jlshall's 50 Book Challenge for 2022

Last year I did better than expected and read 52 books. (!!!) Of course, that's counting all the children's books, but that's OK with me. I've been doing this challenge every year since 2008, and don't usually make it to 50. In fact, if I get to 40 I'm very happy. But goals are good, right? So here I go again....

Happy New Year, everyone! And happy reading in 2022.

(posted 1/02/2022)

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MY PERSONAL RATING SYSTEM

Here at LibraryThing, I use the following:
✭✭✭✭✭ All-time favorites and new discoveries that I loved - not many get this rating
✭✭✭✭ Really liked it - an author I might consider reading again
✭✭✭ An enjoyable read, but nothing extraordinary; most books will likely fall into this category
✭✭ It was OK, but I probably wouldn't recommend it to others
✭ Mediocre; disappointing; had trouble finishing
DNF (Did Not Finish) Books I started reading and then abandoned. This doesn't necessarily mean I didn't like a book, just that I wasn't able to finish it or didn't feel like continuing with it. Might or might not finish it later.

..........
MASTER LIST: What I Read in 2022

1. Homicide Trinity (Nero Wolfe #36), by Rex Stout (1962) ✭✭✭✭
2. The Stately Home Murder (Inspector Sloan #3), by Catherine Aird (1969) ✭✭✭½
3. The Hidden, by Melanie Golding (2021) ✭✭✭✭
4. The Christie Affair, by Nina de Gramont (2022) ✭✭
5. How to Live with a Calculating Cat, by Eric Gurney (illus.), William Nettleton (text) (1962) ✭✭✭½
6. The Case of the Silent Partner (Perry Mason #17), by Erle Stanley Gardner (1940) ✭✭✭½
7. City of the Dead (Alex Delaware #37), by Jonathan Kellerman (2022) ✭✭✭½
8. Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There, by Lewis Carroll (1871) (a re-read) ✭✭✭✭✭
9. The Children on the Hill, by Jennifer McMahon (2022) ✭✭✭✭½
10. The Moving Target (Lew Archer #1), by Ross Macdonald (1949) ✭✭✭✭
11. The Fashion Orphans, by Randy Susan Meyers and M.J. Rose (2022) ✭✭✭
12. Black Orchids (Nero Wolfe #9), by Rex Stout (1942) ✭✭✭✭
13. The Marlow Murder Club (Marlow Murder Club #1), by Robert Thorogood (2022) ✭✭✭✭
14. The Pattern in the Carpet: A Personal History with Jigsaws, by Margaret Drabble (2009) ✭✭✭✭½
15. Death by Beach Read (Lighthouse Library Mystery #9), by Eva Gates (2022) ✭✭✭✭
16. Chrysalis (Jeremy Logan #6), by Lincoln Child (2022) ✭✭½
17. Howliday Inn (Bunnicula #2), by James Howe; illus. by Lynn Munsinger (1982) ✭✭✭✭
18. Afternoon of the Elves, by Janet Taylor Lisle (1989) ✭✭✭✭
19. J.R. Silver Writes Her World, by Melissa Dassori (2022) ✭✭✭✭
20. The Omega Factor, by Steve Berry (2022) ✭✭✭✭
21. Small Angels, by Lauren Owen (2022) ✭✭✭
22. Stay Awake, by Megan Goldin (2022) ✭✭✭
23. Back to the Garden, by Laurie R. King (2022) ✭✭✭✭½
24. Late Harvest Havoc (Winemaker Detective Series Book 10), by Jean-Pierre Alaux and Noël Balen; trans. by Sally Pane (2005) ✭✭✭½
25. The Final Equinox (Theo Cray & Jessica Blackwood), by Andrew Mayne (2022) ✭✭✭
26. Night at the Vulcan (Inspector Roderick Alleyn #16), by Ngaio Marsh (1951) ✭✭✭½
27. James and the Giant Peach, by Roald Dahl; illus. by Quentin Blake (1961) ✭✭✭
28. The Shadow Over Innsmouth, by H.P. Lovecraft (1936) ✭✭✭
29. The Wanderer in Unknown Realms, by John Connolly (2013) ✭✭✭½
30. Gambit (Nero Wolfe #37), by Rex Stout (1962) ✭✭✭✭
31. The Cabinet of Dr. Leng (Pendergast #21), by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child (2023) ✭✭✭
32. Terminal Freeze (Jeremy Logan #2), by Lincoln Child (2008) ✭✭✭✭
33. The Chalmers Case (Markham Sisters #3), by Diana Xarissa (2015) ✭✭✭
34. The Headless Cupid, by Zilpha Keatley Snyder (1971) ✭✭✭✭

.....

