2022 What Are You Reading?

[Alice]

Peggyzbooksnmusic wrote: "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/4..."

Wonderful books. Elizabeth Chadwick is one of my all time favorite authors.

[Alice]

I am reading The Body in the Garden by Katharine Schellman. Set in 1914 London. I am not very far into it yet, but I enjoy the writing style and the caring of the characters. Ms. Schellman is a new to me Author.

[Peggyzbooksnmusic]

Alice wrote: "I am reading The Body in the Garden by Katharine Schellman. Set in 1914 London. I am not very far into it yet, but I enjoy the writing st..."

This series sounds intriguing! Our library has it both as e-pub & audio so added to TBR list :)

[Jayme(theghostreader)]

I have finished Acorna's Quest and Acorna's People. I started reading Acorna's World

[Abigail]

Reading Belinda by Maria Edgeworth.

[PattyMacDotComma]

The Lying Dutchman by Graham Brack is the latest entertaining (and informative) adventure of Master Mercurius, a gentle Dutch cleric, coerced into spying in 17th century England. Always entertaining!
4★ My review of The Lying Dutchman

[PattyMacDotComma]

The Woman in the Library, by one of my favourite Aussie authors, Sulari Gentill, is a wonderfully tricky, multi-layered mystery where I think I suspected almost everyone, real and fictional. A great read!
4.5~5★ My review of The Woman in the Library"

[Peggyzbooksnmusic]

PattyMacDotComma wrote: "The Woman in the Library, by one of my favourite Aussie authors, Sulari Gentill, is a wonderfully tricky, multi-layered mystery where I think I suspected almost eve..."

Our library added this! Now on waiting list although not reading ANY reviews until done reading :) Am thrilled to see you rated it so highly!

[Abigail]

Have started reading A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth in parallel with Belinda by Maria Edgeworth. A Suitable Boy opens in 1951 in India but since it was published in 1993, it’s not quite historical fiction according to the parameters followed here. And since it’s 1,500 pages long (!!!), I can’t imagine it will remain in 1951 all the time. Enjoying both books so far.

[PattyMacDotComma]

Peggyzbooksnmusic wrote: "PattyMacDotComma wrote: "The Woman in the Library, by one of my favourite Aussie authors, Sulari Gentill, is a wonderfully tricky, multi-layered mystery where I thi..."

You'll like this one, Peggy. It's nothing like dear Rowly Sinclair and his "family", but it's fun!

[PattyMacDotComma]

I was surprised to learn I was a bit mistaken about the significance of the actual date, June 19. The Juneteenth Story: Celebrating the End of Slavery in the United States by Alliah L. Agostini set me straight in this well-illustrated book for kids (and ignorant grown-ups like me).
4★ My Juneteenth Story review with pictures

[Jayme(theghostreader)]

I finished Acorna's World and starting Off the Leash: A Year at the Dog Park

[Kathryn]

Life Sentences. It's the history of a troubled Irish family from the mid-nineteenth century until almost the end of the twentieth.

[Bingbong]

Hi everyone, I just finished 3 of Kate Quinns books, loving every moment of it!!




I am about halfway through the third book in series

[Jules]

I'm reading the new book "The Importance of Sons" (Chronicles of the House of Valois, #2) by Keira Morgan. French Renaissance royal drama. Very good!

[Janice]

Abigail wrote: "Have started reading A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth in parallel with Belinda by Maria Edgeworth. A Suitable Boy opens in 1951 in India but since it was published in 1993, ..."

I have A Suitable Boy on my TBR. :)

[Janice]

Adrie wrote: "Hi everyone, I just finished 3 of Kate Quinns books, loving every moment of it!!




I am abo..."

I have all of these on my TBR list. :) My first and only Kate Quinn book I have read so far is The Alice Network which I loved.

