What We Read - Our Annual Literary Adventures

Entertainment Books
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@HazelEyes are the books you’ve listed for this year any particular genre or do you just read anything you get your hands on?

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I read most genres, and I try to keep things pretty varied. I am not as comfortable with SciFi or Fantasy, but I will try them. The only two genres that don’t really speak to me right now are YA (which I know isn’t a “genre” but I live with two teenagers, so I’m not really eager to read about teenagers at this point in time) and Romance (I’m not one of those snobs who looks down on romance, I think I just overdid it on romance a while ago. I will still read it now and then).

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Okay, here are my May 2024 books:
Walk the Blue Fields by Claire Keegan A+
Hula by Jasmin 'Iolani Hakes B
Queens of the Conquest: England’s Medieval Queens, Book 1 by Alison Weir A
Thunder Song: Essays by Sasha LaPointe A
Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon :star::star::star::star::star:
Murder is Easy by Agatha Christie A
Midsummer Murders: Tales from the Queen of Crime by Agatha Christie A
James by Percival Everett :star::star::star::star::star:
Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes :star::star::star::star::star:
Shirley by Charlotte Brontë
Liliana’s Invincible Summer by Cristina Rivera Garza A+
The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year by Margaret Renkl A+
The Sicilian Inheritance by Jo Piazza A
Night Side of the River: Ghost Stories by Jeanette Winterson A+
Confessions* by Kanae Minato A
The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff A
And Then She Fell by Alicia Elliott A+
Days Without End by Sebastian Barry A
The Innocent Angels by Alison Belsham A
Sad Cypress by Agatha Christie A

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Here is my sad little list; if you can call 1 book a list, heh. I watched a lot of TV though!

May 2024:

Finished Demon Copperhead By: Barbara Kingsolver (This has nothing to do with demons or snakes)

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Demon Copperhead is a doorstopper, though! I have had it on my shelf for a while (I ordered a paperback copy from the UK), but I’m waiting until 2025 to read it so that I have some distance from all the hype.

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I didn’t know there was hype. lol.

I listened to it. The narrator was terrific.

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I just finished A History of the World in 6 Glasses

I enjoyed it, but I think a more accurate title would’ve been “6 glasses that shaped the world”, I might just be pedantic, but it doesn’t cover all of the world if that makes sense. An easy read, I find food history so fascinating.

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I read The Rose Code last week and it was so, so good.

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I liked this one! So interesting how they pulled real people (e.g. Prince Philip) into it.

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June 2024:

5-Minute Sherlock Series, Books 1-3

  • The Case of the Damaged Detective By: Drew Hayes
  • The Case of the Haunted Haunted House By: Drew Hayes
  • The Case of the Felonious Faire By: Drew Hayes

You Like It Darker By: Stephen King

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July 2024:

  • The Complete Stories of Sherlock Holmes By: Arthur Conan Doyle (In Progress)
    • A Study in Scarlett
    • The Sign of Four
    • Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (5 of 12 Short Stories Done)
      • A Scandal in Bohemia
      • The Red-Headed League
      • A Case of Identity
      • The Boscombe Valley Mystery
      • The Five Orange Pips

This is a 76 hour audiobook. I’ll be Sherlocking for a good while.

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Aug 2024:

  • The Complete Stories of Sherlock Holmes By: Arthur Conan Doyle (Still In Progress)
    • Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Last 7 of 12 Short Stories Done)
      • The Man with the Twisted Lip
      • The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle
      • The Adventure of the Speckled Band
      • The Adventure of the Engineer’s Thumb
      • The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor
      • The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet
      • The Adventure of the Copper Beeches
    • The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (11 Short Stories Done)
      • The Adventure of Silver Blaze
      • The Adventure of the Yellow Face
      • The Adventure of the Stockbroker’s Clerk
      • The Adventure of the Gloria Scott
      • The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual
      • The Adventure of the Reigate Squire
      • The Adventure of the Crooked Man
      • The Adventure of the Resident Patient
      • The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter
      • The Adventure of the Naval Treaty
      • The Final Problem
    • The Return Of Sherlock Holmes (13 Short Stories Done)
      • The Adventure of the Empty House
      • The Adventure of the Norwood Builder
      • The Adventure of the Dancing Men
      • The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist
      • The Adventure of the Priory School
      • The Adventure of Black Peter
      • The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton
      • The Adventure of the Six Napoleons
      • The Adventure of the Three Students
      • The Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez
      • The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter
      • The Adventure of the Abbey Grange
      • The Adventure of the Second Stain
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Sept 2024:

