Reading is not the Challenge: October 2022

Monday, October 31, 2022

October 2022

All books this month were from the public library. Some were great, many were good, and there were a few I just couldn't make it through.

Carry over from Sep

The books of Jacob by Tokarczuk, Olga

Abandoned Oct 12. Read about 100 pages and enjoyed it, but not enough to want to read 800 more pages.

Checked out Sep 29

Lucy by the sea : a novel by Strout, Elizabeth

Finished Oct 2. If, in a few years, anyone asks what the Pandemic Lockdown was like.....

Odinary grace : a novel by Krueger, William Kent

Finished Oct 11. Liked this much better than the Krueger I read last month.

Shrines of gaiety : a novel by Atkinson, Kate

Finished Oct 4. Overall a good romp, but a trifle slow at times.

The pastor by Ørstavik, Hanne; translated from the Norwegian by Aitken Martin

Finished Oct 4. Meh...but it did make me curious about the Sámi.

The slow march of light : a novel : inspired by a true story of resilience and hope by Moore, Heather B.

Finished Oct 10. Didn't care much for the mix of fact and fiction.

Checked out Oct 6

Invisible ink : a novel by Modiano, Patrick

Finished Oct 9. Of course I liked it; it's Modiano!
Jollof rice and other revolutions : a novel in interlocking stories by Ogunyemi, Omolola Ijeoma

Finished Oct 8. Liked most of this one (except maybe the final story set in the future)
The Book of goose by Li, Yiyun

Finished Oct 14. Really liked this one!
The sixteen trees of the Somme by Mytting, Lars

Finished Oct 16. Really enjoyed this.

Checked out Oct 15

The Marriage Portrait by O'Farrell, Maggie

Finished Oct 29. Lovely writing but too much of it. It felt "padded." Also, I really get annoyed when writers of historical fiction change the names of historical characters to "...avoid confusion with other characters in the book." Seems a bit lazy--a good writer can write it so there is no confusion.

Nights of plague by Pamuk, Orhan

Finished Oct 23. Excellence!
The hero of this by book by McCracken, Eli

Finished Oct 17. A slightly fictionalized memorial to her mother.
The village idiot by Stern, Steve

Finished Oct 27. Nice bio-fic of the artist Chaim Soutine.
We spread by Reid, Iain

Finished Oct 26. Excellent.

Checked out Oct 25 (last 4 carried over to November)

Art of the chicken : a master chef's paintings, stories, and recipes of the humble bird by Pépin, Jacques

Finished Oct 28. Love the illustrations! A delightful surprise every time you turn a page.

The cook by Kerangal, Maylis de

Finished Oct 30. This fictional story of a cook was no where as good as the Pépin book.

France : an adventure history by Robb, Graham

Girl at war by Nović, Sara