Its been a long time since I have done this. Four years and a lot of books have gone unreviewed. There’s nothing like recovering from another unwanted surgery to give you the time and boredom to search your shelves and compile a list of books that you’ve read in the past year or so.

Honestly I cant remember exactly why I stopped doing these yearly book reviews. The first year of the pandemic it was hard to sit and read, I spent a lot of time obsessively watching the news and running. Running seemed like I was accomplishing something… sitting still was hard. And then I got divorced and once again sitting still was hard… Sometime in 2022 I calmed down enough to sit down and picked up books again. I haven’t been great at keeping track of what I have been reading so this list is by no means complete but I’ve done the best I can. Enjoy and happy reading:

The Rules of Civility, Amor Towles

I liked this book, not nearly as much as I liked A Gentleman in Moscow but Towels writes great prose and has a distinct voice, it reminded me a little of the Great Gatsby but with a more modern flare.

The Madonnas of Leningrad, Debra Dean

There are a handful of books on this list that I picked up when I thought I was going to Russia and this was the first that I chose to read. It’s a short novel that highlights life in Leningrad during WWII, I’m glad I read it even in that trip got diverted to Portugal.

Russka, Edward Rutherford

I didn’t read all 960 pages of this book but I read enough to feel like I had a good handle on Russian culture. I like reading Rutherford when traveling to new places, he does great research and makes history narrative in a very readable way.

When the English Fall, David Williams

Who knew Amish post apocalyptical fiction was a thing? It is and its good, this book takes place in Lancaster PA and makes you think about what would happen to self sustaining farms just outside a major metropolitan city if commerce and trade broke down and people started going hungry. I read this by accident, having picked it up at a library sale and not understanding what it was about before I got sucked in. Its a quick and enjoyable read that will make you think.

Harlem Shuffle, Colson Whitehead

Meh – this is a good book, not great but a solid story. I think Whitehead is a competent storyteller but not the genius everyone seems to think that he is. I actually listened to the audio version of this book and I think the narrator made it even better, his voice was smooth as silk.

Less, Andrew Sean Greer

a very quirky enjoyable read but how or why it won the pulitzer is beyond me. The protagonist is whiny and annoying and I have no desire to read the follow up Less is Lost. 273 pages of Arthur Less is all anyone needs.

Th Glass Hotel, Emily St John Mendel

Not as good as Station Eleven but still hauntingly written and a delight to read. This book does have some fairly substantial plot holes and unfinished story lines but, for me, it did not distract from the overall enjoyment of the story.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, Gail Honeyman

I picked this up only knowing that is was beloved by my online book club and assuming it was a light hearted comedy. It is not, it has a lot of humor in it but the over arching story is dark and tragic. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator really brought Eleanor to life. I love this book although it broke my heart.

The Lincoln Highway, Amore Towles

Again, trying to recapture the beauty of A Gentleman in Moscow I tried my third Towels novel and sadly it didn’t come close, as a matter of fact I didn’t even finish it. I abandoned it about 2/3 of the way through having not connected with the main characters or found their story all that compelling. Towles has gone from amazing, to okay to blah for me which was super disappointing.

The Cat Who Saved Books, Sosuke Natsukawa

This was a fun, lighthearted book. I mean what’s better than a books and cats and a talking cat that loves books? Not much, that’s what.

The High Mountains of Portugal, Yann Martel

Purchased after Russia turned into Portugal, this was a great book. Martel’s style is simply fun and enjoyable and just like Life of Pi this story contained a large undomesticated animal that didn’t really make any sense but added greatly to the overall story.

300 Days of Sun, Deborah Lawrence

Another book et in Portugal, this was a mystery which is not my typical genre but I really liked this book. The story was compelling and it gave an interesting look into what life was in Portugal during WWII.

Alentejo Blue, Monica Ali

A native Portuguese writer telling the story of a sleepy mountain town slowly being overrun by ex-pats. This was a full length novel that read like a short story. Its been awhile since I read it but I have no clear memory of any kind of conclusion. I like this book but it had no real storyline and ends rather abruptly.

The Portuguese Empire

A slim historical text about the history of Portugal up until its independence. It was an interesting read that really focused on their sailing history and made my time in the Maritime museum in Lisbon that much more interesting.

Hocus Pocus, Kurt Vonnegut

Meh, not my favorite Vonnegut book. I probably would have set this down and left it on a train somewhere if it had been written by anyone else. I didn’t care for the protagonist at all. There are so many better books by him, my advise is skip this one.

Kitchen Confidential, Anthony Bourdain

I know I am WAY late to the party on this book, but I only recently discovered a love for Bourdain and on a road trip downloaded this from audible. Read by Anthony himself this book was great – funny, inspiring and a little heartbreaking. I’m sad that I didn’t discover him sooner.

Elsewhere, Richard Russo

A memoir about Russo growing up in a small defunct town in upstate New York. This is a really the story of the relationship he had with his Mother. And as with all things Russo it was beautiful, poignant l and hard to let go of.

The Dark Tower Series, Stephen King

These seven books, all 4,250 pages of them where a reread for me and IMHO the best thing that King has ever written. I decided to revisit these books right after reading an article that HBO was going to make it into a series and I am glad that I did because halfway through book one I broke my foot and had plenty of time to embark on an adventure through mid-world. I like some books better than others The Gundslinger is by far my favorite and I don’t love The Wastelands or Song of Susannah nearly as much as Wizards and Glass or the finale The Dark Tower. All that aside though you cant really pick them apart, the entire series is a cohesive story that needs all of its parts to be what it is. I imagine in another 20 years I’ll probably read it again.

