Betty (Dudes22) Finds the Librarian In 2022 - Part II

Welcome to my 2nd thread. My name is Betty and I’ve been part of LT since 2008 and doing the category challenge since 2010. I live in Rhode Island which is the smallest state in the US. We have 3 grandchildren (2 adults, 1 teenager) – one in Fla, one in NC, and one in Maine so we don’t get to see them too often.

I wanted to concentrate my reading this year on book bullets I’ve taken over the years but so far other books have been pushing them aside. Hopefully the rest of the year will be better.

This is a picture of the first library I used when I was young. I was probably about 4 when we moved and I started going there. I still remember the sensation of walking up that big flight of stairs (looked much bigger when I was 4) and the smell that I think all older libraries seem to have. When a new library was built, this became an annex to the town hall.

I also do a lot of quilting and I keep a thread over in the Needlearts group to show what I’m working on. If you’d like to stop by, it’s over here: https://www.librarything.com/topic/337198#n7669264

Total Books Read:



TBR pile Books:



Book Bullets Read:



Books Read by Year BB taken:
BBs 2012: Read – 1 of 8 Taken
BBs 2013: Read – 2 of 13 Taken
BBs 2014: Read – 1 of 14 Taken
BBs 2015: Read - 0 of 15 Taken
BBs 2016: Read – 3 of 22 Taken
BBs 2017: Read – 2 of 19 Taken
BBs 2018: Read – 2 of 24 Taken
BBs 2019: Read – 3 of 56 Taken
BBs 2020: Read – 7 of 69 Taken
BBs 2021: Read – 6 of 145 Taken
BBs 2022: Read - 3 of 70 Taken

Currently Reading:



Recently Read:



All Wikis: https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/List_of_Category_Challenge_wikis

Alpha Kit:
I’m going to try and only read series books again this year for my Alpha Kit, except for a couple of letters. I usually use the author’s last name for the letter and there are some letters with multiple choices. I’ve taken some BBs for series over the years and I may start a series or two even if I don’t really need more series.

A – The Purity of Vengeance by Jussi Adler-Olsen
B – Beartown by Fredrik Backman
C – The Last Detective by Robert Crais
A Wanted Man by Lee Child
D – Unexpected Night by Elizabeth Daly
E – A Dangerous Talent by Charlotte Elkins
F – One Bad Day After Another by Max Folsom
G –
H – Flesh and Blood by John Harvey
I – Turning Angel by Greag Iles
J – Messenger by Craig Johnson
K – The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra by Vaseem Kahn
L – Death at the Chateau Bremont by M.L. Longworth
M – Mrs. Roosevelt's Confidante by Susan Elia MacNeal
N –
O – The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
P – Kingdom of the Blind by Louise Penny
Q – A Fistful of Collars by Spencer Quinn
A Tail of Vengeance by Spencer Quinn
The Iggy Chronicles by SPencer Quinn
R – The Pucelle Connection by Estelle Ryan
S – I Shall Not Want by Julia Spencer-Fleming
T – Live Bait by P.J. Tracy
U –
V – The Chalk Circle Man by Fred Vargas
W – An Incomplete Revenge by Jacqueline Winspear
X – Aunt Bessie Believes by Diana Xarissa
Y –
Z –

Wiki: https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/2022_AlphaKIT

Random Kit:
I’ve done this since it first made an appearance in 2013 and even hosted a month now and then. It’s one of my favorites as the ideas people come up with are very inventive.

Jan – Home, Sweet Home - Objects of Our Affection by Lisa Tracy
Feb – Cat in a Book -
Mar – Hobby Love - Dean Man's Bones by Susan Wittig Albert
Apr – April Showers -
May – May Flowers - Bleeding Hearts by Susan Wittig Albert
A Fall of Marigolds by Susan Meissner
Jun – Cookin' the Books - Fannie's Last Supper by Christorpher Kimball
Jul – Dog Days of Summer - A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World by C.A. Fletcher
Aug – Canada! - Medicine Walk by Richard Wagamese
Sep – A Time to Harvest - Dirt Under My Nails by Marilee Foster
Oct – What's in a Name? - The Personal History of Rachel Dupree
Nov – City - The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michaele Richardson
Dec – Holiday Sweets - Christmas Caramel Murder by Joanne Fluke

Wiki: https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/RandomKIT_2022

BINGO Dog:
This usually stretches my reading too as I try to find books to fit.



The categories are:
1. An Award Winning book - A Test of Wills by Charles Todd (1997 Barry Award)
2. Published in a year ending 2 - The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn (2022)
3. A modern retelling of an older story - Circe by Madeline Miller
4. A book you'd love to see as a movie (maybe starring your favorite actor) - Live Bait by P.J. Tracy
5. A book that features a dog - A Dog's Purpose by Bruce Cameron
6. The title contains the letter Z - The A to Z of You and Me by James Hannah
7. Published the year you joined LT - I Shall Not Want by Julia Spencer-Fleming (2008)
8. A book by a favorite author - Kingdom of the Blind by Louise Penny
9. A long book (long for you) - A Well-Behaved Woman by Therese Anne Fowler (560 pages)
10. A book you received as a gift -The Devoted by Jonathan Hull
11. The title contains a month - The First 15 Lives of Harry August by Claire North
12. A weather word in the title - Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice
13. Read a CAT - Mrs. Roosevelt's Confidante by Susan Elia MacNeal (Alpha Kit)
14. Contains travel or a journey - Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder
15. A book about sisters or brothers - Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate
16. A book club read (real or online) - The Red Notebook by Antoine Laurain
17. A book with flowers on the cover - A Fall of Marigolds by Susan Meissner
18. A book in translation - Death and the Penguin by Andrey Kurkov
19. A work of non-fiction - Alex and Me by Irene M Pepperberg
20. A book where a character shares a name of a friend - The Beet Queen by Louise Erdrich
21. A book set in a capital city - An Unnecessary Woman by Ribah Alameddine (Beruit)
22. A children's or YA book - The Book Jumper by Mechthild Glaser
23. A book set in a country other than the one you live - The Handsome Man's De Luxe Cafe by Alexander McCall Smith
24. A book by an LGBTQ+ author - Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson
25. A book with silver or gold on the cover - Gastro Obscura by Dylan Thuras & Cecily Wong

Wiki: https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/2022_BingoDog

Book Club: Keeping track of the reading I do for my RL book club.

Jan – Postponed
Feb – The Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann
Mar – The Red Notebook by Antoine Laurain
Apr – The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell by Robert Dugoni
May – The First 15 Lives of Harry August by Claire North
Jun – Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
Jul – A Well-Behaved Woman by Therese Anne Fowler
Aug – The A to Z of You and Me by James Hannah
Sep – Amy and Isabelle by Elizabeth Strout
Oct – The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
Nov – Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby
Dec – Always in December by Emily Stone

Jan:

Jan Alpha Letter - R - The Pucelle Connection by Estelle Ryan
Jan Alpha Letter - H - Flesh and Blood by John Harvey (BB)
Random: Objects of Our Affection by Lisa Tracy
Author Cat: Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice (BB) (bingo)
CATWoman: Life in the Garden by Penelope Lively (BB)
Mystery Kit: Flesh and Blood by John Harvey
Bingo Block: Weather Word in Title

Other:
Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate

Feb:

Feb Alpha Letter - A - The Purity of Vengeance by Jussi Adler- Olsen
Feb Alpha Letter - B (see Mar)
Random:
Author Cat:
Mystery Cat: The Purity of Vengeance by Jussi Adler-Olsen (BB)
CATWoman: The Red Notebook by Antoine Laurain (bingo)
Bingo Blocks: Book Club Read

Mar:

