I thought my reading was down on last year, there have been a few periods when I just haven't felt like reading and the number of books I read during December always drops off because I'm so busy, I think I've only read three books this month, but I'm completely on par with last year. I've read seventy five books this year, exactly the same as last year.
Last year, I finished my challenge of reading all of Agatha Christie's murder mystery books in chronological order so I was looking for a new challenge. I decided I'd start reading Miss Read's books, starting with the Fairacre series. I've read one each month, twelve in total, and there's more to go so that will take me well into 2022.
Again, I've found some new authors to read, along with some old favourites, and this year I seem to have had a bit of a chick lit fest. I think that has come about from picking books up in The Works, they have a 3 for £5 deal and many of the books they offer are from this genre. I have to say that I've enjoyed some lighter reading.
The Bermondsey Bookshop - Mary Gibson
Village School - Miss Read
Sheltering Rain - Jojo Moyes
Cilka's Journey - Heather Morris
The Man in Black - Dylan Rhys Jones
The Dinner Party - RJ Parker
Village Diary - Miss Read
A Watermelon, A Fish and A Bible - Christy Lefteri
The Giver of Stars - Jojo Moyes
Rendez-Vous in Cannes - Jennifer Bohnet
Storm in the Village - Miss Read
The Mother-In-Law - Sally Hepworth
The Boy Between - Amanda Prowse and Josiah Hartley
Wedding Bells for Woolworths - Elaine Everest
How to Raise and Elephant - Alexander McCall Smith
Miss Clare Remembers - Miss Read
A Sky Full of Stars - Dani Atkins
The Familiars - Stacey Halls
Secrets and Seashells at Rainbow Bay - Ali McNamara
The Teashop Girls - Elaine Everest
Christmas With the Teashop Girls - Elaine Everest
Over the Gate - Miss Read
All the Lonely People - Mike Gayle
A Sister's Wish - Donna Douglas
An Ordinary Life - Amanda Prowse
Firefly Lane - Kristin Hannah
Fly Away - Kristin Hannah
Mrs Miniver - Jan Struther
The Butlins Girls - Elaine Everest
Village Christmas - Miss Read
Mine - Susi Fox
Mine - Clare Empson
Fairacre Festival - Miss Read
The Love Square - Laura Jane Williams
Together - Julie Cohen
Letters From the Past - Erica James
The Salt Path - Raynor Winn
The Secrets You Keep - Kate White
The Last Charm - Ella Allbright
Where The Crawdads Sing - Delia Owens
Emily Davis - Miss Read
Between Sisters - Kristin Hannah
A Mother Forever - Elaine Everest
Escape to the Art Cafe - Sue McDonagh
The Switch - Beth O'Leary
My Sister's Keeper - Jodi Picoult
The Christmas Mouse - Miss Read
Miss Benson's Beetle - Rachel Joyce
Coming Home to Penvennan Cove - Linn B Halton
The Little Paris Patisserie - Julie Caplin
The Phone Box at the Edge of the World - Laura Imai Messina
A Cottage in the Country - Linn B Halton
The Little Cafe in Copenhagen - Julie Caplin
A Little Sugar, A Lot of Love - Linn B Halton
The Little Brooklyn Bakery - Julie Caplin
The Thursday Murder Club - Richard Osman
Tyler's Row - Miss Read
The Northern Lights Lodge - Julie Caplin
The Secrets of Villa Rosso - Linn B Halton
Twopence to Cross The Mersey - Helen Forrester
Liverpool Miss - Helen Forrester
By the Waters of Liverpool - Helen Forrester
Lime Street at Two - Helen Forrester
Christmas at Bay Tree Cottage - Linn B Halton
The Joy and Light Bus Company - Alexander McCall Smith
A Village Affair - Julie Houston
All the Light We Cannot See - Anthony Doerr
A Greek Affair - Linn B Halton
The Patchwork Girls - Elaine Everest
Farther Afield - Miss Read
The Secret Cove in Croatia - Julie Caplin
Waiting to Begin - Amanda Prowse
No Holly for Miss Quinn - Miss Read
Never Greener - Ruth Jones
The Canal Boat Cafe Christmas - Cressida Mclaughlin
My stand out book of the year is Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. I nearly didn't bother with this but I'd heard about it in so many places and from so many people that I thought I'd give it a go. It's had some rave reviews and, in my opinion, rightly so. I absolutely loved all the descriptive writing and it does make you think about prejudice, intolerance and acceptance. I read a couple of other books which had won various awards and which people were raving about, The Salt Path and All the Light We Cannot See, but they didn't really do it for me. I did enjoy the latter but wouldn't give it more than a six out of ten, but I didn't get on with The Salt Path at all. I found it badly written, boring and couldn't get over the fact that someone who had just been made homeless, and at the same point in time their husband had been diagnosed with a terminal illness, would take themselves off to walk 630 miles along the South West Coast Path. Nor did I enjoy reading about them creeping into campsites after dark to use the facilities and then leaving without paying. Surely it would have made more sense to sort out their lives and arrange their benefits before embarking on a journey where they had to resort to petty crime. That's just my way of thinking, I know lots of people enjoyed this book.
In 2022 I'm going to continue to read Miss Read books. I've still got some of the Fairacre series to read and then I shall move onto the Thrush Green series. I've also decided that I'm going to start reading some classics. In preparation for this I added a few different book ranges to my wish list, though didn't specify any particular title. I've had a good few books bought for me as gifts throughout the past year and I'm looking forward to getting started on them. I've also decided to consciously cut back on my reading this year. There was a time when I only read in bed, and though I don't want to go back to doing just that, I do want to give myself extra time during the day for other things. I did say the same thing last year so I'm going to have to make myself put down my books more in order to achieve this.
Have you set yourself any reading challenges this year?
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