Typepad has stopped letting me use the Typelist function to list books at all now. Either that, or they've developed some secret process that they aren't telling me about. Or maybe I'm doing something wrong. If so, I have no idea what.
So I'm going to list the rest of the books I've read this year here. And in 2025, I'll give a list about once a month or so of what I've reads, as a post. I'm tired of trying to figure out what Typepad has done.
Currently I am reading The Reformatory by Tananarive Due. I was hooked from the first chapter. Set in Jim Crow Florida, the story follows Robert Stephens Jr. (Robbie) as he’s sent to a segregated reform school that is a chamber of terrors where he sees the horrors of racism and injustice, for the living and the dead. It's extremely well written but sometimes hard to read if you hate cruelty and injustice. *****
Bad Liar by Tami Hoag is set in the Cajun bayou country of Louisiana. Two people are missing: a hometown hero gone hunting and a drug addict whose mother swears was turning his life around. A mutilated body lies in the local morgue that can't be identified as its face has been obliterated by a shotgun blast. Does the body belong to either of the missing men? Or is either of them the killer? And who is the worst liar in a story of intrigue that two very different sheriff’s detectives will struggle to unravel?" ****
The Life Impossible by Matt Haig is in many ways a delightful and intriguing book. Retired math teacher Grace Winters, whose husband has left her alone, inherits a run-down house on a Mediterranean island by a long-lost friend. Among the rugged hills and golden beaches of the island, Grace searches for answers about her friend’s life, and how it ended. What she uncovers is stranger than she could have dreamed. Filled with wonder and wild adventure, this is a story of hope and the life-changing power of a new beginning. I was enthralled by this story but irritated with all the bothersome descriptive narration. ***
One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware is the story of five couples on a deserted island competing in a reality TV show for a cash prize. Things take a dark turn when they realize the game is rigged and one of them is a killer. A furious hurricane leaves them stranded, running out of food and water. As the contestants turn up dead, one by one, everyone is afraid and everyone is under suspicion. This book, Io me, was just ok. ***
The enslaved man in James by Percival Everett is the same Jim we met in Mark Twain's beloved book Huckleberry Finn. When Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a man in New Orleans, separated from his wife and daughter forever, he decides to hide on nearby Jackson Island until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Huck Finn has faked his own death to escape his violent father, recently returned to town. Thus begins the dangerous journey by raft down the Mississippi River toward the elusive and too-often-unreliable promise of the Free States and beyond. This is a wonderful book. You should read it. *****
The Poet of Tolstoy Park by Sonny Brewer is based on the true story of Henry Stuart’s life. Henry's doctor has given him the shocking news that he will not live another year. It’s 1925. The place: Canyon County, Idaho. Henry is sixty-seven, a retired professor and a widower who has been told a warmer climate would make the end more tolerable. San Diego would be a good choice. Instead, Henry chooses Fairhope, Alabama, a town with utopian ideals and a haven for strong-minded individualists. Upton Sinclair, Sherwood Anderson, and Clarence Darrow were among its inhabitants. Henry bought his own ten acres of piney woods outside Fairhope. Before dying, underscored by the writings of his beloved Tolstoy, Henry could begin to “perfect the soul awarded him” and rest in the faith that he, and all people, would succeed, “even if it took eons.” It's a good book, if you like such books. ****
In Memorials by Richard Chizmar, it's 1983. Three students from a small college embark on a week-long road trip to film a documentary on roadside memorials for their American Studies class. The project starts out as a fun adventure. But as they venture deeper into the Appalachian backwoods many of the memorials they find feature a strange, unsettling symbol. They suspect someone is following them. Their vehicle is tampered with. The students can’t help but wonder if these roadside deaths were really random accidents…or is something terrifying at work here? Good, scary book.****
***
If I'm counting correctly that makes 55 books I've read this year. With my trouble with Typepad, I might have left out a couple. But this is what I've come up with.
I hope everyone is enjoying a great Christmas/Hanukkah season and is looking forward to a happy new year.
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On 12/28/2024, Barbara Anne said ...
Ah, you like much more creepy than I do, but have read a couple of Matt Haig's books and loved them so will look for this one. Thank you!
One thing good about chronic fatigue is that sitting gives you more time to read! Too bad it fails to help you feel rested.
Hope Typepad starts being user-friendly.
Hugs!
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I didn't do an awful lot of styling for these photos, I'm afraid. Jesse was in a hurry, so I had to be in a hurry too. But at least I documented it.