Mar Alpha Letter - P - Kingdom of the Blind by Louise Penny (bingo)
Mar Alpha Letter - S - I Shall Not Want by Julia Spencer-Fleming (bingo)
Feb Alpha Letter: - B - Beartown by Fredrik Backman
Random: Dead Man's Bones by Susan WIttig ALbert
Author Cat: Kingdom of the Blind by Louise Penny
CATWoman:
Mystery Kit: Kingdom of the Blind by Louise Penny
Dead Man's Bones by Susan Wittig Albert
I Shall Not Want by Julia Spencer-Fleming
Bingo Blocks: Gold or Silver on cover
Book by a favorite author
Book published in year joined LT (2008)
Set in a country other than your own

Other:
Gastro Obscura by Dylan Thuras & Cecily Wong (bingo)
The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell by Robert Dugoni
The Fell by Sarah Moss (BB)
The Handsome Man's De Luxe Cafe by Alexander McCall Smith (bingo)

Apr:

April Alpha Letter - L - Death at the Chateau Bremont by M.L. Longworth
April Alpha Letter - J - Messenger by Craig Johnson
Random:
Author Cat:
CATWoman:
Bingo Blocks:
Published in year ending in a 2
Contains travel or a journey
Book has character with friend's name - Mary

Other:
The Cleverness of Ladies by Alexander McCall Smith
The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn (bingo)
Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World by Tracy Kidder (bingo)
The Snack Thief by Andrea Camilleri
The Beet Queen by Louise Erdrich (bingo)

May:

May Alpha Letter - O - The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
May Alpha Letter - D - Unexpected NIght by Elizabeth Daly
Random - Bleeding Hearts by Susan Wittig Albert
A Fall of Marigolds by Susan Meissner (bingo)
Author Cat:
CATWoman:
Bingo Blocks:
Title contains a month
Features a dog
Book in translation
Flowers of the cover

Other:
The First 15 Lives of Harry August by Claire North (book club) (bingo)
A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron (bingo)
Death and the Penguin by Andrey Kurkov (bingo)
The Sea Glass Sisters by Lisa Wingate

Jun:

Jun Alpha Letter - Q - A Fistful of Collars by Spencer Quinn
A Tail of Vengeance by Spencer Quinn
The Iggy Chronicles by Spencer Quinn
Jun Alpha Letter - C - The Last Detective by Robert Crais
A Wanted Man by Lee Child
Random: Fannie's Last Supper by Christopher Kimball
Author Cat: Fannie's Last Supper by Christopher Kimball
CATWoman:
Mystery Kit: A Test of Wills by Charles Todd (bingo)
Bingo Blocks:
Children or YA Book
Award Winning Book
Book Received As a Gift

Other:
The Book Jumper by Mechthild Glaser (bingo)
The Tie That Binds by Kent Haruf
Trust by Hernan Diaz
The Devoted by Jonathan Hull (bingo)

DNF: The Netanyahus by Joshua Cohen

Jul:

Jul Alpha Letter - E - A Dangerous Talent by Charlotte Elkins (BB)
Jul Alpha Letter - T - Live Bait by P.J. Tracy (bingo)
Random: A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World by C.A. Fletcher (BB)
Author Cat: The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa (BB)
CATWoman: Alex and Me by Irene M Pepperberg
Mystery Kit: A Man Lay Dead by Ngaio Marsh
BINGO Blocks: Work of Non-fiction
Book You'd Like to See as a Movie
A Long Book (560 pages)
Modern Retelling of a Story
Title Contains the Letter Z
Book by an LGBTQ author

Other:
A Well-Behaved Woman by Therese Anne Fowler (book club) (bingo)
Circe by Madeline Miller (bingo, BB)
The Forgotten Man by Robert Crais
The A to Z of You and Me by James Hannah (bingo) (book club)
Restoration by Olaf Olafsson (BB)
Nathan Coulter by Wendell Berry (BB)
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson (Bingo block)
Second Son by Lee Childe
Deep Down by Lee Child
High Heat by Lee Child

Aug:

Aug Alpha Letter - M - Mrs. Roosevelt's Confidante by Susan Elia MacNeal (Bingo)
Aug Alpha Letter - F - One Bad Day After Another by Max Folsom (BB)
Random: Medicine Walk by Richard Wagamese (BB)
Author Cat:
Mystery Kit:
CATWoman:

Other:
An Unnecessary Woman by Rabih Alameddine (BB), Bingo, DNF
Gods in Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson (BB),
A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher (BB)
The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman

Sep:

Sep Alpha Letter - K - The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra by Vaseem Khan (BB)
Sep Alpha Letter - I - Turning Angel by Greg Iles
Random: Dirt Under My Nails: An American Farmer and Her Changing Land by Marilee Foster
Author Cat:
CATWoman:
Mystery Kit: The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra by Vaseem Khan

Other:
Amy and Isabelle by Elizabeth Strout (book club)
Welcome to the World, Baby Girl by Fannie Flag
The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett
Dinner With Edward by Isabel Vincent
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion (book club)

Oct:

Oct Alpha Letter - V - The Chalk Circle Man by Fred Vargas
Oct Alpha Letter - N
Random: The Personal History of Rachel Dupree by Annn Weisgarber
Author Cat:
CATWoman: The Bullet That Missed
MysteryKit:

Other:
Standing in the Rainbow by Fannie Flagg
Wrapped in Rain by Charles Martin
The Ones We Keep by Bobbie Jean Huff

Nov:

Nov Alpha Letter - G
Nov Alpha Letter - U
Random: The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson
Author Cat:
CATWoman:

Other:
Us Against You by Fredrik Backman
Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby (book club)
Always in December by Emily Stone (book club)

Dec:

Dec Alpha Letter - Y
Dec Alpha Letter - W - An Incomplete Revenge by Jacqueline Winspear
Random: Christmas Caramel Murder by Joanne Fluke
Author Cat: A Better Man by Louise Penny
CATWoman: Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
Mystery Kit: Christmas Caramel Murder by Joanne Fluke

Other:
Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson

Welcome to my second thread!

Happy new thread, Betty. I enjoyed reading the comic strips that you used.

Happy new thread! I love your comic strips.

Happy new thread, Betty. I think I need to brighten the day with a Calvin & Hobbes re-read...

Happy new thread. I loved reading all your cartoons again. >:-)

>22 MissWatson: - I've loved Calvin and Hobbs for a long time. I think my favorites are the ones with the snowmen.

>23 Helenliz: - Thanks. I liked reading through them too.

Happy new thread!

Happy 2nd thread!

>24 dudes22: I agree!

>26 Tess_W: - >27 MissWatson: - Thanks!

Book 41: A Test of Wills by Charles Todd
Mystery Kit: Historical Fiction
Bingo Block: Award Winning Book - 1997 Barry Award



It's taken me a long time to get to this first book in the Ian Rutledge series, but I'm glad I finally read it. Ian Rutledge has returned from WW I suffering from shell shock. When a request comes in from Upper Streetham for a Scotland Yard inspector to look into the death of a popular land owner, he is sent to determine who might have murdered the man. Whether he will succeed or fail is a political minefield.

I did feel that there was a bit of repetition, going over and over the people and clues and the answer came from left field, but I'll still continue the series to see what happens next.

>29 dudes22: I own a later book in the series, but I haven't read it because I haven't read that first one either!

>29 dudes22: on my TBR

>30 thornton37814: - >31 Tess_W: - I've had this in my TBR for quite a while and heard good things about the series here on LT. Not sure why it took my so long to get to it.

I went this afternoon to help set up for the library sale this weekend and got to "go shopping" early. This was from a quick look. I'm going back in the morning to help again and will see what else I can find.

