Jennifer's 2022 Reading (japaul22) Part 2

Continuing with a second thread for 2022!

I'm having a very satisfying reading year so far, though I've not done well with my group read of Anniversaries. We'll see if I get back to it. It's a long book to force your way through.

These lists are to help me pick books when I don't have a "next book" in mind. They will also give you an idea of the kinds of books I enjoy.

Contemporary Authors that I follow (i.e. I'll probably read any new novel they put out and am reading any backlog I haven't gotten to yet):
Hilary Mantel
Kate Atkinson
Eleanor Catton
Eowyn Ivey
Tana French
Marilynne Robinson
Hannah Tinti
Barbara Kingsolver
Ann Patchett
Chimamanda Adichie
Margaret Atwood
Madeline Miller
Esther Freud
A.S. Byatt
Siri Hustvedt
Ottessa Moshfegh

Series/Mysteries that I follow:
Robert Galbraith, Cormoran Strike mysteries (5/6)
Tana French, (8/8)
Jane Harper, (4/4)
C.J. Sansom, Matthew Shardlake series (6/6)
Ruth Ware (6/7)
Sujata Massey (1/4)
Thursday Murder Club (1/3)
The Blue by Nancy Bilyeau (1/

Classic authors I love (reading novels I haven't read yet or rereads):
Jane Austen - complete
the Brontes - complete
Virginia Woolf - complete novels
George Eliot - (4 out of 7 novels)
Trollope - (20 out of 47 novels)
Thomas Mann - (3 novels)
Doestoevsky - (2 novels)
Tolstoy (2 novels)
Haldor Laxness (2 novels)
Sigrid Undset (3 novels)
Faulkner (4/17-ish novels)
Zola
Scandinavian classics
Willa Cather
Edith Wharton
John Williams (4/4 novels)
Proust - complete
Thomas Hardy
Henry James
Barbara Pym (9/13 novels)

Kindle TBR (because I never remember I have these):
Daughters of the Winter Queen by Nancy Goldstone
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
Devil in the Grove
Martin Chuzzlewit
Our Mutual Friend
Nicholas Nickleby
Lost Children Archive
The Fire This Time
Sandhamn Murders by Viveca Sten books 1-6
Titan by Ron Chernow
Dead Mountain by Donnie Eichar
The Imprisoned Guest by Elisabeth Gitter
How to Build a Girl by Caitlin Moran
The Lost Garden by Helen Humphreys
Three Lives by Gertrude Stein
Anne by Constance Fenimore Cooper
Compartment No. 6
The Great Circle
Tyll
West With Giraffes
The Books of Jacob
Drive your plow over the bones of the dead
3 From Amazon world book day:
Mother Dear
THe Easy Life in Kamusari
And Eye for an Eye
She Has Her Mother's Laugh (science book on heredity)
Fight Night by Miriam Toews
An Experiment in Love by Hilary Mantel
A Woman's Life by Maupassant
Nightwood by Djuna Barnes
Lapovna by Otessa Moshfegh
Best of Friends by Kamila Shamsie
Was Heathcliff a Murderer by Jon Sutherland
A Map for the Missing
THe Man who Died Twice (thursday murder club 2)
Baba Dunja’s Last Love
Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shamsie

Reading Log
January:
1. Paradise by Abdulrazak Gurnah
2. Insurgent by Veronica Roth
3. Frost in May by Antonia White
4. Ariadne by Jennifer Saint
5. World on the Wing by Scott Weidensaul
6. My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh
7. Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac
8. Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica

February:
9. Lady Fanshawe's Receipt Book by Lucy Moore
10. Dangerous Liaisons by Choderlos de Laclos
11. Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin
12. Corregidora by Gayl Jones
13. Empire of Pain by Patrick Radde Keefe
14. My Monticello by Jocelyn Nicole Johnson
15. The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

March:
16. Tea at Four o'Clock by Janet McNeill
17. Anniversaries by Uwe Johnson, Volume 1
18. The Perpetual Curate by Margaret Oliphant
19. One by One by Ruth Ware
20. Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak
21. The Nineties by Chuck Kolsterman
22. After Me Comes the Flood by Sarah Perry

April:
23. Washington Black by Esi Edugyan
24. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
25. The Copenhagen Trilogy by Tove Ditlevsen
26. The Law and the Lady by Wilkie Collins
27. The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben
28. The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware

May
29. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
30. Cold Coast by Robyn Mundy
31. The Greengage Summer by Rumer Godden
32. The Round House by Louise Erdrich
33. The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thorton Wilder

June
34. Madame Secretary by Madeleine Albright
35. The Way to Paradise by Mario Vargas Llosa
36. What's Mine and Yours by Naima Coster
37. Balzac and the Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie
38. Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Adichie
39. The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley
40. The Mother of All Questions by Rebecca Solnit
41. Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

July Reading:
42. Therese Raquin by Emile Zola
43. The Devil's Pool by George Sand
44. Asphodel by H.D.
45. Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye
46. The Lying Game by Ruth Ware
47. Elektra by Jennifer Saint

August
48. In the Shadow of the Empress by Nancy Goldstone
49. The Farm in the Green Mountains by Alice Herdan-Zuckmayer
50. The Story of Mount Desert Island by Samuel Eliot Morison
51. The Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett
52. Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz
53. Companion Piece by Ali Smith
54. Old Masters by Thomas Bernhard

September
55. Bitter Orange by Claire Fuller
56. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
57. Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths

October
58. The Colony by Audrey Magee
59. The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope
60. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
61. The Saddest Words by Michael Gorra
62. The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell
63. The It Girl by Ruth Ware

November
64. The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey
65. Middlemarch by George Eliot
66. Haven by Emma Donoghue
67. Eight Months on Ghazzah Street by Hilary Mantel
68. The Sweet Dove Died by Barbara Pym
69. Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng
70. The Sewing Girl's Tale by John Wood Sweet
71. The Frozen Thames by Helen Humphreys

December:
72. The Menopause manifesto by Jen Gunter
73. Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
74. Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner
75. Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
76. The Fruit of the Tree by Edith Wharton
77. I Am, I Am, I Am by Maggie O'Farrell
78. Nothing but the Night by John Williams
79. Eileen by Otessa Moshfegh
80. The Blue by Nancy Bilyeau

#42 Therese Raquin by Emile Zola

I really love Zola's writing and was interested to try this early novel that predates his Rougon-Macquart series. Though Therese Raquin is not quite as developed as his later writing, it is a good novel and really shows where he'll go with his focus on the middle and lower economic classes and his extreme realism.

The eponymous character is raised with her Aunt and cousin when she is orphaned. They treat her as one of the family, but raise her in their sheltered life. Her cousin, Camille, is a sickly young man, and though they are raised as brother and sister, they are expected to marry. As expected, when they move to the city and a handsome young artist joins their social circle, Therese's sexuality is awakened. She and Laurent start a torrid affair and begin to plan how they can rid themselves of Camille. The ramifications of their decision form the rest of the novel.

This is a good novel by a great writer.

Original publication date: 1867
Author’s nationality: French
Original language: French, translated by Leonard Tancock
Length: 199 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: used book store, old folio society edition
Why I read this: off the shelf, 1001 books

Happy new thread, Jennifer. I imagine you'll have a busy weekend performing?

>6 BLBera: I'm actually off this weekend! My first July 4th at home in quite a few years. The Marine Band is at the White House, but it's my turn to have the day off this year. I'm excited to spend the weekend with family and neighbors.

Hi Jennifer! I'm making the rounds, post-vacation. I have no hope of catching up; rather, I'm just zipping to the bottom of threads to say hello and I'll start fresh from here.

Fortunately this new thread is pretty short. 😃

Happy new thread. Your list of contemporary authors you follow is eerily similar to mine. I'll have to read something by Hannah Tinti now.

Can you believe it's the second half of the year already? So much good reading under your belt already. Enjoy your weekend off!

>8 lauralkeet: welcome back!

>9 RidgewayGirl: I liked The Good Thief best. And I get lots of recommendations from your thread!

>10 labfs39: thanks for stopping by! I am having a satisfying reading year.

>5 japaul22: I think it might have been the very dark 1980 TV version of Thérèse Raquin that first got me reading Zola. I remember some nightmarish underwater scenes. Kate Nelligan and Brian Cox starred, Mona Washbourne was Mme Raquin.

>12 thorold: Interesting! It's a very vivid book (as I find all of Zola's writing) and I could definitely see it translating to screen well.

#43 The Devil's Pool by George Sand

Decided to try this French novella off the 1001 books to read before you die list. It was just ok. It's a simple story about a widowed farmer who finds love with a poor girl in his village. Sand begins by describing a Holbein painting of peasant and farming life and transitions into this tale of the working/lower classes.

I didn't find it particularly memorable. Likely I'd need to understand more about how it fits into French literature as a whole to get more out of it.

Original publication date: 1846
Author’s nationality: French
Original language: French
Length: 109 pages
Rating: 2.5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: purchased used paperback
Why I read this: off the shelf, 1001 books

>7 japaul22: Enjoy your holiday off, Jennifer.

Good job reading off the shelves! I keep saying I'm going to do that and get derailed, but it's a worthwhile aspiration, anyway.

Speaking of which, I've had Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress on my shelves forever—two friends from high school have independently sent me their read copies in the last ten years.

I enjoyed Hannah Tinti's The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley, though I can't say I remember much about it—but it was solidly entertaining and well written.

>15 BLBera: Thanks! We had a great holiday weekend last week.

>16 lisapeet: Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress is short and reads quickly if you want to squeeze it in sometime. I enjoyed both of Hannah Tinti's novels and hope she writes another soon!

#44 Asphodel by H.D.
I bought a used copy of this book a couple of years ago when the 1920s author kept popping up in book related discussion. H.D. was an American author, mainly of poetry, who is often spoken of with Virginia Woolf, Gertrude Stein, and Dorthoy Richardson. H.D. also wrote a couple novels, Asphodel being one of them. It is a stream of consciousness work that I was a bit apprehensive of reading because I thought it might be hard to read and comprehend. Actually, though, I really loved this book and I'm glad I made time for it.

In Asphodel, H.D. writes a flowing, colorful, autobiographical novel about her experience before, during, and just after WWI. Her love life is central to the book and frames the action. Pre-WWI, her love is her female friend Fayne Rabb; during the war it's Jerrol Darrington, who she has a stillborn baby with; and then Cyril Vane, who is less a love and more a diversion, but who she does have a child with.

The book doesn't necessarily have much forward motion, it sort of swirls around the plot, but I liked that. I was happy to dwell in the descriptions of the main character's experiences, feelings, and observations. You can tell that H.D. wrote a lot of poetry when you read this novel. She has a beautiful way of using color in her writing.

I highly recommend this for readers interested in the 1920s era of British and American writing. I think this book deserves to be more widely read!