Children's Picture Books Read in 2022

1. Skippyjon Jones, by Judy Schachner (illus. by author) (2003) ✭✭✭✭
2. Blueberries for Sal, by Robert McCloskey (illus. by author) (1948) ✭✭✭✭
3. The Barnabus Project, by Terry, Eric and Devin Fan (illus. by authors) (2020) ✭✭✭✭
4. The Night Gardener, by Terry and Eric Fan (illus. by authors) (2016) ✭✭✭✭
5. The Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night, by Peter Spier (illus. by author) (1961) ✭✭✭✭
6. Bright April, by Marguerite de Angeli (illus. by author) (1946) ✭✭✭✭½
7. Amelia Bedelia, by Peggy Parish (illus. by Fritz Siebel) (1963) ✭✭✭✭
8. Mrs Armitage on Wheels, by Quentin Blake (illus. by author) (1987) ✭✭✭✭
9. Many Moons, by James Thurber (illus. by Louis Slobodkin) (1943) ✭✭✭✭½

1. Homicide Trinity (Nero Wolfe #36), by Rex Stout (1962)



Read: January 4-12, 2022
Fiction / Mystery / Short Fiction
Rating: ✭✭✭✭

2. The Stately Home Murder (Inspector Sloan #3), by Catherine Aird (1969)



Read: January 23 - February 4, 2022
Fiction / Mystery
Rating: ✭✭✭½

3. The Hidden, by Melanie Golding (2021)



Read: February 5-24, 2022
Fiction / Mystery / Horror-Paranormal / Folklore
Rating: ✭✭✭✭

