January 2022 Wrap Up

So then of course, I went on to reread 84 Charing Cross Road, one of my favorite nonfiction books of all time.

I'm very glad I reread this. I obviously remember bits and pieces of it from when I read it nearly 20 years ago. That's horrifying to say out loud, but obviously I got a whole lot more out of it this time.

First, my review of Five Tuesdays in Winter by Lily King, one of my favorite pieces of fiction of last year, ran in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. This is an absolutely fabulous short story collection filled with all different types of stories, but I did notice a unifying theme throughout the collection.

And then, Hail Mary, it was just a revelation. I had no idea that there was a women's football league in the states. And now I'm so sad that it died before it really had a chance to thrive.

It's a reflective, curious, and deeply touching memoir that would be perfect for anyone who likes language and who likes pondering the meanings of words, even mundane ones. I would say actually especially mundane ones. I just thought it was something really special.

But even though these two books are so similar, this one just didn't click for me and I can't even really say why. So it's not like I was hating this book, I just had absolutely no desire to continue.

I thought both of these books were fantastic. Paradise Found is emotionally devastating, as you would expect.

I read The Ex Talk last year, and I really liked it. At the end of The Ex Talk, I remember that the characters acted in such an unprofessional way that it still bothers me to this day, and I read that book, I think about a year ago.

I think most of us found this to be very pleasant, definitely very relaxing, occasionally extremely thought-provoking. But, like a lot of other people who participated in the read-along, I did find this to be a little bit predictable and definitely repetitive.

I thought this was a fascinating read, very respectfully handled.

I ended up having some mixed feelings about this book, but there were a lot of parts of it that I really liked. I thought the cast was over-ambitiously large. I thought it ran too long.

I was so eager to read this book because I really enjoyed reading her novel Things in Jars, which I read last year.

I picked this up on a whim, and after enjoying it so much, I just didn't really want to stop.

So yeah, this isn't the worst romance book I've ever read in my life, but it is not something that I recommend. I think I gave it two, maybe two and a half stars.