A continuation of my 2020 reading arc. Emerging from the shadows and into the light. I will admit I hoped for perfect timing--reading Circling The Sun would coincide with the waning of COVID--silly silly me. Some very nice reading--time well spent.
At the end June (2022) I went to Florida to serve as a 24/7 caregiver to my husband, we have been married since 1985 but have lived separately for the last twelve years. He had developed a rare form of blood cancer and needed a stem cell transplant. Part of the treatment protocol is agreeing to a caregiver that is a family member for 90 days after release from hospital, and I was more than happy to step into this role--we might be separated but we are family and he makes it possible for me to live life as I like it. So what does this all have to do with this book you wonder...
I thought it was the perfect tongue in cheek choice to read as I started "living" with my husband again after all these years--we were both a little apprehensive but in the end we worked well as a team.
Okay, the book. I remember reading it...I remember liking it...but I am very vague on the details, see above, a lot going on in my life. i'm including this with the category Introducing Mr. & Mrs. because it is about marriage even though it doesn't quite meet the category parameters.
A category devoted to books about hypnotism and hypnotists.
I will admit to being a bit behind in entering the books I have read this year (2022) into the website, but in my defense it has been quite the year. This book is about young English women known as the "Fishing Fleet" who sailed to India during the colonial times in search of husbands. This was a very good read, way more complex of a story than the romantic blurb on the back described. I would read more of this author.
I really enjoyed reading this book. I definitely plan to read more by this author. A complex thriller.
2022
This is the second of Ms. Jio's books that I have read and I am likely to read more as her titles seem easy to worm into my existing categories. For the record, I figured out the big secret on page 186. Goodnight Moon a favorite of my child and the children to who I have been a Nanny. Will likely have to do a little more digging into the actual history of MWB and the writing of GM. It was a quick tear jerking read but.. A little too much name dropping, plus it was a like reading a Hallmark movie. Continues the theme--I need a man to fix me. Gag me.
I am a fan of this author and always enjoy reading her books. This one is no exception.
A category devoted to books with Woman/Women in the their titles. An abundance of such books exist so I am sure to keep adding more books to this category
This is the second book I have read by this author and while I find them speedy reads I find them just okay. Not sure I will spend more reading time with the author.
The beginning of a series featuring Charlotte Holmes--a womanly take on Sherlock Holmes. I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be reading more. In fact I am piling up a "Conspiracy" category in honor of CH#2 A Conspiracy in Belgravia so do stay tuned in for more TBR stacks.
2022
The title I picked for my May read as "May" books are difficult to find.
In quantum physics there is a theory that goes like this: Each decision you make springs off into a different dimension resulting in gazillions of different timelines/universes, whatever. In this instance the plot hinges on alternate decisions made by Hannah--does she leave the bar with her old flame, Ethan? OR, does she go home with her best friend Gabby? The chapters ping between the two in concurrent storylines. It was okay, I'm not much on romantic reading. Does one ALWAYS need a man to fix you? No you do not.
Reading time well spent, as this is a very engrossing read, and an interesting take on a well-trod reading path. I will definitely read more from this author and the character, journalist, Kate Waters she is developing in further novels.
This is a category devoted to the reading of books with "Man" in the title. Currently I am reading through a stack that alternates between book titles that either start with "A Man" or "The Man". I have had a lot of thrilling reads thus far.
This was a nice quick read told in parallel storylines between the past and present and was definitely reading time well spent. I will read more of Ms. Tudor.
A police/mystery series with at least 15 titles set in Quebec that I have randomly read books out of order and while it makes me wish I had read all of them--there is enough backstory in each book to get by without confusion. I enjoyed the writing and the mystery and I will definitely read more of Ms. Penny.
Talk about a book not being about what you expected it be about...well this one definitely was not what I expected. I was a little disappointed about that and that there seemed to be a few discrepancies in the writing but as it is a translation from Swedish to English maybe some threads got jumbled. Minor (incredibly nit-picky) and do not ruin the tale in the slightest and if anything I'm annoyed with myself for noticing. Not the crime procedural that I was expecting but instead something way more layered.
