My first month of reading for the 52 Book Club challenge has gone well. I will admit I cheat a little. I finished my last challenge on Nov 30, 2022 and began the new challenge soon after. I figure if I finish before Dec 1 again, then it’s still just a year challenge. Hence my January post will be a tad thick.
I also found a fabulous cross stitch project on Etsy to show my reading progress. It will only include books I read in 2023.
Books for the challenge, including category and review:
How to Avoid Making Art by Julia Cameron 5 stars “A Book That Does not Fit any Other Prompt.” The book is a spoof on her famous The Artist’s Way. It’s a series of cartoons depicting writers and artist doing all the things to procrastinate working on our projects. It was funny, poignant, and spoke to me.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid 3 stars “A Book Featuring an Inheritance.” The book centered on a celebrity telling her life to a reporter. I found this popular best seller boring. Evelyn had many adventures, and we waded through them all. A shorter, more focused version on her love life might have made the book more enjoyable.
Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake 3 stars “A High Fantasy.” Triplets raised apart vie to be queen of their realm. My main problem with the book, besides the pacing, factored around the character names. Everyone’s names sounded the same. We had Lucia, Lucas, and Lucius. And that wasn’t the only set of similar names. The book left a great twist in the end that tempts me to read the next one, but…
In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson 4 stars “A book Set in Australia.” In the book, Mr. Bryson roams all over Australia. He includes geography, history, social aspects, botany, zoology and more. Unfortunately, the book is twenty years old. I wonder how many things have changed since it was written. My brain kept focusing on the rights (or lack of rights) of Aborigines. I need to find out if things are better.
The Baker Street Letters by Michael Robertson4 stars “A Book about Siblings.” Barrister Reggie Heath works at the infamous 221 Baker Street in London. His office receives letters for Sherlock Holmes all the time. Reggie and his brother follow up on one of the letters. I love Sherlock Holmes, and this is a cute series. I read Book 2 as well this month and plan to finish the series.
The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler-Olsen 4 stars “A Nordic Noir.” The story follows a police officer shunted to a cold case department in a Denmark police agency. He reluctantly investigates the disappearance of a young politician. At the same time, the author includes sections about the victim. I liked the split story, and the writing was good. But the premise was completely implausible. I still give it a good rating because it was interesting and different.
The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling 5 stars “A Book with an Enemies-to-Lovers Plot.” Vivienne Jones meets up with her old flame Rhys Penhollow, the founder of the town. Unfortunately, the curse she laid on him back in their teens was acting up. They must work together to save the town. I loved this story. The characters were interesting, and the plot was fun. My only issue (even with five stars) was pacing. I needed more story for the characters to get to the ending.
Box in the Woods by Maureen Johnson 5 stars “The Final Book in a Series.” So far, it’s the last book in the Truly Devious series. The characters are in a new setting with a new mystery. Again, pacing was an issue. The series took three books to cover the first arc and solve the crime. To do it all in one novel left me wanting more. I’ll probably have several books for the prompt by year end.
In the Woods by Tana French 3 stars “A Book Set in Dublin.” A police officer in Dublin is sent to his hometown to solve a murder. He was a victim in a horrible crime as a child that is unsolved. My low rating for the novel stems from the unsatisfying ending. I won’t spoil too much, but nothing is resolved. The next book doesn’t feature the same cop. I want to know what happened to the officer as a child, but I’m not reading seven more books to find out.
Murder on the Poet’s Walk by Ellery Adams 4 stars “A Book Related to Murder.” This book also fits the prompt Last in Series. This is the current last book in the Book Retreat Mystery series. I loved the first one, but our heroine’s reluctance to be involved with murders kinda defeats the purpose. Also, having all these murders at her place of business can’t be helpful. But it’s a cute series.
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin 4 stars “Book in Set in a Workplace.” The book is a journey through A.J.’s life as he works at his small island bookstore. For such a short book, it covered so many aspects of his life. I didn’t love him, as he was crotchety, but the other characters were interesting and fun. And I love a bookstore.
Also read, but not for the challenge:
Finessing Clarissa and Animating Maria by Marion Chesney 4 stars each. I love this author and will unabashedly read all of her 150+ books.
Man, Fuck this House by Brian Asman 4 stars An interesting haunted house story. The twists are great, but the ending left me wanting.
A Whole New World by Liz Braswell 4 stars A twist on the Disney Aladin story where Jaffar gets the lamp first. I liked how it explored Jasmine and her role more. But man, this book is NOT for kids. Ugly deaths everywhere.
On to February! I’m hoping to cover at least five or six more categories for the month. Tune in February 24, 2023.
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