Jan's 2022 50 Book Challenge

I only found time to read 36 books in 2021, but my goal is still to hit 50 books this year. The last year I read more than 50 books was 2019, so I know I can do it.

Happy Reading! 'Only" 36 still sounds good. I used to read less when I had more going on in my life. So, my record (for me) number indicates a less-busy life. Give up in one area, gain in another!

>2 lamplight: I always wish I had more time to read books, but I do read a lot of journal articles and skim a lot of books for my profession. When I retire, I will have more time to read for pleasure.

Here is a recap of last year's reading:

Books read: 36 of which 16 were paper books off of my own shelves
Male/Female authors: 19/17
Books from World War One reading list: 3
Books in translation: 2
Fiction/Non-Fiction: 25/11
Ebooks/Paper Books/Audiobooks: 7/17/12
Library Books: 1
Pages read: 11,071
Books with more than 500 pages: 2
Books originally published before 1950: 8

First book completed this year was an audio book:
1. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig, narrated by Carey Mulligan - finished listening on 1/14/22. The narrator was very good and the book itself was good. I like the concept of being able to go back and pick a life you might have lived, but it got a little repetitious and the main character whined her way through the book. I gave it 3.5 stars because of the narrator and the librarian (love books with librarians), otherwise it would be three stars.

2. Black Plumes by Margery Allingham - finished reading on 1/27/22. I've had this book since sometime in the late 1980s - and remember it as one of my favorite Margery Allingham novels, but I honestly did not remember the plot, so I enjoyed reading it again. I gave it 4.5 stars.

3. Another audio book -- A Far Cry from Kensington by Muriel Spark, narrated by Pamela Garelick -- I finished listening on 1/29/22. I really enjoyed this book -- fantastic narrator, and Spark's writing is a delight. 4.5 stars.

4. Intelligence and Crime Analysis: Critical Thinking Through Writing by David Cariens finished on 2/3/22. I've had this book since 2013, and have read it off and on since then. I officially completed it yesterday. Overall a very good book on writing for the intelligence community and law enforcement, but 220 pages of 357 were taken up with the initial state mandated report after the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007 -- all of which could have been left out. Still a good reference book for writers of intelligence reports. 4 stars

5. An audio book: Quick Service by P. G. Wodehouse narrated by Simon Vance. I finished listening on 1/4/22. A quick listen and Vance's narration made it quite enjoyable. It's very similar to a Wodehouse book I listened to last year - Something Fresh. Both are set in English country houses in the 20's or 30's and similar protagonists who fall in love while shenanigans in the houses swirl around. 3 stars

6. Finished a work-related book that I've been meaning to read since I bought it in 2013 -- Why Kids Kill: Inside the Minds of School Shooters by Peter Langman. I finished reading it today 2/10/22. 3.5 stars

7. I finished Busman's Honeymoon by Dorothy L. Sayers on 2-22-22 (Twosday) :) . Excellent, great plot, mystery solved, but overall, a love story. Highly recommend for those who love classic mysteries. 4.5 stars

8. Another old mystery book finished today -- Poirot Investigates by Agatha Christie -- finished 2/23/22. I have had this book since around 2001, it was my grandmother's. I am normally a fan of Christie (especially Miss Marple), but these short stories just weren't that good. Maybe they were too short - no room for character development, and Poirot was so conceited. I give it a dismal 2.5 stars.

9. An audio book finished on 2 March -- The Duke and I by Julia Quinn. I do not normally read this type of historical romance, because Georgette Heyer and Dorothy Dunnett set the bar very high for historical romances, and I can't bear explicit sex scenes. The narrator for this book was Rosalyn Landor, and her voice was especially nice for Mrs. Whistledown's newsletter. For this reason, I give the book 2.5 stars.

10. Mary Poppins by P. L. Travers finished on 5 March. I have a very weird system of picking next books, and that's my excuse for reading such an obvious children's book. I have a 1981 hardback edition, and I bought it in a bookstore in London around 1989, although this book was published in the States. Anyway, I probably would have liked reading it to my kids, but don't think I ever did. I don't want to say anything bad about it, since it was the inspiration for one of my favorite movies, but Mary Poppins in the book is not nearly as wonderful as the movie versions. I did really enjoy the parts with the stars and Maia, so I give it 3.5 stars.