ETA: Should have waited to post - turns out I already have two of them. I'll take them back tomorrow.

Seems I am not the only one who has been known to buy the same book more than once! It's nice that you get to return them.

>34 DeltaQueen50: - I was bringing a couple more bags of books for the sale anyway, so I just put them in there. The person in charge didn't have any money yesterday, so she told up to just keep track of what we took and pay her at the sale.

Enjoy the rest of the sale!

Book 42: The Tie That Binds by Kent Haruf



I've been stingy in my reading of Haruf's book, knowing that there won't be any more. But looking through the TBR pile the other day, I decided it was time to read one more.

This is Haruf's debut novel and already his signature writing style is evident if not quite as smooth as in later books. Sandy Roscoe tells the story of his eighty-year-old neighbor Edith Goodnough who is in the hospital at the beginning of the book with a policeman outside her door. He starts with her parents and his grandmother and father and how they met and how life went on. The story is somewhat bleak which reflects the bleakness of Holt, Colorado where the story takes place.

>42 thornton37814: I am doing the same with Haruf's books - hanging onto them since there won't be anymore coming along!

Book 43: Trust by Hernan Diaz



I first heard of this book when I picked up the May 22 issue of "Bookpages" which is (I guess you'd call it) a newsletter published by Bookpages.com and distributed to libraries and bookstores for their patrons. I usually grab it at my library each month to see what books might be tempting me. (Can I call those BBs?) There was a short article by the author of Trust about the "framed narrative" in book writing and how - if an author does it well - the story is remembered for the narrative instead of the frame. For example - Frankenstein is about a sea captain writing letters to his sister, but that's not what we remember when we hear the title. Anway, there was also a review of his new book and it intrigued me enough to put a hold on it.

Trust is divided into 4 parts. The first is a novel which was written about a famous financier. The second is a memoir written by the financier to refute the image of him portrayed in the novel. The third is about the person hired to help write the memoir and the fourth is a diary by the financier's wife. All four stories are about Andrew Bevel from various viewpoints. How he built his wealth and how his view of himself and the world is a fine character study. Taking place mainly in the 1920s, there's plenty about the difference between rich and poor.

Book 44: The Devoted by Jonathan Hull
BINGO Block: Book received as a gift (Bought for myself for my 2021 Thingaversary)



When 7-year-old Ryan Brooks and his parents are in a car crash, a stranger pulls Ryan from the fiery crash although he can't save Ryan's parents. Now, thirty years later, Mike O'Donnell is dying and wants to see Ryan. When Ryan goes to see him, he meets Mike's wife Alessandra and her daughter Shannon. Alessandra met Mike when he came with American forces to free her Italian village from the Germans. So part of this book is Mike's story that he wants to tell Ryan and part is what happened to Alessandra's village during WW II.

Here we are at the half-way mark for 2022 and I doing ok although I should read more books from my TBR pile.

Jun Recap:

Total YTD: 44 (18 physical, 7 ebooks, 19 library)
Books Read: 12 (7 physical, 0 ebooks, 5 library)
Books Added: 4 (4 physical, 0 ebook)
TBR Pile: -3 change (-3 physical, 1 ebook)
Book Bullets Taken: 5

Best Reads:

The Tie That Binds by Kent Haruf
The Devoted by Jonathan Hull
Trust by Hernan Diaz
The Book Jumper by Mechthild Glaser

Less Successful:

Fannie’s Last Supper by Christopher Kimball
Autumn by Ali Smith (DNF)
The Netanyahus by Joshua Cohen (DNF)
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris (DNF)

Hope you have a good second half of the year!

Book 45: Alex and Me by Irene M. Pepperberg
July Car Woman: Women in Science
Bingo Block: Work of Non-Fiction



Non-fiction book about how Ms Pepperberg and a Grey Parrot named Alex explored whether birds have intelligence despite the size of their brains. (Alex's was a walnut) Concepts such as shapes, colors, math, and other areas were research items. It was published in 2009, so somewhat dated.

Book 46: Live Bait by P.J. Tracy
July Alpha Kit: "T"
BINGO Block: Book You'd Like to See as a Movie



This is the second book in the Monkeewrench series and such a good continuation that I picked it for the Bingo block "to see as a movie". Detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth are sent to the scene of the murder of a much-loved nursery man. Soon there are 3 murders and they all are old Jewish people who were once in concentration camps. There's even some humor in the exchanges that take place by the detectives.

>44 dudes22: This reminds me that I need to get back to the Monkeewrench series!

>45 DeltaQueen50: - I noticed that you had read this when I went to the main page for a cover link. I'm enjoying it a lot. The first book was a BB from a friend from Minnesota who I used to see in Mexico each year. We'd always spend a morning talking about the books we had read since we last saw them. I miss those days.

>40 dudes22: Glad to see you gave yourself a good one!

>47 pamelad: - Well - I found that an excellent idea since no one ever gives me books. Which I understand considering how many I have.

Book 47: A Well-Behaved Woman by Therese Anne Fowler
Narrated By Barrie Kreinik
BINGO Block: A Long Book (560 pages)
July Book Club



A historical fiction novel based on the life of Alva Vanderbilt. It covers her life from when she was a young girl until the beginning of the 1900s and the beginning of the suffrage movement which she whole-heartedly supported. Living in Rhode Island my whole life and being such a small state, I'm familiar with and have visited the Vanderbilt mansions in Newport as well as Belcourt Castle which her second husband built. Alva was very much involved in the building of her mansion Marble House and was greatly interested in architecture.

When she managed to catch William K Vanderbilt's eye at a ball, she made the most of it and got him to marry her. Her family had lost all their money and the Vanderbilts were shunned by society because their money was "new". It was hoped that Alva's connections in society would be able to raise the image of the Vanderbilts. The author's perspective and imagination (and research) helped make this an enjoyable read. I listened to the audible version and the narrator made it seem like listening to a friend tell you the story.

>49 dudes22: That's a striking cover. And the insides look very interesting as well.

>50 Helenliz: - I wasn't expecting it to be as interesting as it was when I started reading/listening. I think the narrator increased my enjoyment of the book. We had a spirited discussion in book club and may plan a field trip to her mansion Marble House which is open to the public.

Book 48: Circe by Madeline Miller
Bingo Block: Modern Retelling of an Older Story
Book Bullet: 2020 from NanB



I probably was exposed to Greek mythology in high school but my knowledge is spotty at best. Many of the comments and reviews here on LT about this book sounded interesting but it wasn't until my friend Nan talked about the book that I decided to give it a try. It took me a little bit to get drawn into the book and I wish I had known that there was a list of gods/titans/etc at the back of the book a little sooner as this really helped as I was reading. (There are just so darn many of them!)

Circe is the daughter of Helios, the sun god, and possesses the power of witchcraft. When she rescues the mortal fisherman Glaucos, she imagines that he will love her and want to marry her. Instead, he falls for a nymph Scylla and Circe is so jealous that she creates a potion for Scylla that turns her into a monster. Zeus banishes her to a deserted island and her life there is the book.

I'm planning to go back and read her other book The Song of Achilles too.

>52 dudes22: I adored this. My heart always does a little happy skip when someone else enjoys it too. >:-D

>52 dudes22: I loved this book (and I'm not a mythology fan)!

>52 dudes22: Ever since I'd read Pat Barker's The Silence of the Girls, I've wanted to read The Song of Achilles. It's great to see your positive review of Circe and I'll have to put that on the TBR list as well.

>53 Helenliz: - >54 Tess_W: - >55 mathgirl40: - There seems to be lots of love for it. I'm sorry it took me so long to get to it.

