2022 in Review

 

Goal: 100 books and 1500 hours
YTD: 252 Books Read, 2315 Hours Spent -- personal bests
This Month: 22 Books Read, 198 Hours Spent

 

Best Fiction of the Year: Five-Carat Soul by James McBride, The Ballad of Perilous Graves by Alex Jennings, A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
Best Non-fiction of the Year: And There was Light by John Meacham, My Remarkable Journey by Katharine Johnson, Taste by Stanley Tucci
Worst of the Year: Who Thought This Was a Good Idea? by Alyssa Mastromonaco, Sex on the Moon by Ben Mezrich
*Biggest Disappointments of the Year: The Bat by Jane Rinehart Roberts, Tragedy at Law by Cyril Hare, The Last Judgement by Iain Pears, Mrs. Polifax and the Whirling Dervish by Dorothy Gilman

 *Disappointing because they are well below the normal standards of the author

 

 

Best of the Month: Five-Carat Soul, And There Was Light,
Worst of the Month: Lost and Found in Paris, Rise of the Rocket Girls
Biggest Surprises of the Month: In-Depth Market Research and The Uncommon Reader

 

What a year! Two-hundred-fifty-two books. I can't believe I read that many.

Of the 252 books devoured, 205 of them were new titles (up from 131 in 2021), for which I must thank my new-in-2021 library card -- and my reading buddies for helping me find new books and series in which to indulge. Yet, at the same time, I must bemoan the loss of the annual re-read of every Dick Francis, Georgette Heyer and Nevil Shute in my Audible library. Now that I have a library card to support my expensive book habit, I don't need to depend so heavily on re-reads to fill the year --even though I do miss them. I discovered a number of new authors and series this year that will keep me reading for at least the next few years.

I read a good share of non-fiction as well, some of it very well worth the time and effort and others that weren't worth the paper they were written on. I enjoyed spending time with Stanley Tucci, Sonia Sotomayor, Katharine Johnson (of Hidden Figures fame) and Ronnie Howard and his brother. Jon Meacham's latest warts and all Lincoln biography was enlightening. I even threw in some math and science for an even mix.

Yes, there were some duds this year but they were few in comparison to the number of really excellent books I had the pleasure to listen to this past year.

Reading-wise 2022 was a very good year and I'm ready to tackle 2023 with gusto!

Here's the list of reads for December, 2022

The Nine Tailors -- Dorothy L. Sayers -- Re-read
And There Was Light -- Jon Meacham -- NEW193
The Fortnight in September -- R.C. Sherriff -- NEW194
Rise of the Rocket Girls -- Nathalia Holt -- NEW195
Sad Cypress -- Agatha Christie -- NEW196
The Uncommon Reader -- Alan Bennett -- NEW197
In the Frame -- Dick Francis -- Re-read
Proof -- Dick Francis -- Re-read
Slay Ride -- Dick Francis -- NEW198
The Phantom Tollbooth -- Norton Juster -- Re-read
Aunty Lee's Delights -- Ovidia Yu -- NEW199
In-Depth Market Research Interviews with Dead People -- Alison Espach -- NEW200
Double Indemnity -- James M. Cain -- Re-read
Sacred Treasures -- R. Mark Glickman -- Re-read
Jimmy the Kid -- Donald Westlake -- Re-read
Mort -- Terry Pratchett -- Re-read
Lost and Found in Paris -- Lian Dolan -- NEW201
The October Man -- Ben Aaronovitch -- NEW202
Five-Carat Soul -- James McBride -- NEW203
For Kicks -- Dick Francis -- NEW204
Youngblood Hawke -- Herman Wouk -- NEW205
Hogfather -- Terry Pratchett -- Re-read