A note also that the edition I could get my hands on, edited by Robert Spoo, has an incredibly helpful appendix that gives background info on the real people that the fictional characters are based on. It really helped me understand what was going on.

Original publication date: completed in the 1920s, not published until 1992 I believe
Author’s nationality: American
Original language: English
Length: 207 pages
Rating: 4.5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: purchased used paperback
Why I read this: off the shelf, 1001 books

>18 japaul22: You've read Square Haunting, right? H.D. was unknown to me prior to reading that book. It looks like Asphodel overlaps with the period she was living in Mecklenburg Square.

>19 lauralkeet: Yes, I did read Square Haunting and that is one of the places I started hearing about her. I think Asphodel is only available in used paperback copies right now, but I do think you'd be interested in it.

Asphodel sounds great, Jennifer. I will be searching for a copy. I did love Square Haunting as well.

Asphodel sounds intriguing, and H. D. is on of those authors I keep meaning to get to . . .

>3 japaul22: & >4 japaul22: Nice lists, I enjoyed browsing them :-)

>18 japaul22: I've only ever read H.D.'s poetry (and that was before LT), so I appreciate your review of the novel.

I am back from my 12 day trip to Europe with the Marine Band. We had a heavy performance and travel schedule, playing 6 concerts in Prague, Innsbruck, and Kerkrade, Netherlands. We didn't have time for a ton of sight-seeing, but I did get a taste of each city and our performances were in beautiful venues with appreciative audiences. All in all a fantastic, though tiring, trip.

While I was on the airplane and on 11 hour bus rides, I finished two books and made a good dent in two more.

#45 Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye
This novel draws its inspiration from Jane Eyre. The young woman narrator identifies with Jane Eyre, as she grows up in the household of an unsupportive Aunt, goes to a suspect boarding school, and winds up a governess where she falls in love with her employer. However, Faye creates Jane Steele as a murderess and there is a large subplot once she becomes a governess in which the man she falls in love with is tied up with a scandal that happened during his time in India.

Part of this novel were completely ridiculous, but overall I enjoyed the ride.

Original publication date: 2016
Author’s nationality: American
Original language: English
Length: 432 pages
Rating: 3 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: library kindle
Why I read this: to be entertained

#46 The Lying Game by Ruth Ware
This is my least favorite mystery by Ruth Ware so far. It follows a group of 4 women who were friends at boarding school in their youth, and it slowly reveals the truth of what really happened to the father of one girl (also an art teacher at the school) after he went missing during their time at school.

I found it predictable and not that suspenseful.

Original publication date: 2017
Author’s nationality: British
Original language: English
Length: 370 pages
Rating: 2 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: purchased kindle sale
Why I read this: off the shelf, to be entertained

Welcome home

>18 japaul22: see, this (Asphodel by H.D.) is why I’m on LT, i mean other than that it’s enjoyable and the companionship etc. Great find, read and review. I’m taken in. I think I will look this up.

>25 dchaikin: I'm so glad! And I agree. I've found so many neglected books/authors here on LT that deserve more readership. Happy to have sparked your interest!

Glad you were able to see some of the cities, even though it sounds like a very busy trip!

Welcome back, Jennifer.

Sigh. I wish I were in Prague or Innsbruck (never been to Kerkrade). It's hot here, and I'm ready for a change of pace.

>27 DieFledermaus: It was busy, but we did get a taste of each location. I'd love to go back to Prague sometime to really explore. And we had a drive through the Alps in Austria that had me dreaming of an Austrian vacation as well!

>28 BLBera: Thanks, it's good to be home!

>29 labfs39: It was hot there too! It was in the low to mid 90s in Prague and Innsbruck. And two of our concerts were outdoors. Luckily, we are used to that kind of weather, living in DC, and the humidity was much lower there than we are used to at home. But they also don't have the same quality of air conditioning as we're used to in the U.S.

>30 japaul22: LOL. I guess I was thinking it would be cool because when I was last there, it was! At least it would be a change of pace. I long to travel again, but I'm still nervous about covid. I know so many people who travel and come home with it. My family has been so effected by it that I'm especially cautious. I hope you dodge that bullet, although you've had it once, no?

>31 labfs39: It was really nice to travel again, though yes covid was a big concern! The airports were incredibly crowded and it did make me nervous. I did not get sick (yet anyway - I've been home since Thursday night and no symptoms plus negative rapid test this morning). I did have covid at the end of April, and I'm vaccinated with one booster, so maybe that all helped!

Our family trip will be next week, and we chose a driving trip because we weren't ready to plan a bigger trip with flights and such. Actually, you will appreciate that we are going to Maine! 4 nights in Bar Harbor, 1 in Boothbay Harbor, and 1 in Portsmouth, NH. It is a shorter trip than we wanted, but we couldn't get away from work longer than that. Looking forward to some family time!

>32 japaul22: Sounds lovely. If you were going to be in southern Maine/NH longer we could meet for dinner. Next time!

#47 Elektra by Jennifer Saint
This is an "entertaining enough" Greek myth retelling focused on Clytemnestra, the wife of Agamemnon and sister of Helen, and Cassandra, the princess of Troy who is a seer. Elektra is daughter of Clytemnestra and the two don't see eye to eye on Agamemnon to say the least.

I've read a bunch of these Greek myth retellings and I always enjoy them as escapist reading. This one works just fine, though it's not as special as Madeline Miller's forays into the genre.

Original publication date: 2022
Author’s nationality: British
Original language: English
Length: 291 pages
Rating: 3 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: purchased for kindle
Why I read this: traveling and wanted something entertaining and easy

>24 japaul22: A whirlwind European trip, how wonderful! (even if it is work) I do envy your travel....

I imagine you are on your vacation now, wave as you pass by.

>34 japaul22: I've been wondering about this one, Jennifer. I really liked Ariadne. Did you read that? If so, how does it compare?

>36 BLBera: I liked Ariadne too. I think I enjoyed it a little more than Elektra because Elektra is such a familiar story, so it felt a little old or just a story that’s been overdone. I actually think the main character was Clytemnestra, but the publishers probably thought Elektra worked better as a title! I think the writing and characters were on par with Ariadne though - you’ll probably enjoy it.

Thanks Jennifer. It might be a while. I'm reading A Thousand Ships right now and really enjoying it, but I have to space my reading of retelling of Greek myths.

#48 In the Shadow of the Empress by Nancy Goldstone

I picked up this biography of Empress Maria Theresa, who ruled the Habsburg Empire in the 1700s, because I was traveling through Austria, Prague, and the Netherlands, and because I knew Nancy Goldstone's historical writing is entertaining and fairly easy to read. I got just what I wanted - a look at a strong female ruler and a focus on 3 of her daughters, Marie Antoinette - Queen of France, Maria Carolina - Queen of Naples, and Maria Christina - Governor-General of the Netherlands.

Goldstone writes history that is fun to read because she focuses on what I'm most interested in - the human side of things like family relationships, ruling challenges, personal strengths and faults, rivalries with other rulers, etc. I think her work is well-researched, but I also think she tends to take fairly well-known research and use it to create a good story. I don't think her books generally reveal much new research or enlighten the historical record.

Original publication date: 2021
Author’s nationality: American
Original language: English
Length: 640 pages
Rating: 3.5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: purchased for kindle
Why I read this: traveling through the region

#49 The Farm in the Green Mountains by Alice Herdan-Zuckmayer

I quite enjoyed this memoir of a woman who emigrates to the U.S from Germany just before WWII. She and her husband live in NYC and LA, but ultimately wind up running a farm in Vermont. The book took shape with letters she wrote to her family back in Germany. It's basically a series of essays in which she observes American life, specifically New Englanders, and the joys and trials of farming.

Parts of this I absolutely loved and part I found a little boring. It's sort of a niche book, but I'm glad I read it and will remember it fondly.

Original publication date: 1949
Author’s nationality: German
Original language: English
Length: 216 pages
Rating: 3.5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: purchased nyrb edition
Why I read this: off the shelf

#50 The Story of Mount Desert Island by Samuel Eliot Morison

A chatty, gossipy, and dated (especially when discussing the "Indians" that first lived on the island) history of Mount Desert Island. This is the island in Maine where Acadia National Park is located and where I recently vacationed. It is an absolutely beautiful spot. I picked this book up in a gift shop. It was ok, but not really what I was looking for. I would have preferred more info about the original inhabitants of the island, info about the creation of the national park, and about the 1947 fire. Instead this was mainly about the first European explorers and then life on the island in the mid to late 1800s. Fine, but not for everyone.

Original publication date: 1960
Author’s nationality: American
Original language: English
Length: 116 pages
Rating: 2 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: purchased in a gift shop
Why I read this: traveling in the region

>41 japaul22: I had no idea that Morison wrote about Mount Desert Island. I read his biography of Columbus, Admiral of the Ocean Sea, thirty years ago and remember it as being eye-opening. For instance, I had had no idea that Columbus was sent home in chains at one point. Morison wrote quite extensively on the European exploration of the Americas, as well as naval history, so I'm not surprised if that is what this book defaulted to.

Did you enjoy your time in Maine?

>42 labfs39: Yes, the author blurb said that Morison won the Pulitzer. Definitely an impressive person with an interesting life! This book was just not quite what I personally wanted it to be.

Our trip to Maine was lovely! Acadia is absolutely beautiful. The smell of the pine trees combined with the ocean is unforgettable. We also ended up going to the Boothbay Harbor area for a night which we also enjoyed. The trip was too short, but a nice break none the less.

>43 japaul22: I'm glad you had a good trip. The Maine Coast is nice. Next time you'll have to take a puffin cruise. And we'll have to do a meetup. :-)

>44 labfs39: We would have liked to do both a puffin cruise and a whale watching tour. We did do a sea kayak trip and a lobster boat that also took us to see grey and white seals. So at least we got out on the water!

And, yes, a meet up would have been fun too!!

>45 japaul22: Ooh, sea kayaking. I love it. Lobster boat is fun too.

>41 japaul22: How interesting! I'm fairly certain my father had at least one of this books, which I would have read in my pre-teen years. I've just been scrabbling around reading articles about the Basques in early Maine..(which also takes me into the Canadian maritimes.. Maybe a three-way meet-up?

>47 avaland: That would be fun - no firm plans to revisit Maine in the near future, but I'll keep you both in mind if it happens!

Interesting that Samuel Eliot Morison is so well-known. I had never heard of him!

#51 The Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett

Sarah Orne Jewett was a late 19th/early 20th century American author that I had not yet read. When I saw that she was from Maine and that this novel was set there, I knew I had to read it during our vacation. I really enjoyed it. There isn't a lot of plot in this slim novel - basically a woman writer goes to Maine for the summer looking for a quiet place to write and instead finds herself enamored of both the setting and the people in the community. The nature writing is beautiful and really captures the beauty of coastal Maine - the fir trees, rocky coasts, and fresh pine and ocean smells. And she captures the lifestyle as well - the reliance on the sea, coastal farming, and close-knit though reserved communities.

