1brenzi
Hi Everyone. Yes we had a bit of snow here in Buffalo and the surrounding area. I was lucky in that I didn't lose power or heat and unlucky in that it ruined Christmas. Oh well, it's been in the 50s the past few days so the snow has melted significantly.
2brenzi
For those who don't know, I tend to abandon my thread at some point during the year and I'm pretty sure that will happen this year. It's not a reflection on anyone but me. But I will always update my 2023 Reads and occasionally stop lurking and pop up on several threads.🤷♀️
3brenzi
As always, my two grandchildren are an important part of my life and hopefully will be for years to come.
Cole - 5 years old
Mia - 8 years old
Cole - 5 years old
Mia - 8 years old
4brenzi
I should mention the wonderful year of reading I've had in 2022. That's mostly because my non-fiction reading this year has absolutely killed it. I somehow, maybe through a podcast, maybe through reading Vivian Gornick, maybe on bookish Twitter, I can't remember, but somewhere I discovered books of letters and read three of them and have two more on my shelf. They were all great and included
The Element of Lavishness: The Letters of Sylvia Townsend Warner and William Maxwell ended up being my Book of the Year. Something shifted in me when I read that book which I'm still thinking about even though I read it in July. I felt such a part of their lives but in the end people were dead and I was gutted. And that's what I found out about books of letters: you become part of an intimate little group.
In April, I listened to The Correspondents: Six Women Writers on the Front Lines of World War II by Judith Mackrell. The star was Martha Gellhorn so that book led me to another book:
Travels with Myself and Another by Martha Gellhorn was a fascinating travel memoir highlighting the horrors of travel in China in 1941; the Caribbean in 1942; Africa in 1962 and Russia in 1972. Just wonderful! (I'm sure you know who "another" is😉) And this book led me to
The Collected Letters of Martha Gellhorn revealed more about an absolutely fascinating woman who led the most adventurous life of any woman I've ever read about. And the Gellhorn binge continued with
The View from the Ground was a collection of Gellhorn's articles from various publications after the war years including the Viet Nam War protests in this country, Thatcher, Reagan, Castro, Eichmann, (she was at Dachau at its liberation) and much more, just a complete book of shrewd observations and timely wit from a woman who traveled and observed others all over the world.
And that leads me to a book brought to my attention by the Backlisted Pod podcast
Full Tilt: Ireland to India with a Bicycle by Dervla Murphy
(who just died this past May) told the incredible story of her trip across Eastern Europe, Afghanistan and into India on a bicycle as a very young woman and all I'll say is that Dervla Murphy is the gutsiest woman I've ever encountered in literature. Terrific!
I also started reading my way through May Sarton's journals. Don't ask me what led me here because I don't remember but I started with
Plant Dreaming Deep which is a wonderful start as she settles into her new home in New Hampshire and introduces us to those who play a pivotal role in her life. A terrific memoirist. I went on to read two more: Journal of a Solitude and The House by the Sea, equally as good.
I'll end with the Vivian Gornick essay collections that continue to delight me. I read three of them this year and although it's hard to pick a favorite because they were all so well done I'll go with
The Odd Woman and the City I actually wrote a brief review of this back in March.
My third Gornick and I just have to ask myself, what took so long to find her? Like Olivia Laing, she writes about people and how they interact. Gornick lives in NYC and walks the streets of the city to find so many interesting things to talk about. As she walks, she absorbs the drama, humor and humanity on the streets and writes about it using absolutely beautiful prose. On top of that she throws in discussions about authors that I love and authors I would like to get to know. I now know I have to read George Gissing's The Odd Women and Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure. And every book she writes is like that. Highly recommended.
Favorite fiction Reads of 2022:
Elena Knows by Claudia Pineiro, translated by Francis Riddle
The almost-absent in literature much older woman is Parkinson's-riddled Elena, who refuses to believe that her daughter committed suicide. Beautifully written.
Trieste by Dasa Drndic, translated by Ellen Elias Bursac
Incredibly stark and moving novel about Haya Tedeschi, who is sitting and waiting for the son she never knew as he was stolen from her many years earlier by the Nazis. Memories of that awful time overcome her. By the lauded Croatian writer.
Trust by Hernan Diaz
Set against the financial crash of 1930 in the U.S., this brilliant novel enthralled me from the first page. The unusual structure blew me away.
The Tortoise and the Hare by Elizabeth Jenkins
The most devastating portrait of a marriage unraveling that I've ever read. Talk about your slow burn!
Desperate Characters by Paula Fox
A Brilliant portrait of a marriage and life in the 60s. Worth it just to read the phenomenal three page description of an ER in the 60s. Just wonderful.
The Makioka Sisters by Junichiro Tanizaki, translated by Edward Seidensticker
This book has been described as the greatest Japanese novel of the twentieth century and it was easily my favorite novel of the year. An absolutely wonderful look at life before WWII in 1930s Japan about an upper class family trying desperately to marry off that last daughter. She's not having it. Terrific!
The Element of Lavishness: The Letters of Sylvia Townsend Warner and William Maxwell ended up being my Book of the Year. Something shifted in me when I read that book which I'm still thinking about even though I read it in July. I felt such a part of their lives but in the end people were dead and I was gutted. And that's what I found out about books of letters: you become part of an intimate little group.
In April, I listened to The Correspondents: Six Women Writers on the Front Lines of World War II by Judith Mackrell. The star was Martha Gellhorn so that book led me to another book:
Travels with Myself and Another by Martha Gellhorn was a fascinating travel memoir highlighting the horrors of travel in China in 1941; the Caribbean in 1942; Africa in 1962 and Russia in 1972. Just wonderful! (I'm sure you know who "another" is😉) And this book led me to
The Collected Letters of Martha Gellhorn revealed more about an absolutely fascinating woman who led the most adventurous life of any woman I've ever read about. And the Gellhorn binge continued with
The View from the Ground was a collection of Gellhorn's articles from various publications after the war years including the Viet Nam War protests in this country, Thatcher, Reagan, Castro, Eichmann, (she was at Dachau at its liberation) and much more, just a complete book of shrewd observations and timely wit from a woman who traveled and observed others all over the world.
And that leads me to a book brought to my attention by the Backlisted Pod podcast
Full Tilt: Ireland to India with a Bicycle by Dervla Murphy
(who just died this past May) told the incredible story of her trip across Eastern Europe, Afghanistan and into India on a bicycle as a very young woman and all I'll say is that Dervla Murphy is the gutsiest woman I've ever encountered in literature. Terrific!
I also started reading my way through May Sarton's journals. Don't ask me what led me here because I don't remember but I started with
Plant Dreaming Deep which is a wonderful start as she settles into her new home in New Hampshire and introduces us to those who play a pivotal role in her life. A terrific memoirist. I went on to read two more: Journal of a Solitude and The House by the Sea, equally as good.
I'll end with the Vivian Gornick essay collections that continue to delight me. I read three of them this year and although it's hard to pick a favorite because they were all so well done I'll go with
The Odd Woman and the City I actually wrote a brief review of this back in March.
My third Gornick and I just have to ask myself, what took so long to find her? Like Olivia Laing, she writes about people and how they interact. Gornick lives in NYC and walks the streets of the city to find so many interesting things to talk about. As she walks, she absorbs the drama, humor and humanity on the streets and writes about it using absolutely beautiful prose. On top of that she throws in discussions about authors that I love and authors I would like to get to know. I now know I have to read George Gissing's The Odd Women and Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure. And every book she writes is like that. Highly recommended.
