January 2023 Wrap Up
In going back over my posts for last month, it looks like I didn't do a mid-month wrap up. Oops. Good thing I only read 9 books in January.
Going Rogue by Janet Evanovich - What a great way to start off a year. I love these stupid things. Stephanie and Lula are back at it. 8 bookmarks. It's not high literature, but damn if it isn't really good at what it is.
The Phantom Twin by Lisa Brown - I really didn't care for this one. It's about a set of conjoined twins who are sold to the freak show by their parents. They share an arm and a leg, but only one of them controls them. A doctor offers to separate them. One wants it, the other doesn't. He does the surgery, but the twin who wanted the surgery and controlled the limbs, doesn't make it. But the other twin can still see her and hear her. Oy. 6 Bookmarks
Nothing More to Tell by Karen M. McManus - Brynn has just returned to her old school as a senior. Her family moved to Chicago right after her ex-best friend and 2 wealthy students found the body of their teacher in the woods. It didn't make sense for the poor kid to lie to protect the rich kids so they all must be telling the truth. The twists just kept coming with this one. It was crazy! 8 Bookmarks
SpyXFamily by Tatsuya Endo - This is a manga about a super spy who has to get close to the head of this prestigious school, so he adopts a girl the same age as the head's son. To adopt a kid, he has to be married, so he finds a woman who is willing to marry him immediately. What he doesn't know is that she is a highly trained asassin. Neither of them know the daughter reads minds. The premise is really great, but I didn't particularly love the execution. 6 bookmarks
Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May - The author was really preaching to the choir with this one. I am already an ardent proponent of rest. I love to rest. She is one of those people who cannot stop working. But her body required her to stop for a spell and she had no choice. Luckily she could recognize the beauty of it. 8 bookmarks
Tomorrowmind: Thriving at Work with Resilience, Creativity, and Connection - Today and in an Uncertain Future by Gabriella Kellerman and Martin E. P. Seligman - I enjoyed this book because it lined out actual steps to take to become more resilient. Sometimes it sounded like it was selling you on something, but they didn't hold anything back. It's all there. Seligman has been publishing self-help/pop psychology books for decades. I recognized his name from my undergrad days. 8 bookmarks
Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson - This came out in Australia last year. It is just now being published in the U.S. The narrator tells us right up front that everyone in his family has killed someone. He even tells you which pages have someone die. He is heading to a family reunion at a ski resort in the middle of winter. Once they all get there, a huge snowstorm blocks them in. Nobody in the family is talking to anyone else. Over the course of the story, you find out why each person is not speaking to each other person. You also find out who the dead man on the slope is and who killed him and why. It's absolutely madcap. 9 bookmarks
The Bodyguard by Katherine Center - This was fun. I love a female bodyguard who can kick ass and take names. The day she buries her mother, her boyfriend breaks up with her. This makes things awkward because they work together. Then they get a big ticket job protecting an A-list actor who is coming to Houston to be with his mother while she goes through cancer treatment. His brother isn't speaking to him since the car wreck that killed their younger brother and spared him. Also, the family can't know that his crazy stalkers mean he has to have a bodyguard at all. He presents his bodyguard as his girlfriend. What could go wrong? I love a fake dating story line. Whee! 8 bookmarks
Spare by Prince Harry - what the hell is wrong with people? The tabloid press is ridiculous. The Royal family is ridiculous. Of course this is only one side of the story, but it is his truth. And he is very, very angry. I really hope he and Meghan make a go of it and prove everyone wrong about her.
Vampire Weekend by Mike Chen - I got half way through this one and gave up on it. I realized I didn't care about any of the characters and I didn't want to read it. So I let myself off the hook. I read over 50%. I feel like that is a fair shake.
There it is. My January reading wrap up. What did you read?