I enjoyed this and recommend it to anyone who enjoys American writers from this era. It's slow and filled with conversation in dialect, but I liked it.

Original publication date: 1910
Author’s nationality: American
Original language: English
Length: 134 pages
Rating: 3.5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: kindle freebie
Why I read this: traveling in the region

School starts for my kids this morning, so I'm up early with my middle school kid. (Grades 7 and 8 here, ages 12-14). They get the early schedule so he has to leave for the bus at 6:40 - big transition after elementary school, which starts at 9:15!

>50 japaul22: That's got to be hard on an adolescent. Hope the school year starts will for all your kids and also you getting them going in the morning.

Wow - 6:40 is an early start on the bus! Hope it all went well. My two aren't back until 1st September. Will take us all a few days to get back into routine again I suspect.

>51 RidgewayGirl:, >52 AlisonY: it is really early for the kids! Luckily this schedule is only for two years. When they move to the high school the bus will be around 7:45 which sounds a lot more humane. I think my son will do ok with the early schedule, but it is hard that activities for that age still need to take parent work schedules into account, so a lot of his baseball practices are 7-9. I'd prefer him to be in bed falling asleep at 9. Oh well, we'll make it work.

On the book front, I finished the fun Magpie Murders which I'll review either today or sometime over the weekend. I'm reading the challenging Old Masters by Thomas Bernhard (my first attempt at his work), and I think I'll start Companion Piece by Ali Smith. I always appreciate her novels, but my connection to them is hit or miss. She's consistently intriguing, though, so I keep coming back for more.

Happy first day of school, Jennifer. That is early. Here, they flipped the high school and elementary school schedules. The little kids go early and the big kids start later.

I LOVED The County of the Pointed Firs and still have a copy.

>54 BLBera: I think a lot of people would like that except that, for working parents, having little kids in school from 7:30-2 makes for a complicated afternoon. With the 9-4 elementary schedule a lot of dual working parents can shift schedules around and not need much if any extra childcare. Plus, older siblings are home from school before elementary school lets out to help.
But I do think that if you take that out of it, most young kids would do better with the early wake up than teenagers.
We have an enormous school district (Fairfax County in VA with 180,000 students) so no decision about anything can make everyone happy!

>55 japaul22: I am always surprised by something with the US educational system... I did not realize that the school days start at different times for different grades.

(Back home (at least in my town) there were two start times: 7:30 am if you are in a school that needs shifts (usually bigger schools with older buildings - there was only 3 of these in the town and its second shift started at 1:30 pm I think) and 8:00 for schools that do not require a second shift (both of my schools were single shift ones; the only time I started at 7:30 am was the 2 weeks when we got crammed into one of the big schools after a major pipe incident in the middle of winter - and as the school that got us was already double-shifted, it went into some weird 2.5-shifts pattern, using the schedules creatively and with shorter periods to accommodate everyone).

>56 AnnieMod: Interesting! In our school district there are distinct buildings (for the most part) for kindergarten-6th graders, 7&8th graders, and then 9th-12th grades. Each of these levels starts at a different time to accommodate the busing schedule. This is really the whole reason. So the youngest kids start around 9 am and go til about 4pm. The middle schoolers get the early shift, roughly 7:30-2:30. And the high school kids go from 8:15-3:30.

Busing 180,000 kids to their various schools through varying amounts of traffic is a huge headache to sort out, I'm sure! There aren't enough buses or bus drivers to have buses going to the different schools simultaneously.

>57 japaul22: No busing in my town or in Bulgaria in general (some private schools do it now but other from that, it is your responsibility to get there - walking, being dropped off, using public transport, whatever). Bigger cities have a a bigger problem but... that way you did not have 4 buses on the same street picking up for 4 schools (or a bus needing to make stops in each school). I always walked to my schools - funnily enough, my home was in the middle between my basic/elementary school and my high school. Which probably explains the lack of staggering... I had a classmate who arrived with the early train every morning and then walked to school with us from the station. It was unusual for anyone to be dropped off back in the 90s when I was at school - you took a bus if you lived in the other end of town and then walked from the bus stop or you just walked. As far as I had seen, nothing had changed in that except that I see more parents walking with their kids when I am there -- but then it is a small-ish town (we had 12 elementary schools, not counting the village and village/suburb ones - some villages became suburbs at some point) and the small kids and pre-teens (pre-high school basically) always got enrolled into the "zone school" based on where they lived so noone had to walk to the other end of town before they were teenagers. And teens are supposed to be able to take care of themselves a bit better :)

#52 Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz

This mystery is an homage to Agatha Christie. The premise is that an editor receives the latest mystery from an author of a series featuring Atticus Pünd, a Poirot-style detective. She reads the book and we do too - all 200-some pages. Then, the last chapter is missing and the author is found dead. This kicks off a second mystery that the editor tries to solve.

I thought this was a clever premise, but in the end I found it extremely predictable. I think the embedded book was TOO derivative of Agatha Christie, and the mystery about the author's death just wasn't that interesting.

A pleasant-enough diversion, but not something to run out and read immediately.

Original publication date: 2017
Author’s nationality: British
Original language: English
Length: 477 pages
Rating: 3 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: library kindle
Why I read this: I think it's gotten attention because it's being made into a tv show? It's in book news and a friend recommended it.

#53 Companion Piece by Ali Smith

I loved this new novel by Ali Smith. Sometimes her writing is a bit too experimental for me to connect with, but this one hit just the right balance. Set in 2021 in England, the pandemic is still a concern for our narrator, but a lot of the world has moved on. Sandy's father is in the hospital recovering, hopefully, from a heart attack, and Sandy gets a strange call from a woman she briefly knew in college. The woman, Martina, relates an odd experience she had recently which sets the novel off in two different directions: one the current day family drama of this friend and her young adult daughters, and two the story of a young girl blacksmith during the Plague years in the Middle Ages. All this is based around a sentence Martina heard - "curlew or curfew - you choose" - and couldn't understand. Sandy was always known for being quirky and understanding words and poetry in college, so Martina seeks her out for an explanation.

Somehow, this totally works. Running through the whole book is a love of words and poetry that matters more than the actual plot. It's a book I devoured and now really want to reread sometime soon to savor.

It's odd, I can't say I really understood the point of all of it, and it won't be for everyone, but it really worked for me.

Original publication date: 2022
Author’s nationality: British
Original language: English
Length: 230 pages
Rating: 4.5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: kindle purchase
Why I read this: always interested in this author's work and the book description looked like something I would like

>60 japaul22: I just read Companion Piece too, and really loved it. Such an oddball, intelligent, sensitive palate cleanser (those are all the adjectives I have at my disposal at the moment, but I'm going to write up a review of it for my thread shortly).

>81 japaul22: I really can't figure out how it is such an odd book with a lot of complexity but still so readable. She really nailed it for me.

>62 japaul22: Exactly. The writing and the tone are so well done—I don't think a less adept author could have pulled it off. Now I want to read the rest of hers that I have (Autumn through Spring, Public Library and Other Stories, probably at least one more).

I loved the seasons quartet and have Companion Piece on the shelf. Smith is amazing and fearless. Yet, somehow, she makes all the bits and pieces work together. Great comments, Jennifer.

I read Autumn and Winter and then trailed off. I’ll have to get to the last two.

I’ve also read There but for the which I didn’t enjoy. That was my first book of hers that I read, so I’m glad I gave her a a second chance!

>60 japaul22: Interesting. I can't make up my mind about Ali Smith. I enjoyed The Accidental (eventually - took me two goes to get into it), but Autumn I found too depressingly gritty and spiky so I didn't read the rest of the quartet.

This one sounds like it could be more in the vein of Smith as she was in The Accidental. Noting...

#54 Old Masters by Thomas Bernhard

I had a rough start with this, but ended up being moved by it - something I was not expecting. Bernhard writes one long, no paragraphs or page breaks, rant about the state of Austrian society and culture. This rant is by a man, Reger, in his 80s who goes daily to an Austrian art museum to sit in front of one painting, Tintoretto's White-Bearded Man. His rant is retold by a friend, Atzbatcher - an interesting authorial device in itself - sort of removes the reader one step. We know also that Reger's wife has recently died.

Reger rants about many things: Austrian bathrooms, Austrian government, Austrian composers (spoiler - he's not a fan of Brucker or Mahler), Austrian authors, Austrian artists, and the Austrian people themselves, among other topics. This was amusing at times, especially the topics I had better context for, and really annoying at times. It's very repetitive, which does help hammer the points home.

So just when I was about to give up and skim to the end, the details of Reger's wife's death start to come out. And then I was hooked. Lots of things become clear about just why Reger is so annoyed with Austria and why he's been ranting specifically about some of his topics. You also understand his anger is mixed with grief. It's all very moving and is a realistic portrait of grief, which is rarely just sadness and often includes anger.

I did not find this an easy book to read, but I am very glad I read it and think it will be a memorable book for me.

Original publication date: 1985
Author’s nationality: Austrian
Original language: German
Length: 156 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: purchased paperback
Why I read this: 1001 books, Austrian author and I visited Austria recently

Nice reviews of Companion Piece and Old Masters, Jennifer. I've added Ali Smith's latest novel to my library wish list, and I'll plan to read it later this year.

>68 kidzdoc: Thanks, Darryl! I'll be interested to hear what you think of Companion Piece when you get to it.

#55 Bitter Orange by Claire Fuller

After loving Claire Fuller's recent novel, Unsettled Ground, I decided to try some of her backlist. Unfortunately, Bitter Orange didn't really work for me. The narrator, Frances Jellico, is dying and tells a visiting vicar about an episode in her life when she spent time at a dilapidated English country home with another troubled couple, Peter and Cara. Frances has been hired to study and report on the gardens, and Peter to report on the architecture of the house. Peter and Cara's backstory becomes central to the book and the three become close, though it's obvious that everyone is keeping secrets.

The problem was that I found most of it predictable and I also just didn't really care about the characters. And it's the kind of book that needs full investment in the characters, because there isn't much else.

I still highly recommend Unsettled Ground, but I'd pass on this one.

Original publication date: 2018
Author’s nationality: British
Original language: English
Length: 317 pages
Rating: 2 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: kindle library book
Why I read this: interested in the author, off of my library wish list

>67 japaul22: do you recall whether Robert Musil comes up in Reger’s rants? Just curious. Another Austrian.

>71 dchaikin: I don't remember Musil being in there. The main writer that receives Reger's rants is Stifter, who I had never heard of.

>72 japaul22: interesting. I haven’t heard of him either, although Wikipedia says he’s popular in German.

>72 japaul22: >73 dchaikin: I have read two of Stifter's novellas, but I do not remember much of them. I have Der Nachsommer on my shelf but as far as I know it is a very slow read so I am not sure when I will get to it...

re Adalbert Stifter - I've read Rock Crystal, which was an odd book indeed, but with lots of nineteenth century messages.