  • The Complete Stories of Sherlock Holmes By: Arthur Conan Doyle (Still In Progress)
    • The Hound Of The Baskervilles
    • The Valley Of Fear
    • His Last Bow (8 Short Stories Done)
      • The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge
      • The Adventure of the Cardboard Box
      • The Adventure of the Red Circle
      • The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans
      • The Adventure of the Dying Detective
      • The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax
      • The Adventure of the Devil’s Foot
      • His Last Bow
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This week I finished one of the top books of last year - The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store. It started good but then just kept introducing side plots and side characters with complicated back stories that ended up not really having any relation to the main stories. At the end I was like “Did they resolve XYZ? Oh, I guess they kinda did?” I’m surprised by all the praise it got.

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This weekend I finished my 50th book of the year - which was my reading goal for the year. I celebrated by buying a new book. (No, I hadn’t finished my To Be Read stack - that’s another story.) I wanted a fun holiday read and I was at Barnes and Noble.

I’m guessing I’ll finish another 3-4 books this year, which will bring me almost exactly to last year’s total.

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Oct 2024 - Dec 2024

  • Leslie Fucking Jones By: Leslie Jones
  • The Glass Arrow By: Kristen Simmons
  • Women Talking By: Miriam Toews
  • The Trial By: Franz Kafka
  • When She Woke By: Hillary Jordan
  • Unspeakable By: Kevin O’Brien
  • The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant By: Drew Hayes
  • Black Mouth By: Ronald Malfi
  • Bone White By: Ronald Malfi
  • Constituent Service By: John Scalzi
  • The Complete Stories of Sherlock Holmes By: Arthur Conan Doyle (Done!)
    • The Case-Book Of Sherlock Holmes (12 Short Stories Done)
      • The Adventure of the Illustrious Client
      • The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier
      • The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone
      • The Adventure of the Three Gables
      • The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire
      • The Adventure of the Three Garridebs
      • The Problem of Thor Bridge
      • The Adventure of the Creeping Man
      • The Adventure of the Lion’s Mane
      • The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger
      • The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place
      • The Adventure of the Retired Colourman
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That’s amazing. I tend to only read on airplanes/airports these days.

On my trip to Austin I read, “Mozart: A Life” by Paul Johnson.

Don’t!

It’s one of the most bias biographies I’ve ever read in my life. It’s a pure love letter, and a chance for the author to rave about his fav pieces!!!

Not a true BIOGRAPHY.

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Can we keep going with our 2025 reads?

So far I would divide the books I’ve read in 2025 as follows:

Recommend:
The Drowning Woman by Robyn Harding - 4 stars
If I Were You by Lynn Austin - 4 stars
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie - 4 stars
Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera - 4 stars
The Wedding People by Alison Espach - 5 stars
Never Fall for Your Fiancee by Virginia Heath - 5 stars
The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt - 5 stars
Ask Not: The Kennedys and the Women They Destroyed - 5 stars

Recommend if You’re Kinda Bored:
The Boyfriend by Freida McFadden - 3 stars
Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun - 3.5 stars (this series started so strong but keeps getting more and more ridiculous)
This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger - 3.5 stars

Recommend You Leave in the Bookstore:
All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker - 2 stars
James by Percival Everett - 2 stars
Go As A River by Shelley Read - 2 stars
The Boys in the Boat- 2 stars

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