What did you read in ~~ December 2022

[madrano]

Hailey wrote: "Hello everyone. I did read one book in December called Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean.

I wrote a very, very detailed review on it, so you can check that out if you want more on how I felt about i..."

What a curious sounding novel. Reading your detailed review was fascinating, as i felt as though i could see the poor parts of the writing. I'm glad you shared with us. After reading that one book in December, i think you deserved the rest! :-)

[madrano]

Simon wrote: "I’d like to share my review of my last five star read of 2022 for “Remarkably Bright Creatures” by debut author Shelby Van Pelt.

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

What a neat review, Simon. I like the list of things you determined were themes. Sometimes a review has you wondering but you've zeroed in on what you got from it. Thanks for that...and sharing with us.

[madrano]

Kiki wrote: "madrano wrote: "After reading your comment, i clicked on the "red shoes" link in the article & learned what you shared.....KIKI WROTE "Nice photo, Madrano. I like to see him smiling and presumably happy...."

I agree, it's why that is a favorite photo of him. Happy and with a red hat.

[madrano]

Alias, i'm glad you shared your thoughts on the novel Simon shared. I knew someone here read and liked it but couldn't recall who.

[madrano]

Busy December reading, Marie. Thanks for sharing. I enjoy books by Ann Rule, as i think she tells a good, sad story quite well.

I was dismayed by Sallow Bend residents somehow just accepting that there were three girls, not two missing. Freaky! This one sound odd but worth the "Sinister Spooky" point.

One Star sounds fitting for those of us who become annoyed by some reviewers on Amazon & such places. "Twisted Revenge" stars are aptly named. Thanks.

[Alias Reader]

Marie wrote: "My December reads were:
"

Once again you had a stellar reading month, Marie.
When King's The Institute came out, just
reading the synopsis gave me a chill !

[Hailey]

madrano wrote: "Hailey wrote: "Hello everyone. I did read one book in December called Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean.

I wrote a very, very detailed review on it, so you can check that out if you want more on how..."

Thank you madrano. I certainly had a lot to say. I think it's one of my longest reviews to date, clocking in at over 15,000 characters. I was honestly worried that it wouldn't go through, as Goodreads comments have a character limit of 12,000 characters and I thought that Goodreads reviews also had similar character limits.

[madrano]

I'm glad it did. That character limit is a challenge, sometimes, for me when posting about books.

[Hailey]

madrano wrote: "I'm glad it did. That character limit is a challenge, sometimes, for me when posting about books."

I hear you madrano.

What's confusing is that, unlike the editing window for Goodreads comments, there's no counter under it to let you know how many characters you have left. I think that feature would be really helpful to have when writing reviews on Goodereads and I have no idea why Goodreads hasn't implemented it yet.

[Marie]

madrano wrote: "Busy December reading, Marie. Thanks for sharing. I enjoy books by Ann Rule, as i think she tells a good, sad story quite well.

I was dismayed by Sallow Bend residents somehow just accepting that..."

Thank you, Deb. The book "One Star" by Cross has a twist at the end of the book that was a shock as I never saw it coming and I love being shocked out of my shoes on books that I expect to be one way and then they go topsy-turvy and it is anything but what I was expecting.

[Marie]

Alias Reader wrote: "Marie wrote: "My December reads were:
"

Once again you had a stellar reading month, Marie.
When King's The Institute came out, just
reading the synopsis gave me a chill !"

Thank you, Alias! The King book's synopsis is a reading catcher as that pulls the reader toward it like a magnet.

[♡ Fen ♡]

My december reads included only one book which was

-5 Stars


I thought it was a compelling sequel to R.F Kuang's first book and I'm thrilled to be reading more from her as the year goes on. You can find my review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Alias Reader]

♡ Fen ♡ wrote: "My december reads included only one book which was

-5 Stars

I thought it was a compelling sequel to R.F Kuang's first book and I'm thrilled to be readin..."

Thanks for joining Book Nook Cafe, Fen. I'm glad to see the book you read was a 5 star read. Excellent !

[Bella (Kiki)]

Marie wrote: "madrano wrote: "Busy December reading, Marie. Thanks for sharing. I enjoy books by Ann Rule, as i think she tells a good, sad story quite well.

I was dismayed by Sallow Bend residents somehow jus..."

Have you read OUR HOUSE by Louise Candlish? It has two shocking twists at the end, one that I don't think anyone could have predicted. The film version, which was a British TV series, I think, is very good, too, but the book is better.

