No.718: What I Read in December 2022

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#68. UNSETTLED GROUND by Claire Fuller // ★★★☆☆
(amazon // bookshop // better world books)

Hmm, this book is difficult to rate.  It’s a melancholy, character-driven novel about codependency, poverty, and loss.  The story is about a pair of reclusive 51-year-old twins as they struggle to adapt to life after their mother suddenly dies.  It explores relationships between family members and buried secrets that get unearthed in time.  An interesting concept and I don’t dislike a melancholic book, but this one left me with the question: “What was the point?” (This also counted toward my Reading the Alphabet Challenge.)

#69. THE NERVIEST GIRL IN THE WORLD by Melissa Wiley // ★★★★☆
(amazon // bookshop // better world books)

A read aloud for school.  We enjoyed this one more than we expected!

#70. THE MIDNIGHT LINE by Lee Child // ★★★☆☆
(amazon // bookshop // better world books)

Okay this one is a random pick!  I first heard about it on another blog and thought I’d try it out.  I had no idea it was part of a series and this book in particular is #22!  I also didn’t know that there was a movie and TV series based on the main character!  (Yes, I live under a rock.)  Thankfully, the books seem to stand alone, so I wasn’t too in the dark.  A quick read.

#71. VERY VALENTINE by Adriana Trigiani // ★★☆☆☆
(amazon // bookshop // better world books)

I was excited to read about a woman apprenticing and then eventually taking over her grandmother’s shoemaking business, but the execution of this book was not great.  If you like gratuitous descriptions of everything from the landscape to the food to the outfits the characters are wearing, this is for you.  I’ve enjoyed novels by Trigiani in the past, so this was a bummer.  (This also counted toward my Reading the Alphabet Challenge.)

#72. SOMEONE WE KNOW by Shari Lapena // ★★☆☆☆
(amazon // bookshop // better world books)

A “thriller” that just felt like a gluttony of marital infidelities.  Bleh.

#73. TRUE CRIME STORY by Joseph Knox // ★★☆☆☆
(amazon // bookshop // better world books)

This one had a really interesting set up that included interviews, news articles, photos and emails.  There were a ton of unreliable characters who made me want to pull my hair out – who’s telling the truth?!  All in all, it was an okay read.  Not necessarily a book I would recommend, but I appreciated how the story was laid out in a unique way.

#74. TWO OLD WOMEN: AN ALASKA LEGEND OF BETRAYAL, COURAGE AND SURVIVAL by Velma Wallis // ★★★★☆
(amazon // bookshop // better world books)

A short little story about hardship and endurance from two old ladies trying to survive an Alaskan winter.  I really liked it.  (This was also my 1993 pick for the 20th Century in Literature Challenge.)

#75. COME, LORD JESUS: MEDITATIONS ON THE ART OF WAITING by Mother Mary Francis, PCC // ★★★★★
(amazon)

My third time reading this lovely devotional for Advent and I still love it just as much.  So many new passages stuck out to me this time.

#76. EXILES by Jane Harper // ★★★★☆
(amazon // bookshop)

It’s been awhile since I’ve read a Jane Harper mystery, so I was excited to dive back into Australia with Aaron Falk!  In this one, we hear about a baby found all alone in her stroller at a busy festival, her mother seemingly disappearing into thin air.  The story picks up a year later with the question still unanswered: What happened that night?  Where is Kim?  I really enjoyed the array of characters and how Harper made them all unique and easy to differentiate.  I guessed and guessed and still didn’t see the twist at the end.  So good.  (Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book!  Exiles will be published on January 31, 2023.)

WE HAVE BEEN HARMONIZED: LIFE IN CHINA’S SURVEILLANCE STATE by Kai Strittmatter // ★★★☆☆
(amazon // bookshop // better world books)

I’ve been working on this book off and on since February and finally finished the last chapters just days before the new year!  An eye opening examination of China and the CCP’s vision for the future.  I did find the title a bit misleading: the first third of the book is a lot of background information (which was informative) and the real “meat” of the topic doesn’t start until about 165 pages in.