11. The Glass Hotel

By Emily St. John Mandel (307pp)(ebook)

I loved this book. I am still thinking about it. Readers who come to it expecting another Station Eleven might be disappointed but I could hardly put it down. The story follows several characters at different moments in time all connected by a luxe hotel in the wilderness and a Ponzi scheme. Beautiful writing.

10. The Witch Elm

By Tana French (526 pp) (ebook)

I was really looking forward to reading this. I love Tana French's Dublin Murder Squad mysteries. This one (not a Dublin Murder Squad) didn't quite work for me. I loved the setting and the characters and their relationships and even the set-up was good. But ultimately there were some weird side bits that never fit in and the last section went to implausible territory for me with an unsatisfying ending. Like all her books, it's set in Ireland and the main character is a 28 man who seems to have everything going for him until he doesn't.

9. My Sister the Serial Killer

By Oyinkan Braithwaite (240pp, ebook)

This is a really fun page turner that is exactly as the title says. It's set in Nigeria and the narrator, the older sister, has her hands full with her own problems while cleaning up after her sister. I don't want to spoil anything.

8. Wayward

By Dana Spiotta (289 pp ebook)

This was recommended by a friend and I really enjoyed it. It's set in Syracuse NY and about a woman, roughly my age, dealing with being this age - her aging mother, her grown up daughter, a marriage that has changed. There's a lot going on: family, motherhood, menopause, social changes, community. So much to think about. Recommend.

7. Children of Time

By Adrian Tchaikovsky (609 pp ebook) This book came very highly recommended and has lots of great reviews and it did not work for me at all. I don't know if I've ever thought about quitting a book in the last 50 pages before. It has lots of sci fi elements I like: generation ships, people waking from stasis into a big mystery, unpredictable scientists. The book is divided into what's going on with the green planet and what's going on with the ship. While initially interesting, the green planet stuff began to bore me. The characterization of the humans was thin and they were mostly unlikeable. Not for me.

6. Firelight

By Kristen Callihan (373 pp ebook) I am a big fan of Kristen Callihan romances. My favorite are the rock star ones that start with Idol. This is a paranormal set in historical London. Lots of different speculative elements, some not quite like I've seen before. Nice slow-burn romance. Enjoyed.

5. Father of the Rain

By Lily King (354pp, ebook) I recently discovered this writer via a gift from a friend and I love her writing. This is my second one of hers I've read and is hard to describe without making it sound terrible and it does have its emotionally harrowing moments but it's really good. It's about a girl's relationship with her charming but alcoholic father. The story opens when she's 11 and has 3 main sections ending when she's an adult with her own family. He's a troubled person and creates a troubled family. She finds a way to love him. Really good.

4. The 7 1/2 Lives of Evelyn Hardcastle

By Stuart Turton (458 pp)(ebook) This is a Groundhog's Day meets Agatha Christie -- a guy who needs to solve a mystery while re-living the same day in different hosts. It's set at this creepy, crumbling estate in the woods and everybody has a secret to hide or discover. Plus murder. It's definitely a page turner but I found myself getting taken out of the story wondering about the internal rules of the world.

3. The Eternal Machine

By Carol Ryles (478 pp) (ebook) Carol is one of my Clarion West classmates and she self-published her novel and it is terrific. It is steampunk -- it's set in a world where there are different kinds of magic and magic is a form of energy that can be bought and sold or stolen. Em is struggling to make a living selling her magic and gets involved with rebels fighting evil industrialists. There are shapeshifters, automatons and demons. Fun book.

2. The Queen's Fool

By Philippa Gregory (500 pp) In December I was trying to weed out my to-read pile and donate stuff I didn't think I would ever get around to. I picked up this book at a rummage sale for a buck several years ago. Before I threw it in the box I decided to read a few pages and here we are. It's about a fictional character, a young girl who has a limited gift the sight who ends up in the Tudor court starting with poor doomed King Edward and the book ends when Elizabeth I takes the throne. It's funny how Hannah manages to be in the middle of all the court intriques. Still fun to read.

1. The Ballad of Black Tom

By Victor Lavalle (157 pp ebook) This book was on my phone and I knew nothing about it. It's set in 1920s New York and is about Tommy Tester, a Black musician/street hustler who is drawn into a creepy supernatural summoning. After I finished I learned that this is a revisiting of an HP Lovecraft story called The Horror at Red Hook which I have never read. Great writing, unsettling atmosphere, spooky story.

2022 Begins!

I hoped to get to 40 books last year -- well, that wasn't a hard goal. I read three Robin Hobb books equalling around 2400 pages so that equals at least 6 or 7 books plus I critiqued a couple of books and there are always some romances or novellas I don't end up reporting. Turns out I did read over 40 books -- and I'll be sure to submit this to, you know, to the Commission on How Many Books You Read. No goals for 2022 except read lots of books. And possibly read more than I buy. (HAHAHA!)