>70 japaul22: Well, I just picked up a copy of Bitter Orange. Here's hoping I end up disagreeing with you about this one.

>76 RidgewayGirl: I hope so too, Kay! I really loved Unsettled Ground, maybe this just wasn't the right book for my reading mood.

>72 japaul22: his Indian Summer is on the 1001 list.

>75 SassyLassy: I've only read Stifter's Rock Crystal, which is definitely a strange little book, but I really liked it. It's a good winter read.

>70 japaul22: Great comments, Jennifer. I've been wondering about this one because, like you, I loved Unsettled Ground. I recently read Swimming Lessons with my book club and that was very good as well. Maybe I'll pass on Bitter Orange.

>78 ELiz_M: thanks, I hadn't noticed he had a 1001 books entry.

>79 lisapeet: Good to know - maybe I'll check Stifter out sometime.

>80 BLBera: Was Bitter Orange her first novel? Maybe she got better with later novels. Or, maybe it just wasn't for me.

#56 As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner

Faulkner is an author I discovered in high school and come back to periodically. I think his writing is pretty close to brilliant. I also find it difficult to really understand one of his novels with only one reading. As I Lay Dying is no exception.

In this novel Addie Bundren, mother and wife, dies, and at her request the family is tasked to bring her body to her home town of Jefferson, Mississippi for burial. For this poor, large, rural family, this is a large undertaking. It's a slim novel, but so much happens - destroyed bridges and dangerous river crossings, a broken leg idiotically set with cement, a hard-earned horse sold by a shiftless father, an arson and arrest, and a quest for an abortion. Seriously, all of that. But I didn't even realize how much I was learning about the family until the short book ended and I reflected back.

The story is told by 15 different narrators and each has a distinctive voice and point of view to add. It did make it hard to get in the flow of the book, but it also works very well.

Reading this has gotten me back on a Faulkner kick which I hope to continue into next year.

Original publication date: 1930
Author’s nationality: American
Original language: English
Length: 288 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: purchased paperback
Why I read this: a favorite author

#57 Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths
The first in a mystery series with main character Ruth Galloway, an archaeologist who gets wrapped up in helping to solve a missing child case. Easy and entertaining - I imagine I'll slowly continue with the series. It didn't fully grab me, but I think I'll try the next couple to see how it goes.

Original publication date: 2009
Author’s nationality: British
Original language: English
Length: 304 pages
Rating: 3 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: kindle purchase
Why I read this: looking for a new mystery series

Whilst I didn't hate Bitter Orange just as much as you did, I totally agree that it was nothing special and very forgettable. I was somewhat disappointed as there had been some decent hype about it.

That's the only Faulkner I've read, but I enjoyed it. It took me a while as I went through it with Spark notes, but I found it very rewarding.

>82 japaul22: taking mental notes. Enjoyed your review

>82 japaul22: I need to try As I Lay Dying again. I read it in college, when I was much less of a careful reader, and I think a lot of it blew right past me. It seems like the kind of thing I would like, too.

>84 AlisonY: I wouldn't let it keep you from reading Unsettled Ground, though. I thought that was an excellent novel.

>85 dchaikin: Are you planning to make room for any Faulkner next year? I think I remember you were considering it.

>86 lisapeet: As I Lay Daying is worth a reread for sure, but it didn't quite measure up to Sound and the Fury and Absalom, Absalom.

Great comments on As I Lay Dying, Jennifer. It's not my favorite Faulkner, but I love his writing.

I do enjoy the Griffiths series but I'm a sucker for archeological mysteries. Also, I like Ruth.

>87 japaul22: eventually. But next year I have Richard Wright in my plans. (Along with Geoffrey Chaucer)

>82 japaul22: Faulkner is one of my favorite authors too!

>90 arubabookwoman: I'm reading a fascinating nonfiction book that uses Faulkner's work to explore the civil war and subsequent divisive issues in our country. It's called The Saddest Word by Michael Gorra. I've only read the first 50 pages, but I'm loving it.

Thanks Jennifer. That sounds interesting. I will look for it.

>91 japaul22: That does sound good.

>50 japaul22: Wow, they started in August?

>60 japaul22: Nice review. I have read some Ali Smith but have not kept up.

>82 japaul22: I admit to not reading as much Faulkner than I probably should of, but I enjoy reading others' reviews. I think the most ardent fan of Faulkner here on LT is Linda, laytonwoman3rd :-)

>94 avaland: Yes, Virginia used to start after Labor Day, but about 5 years ago they scrapped that rule. For a few years we started just one week before, and this year is the first year we started 2 weeks before. It definitely felt early!

>80 BLBera: I go in and out of reading Ali Smith's work, but this one's blurb appealed to me and I was so glad I read it.

>82 japaul22: I "know" Linda, but didn't remember that she was a big Faulkner fan. I'll have to see if she's read The Saddest Word, the nonfiction I'm reading about Faulkner and the South.

I feel compelled to acknowledge on my thread how much I love the writing of Hilary Mantel, who died suddenly this week. When I came to LT over a decade ago, I was in the reading headspace that only classics were worth my time, and that contemporary fiction really wasn't up to par. Hilary Mantel was one of the authors I discovered through LT that immediately changed my mind on that narrow 20-something year old view. My favorites from her are her historical fiction titles - A Place of Greater Safety and the Wolf Hall trilogy. But I have also read several of her other novels - A Change of Climate, Beyond Black, and Fludd - and they are all excellent.

I've bought a few more of her novels that I haven't yet read, and I am at least consoled that I have unread titles from her on my shelves. And her books will be rereads for me over the coming years as well. If you've never read anything by Hilary Mantel, I highly recommend.

>82 japaul22: I keep meaning to read more Faulkner. The books I have read, and loved, are the Snopes trilogy, The Hamlet, The Town, and The Mansion. Your review of As I Lay Dying served as a good reminder, so thanks for that.

#58 The Colony by Audrey Magee

I loved this book just as much as everyone else on LT. It's a beautifully written book with many layers that explores the life of the very few inhabitants on a remote Irish island. A Frenchman comes every summer to study the Irish language and to try to preserve it as it is on this isolated island. And an English artist comes to find inspiration for his landscapes from the dramatic cliffs and ocean views. Of course the two bring the outside world to the island inhabitants, changing and influencing them while they themselves are changed as well.

As all of this is happening, the Troubles are also happening, and Magee interrupts her story with short updates on the violence. At first it seems sort of remote from the island life, but as the book progresses you see how deeply everything is connected and that the islanders, even in a remote setting, have feelings and opinions about this as well.

This novel has so many layers to unpack. It's a book that will be well worth rereading and I'm glad I purchased a hardcover copy.

Original publication date: 2022
Author’s nationality: Irish
Original language: English
Length: 376 pages
Rating: 5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: purchased hardback
Why I read this: LT buzz, Booker long list

>98 japaul22: I've not heard of that title. You sell it well!

>82 japaul22: You've reminded me of the lecture my GP gave me about my having not read any Faulkner. I still haven't, but I do need to.

>96 japaul22: It really is a loss. I am glad she clearly loved her involvement with the play and mini-series adaptations of Wolf Hall and that she was celebrated while she was still alive. A Place of Greater Safety remains my favorite of hers, but there's a lot of hers I haven't read yet.

>98 japaul22: I've heard nothing but good things about this book. I'll have to look for a copy of my own.

>98 japaul22: great review. I was planning on trying this on audio, but perhaps I might like to read it.

>96 japaul22: >100 RidgewayGirl: I’m still down about Mantel too. I’ve only read the Cromwell trilogy and Beyond Black. I’ll need to hunt down others. Maybe her memoir. And I’ll have to prep before I read anything on the French Revolution.

>98 japaul22: You got me with this review of The Colony. It looks excellent. I will have to get my hands on a copy.

>99 AlisonY: I would love to hear what you think of The Colony, Alison.

>100 RidgewayGirl: Your GP lectured you on not reading Faulkner? Interesting. I do love him, but he takes a little work to read, so you have to be in the mood for that.

>100 RidgewayGirl:, >101 dchaikin: Glad to see the Hilary Mantel love.

And Kay, Dan, and Laura, I suspect you will all enjoy The Colony.

>101 dchaikin: Daniel, my unasked for recommendation is to include The Giant of the French Revolution: Danton by David Lawday. It's a relatively short book that manages to clearly explain the different factions. And the differences between how Danton is presented by Lawday and how he appears in Mantel's novel are interesting.

>103 japaul22: I had a lot of interesting discussions about Southern Lit with him. I certainly liked having a doctor who read widely and well.

>104 RidgewayGirl: Jennifer recommended the same book for the same reason. I guess that makes it a must for when I read PoGS too.

>105 labfs39: I have a feeling I got that book idea from Kay!

>104 RidgewayGirl: ( >105 labfs39: >106 japaul22: ) oh, thank you! Sounds a lot less intimidating than Schama’s Citizens, which is quite a brick on my shelves.

I am so happy to see another fan of The Colony. I suspect it will be one of my favorite reads this year. You are so right about the layers. As I think about it, I think it is one of those that would benefit from a reread.

Taking a book bullet for The Colony. Just put a request in at the library.

>108 BLBera: I'm sure you're one of the people who put The Colony on my radar, so thank you!

>109 dudes22: I hope you love it!

You are welcome. I'm just happy when others also love the books I love.

>70 japaul22: Sorry you didn't like Bitter Orange by Claire Fuller. I loved it. I found it deliciously atmospheric, and I'm always a sucker for a book set in a large house

>112 Nickelini: I can see that! The setting was definitely the best part for me.

>3 japaul22:: Your #1 touchstone goes to Toni Morrison, not Gurnah :-) Was enjoying at your lists at the top of your list (again). I would love to do something similar but I fear there would be no end to it....

#59 The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope
This one took me a while to finish, but I really enjoyed it. I would consider this one of Trollope's best stand alone novels. Many of his common themes make an appearance. I'm always particularly struck by how the misbehavior of the wealthy with their money was apparently as much of an issue back in the 1800s as it is today.

Central to this novel is the Melmotte family. The father is a wealthy financier type who has zero social standing. And is apparently more of a swindler than an actual businessman. His daughter attracts several men with the promise of her father's wealth, but her choice (a poor one!) is not to her father's taste. We also meet several young men who are stringing along one woman that they prefer to marry and one woman who they are more in love (or lust) with. And Lady Carbury, an author and mother of two of the adult children struggling with their love lives and money. And Roger Carbury who holds the money in the family but is out of luck in the love department.

It's really amazing that Trollope can convincingly keep track of all of these characters and plot lines and satisfactorily tie it all up in the end. I'm glad he wrote so many novels, because I really enjoy them.

Original publication date: 1875
Author’s nationality: British
Original language: English
Length: 776 pages
Rating: 4.5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: kindle
Why I read this: a favorite author

>114 avaland: Thanks for the touchstone tip - I fixed it. Though I do also love Toni Morrison's Paradise!