Book 49: The Forgotten Man by Robert Crais



Next up in the Elvis Cole series for me. Don't want to give continuing plots away so I'll just say that in this book, a man dies and tells the police he's Elvis's father.

Book 50: A Dangerous Talent by Charlotte Elkins
July Alpha Kit - "E"
Book Bullet from Lindapanza from 2013



I took a BB for this years ago and decided the Alpha Kit was a good time to get to it. Alix London is an art consultant whose father went to prison for art fraud. She is asked to authenticate a Georgia O'Keefe painting by a new client and travels to Santa Fe to do it. Murder ensues and then someone tries to blow her up. I wasn't sure at the beginning that I was going to enjoy this, but it grew on me and since there are only 4 books in the series, I think I'll continue to read them.

>58 dudes22: Love books about art, onto my WL it goes!

>59 Tess_W: - Hope you enjoy it.

Book 51: The A to Z of You and Me by James Hannah
Aug Book Club Book
Bingo Block: Title Contains the Letter Z



Ivo is in hospice care because his kidneys are failing. His nurse encourages him to play a mind game of A to Z, finding a body part for each letter and a memory based on that body part. Gradually, this reveals his life over the course of the book. I thought this was an interesting premise for a book, but I just couldn't like it very much. It's the book for our book club in August so we'll see what other people thought of it.

After the farmer's market this morning, I stopped by a library sale and came away with 7 books none of which were duplicates and 2 of which would work for the Author Cat next month. Books I grabbed up:

The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
The Last Gift by Abdulrazak Gurnah
When We Believed in Mermaids by Barbara O'Neal
An Irish Doctor in Peace and at War by Patrick Taylor
The Italian Wife by Ann Hood
Vesper Flights by Helen Macdonald
The World That We Knew by Alice Hoffman

Oh - and I grabbed 3 for my husband.

>62 dudes22: looks like a very successful trip!

>63 Tess_W: - It was outside and hot so I probably could have found more but chose not to look.

>62 dudes22: That looks like a great haul! I have Vesper Flights on my wishlist, I've heard great things about it.

>62 dudes22: can't beat a library sale. Love the way you claim no duplicates! I think most of us have been there.

>66 Helenliz: - More often than I'd like.

Book 52: Restoration by Olaf Olafsson
2020 Book Bullet from Lois (avaland)
2022 Thingaversary purchase



I thought perhaps I was getting bored with WW II books, but I'm glad I picked this off my TBR pile. The heart of the story is Alice who went against her family's wishes and married an Italian and moved to Italy. She and her husband bought a dilapidated villa and restored it. Through a series of events, she ends up hiding what is supposed to be an unknown Caravaggio painting in the last days of the war.

The second story is about Kristin, who appears at the villa after her train is blown up. She ends up staying there and helping with the orphans that Alice has been taking in. I don't want to give much away, but an interesting story and well told.

>68 dudes22: Glad you liked that one--it's on my TBR!

>68 dudes22: & >69 Tess_W: Restoration sounds like it should be on my TBR as well!

>69 Tess_W: - >70 DeltaQueen50: - It was good and I'm looking forward to reading others by this author.

Book 53: Nathan Coulter by Wendell Berry (BB)



This is the first book in Berry's series about Port William, Kentucky, a fictionalized town in the 1920s. It takes place over the course of a year and seems to have a tag of a coming-of-age book. It a quiet book - just life on the farm. I decided to try this first book in the series after a review of a different book in the series. Not sure I want to read all of them and will skip to the BB I took when I decide to read another.

Book 54: The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa translated by Stephen Snyder, audio by Traci Kato-Kiriyama
Book Bullet from Lois (avaland) 2020



When our book club read Ogawa's The Housekeeper and the Professor last year and I really enjoyed it, I figured it was time to get to the BB I had taken for The Memory Police. I can't say I was as taken with this as I was The Housekeeper and the Professor.

The book takes place on an island where the inhabitants awaken periodically to find that an everyday item has disappeared. Including their memory of it eventually. Sometimes they have to bring the items to a central area for disposal or they burn them in their backyards. But there are certain people who don't lose their memories of the items and/or try to keep them and the memory police hunt them down and take them away. The mother of the narrator of the story was one of these kinds of people and one day the memory police came and took her away.

The daughter who is left alone is a novelist and eventually becomes friends with an old man (who may have been a friend of her fathers?) and is also close to her editor. When she eventually learns that he is also a person who remembers, she decides to try and hide him.

The book is wonderfully written and I enjoyed the beginning quite a lot but eventually my practical self got in the way of the story. I found I was questioning why certain things happened or didn't happen and how. (I don't want to say more because it would give things away.)

Book 55: Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson
Bingo Block: LGBTQ Author



When I was looking for a book to read for this Bingo block, there didn't seem to be any books by any authors that I assumed would fit on the lists mentioned in post #1. So, when Judy reviewed this book, I thought, "why not"? I understood at the beginning of the book that this was a young girl realizing that she was a lesbian, being raised in a fundamentalist church, and the "problems" involved with that. But once it got to the dream sequences (I'm assuming that's what they were), I pretty much lost interest.

ETA: And if they weren't, I don't really care.

>74 dudes22: This book came on my radar mostly because it is on the 1,001 list. I found it more readable than I expected which is good cause I believe she has at least a couple more on the list.

>75 DeltaQueen50: - It was readable. I just got lost part way through. I think too it became somewhat repetitious.

Book 56: Second Son by Lee Child
Book 57: Deep Down by Lee Child
Book 58: High Heat by Lee Child



Three short stories/novellas in the Jack Reacher series - just to catch me up.

Book 59: A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World by C.A. Fletcher
Random Kit: July - Dog Days of Summer
Book Bullet from Judy (DeltaQueen) in 2020



In this post-apocalyptic novel, the population decreased not by some big-world event, but because people stopped reproducing. Now there are very few people left. Griz and his family live on an island that was off the coast of Scotland. One day a trader arrives, tricks them into eating marmalade which has some kind of sleeping potion in it and then steals one of Griz's two dogs. Because Griz ate only a little, he awakens in time to see the trader's ship leaving with his dog and he decides to take off in pursuit. That's all I'm going to say because the author asks that you not give much away. Part dystopian, part adventure, this will probably be on my top books of the year list. Great BB.

>78 dudes22: Every time I read about this I want to read it. I just checked and yep, it's on my TBR (2 years!). It's going on my "By End Of Year List"! I appreciate the reminder.

>79 clue: - It's a great book. I'll be watching to see what you think.

>78 dudes22: So glad that you enjoyed A Boy and His Dog At the End of the World, Betty. I am a sucker for any dystopian/survival book but I do remember this one as being an excellent read!

>81 DeltaQueen50: -I wasn't really into dystopian books (or sci-fi of any kind) until some of the reviews of various books here on LT got me interested. And I think the year we did the Sci-fi challenge back in 2016 opened my reading up a lot to the sub-genres.

Book 60: A Man Lay Dead by Ngaio Marsh
July Mystery Kit: Golden Age



Although I've never actually taken a BB for one of Marsh's books, I have taken a mental note to try one sometime and this seemed the time.

I guess you would say this is a classic style book for the Golden Age mystery - friends/acquaintances are all together at an English country manor when one of the guests ends up dead. This one introduces the reader to Inspector Alleyn who will be the focus of this series. What I do like about these is the lack of modern technology in solving the mystery.

Since I won't be finishing any more books today, I think I'll go ahead and post my reading for July.

I had a good reading month in July. The hot summer days just begged for reading on the porch with a cool glass of tea.

