Monday, January 2, 2023

Book List: Books Read in 2022


BOOKS READ IN 2022

Every January, when I remember, I post a list here on the blog of the books I read the prior year. I keep track of the books I read on LibraryThing

Here's the list of the 111 books I read in 2022, in the order I read them.

Notes about my rating system are below the list.

  • Katherine by Anya Seton ๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน
  • The Bostonians by Henry James ๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน
  • Island of Gold by Amy Maroney ๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน
  • The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz ๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน
  • A Narrow Door by Joanne Harris (reviewed here)๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน
  • The Nest by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney ๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน
  • The Falls by Ian Rankin ๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน
  • Little Big Man by Thomas Berger ๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน
  • Rat Race by Dick Francis ๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน
  • Trio by William Boyd ๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน1/2
  • As Husbands Go by Susan Isaacs ๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน
  • Lucky by Marissa Staples ๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน
  • Love is Blind by William Boyd ๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน
  • A Line to Kill by Anthony Horowitz ๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน
  • The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton ๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน
  • Holy Orders by Benjamin Black ๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน1/2
  • Blue Moon by Lee Child ๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน1/2
  • The Counterlife by Philip Roth ๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน
  • Mr. Majestyk by Elmore Leonard ๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน
  • The Masters by C. P. Snow ๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน1/2
  • The Reservoir by David Duchovny (reviewed here) ๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน
  • Three Wishes by Liane Moriarty ๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน
  • Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones ๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน
  • North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell ๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน
  • Murder at Hazelmoor (aka The Sittaford Mystery) by Agatha Christie ๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน
  • The Newlyweds by Nell Freudenberger ๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน
  • Book Lovers by Emily Henry ๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน
  • Literary Life by Larry McMurtry ๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน1/2
  • The High Window by Raymond Chandler ๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน
  • The Black Cat by Martha Grimes ๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน
  • Airframe by Michael Chrichton ๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน
  • White Teeth by Zadie Smith ๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน
  • One Fifth Avenue by Candace Bushnell ๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน

  • The Scapegoat by Daphne du Maurier ๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน
  • Call it Sleep by Henry Roth ๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน


MY RATING SYSTEM

I switched to using roses for my rating system, since this is Rose City Reader. My rating system is my own and evolving. Whatever five stars might mean on amazon, goodreads, or Netflix, a five-rose rating probably doesn't mean that here. My system is a mix of how a book subjectively appeals to me, its technical merits, and whether I would recommend it to other people.

๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน Five roses for books I loved, or would recommend to anyone, or I think are worthy of classic "must read" status." Examples would be Lucky Jim (personal favorite), A Gentleman in Moscow (universal recommendation), and Great Expectations (must read).

๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน Four roses for books I really enjoyed and/or would recommend to people who enjoy that type of book. So I give a lot of four roses because I might really like a book, but it didn't knock my socks off. And while I'd recommend it to someone who likes that genre -- mystery, historical fiction, food writing, whatever -- I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who asked me for a "good book.".

๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน Three roses for books I was lukewarm on or maybe was glad I read but wouldn't recommend.

๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน Two roses if I didn't like it. Lessons in Chemistry is an example, which proves how subjective my system is because lots of people loved that book. I found it cartoonish and intolerant. 

๐ŸŒน One rose if I really didn't like it. I don't know if I've ever rated a book this low. The Magus might be my only example and I read it before I started keeping my lists.

I use half roses if a book falls between categories. I can't explain what that half rose might mean, it's just a feeling.

Here is a link to the star rating system I used for years. I include it because the stars I used in years past meant something different than these roses, so if you look at my lists from past years, the ratings won't mean quite the same thing.






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