What did you read in January 2022?

[litskispeciality]

We have a thread on Married Life as well. Ratings, recommendations?

[litskispeciality]

This was a really good month for me. I read:

The Guest List - Overall quick read, but a lot of characters and plots to follow
Love Always and Forever Lara Jean
The One - it's good, but holy dark and some homophobia

I need a book that doesn't have 800 characters/800 plots.

[travella]

Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon, 3*. I didn't love the story, but I loved being back with all the characters that I love.

Doctor Zhivago by Pasternak, 2*

Eternal by Lisa Scottoline, 3.5*- I enjoyed the story, but I wish the characters had been more developed.

The World Played Chess by Robert Dugoni, 2*- I wanted to love this book, but I couldn't get into it. I finished it only because I thought it would improve given all the rave reviews.

[Vespasia]

This was a weird reading month. I definitely have more books than usual but I also have quite a few duds. I think I gave out more 2-3 star rating this month than in all of last year!


The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner - 2* 

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo  - 4.5*

A Study in Scarlet Women by Sherry Thomas - 3*

Where the Drowned Girls Go (Wayward Children #7) by Seanan McGuire - 4*

The 22 Murders of Madison May by Max Barry - 4*

Sister in Arms by Kaia Alderson - 3*

Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Fenney - 2*


Ninth House was definitely my favorite of the month. 

Lost Apothecary and Rock Paper Scissors were both awful. Early contenders for worst books of the year for sure!

[dearprudence]

Vespasia I was JUST telling someone how much I didn't enjoy Lost Apothecary. She thought it was THE BEST! SO GOOD! MADE PERFECT SENSE! WELL DEVELOPED!

She was very annoyed I didn't agree with her.

[dearprudence]

5 stars
*Spinning Silver

4 stars
*The Likely Resolutions of Oliver Clock
*Girl, Woman, Other
*The Murmur of Bees

3 stars
*A Spindle Splintered
*Beasts and Beauty
*Beauty and the Beast: Lost in a Book
*Wintersong

[tacokick]

Not a bad month! I’ve started tracking books I gave up on. I’ll see if that continues all year.

Greenwich Park by Katherine Faulkner (not good)

Sorry Not Sorry: Dreams, Mistakes, and Growing Up by Naya Rivera (good peek at working actor life)

The Lifeguards by Amanda Eyre Ward (disappointing)

Carefree Black Girls by Zeba Blay (good)

Stepping Stones by Lucy Knisley (I continue to dislike her parents)

Hooked: How Crafting Saved My Life by Sutton Foster (interesting peek into her mom’s agoraphobia and how it effected her family and working actor life)

Thank you, Mr. Nixon by Gish Jen (always good)

The Times I Knew I Was Gay by Eleanor Crewes

Rose Petal Beach by Dorothy Koomson (way too long)

Find Me by Alafair Burke (bad)

Wahala by Nikki May (pretty good, going to be made into a mini series apparently)

Enough Already: Learning to Love the Way I Am Today by Valerie Bertinelli (lots about her food issues)

Taste Makers: Seven Immigrant Women Who Revolutionized Food in America by Mayukh Sen (so bad. majorly disappointing)

O Beautiful by Jung Yun (good, abrupt ending)

Yinka, Where Is Your Huzband? by Lizzie Damilola Blackburn (I felt like I had a different opinion of the main character than the author did)

Fame-ish: My Life at the Edge of Stardom by Mary Lynn Rajskub (one of the odder memoirs I’ve read)

The Accomplice by Lisa Lutz (fun)

This Boy We Made: A Memoir of Motherhood, Genetics, and Facing the Unknown by Taylor Harris (way more religious than expected)

Go to Sleep (I Miss You): Cartoons from the Fog of New Parenthood by Lucy Knisley (eh)

[meowmaps]

The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery 3* (surprisingly boring, not the stuff about octopuses but the surrounding minutiae)
The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa 4*
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer 4* (really important and valuable information but sometimes redundant to the point of beating a dead horse)
Both/And by Huma Abedin 4*
Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune 3* (cheesy)
Hunt, Gather, Parent by Michaeleen Doucleff 4*
Chemistry by Weike Wang 4+*
Joan is Okay by Weike Wang 4+*

The easiest, most enjoyable reading was Both/And, Chemistry, and Joan is Okay.