Jul Recap:

Books Read: 16 (5 physical, 3 ebooks, 8 library)
Books Added: 10 (7 physical, 3 ebook) – There was a library sale.
TBR Pile: +2 change (2 physical, 0 ebook)
Book Bullets Taken: 7

Best Reads:

A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World by C.A. Fletcher
Live Bait by P.J. Tracy
Circe by Madeline Miller
Restoration by Olaf Olafsson

Less Successful:
The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeannette Winterson

>78 dudes22: Also on my TBR, hopefully this year! (I've been saying that a lot!)

>85 Tess_W: - I say that a lot too.

Book 61: Medicine Walk by Richard Wagamese
August Random: Canada!
Book Bullet: rabbitpricess in 2019 (although Judy and Vivienne read it almost the same time - so triple bullet)



Frank Starlight had been raised by the "old man" for long as the 16-year-old can remember. Although his drunken father has shown up occasionally to give him money, they have no relationship and his visits have almost inevitably been failures. Now his father is dying and asks Frank if he will take him deep into the backcountry so he can die in the warrior way. As part of this journey, Frank will learn the story of his father's life.

I absolutely loved this book. The writing is somewhat sparse yet so deep. I don't have words.

>87 dudes22: a BB for me!

Book 62: One Bad Day After Another by Max Folsom
August Alpha: "F"



The debut mystery novel written by mysterymax who is part of this group. (And I've met her and we went to a ball game here in RI a few years ago). I enjoyed this book quite a bit. The main character is Baker Somerset who was a police person in London before she got shot while following a suspect to Canada. After recovering, she decided to stay in Canada and open a PI agency. Coming to work one day, she finds the police at her door and a dead body lying in the doorway. As with any first novel in a series, there's quite a bit of character building and Baker has some interesting friends to help her solve the mystery of who the dead man is and why he was looking for her. I'm looking forward to more in the series.

>87 dudes22: So glad you enjoyed Medicine Walk by Richard Wagamese, one of my favourite writers.

>89 dudes22: Like you, I am looking forward to more in this series too!

>90 VivienneR: - re: #87 -I'm looking forward to reading more by her.

Book 63: An Unnecessary Woman by Rabih Alameddine
BINGO Block: Set in a capital city (Beruit)
Book Bullet: Charlene in 2016



After reading half the book, I've decided to call it quits. Whatever I thought this was going to be, it just didn't work for me.

Aaliya is a 72-year-old woman, who has spent the last 40 years translating one book each year although all she does with them is put them in a box and stack them in a room. This book is her musing about her life and life in Beruit over the years. There are many literary references scattered in almost every paragraph, most of which were not familiar to me. But I really admire a writer who has the exact reference he needs and can organize all these references into a story.

Book 64: Gods in Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson, Narrated by Catherine Taber
Book Bullet from Kay (RidgewayGirl) in 2013



When Arlene left Possett, Alabama for college, she made three promises to God; she will stop having sex with every boy she meets, she’ll never tell another lie, and she’ll never return to Posset if he will keep her secret. Now – 10 years later her uncle is retiring, and her presence is wanted. Also, her boyfriend Burr has told her that if he can’t meet her family, their relationship is over. So she reluctantly agrees to go back and bring her black boyfriend to meet her Southern, racist family. And she must face the past and what happened.

The story includes many of the Southern attitudes and stereotypes that you might expect, but the humorous look that Jackson takes with the book helps offset the serious story that’s being told.

Why, oh why, did it take me so long to read this BB from Kay? It’s been on my recommended list since 2013 and I have two others of her books in my TBR pile that I probably picked up at a library sale when I recognized the author’s name. I listened to this on audio and, at first, I wasn’t sure I wanted to keep listening. I thought, “this is not for me”. But as I listened, I fell in love with the way the author told the story and the way the narrator told the story. I think I’ll get another one of her books on audio if it’s available from the library. I’ve found I like listening to books as I drive.

ETA: And it’s her debut novel.

>93 dudes22: BB for me!

>93 dudes22: I love it when I finally read a book that I've had for years and it turns out to be a five star read. Hooray for those delightful surprises!

>94 Tess_W: - We seem to be trading a lot of BBs this year.

>95 DeltaQueen50: - Makes me wonder what else is languishing there.

Book 65: A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher
Book Bullet from Helenliz in 2021



Mona is a 14-year-old baker with minor magical powers. But they only work on bread. One day she arrives for work to find a dead body in her kitchen. When the constables come to investigate, Mona is brought before the Duchess and accused of the murder. This starts of chain of events with interesting characters, including dancing gingerbread men among others.

I really enjoyed this book bullet from Helenliz.

>93 dudes22: I have this book on my shelves, now I will have to pull it out to the TBR stack.

>98 lowelibrary: - It's a lot of fun.

Book 66: Mrs. Roosevelt's Confidante by Susan Elia MacNeal
August Alpha Kit: "M"
Bingo Block: Read A Cat



I really enjoyed this book in the Maggie Hope series. In this book, Prime Minister Winston Churchill and his staff (including Maggie Hope) come to America in December 1941 just before Christmas after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He wants to get assurances from President Roosevelt that America will support Britain in the battle against Germany. When one of Mrs. Roosevelt's secretaries doesn't show up for work, Maggie goes with the First Lady to the secretary's apartment where they find her dead - an apparent suicide. Of course, Maggie gets involved. There are a couple of other story lines - one about the execution of a young Negro man and the other about things going on back in England.

The author gives a lot of references in her afterward for further research about Churchill's visit to America as well as other events in the book. It's always nice to know what parts were fictionalized.

Book 67: The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman



When I heard that book 3 in the series was coming out next month, I thought I should go ahead and read book 2 so I was all caught up.

The Thursday Murder Club is back and as entertaining as the first book. Elizabeth receives a letter from someone she knows is dead inviting her to a meeting in another apartment in the retirement village. Turns out to be an old friend who needs some help. I don't want to say too much because the fun is in the story development. This time there are dead bodies (of course), drugs, hospitals, romance, and Joyce is still writing in her diary. Lots of fun stuff.

>101 dudes22: I'm excited for book #3! I think I'm near the front of the library hold queue, fortunately.

>102 christina_reads: - Me too!

Book 68: Amy and Isabelle by Elizabeth Strout
September Book Club - author first published after age 40



I read this book 10 years ago but it's been picked for our Sept book club book so I decided I should do a reread.

The story of a mother and daughter in a small town in Maine. Isabelle is a single mother and very introverted. Her daughter Amy is a 16 year-old high school student just realizing her sexuality who falls in love with one of her teachers. Of course - she's discovered, her mother freaks out, attacks Amy (sort of), confronts the teacher and tells him to leave town. Then she gets Amy a job at the mill where she works so she can keep an eye on her. It's about a long, hot summer and what happens to them.

Book 69: The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra by Vaseem Khan
September Alpha Kit: "K"
September Mystery Kit: Animal Mystery
Book Bullet: 2019 from Lori (thornton37814)



Inspector Chopra is retiring from the Indian police force. He had a heart attack a while ago and his wife has kept after him to retire. The same day he receives a gift from his uncle of a baby elephant who is supposed to be "special". And on his last day, there is the death of a young boy that nobody seems to want to investigate. Although retired, he decides to investigate even though he has no authority.

I took a BB from Lori for this book and I liked it a lot. "Cozy" seems to be a minor tag for this.

>105 dudes22: I'm glad you enjoyed it. It's a fun series--and the elephant always saves the day!

>106 thornton37814: - I look at it as one of those "palate cleaners" I need every once in a while. I'm looking forward to reading more.

>105 dudes22: Taking a BB for this series. It sounds fun, and I want a baby elephant.

>108 lowelibrary: - I don't think that's such a bad idea.

