So, on Sunday I did a post about my favourite non-fiction books of 2021. HERE I meant to be back before now to do my fiction favourites but things went a bit pear-shaped on Sunday night when my youngest daughter's place of work (she's their finance manager) had a huge fire and everything was lost. Fortunately, it was still Christmas break and no one was hurt or killed. As you can imagine it's knocked us all for six, if anyone had told me that 2022 would begin with something like this happening I simply would not have believed them. I've heard of 'Expect the unexpected' of course, but 'that'? No. Luckily, it's a strong company and they are picking themselves up, dusting themselves off, and moving forward again.
I wrote that a couple of days ago and they now know the fire was caused by arson, the case is now in the hands of the police and two people have been arrested. I don't know what else 2022 has in store but I'm rather hoping it doesn't get any weirder than this.
So, on to something less horrible. Books and favourite fiction reads from last year. I read 60 I think. Yes. And, oddly, it wasn't a case of just going through the 5 star reads on Goodreads, many of these are 4 stars that have stayed with me over the months and jumped out at me when I went through the 2021 list.
I ended up with 15 which I'll list belown and then 'try', ha ha, to pick a favourite 3.
Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides (modern fiction)
Gardens of Delight - Erica James (contemporary fiction)
Brat Farrar - Josephine Tey (vintage mystery)
The Abominable - Dan simmons (historical fiction)
Emma - Jane Austen (classic)
HMS Surprise - Patrick O'Brian (historical sea-faring)
A Borrowing of Bones - Paula Munier (modern crime)
A Dangerous Place - Jacqueline Winspear (historical crime)
The Collected Ghost stories of E.F. Benson (vintage ghost stories)
Death Around the Bend - T.E. Kinsey (historical crime)
The Stranger Diaries - Elly Griffiths (modern crime)
A Distance too Grand - Regina Scott (historical crime)
And Only to Deceive - Tasha Alexander (historical crime)
The Villa - Rosanna Ley (contemporary fiction)
Murder on Christmas Eve - edited by Cecily Gayford (crime short stories)
The list includes 8 murder mysteries so my enjoyment of crime fiction endures apparently. And it seems I like all kinds of crime yarns, historical, Golden Age, modern, short stories, folk traipsing 'round Vermont...
Now to pick my actual favourites. I think it boils down to these 3, but it wasn't easy.
I absolutely loved A Borrowing of Bones by Paula Munier for it sense of place (Vermont), interesting protagonists and yes... Elvis the dog!
Middlesex was such a wonderful saga of Greek immigration into the USA and, as an individual, what it feels like to be very different indeed.
The Abominable wasn't quite what I was expecting but I loved this very long fictional account about mountain climbing and the machinations of men. But don't expect yetis...
So that's 2021 all wrapped up and put to bed. Onwards into 2022 but to be honest, I feel a bit like this about it:
18 comments:
That's frightful news! So glad no one was hurt. I feel kinda 'meh' about 2022 myself already.
What an awful start to 2022, so glad no one was around when the fire occurred. I'm starting to feel less optimistic about returning to normal in 2022 after hearing that some form of the virus will continue for years to come - so depressing. Thank goodness we have books to "take us away" to a different place and time. A great list of fiction - Cath. You make me want to read Middlesex again. I've also meant to try Dan Simmons as well. Take care!
That cartoon at the bottom of your post says it all! We hope 2022 will be better, but I'm not holding my breath until I see what's around the corner. And how crazy (and sad!) that your daughter's work was hit by an arsonist. As if the world wasn't bad enough right now! At least there are good books out there to read. Paula Munier's series is one of my favorites. I love Mercy and her dog, Elvis. :D
I am so pleased that someone is going to be brought to justice (hopefully!) for the arson attack and delighted that the company has the resources to start again, so that hopefully your daughter's job is safe!
Given how many times we compare books, adding them to one another's lists, I have to confess that I haven't read any of your top fiction titles from 2021, although I really like the sound of 'A Borrowing Of Bones', so that one is heading for my 'wish list', to see how I get on with it before I commit to the entire series.
Loved your caption and I have to say, it just about sums up the first few days of 2022 quite well for me. I started out with high hopes, but those have quickly been dashed and normal (rubbish) service has been resumed!