And those lists are always in flux. I ruthlessly edit and add to them at will!

>115 japaul22: sounds fun. But 776 pages is a lot. (But, I’m telling myself confidently, i will get to Trollope!)

>117 dchaikin: I don't think I'd start with this for Trollope. Victorian novels do tend to be long, but I also find them easy to read and plot/character driven so they move fast for me. Maybe that's just because I've read a lot of them, though.

>118 japaul22: so was this your first Trollope, Jennifer? If you're trying to decide what to read next, I highly recommend The Barsetshire Chronicles. The first book, The Warden, is relatively short (compared to the rest) and very accessible. There are also some now-dormant tutored read threads for all of these books. It might take some digging to find them but they were led by @lyzard and have loads of useful historic context.

>119 lauralkeet: No, I've read quite a bit of Trollope - the Barsetshire series, the Palliser series, and about 6 of the stand alones. I love Liz's tutored reads!

>120 japaul22: ohhhh ... never mind 😊

I really want to reread the Barsetshire Series - I have such fond memories of that set of books.

>117 dchaikin: >118 japaul22: The Way We Live Now was actually my first Trollope. It worked really well for me as an introduction, as I didn't have to feel the weight of a series attached to it whether I liked it or not. I did wind up really liking it, and it removed my prejudice of unknown origins against Trollope. As >118 japaul22: says, it is plot driven and moves along quickly.

>123 SassyLassy: thanks!

>123 SassyLassy:, >124 dchaikin: I went back and looked and The Way We Live Now was my favorite of the stand alone Trollope novels I've read. So actually, maybe it is a good place to start!

>122 japaul22: From time to time we watch the vintage BBC TV series adaptation of the first 2 Barsetshire books. It's delightful, with Nigel Hawthorne, Alan Rickman, and Geraldine McEwan among others. I wish I could say the same about TV series of The Way We Live Now, which was a bit of a slog. I haven't read the book but am sure it's better!

>126 lauralkeet: Oh, I'll have to look for that one!

I should have mentioned — I’m pretty sure we found it on YouTube.

I've never read Trollope either... someday, someday.

I'm glad that you also loved The Colony, Jennifer; so far it's my favorite book from this year's Booker Prize longlist, and it may end up as my favorite novel of the year.

Nice review of As I Lay Dying, the only novel by Faulkner I've read so far. I think I'll postpone my plan to start reading all of his novels until next year, but I still want to read one of the five Library of America volumes of his books, one novel each quarter, starting next year.

William Faulkner | Books

I was also shocked and saddened by Hilary Mantel's unexpected passing, after what seems to have been a devastating stroke. I plan to re-read Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies (I also saw the play based on it in London several years ago), then start The Mirror & the Light, and finally get to A Place of Greater Safety, which I'll read alongside a childhood friend, a Lutheran pastor who conducted my father's funeral this past December. I own a copy of The Giant of the French Revolution: Danton, which I bought after I saw the play Danton's Death at the National Theatre in London years ago, so I'll read it to get a better background on the French Revolution before I start that novel.

>130 kidzdoc: I love all of those plans, Darryl! I will admit that I find Faulkner difficult, both because of his writing style and because of the time period and region he explores, but I also think his writing is brilliant and worth the effort. I'm also hoping to read more Faulkner over the next few years.

>131 japaul22: Sounds good, Jennifer. Hopefully some of our plans (including Dan) to read Faulkner can overlap next year.

>132 kidzdoc: I don’t have Faulkner plans next year… but I’m definitely open to joining in, if there’s a buddy read.

>133 dchaikin: I plan to read William Faulkner: Novels 1926-1929 next year, the first volume in the Library of America series, which contains Soldiers' Pay, Mosquitoes, Flags in the Dust, and The Sound and the Fury, ideally one novel each quarter.

>134 kidzdoc: I’ll think about maybe doing the same.

My very loose Faulkner plan is to read Light in August and The Reivers which have been on my shelves for a very long time. If I'm in the mood for more, I will read the Snopes trilogy. Regardless, it will be interesting to have multiple people reading Faulkner if that ends up happening.

>133 dchaikin: I don’t have Faulkner plans next year…
This is why I like this group so much—that's not a sentence I hear in the rest of my life. I may join you in a Faulkner read, though I know better than to make actual reading commitments.

LOL

☺️

I read The Way We Live Now earlier this year and loved it. I haven't read as many Trollopes as you, but I'm working on it. I think I was turned off of Trollope in college when we had to read The Warden (and I think Barchester Towers, or at least a companion book) and I was so bored about all the discussions about religion and church practices. I dismissed him (though I loved Dickens), and really didn't begin reading him again until I started in with Liz's guided read of the Palliser series, which I loved (though I fell behind and haven't completed the series yet). That turned me on to Trollope again. (about 40 or 50 years after college).
I agree with those who have noted that Trollope (and other Victorian writers) although lengthy are fairly easy and quick reads, because they are so plot-driven and keep you turning th pages. I often think of families in those times sitting around at night reading these novels aloud to each other, similar to people nowadays gathering in front of the tv binging a TV miniseries.

And I'm a huge Faulkner plan. I haven't read the Snopes trilogy yet, and one of my plans for this year was to get to that, though time seems to be running out.

>140 arubabookwoman: Your review of The Way We Live Now is what reminded me I hadn't read that one yet! It was one I thought I had read (can't really fault me with the masses of books Trollope wrote!). I love Liz's guided reads and they are the reason I've read most of the stand alones. I missed her most recent, but I'll try to join in with the next one.

Maybe we'll have lots of Faulkner reviews next year!

#60 Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

I read this 2022 novel at the recommendation of two "real life" reading friends who loved it. It's about a youthful friendship between a young woman and young man who bond over video games It starts off strong and I read the first 100 pages in a day. But as the story goes on and the friends age into their late 20s and 30s, I grew tired of the author's tone. I never could put my finger on what exactly I didn't enjoy about the writing, but it was definitely annoying me.

Despite that, this is a strong story. The background of these friends developing video games in the 90s (right when I was also coming of age) adds a unique cultural view point to the book. The characters are interesting and have a great character as a third friend - setting up the classic 3-way friendship dramas.

If you enjoy keeping up with books that have a lot of buzz, I would recommend giving this a try. It's not a bad book and was certainly entertaining at points. But overall, there are better new novels out there in my opinion.

Original publication date: 2022
Author’s nationality: American
Original language: English
Length: 401 pages
Rating: 3.5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: borrowed hardcover
Why I read this: work friend recommendation

>142 japaul22: Thank you for this review. The title has been calling me (Macbeth reference!), but it's good to know I can just admire the cover and move along to something else.

>142 japaul22: Good comments, Jennifer. I'll check this out of the library if I decide to read it.

#61 The Saddest Words: William Faulkner's Civil War by Michael Gorra

This is a slow but interesting book for Faulkner enthusiasts. Gorra explores what Faulkner's writings can teach us about the American South - particularly the white American South in the aftermath of the Civil War and Reconstruction. He does this by delving deeply into the world that Faulkner created in his novels and short stories. He does not stick to any sort of ordered approach which can be a little frustrating, but ultimately I thought the approach really shows how Faulkner's work is best taken as a whole. He brings characters and plot lines in and out of his various works, developing both in more than one book. It made me realize how much I have left to read before I get a good grasp on Faulkner.

In addition to his writing, Gorra spends time on Faulkner the man and also Civil War and Reconstruction history. He doesn't spend any time romanticizing Faulkner or trying to make him something he isn't. Gorra pretty brutally reveals the prejudice and racism present in Faulkner's work. He points out the lack of Black characters and the narrow-mindedness with which he approaches many of the Black characters he does include. And any Faulkner reader will already know how many characters idealize the pre-Civil War South. But Gorra also contextualizes this well to point out just how much these fallacies and blindnesses teach us about the American South in the 1930s and 40s, when Faulkner did the bulk of his writing. Faulkner's white characters are haunted by the South's history and by the turning points where they can imagine things could have been different.

I think Gorra is sadly right that many of the racial issues that Faulkner grappled with (or ignored) are still large issues today in the U.S. Gorra's ultimate point is that though Faulkner's writing is often uncomfortable because of its characters who glorify or long for the pre-Civil War times of slavery, there are all too many modern-day Americans who continue to do the same. Faulkner's books bring up plenty of themes that we need to open our eyes to and keep talking about.

I only recommend this book for those who have read quite a bit of Faulkner. It's not good as an intro to his work and instead seems geared to people who are already fairly well-versed. I've only read four of the novels (The Sound and the Fury, Absalom, Absalom, Sanctuary, and As I Lay Dying) and I was a little lost at points. I'll keep this book and consider rereading it once I've read more Faulkner.

Original publication date: 2020
Author’s nationality: American
Original language: English
Length: 407 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: purchased paperback
Why I read this: interested in the author and topic

>145 japaul22: Sounds like a good way of looking at Faulkner's book. It should be a good accompaniment if the tentative Faulkner read happens next year.

>146 SassyLassy: It definitely added to my understanding of Faulkner's writing.

#62 The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell

I've only read one other book by O'Farrell, Hamnet, which I was blown away by. The Marriage Portrait was similarly well-written and engaging to read, but struck quite a different tone. Because it is set in the 16th century and is based on the life of Lucrezia de'Medici, I was expecting something a bit more erudite from Maggie O'Farrell. Instead, I got a domestic abuse thriller. I liked it once I accepted that.

Lucrezia grows up at the comfortable court in Florence, always the odd child out, but still loved and cared for. Then her older sister dies and she takes her place in a marriage to the Duke of Ferrara at the very young age of 15. At first she is impressed with his kindness to her, but cruel streaks in his personality begin to show through. He is desperate for an heir, and if Lucrezia can't provide she fears for her life.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this, but as I said earlier, it's better approached as a suspense novel about a dangerous marriage that happens to be set in the 1550s. Fun characters and setting and writing that propels you along. But not a deep historical dive.

Original publication date: 2022
Author’s nationality: British from Northern Ireland
Original language: English
Length: 355 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: kindle library book
Why I read this: enjoyed the last book I read by this author

>145 japaul22: The Saddest Words sounds terrific. When i get to Faulkner.

Also interesting review of The Marriage Portrait, >148 japaul22:

I look forward to The Marriage Portrait. I've liked all of O'Farrell's novels that I've read, but Hamnet was my favorite. I imagine this new one will not live up to it, but still, it sounds like it's a good one.

>148 japaul22: Instead, I got a domestic abuse thriller. I liked it once I accepted that.
That's really good to know. I'm on the library list for The Marriage Portrait but it will be a little while. Like you and Beth, I loved Hamnet.

My library branch started this program called "concierge book services" where the librarians pick books for you after you fill out a short form. I answered questions about my favorite genre, all time favorite book, and a "book I liked but don't pick for me". And they do this for different age groups of kids or adults. I thought it sounded fun so I gave it a try and I'm pleasantly surprised. Here are the books they picked.

