Happy New Year!

It's just after 8 pm here on the West Coast of Canada so for many parts of the world, it's already 2023. So I feel safe in wishing you all

Yesterday morning I went for my last run of 2022 and it was a reasonable run on which to end the year. It's been a lovely weekend. Today was downright balmy. Jo and I have been watching stacks of Blue Bloods for most of the week, in between stacks of the Big Bang Theory. 

I managed to finish three books since my last update. To my own handscribed monthly reading summaries, I finished 150 books in 2022. According to Goodreads, that total is 149. So one of us is slightly off, but I'm going to stick with 150. I'll provide the reviews of the 3 books and then summarize December and the year, briefly.

Just Finished

1. Lore Olympus: Vol 2 by Rachel Smythe (Olympus #2 / 2022).

"Lore Olympus: Volume Two by Rachel  Smythe is the 2nd book in Smythe's updated look at the activities of the Gods of Olympus and continues the story of the romance between Demeter's daughter, Persephone, and the God of the Underworld, Hades. As I recall the story, Persephone ended up spending winters in the Underworld with Hades and came back to Earth during springtime, hence the rebirth every spring.

In this 2nd installment of the Lore graphic novel, Hera, aware of the budding relationship between the two, assigns Persephone as an intern to Hades Inc. Persephone is an 18 year old university student and Pluto is a 12,000 year old god. Yup, a spring / winter relationship. Hades has doubts about starting a relationship. His PA, Minthe, a Naiad, who loves Hades, tries to get rid of Persephone. 

It's a glossy story, great artwork, and entertaining. I sometimes had difficulty figuring out who was who, coz, well, you know, those Greek gods look similar. 😏 But try it out. I'm sure you'll enjoy the romance, the characters, the artwork and the coloring. I have Vol 3 on my book shelf and will get to it soon, I'm sure. (4.0 stars)"

2. Goth Girl and the Fete Worse than Death by Chris Riddell (Goth Girl #2 / 2014). I love his imagination, artwork and neat names. Great books for younger children. (And me) (NB. Canadian steampunk author Jayne Barnard would appreciate this story as it talks about parasol dueling)

"Goth Girl and the Fete Worse than Death, the 2nd Goth Girl Children / YA book by Chris Riddell was the perfect, light read to finish off my reading selections of 2023. In this story, Lord Goth is hosting the annual Full-Moon Fete at Gormley Hall. While he is away on book tour to promote his latest book of poetry, he asks an old friend Lord Sydney Whimsy to help organize the fete. This year will be the most exciting as it will include an art auction by famous English artists and also a Bake-off in the great tradition of British bake-offs.

The night of the fete is also Ada Goth's birthday. Because of her father's mourning of the death of his wife, he's not celebrated Ada's birthday in previous years. The only person who has remembered her birthday has been her personal maid Marylebone, who Ada has never seen because the shy maid won't leave her closet. Lord Sydney provides a letter to Ada to give to Marylebone to give her maid from her boyfriend in Bolivia. (You'll be surprised when you see who her maid is)

Gormley Hall is a busy place as everybody is running around trying to set up for the fete. All of Ada's friends in the Attic Club are too busy to spend time with her. The Hall is filled with famous English chefs, like The Hairy Hikers, Nigellina Sugarspoon, Merry Huckleberry, etc. There are also famous artists like JMW Turnip, Romney Marsh, Sir Stephen Belljar, etc. But there are mysterious visitors too. Who are the mysterious Grocers of the Night? What are they up to? What is their head butler Maltravers up to? Is he getting in trouble again?

It's a fun story, with neat characters and wonderful drawings. Read the books to your kids. They'll enjoy them. (4.0 stars)"

3. Maus II: A Survivor's Tale; And Here My Troubles Began by Art Spiegelman (Maus #2 / 1991).

"Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began is the 2nd book in the duology by Art Spiegelman. It is the story of  Art's father Vladek Spiegelman and his survival in the Nazi concentration camps during WWII. It also deals with his difficult relationship with son, Art, who, in the present, tries to find out what actually happened to his father and mother all the while he tries to deal with his father's issues.

In this second instalment, Art gets details of his father's time in Auschwitz and the following time period when the Russians forced the Nazis to evacuate their concentration camps in Poland and Eastern Europe and march the survivors to camps in Germany, especially Dachau. All the while, Art also tries to sort out his father's life in the present, at a summer camp in the Catskills. Due to the struggles his father experienced in the camps, he has many issues in the present; hoarding food, issues with his relationship with 2nd wife, Mali.

It's a grim story and well told and drawn by Spiegelman, as he tells the story in comic form. These are hard issues, cruelty, starvation, murder, torture. It's a story that can't be forgotten or hidden or ignored. It could happen again. The people in the story are 3 - dimensional, with all their gritty edges, but it makes the story more real, more touching, more emotional. (3.5 stars)"

December / 2022 Reading Update

I completed 20 books in December, roughly 5,500 pages. I'm very pleased with the way I finished off the year. By my records, I read 150 books and by Goodreads, my year total for pages was roughly 41,000 pages. 