11. Finished Here, Right Matters by Alexander Vindman on 25 March. I've had the book since September 2021, so it hasn't been on my shelf for long. The author is the Army Lt. Col. who testified during former President Trump's first impeachment trial, and I liked the background to his impeachment testimony, but the best parts of the book are his descriptions of Russian political and diplomatic strategy, especially in light of Russia's criminal invasion of Ukraine. 3.5 stars.

I'm adding Dorothy L. Sayers to my ever-growing list of authors to read. I love a good mystery.

I'm very behind on my 50 book challenge update. The last time I posted was in March, at which point I had completed 11. Here's what I've read since then:
12. Prelude to Foundation by Isaac Asimov - audio book completed on 4/16/22. This began my goal to finish all the Foundation books. 3.5 stars.
13. A Man Lay Dead by Ngaio Marsh - audio book finished on 4/24/22. Great narration, but I only gave it 3 stars.
14. Robot Visions by Isaac Asimov - library book completed on 6/12/22. Collection of short stories about robots. 3 stars
15. Ready Player Two: A Novel by Ernest Cline audio book completed on 6/17/22. Not as good as the first book -- but still love Will Wheaton as the narrator. 3.5 stars
16. Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance - Completed on 7/29/22. Fairly interesting of biography of Elon Musk published in 2014 -- so none of his current shenanigans are in it. 3.5 stars
17. Forward the Foundation by Isaac Asimov - library book finished on 7/29/22. Interesting to catch up on the Foundation books that are prequels to the original Foundation stories. 3 stars
18. The Secret History of Wonder Woman by Jill Lepore - I finished the Kindle version, though I have the hardback version in my library. A sort of creepy story about the creator of the Wonder Woman comic series by a man who pretty much had three wives, even though he was only legally married to one. The good parts are about the women's suffrage movement, the origins of Planned Parenthood, and the woman who was the inspiration for Wonder Woman. 3 stars
19. The Provincial Lady in Wartime by E.M. Delafield - audio book completed on 8/2/22. I love all of the Provincial Lady books, and have listened to them all. The narrator is the same for all the audio books, and she's fantastic. This is the last Provincial Lady book published before Delafield's death during WWII. 3 stars
20. Foundation by Isaac Asimov - completed on 8/27/22. I've had this copy since the 90s, but I originally read it in the 70s. Good story, though the science parts are really outdated, especially since the story takes place 50,000 years in the future. I've already begun the next in the series -- Foundation and Empire. 3.5 stars

More catching up:
21. The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey -- completed on 9/17/22. Another book I've had since forever -- probably my fourth or fifth reading. Excellent mystery involving the likely true story of Richard III. Highly recommend. 5 stars.
22. A Presumption of Death by Jill Paton Walsh (based on an unfinished collection of notes by Dorothy Sayers). Finished on 10/3/22. I admire Jill Paton Walsh's books, but her voice just doesn't equal Dorothy Sayer's . Not a bad read, but Walsh's other books are much better. Read the Google Play EBook. 3.5 stars
23. The Silver Pigs by Lindsey Davis. Completed the audio version on 10/17/22. Excellent narration -- always love Marcus Didius Falco, and this is at least my third read of the first of the Falco mysteries. 4.5 stars
24 Arriving Today: From Factory to Front Door - Why Everything Has Changed About How and What We Buy by Christopher Mims finished on 10/28/22. Audio book read very well by narrator. I learned a lot about supply chains and will not take things arriving so effortlessly on my part so lightly in the future. 4 stars.

25. Foundation and Empire by Isaac Asimov 11/11/22. A re-read, but haven't read it since sometime in the 1990s. I'm trying to get through all the foundation books this year, and it's a slog. They just aren't as good as I remember, and I wish he hadn't taken out all the robots. Next up is Second Foundation. I'm still giving it 4 stars (I liked the Mule).

26. The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow. Audio book finished on 11/15/22. Great narration and a good plot. It dragged a little bit here and there, but overall, I really enjoyed it. It tells the imagined story of the middle Bennet sister, Mary. 4 stars