American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins (I've not read this but remember all the discussions about it)

In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume (a childhood favorite author but I've not yet read her adult books)

City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert (this one I've read and liked)

The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey (I didn't know this book but it's a historical mystery set in 1920s India and looks fun)

The Red-Haired Woman by Orhan Pamuk (I've read 2 other books by him with mixed results)

All in all I think whoever picked these nailed it! I probably won't read all of them, but I will read 1 or 2 and it was really fun to use this program. I might use it for my kids as well if they get in a reading slump.

>152 japaul22: I think my library has a similar service, Jennifer. I should give it a try. That's quite a variety!

I know a lot if bookstores do a mystery book program, but then you’re out money if it’s a book you’ve already read or really know you won’t like. Very low stakes at a library. I might try it a couple times a year just for fun.

>152 japaul22: Ours had a “mystery grab-bag” during the drive-through only period but as it was 10-12 books and I usually had more than 20 checked out or coming via regular holds, I never managed to make space to try it. Plus it was genre based only so no personal selections. I should check if they have something running at the moment - I like surprises sometimes and you never know what overlooked book you would end up with. That looks like a great list :)

>152 japaul22: What a great idea! I think I've seen grab bags at my local library, but love this idea even more.

>156 lauralkeet: I thought of you volunteering at the library and maybe helping with picks! Fairfax is, of course, the library system right next to Loudon - I bet they try similar programs. Maybe Loudon will try it soon!

>157 japaul22: Maybe! I also have this vague twitchy thought in the back of my head, that perhaps I've seen something like this at our branch before (not just the grab bags). I'm going to take a closer look at the displays when I'm there tomorrow.

I looked a my library to see how they do recommendations and there is one question that seems to require a lot of thought:

Read Next
*
Tell our staff about a few books and authors that you've liked and what you enjoyed about them. We'd also be interested to know books that you haven't liked, and why. What are you in the mood to read next?

I would have preferred more multiple choice questions but this is an essay question. :)

>159 dianeham: at the end of the form there was an open-ended question - something like tell us a few things about books you prefer. I just quickly wrote:
Literary fiction by women authors, contemporary fiction in translation, classics (but I've read a lot of the standards), historical fiction and mysteries for lighter reading. I don't like anything with too much violence. Love an interesting setting or time period.

>159 dianeham: This reminds me of a podcast I used to listen to (I only stopped listening because I stopped commuting, and had less time for podcasts). What Should I Read Next? The host talks to a guest about 3 books they loved and 1 book they didn't, and then gives them recommendations. I enjoyed the bookish banter and the recommendations were pretty good, too, especially when I could relate to the guest's choices.

I’m tempted to do it.

>152 japaul22: Oh that's interesting - what a cool service. I wasn't aware that Judy Blume wrote for adults. That could go either way, couldn't it? Do the writers that we enjoy as kids live up to adult scrutiny?

>163 AlisonY: I remember seeing it when it came out and a read enough reviews that thought it did not live up to childhood memories that I gave it a pass. Not sure if I'll make time for it now, but I think it was a solid choice to put in a grab bag for me!

#63 The It Girl by Ruth Ware
I generally enjoy Ruth Ware's mystery/suspense novels for what the are - clever enough and fun to get sucked into. This brand new one was sort of mediocre compared to some of her better books. The story centers on a group of friends at Oxford and the murder of the group leader - beautiful and wealthy April. Ten years later, her roommate is finally ready to reassess what might have happened that night and whether the person she accused was actually guilty.

I liked this, but the ending was REALLY predictable. I rarely figured out "who did it" before the end, partially because I don't care to think while I'm reading a mystery. I'm there to not think and just enjoy. But this one was just really obvious, and I don't think it was meant to be.

So, I don't know, if you really like Ruth Ware, go for it, but she has better books.

Original publication date: 2022
Author’s nationality: British
Original language: English
Length: 423 pages
Rating: 2.5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: kindle library book
Why I read this: usually like her mysteries

>165 japaul22: partially because I don't care to think while I'm reading a mystery. I'm there to not think and just enjoy.

That's me too! And I normally like Ruth Ware too, but I won't go out of my way to get a copy of this one

>165 japaul22: I finished this one recently and rated it the same. Very meh.

#64 The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey

I really enjoyed this first book in a mystery series featuring a young woman named Perveen Mistry who is a lawyer in 1920s India. Well, she's not a licensed lawyer because that's not allowed for women. But her father has a law business and wants her to be part of the firm, so he sends her to Oxford to complete a law degree.

The mystery here involves a family where the husband passes away leaving three wives behind living in purdah - that's the custom where women seclude themselves from all men except their husband. There is a complicated will and then their executor gets murdered in the home. The investigation is complicated with the women in purdah, but Perveen's value as a female lawyer is evident.

The mystery, as is often the case in series starters, takes a bit of a back seat to Perveen's own backstory. She has a sad story about a disastrous marriage that is told in flashback throughout the book.

I thought this was a solid book because of the interesting setting. The mystery is secondary to the cultural set up and character building, but I was fine with that. I'll read the second one and see if it keeps my interest to continue the series.

Original publication date: 2018
Author’s nationality: not sure - born in England, raised in the U.S., parents were from India and Germany
Original language: English
Length: 375 pages
Rating: 3.5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: library book chosen for me through the library concierge program
Why I read this: received from my library and it looked fun

>168 japaul22: I'm not much of a mystery reader, but this sounds interesting because of it's historical setting. Sounds like a decent pick from the concierge.

>168 japaul22: This does sound interesting, Jennifer. I do like mysteries, and this sounds like one with a fresh approach, or at least a new setting.

#65 Middlemarch by George Eliot
I was prompted to do a reread of one of my favorites by the group read here in Club Read. I never regret taking the time to read this tome! This time I was struck by how Eliot positions her characters - keeping them apart at times and then bringing them together. And again I noticed the way she compares and contrasts the various couples in the novel (and there are a lot of them), both between the younger and older generations and among them.

Also, her portrayal of Rosamund is simply brilliant. She develops her dialogue, inner thoughts, and mannerisms so well. Eliot must have known a Rosamund from somewhere in her real life . . .

Original publication date: 1872
Author’s nationality: British
Original language: English
Length: 853 pages
Rating: 5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: folio society edition
Why I read this: reread with the club read group read

#66 Haven by Emma Donoghue

I'm not sure why I loved this book, but I really did. It's an odd premise for a contemporary novel - a well-respected monk, Artt, has a vision of himself living for the glory of god on a remote island off the coast of Ireland with two monks from the monastery he is visiting, an older man named Cormac, and a young man name Trian. They are honored to be chosen and the 3 set off through the ocean with minimal supplies and only Artt's vision in mind. They land on "Great Skellig" a virtually inhabitable island of rock, and Artt declares it their stopping point. Instead of finding food, water, and shelter, Artt insists they keep the focus on God by carving a cross, making an altar, and copying the Bible.

How long will faith alone preserve these three?

I was totally enamored with this book. I thought the setting, the exploration of how destructive one man's idea of faith can be, and the survival elements were all so interesting. I just really loved it. Donoghue's books can be hit or miss for me, and this was a huge hit.

I just can't imagine anyone else will like it!

Original publication date: 2022
Author’s nationality: Irish
Original language: English
Length: 272 pages
Rating: 4.5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: kindle from library
Why I read this: sometimes like the author, new release

Two good books in a row!

>172 japaul22: I really like Emma Donoghue's novels, but was wary of this one, but you've convinced me to read it.

I'll be reading Haven later this month. I'm glad to hear it's a good one.

Middlemarch was one of the books that Meyer Spacks talks about in On Rereading; she loves it as well and talks about the new things she notices each time she reads it.

>172 japaul22: i’ll give it a go. I just got 2 other Irish books out of the library.

Congrats on Middlemarch and cool about Haven. I finished book V on Middlemarch and I might finally be feeling a little traction.

>177 dchaikin: I made a relationship map for Middlemarch that is currently sitting on The Atlantic website that might help you:

https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/04/1book140s-april-read-e...



Just a fun thing I found when I googled my name one time.

>178 Nickelini: this is amazing!! I love it.

>178 Nickelini: I love the graph. And, how cool you're in The Atlantic.

>180 dchaikin: LOL yeah, there's my 15 seconds of fame

>178 Nickelini: I'm printing that and tucking it into my copy of the book. You didn't happen to do that for One Hundred Years of Solitude, did you? lol

>182 labfs39: LOL - no, I was just lost on that book :-D

#67 Eight Months on Ghazzah Street by Hilary Mantel

When Hilary Mantel passed away earlier this year, I wanted to make an effort to read her novels that were still on my shelf. Eight Months on Ghazzah Street looked interesting so I picked it up. Frances and her husband, Andrew, move to Saudi Arabia in the 1980s. They know it's going to be a culture shock, especially for Frances considering how women are restricted there, but they'll be making a considerable amount of money, so it's deemed worth it. Also, they've lived several places in Africa and are used to adapting to different cultures.

They move into an apartment building and Frances immediately realizes this is going to be harder than she thought. Andrew leaves for work every day and she is trapped inside, both because women can't move about freely and because of the heat. She can't work or even go out to shop or sight see. For independent, intelligent Frances, this is tough. After a month or so she begins to develop relationships with the other women in her building. As she gets to know them, she also gets to know some of the other expats that Andrew works with. And a mystery about the empty apartment above her begins to develop. Though it's supposedly empty, there is noise up there and obviously people spending time in the apartment. And then things start getting dangerous. It's no longer just the foreign culture that is upsetting Frances, it's clear that there are nefarious activities going on as well. And the ending - well, I'm not sure exactly what Mantel intends the reader to assume at the end, but all of the options are disturbing.

Hilary Mantel is masterful at layering a book with interesting plot and characters with deeper themes and cultural observations. I really enjoyed this and definitely recommend it.

One weird thing - the paperback I had has extremely sharp corners on the spine and it was really uncomfortable to hold! I don't remember ever encountering that before.

Original publication date: 1988
Author’s nationality: British
Original language: English
Length: 320 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: off the shelf, paperback
Why I read this: reading Mantel's books that are still on my shelf

>184 japaul22: I’ve had that on my shelf for a decade. I didn’t really know what it was about. Sounds like if the story was set 30 years later there wouldn’t have been as much of a story because she could have had an online job and life

>185 Nickelini: Fair point. It was definitely set in the 80s. I did find myself wondering if women's lives there were better, worse, or the same now. I haven't followed the cultural ups and downs there as closely as I probably should.

#68 The Sweet Dove Died by Barbara Pym

I am a huge Barbara Pym fan, but this one gets a pan. It was written later in her life and I think she tried to get a different vibe by throwing in some sex, references to cannabis, and a main character who has relationships with both men and women. But the weird thing is that her main character, Leonora, is really just like all the main characters in her earlier novels. So it felt confusing.