Some rough stats for 2022

a. 85 books under 250 pages, 14 over 450 pages

b. 14 5* selections (See my previous posts of my favorite 2022 books). As well, there were 9 books this year that I gave up on and gave no rating. That's kind of a record for me. Maybe I'm getting more discerning, or just lazier.

c. 94 books were written by men, 55 by women and one by a married couple

d. Mystery was my favorite genre with 41 books. A new genre for me was Young Adult / Children with 23 books. I also read quite a few graphic novels this past year, 28 and as a matter of interest, I also read at least 9 books of Canadian content.

All in all, it's been an enjoyable reading year and I'm looking forward to seeing what 2023 will bring. Below are the first 5 books I'll be reading to start off 2023.

2023 Start-Ups

1. The Decent Inn of Death by Rennie Airth (John Madden #6 / 2020). One of my 2023 challenges is to finish off a number of series. I've enjoyed this series.

"Snowed in at a country manor, former Scotland Yard inspectors John Madden and Angus Sinclair find themselves trapped in the company of a murderer.

On a trip into Winchester, former chief inspector Angus Sinclair learns of a tragedy that has taken place in the village he is staying in. Beloved church organist Greta Hartmann has slipped and fallen to her death in a shallow creek, and while investigations conclude it to be an accident, her friend and housemate, Vera, remains unconvinced. After learning that Greta was the widow of a prominent anti-Nazi German preacher, Sinclair meets with the distraught Vera, and he resolves to dig deeper into the story. His investigations lead him to the stately manor of Julia Lesage, where she lives with her devoted staff that includes her secretary, cook, and driver. Though confined to a wheelchair, Julia is an electrifying spirit with a sharp wit, and those who know her adore her. Among those who do, a gentleman with dubious business dealings is also staying at the house--and Julia appears to be in love with him. A blizzard hits, keeping Sinclair, and later Madden, on the grounds with little to do but analyze the case of Greta's death, until a murder takes place, and everyone becomes a suspect."

2. Death of a Red Heroine by Qiu Xiaolong (Inspector Chen #1 / 2000). This is a carry-over from 2022. It's the first choice in my Start a Series challenge. I'm enjoying so far.

"Qiu Xiaolong's Anthony Award-winning debut introduces Inspector Chen of the Shanghai Police.

A young “national model worker,” renowned for her adherence to the principles of the Communist Party, turns up dead in a Shanghai canal. As Inspector Chen Cao of the Shanghai Special Cases Bureau struggles to trace the hidden threads of her past, he finds himself challenging the very political forces that have guided his life since birth. Chen must tiptoe around his superiors if he wants to get to the bottom of this crime, and risk his career—perhaps even his life—to see justice done."

c. The Cool Cotton-Tail by John Dudley Ball (Virgil Tibbs #2 / 1966). This is the 2nd book in this series and is the first choice in my Continue a Series challenge.

"The Cool Cottontail is the second Virgil Tibbs mystery series (the first being In the Heat of the Night). In this mystery, Tibbs finds himself at a nudist colony in Los Angeles where the victim (who was not one of the guests) is found floating dead in the pool. Set against this unusual backdrop, the guests of the resort prefer guarding their secrets to solving the murder mystery, particularly when the investigating detective is black. Author John Ball often used social issues of the day to feature as issues in his work, making his work controversial but at the same time, some of the best and most relevant fiction of his time. Along with racism other social taboos, Ball had no problem with nudism; naked people are the least of the problems these characters face."

d. Five Little Indians by Michelle Good (Can Con / 2020). This is the first book in my January Can Con challenge.

"Taken from their families when they are very small and sent to a remote, church-run residential school, Kenny, Lucy, Clara, Howie and Maisie are barely out of childhood when they are finally released after years of detention.

Alone and without any skills, support or families, the teens find their way to the seedy and foreign world of Downtown Eastside Vancouver, where they cling together, striving to find a place of safety and belonging in a world that doesn’t want them. The paths of the five friends cross and crisscross over the decades as they struggle to overcome, or at least forget, the trauma they endured during their years at the Mission.

Fuelled by rage and furious with God, Clara finds her way into the dangerous, highly charged world of the American Indian Movement. Maisie internalizes her pain and continually places herself in dangerous situations. Famous for his daring escapes from the school, Kenny can’t stop running and moves restlessly from job to job—through fishing grounds, orchards and logging camps—trying to outrun his memories and his addiction. Lucy finds peace in motherhood and nurtures a secret compulsive disorder as she waits for Kenny to return to the life they once hoped to share together. After almost beating one of his tormentors to death, Howie serves time in prison, then tries once again to re-enter society and begin life anew."

e. Fanny Hill, Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure by John Cleland (1748). This is the first book in my Decades Challenge; Classics / Pre - 1900).

"The Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure often known as Fanny Hill is one of the most celebrated erotic fictional works of all time. The reader will not find anything coarse or vulgar in the book, for it is a work of great charm and literary merit, and is essential reading for all who desire to acquire a knowledge of erotic fiction. Banned and heavily edited at various times, in many countries since its first publication in 1748 / 9, the book is presented in this edition in its unexpurgated form."

So there you go folks. I hope you have a wonderful 2023.