Favorite fiction Reads of 2022:
Elena Knows by Claudia Pineiro, translated by Francis Riddle
The almost-absent in literature much older woman is Parkinson's-riddled Elena, who refuses to believe that her daughter committed suicide. Beautifully written.
Trieste by Dasa Drndic, translated by Ellen Elias Bursac
Incredibly stark and moving novel about Haya Tedeschi, who is sitting and waiting for the son she never knew as he was stolen from her many years earlier by the Nazis. Memories of that awful time overcome her. By the lauded Croatian writer.
Trust by Hernan Diaz
Set against the financial crash of 1930 in the U.S., this brilliant novel enthralled me from the first page. The unusual structure blew me away.
The Tortoise and the Hare by Elizabeth Jenkins
The most devastating portrait of a marriage unraveling that I've ever read. Talk about your slow burn!
Desperate Characters by Paula Fox
A Brilliant portrait of a marriage and life in the 60s. Worth it just to read the phenomenal three page description of an ER in the 60s. Just wonderful.
The Makioka Sisters by Junichiro Tanizaki, translated by Edward Seidensticker
This book has been described as the greatest Japanese novel of the twentieth century and it was easily my favorite novel of the year. An absolutely wonderful look at life before WWII in 1930s Japan about an upper class family trying desperately to marry off that last daughter. She's not having it. Terrific!
5brenzi
Books Read in 2023
January
1. The Death of the Heart - Elizabeth Bowen - audio - 4 stars
2. The Fountain Overflows - Rebecca West - OTS - 4.5 stars
3. Everybody: A Book About Freedom - Olivia Laing - audio - 4 stars
4. A Woman's Story - Annie Ernaux - Tr - L - 4 stars
5. Drifts - Kate Zambreno - L - 5 stars
6. Approaching Eye Level - Vivian Gornick - L - 4.5 stars
7. In the Morning I'll Be Gone - Adrian McKinty - audio - 4.5 stars
8. The Collected Novellas of Stefan Zweig - Stefan Zweig - Tr - OTS - 4.2 stars
9. The Netanyahus - Joshua Cohen - audio - 3.8 stars
10. To Write as if Already Dead - Kate Zambreno - OTS - 4.5 stars
11. Foster - Claire Keegan - L - 4.5 stars
12. Some Tame Gazelle - Barbara Pym - OTS - reread - 4 stars
13. Ongoingness - Sarah Manguso - L - 4 stars
February
14. Midnight in The Garden of Good and Evil - John Berendt - audio- 4 stars
15. Out of Africa and Shadows on the Grass - Isak Dinesen - audio/OTS - 4.5 stars
16. What There is to Say We Have Said: The Correspondence of Eudora Welty and William Maxwell - Suzanne Marrs - OTS - 5 stars
17. Grand Hotel - Vicki Baum - Tr - OTS - 5 stars
18. The Folded Leaf - William Maxwell - Kindle - 4.2 stars
19. The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty - L - 4 stars
20. One Writer's Beginnings - Eudora Welty - L - 4 stars
21. Braiding Sweetgrass - Robin Wall Kimmerer - audio - 3.5 stars
22. Excellent Women - Barbara Pym - OTS - reread - 4.3 stars
23. The Little Virtues - Natalia Ginzburg - Tr - OTS - 4 stars
24. Hurricane Season - Fernanda Melchor - Tr - L - 4.2 stars
March
25. A Passage to India - E.M. Forster - OTS/audio - 4 stars
26. Gun Street Girl - Adrian McKinty - audio - 4 stars
27. Border: A Journey to the Edge of Europe - Kapka Kassabova - OTS - 4.5 stars
28. The Trees - Percival Everett - audio - 3.6 stars
29. In a Lonely Place - Dorothy B. Hughes - OTS - 4.5 stars
30. Recovering: A Journal - May Sarton - Kindle - 4.5 stars
31. Simple Passion - Annie Ernaux - Tr - L - 4 stars
32. The Warsaw Orphan - Kellie Rimmer - audio - 3 stars
33. Forbidden Notebook - Alba De Cespedes - Tr - OTS - 4.6 stars
34. Wuthering Heights - Emily Brontë - audio/OTS - 4.5 stars
35. Notes from No Man's Land - Eula Biss - L - 4.5 stars
36. Jane and Prudence - Barbara Pym - OTS - reread - 4 stars
37. A View of the Harbor - Elizabeth Taylor - OTS - reread - 4.5 stars
38. Prisoners of the Castle - Ben MacIntyre - audio - 4 stars
39. Sleepless Nights - Elizabeth Hardwick - OTS - 4 stars
April
40. Horse - Geraldine Brooks - audio - L - 4.5 stars
41. Come Back in September - Darryl Pinckney - L - 4.2 stars
42. Eight Months on Ghazzah Street - Hilary Mantel - audio - 4.5 stars
43. A Chill in the Air: An Italian War Diary: 1939-1940 - Iris Origo - Tr - OTS - 4.5 stars
44. Remarkably Bright Creatures - Shelby Van Pelt - audio - 3.8 stars
45. Things I Don't Want to Know - Deborah Levy - audio - 4 stars
46. Biography of X - Catherine Lacey - L - 4.5 stars
47. Open City - Teju Cole - OTS - 4.5 stars
48. Less than Angels - Barbara Pym - reread - OTS - 4 stars
49. Hello Beautiful - Ann Napolitano - audio - 4.5 stars
50. War in Val D'Orcia: An Italian War Diary, 1943-1944 - Iris Origo - OTS - 4.5 stars
51. Euphoria - Lily King - audio - 4 stars
52. The Stone Angel - Margaret Laurence - OTS - reread - 5 stars
May
53. Sempre Susan - Sigrid Nunez - L - 4 stars
54. The Cost of Living - Deborah Levy - audio - 4 stars
55. At Seventy - May Sarton - L - 4.5 stars
56. A Fever in the Heartland - Timothy Egan - audio - 4.5 stars
57. A Change of Time - Ida Jessen - OTS - Tr - 4.5 stars
58. Constructing a Nervous System - Margo Jefferson - audio - 3.6 stars
59. More was Lost - Eleanor Perenyi - L - 4.5 stars
60. The Dolphin Letters 1970-1979 Elizabeth Hardwick, Robert Lowell and their Circle - OTS - 4.6 stars
61. What Strange Paradise - Omar El Akkad - audio/print- 4.2 stars
62. A Glass of Blessings - Barbara Pym - reread - OTS - 4 stars
63. The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder - David Grann - audio/print - L - 4.2 stars
64. Our Spoons Came from Woolworth's - Barbara Comyns - OTS - 4 stars
65. The Years - Annie Ernaux - Tr - L - 5 stars
June
66. The Trip to Echo Spring: On Writers and Drinking - Olivia Laing - audio - 4.5 stars
67. This Little Art - Kate Briggs - OTS - 3.8 stars
68. Pope Joan - Donne Woolfolk Cross - audio/print - 4.5 stars
69. Real Estate - Deborah Levy - audio - 4 stars
70. On Women - Susan Sontag - L - 3.8 stars
71. Solito - Javier Zamora - audio/print - 4.6 stars
72. Mary Olivier: A Life - May Sinclair - OTS - 5 stars-
73. Summer Will Show - Sylvia Townsend-Warner - OTS - 4 stars
74. Yellowface - R. F. Kuang- audio - 4 stars
75. No Fond Return of Love - Barbara Pym - OTS - Reread - 4.2 stars
July
76. After the Stroke - May Sarton - L - 4 stars
77. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow - Gabrielle Zevin - audio - 4 stars
78. The Light Room - Kate Zambreno - OTS - 4 stars