Book 70: Welcome to the World, Baby Girl by Fannie Flagg



This is an author who falls into my "gentle reads" category. Flagg weaves multiple stories of the characters together with humor and some sadness. Covering multiple years and going back in time, it's the story of Dena Nordstrom's search for her mother and what actually happened in her life.

I mostly listened to this on audio until my library loan ran out and I couldn't renew. Since I had it on my shelf too, I finished it in book form. Very rarely does this happen - but I even teared up a couple of times. There are 3 books set in Elmwood Springs and I may try to listen to more if they're available from the library.

>105 dudes22: Adding this to the wish list for a bit of armchair travel.

Book 71: The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett; Narrated by author



The uncommon reader is the Queen of England who takes up reading after stumbling upon a book mobile when one of her corgi's decides to investigate. This novella explores the idea of what the Queen would decide to read and some of her observations about the books/authors and how life changes when she begins to enjoy reading.

>112 dudes22: I rated that one the same when I read it years ago.

>112 dudes22: This remains one of my desert island books. I've read it a number of times.

>114 Helenliz: - I think perhaps I missed some of the references to things English that would have made it more enjoyable. Or maybe I would have liked it better in print. One of the things about listening is that you can't just flip back if you think you might have missed something.

Book 72: Turning Angel by Greg Iles
September Alpha Kit: "I"



Penn Cage and Drew Elliot have been friends since they were in 3-years-old. So, when Drew confesses to Penn that he has been in an intimate relationship with a 17-year-old who has just been found murdered, Penn is shocked. And determined to find a way to prove Drew didn't do it. The more that is revealed, the worse it looks for his friend. And the DA is looking for a murder conviction to boost his political career. There are many story lines which all are woven together. Knowing how the story would probably end, didn't make the story less enjoyable.

Book 73: Dinner with Edward by Isabel Vincent, Narrated by Elise Arsenault
Book Bullet from Mar 2016 Early Review Books



The author meets Edward through her friend Valerie. Edward (who is in his 90s) has recently lost his wife and Valerie is worried about him and asks Isabel if she would look in on him once in a while when Valerie has to return home to Canada. Edward invites Isabel to dinner and gradually it becomes a frequent event. Each chapter starts with a menu of the dinner that Edward prepared. Sometimes how particular he was about certain ingredients. The conversations about their personal lives over the dinner are about Edward’s past and Isabel’s current family problems. I found the idea interesting but overall the book was just so-so.

There are no recipes in the book although there is sometimes a description of how something was made.

Book 74: Dirt Under My Nails: An American Farmer and Her Changing Land by Marilee Foster
September Random Kit: A Time to Harvest



The author is a fifth-generation farmer living at the eastern end of Long Island, New York. The book is divided into 4 sections - one for each season of the year with multiple entries in each season. In her entries she reflects on what it takes to continue to farm when the land could be sold for so much more money. (Millions of dollars - LI is an enclave of the rich and famous) The book was published back in 2002, but I looked online and it appears the farm is still there. She writes a column for the local newspaper and each little vignette reads like a newspaper article. She muses on many things including the trials of farming, plants, cats, birds...

>112 dudes22: I love that book! Well, I love anything by Alan Bennett but this was a favourite. Initially, I borrowed a copy from the library then had to buy my own. It's one of those books I'll re-read often.

>119 VivienneR: - There's been a lot of love here on my thread for this book. I'm wondering if I would have liked it better if I had read it instead of listening to it. I'm thinking that had I been able to stop a minute and figure out some of the references to things English it might have been better.

>120 dudes22: It's a favorite of mine too and I pulled it from the shelf after I was reminded of it by your thread. I'll all ready for a reread as soon as I finish what I'm reading now.

Book 75: The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
October Book Club



A romantic comedy type of book, this is our book choice for our book club next month. I read this back a few years ago, so a reread for me. Don, who is a genetics professor has decided it's time he married and so he creates a questionnaire to filter out those women who possess attributes he deems not acceptable. When Rosie shows up at his office, he assumes she's there because of the Wife Project when she really wants some help in genetics to identify who her father might be.

>122 dudes22: On my TBR, hope to get to it this year!

>123 Tess_W: - It's a pretty quick read.

Book 76: The Personal History of Rachel Dupree by Ann Weisgarber
October Random Kit: What's in a Name?
Book Bullet: 2017 by Judy (DeltaQueen50)



The novel begins in the summer of 1917 in South Dakota. There has been oppressive heat and no rain. Rachel is isolated in the Badlands of South Dakota. There are few neighbors and as a black woman is further isolated. When she agreed to marry her husband and move to the Badlands so they could take advantage of free land. But her husband has become obsessed with getting more land that he's letting his family suffer. Rachel reflects on how she ended up here and what she should do.

I liked this well enough, but not as much as others.

>125 dudes22: I liked it a lot, but that first scene where the little girl is lowered down into a deep, dark well to check it's water level just about did me in!

>125 dudes22: I read this and I think I liked it a bit more than you (rated it 4). I understand there is a sequel to the book and a movie to be made, also. The movie bought the book rights in 2016 and Viola Davis was set to star. Nothing in the news about what happened to this. Also, I could find nothing on the sequel!

I was listening to Fresh Water for Flowers by Valerie Perrin for my car book, but found I wasn't liking it (but not not liking it either). Seeing the rating and reviews on LT, I'm thinking maybe I would like it better in print or it was just a "right book, wrong time" thing. So I'm not counting it as a DNF, just putting it on the back burner for a while.

>128 dudes22: It's strange how some books can be a completely different experience on audio. I've put the print version on my library list but it might be a while before it's available. I'm not in a hurry.

>129 VivienneR: - It dawned on me after that maybe it was the narrator that didn't make it more interesting on audio. I've only just gotten into audio books in the last year or so and so I'm still finding out which kind of books I like listening to.

>130 dudes22: My enjoyment of an audiobook always depends on the narrator. I'd say that applies to all listeners.

Book 77: The Chalk Circle Man by Fred Vargas, Translated by Sian Reynolds
October Alpha Kit: "V"
Book Bullet: 2018 from Stacy (LittleTaiko)



This is the first book in a mystery series featuring Commissaire Adamsberg an unusual detective. Commissaire Adamsberg has recently been reassigned to Paris and his first mystery starts when blue chalk circles begin to show up around the city. Each one has one object in the middle of the circle which seem to be unusual and not connected to each other: a doll's head, a handkerchief, a lamb chop bone, over 60 so far. And then a dead body is found in one. Adamsberg doesn't follow clues in the usual way of a detective - he's often stuck inside his head. I'll try at least one more but I suspect Commissaire Adamsberg will grow on me.

Book 78: The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman
CatWoman: Women and Crime



Once again, the old folks at the Thursday Murder Club are looking into a cold case. This time they're looking into a news anchor who went off a cliff years ago while working on a fraud story and was presumed dead. Besides the original members of the club, the author brings in many supporting characters and red herrings and just general fun.

I've started reading Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby which is our book club selection for next month. I'm about 75 pages in and there's a lot of violence and swearing already. So not really my cup of tea. But it's got a 4.1 rating here although I didn't look at the reviews (I don't usually before I finish a book), so I'm debating whether to continue. I might miss book club anyway since hubby and I are going away for a week or so.

>133 dudes22: I'm hoping the library will get many copies of this book so the wait isn't too long.

>135 pamelad: - I hope for you too. Not sure how the library system works in Australia, but in our state you get it quicker if your own library has it than if you have to wait for one from another library. So if you're like #30 waiting for the book, but only #4 at your home library, you'd get it as soon as 3 other people read it even if your still number #20 overall.

