I am not sure how The Verifiers ended up on my list, but it was a good read and a mystery, not my usual choice. “Claudia is used to disregarding her fractious family’s model-minority expectations: she has no interest in finding either a conventional career or a nice Chinese boy. She’s also used to keeping secrets from them, such as that she prefers girls—and that she’s just been stealth-recruited by Veracity, a referrals-only online-dating detective agency. A lifelong mystery reader who wrote her senior thesis on Jane Austen, Claudia believes she’s landed her ideal job. But when a client vanishes, Claudia breaks protocol to investigate—and uncovers a maelstrom of personal and corporate deceit. Part literary mystery, part family story, The Verifiers is a clever and incisive examination of how technology shapes our choices, and the nature of romantic love in the digital age.” (Amazon) This was a good read and keep me guessing until the end, which makes for a solid mystery. I recommend.

Another year, another Colleen Hoover. Maybe Someday is the beginning of a trilogy. I can’t wait to read the rest of them! Amazon: “At twenty-two years old, Sydney is enjoying a great life: She’s in college, working a steady job, in love with her wonderful boyfriend, Hunter, and rooming with her best friend, Tori. But everything changes when she discovers that Hunter is cheating on her—and she’s forced to decide what her next move should be. Soon, Sydney finds herself captivated by her mysterious and attractive neighbor, Ridge. She can’t take her eyes off him or stop listening to the passionate way he plays his guitar every evening out on his balcony. And there’s something about Sydney that Ridge can’t ignore, either. They soon find themselves needing each other in more ways than one.” Reading candy? Yes. Enjoyable? Also yes. Plan to keep on going until I have read them all!

The Paris Library by Janet Charles was recommended to me. And, even though I am a little done with WWII books, I grabbed it. I know, I know, I keep saying that. This was a good read, nonetheless. Amazon: “Paris, 1939: Young and ambitious Odile Souchet seems to have the perfect life with her handsome police officer beau and a dream job at the American Library in Paris. When the Nazis march into the city, Odile stands to lose everything she holds dear, including her beloved library. Together with her fellow librarians, Odile joins the Resistance with the best weapons she has: books. But when the war finally ends, instead of freedom, Odile tastes the bitter sting of unspeakable betrayal. Montana, 1983: Lily is a lonely teenager looking for adventure in small-town Montana. Her interest is piqued by her solitary, elderly neighbor. As Lily uncovers more about her neighbor’s mysterious past, she finds that they share a love of language, the same longings, and the same intense jealousy, never suspecting that a dark secret from the past connects them.” This was the kind of book I like – back and forth historical and almost present day. A good read. Highly recommend.

Colleen Hoover is certainly a guilty pleasure and All Your Perfects was a perfect end of year/first of new year read. Amazon: “Quinn and Graham’s perfect love is threatened by their imperfect marriage. The memories, mistakes, and secrets that they have built up over the years are now tearing them apart. The one thing that could save them might also be the very thing that pushes their marriage beyond the point of repair. All Your Perfects is a profound novel about a damaged couple whose potential future hinges on promises made in the past. This is a heartbreaking page-turner that asks: Can a resounding love with a perfect beginning survive a lifetime between two imperfect people?” Somehow Hoover nails all the situations she writes about as though she herself was in them. Very enjoyable read.

Why not fill up with ALL the Colleen Hoover books? Confess was the next on the list. “At age twenty-one, Auburn Reed has already lost everything important to her. In her fight to rebuild her shattered life, she has her goals in sight and there is no room for mistakes. But when she walks into a Dallas art studio in search of a job, she doesn’t expect to find a deep attraction to the enigmatic artist who works there, Owen Gentry. For once, Auburn takes a chance and puts her heart in control, only to discover that Owen is keeping a major secret from coming out. The magnitude of his past threatens to destroy everything important to Auburn, and the only way to get her life back on track is to cut Owen out of it. To save their relationship, all Owen needs to do is confess. But in this case, the confession could be much more destructive than the actual sin.” This was another good one. My only complaint was that they kept referring to the bathroom as the restroom (in houses)…weird. Otherwise, kept the pages turning.

Every year, at the end of the year, I look back on all the books I have read the year before and list my favorites overall. This year, my goal was again 100 books. I made it slightly above goal due to a lot of reading this winter break. The added bonus of this post is that you don’t have to bother to read any of my other posts over the course of the year.

And, in other exciting news, THIS IS MY 1000th POST. I have kept this blog for 9 years and in November of 2023, it will make the decade. Crazy. I hope it still is helpful to people. While I have grown lazier over that decade, it helps me remember what I have read and hopefully suggest good titles for others.

This year I had seven 5-star books and 19 4.5-star choices.