79. Unscripted: The Epic Battle for a Media Empire and the Redstone Family Legacy - James B. Stewart - audio - 4 stars
80. The Dry Heart - Natalia Ginzburg - Tr - OTS - 4.5 stars
81. Thus Were Their Faces - Silvina Ocampo - Tr - OTS - 3.7 stars
82. An I - Novel - Minae Mizumura - Tr - OTS - 4.5 stars
83. The Invention of Wings - Sue Monk Kidd - audio - 4 stars
84. Sontag: Her Life and Her Work - Benjamin Moser - L - 5 stars
85. Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster - Jon Krakauer - audio - 4 stars
86. Quartet in Autumn - Barbara Pym - OTS - Reread - 5 stars
August
87. Empty Wardrobes - Maria Judith De Carvalho - Tr - OTS - 4 stars
88. Spare - Prince Harry - audio - 4 stars
89. Belladonna - Dasa Drndic - Tr - OTS - 4.2 stars
90. The True Deceiver - Tove Jansson - OTS - Tr - 4.5 stars
91. The Thursday Murder Club - Richard Osman - Reread - audio - 4 stars
92. Heroines - Kate Zambreno - OTS - 4.2 stars
93. Cockroaches - Scholastique Mukasonga - Tr - OTS - 4.5 stars
94. Iza's Ballad - Magda Szabo - Tr - OTS - 5 stars
95. Tom Lake - Ann Patchett - audio/print - L - 4.5 stars
September
96. Butcher's Crossing - John Williams - OTS - 5 stars
97. The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne - Brian Moore - OTS - 4.5 stars
98. Seduction and Betrayal - Elizabeth Hardwick - OTS - 4.5 stars
99. The Sweet Dove Dies - Barbara Pym - reread - OTS - 4 stars
100. This Other Eden - Paul Harding - audio - 4.5 stars
101. I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki - Baek Sehee - audio - 4 stars
102. The Untethered Soul - Michael Singer - audio - 4 stars
103. Speedboat - Renata Adler - OTS - 5 stars
104. The Fortnight in September - R. C. Sheriff - Kindle - 4.5 stars
105. Small Mercies - Dennis Lehane - audio - 4.5 stars
106. All Systems Red - Martha Wells - audio - 3.5 stars
107. Small Things Like These - Claire Keegan - audio/OTS - reread- 5 stars
October
108. Sometimes I Lie - Alice Feeney - audio - 3.5 stars
109. A Visit to Don Otavio: A Traveler's Tale from Mexico - Sybille Bedford - OTS - 4 stars
110. Cheri - Jo Ann Beard - OTS - 4.5 stars
111. A Wreath for the Enemy - Pamela Frankau - OTS - 5 stars
112. Suite for Barbara Loden - Nathalie Leger - OTS - Tr - 5 stars
113. The Vaster Wilds - Lauren Groff - audio - 4 stars
114. Screen Tests - Kate Zambreno - L - 4.2 stars
115. Man's Search for Meaning - Victor Frankl - Tr - 4.2 stars
116. Rain Dogs - Adrian McKinty - audio - 4.5 stars
117. A Line in the World - Dorthe Nors - Tr - Kindle - 4.5 stars
118. Eve's Hollywood - Eve Babitz - OTS - 4.5 stars
November
119. The Last Devil to Die - Richard Osman - audio - 4.5 stars
120. Stasiland: Stories from Behind the Berlin Wall - Anna Funder - OTS - 4.5
121. An Advent Calendar - Shena Mackay - L - 3.5 stars
122. A Horse at Night - Amina Cain - OTS - 4 stars
123. Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World - Naomi Klein - audio - 4 stars
124. The Odd Women - George Gissing - Kindle - 4.5 stars
125. Minor Detail - Adania Shibli - Tr - L - 4.5 stars
126. The Woman Who Borrowed Memories - Tove Jansson - Tr - 5 stars
December
127. A World of Curiosities - Louise Penny - audio - 4.5 stars
128. Basic Black with Pearls - Helen Weinzweig - OTS - 4.5 stars
129. Sure, I'll Join Your Cult- Maria Bamford - audio - 4.5 stars
130. Kick the Latch - Kathryn Scanlon - OTS - 4.5 stars
131. Mad Honey - Jody Picoult/Jennifer Finley Boylan - audio - 4 stars
132. Letters from Tove - Tove Jansson - OTS - Tr - 4.5 stars
133. A Few Green Leaves - Barbara Pym - OTS - reread - 4.5 stars
134. Eastbound - Maylis De Kerangal - Tr - Kindle - 5 stars
Total Books: 134
Author Gender
Male: 30
Female: 105
Author Status:
Living: 80
Dead: 55
Publication Medium
Hardback: 20
Trade: 61
eBook: 7
Audiobook: 48
Category
Fiction: 78
Nonfiction: 55
Auto fiction: 1
Source
Library: 73
Mine: 63
Translation: 27
January
1. The Death of the Heart - Elizabeth Bowen - audio - 4 stars
2. The Fountain Overflows - Rebecca West - OTS - 4.5 stars
3. Everybody: A Book About Freedom - Olivia Laing - audio - 4 stars
4. A Woman's Story - Annie Ernaux - Tr - L - 4 stars
5. Drifts - Kate Zambreno - L - 5 stars
6. Approaching Eye Level - Vivian Gornick - L - 4.5 stars
7. In the Morning I'll Be Gone - Adrian McKinty - audio - 4.5 stars
8. The Collected Novellas of Stefan Zweig - Stefan Zweig - Tr - OTS - 4.2 stars
9. The Netanyahus - Joshua Cohen - audio - 3.8 stars
10. To Write as if Already Dead - Kate Zambreno - OTS - 4.5 stars
11. Foster - Claire Keegan - L - 4.5 stars
12. Some Tame Gazelle - Barbara Pym - OTS - reread - 4 stars
13. Ongoingness - Sarah Manguso - L - 4 stars
February
14. Midnight in The Garden of Good and Evil - John Berendt - audio- 4 stars
15. Out of Africa and Shadows on the Grass - Isak Dinesen - audio/OTS - 4.5 stars
16. What There is to Say We Have Said: The Correspondence of Eudora Welty and William Maxwell - Suzanne Marrs - OTS - 5 stars
17. Grand Hotel - Vicki Baum - Tr - OTS - 5 stars
18. The Folded Leaf - William Maxwell - Kindle - 4.2 stars
19. The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty - L - 4 stars
20. One Writer's Beginnings - Eudora Welty - L - 4 stars
21. Braiding Sweetgrass - Robin Wall Kimmerer - audio - 3.5 stars
22. Excellent Women - Barbara Pym - OTS - reread - 4.3 stars
23. The Little Virtues - Natalia Ginzburg - Tr - OTS - 4 stars
24. Hurricane Season - Fernanda Melchor - Tr - L - 4.2 stars
March
25. A Passage to India - E.M. Forster - OTS/audio - 4 stars
26. Gun Street Girl - Adrian McKinty - audio - 4 stars
27. Border: A Journey to the Edge of Europe - Kapka Kassabova - OTS - 4.5 stars
28. The Trees - Percival Everett - audio - 3.6 stars
29. In a Lonely Place - Dorothy B. Hughes - OTS - 4.5 stars
30. Recovering: A Journal - May Sarton - Kindle - 4.5 stars
31. Simple Passion - Annie Ernaux - Tr - L - 4 stars
32. The Warsaw Orphan - Kellie Rimmer - audio - 3 stars
33. Forbidden Notebook - Alba De Cespedes - Tr - OTS - 4.6 stars
34. Wuthering Heights - Emily Brontë - audio/OTS - 4.5 stars
35. Notes from No Man's Land - Eula Biss - L - 4.5 stars
36. Jane and Prudence - Barbara Pym - OTS - reread - 4 stars
37. A View of the Harbor - Elizabeth Taylor - OTS - reread - 4.5 stars
38. Prisoners of the Castle - Ben MacIntyre - audio - 4 stars
39. Sleepless Nights - Elizabeth Hardwick - OTS - 4 stars
April
40. Horse - Geraldine Brooks - audio - L - 4.5 stars