Book 79: Standing in the Rainbow by Fannie Flagg
Narrated by Kate Reading



This is the second book in the Elmwood Springs series although this one could be read without reading the first. The story's main character is the town itself and the stories of the residents who live there. Neighbor Dorothy and her radio show, her two children Bobby and Anna Lee, Tot Wooten, A gospel group, and many more. It's one of those feel good stories and even better as an audio book. In fact, I don't think I would have liked it as well if I had read it. It starts after WW II and I think it ends around the 1990s (I think one review said 2000). Hard to know just listening. It gets a little bit sad as the years go on and people get older but I still liked it. It made a great book to listen to in the car.

Book 80: Wrapped in Rain by Charles Martin



Tucker Rain has had a tough life. Although he is now a famous photographer, his father was abusive when he was young and he was raised by a black woman most of the time. When his half-brother escapes from a mental hospital and an old girlfriend appears with her son, running from an abusive husband, Tucker is forced to face the past.

Charles Martin is one of my favorite authors. His character development is what makes his books so good.

>138 dudes22: BB for me!

>139 Tess_W: - This was his first novel not in a series so not quite as good as later ones. I started with When Crickets Cry which I loved. And I've been adding others to my TBR.

Book 81: The Ones We Keep by Bobbie Jean Huff
Book Bullett: 2022 from Carol



When Olivia goes with her husband and 3 boys on vacation to a resort in Vermon, she has no idea that her life will change forever. Coming back from a walk one day, she runs into 2 girls and learns that one of her sons has dies, but not which one. She panics and decides that if she never knows which one it was then maybe she can convince herself that none have. So she runs away from the resort and starts a new life.

The story alternates between Olivia and the life she makes for herself and the family left behind and how they cope. An interesting premise on how lives are affected by the decisions we make.

>138 dudes22: I just added The Mountain Between Us to my library wishlist. I remember seeing and enjoying the movie but it's good to get your author recommendation.

>142 VivienneR: - I've never seen the movie nor read that book of his. I'm sure I'll get to it eventually. I don't think I realized it was the same person.

I had to go by the library today to return a book and, of course, I decided to see what was in the FOL sale corner. I ended up with a jigsaw puzzle (in preparation for the winter) and four books:

Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
The Masque of Africa by V.S. Naipaul
Nocturnes by Kazuo Ishaguro

I think a couple of these might make it into next year's reding.

And I bought one for my husband; Points Unknown by David Roberts, "a collection of stories and book excerpts of adventures, exploration, survival..." - you get the idea.

Book 82: Us Against You by Fredrik Backman



When Judy mentioned on her thread that she was reading a book written in the first-person plural, I found a list of first-person plural books (to see if I'd read any) and this book was on it. Sure enough, when I picked it up to read later that night, the first word where I was starting was "we". I think Judy's comments had me paying more attention to how effective it was for the rest of the book.

As the second book in Backman's Beartown trilogy, it's hard to say anything about what's happening without giving away things that happened at the end of book one. Of course, if you look at other reviews here on LT, you might get a sense of what happened in the previous book, but I'm going to try to say a few things that don't give away much, otherwise, I'd have to write a whole review in spoilers. And, if you haven't read Beartown, read that first.

This series is about hockey and this second book delves further into the conflicts and violence that are part of the hockey culture. And about how those things seep into everyday life in this hockey town. I've written before about how I dislike the author trying to set things up using phrases like "if only I'd know what was going to happen"... But even though Backman uses this somewhat, he does it in such a sparse way that it helps build the suspense of what might happen. i.e."It doesn't start here. But it gets worse from here." A two-sentence paragraph set apart.

I'm not a hockey fan, but I am a Backman fan, so I knew I'd read this trilogy anyway. And having the first-person plural brought to my attention, I'd say it was successful in this story. I felt like I was looking down on what was happening in the town and seeing the stories of the people who lived there. I'm wondering how he will top this book in the final book of the trilogy.

Book 83: The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson, Narrated by Katie Schorr
November Random Kit: City in Title
Book Bullet: 2020 from Marann



Cussy Mary Carter is a traveling bookwoman in the Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky in the 1930s. She is part of the Kentucky Pack Horse Library Project created by President Roosevelt’s Work Progress Administration program to help people out during the Depression. Her skin is also a shade of blue and so she is distrusted by many people. Blue skin actually exists and is a result of recessive genes in both parents. It is caused by a lack of oxygen in the blood.

Cussy works hard to bring books to the people living in the hills of Appalachia, believing that books are important to these people. Not everyone is happy about Cussy being a librarian and she encounters many difficulties and prejudices. I listened to an audio version of this book, and I loved it. The narrator was great and the author’s notes at the end were very interesting. I was planning to listen to the sequel, but there is a long waiting list for the audio so it might be a while before I get it.

Book 84: Razorblade Tears by S.A.Cosby
November Book Club



This was our selection for November for my RL book club. I started it before we went on vacation but, when I knew I wouldn't be at the meeting, I wasn't going to finish it because it was very violent and lots of swearing. But after I got back someone told me that I really should try to finish it and that there had been a good discussion about the book. So - I did.

Ike and Buddy Lee are two ex-cons - Ike a black man and Buddy Lee a white man. Their sons are married to each other and have a little girl. But neither Ike nor Buddy Lee has ever really accepted his son's sexuality or had much to do with them. But when the sons are murdered violently (I suppose all murder is violent), they decide to band together and figure out who killed them as the police don't seem to care. The reason they were murdered is unpredictable, so I guess it was worth finishing.

Book 85: Always in December by Emily Stone
December Book Club



This is the book we will be discussing in our December book club meeting. I don't usually read very much chick lit, so I wasn't very enthusiastic about reading this. But it turned out to be ok.

Josie has found Christmas depressing ever since her parents died on Christmas Eve when she was nine. Every year she writes a letter and posts it to her parents. This year, as she's riding her bicycle to post the letter, she bumps into a stranger. (ok - she sort-of ran over him) She offers to buy him a drink to make up for knocking him down and Max agrees. He's stuck in town because his flight to the US was cancelled. Surprise! Surprise! They end up spending the Christmas holidays together. Then he disappears. Except she runs into him periodically over the next year. It was probably better than some chick-lit I've read.

>146 dudes22: I also loved that book! Never knew there were such people as "blueys."

>149 Tess_W: - There's a sequel that just came out that I'll probably listen to next year.

>150 dudes22: I started the sequel last night, and would like to stay home today and just read!

>151 clue: - I listened to the first one and that's my plan for the second also because the narrator was so good, but there's already a waiting list so I'll wait til the beginning of the year and then request it and wait.

Book 86: Christmas Caramel Murder by Joanne Fluke
December Random Kit: Holiday Sweets
December Mystery Kit: Holiday Mysteries



Cozy mystery which is part of the Hannah Swensen series. Set at Christmas time, Hannah finds the person playing Mrs Santa Claus murdered. Hannah's late father appears to her as the Ghost of Past, Present, and Future to give her clues to help solve the murder. And there are recipes.

Book 87: Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson, narrated by Bahni Turpin
Book Bullet: 2022 from Judy (DeltaQueen50)



Judy reviewed this book just as I was finishing my last audio book and she mentioned how good the narrator was, so I decided to listen to this next. And she was right - the narrator heightened my enjoyment of the book (If that's the right word.)

Mary B. Addison was convicted of killing 3 month-old baby Allissa when Mary was only 9. Now 15, she has been released from jail and is in a group home with other female offenders where she will stay until she's 18. She works in a nursing home and goes to school. She is not liked at the group home and the other girls pick on her repeatedly. The only person she likes is Ted who also works at the nursing facility. Of course, she ends up pregnant.

But Mary is also intelligent. She makes plans - to take the SAT, to go to college, and to keep her baby. We also gradually learn about her past and her relationship with her mother. Although this is fiction, the author presents a very realistic story of how the system does nothing to help young offenders. One of my best reads this year and I'll be recommending it to a few people.