[PattyMacDotComma]

I am very fond of Aussie author Emma Viskic's Caleb Zelic, but this is said to be the deaf investigator's last story. (I tweeted to her that Kat and the ancestors will pester her to continue!) Those Who Perish is excellent, and I want more!
4.5~5★ My review of Those Who Perish

[PattyMacDotComma]

Sherlock Holmes Retold for Children by Alex Woolf with illustrations by Eve O'Brien is a terrific set of classic stories that can be enjoyed by all ages. This is a 16-book box set of chapter books, but there are singles and audios and small sets, too. All libraries should have them!
4.5~5★ My review of Sherlock Holmes retold with some of the illustrations

[Alice]

I am reading a A Most English Princess: A Novel of Queen Victoria's Daughter by Clare McHugh.
Very intersting about Victoria Princess Royal. I have never read a book about her before.

[Chris]

Finished Jeff Shaara's Rise to Rebellion yesterday. Wonderful fictional account of the events leading up to the Declaration of Independence, primarily through the eyes of John Adams, Ben franklin, George Washington and General Thomas Gage. History comes alive in this novel!

[Don]

Chris: Thanks for sharing this. I like the approach to history.

[Peggyzbooksnmusic]

Chris wrote: "Finished Jeff Shaara's Rise to Rebellion yesterday. Wonderful fictional account of the events leading up to the Declaration of Independence, primarily through the eyes of John Adams..."

Chris; I also loved Rise to Rebellion! The sequel is on my Summer TBR challenge list so hope to actually read it this summer :)

[Peggyzbooksnmusic]

Finished A Question of Betrayal #2 Elena Standish by Anne Perry. Rated 3 stars. Espionage mystery set in 1930's Europe. Enjoyed more then #1 but not sure if I'll continue the series. I know she's a popular author but I'm just not fond of her writing style.

[PattyMacDotComma]

Euphoria is a lovely state if you can achieve it. Lily King's Nell Stone (a fictional version of anthropologist Margaret Mead ) does get carried away with her studies of primitive societies, but this book is more about jealousy and desire in her own. Fascinating setting, research, and characters.
5★ My review of Euphoria

[Lizet]

I am reading The Passage by Justin Cronin. Much better than its version for tv.

[Kathryn]

Just started Peach Blossom Spring. Trying to branch out to non-European/North American historical fiction.

[PattyMacDotComma]

That clever femme-fatale Phryne Fisher solves all kinds of crimes in these short stories, The Lady with the Gun Asks the Questions, by Aussie author Kerry Greenwood. One for fans of the fabulous Miss Fisher.
3.5★ My review of The Lady with the Gun ...

[Dem]

Finished Yellow Wife .

My Review:www.goodreads.com/review/show/4804856047

[Peggyzbooksnmusic]

Finished Nobody's Sweetheart Now #1 Lady Adelaide by Maggie Robinson. Rated 3 stars. Entertaining historical mystery set in 1920's England. The main character's unfaithful, witty husband is deceased and keeps popping up to advise Lady Adelaide. Enjoyed this more then I'd expected so will probably continue the series.

[Sarah-Hope]

Just finished The Half Life of Valery K , Natasha Pulley's latest with is coming out at the end of the month (July, 2022). Once again, she's delighting me with her prose style and plotting

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

[Carolyn]

I don't read a lot of WW2 fiction but I very much enjoyed The Librarian Spy: A Novel of World War II by Madeline Martin, a historical novel set in 1941 Lisbon and Lyon showing the role librarians and resistance workers in disseminating and collecting news to use against the Germans.

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

[Alice]

I finished The Gilded Shroud by Elizabeth Bailey 4 stars out of 5.  Ms. Bailey is a new to me author. I greatly enjoyed the books. Set in 1789 England, it is a historical mystery.  Her characters are excellent. The Dowger Marchioness reminds you a lot of Maggie Smith in Downton Abbey, feisty but compassionette. The there is not all that much historical other than referfences to American Revolution and unrest in France. I lot of good sleuthing. I have put book 2 on my WL.

[Angela]

I just finished Shadow of the Swords: An Epic Novel of the Crusades by Kamran Pasha. Wow! It is set during the Crusades and features Richard the Lionheart, Saladin, Maimonides, and his (fictional) niece Miriam. The book has a well-crafted, fast-moving plot, interesting characters, romance, history, philosophy, and dramatic action. It's everything I love in a novel!