41. Come Back in September - Darryl Pinckney - L - 4.2 stars
42. Eight Months on Ghazzah Street - Hilary Mantel - audio - 4.5 stars
43. A Chill in the Air: An Italian War Diary: 1939-1940 - Iris Origo - Tr - OTS - 4.5 stars
44. Remarkably Bright Creatures - Shelby Van Pelt - audio - 3.8 stars
45. Things I Don't Want to Know - Deborah Levy - audio - 4 stars
46. Biography of X - Catherine Lacey - L - 4.5 stars
47. Open City - Teju Cole - OTS - 4.5 stars
48. Less than Angels - Barbara Pym - reread - OTS - 4 stars
49. Hello Beautiful - Ann Napolitano - audio - 4.5 stars
50. War in Val D'Orcia: An Italian War Diary, 1943-1944 - Iris Origo - OTS - 4.5 stars
51. Euphoria - Lily King - audio - 4 stars
52. The Stone Angel - Margaret Laurence - OTS - reread - 5 stars
May
53. Sempre Susan - Sigrid Nunez - L - 4 stars
54. The Cost of Living - Deborah Levy - audio - 4 stars
55. At Seventy - May Sarton - L - 4.5 stars
56. A Fever in the Heartland - Timothy Egan - audio - 4.5 stars
57. A Change of Time - Ida Jessen - OTS - Tr - 4.5 stars
58. Constructing a Nervous System - Margo Jefferson - audio - 3.6 stars
59. More was Lost - Eleanor Perenyi - L - 4.5 stars
60. The Dolphin Letters 1970-1979 Elizabeth Hardwick, Robert Lowell and their Circle - OTS - 4.6 stars
61. What Strange Paradise - Omar El Akkad - audio/print- 4.2 stars
62. A Glass of Blessings - Barbara Pym - reread - OTS - 4 stars
63. The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder - David Grann - audio/print - L - 4.2 stars
64. Our Spoons Came from Woolworth's - Barbara Comyns - OTS - 4 stars
65. The Years - Annie Ernaux - Tr - L - 5 stars
June
66. The Trip to Echo Spring: On Writers and Drinking - Olivia Laing - audio - 4.5 stars
67. This Little Art - Kate Briggs - OTS - 3.8 stars
68. Pope Joan - Donne Woolfolk Cross - audio/print - 4.5 stars
69. Real Estate - Deborah Levy - audio - 4 stars
70. On Women - Susan Sontag - L - 3.8 stars
71. Solito - Javier Zamora - audio/print - 4.6 stars
72. Mary Olivier: A Life - May Sinclair - OTS - 5 stars-
73. Summer Will Show - Sylvia Townsend-Warner - OTS - 4 stars
74. Yellowface - R. F. Kuang- audio - 4 stars
75. No Fond Return of Love - Barbara Pym - OTS - Reread - 4.2 stars
July
76. After the Stroke - May Sarton - L - 4 stars
77. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow - Gabrielle Zevin - audio - 4 stars
78. The Light Room - Kate Zambreno - OTS - 4 stars
79. Unscripted: The Epic Battle for a Media Empire and the Redstone Family Legacy - James B. Stewart - audio - 4 stars
80. The Dry Heart - Natalia Ginzburg - Tr - OTS - 4.5 stars
81. Thus Were Their Faces - Silvina Ocampo - Tr - OTS - 3.7 stars
82. An I - Novel - Minae Mizumura - Tr - OTS - 4.5 stars
83. The Invention of Wings - Sue Monk Kidd - audio - 4 stars
84. Sontag: Her Life and Her Work - Benjamin Moser - L - 5 stars
85. Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster - Jon Krakauer - audio - 4 stars
86. Quartet in Autumn - Barbara Pym - OTS - Reread - 5 stars
August
87. Empty Wardrobes - Maria Judith De Carvalho - Tr - OTS - 4 stars
88. Spare - Prince Harry - audio - 4 stars
89. Belladonna - Dasa Drndic - Tr - OTS - 4.2 stars
90. The True Deceiver - Tove Jansson - OTS - Tr - 4.5 stars
91. The Thursday Murder Club - Richard Osman - Reread - audio - 4 stars
92. Heroines - Kate Zambreno - OTS - 4.2 stars
93. Cockroaches - Scholastique Mukasonga - Tr - OTS - 4.5 stars
94. Iza's Ballad - Magda Szabo - Tr - OTS - 5 stars
95. Tom Lake - Ann Patchett - audio/print - L - 4.5 stars
September
96. Butcher's Crossing - John Williams - OTS - 5 stars
97. The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne - Brian Moore - OTS - 4.5 stars
98. Seduction and Betrayal - Elizabeth Hardwick - OTS - 4.5 stars
99. The Sweet Dove Dies - Barbara Pym - reread - OTS - 4 stars
100. This Other Eden - Paul Harding - audio - 4.5 stars
101. I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki - Baek Sehee - audio - 4 stars
102. The Untethered Soul - Michael Singer - audio - 4 stars
103. Speedboat - Renata Adler - OTS - 5 stars
104. The Fortnight in September - R. C. Sheriff - Kindle - 4.5 stars
105. Small Mercies - Dennis Lehane - audio - 4.5 stars
106. All Systems Red - Martha Wells - audio - 3.5 stars
107. Small Things Like These - Claire Keegan - audio/OTS - reread- 5 stars
October
108. Sometimes I Lie - Alice Feeney - audio - 3.5 stars
109. A Visit to Don Otavio: A Traveler's Tale from Mexico - Sybille Bedford - OTS - 4 stars
110. Cheri - Jo Ann Beard - OTS - 4.5 stars
111. A Wreath for the Enemy - Pamela Frankau - OTS - 5 stars
112. Suite for Barbara Loden - Nathalie Leger - OTS - Tr - 5 stars
113. The Vaster Wilds - Lauren Groff - audio - 4 stars
114. Screen Tests - Kate Zambreno - L - 4.2 stars
115. Man's Search for Meaning - Victor Frankl - Tr - 4.2 stars
116. Rain Dogs - Adrian McKinty - audio - 4.5 stars
117. A Line in the World - Dorthe Nors - Tr - Kindle - 4.5 stars
118. Eve's Hollywood - Eve Babitz - OTS - 4.5 stars
November
119. The Last Devil to Die - Richard Osman - audio - 4.5 stars
120. Stasiland: Stories from Behind the Berlin Wall - Anna Funder - OTS - 4.5
121. An Advent Calendar - Shena Mackay - L - 3.5 stars
122. A Horse at Night - Amina Cain - OTS - 4 stars
123. Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World - Naomi Klein - audio - 4 stars
124. The Odd Women - George Gissing - Kindle - 4.5 stars
125. Minor Detail - Adania Shibli - Tr - L - 4.5 stars
126. The Woman Who Borrowed Memories - Tove Jansson - Tr - 5 stars
December
127. A World of Curiosities - Louise Penny - audio - 4.5 stars
128. Basic Black with Pearls - Helen Weinzweig - OTS - 4.5 stars
129. Sure, I'll Join Your Cult- Maria Bamford - audio - 4.5 stars
130. Kick the Latch - Kathryn Scanlon - OTS - 4.5 stars
131. Mad Honey - Jody Picoult/Jennifer Finley Boylan - audio - 4 stars
132. Letters from Tove - Tove Jansson - OTS - Tr - 4.5 stars
133. A Few Green Leaves - Barbara Pym - OTS - reread - 4.5 stars
134. Eastbound - Maylis De Kerangal - Tr - Kindle - 5 stars
Total Books: 134
Author Gender
Male: 30
Female: 105
Author Status:
Living: 80
Dead: 55
Publication Medium
Hardback: 20
Trade: 61
eBook: 7
Audiobook: 48
Category
Fiction: 78
Nonfiction: 55
Auto fiction: 1
Source
Library: 73
Mine: 63
Translation: 27
6katiekrug
I'm glad you'll have a thread, Bonnie, and I'll make it a point to stop by to check out the updated list of read books.