Here are my 2022 reading stats:

Books finished: 106
Fiction: 91 (86%)
Non-fiction: 14 (13%), including 13 memoirs
Authors of color: 20 (19%)
Male/Female authors: 89 female (84%), 17 male (16%)
Audiobooks:  4
Average rating: 3.8
Repeat authors: 46 (43%)

5-Star Books

4.5-Star Choices

WOW! I loved The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd. And, while the fantasy element wouldn’t usually be my thing, it worked here and I just couldn’t put this one down. What a great last read of the year! And, if you grab it today, it’s only $2.99 on Amazon. “Nell Young’s whole life and greatest passion is cartography. Her father, Dr. Daniel Young, is a legend in the field and Nell’s personal hero. But she hasn’t seen or spoken to him ever since he cruelly fired her and destroyed her reputation after an argument over an old, cheap gas station highway map. But when Dr. Young is found dead in his office at the New York Public Library, with the very same seemingly worthless map hidden in his desk, Nell can’t resist investigating. To her surprise, she soon discovers that the map is incredibly valuable and exceedingly rare. In fact, she may now have the only copy left in existence…because a mysterious collector has been hunting down and destroying every last one—along with anyone who gets in the way. But why? To answer that question, Nell embarks on a dangerous journey to reveal a dark family secret and discovers the true power that lies in maps…” (Amazon)

The Magician by Colm Toibin – read 50% – too slow and no interest in what was going to happen

The Biggest Bluff: How I Learned to Pay Attention, Master Myself, and Win by Maria Konnikova – too long not interested

The Memoirs of Stockholm Sven – good start, too boring after about 25%

Fight Night by Miriam Toews – too stream of consciousness not enough action to keep me interested. Read 25%

The Husbands – read about 5% – too much like another neighborhood thriller and annoying about husbands who don’t contribute

The Lincoln Highway – read 20% – not enough action – too boring and too long

The Sweetness of Water – TL

Hell of a Book – wasn’t feeling it

Whereabouts – cold – read about 30%

Sea of Tranquility – couldn’t follow

Things We Lost to the Water – read 50% – too boring – wasn’t invested in the characters

I was loaned A Heart that Works by Rob Delaney shortly after having read about it on a recent “best of” list. Amazon: “In 2016, Rob Delaney’s one-year-old son, Henry, was diagnosed with a brain tumor. The family had moved from Los Angeles to London with their two young boys when Rob’s wife was pregnant with Henry, their third. The move was an adventure and a challenge that would bind them even more tightly together as they navigated the novelty of London, the culture clashes, and the funhouse experience of Rob’s fame—thanks to his role as co-creator and co-star of the hit series Catastrophe. Henry’s illness was a cataclysm that changed everything about their lives. Amid the hospital routine, surgeries, and brutal treatments, they found a newfound community of nurses, aides, caregivers, and fellow parents contending with the unthinkable. Two years later, Henry died, and his family watched their world fall away to reveal the things that matter most. A Heart That Works is Delaney’s intimate, unflinching, and fiercely funny exploration of what happened – from the harrowing illness to the vivid, bodily impact of grief and the blind, furious rage that followed, through to the forceful, unstoppable love that remains. In the madness of his grief, Delaney grapples with the fragile miracle of life, the mysteries of death, and the question of purpose for those left behind.  Delaney’s memoir—profound, painful, full of emotion, and bracingly honest—offers solace to those who have faced devastation and shows us how grace may appear even in the darkest times.” If you are looking for a good cry, read this book. It is heartbreaking. I imagine it would be a good choice for anyone who has had a similar traumatic experience, but it was really difficult to read. However, there is no way you could consider it less than amazing for someone to write of this impossibly tragic life event.

Katherine Center books are fluff at best and The Bodyguard was no exception. Pure candy, this one. Amazon: “She’s got his back. Hannah Brooks looks more like a kindergarten teacher than somebody who could kill you with a wine bottle opener. Or a ballpoint pen. Or a dinner napkin. But the truth is, she’s an Executive Protection Agent (aka “bodyguard”), and she just got hired to protect superstar actor Jack Stapleton from his middle-aged, corgi-breeding stalker. He’s got her heart. Jack Stapleton’s a household name—captured by paparazzi on beaches the world over, famous for, among other things, rising out of the waves in all manner of clingy board shorts and glistening like a Roman deity. But a few years back, in the wake of a family tragedy, he dropped from the public eye and went off the grid. They’ve got a secret. When Jack’s mom gets sick, he comes home to the family’s Texas ranch to help out. Only one catch: He doesn’t want his family to know about his stalker. Or the bodyguard thing. And so Hannah—against her will and her better judgment—finds herself pretending to be Jack’s girlfriend as a cover. Even though her ex, like a jerk, says no one will believe it. What could possibly go wrong??? Hannah hardly believes it, herself. But the more time she spends with Jack, the more real it all starts to seem. And there lies the heartbreak. Because it’s easy for Hannah to protect Jack. But protecting her own, long-neglected heart? That’s the hardest thing she’s ever done.” Junk? Yes. Enjoyable? Also yes.