I picked this up after reading Sharon Kay Penman's The Land Beyond the Sea, as well as Elizabeth Chatwick's The Summer Queen and The Winter Crown. Shadow of Swords was the icing on the cake for this reading list! I recommend it to all lovers of historical fiction.

[Kathryn]

In the Time of the Butterflies. Reading for my church book club. About halfway through and not loving it so far. But I have to say I'm a little embarrassed that I've vacationed in the Dominican Republic (where the book takes place) twice and never bothered to learn anything about their history. So this book is filling that gap.

[Bruce]

I finished by Victor Hugo and by

[Alice]

I am reading A Rip Through Time by Kelly Armstrong. First in a new series starts in present day Vancouver and ends up in 1869 Scotland. I have always enjoyed her books and this one is good too. Time travel is a bit iffy but the mystery is good in story is good.

[Lawrie]

IThings Fall Apartby Chinua Achebe
I have almost finished this excellent novel and I am looking forward to reading the remaining two volumes in his African Trilogy

[Chris]

Just finished Ross Poldark by Winston Graham. Very enjoyable.

[Alice]

I am reading The Lost Summers of Newport by Beatriz Willams. Love the setting and it set in 3 different time periods. Really enjoying it.

[Sarah-Hope]

Just finished voices in the dead house , Norman Lock's novel that imagines the thoughts of both Walt Whitman and Louisa May Alcott as they worked as volunteers in Union hospitals during the Civil War. As is true of all of Lock's works I've read, this novel, while being carefully researched, pushes readers to see Whitman and Alcott in a light that doesn't consistently flatter.

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

[Kathryn]

Lawrie wrote: "IThings Fall Apartby Chinua Achebe
I have almost finished this excellent novel and I am looking forward to reading the remaining two volumes in his African Trilogy" I loved this book! Here's a link to my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
And I didn't realize it was part of the trilogy, so I'll be looking for the other two books.

[Abigail]

Finally finished A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth, which I enjoyed quite a bit but at 1,474 pages it was a commitment. Taking a break with Georgette Heyer’s Sylvester before moving on to The Midnight Library.

[PattyMacDotComma]

I am reposting this in remembrance of much-loved neurologist Oliver Sacks on his birthday, the 9th of July. The extraordinary cases he talks about in his 1985 book,The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat are unforgettable.
5★ My review of The Man, etc . . .

[Peggyzbooksnmusic]

Finished The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie #1 Flavia de Luce by Alan Bradley. YA historical mystery set in 1950's England. Rated 4 stars. Delightful!

[PattyMacDotComma]

Peggyzbooksnmusic wrote: "Finished The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie #1 Flavia de Luce by Alan Bradley. YA historical mystery set in 1950's England. Rated 4 stars. Delightful!"

Ah, I am loving that series, Peggy! I must read some more.

[PattyMacDotComma]

Everybody deserves A Little Bit of Respect, and this delightful children's picture book from Claire Alexander shows even grown-ups how easy it is to slip up (and embarrass ourselves 😊 ).
5★ My review of A Little Bit of Respect with several small examples of the unique illustrations

[Sanford]

I am reading a historical book "In the Heart of the Sea" by Nathaniel Philbrick. This is an exciting true story of the crew of the whaling ship Essex in 1820. From this story, Herman Melville and others have written famous historical-fiction novels and made movies. I highly recommend this novel.

[Peggyzbooksnmusic]

PattyMacDotComma wrote: "Peggyzbooksnmusic wrote: "Finished The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie #1 Flavia de Luce by Alan Bradley. YA historical mystery set in 1950's England. Rated 4 st..."

Listened to audio while reading. Fantastic narration by Jayne Entwistle!

[Debra]

I appreciate these recommendations! I am currently reading "Rebel Spy" by Veronica Rossi. The young woman who escapes a very difficult life chooses to be a spy in the American Revolution. Compelling! Highly recommended.
Debra