4. The Barnabus Project, by Terry Fan, Eric Fan, and Devin Fan; illus. by the authors (2020)



Read: Feb 13, 2022
Children's Literature / Picture Book / Fantasy
Rating: ✭✭✭✭

5. Blueberries for Sal, by Robert McCloskey (1948)



Read: Feb 13, 2022
Children's Literature
Rating: ✭✭✭✭

6. Bright April, by Marguerite de Angeli (1946)



Read: Feb 13-14, 2022
Children's Literature
Rating: ✭✭✭✭½

7. The Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night, by Peter Spier (1961)



Read: Feb 13, 2022
Children's Literature / Picture Book
Rating: ✭✭✭✭

8. The Night Gardener, by Eric and Terry Fan (2016)



Read: February 13, 2022
Children's Literature / Picture Book
Rating: ✭✭✭✭

9. Skippyjon Jones, by Judy Schachner (2003)



Read: February 12, 2022
Children's Literature / Picture Book
Rating: ✭✭✭✭

10. How to Live with a Calculating Cat, by Eric Gurney (illus.), text by William Nettleton (1962)



Read: February & April, 2022
Humor / Illustrated
Rating: ✭✭✭½

11. The Christie Affair, by Nina de Gramont (2022)



Read: Feb 24 - Mar 26, 2022
Historical Fiction
Rating: ✭✭

12. The Case of the Silent Partner (Perry Mason #17), by Erle Stanley Gardner (1940)



Read: Mar 19 - Apr 9, 2022
Fiction / Mystery
Rating: ✭✭✭½

13. City of the Dead (Alex Delaware #37), by Jonathan Kellerman (2022)



Read: Apr 11-17, 2022
Fiction / Mystery
Rating: ✭✭✭½

14. Amelia Bedelia (Amelia Bedelia #1), by Peggy Parish; illus. by Fritz Siebel (1963)



Read: Apr 18, 2022
Children's Literature / Picture Book
Rating: ✭✭✭✭

15. The Children on the Hill, by Jennifer McMahon (2022)



Read: Apr 21-30, 2022
Fiction / Gothic / Suspense
Rating: ✭✭✭✭½

16. The Moving Target (Lew Archer #1), by Ross Macdonald (1949)



Read: 17 Apr - 3 May, 2022
Fiction / Mystery
Rating: ✭✭✭✭

17. The Fashion Orphans, by Randy Susan Meyers and M.J. Rose (2022)



Read: 17 Apr - 21 May 2022
Fiction
Rating: ✭✭✭

18. Black Orchids (Nero Wolfe #9), by Rex Stout (1942)



Read: 24 May - 22 Jun, 2022
Fiction / Mystery
Rating: ✭✭✭✭

19. The Marlow Murder Club (Marlow Murder Club #1), by Robert Thorogood (2021; 2022)



Read: June 2022
Fiction / Mystery
Rating: ✭✭✭✭

20. The Pattern in the Carpet: A Personal History with Jigsaws, by Margaret Drabble (2009)



Read:1 May - 14 Aug, 2022
Nonfiction / Memoir / Cultural History
Rating: ✭✭✭✭½

21. Death by Beach Read (Lighthouse Library Mystery #9), by Eva Gates (2022)



Read: 22 Jun - 12 Jul, 2022
Fiction / Mystery
Rating: ✭✭✭✭

22. Chrysalis (Jeremy Logan #6), by Lincoln Childs (2022)



Read: Jul 13-26, 2022
Fiction / Techno-Thriller
Rating: ✭✭½

23. Howliday Inn (Bunnicula Series #2), by James Howe; illus. by Lynn Munsinger (1982)



Read: 18 Jul - 23 Aug, 2022
Children's Lit / Middle Grade Fiction / Mystery
Rating: ✭✭✭✭

24. Afternoon of the Elves, by Janet Taylor Lisle (1989; Newbery Medal Nominee, 1990)



Read: 28 Jul - 4 Aug, 2022
Children's Lit / Middle Grade Fiction
Rating: ✭✭✭✭

25. Mrs Armitage on Wheels, by Quentin Blake; illus. by author (1987)



Read: Jul 21, 2022
Children's Picture Book / Humor
Rating: ✭✭✭✭

26. Many Moons, by James Thurber; illus. by Louis Slobodkin (1943; Caldecott Medal Winner 1944)



Read: Aug 2, 2022
Children's Lit / Fantasy / Humor
Rating: ✭✭✭✭½

27. Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There, by Lewis Carroll; illus. by John Tenniel (1871)



Read: Apr 28-30, 2022
Children's Lit / Fantasy
Rating: ✭✭✭✭✭

Almost forgot to add this re-read. One of my all-time favorites that I've read many times. First time I've read a digital version, but that didn't affect my enjoyment at all. Wonderful classic fantasy.

28. J.R. Silver Writes Her World, by Melissa Dassori; illus. by Chelen Aecija (2022)



Read: Aug 15-21, 2022
Children's Lit / Middle Grade Fiction
Rating: ✭✭✭✭

29. Small Angels, by Lauren Owen (2022)



Read: Aug 2022
Fiction / Gothic / Ghost Stories / Horror
Rating: ✭✭✭

30. The Omega Factor, by Steve Berry (2022)



Read: Aug 2022
Fiction / Thriller
Rating: ✭✭✭✭

31. Stay Awake, by Megan Goldin (2022)



Read: Sep 2022
Fiction / Mystery
Rating: ✭✭✭

32. Back to the Garden, by Laurie R. King (2022)



Read: Sep 2022
Historical Fiction / Mystery
Rating: ✭✭✭✭½

33. Late Harvest Havoc (Winemaker Detective #10), by Jean-Pierre Alaux and Noël Balen; trans. by Sally Pane (2005)



Read: Sep - Oct 2022
Fiction / Mystery
Rating: ✭✭✭½

34. The Final Equinox (Theo Cray & Jessica Blackwood #2), by Andrew Mayne (2022)



Read: Oct 2-10, 2022
Fiction / Mystery / Thriller
Rating: ✭✭✭

35. Night at the Vulcan (Inspector Roderick Alleyn #16), by Ngaio Marsh (1951)



Read: Oct 16-24, 2022
Fiction / Mystery
Rating: ✭✭✭½

36. James and the Giant Peach, by Roald Dahl; illus. by Quentin Blake (1961)



Read: Oct 27-30, 2022
Children's Fiction
Rating: ✭✭✭

37. The Shadow Over Innsmouth, by H.P. Lovecraft (1936)



Read: Nov 10-22, 2022
Fiction / Horror
Rating: ✭✭✭

Horror novella written in 1931, with general publication in 1936. The story is centered around and narrated by Robert Olmstead, a college student on a tour of New England, supposedly looking for genealogical info. While waiting for a bus to take him on the next leg of his tour, he’s told about the decaying town of Innsmouth, and decides to explore the place. Well, since this is Lovecraft, we can expect him to find lots of extremely weird inhabitants and goings-on, and those expectations are richly rewarded. And eventually Olmstead faces some pretty terrifying events and personal revelations.