This is the first book by Mr. Le Carre that I have read--I seen a couple movies and TV adaptations. It was an interesting book and an interesting time to have it fall into my reading lap as Russia had just invaded the UKraine and the rest of the world speculates on WW3. You like to think that a lot of fiction is just that---but some like this book are just fictionilized versions of true things. As GOT fans are wont to say "The night is dark and full of terrors." And a sad truth is that the war on terror is often fought with the weapons of terror--no good men or bad men just gray men.
This was indeed reading time well spent-the premise and the characters were layered and interesting, I would have gladly spent more time with them. I will definitely read more by this author.
I loved this book. This is an author who has a way with words and fast witty repartee. Fast paced action from start to finish. I look forward to reading more of his books.
I believe this is the 3rd "Irene Huss Investigation" novel that I have read. I am reading this series out of order but there always seems enough backstory to keep up to speed. This I believe is book 7 and involves sex trafficking. It was a good quick read---although I did wonder until the very end why it was entitled The Beige Man. I am glad I have a few more in other stacks of books lying around on my TBR shelves.
I very much enjoyed this book. Some of the twists I say coming but others I did not...I definitely will read more by this author and watch the Netflix series.
I really enjoyed this book. Sometimes a cozy English mystery set at a manor house in the English countryside in the 1950's is just the genteel cup of tea that one wishes to curl up with. It is reading time well spent.
A woman's name that found itself reserving a category all to itself--and yes perhaps I collected a couple too many books about Eleanor Roosevelt. I doubt it though.
One of the best websites that my Twitter feed ever brought to my attention is: fivebooks.com But user beware-- as it is highly addictive and will quickly suck you into a black hole, compelling a person into creating endless -to-be-read- lists, or #TBR as they are known on literary Twitter. In 2021 I decided to read a person's entire list, however, as you will quickly note, I made two deviations.
1) A fivebooks.com list is normally generated by an author whose most recent work is noted in the introduction. I feel it is only fair to read their book as well so my lists are at least 6 books long.
2) If my selected fivebooks.com compliation consists of titles are deep in a series of books (in other words-I am late to the party) then I substitute in an early (or beginning) book.
I really enjoyed this book. It is reading time well spent. Hope this author writes another book soon.
This is the book by the author who gathered up this list of thrillers for Five Books so I felt it was only fair to read one of her books as well. It was an okay book but I won't be reading more of her books and this is despite that this one ended on a blatent cliff hanger.
Really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to reading his next book. I was shocked to realize that for some reason I figured out one of the culprits at the very beginning of the book.
This category is pretty much self-explanatory--each month the challenge is to read a book with a particular month in the title. Although sometimes I might "cheat a little" and let the author's name substitute for the title. So far so good...
I have been collecting books that contain names as part of their titles. I have found quite a few Edward's so he's getting a category of his own.
A good well written page turner--swiftly plotted. A "good" man doing "bad" in the name of doing "right" by his family and then wondering why things don't work out as planned. I enjoyed the read just didn't have much sympathy or empathy for the man character.
A story about a twelve year old boy who is the sole survivor of a plane crash--his journey towards healing helps others heal as well. Reading time--very well spent.
A book that serves as a scholarly overview of the Eastern philosophies. I like that the author starts with the recognition that unlike Western Philosophy (which all seems to root itself in Ancient Greece) philosophy in the East can't be lumped in "eastern". The Eastern philosophies all have very different root sources. While this book is a simple dip of the toe--I walked away with new and greater understanding.
This was a very interesting take on writing a book about a serial killer. The perspective is written from various women who surround the killer, whose voices generally go unheard. It was very interesting and well written. I enjoyed how she wove many separate threads and many separate voices. I will definitely be reading more from this author.
The fivebooks.com list included Hi Five which is the fourth book in this series about the private investigator, Isaiah Quintabe, so I elected to start at the beginning with IQ #1. It was a fairly good read and a good start to the series and set up the main characters nicely. The plot depended on a lot of luck and circumstance but was cleverly done--I will be giving #2 (Righteous) a read soon.
For the most part I enjoyed this book. I think I may have read other books by Lisa Unger in the past but it was years ago. She is a good writer and can pen a face paced multi-faceted thriller with mostly well developed characters. It did keep me reading. However, it did feature a lot of repetitive narrative and a lot of cliche treatment of domestic abuse. The story surrounding Pearl, Selena, and Geneva was good--that was an interesting concept but the Graham story line was pretty cliche and blah blah blah- social media is fake.