[dontlook]

Favorite book:
What Happened To You by Oprah and Dr. Perry.

Ok books:
The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz
The Selection by Kiera Cass
Not A Happy Family by Shari Lapena

Missed the mark:
The Last Chance Library by Freya Sampson
The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams
The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

I can’t understand how The Time Traveler’s Wife could be so long and end the way it did. All of the interesting stuff was shoved at the end. I could have done with way less of his ridiculous time travels and his mess at work and more time with him and the people at the end (trying to be vague).

I’ll save my thoughts on The Reading List for March.

The Last Chance Library was just so bad. I’m not sure what I expected given the synopsis. This is the last storyline in the world that needed a romance thrown in. It was just so unnecessary. I also hate when things fall into place *just so* in the 11th hour. Annoying.

[ufcasey]

I read 10 books in January, ordered from least to most liked:



Wild Wicked Scot by Julia London - completely forgettable historical romance

Little Fire by Hollee Mands - a fantasy romance that just didn't pull me in much

Fallen (#7 in series) by Suzanne Wright - the first book in this series is still the best

The Siren of Sussex by Mimi Matthews - I usually love this author's historical romance, but this missed the mark

Every Last Secret by A.R. Torre - this is basically all about infidelity and revenge, a bit over the top

It Happened One Wedding by Julie James - a really good contemporary romance

The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins - completely bonkers but I really liked it

The Business of Blood by Kerrigan Byrne - historical fiction/mystery involving a Jack the Ripper subplot, sequel coming out soon

Mistress of Rome by Kate Quinn - Roman historical fiction

Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover - I was really surprised by how much I liked this one!

[mie]

Most Eligible Billionaire (Billionaires of Manhattan #1) by Annika Martin 3*
The Billionaire's Wake-Up-Call Girl (Billionaires of Manhattan #2) by Annika Martin 3*
Breaking the Billionaire's Rules (Billionaires of Manhattan #3) by Annika Martin 3*
The Billionaire's Fake Fiancee (Billionaires of Manhattan #4) by Annika Martin 3*
Return Billionaire to Sender (Billionaires of Manhattan #5) by Annika Martin 3*
Just Not That into Billionaires (Billionaires of Manhattan #6) by Annika Martin 3*
Love at First Spite by Anna Collins 3*
The Chase by Elle Kennedy 3*
Fighting Irish by Katy Regnery 3*
Just Saying by Sophie Ranald 3*
How to Choose a Guy in 10 Days by Lila Monroe 3*
Get Lucky by Lila Monroe 3*
The Tourist Attraction by Sarah Morgenthaler 3*
Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli 3*
The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli 3*
Escort by Skye Warren 2*
The Best Man's Bride by Jamie Dallas 2*
Early Morning Riser by Katherine Heiny 2*

Nothing really stood out this month, just eh reading.

[charlatti]

Under the Whispering Door — 4.5* I know popular opinion says this is too treacly, but I loved it and its portrayal of grief and loss. (I do agree that the main character is not believable.)

Where the Drowned Girls Go — 4* Newest in the Wayward Children series. I liked this a lot more than the previous few in the series

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms and The Broken Kingdom by N. K. Jemisin — 4* Interesting concept and world. I started the last in the trilogy, though, and didn’t like it much.

How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu — 3* This claims to be a novel but it’s really loosely linked stories. Some were very good but others I really disliked.

Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan — 3* Historical fiction, kind of boring (though not slow, at least)

Madhouse at the End of the Earth by Julian Sancton —5* Antarctic exploration nonfiction. Loved this one

Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell —4* A reread

A Most Remarkable Creature by Jonathan Meiburg — 3* Nonfiction about caracara birds. It was ok, but I’ve read better bird/science books

[mrspez07]

Read:
Modern Lovers by Emily Straub 2*
A Symphony of Echos by Jodi Taylor (#2 in a series) 2*
The Last Flight by Julia Clark 5*
this one was a right book at a right time.

Audio:
Kindred by Octavia Butler 4*
Almost finished The Book of Lost Names but it went back to the library before I finished.