We should all use LT in a way that works for us and not feel pressured to participate to others' standards.
Happy new year!
We should all use LT in a way that works for us and not feel pressured to participate to others' standards.
Happy new year!
7lauralkeet
Happy New Year, Bonnie.
I totally agree with Katie's comments! I'm looking forward to keeping up with your reading, because you're always a good source of recommendations.
I totally agree with Katie's comments! I'm looking forward to keeping up with your reading, because you're always a good source of recommendations.
8richardderus
2022 was an amazing year for you, Bonnie, so here's hoping 2023 stands on its shoulders not its arches.
*smooch*
*smooch*
9brenzi
>6 katiekrug: Thanks Katie, I just find it exhausting to keep up my own thread but I'm happy to see what others are doing🤷♀️Happy New Year!
>7 lauralkeet: I'm happy to recommend books Laura. I brings me great joy. Happy New Year!
>8 richardderus: Well I agree that it was an amazing READING year for me Richard. In other ways, not so much but I'll take it. Happy New Year!
>7 lauralkeet: I'm happy to recommend books Laura. I brings me great joy. Happy New Year!
>8 richardderus: Well I agree that it was an amazing READING year for me Richard. In other ways, not so much but I'll take it. Happy New Year!
10msf59
Happy New Year, Bonnie! We are closing out another wonderful year of books and banter and I am looking forward to sharing another with you. Love the Cole & Mia pics. Demon Copperhead is off to a terrific start, but you knew that already, right?
11BLBera
Happy New Year, Bonnie. I am so glad you have a thread. I have added several books to my NF wishlist. Great list of favorites from 2022.
I can't believe how Cole and Mia are growing. Scout is 9, already. My only complaint about grandkids is they grow up too fast!
I can't believe how Cole and Mia are growing. Scout is 9, already. My only complaint about grandkids is they grow up too fast!
12Crazymamie
Happy New Year, Bonnie! Thanks for sharing the photos of your grands - they are getting so big!
I loved reading through >4 brenzi:, so thanks for taking the time to create it. You hit me with several book bullets. I also really enjoy reading books of letters. One of my favorites is What There is to Say We Have Said, a collection of letters between Eudora Welty and William Maxwell.
>6 katiekrug: What Katie said about using LT in a way that works for each of us as individuals is so spot on.
I loved reading through >4 brenzi:, so thanks for taking the time to create it. You hit me with several book bullets. I also really enjoy reading books of letters. One of my favorites is What There is to Say We Have Said, a collection of letters between Eudora Welty and William Maxwell.
>6 katiekrug: What Katie said about using LT in a way that works for each of us as individuals is so spot on.
13thornton37814
Enjoy your 2023 reads!
14SandDune
>1 brenzi: Incredible picture Bonnie! Pictures of Buffalo even made it to the news over here.
>4 brenzi: Elena Knows was our book club choice for October, but I didn't read it as we were away for the meeting. Based on your description perhaps I'll give it a go.
>4 brenzi: Elena Knows was our book club choice for October, but I didn't read it as we were away for the meeting. Based on your description perhaps I'll give it a go.
15brenzi
>10 msf59: I actually listened to the audio of Demon Copperhead Mark, and the narration was amazing. I really enjoyed it. And you will undoubtedly love it.
>11 BLBera: Well, Beth, apparently you and I have the same complaints about grandkids. I keep telling them they have to stop getting so big and they just want to see how close they are to getting taller than me. Mia is getting too close for comfort lol.
>12 Crazymamie: Hi there Mamie, I have that Maxwell/Welty book on my shelf and it'll probably be the next book of letters I read. Happy New Year!
>13 thornton37814: Thank you Lori. Happy New Year!
>14 SandDune: Hi Rhian, I wish my book club were daring enough to read Elena Knows or anything in that vein. I think you would probably enjoy it if you get to it.
This storm was described as a once in a lifetime storm and I believe they nailed it with that description.
>11 BLBera: Well, Beth, apparently you and I have the same complaints about grandkids. I keep telling them they have to stop getting so big and they just want to see how close they are to getting taller than me. Mia is getting too close for comfort lol.
>12 Crazymamie: Hi there Mamie, I have that Maxwell/Welty book on my shelf and it'll probably be the next book of letters I read. Happy New Year!
>13 thornton37814: Thank you Lori. Happy New Year!
>14 SandDune: Hi Rhian, I wish my book club were daring enough to read Elena Knows or anything in that vein. I think you would probably enjoy it if you get to it.
This storm was described as a once in a lifetime storm and I believe they nailed it with that description.
16Chatterbox
Sending you hugs and best wishes for another amazing year of reading! Like you, I've become a much less active poster/visitor, but I love checking in periodically and am delighted that you found so much to relish in your 2022 reading.
Books of letters are fab. If you haven't already discovered it, Patrick Leigh Fermor and Deborah, Duchess of Devonshire had a fabulous correspondence (chatty, gossipy, sometimes bitchy), In Tearing Haste. I find a lot to love in Martha Gelhorn, and read some of her anthologies back in the mid/late 1980s. Don't know whether you have run across the non-fiction of Thomas Mallon but he wrote a fun book, Yours Ever: People and Their Letters that you might find intriguing. Another one I loved was about diaries -- A Book of One's Own by Thomas Mallon; decades after reading it, I am STILL falling down rabbit holes following names and examples in both books.
Astonishing to realize how fast the grandkids are growing, but this is a fab age -- they are old enough to engage, and not too old to find you tedious (brace yourself for teenager-dom!!)
Books of letters are fab. If you haven't already discovered it, Patrick Leigh Fermor and Deborah, Duchess of Devonshire had a fabulous correspondence (chatty, gossipy, sometimes bitchy), In Tearing Haste. I find a lot to love in Martha Gelhorn, and read some of her anthologies back in the mid/late 1980s. Don't know whether you have run across the non-fiction of Thomas Mallon but he wrote a fun book, Yours Ever: People and Their Letters that you might find intriguing. Another one I loved was about diaries -- A Book of One's Own by Thomas Mallon; decades after reading it, I am STILL falling down rabbit holes following names and examples in both books.
Astonishing to realize how fast the grandkids are growing, but this is a fab age -- they are old enough to engage, and not too old to find you tedious (brace yourself for teenager-dom!!)
17arubabookwoman
Desperate Characters was one of my favorites last year too. I want to read more by her.
And back in the 1980's my mother-in-law passed along to me her copy of The Makioka Sisters. I read it then and loved it. I reread it a couple of years ago, and it has stood the test of time (for me, anyway).