Excuse Me While I Disappear, Laurie Notaro

I needed a light pallet cleanser to get me out of my the dark tower hole and nobody does light pallet cleaning quite like the queen on chic lit. Laurie may be getting older but she still has plenty of fodder for good essay writing. I loved a lot of this book although there were parts that I loved a little less so, but either way I will always look for new books of hers.

The Starless Sea, Erin Morgenstern

I hesitated to read this because I simply did not care for The Night Circus but I am very glad that I gave it a chance. It was dark and mysterious and a little bit like reading a treasure map. I loved it in the same way that I loved The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey in a way that’s indescribable.

Lessons in Chemistry, Bonnie Garmus

I jumped right on the band wagon with this book, funny and quirky and full of female empowerment, I couldn’t read it fast enough. I didn’t love the twist at the end that wrapped everything up in such a cloyingly perfect way but I am willing to set that aside for the rest of the story.

The Guide, Peter Heller

I got this hoping it would be akin the Dog Stars but it was a complete departure. I appreciated this book for what it was – a murder mystery set on a fly fishing expedition. It wasn’t really my cup of tea. I gave the book to my Mom when she visited and had her take it to Maine, this book belongs in the woods, with people who will love it.

The Catographers, Peng Shepard

I believe that Shapard will be a great writer some day but this book felt like a struggle from plot development (it took FOREVER to set up the story) to the conclusion (it was so incredibly convoluted it made no sense) and there was a huge plot hole that kind of rendered the entire story moot. I stuck with it because I could see the potential and the vision that I think Shepard probably had but, ugh, in my opinion skip this and wait for her to develop a little more.

Upon The Head of a Goat, Aranka Siegal

Oof, this was a tough read and a good lesson on why you should at least skim the back blurb before starting a new book. I had no ide this was about the holocaust. The story of 9 year old Piri and her journey to the Ghetto in Hungry, told as a memoir after she alone out of her 6 siblings survived Auschwitz. It was not an easy read and not something that I will likely ever forget.

We are Never Meeting in Real Life, Samantha Irby

There’s not a lot of good places to go after the holocaust except down the rabbit hole of Samantha Irby’s mind. I discovered this book in Midway Airport in Chicago and it made me laugh all the way to California.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Taylor Jenkins Reid

Another super popular book that I wasn’t interested in reading…. I picked this up to read on the flights back from San Diego and I could not put it down, I read it in a day. it was a quick and easy read that was funny, complex and a little bit heartbreaking.

A Chant to Sooth Wild Elephants, Jaed Coffin

Meh, this was a memoir about a half Thai/half American college student who leaves New England to become a Thai Monk. It read like a poorly edited self published book. Not only was it not well written but it lacked substance or any revelations that a journey like this might have on a twenty year old. I did not love it.

Love Life, Rob Lowe

Randomly found this in Goodwill one way and picked it up for a quarter. It ended up being a very well written book about Lowe’s rise to fame, his most recent projects (circa 2015) but mostly about his family and the relationship that he has with his two sons, the oldest of which left for college in the middle of his writing this. I enjoyed this book a lot, Lowe is a good storyteller and if what he says is true also a very good father.

Four Seasons in Rome, Anthony Doerr

Picked for a fellowship in Rome just 6 months after his twins where born, Doerr and his wife move them to Italy so that Doerr can write “unimpeded”. This is a small but beautiful book that reads like poetry. Doerr falls in love with the city and with its people and its culture, he’s there during the death of John Paul II and really envelops the reader in all that is Italian.

How to Live Safely in a Science Fiction Universe, Charles Yu

Channeling his inner Douglas Adams this book is a masterpiece in Sci Fi ridiculousness. Charles Yu works as a time machine technician and spends all of his time with his imaginary dog and his ships on board computer who, he is secretly in love with. The story follows as he searches for his father who got trapped in a time loop when Charles was a teenager. This book was funny and cleaver and something the Sci Fi world hasn’t seen in some time.

A Strong West Wind, Gail Caldwell

Another memoir, this time about the Pulitzer award winning author and her coming of age in the panhandle of west Texas, defying her military sergeant father and protesting the Vietnam war. It was a good book that introduced me to Caldwell, I found it on the train.

This Side of Brightness, Colum McCann

Any of you that pay attention to my bookshelves or stay awake while I go on and on about my favorite authors know that McCann is top of the list, I would read a grocery list by this man… This book was not Let the Great World Spin good but it was well written, entertaining and above average. As with almost all of his books it starts in two places and two times and brings everything together in the end. I enjoyed it a lot.

Wow, No Thank You, Samantha Irby

I revisited Irby when I saw this at my favorite fall time library sale, she’s funny and clever and this book got me through the stress of Christmas by reminding me that stress can be funny and everything could always be worse.

Bable, R.F. Kuag

I am only about 3/4 of the way through this book as of posting this list but I think this might be one of my favorite books of the year. I am trying to read it slowly to make it last but its hard when I really want to know what happens and being stuck inside recovering gives me little in the way of distraction other than this story. I am going to go out on a limb and say I loved this book.