Only recommend for Barbara Pym completists.

Original publication date: 1978
Author’s nationality: British
Original language: English
Length: 167 pages
Rating: 2 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: purchased paperback
Why I read this: I always like to read Pym in November for some reason

>171 japaul22: Nice commentary on Middlemarch (I love that book!)

>178 Nickelini: Wow!

Some great reading here!

>184 japaul22: I have this one sitting on my bedside table. Glad it'll be worthwhile.

#69 Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng

This was one of those books that started out slow and uninteresting to me, but I stuck with it and by the end, it really packs a punch.

Our Missing Hearts is different than Ng's other books, though it still has a focus on being a mother. But the setting - a near-future dystopian America that is all too easy to believe in - is the driving element of the book. There is an economic Crisis that wracks the country, and in the aftermath, the country passes the PACT act, an attempt to preserve our country's culture and traditions. The enemy that is set up is China, and all Americans of Asian descent end up being persecuted. They, and those who choose to help them or speak out, have their children taken away to be raised in "better" "American" families.

At the heart of this story is Margaret Miu, whose book of poetry is adopted by those who protest PACT. This forces her to open up her eyes to what is happening and she has to choose between being a present mother and standing up for what is right.

I tried really hard not to like this book after being pretty unimpressed at the beginning. But in the end I found it emotional and all too realistic.

Original publication date: 2022
Author’s nationality: American
Original language: English
Length: 335 pages
Rating: 3.5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: library kindle
Why I read this: I've liked the author's other novels

#70 The Sewing Girls's Tale by John Wood Sweet

Excellent nonfiction about one of the first rape cases that was prosecuted in colonial America in the 1790s. 17 year old Lanah Sawyer meets a young gentleman, obviously above her station, who convinces her to go on a walk with him one evening. The night ends with him forcibly taking her to a brothel and raping her. She then will have to decide if she should tell, who she should tell, and whether they will believe her. After she chooses to tell her mother and stepfather, her stepfather makes the somewhat unusual decision to press charges against the gentleman. We then hear about the trial, the laws surrounding rape, and how it affects Lanah and her family.

The whole book is fascinating and disturbing and sad. Also frustrating. So many of the issues Lanah faces in trying to "prove" what happened to her are STILL issues for women who are raped today. And witnessing Lanah be pushed to the side as men decide the fate of her case and men are at the center of all the laws and courts is maddening.

It would be easy to lose Lanah Sawyer in this story since once the initial event is over, the action all moves to the world of men, but the author does a pretty good job attempting to keep Lanah in the picture. I'm glad I read this and highly recommend it.

Original publication date: 2022
Author’s nationality: American
Original language: English
Length: 384 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: library kindle
Why I read this: LT review that caught my eye

#71 The Frozen Thames by Helen Humphreys

This is a beautiful set of vignettes set in all the recorded years the Thames has frozen between 1142 and 1895. It's a lovely book - a small hardcover with glossy pages and beautiful illustrations. The vignettes are also beautifully written, invoking the pain of ice and cold, but also the beauty and the transformative properties.

I loved it.

Original publication date: 2007
Author’s nationality: Canadian
Original language: English
Length: 192 pages
Rating: 5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: purchased hardcover
Why I read this: it's been on my list for a long time and someone here read it recently and I remembered I wanted to read it!

>191 japaul22: >192 japaul22: Ouch, two book bullets

BB for The Frozen Thames - and my library has it as an ebook. Not as lovely as your hardcover, but I can read it now (or tomorrow, since it's past midnight and I really should be in bed).

>191 japaul22: Excellent review of the Sewing Girl book! I thought it an unusual nonfiction.

>192 japaul22: I'm so glad to see you loved The Frozen Thames!

>192 japaul22: Oh good, my library has the ebook too. Nothing like a little instant gratification.

Wow - you've had a flurry of reads since I last stopped by. Interested in the Hilary Mantel review in particular - not heard of that one.

Great comments, Jennifer. I am waiting to read the Ng book; the library waitlist is long. The Sewing Girl's tale sounds like one I would like. I also loved The Frozen Thames and have kept my hard copy. It is a gem.

#72 The Menopause Manifesto by Jen Gunter

As a 45 year old woman with very little idea of what’s coming for my body in the next decade or so, I thought this would be an important book to read. Gunter does a good job of separating fact from fiction and backing up her info with high quality studies. Problem is that there still just isn’t a ton of info about menopause that is reliable and thorough. But, she does a good job at covering what there is, and it was reassuring to know that there are options to treat many of the symptoms that women experience.

Because she sticks to the science, there were lots of anecdotal symptoms that I’m heard from friends that she does not cover, or covers lightly.

But I learned a lot about when to consider MHT (that’s what they call hormone therapy now), what to combine, the different ways to take it, and how to weigh the pros and cons.

She also goes through non-medication options that are proven to help menopause symptoms - like diet and exercise. She is very against supplements but does give thorough reasons why. And there is a good chapter on osteoporosis -which often occurs with menopause.

I did not get all my questions answered and definitely want to read more to have a balanced view, but I’d recommend this if you’re going through it or have a partner who is.

Original publication date: 2021
Author’s nationality: American
Original language: English
Length: 400 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: purchased
Why I read this: to gain knowledge about the topic

#73 Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

I now understand why I've seen so many rave reviews of this slim novel that says a lot in few words. Keegan has taken the time to consider every sentence in this novella, and it is practically perfect.

In 1980s Ireland, a man named Bill Furlong discovers something about his town that disturbs him, makes him realize he probably should have noticed this earlier, and also brings up memories from his past. It takes place leading up to Christmas and will be a perfect book to reread every holiday season. I read it on my kindle, but will buy a hardcover version for my shelves. I think it's the sort of book that will reveal something new on each reread.

Original publication date: 2021
Author’s nationality: Irish
Original language: English
Length: 118 pages
Rating: 5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: kindle library book, purchasing hardcover
Why I read this: it's been on my radar since last years rave LT reviews

#74 Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner

In writing Lolly Willowes, Warner masterfully describes the awakening of Laura Willowes from a single woman being cared for by her family to a woman who takes control of her own life. Laura grows up attached to her father, caring for him and helping to run their household. When he dies, she is expected to live with one of her brothers' families. Because in 1902, an adult woman surely could not live on her own. She spends years living with this family, spending time with her nieces until they also grow up and move on. And there she still is. But a chance encounter with a guidebook about a small village in the country leads her to take control of her own life and strike out on her own, much to the horror of her conservative family.

People in this village that she moves to keep to themselves, but as Laura connects to more and more to nature, she realizes there is magic all around her. The end really takes a strange turn, and while I got what Warner was doing, it also felt a little out of the blue to have Laura make a deal with Satan for her independence and to find that the sleepy town is full of witches!

I'm not sure yet if this book was brilliant or crazy.

Original publication date: 1926
Author’s nationality: British
Original language: English
Length: 222 pages
Rating: 3.5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: purchased for kindle
Why I read this: read an LT review that piqued my interest

Jennifer, those are excellent reviews for some interesting reading. I have always loved your info list that follows, too. Do you do that to be able to compare stats to other months or years of reading, or to chart how much of the world you are reading from? (or something else) I like the "why" you read it, too (these days my picks are all serendipitous).

>203 avaland: Hi Lois, thank you! I'm sure I got the general idea for my info list from someone on LT, and yes, it's because of tracking I do for my reading. I tag all of my books by the decade they were written in, track the authors' nationalities, track how many books I read in translation, and do a page count every year. The list that wraps up my reviews is a handy way to find that info quickly.

I'm not sure why I track the format of the book I read. I think I started that when I was listening to audiobooks consistently, but I almost never read audiobooks anymore. And I suspect the "why I read this" was inspired by Joyce/nickelini - I think she does something similar in her reviews and I've always found it interesting. Edwinbcn always lists other books he's read by the author he's reviewing and I tried to do that for a while, but it was too much work!

I do like your lists at the end of your reviews as well, Jennifer. Great comments on Small Things Like These. I not only bought a hardcover, I bought several copies and gave them to the readers in my family.

>205 BLBera: Thank you! And Small Things Like These is the perfect gift book.

>200 japaul22: As someone who is experiencing menopause, this book was very helpful. Especially when I experienced some things I'd never thought were part of that and would have been very worried had I not read the book. It's also nice to see menopause treated as a normal thing instead of something we need to not talk about.

>201 japaul22: Yes, it really is a perfect small book. Reminds me a little of A Month in the Country by JL Carr, another book that packs so much into so little space.

#75 The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

This was exactly what I wanted it to be - an engaging novel full of diverse characters, a bit of humor, and a lot of good relationships being developed. Plus some room to grow since I see it’s a series.

It’s set in an upscale retirement home and discovering who everyone was before they came together is part of the charm. The mystery(s) are a bit weak, but the characters are the point. I’ll gladly try the next one.

Original publication date: 2020
Author’s nationality: British
Original language: English
Length: 382 pages
Rating: 3.5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: purchased paperback
Why I read this: wanted to gift this to my mom but she hates when I buy her brand new books (prefers used or the library) so I figured I’d buy it “for myself”, read it, and then give it to her “used”. :-) She just moved into one of these upscale retirement homes!

>207 RidgewayGirl: BB for A Month in the Country - I love little books with big stories in them. My library had it, so I have it now (ebook).

>208 japaul22: I enjoyed the Thursday Murder Club series so much. As you said, the characters are the point. And they are indeed characters! I understand Richard Osman modeled the retirement community on the one where his mother lives. I hope your mom enjoys the book and takes particular amusement in the parallels to her own situation.

>207 RidgewayGirl: >209 jjmcgaffey: A Month in the Country is one of my favorites. In fact, maybe I’ll squeeze in a reread before the end of the year

>200 japaul22: I've read a few menopause books now but still don't feel I've found one that somehow answers all my questions. Perhaps there just aren't all the answers out there.

I don't know about the States, but in the UK I feel like the tide is turning too far on menopause conversation. Yes, I'm delighted that as women we aren't left in the dark anymore, but it seems to have opened up a channel in social media for people to exploit women of a certain age. Connected to a number of celebrity influencers, there are a number of doctors specialising in the menopause who are consistently peddling a message that purports to be supportive of women and menopause choices yet with a strong underlying theme of continuously pushing HRT. Conveniently, this is growing their medical practices at a rate of knots while they prescribe HRT like sweeties.

I'm not against HRT - who knows, I may feel at some point in the future that my symptoms are bad enough to warrant taking it - but I feel like from the scaremongering days of 20 years ago, when everyone was scared witless that HRT was a death sentence, that the pendulum has swung too far the other way, with any risks completely removed from the conversation.

I don't know how this book positioned it, but I feel there has to be a balanced view between taking HRT and going through menopause without it.