Can't believe how big your grands are getting. Our oldest grandchild turned 12 (gulp!) in 2022. And our youngest is just 2 months.
And back in the 1980's my mother-in-law passed along to me her copy of The Makioka Sisters. I read it then and loved it. I reread it a couple of years ago, and it has stood the test of time (for me, anyway).
Can't believe how big your grands are getting. Our oldest grandchild turned 12 (gulp!) in 2022. And our youngest is just 2 months.
18brenzi
>16 Chatterbox: A rare Suzanne sighting! So good to see you posting because you always have great insight. Thomas Mallon is now on my list. I am not looking forward to the teenage years from what I see some friends enduring with their grandkids. It amazing how quickly you can go from being the smartest person in the world to someone who knows absolutely nothing. About anything. Haha oh well I'll just appreciate the now. Happy New Year!
>17 arubabookwoman: I'd like to read more of Paula Fox too Deborah. I was very surprised at that book, which I think I read about in a Vivian Gornick book. She has been such a reliable recommender for me. I can't tell you how many books I read last year because of her recommendations.
I wish I could figure out how to get Mia and Cole to slow down on getting bigger but they just keep growing. It's terrible. Lol
>17 arubabookwoman: I'd like to read more of Paula Fox too Deborah. I was very surprised at that book, which I think I read about in a Vivian Gornick book. She has been such a reliable recommender for me. I can't tell you how many books I read last year because of her recommendations.
I wish I could figure out how to get Mia and Cole to slow down on getting bigger but they just keep growing. It's terrible. Lol
21brenzi
We've had our share of bad news around here for quite some time but last night's football game was just awful.
22katiekrug
>21 brenzi: - Truly awful, Bonnie. We were watching the game when it happened and then followed the developments on Twitter.
25AnneDC
Happy New Year, Bonnie.
I thought I was the only person who consistently manages to abandon my own thread except for updating the books read list. Oh, well. I resolve to do better but who knows.
Already your reading is giving me lots of ideas.
I thought I was the only person who consistently manages to abandon my own thread except for updating the books read list. Oh, well. I resolve to do better but who knows.
Already your reading is giving me lots of ideas.
26Berly
>21 brenzi: American Football can be a rough game. Wishing him the best.
27figsfromthistle
Found you and have you starred. Happy reading in 2023!
28Donna828
Bonnie, I am so glad your snow is beginning to melt. I'm sorry your Christmas was lonely but very happy that your electricity stayed on so you didn't freeze! I am listening to Full Tilt as I slowly dismantle Christmas decorations. I am loving it. Thanks for another good recommendation. Looking forward to more as the year moves along.
29PaulCranswick
>25 AnneDC: I will keep visiting both your threads, posting activity or not!
Have a lovely weekend, Bonnie.
Have a lovely weekend, Bonnie.
30alcottacre
>3 brenzi: I cannot believe how big your grands are getting!
>4 brenzi: Pretty much adding all of those to the BlackHole. Thanks for the list, Bonnie.
>21 brenzi: I agree that it was awful. I am very thankful that he is recovering.
>4 brenzi: Pretty much adding all of those to the BlackHole. Thanks for the list, Bonnie.
>21 brenzi: I agree that it was awful. I am very thankful that he is recovering.
31brenzi
>19 drneutron: >20 Berly: Thank you Jim and Kim.
>22 katiekrug: >23 msf59: >24 Copperskye: >26 Berly: it's been a week of highs and lows but things are looking good now.
>25 AnneDC: Hi Anne, and yes, I've neglected my own thread for a few years. I always start off with good intentions though haha. We'll see what this year brings.
>27 figsfromthistle: Hi Anita, Happy New Year to you.
>28 Donna828: Hi Donna, there's not much snow left except for the mountains of it in parking lots which may not melt until summer lol. I'm so glad you're enjoying Full Tilt. It's such an old book that it never occurred to me that there might be an audiobook. I have another one of Murphy's books out of the library.
>29 PaulCranswick: Thank you Paul. I hope your weekend has been lovely.
>30 alcottacre: I'm happy to add to your BlackHole Stasia. I try to encourage my grandkids to stop growing so fast but they pay no attention to me. Not one bit.
>22 katiekrug: >23 msf59: >24 Copperskye: >26 Berly: it's been a week of highs and lows but things are looking good now.
>25 AnneDC: Hi Anne, and yes, I've neglected my own thread for a few years. I always start off with good intentions though haha. We'll see what this year brings.
>27 figsfromthistle: Hi Anita, Happy New Year to you.
>28 Donna828: Hi Donna, there's not much snow left except for the mountains of it in parking lots which may not melt until summer lol. I'm so glad you're enjoying Full Tilt. It's such an old book that it never occurred to me that there might be an audiobook. I have another one of Murphy's books out of the library.
>29 PaulCranswick: Thank you Paul. I hope your weekend has been lovely.
>30 alcottacre: I'm happy to add to your BlackHole Stasia. I try to encourage my grandkids to stop growing so fast but they pay no attention to me. Not one bit.
32brenzi
I read a book.
The Fountain Overflows by Rebecca West
I love starting the year with a banger of a book and this one really filled the bill. Told from a child's point of view, Piers (brilliant but irresponsible) and Clare (practical and nurturing), have four talented children: Rose and her twin sister Mary, Cordelia and Richard Quin. Oh and also, everyone is a bit eccentric. As the book opens, Piers has a new job (again) so the family has to move from Edinburg to the London countryside. The family activities and the role that music plays in their lives provides the crux of this wonderful story. Throw in a murder, some absolutely delightful characters, bill collectors, parties, Clare's amazing ability to keep her family afloat, oh and poltergeists. Based loosely on West's own childhood. Wonderful.
4.5 stars
And an audiobook:
Sixteen year old Portia moves in with her half brother, Thomas and his wife, Anna, when her mother dies. She proceeds to fall in love with Eddie, whose real interest is actually Anna. Bowen pretty much points out the worst in English society in the 1930s. Portia has an awful time during this period and gets no help from anyone, really. Mostly unlikable characters but somehow I still enjoyed it🤷♀️ Enhanced by Backlisted pod.
4 stars
The Fountain Overflows by Rebecca West
I love starting the year with a banger of a book and this one really filled the bill. Told from a child's point of view, Piers (brilliant but irresponsible) and Clare (practical and nurturing), have four talented children: Rose and her twin sister Mary, Cordelia and Richard Quin. Oh and also, everyone is a bit eccentric. As the book opens, Piers has a new job (again) so the family has to move from Edinburg to the London countryside. The family activities and the role that music plays in their lives provides the crux of this wonderful story. Throw in a murder, some absolutely delightful characters, bill collectors, parties, Clare's amazing ability to keep her family afloat, oh and poltergeists. Based loosely on West's own childhood. Wonderful.
4.5 stars
And an audiobook:
Sixteen year old Portia moves in with her half brother, Thomas and his wife, Anna, when her mother dies. She proceeds to fall in love with Eddie, whose real interest is actually Anna. Bowen pretty much points out the worst in English society in the 1930s. Portia has an awful time during this period and gets no help from anyone, really. Mostly unlikable characters but somehow I still enjoyed it🤷♀️ Enhanced by Backlisted pod.
4 stars
33katiekrug
>32 brenzi: - Both of these are on my shelves, Bonnie. I guess I shouldn't let them languish for too much longer...
34brenzi
I had a plan for my reading for this month but it went out the window when I read Andrea Barrett's Introduction to The Fountain Overflows (after I read the book because I'm no rookie). She somehow convinced me to throw away my plans and read West's Black Lamb and Grey Falcon, a thousand page opus. But I have a plan. I'm going to read 300 pages or so then take a break with a short book then go back to the West and read another 300 pages, then read a short book....well, you get the idea. I've tried this kind of plan with long books before and failed completely because after 300 pages I'm completely involved in the book and don't want to stop reading. Sooo.....