“Innsmouth” is part of Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos, and Wikipedia tells me it was the only one of his stories published in book form during his lifetime. That’s hard to believe, since he’s been such a big influence on so many modern writers. But he was never able to support himself with his writing, and he died young.

Actually, this was a pretty awful book, by most literary standards. But it’s such absolutely perfect Lovecraft (nameless horrors abound on almost every page!), that I’m giving it a higher rating than it probably really deserves. Still, if you like Lovecraft (and I keep trying to convince myself that I do), this will be right up your street.

38. The Wanderer in Unknown Realms, by John Connolly (2013)



Read: Nov 10-27, 2022
Fiction / Horror
Rating: ✭✭✭½

39. Gambit (Nero Wolfe #37), by Rex Stout (1962)



Read: Nov 23 - Dec 2, 2022
Fiction / Mystery
Rating: ✭✭✭✭

40. The Cabinet of Dr. Leng (Pendergast #21), by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child (Jan 2023)



Read: Nov 1 - Dec 4, 2022
Fiction / Sci-Fi Thriller
Rating: ✭✭✭

I shouldn’t say too much about this one, as it won’t be officially published until January 2023. The story picks up right at the point where the last book in the series, Bloodless (2021), ended. After all the mayhem in Savannah, FBI Special Agent Aloysius Pendergast has returned to New York City. And his “ward” Constance Greene has set off on an extremely implausible quest to find serial killer Dr. Enoch Leng, and stop him before he can complete his program of experimentation on young women. Time travel is involved.

This was not one of the strongest entries in the series. It really just serves as a transition between the books coming before and after it, so we know from the outset that the ending is going to be something of a cliff-hanger. Not terribly satisfying, but if you’re invested in the series, it’s worth spending the time. Constance has always been one of my least favorite characters of the series, and I was frankly a little happy to see her disappear at the end of Bloodless. Now she’s back and more annoying than ever. However, this book does bring back NY Police Detective Vincent D'Agosta, a much more appealing presence.

So, just three stars. Readable, but ultimately a little disappointing.

41. Terminal Freeze (Jeremy Logan #2), by Lincoln Child (2008)



Read: Nov 19 - Dec 10, 2022
Fiction / Sci-Fi Thriller
Rating: ✭✭✭✭

Second entry in Lincoln Child’s solo (i.e., without Douglas Preston) series featuring “enigmalogist” Jeremy Logan. This is a sci-fi/horror/thriller set in Alaska’s northern wilderness region – “Fear Base” is a (fictional, I believe) US government installation in the state’s Arctic area. The main character is Evan Marshall, a paleoecologist there with a team of scientists studying the effects of climate change. As the group is heading into their final days at the base, they make an astonishing discovery: an enormous prehistoric animal has been preserved in solid ice in one of the area caves. Well naturally, once the news reaches the project’s sponsors, they send a famous film-maker and his crew to produce a documentary about the discovery. And (again, naturally) the film-maker wants to get that beast out of the cave and thaw him out for a live TV special. And (one more time, naturally) soon all hell breaks loose.

I love these Jeremy Logan books. I’ve read a couple of the later books in the series, and they’ve all been very entertaining, very quick reads. Edge-of-your-seat excitement, and lots of great characters. In fact, there were almost too many characters in this one – I had a little trouble keeping track of everyone. Also, I thought it was a little odd that Logan was more of a background character in this book, and not really the “star.” He was a very enigmatic enigmalogist. Fun read!

42. The Chalmers Case (Markham Sisters #3), by Diana Xarissa (2015)



Read: Dec 13-15, 2022
Fiction / Mystery
Rating: ✭✭✭

43. The Headless Cupid (Stanley Family #1), by Zilpha Keatley Snyder (1971)



Read: Dec 13-20, 2022
Children's Fiction / Mystery
Rating: ✭✭✭✭