>212 AlisonY: I agree - this book was a good look at the clinical side of menopause (and I think pretty balanced about HRT options and pros/cons), but it didn't address all the varied symptoms I hear my friends starting to talk about. Gunter really sticks to discussing only symptoms that have studies to back them up and I think there are tons that haven't been studied at all yet (like gastro symptoms, increased anxiety, etc.). So it was interesting but also I still have a LOT of questions.

Amongst my group of 40-50 year old friends, I feel like HRT is still pretty feared. I don't know anyone yet who has used it. So that's interesting that it seems prevalent/pushed in the UK. I think menopause is still a pretty taboo subject in the US.

#76 The Fruit of the Tree by Edith Wharton

This is a lesser known novel by Edith Wharton that nevertheless has her characteristic deep dive into her characters' motivations and a look at social issues. In this novel, Wharton tackles two big issues of the day - the plight of factory workers and what the responsibility of the owners should be to improve their lives, and end of life decisions regarding prolonging a painful life through medication vs. choosing to end it.

Pretty different topics, right? And the novel is a bit like that. The first third has a pretty thorough focus on factory life and owner responsibility, the middle third becomes more of a bad marriage story, and the end is a happy ending disrupted by this end of life issue. Wharton does manage to tie it all together with some well thought out and developed characters, but I thought it was less successful than some of her other masterpieces.

There is still plenty to enjoy and appreciate here, but I wouldn't recommend it as a place to start with Wharton's writing.

Original publication date: 1907
Author’s nationality: American
Original language: English
Length: 416 pages
Rating: 3.5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: kindle
Why I read this: I've read Wharton's better known novels, so diving a bit deeper

#77 I Am, I Am, I Am by Maggie O'Farrell

Brilliant memoir that uses the author's seventeen brushes with death to illuminate her life. O'Farrell writes a series of vignettes from various points in her life when she has had close calls with dying. As a woman only six years older than me, a lot of her life experiences resonated with me. I've never read any book that describes experiencing a miscarriage more accurately.

I absolutely loved this and highly recommend it.

Original publication date: 2017
Author’s nationality: British
Original language: English
Length: 304 pages
Rating: 5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: kindle, but I will likely buy a copy to reread
Why I read this: I've been meaning to and an LT review caught my attention to get to it next

>214 japaul22: Great post. I totally agree The Fruit of the Tree has problems, and yet is still a likable and enjoyable novel. I had imagined the nurse as very much the kind of character Wharton could have been herself, in different circumstances. I thought we saw some of her in there. I haven’t found another character like that in her novels.

>214 japaul22: A fine review, Jennifer. I haven't read this one and assumed it was because it was a later novel (I'm a huge Wharton fan but her late novels are not my jam). I see it's actually an early work, and I also see my edition is more than 600 pages. Ah ... that explains it LOL.

>215 japaul22: I am kicking myself for reading a library copy of this book, instead of buying one. I'm keeping an eye out for a used copy.

>216 dchaikin: That's interesting that you saw Wharton in Justine. I think I don't actually know that much about Wharton. I'd like to read a biography sometime.

>217 lauralkeet: I don't think Fruit of the Tree reads any slower than her other novels. I've read and loved Age of Innocence, House of Mirth, and Custom of the Country. And the shorter Bunner Sisters, Ethan Frome, and Summer. I like her longer novels better.

>218 RidgewayGirl: I usually get bookstore gift cards for Christmas and might buy I am, I am, I am with one.

#78 Nothing but the Night by John Williams

In this dramatic novella, the main character is a young man who is obviously struggling. He has a troubled relationship with his father and is clearly in some sort of mental crisis as the short timeline unfolds. The root of his issues is finally revealed after an increasingly frantic unfolding of events.

This is John Williams's first novel. His writing is already confident and succinct, but I felt the dramatic subject matter didn't quite suit his writing style. I still highly recommend reading Stoner first. I think it's clearly his best book (I've now read all 4 of his novels), though all of his writing is good and worthwhile.

Original publication date: 1948
Author’s nationality: American
Original language: English
Length: 123 pages
Rating: 3.5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: paperback NYRB edition
Why I read this: off the shelf NYRB which I'm purchasing faster than I'm reading

All of these short books are satisfying and have been good, but the constant reviews are wearing me out!

>221 japaul22: the one problem with short books. 🙂

>219 japaul22: I enjoyed Hermione Lee's biography of Edith Wharton, although it is a doorstop. I read it over a period of months and gave myself permission to set it aside now and then.

>223 lauralkeet: Oh, I didn't realize Hermione Lee had an Edith Wharton biography out. I own her Virginia Woolf biography, and sometime I intend to read it (it's also a doorstop!) while also rereading all of Woolf's novels. But not in the near future . . .

>224 japaul22: Jennifer, I can relate to that. I bought the Wharton bio in a burst of enthusiasm for her writing and an interest in learning more about her life. But it sat there unread on my shelves for more than a decade!

The short reviews are a PITA to write, but fun to read!

I'm a member of a Facebook group for women writers over 40, and for a while there (I haven't been on much in the past year or so) the menopause talk was fast and furious. If nothing else, it offered a good overview of how unpredictable it is—from hot flashes so debilitating that people couldn't sleep or sometimes leave the house to radical mood swings to nothing, really. Lots of pro and con about HRT, from trepidation to it being an absolute lifesaver. (Probably TMI, but I fell into the "nothing, really" camp so have no opinion about any of it.)

>226 lisapeet: It's good to know that the "nothing, really" camp exists! It's natural that those who have the worst symptoms would be most likely to share, but it also makes it feels like it's just absolutely awful for everyone. I'm not quite there yet, but can't be too far off as an almost 45 year old!

#79 Eileen by Otessa Moshfegh

Merry Christmas, everyone! Now for a review of the most non-Christmas-y Christmas book you can find. Only Otessa Moshfegh could write this.

It's 1964 and Eileen is a 24 year old young woman in a crisis. Her mother has died and her father is a violent alcoholic ex-cop. She lives with her father in filth, eating nothing, never cleaning herself, wearing her dead mother's clothes, drinking too much, and taking laxatives. She works at the local juvenile detention center in a meaningless desk job. When a new, glamorous woman comes to work at the detention center, events are put in motion in the week leading up to Christmas - what they will lead to becomes a mystery.

Seriously, Moshfegh pushes the boundaries of what is acceptable to say, especially by a woman author about a woman character, and I love it. Her writing is dark, sarcastic, and shocking. I imagine most people will be put off by her novels, but I love them.

Original publication date: 2015
Author’s nationality: American
Original language: English
Length: 260 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: kindle library book
Why I read this: it's been on my library wish list for a long time

I read this one earlier in the year and enjoyed it. It was dark and weird but somehow it all worked.

>228 japaul22: sounds really good. Merry Christmas!

>228 japaul22: I'd argue that Eileen is a perfectly season-appropriate novel. It does take place in winter and I will never ever forget that bit where she vomits in her car and it freezes.

>231 RidgewayGirl: haha, yes, totally memorable scene!

Reporting a DNF - I started The Love Songs of W. E. B. Du Bois and just couldn't connect with it. I read about 75 pages (out of 800!) and it felt too much like books I've already read without providing characters I cared to read about for 800 pages. I was really interested in the topic - this is a sprawling novel that traces a family and their history in Georgia, mixing native Creek people, enslaved people, and European-descended whites in one complicated family. The book has gotten a ton of praise, so if I see a bunch of you reading and loving it, maybe I'll give it another try, but for now I removed it from my TBR kindle list.

I had a lovely Christmas and I hope those of you who celebrate did too! I didn't get any books, but I did get some money, which I promptly spent on books. I purchased:

The Gilded Page: The Secret Lives of Medieval Manuscripts
The Grimkes: The Legacy of Slavery in an American Family
Salka Valka by Haldor Laxness

ETA: If this looks familiar, it's because I mistakenly posted it to the "What are you reading thread" first. Sorry!!!

Happy Christmas, Jennifer. Looks like an interesting book haul.

>234 japaul22: The Gilded Page reminds me I have Sacred Trash sitting on my shelves from last Hanukkah. I hope you like Salka Valka, I'll be curious to see what you think. I did NOT like Independent People, although most people did. It had more to do with the characters than the writing.

#80 The Blue by Nancy Bilyeau

This is a fun historical mystery set in the 1700s. The main character, Genevieve La Planché is a second generation Huegenot refugee living in London. She would like to be an artist, but finds most paths closed to women. Her grandfather is able to get her a job painting porcelain in Derby, but before she leaves a mysterious nobleman recruits her to spy for him. Her mission is to figure out the formula for a new blue paint color that Derby is working on.

While Genevieve finds out more about the porcelain industry she, of course, falls in love and has many adventures. Yes, it gets a bit unbelievable. But I was happy to go along for the ride. This is the kind of mystery I enjoy, with a fun setting, a little romance, light on the mystery elements, and a strong female lead character.

Perfect light and engaging reading for over the holidays, just don't read it expecting perfection. It's for fun!

Original publication date: 2018
Author’s nationality: American
Original language: English
Length: 439 pages
Rating: 3.5 stars
Format/where I acquired the book: kindle sale purchase
Why I read this: off the kindle and in the mood for something light

>233 japaul22: - I took this a book bullet earlier this year, but maybe I'll put it on hold for a bit. 800 pages is rather long.

And I think that's a wrap for my 2022 reading. Here are my stats - it's been a solid reading year for me.

2022 Book Stats

Books Read: 80
Pages Read/Pages per day: 26,940 total pages/74 pages per day
Average book length: 336 pages

Female/Male author ratio: 56/24
Print/kindle: 46/34

Nationalities:
US – 30
UK – 28
French – 3
German -3
Irish -3
North American Indigenous – 2
Canadian - 2
Zanzibar
Argentina
Turkey
Danish
Australian
Peruvian
Chinese
Nigerian-American
Austrian

Publication by decade:
2020s - 25
2010s – 19
2000s - 7
1990s – 1
1980s - 2
1970s – 4
1960s - 2
1950s – 3
1940s - 2
1930s – 2
1920s – 3
1910s – 1
1900s - 1
1870s - 3
1860s – 2
1840s - 1
1810s - 1
1780s - 1

Favorites:
My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh
Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe
Tea at Four o’Clock by Janet McNeill
The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak
The Mother of all Questions by Rebecca Solnit
Asphodel by H.D.
Companion Piece by Ali Smith
The Colony by Audrey Magee
The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope
Haven by Emma Donoghue
The Frozen Thames by Helen Humphreys
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
I Am, I Am, I Am by Maggie O'Farrell
Middlemarch by George Eliot (reread)
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen (reread)

>238 dudes22: It seems that some people really love Love Songs of W. E. B. Du Bois but a lot of people thought it wasn't quite worth the time. I feel like I've read books with similar premises lately, so the length really put me off.

I have been very slow to get around to threads… you have read a wonderful section of books since I was here last. Hope to keep up better in 2023!