SO LATE to the party, but I'm enjoying it considerably.

[Abigail]

Better read late than never! I’m still waiting for a moment to read Where the Crawdads Sing. I’m always a slow adopter of any books “everyone” is reading.

[Ashley Marie]

Abigail wrote: "Better read late than never! I’m still waiting for a moment to read Where the Crawdads Sing. I’m always a slow adopter of any books “everyone” is reading."

That's definitely part of it, letting the hype die down. Crawdads is another one on my summer list!

[PattyMacDotComma]

Peggyzbooksnmusic wrote: "PattyMacDotComma wrote: "I think readers who enjoyed Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine are going to enjoy meeting Nita Prose's lovable Molly The Maid.

My book radar completely missed this title! Now on a long wait list at library :)"

I was lucky and found a digital edition available at my library. I didn't think it sounded like what I wanted when I saw it promoted originally, but I'm glad I decided to look for it later.

[PattyMacDotComma]

I loved the world/s of the characters in Gabrielle Zevin's latest, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow. In games, you can get a new life, start over - extra tomorrows. In real life, they struggle like the rest of us.
4.5~5★ My review of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

[Alice]

I am reading The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton. Good so far set in 1634 Amsterdam., Starts in Batavia with boat travel. Dutch West India Company.

[Maureen]

I am reading Ashton Hall by Lauren Belfer. I am enjoying it so far. Old English manor room with secret rooms and dark secrets. Very Gothic.

[Don]

I just finished an engaging, well-written novel, The Emblem, by Alisa Weiss, a fellow author and friend. It's a story about interracial love and the resistance to it in an old Washington State mining town during the hard times of the 1930s. It's based on a rich and true history of a town where the residue of racial conflict lingers stemming from a miners' strike in 1889. Alisa is a wonderful writer, storyteller and person. Here's my review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Abigail]

Sounds very interesting, Don! I put it on my TBR. Currently reading another book from the same era but the other side of the country, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston.

[Don]

Abigail: I’m so glad it was helpful. Thank you for your comment. I must check out your current read. Thanks for that, too. Don

[Kathryn]

About halfway through The Lincoln Highway. I can see why it has been so well-reviewed. The story really grabs you and doesn't let go.

[annika]

Just finished up Sistersong by Lucy Holland, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab, and The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles.

All three of them captivated me in various ways. Just began reading When Stars are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed today and while it's for middle grade, it's equally as enthralling (not HF, however).

[Peggyzbooksnmusic]

Finished The Outlaw Knight #2 FitzWarin by Elizabeth Chadwick set in Medieval England. Rated 4 stars.
Link to my short review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...