Audio
Everybody: A Book About Freedom by Olivia Laing
Audio
Everybody: A Book About Freedom by Olivia Laing
35brenzi
>33 katiekrug: I think I might've enjoyed the Bowen more if I had read it Katie rather than listened, but I know a thing or two about books languishing on the shelf. I'm making a concerted effort to read my NYRB books, one per month. But my plans are easily upset lol.
36SandDune
>28 Donna828: >32 brenzi: Are you a Backlisted fan as well then Bonnie? I think I read Full Tilt a very long time ago but am considering a reread after hearing it discussed on Backlisted.
37lauralkeet
Hi Bonnie. I read The Fountain Overflows some time ago and remember little of it, so I enjoyed your review. Glad to see you liked it so much. I like your plan for dealing with a 1000-page book.
38BLBera
>32 brenzi: These both sound great.
39brenzi
>36 SandDune: I am a huge Backlisted fan Rhian. I have read many books that I would've never known about or considered reading because of that podcast. Full Tilt was one I'd never heard of.
>37 lauralkeet: I'm thinking it was a Virago book before it was an NYRB book Laura. I also own Cousin Rosamund but I'm not sure I'll read that anytime soon.
>38 BLBera: Well Beth, you almost can't go wrong with NYRB🤷♀️
>37 lauralkeet: I'm thinking it was a Virago book before it was an NYRB book Laura. I also own Cousin Rosamund but I'm not sure I'll read that anytime soon.
>38 BLBera: Well Beth, you almost can't go wrong with NYRB🤷♀️
40FAMeulstee
Belated happy reading in 2023, Bonnie!
41Donna828
>34 brenzi: That's a good plan for a long book, Bonnie. I think I had to do that with Middlemarch mostly because my book club read it in two installments a month apart. Yikes! I don't advise that much time between beginning and end.
>36 SandDune: >39 brenzi: It looks like I need to check into "Backlisted"...I'm not a big fan of podcasts but I could make an exception.
>36 SandDune: >39 brenzi: It looks like I need to check into "Backlisted"...I'm not a big fan of podcasts but I could make an exception.
42brenzi
>40 FAMeulstee: Thank you Anita.
>41 Donna828: If you're only going to listen to one podcast Donna, Backlisted should be the one. It's just so good.I like to listen after I've read the book they're featuring because it adds so much to my enjoyment. You can go through the list of past episodes and I'm sure you'll find something you'd like to read. Just last year I read and loved The Springs of Affection by Maeve Brennan, North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell, Something in Disguise by Elizabeth Jane Howard, Cassandra at the Wedding by Dorothy Baker, The Soul of Kindness by Elizabeth Taylor, The Tortoise and the Hare by Dorothy Jenkins, The Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy, To Serve Them All My Days by R.F. Delderfield, So Long, See You Tomorrow by William Maxwell....well, I'll stop there but you get the idea.
>41 Donna828: If you're only going to listen to one podcast Donna, Backlisted should be the one. It's just so good.I like to listen after I've read the book they're featuring because it adds so much to my enjoyment. You can go through the list of past episodes and I'm sure you'll find something you'd like to read. Just last year I read and loved The Springs of Affection by Maeve Brennan, North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell, Something in Disguise by Elizabeth Jane Howard, Cassandra at the Wedding by Dorothy Baker, The Soul of Kindness by Elizabeth Taylor, The Tortoise and the Hare by Dorothy Jenkins, The Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy, To Serve Them All My Days by R.F. Delderfield, So Long, See You Tomorrow by William Maxwell....well, I'll stop there but you get the idea.
43brenzi
I'm just going to say a word or two about this amazing book which I don't think any of you have read:
Unfortunately, I don't know where to begin because when I finished it I sat in stunned silence with my mouth gaping. I've already ordered two more of Zambreno's books and will probably make my way through her publications bit by bit. Anyway, this is the story of a writer, living in Brooklyn, and trying to produce a book that she's promised to her editor in the next few months. It really spells out how difficult writing a book can be, mind boggling tough. Along the way Zambreno throws out one literary reference after another so that I was going down a rabbit hole of writers, photographers and film makers that was absolutely fascinating and now I've ordered Kafka's new book of letters among others, and at one point I found myself on YouTube watching a short film by Joseph Cornell from the 1950s, grainy but lovely. At one point during the narrative, the unnamed narrator finds that she's unexpectedly pregnant, and although she is married, it presents problems for her.
I've not done this book justice but if you like a meandering narrative that leads you in a number of different directions you might give Zambreno a go.
5 stars
Unfortunately, I don't know where to begin because when I finished it I sat in stunned silence with my mouth gaping. I've already ordered two more of Zambreno's books and will probably make my way through her publications bit by bit. Anyway, this is the story of a writer, living in Brooklyn, and trying to produce a book that she's promised to her editor in the next few months. It really spells out how difficult writing a book can be, mind boggling tough. Along the way Zambreno throws out one literary reference after another so that I was going down a rabbit hole of writers, photographers and film makers that was absolutely fascinating and now I've ordered Kafka's new book of letters among others, and at one point I found myself on YouTube watching a short film by Joseph Cornell from the 1950s, grainy but lovely. At one point during the narrative, the unnamed narrator finds that she's unexpectedly pregnant, and although she is married, it presents problems for her.
I've not done this book justice but if you like a meandering narrative that leads you in a number of different directions you might give Zambreno a go.
5 stars
44vivians
Thanks Bonnie - I just put it on hold at my library. I've heard of Zambreno but haven't read anything of hers yet!
45ffortsa
>43 brenzi: Stunned silence is definitely a recommendation. I'll put it on the list!
46lauralkeet
A 5-star read from Bonnie! Wow!
Coincidentally my eldest is a writer, living in Brooklyn, and working on a book (albeit very early stages and who knows what will happen). This might be too close to home but I've made a note of it anyway.
Coincidentally my eldest is a writer, living in Brooklyn, and working on a book (albeit very early stages and who knows what will happen). This might be too close to home but I've made a note of it anyway.
47BLBera
>43 brenzi: Wow - that does sound good. And my library has a copy! Thanks for the recommendation, Bonnie.
48PaulCranswick
>43 brenzi: Such an enthusiastic recommendation by you, Bonnie, is bound to pique my interest. I will look out for work by this author for sure.
50alcottacre
>32 brenzi: The Fountain Overflows is already in the BlackHole or I would be adding it again. I have already read The Death of the Heart or I would be adding it again.
>35 brenzi: my plans are easily upset Whose aren't?
>43 brenzi: Adding that one to the BlackHole! Thanks for the stellar recommendation, Bonnie!
Have a marvelous Monday!
>35 brenzi: my plans are easily upset Whose aren't?
>43 brenzi: Adding that one to the BlackHole! Thanks for the stellar recommendation, Bonnie!
Have a marvelous Monday!
51brenzi
>44 vivians: >45 ffortsa: >46 lauralkeet: >47 BLBera: >48 PaulCranswick: >49 Berly:
Hi Vivian, Judy, Laura, Beth, Paul and Kim. Thanks for visiting. I hope you all give Zambreno a go. I went on to read her book To Write As If Already Dead with a similar result so I will be reading everything she's written.
