Open Thread for Readers for December 2022
Got a book you want to talk about? Frustrated with a book or series? In love with a new one? Found a buried treasure? An issue that keeps popping up in the books you are reading? Care to share your favorite books and other entertainment sources of 2022? Just want to chat about stuff in general?
I was perusing my Goodreads list of books I read in 2022 and discovered my first read this year was literary fiction that I rated 5 stars. Not a genre I read and love very often. The book was Standard Deviation by Katherine Henry. A slice of life that made me laugh out loud on virtually every page. I also gave 5 stars to Henry’s second novel, Early Morning Riser.
I read the first four books in the HEARTSTOPPER series and gave the first two 5 stars on GR. The Netflix series was adorable and I binge re-watched it last month when my husband was in the hospital (he’s recovering well).
Other 5-star books in 2022:
*SOMETHING FABULOUS by Alexis Hall – I’m aware there a lot of mixed reactions to this, but I was laughing from the first page to the last.
*NETTLE AND BONE by T. Kingfisher – No, I don’t give all of her books 5 stars. Just most of them.
*THE UNDERTAKING OF HART AND MERCY – Such creative worldbuilding with a “You’ve Got Mail” romance (although the third act breakup went on way too long)
Not at all a romance:
*OUR MISSING HEARTS by Celeste Ng – In a not-hard-to-imagine dystopian world, American culture is considered the only thing that can prevent economic instability and violence. Children are “relocated” if their parents are considered dissidents, with suspicion falling largely on Asians. 12 year old boy searches for his mother with the help of an underground network of librarians (yay!)
*AFRICA IS NOT A COUNTRY: NOTES ON A BRIGHT CONTINENT by Depo Faloyin – Brief history of African colonialism and post colonialism fallout. Also shatters the monolithic myths that many of us have about Africa, explaining how they became so powerful and why their persistence is so harmful. Informative, funny, and angry.
Happy Holidays to everyone!
@Jenreads: I need to check this author out!
@SusanS: Susan, I think my snarkiest review of the year is the one I wrote for Nettle and Bone. The heroine was a constant irritant. On the other hand Jayne loved it and Layla liked it. So did many other people I know. I feel like an outlier in this instance.
I want to get to Hart and Mercy.