Saturday, January 01, 2022

December: What I Read

25 books in December to make 195 books for the year. Here are the December deets:

Not as good as I hoped

Friends Like These by Kimberly McCreight: I hated everyone. And not in an especially entertaining way. Still, her plots are always great. **2021

Survive the Night by Riley Sager: Scary and then sad-- that's Sager's specialty. **2021

The Night Before by Wendy Walker: A perfectly serviceable thriller. **Audio

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner: WHY DID EVERYONE ELSE LIKE THIS?? **2021

Definitely Entertaining

This is the Story of a Happy Marriage by Ann Patchett: Collected essays-- all excellent. **Audio

The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls: So excellent **Audio

Under the Influence by Joyce Maynard: The suspense in this book! I knew something terrible was going to happen, and it was killer to have to wait for it. *Audio

The Sixth Wedding by Elin Hilderbrand: A quick jump into the world of the 20 Summers cast-- loved it. **2021 **Audio

All the Ways We Said Goodbye by Beatriz Williams: Solid meh for this historical fiction. **Audio

Just Last Night by Mhairi McFarlane: This book really grew on me, and the narrator was a delight. **2021 **Audio

How to Kill Your Best Friend by Lexie Elliot: I wanted this to be better. I did not see the twist. Because I didn't care. **2021

SO GOOD

Warcross and Wildcard by Marie Wu: THIS PAIR OF BOOKS IS RIGHT UP MY ALLEY. Like Ready Player One but also romance-ier. I started the second book the moment after I finished the first one-- so satisfying.

That Summer by Jennifer Weiner: Loved it-- great characters and a very snappy little plot. **2021

White Ivy By Susie Yang: SO GOOD. **Audio

Valentine by Elizabeth Wetmore: Read with Jenna never lets me down. I listened to this one, and the narration was excellent. **Audio

The Dearly Beloved by Cara Wall: Another Read with Jenna delight. **Audio

These were really wonderful:

The Turnout by Megan Abbott: SO CREEPY. Loved it. I love books about the seedy underbelly of the dance world. **2021

The Sum of Us by Heather McGhee: Such a tightly argued book! It's about systemic racism and ties together so many threads-- a great read.

Bewilderment by Richard Powers: THIS IS WONDERFUL. One of the best of the year, for sure. **Audio ** 2021

The Sentence by Louise Erdrich: LOVE HER SO MUCH. This is a good one. **2021

Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult: OH YES. THIS IS ONE TO READ. And there will be a MOVIE! **Audio **2021

Billy Summers by Stephen King: Loved it. Not supernatural.Not horror. Just a good old thriller. **2021

The Plot by  Jean Hanff Korelitz: Twisty and so readable. **2021

The Prophets by Robert Jones Jr: OH THIS BOOK. It is a love story about 2 enslaved men, but even though the tragedy is inevitable, there is JOY and BEAUTY and POETRY. You should read it. **2021 **Audio

2 comments:

  1. Just finished Bewilderment and thought you'd appreciate how it's set in your stomping grounds!

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