>154 dudes22: definitely a BB for me!

>154 dudes22: I am very happy that you found Allegedly to be as excellent as I did. :)

>155 Tess_W: - I hope you enjoy it. I recommended it to a friend today at our cookie swap who also does audio books.

>156 DeltaQueen50: - You don't usually steer me wrong. I always wonder when I like an audio book if I would have found it as good/compelling if I had read it instead. This would still have been wonderful but I think the audio really makes this one.

>157 dudes22: I totally agree, this was one of those books that the audio enhanced and raised it to a higher level!

Book 88: Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
Book Bullet: 2020 from Today Show - 2022 from JayneCM



I first heard about this book on the Today Show and then when JayneCM reviewed it earlier this year and I found a copy at a library sale, I decided to read it now.

When I finished, I decided to look at some of the reviews here on LT before I posted to see what others thought. Some loved it, others not so much. I fall into the latter category. I'm not really much of a fantasy reader anyway, so I probably shouldn't be surprised. I thought the author made it interesting describing all the different rooms in the House, but sometimes it seemed repetitious. The end where you find out what happened was interesting, but I'm still not that thrilled by it. Just ok for me.

As usual the BBs fly from your thread!

>160 VivienneR: - Just passing them along.

One book I'm reading might provide a better answer, but I think I'll post my meme anyway:

Describe yourself: The Beet Queen

Describe how you feel: Wrapped in Rain

Describe where you currently live: Beartown

If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Mountains Beyond Mountains

Your favorite form of transportation is: The Book Jumper

Your favorite food is: Gastro Obscura

Your favorite time of day is: Unexpected Night

Your best friend is: A Wanted Man

You and your friends are: Gods in Alabama

What’s the weather like: High Heat

You fear: Bleeding Hearts & Razorblade Tears

What is the best advice you have to give: Trust

Thought for the day: I Shall Not Want

What is life for you: The Tie That Binds

How you would like to die: Always in December

Your soul’s present condition: Standing in the Rainbow

What was 2022 like for you? One Bad Day After Another

What do you want from 2023? Life in the Garden

>162 dudes22: Good answers. I'll wait until I know what I'll read between now and December 31.

I wonder what a "Beet Queen" looks like (or tastes like??). I hope you get "Life in the garden" next year.

I wish we had a separate thread for all memes.

>164 VivienneR: - There's one over in the 2023 challenge.

>165 dudes22: Thanks for that information! I have been looking but missed it. I'm trying desperately to catch up with threads but it's a losing battle.

>166 VivienneR: - I know what you mean.

Book 89: A Better Man by Louise Penny
December Author Cat: Favorite Author



This book is #15 in the Inspector Gamache series by Louise Penny. It's always hard to write remarks about a book which is later in the series without giving things away. Even the description of the book on the flyleaf gives away more than I would. In this book, a father comes to Gamache requesting help in finding his daughter. The wife of an abusive husband, her father hasn't heard from her and believes the husband may have hurt her badly. When she is found dead, it's up to Inspector Gamache to figure out if she was murdered or it was an accident. That's all I'll say about that.

If you're a person who has difficulty reading books dealing with abuse, this one is not graphic and mostly alluded to. On the other hand, don't start the series with this book. It really is a series which should be read in order.

Although murder is not usually a Christmas read, Louise Penny is one of my favorite authors and I can count on her to relax me.

Judy reminded me that there is also a Party Meme and here is my version:

How to Throw a Party Meme – 2022 version

1. What would you call the event? Dinner With Edward

2. How did the guests find their way? Medicine Walk

3. How did they know that they had arrived? A Man Lay Dead

4. Any special activities? A Test of Wills

5. Did your guests stay over? One Bad Day After Another

6. Were there servants to help? Allegedly

7. Was there turn down service? Always in December

8. How were the guests greeted? The Uncommon Reader

9. Was dinner held for late comers? Fannie’s Last Supper

10. And dinner was? Live Bait

11. Afterwards? The Rosie Project

I love your answers to the Party Meme! Especially #5!

Book 90: Aunt Bessie Believes by Diana Xarissa
Alpha Kit: "X"



Aunt Bessie is a cute, little, old lady who lives on the Isle of Man and helps sort out murders that happen. This time a rather nasty woman whom no one likes dies and almost by accident they discover she was murdered. Although there is a slight twist at the end, it's rather apparent who did it early on.

This will be a busy day, so I'm posting my holiday wish to all of you:

My sister-in-law has gifted me a wonderful book for Christmas - The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady by Edith Holden. IF (yes big IF) I can restrain myself, I think I will only read each month in the month. A brief glance shows wonderful drawings that accompany the text. Maybe I'll give a brief review each month.

Book 91: An Incomplete Revenge by Jacqueline Winspear
Dec Alpha Kit: "W"



This 5th book in the Maisie Dobbs series was more enjoyable for me than some of the previous ones. It's now 1931 and Maise is hired by a friend to do an investigation regarding a land purchase. When she gets to the village where the brick factory is, she finds that things are not quite as they seem. There has been some theft and every year around the same time a fire is started. There are also gypsies in the area for the hops gathering and people from London who come down to make some extra money gathering hops also. As Maisie talks to people, she gradually learns how what happened in the past is affecting the present.

I’m winding down my 2022 reading and starting some of my 2023 books so I think I’ll go ahead and post my 2022 summary.

Year End Review:

I had a good reading year. I didn’t manage to finish the Alpha Kit despite all the books I read. I had 12 5* reads which I was very happy about. I also went through some of the older books on my TBR and purged some that I don’t think I’ll ever read. This is the first year that I’ve read audio books with some regularity, and I’ve found that there were some that I think were better because they were audio.

Here are some stats that are probably of little interest except to me.

TBR 1/1/22: 896 TBR 12/29/2022: 786
Books Added: 70 (40 physical, 30 ebook)
Books Read: 91 (35 physical, 14 ebook, 42 library)
Authors read: 46 male, 44 female, 1 multi-author
Audio: 12
Pages Read: 26,434

Best Books: (I had 12 5* reads this year)
Allegedly by Tiffany D Jackson
The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn
The Bookwoman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson
Medicine Walk by Richad Wagamese
Restoration by Olaf Olaffson

Least Liked: (of the ones I completed – there were 3 DNFs)
Autumn by Ali Smith
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
The A to Z of You and Me by James Hannah
Fannie’s Last Supper by Chris Kimball

Book Bullets: 59 (already read 5)

I took a lot of BBs this year from my LT friends. I also took recommendations from friends and the monthly pamphlet from the library. Even a few from Pinterest and Amazon. I’m hoping to concentrate on reading a lot of BBs next year (again).

Annie Oakley Award:



To the following fellow readers who hit me with the most BBs this year:

1st place: JayneCM hit me with 8
Tie for 2nd & 3rd: Jackie-K hit me with 6 & Jennifer (japaul) hit me with 6

Now on to 2023. New thread here: https://www.librarything.com/ngroups/23825/2023-Category-Challenge

>175 dudes22: Wow, you've dropped Mt TBR down by 110 books, fantastic work! (I've gone in the other direction...). And I'm glad I could hit you with a few BBs, it's my way of saying thank you for the ones that headed my way from you!

>176 Jackie_K: - The big drop was because I went through some boxes and purged some books that I don't think I'll ever read. My tastes have change because of the excellent reading done by others here, so it was time to get rid of stuff.

>177 dudes22: It's still impressive though. I did a purge too, and got rid of the grand total of 5 books. I'm still going to end the year with more books than I started it with, despite the best of intentions.

I need to do a purge of books. I'll probably try to do that in the early part of the year.