[madrano]

Hailey wrote: "I have no idea why Goodreads hasn't implemented it yet...."

That is one of several questions i have about their boards. Granted, i just sang the praises of all i've learned via GR but why they do not update other things is beyond me. Too pricey? Really, you are part of Amazon now, for pity's sake!

Don't get me started! :-)

[madrano]

Marie wrote: " I never saw it coming and I love being shocked out of my shoes on books that I expect to be one way and then they go topsy-turvy and it is anything but what I was expecting..."

Exactly! That is one of the joys of reading your reviews, the enthusiasm you have when you are shocked. Delightful!

[madrano]

♡ Fen ♡ wrote: "My december reads included only one book which was

-5 Stars


I thought it was a compelling sequel to R.F Kuang's first book and I'm thrilled to be readin..."

Good review, Fen. I almost feel your pain as you read the book. I hope the next installment consoles you, in some way. I'm glad you shared with us here.

[Alias Reader]

madrano wrote: "GR but why they do not update other things is beyond me. Too pricey? Really, you are part of Amazon now, for pity's sake!..."

Why don't they offer something basic like color? How about bold, italic etc. without making people type out computer code ? It really is pathetic.

Amazon has one of the best search engines around. Not so here.

They used to have a message board where you could ask GR questions and also request things. They took that away last I checked. It really is quite frustrating for moderators and members alike.

[madrano]

Yes, it's as though GR is a fleeting thought of theirs, a way to link us up to their Amazon's book division. I remember those question & answer boards. They were useful.

[zo]

last month i was not able to read a lot but i read Ugly Love oi vey the book was so bad like the only thing that's happening is he is using her to replace his ex and its really gross. 2/10

[madrano]

How unfortunate, Ivile, that you ended the reading year with a dud. I hope this year's start is terrific.

[Alias Reader]

I hope January is a better reading experience for you, Ivile !

[Andrew]

Late to the party! Here are the books I read in December 2022:

Acceptance - Jeff Vandermeer; a beautiful ending to a beautiful sci-if trilogy that marked the beginning and the end of my 2022 reading challenge! Very satisfying to start and finish my first ever Goodreads reading challenge with a trilogy.

Breasts and Eggs - Miele Kawakami; hugely insightful, humbling and eye-opening for a man to read, real problems being addressed in real ways in today’s world for Japanese women, and women across the world, really.

[Alias Reader]

Andrew wrote:Breasts and Eggs - Miele Kawakami; hugely insightful, humbling and eye-opening for a man to read, real problems being addressed in real ways in today’s world for Japanese women, and women across the world, really."


Never too late, Andrew. Thanks for sharing your reads.

I read Heaven by Mieko Kawakami..
It about two teens who are mercilessly bullied. The two teens take solace in each other. The parts where the bulling takes place were hard to read. So if that is a trigger for you, you may want to skip this short novel.

I decided on a 2/5 rating. Mainly because the ending left me a bit confused as I wasn't totally sure what the author ultimate message was.

I've been toying with reading Breasts and Eggs

[madrano]

Andrew, congratulations. This is a clever way to begin & end a Reading Challenge. Well done.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts about Kawakami, too.

Have a great 2023 reading year!

[Andrew]

Alias reader - Breasts & Eggs was over 400 pages, and hard to love narratively, but very easy to love thematically and for the pure writing talent. Heaven is what got me interested in Kawakami in the first place! Interested to see if I end up raining it the same way down the line!

Madrano - it really forced me to complete the reading challenge, but also made it feel final in a completely different way. I didn’t just read all the books I wanted to, but my entire year of 2022 was wrapped up in that trilogy’s story, almost defined by it! An interesting feeling for sure.

[madrano]

Andrew wrote: "Madrano - it really forced me to complete the reading challenge, but also made it feel final in a completely different way...."

I can understand that feeling, Andrew. Even though i didn't manage to complete last year's 100 Challenge, i was extremely pleased by the books & topics i did manage to read. Of course, we all relish reading but sometimes it all feels so special, which is how i felt at the end of last year's reading.

[Alias Reader]

Andrew wrote: "Alias reader - Breasts & Eggs was over 400 pages, and hard to love narratively, but very easy to love thematically and for the pure writing talent. Heaven is what got me interested in Kawakami in t..."

Thanks for the follow-up, Andrew.