January, 2023

 

 

 

 

 

 

Goal: 100 books and 1500 hours
YTD: 9 Books Read, 95 Hours Spent
This Month: 9 Books Read, 95 Hours Spent

 

All things considered, January was a good month. We were gone for 18 days, in which not much reading got done; it is always that way when we travel. The two books I tried to read on the road are DNF for now. However, the books I did manage to read while not on the road were rich and varied.

This month, I'm adding new features to the monthly round-up: one sentence reviews and star ratings. I can't seem to get my heart into reviews or even 'taking out the trash', so this will have to do for now.

 

 

Best of the Month: The Revolutionary
Worst of the Month: Coroner's Pidgin (because of the narrator)
Biggest Disappointment: The World of Curiosities, The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man
Sentimental Favorite: The Last Watchman of Old Cairo

 

• A World of Curiosities -- Louise Penny -- NEW1
I'm done with this series; it has jumped the shark. 3 stars

• The Greatest Invention -- Silvia Ferrara -- NEW2
Good, clear descriptions of complicated processes but not dumbed down. 3.5 stars

• The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams -- Stacy Schiff -- NEW3
A different perspective on the seeds of the American Independence. 4.75 stars

• One Two, Buckle My Shoe -- Agatha Christie -- NEW4
Well done but still only 3.5 stars

• The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man -- Paul Newman -- NEW5
Paul in his own words. 3 stars

• The Life of Crime -- Martin Edwards -- NEW6
Not that it is bad but it is really just a glorified list of books discussed by theme. 3.75 stars (DNF until I can come back to it with my full attention).

• Coroner's Pidgin -- Margery Allingham -- NEW7
Killed by Audible narrator. Withholding star count for now (DNF until I can come back to it with my full attention).

• The Last Watchman of Old Cairo -- Michael David Lukas -- NEW8
A fictionalized take on the story of the Cairo Genizah. 3.5 stars

• A Gentleman's Murder -- Christopher Huang -- NEW9
Homage to the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. 3.75 stars.