This category features books with a man's name in the title and yes it is an ongoing list as there are many such books
I really liked this book about a relationship that develops between two lonely women who briefly live as neighbors...it is inevitably sad, but really nicely done.
I was working through a category of books written in the Epistolary style during the Autumn months of 2019. As I was assembling this category I found many other books written as journal entries, diaries, emails, etc. So I began collecting these as well and they will be part of my 2021 reading.
A book about an English man who impulsively decides to walk 600 miles, leaving his family behind, to visit an old co-worker, convincing himself that if only she can wait for him this will cure her cancer. It is about his journey, it is about the past...but the story is also told through the perspective of his wife. Very unexpected and moving. I really enjoyed this book.
A collection of the Provincial Lady series that contains four volumes- A Diary of Provincial Lady, The Provincial Lady Goes Further, The Provincial Lady in America, The Provincial Lady in Wartime. The Lady series was suggested to me by English readers on Twitter when I was looking for books written in an epistolary style, in this case, in the form of diary entries. I enjoyed all of the books but I do have to be in a certain mindset and get into the groove of her writing style. I marvel at the lifestyle of this strata of English society from the raising of children, to "having help', to the overdraft/banking/credit system, etc.
The picture accompanying this entry is not from the actual volume I read. I lucked into purchasing the original published by MacMillan & Co. in 1947 which has a plain blue cover. The volume was originally purchased as a gift and has the endearing enscription: With affectionate greeting from Ella & Ernest Christmas 1947. Unfortunately it seems that the recipient either didn't read it or did not read the entire volume as in several places the pages were left uncut after printing.
What a delight to find a book by this author that I had yet to read. It is based on the true story of one of du Maurier's own distant relatives. It is not Rebecca but then nothing ever truly is...but still reading time very well spent.
This was a marvelous book. The author seemed just to serve as a channel through which the words of John Ames could flow forth. It is no wonder this book won a Pulitzer Prize for Ms. Robinson. I look forward to reading more of her work.
This volume contains the collected "Patrick Melrose" novels. Never Mind, Bad News, Some Hope, Mother's Milk, and At Last.
The subject matter is dark, grim about addiction, abuse, and depression...but very insightful at times nonetheless and not without some very dark humour. The novels span the length of time from Patrick's early childhood throughout his adulthood...culminating in the years following the death of his mother. These works are semi-autobiographical for the author...an attempt to process through the horrors of his childhood and later depressions and addictions. The transition through these novels is at heart uplifting if only in the sense of triumph for St. Aubyn in that he conquered his abuse and his addictions. I look forward to watch the TV adaptation on Showtime.
In order to make it through life as a human, one must develop a second nature, so as to be a good little cog in the workings of society. Ethics, morality, character are all learned memes or do they have a Darwinian element as well. I blame this reading list on reading Cave and the Light and finally buying a copy of The Road to Character at Half-Priced Books. What a rabbit hole this list is turning out to be...
I am a yoga teacher by trade--I teach both regular clients and prenatal clients and I also serve as a birth doula. Pranayama is the Fourth Limb of Yoga--teaching one to harness the breath, it is a complicated practice. I have a lot of reading to do. Hopefully, I also manage to get my breath practice under control. I plan to write an essay on using breath during labor and delivery, to chronicle my own breath journey, and to share my knowledge as I teach.
I was curious to know how other authors wrote about their reading lives. I figured it was valuable research as I plan to do the same in Categorically Well Read. I didn't find many titles. But the sheer quantity of books these authors claim to have read seriously intimidates me. I also wanted to find book suggestions that were more than just moldy old lists of should be read "classics". I have issues with the value of using my valuable reading time reading a book just because it is a classic--it also has to be a good read. Such as Middlemarch by George Eliot, Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen and Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier.