>50 alcottacre: Hi Stasia, we probably all do this. We go into the year with a loose strategic plan in mind and then easily get off track when we stumble upon a book we really like or we get sucked in by raves from other readers. It's a good problem to have😊
Hi Vivian, Judy, Laura, Beth, Paul and Kim. Thanks for visiting. I hope you all give Zambreno a go. I went on to read her book To Write As If Already Dead with a similar result so I will be reading everything she's written.
>50 alcottacre: Hi Stasia, we probably all do this. We go into the year with a loose strategic plan in mind and then easily get off track when we stumble upon a book we really like or we get sucked in by raves from other readers. It's a good problem to have😊
52brenzi
#11. 
Foster by Claire Keegan
Oh my. I was sobbing at the end of this story of a child taken by her father to live with some distant relatives while her mother awaited the birth of another baby. Set in rural Ireland in the mid twentieth century, this heartbreaking novella describes achingly this child's new home where love and happiness she's never known engulf her. Just beautiful. 😭
4.5 stars
#12.
Some Tame Gazelle by Barbara Pym
This is the beginning of my reread of Barbara Pym's books in order of publication. I'm planning to read one every month. Of course it was a delightful return to the land of curates, jumble sales, jilted lovers, sleepy country villages, missed opportunities, and milky drinks. Sigh.
4 stars
Foster by Claire Keegan
Oh my. I was sobbing at the end of this story of a child taken by her father to live with some distant relatives while her mother awaited the birth of another baby. Set in rural Ireland in the mid twentieth century, this heartbreaking novella describes achingly this child's new home where love and happiness she's never known engulf her. Just beautiful. 😭
4.5 stars
#12.
Some Tame Gazelle by Barbara Pym
This is the beginning of my reread of Barbara Pym's books in order of publication. I'm planning to read one every month. Of course it was a delightful return to the land of curates, jumble sales, jilted lovers, sleepy country villages, missed opportunities, and milky drinks. Sigh.
4 stars
53brenzi
CURRENTLY READING
Ongoingness: The End of a Diary by Sarah Manguso
AUDIO
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt
Ongoingness: The End of a Diary by Sarah Manguso
AUDIO
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt
54PaulCranswick
>52 brenzi: Had I known that you would read either of those, I may well have joined you, Bonnie.
My favourite read of last year was Small Things Like These and I may well squeeze in Keegan before the month end.
My favourite read of last year was Small Things Like These and I may well squeeze in Keegan before the month end.
55figsfromthistle
I just picked up Foster from the library. Can't wait to read it!
56lauralkeet
>52 brenzi: I came across Foster in a bookshop but held off for some reason, and then decided I should read Small Things Like These first. I know the two aren't related, I just felt like I *should* have read that one already so requested it from the library. I'm still waiting and it will be a little while yet, but I am now also on the hold list for Foster. That's how much power you have, Bonnie. Don't let it go to your head LOL.
I know you'll have fun re-reading Pym.
I know you'll have fun re-reading Pym.
57brenzi
>54 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul, that would've been fun but I only got to Foster because my number finally came up at the library😊
>55 figsfromthistle: I hope you love it Anita.
>56You're right Laura, the two books have no relation to each other and I couldn't even say which one I liked better. They were both so good.
>55 figsfromthistle: I hope you love it Anita.
>56You're right Laura, the two books have no relation to each other and I couldn't even say which one I liked better. They were both so good.
58PaulCranswick
>57 brenzi: Well you did inspire me to shoehorn it in before the month end, Bonnie and I loved it.
59brenzi
I had a wonderful month of reading in January. The stars were both the Zambrenos, the Keegan, Gornick, West....oh hell, they were all excellent🤷♀️
Also, The Netanyahus by Joshua Cohen, Everybody: A Book About Freedom by Olivia Laing, The Death of the Heart by Elizabeth Bowen and In the Morning I'll be Gone by Adrian McKinty.
Also, The Netanyahus by Joshua Cohen, Everybody: A Book About Freedom by Olivia Laing, The Death of the Heart by Elizabeth Bowen and In the Morning I'll be Gone by Adrian McKinty.
60brenzi
>58 PaulCranswick: I'm wondering now if you were sobbing as much as me Paul🧐
62PaulCranswick
>60 brenzi: I'll have to admit in as manly a way possible, Bonnie, that she is a writer who manages to get my tear ducts working.
>61 brenzi: I agree. The show is brilliant.
>61 brenzi: I agree. The show is brilliant.
63RebaRelishesReading
Thanks for waking me up to the fact that you have a thread -- don't know how I missed that but glad to have found you and caught up. You've been reading like mad, as usual, and choosing what sound like pretty challenging books, also as usual. Looking forward to what comes next.
Stay warm!!
Stay warm!!
64msf59
Hey, Bonnie. Happy Weekend! I am loving Horse. WOW! She is at the top of her game. I am also nearly done with the 2nd Sean Duffy novel. This is a good series. Great on audio too.
65brenzi
>62 PaulCranswick: I don't know how anyone reads Claire Keegan without sobbing Paul.
>63 RebaRelishesReading: We just ended the most bitter days we've experienced this winter Reba, but better weather is ahead thankfully. Good to see you😊
>64 msf59: I listened to that Sean Duffy novel last month. They make for great audiobooks. I have Horse on my library list but I don't know when I'll get to it. I've read and enjoyed most of her other books so I'm sure this one is good too.
>63 RebaRelishesReading: We just ended the most bitter days we've experienced this winter Reba, but better weather is ahead thankfully. Good to see you😊
>64 msf59: I listened to that Sean Duffy novel last month. They make for great audiobooks. I have Horse on my library list but I don't know when I'll get to it. I've read and enjoyed most of her other books so I'm sure this one is good too.
66Berly
Horse was a really good one! Prob will be one of my favorites for the year. And now I have to go check out Cunk on Earth. What kind of a title is that? LOL.
Happy weekend!
Happy weekend!
67richardderus
Hi Bonnie, the strokes are letting me go more and more so I'm visiting more and more. I stopped in to shake my (right) fist at you for the Kate Zambreno harpoon. *smooch*
68jnwelch
Hi, Bonnie. I hope you’re having a good weekend.
What interesting comments about Zambreno’s writing. I’ll have to check her out. What fun to track down gems mentioned in the text.
What interesting comments about Zambreno’s writing. I’ll have to check her out. What fun to track down gems mentioned in the text.
69tymfos
Hi, Bonnie! This is just a drive-by hello.
>2 brenzi: A lot like me. Only you've actually been reading while absent. I'm just climbing out of the worst reading funk I've ever had, and starting to read again!
Hope you are well!
>2 brenzi: A lot like me. Only you've actually been reading while absent. I'm just climbing out of the worst reading funk I've ever had, and starting to read again!
Hope you are well!
70RebaRelishesReading
Hi Bonnie -- just driving by and wanted to drop a greeting :)
72PaulCranswick
Pleased to see that you are updating your reading, Bonnie, as this tells me that you are otherwise ok.
Selfishly I miss your reviews and your more active presence but knowing you are ok is something at least!
Have a lovely weekend.
Selfishly I miss your reviews and your more active presence but knowing you are ok is something at least!
Have a lovely weekend.
73PaulCranswick
Happy Mother's Day, Bonnie.
76msf59
Hi, Bonnie. We sure miss you, my friend. Hope all is well. I have added Solito to my audio WL. As usual you sold it!
77PaulCranswick
Sorry that you are not posting, Bonnie, as your companionship is sorely missed, but I must give congratulations for passing 75 books already. Well done!
78FAMeulstee
Congratulations on reaching 75 in June, Bonnie!
79PaulCranswick
Thinking about you during the festive season, Bonnie.
MISS YOU.