After reading The Shelf and Morningstar-- my category ran into a little technical difficulty. As I was exploring other "reading and book themed" websites I stumbled across Modern Mrs. Darcy a popular blog created by Anne Bogel. It is very easy to get sucked down a rabbit hole on her site. I noticed she had written a book about her reading life. During a deep dive on her website I found another author, Kathleen Norris with a very intriguing somewhat theme related title and topic. While I was on Amazon buying these two books I found Amazon recommending a third, titled "Book Girl" and I bought it as well.
What I failed to note at first glance was the Christian slant of ALL of these books and websites. While Anne Bogel does a good job keeping her book and her website "secular" rather than overtly "spiritual" -- her book is ranked on Amazon under Christian living and a lot of her followers are definitely living Christians. Nothing wrong with this, to each their own...Anne has a very good eye for very good reading material. In fact I have another category going based on a list of can't put down books I found on her website. And I will be ever grateful for stumbling across Kathleen Norris's book on her site.
I am giving Kathleen Norris a pass on the religious front as the word "monk" is included in the title and particularly because her book gave me the key to unlocking the mysterious malaise I often feel about living life. I have been unable to accurately describe it and now I can. I knew going in that this was a religious book written by a woman with a devout faith, but the demon of which she writes is a universal element in the makeup of human minds.
I have been collecting books that contain names as part of their titles. I have found quite a few Sophies so she's getting a category of her own.
My reading arc for 2020 took me from the dark into the shadows. Here are the titles that got me through the gray..
I do love to read about history and that often means reading about royalty in its many shapes and forms. So if you are game for some royal reads then this category is for you...
I don't generally read a lot of "classical" literature. I value my reading time and don't like the notion of reading a book because 1) it is essential to read this book if you want to consider yourself well-read and 2) it is filled with moldy old notions that no longer ring true.
There are exceptions to this rule--thus exists this category full of classics that I have both read and enjoyed.
- Bloody January by Alan Parks
- The Wives Between Us
- Forever Books
- Mr. Emerson's Wife by Amy Belding Brown
- Chaos
- Book Reviews
- Crime Wave Press--Tom Vater
- The Cambodian Book of the Dead (The Detective Maier Series #1) by Tom Vater
- The Man With The Golden Mind (The Detective Maier Series #2) by Tom Vater
- The Monsoon Ghost Image (The Detective Maier Series #3) by Tom Vater
- Crime Wave Press--Benedict J. Jones Reviews
- Skewered and Other London Cruelties by Benedict J. Jones
- Pennies For Charon (Charlie Bars Series #1) by Benedict J. Jones
- The Devil's Brew (Charlie Bars Series #2) by Benedict J. Jones
- The Gingerbread Houses (Charlie Bars Series #3) by Benedict J. Jones
- Divorce is Murder by Elka Ray -Crime Wave Press
- Saigon Dark by Elka Ray--Crime Wave Press
- Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
- NetGalley Reviews
- White Elephant by Trish Harnetiaux
- Entanglement by Andrew J. Thomas
- Miss Austen by Gill Hornby
- Unfollow Me by Charlotte Duckworth
- The Dilemma by B.A. Paris
- Behind Every Lie by Christina McDonald
- Orenda Books
- A Dark Matter by Doug Johnstone
- Breakers by Doug Johnstone
- The Lingering by SJI Holliday
- Girl 4 (Detective Inspector January David #1) by Will Carver
- The Two (Detective Inspector January David #2) by Will Carver
- Dead Set (Detective Inspector January David #3) by Will Carver
- Body Parts, Yes Body Parts
- Jane Doe January by Emily Winslow
- February's Son by Alan Parks
- The February House: The Story of W.H. Auden, Carson McCullers, Jane and Paul Bowles, Benjamin Britten, and Gypsy Rose Lee Under One Roof in Brooklyn by Sherill Tippins
- Bewitching Reads
- February by Lisa Moore
- The Violets of March by Sarah Jio
- MiddleMarch by George Eliot
- Eleanor Roosevelt: Volume One 1884-1933 by Blanche Wiesen Cook
- Snow In April by Rosamunde Pilcher
- The Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Arnim
- Extraordinary People (Enzo Files #1) by Peter May
- Dinner with Edward by Isabel Vincent
- Three Junes by Julia Glass
- Fourth of July Creek by Smith Henderson
- The First of July by Elizabeth Speller
- August by Judith Rossner
- The September Society by Charles Finch