Stay safe and have a good weekend :)
Jeane: It's a massive relief that no one was hurt. That's due to it still being the Christmas/New Year break here, plus it was early Sunday evening when there would've been no one around anyway.
Glad it's not just me feeling rather 'meh' about 2022 already. Hopefully lots of good books this year will cheer us up.
Diane: Yes, not exactly a good start. I'm still trying to get my head around it to be honest. It's huge blessing that no one was hurt, they so easily could've been if it hadn't been Christmas break still.
I'm not feeling good about 2022 either. I *was* before the fire but it's knocked me for six rather.
Yes, thank goodness for books to take us away. They helped during the pandemic and they're helping now. Dan Simmons is one of those 'Marmite' authors it seems. You either love him or you hate him. My favourite book by him is Drood but a lot of people hated it.
Lark: Yep, the cartoon says it *all* doesn't it. I almost feel anxious about what's going to happen 'next'. Exactly, things are bad enough all round why do that to four businesses and make things terrible for all the people who worked there and their families? It's heartless.
Mercy and her dog are wonderful and that second book is on my list to read either this month or more likely next. I'm just so grateful for books.
Yvonne: Yes, *fingers crossed* my daughter will be ok. It's a very forward looking company, partly due to her influence, so they will get through this but how the other three businesses will fare I know not. One is a nationwide chain and can probably weather this but another is a local piano business and I shudder to think what this will have done to them. It's a tragedy.
I really think you would enjoy A Borrowing of Bones, it's a first class crime mystery and set in Vermont too!
Sorry to hear 2022 has already turned sour for you. I just wonder if things will ever be back to normal again. I see programmes on TV that were filmed before 2020 and it seems like another universe quite frankly.
Take care. xxx
Cath, so sorry about your daughter's company. Crazy times. Hope all the businesses survive. Arson - you know, we read about crimes in novels but I always shudder at true crime. There's a reason that I read fiction. Give your daughter my best wishes and hopes for upcoming days. I read Middlesex a long time ago, but I do remember that I enjoyed it a lot. Take care!
Wow, Cath, that experience with the fire is not exactly something anyone would expect to have happen to them. The weirdness of this new world just keeps coming, doesn't it? But when it hits so close to home, as this did, it has to be a huge shock.
You really had a great 2021 reading year, and I can't wait to what books 2022 brings your way. Middlesex by Jeffery Eugenides is one of the strangest...and most memorable...books I've ever read. That man is a really great writer.
That is dreadful news about the fire. Thank goodness no one was there. It is weird that we are all fans of crime novels yet are so stunned by crime in real life. I hope the company can recreate its records and find new space to rebuild the business. I know how upset I was when my office was merely burglarized a year ago and this feeling of having been attacked by the arsonists must be similar.
We got nearly a foot of snow today in Boston. I was hoping my nephew would walk over with his family's dog as she is fun to watch frolicking in the snow but he must be busy shoveling. My big splurge is paying someone to plow my driveway and shovel my walk. It is a great feeling to wake up and hear these nice guys at work. Today, they didn't come until about noon but it was still snowing so I am sure they were busy.
I am so glad A Borrowing of Bones and Brat Farrar made your favorites of 2021 list as I think I encouraged you to read both of them.
The fire at your daughter's place of business certainly was a bad way to start the year. And I don't know about where you are, but there are lots of cases of Covid-19 in our area which is badly affecting health services, including just day to day stuff like being able to call the doctor, or make appointments, etc. It is directly impacted us because Glen has an eye surgery scheduled for two weeks from now and all the things he has to do before that are going slowly or not at all. But those are small things compared to actually getting sick, so we are staying home and hoping things will improve.
Your list of your top fiction books is interesting. Lots of historical fiction there. You have convinced me that I must read Middlesex someday. The length may be why I have not tried it before, but it sounds like it is worth it.
How awful that the fire was started deliberately, Cath. Arson is a dreadful crime and I cannot conceive of how anyone would do such a thing. I hope 2022 proceeds a lot more smoothly. Thank you for your list. I’ve bookmarked some of them.
Kay: Thank you so much, your thoughts are very much appreciated by all of us. Crazy times indeed. It's interesting that we read so much crime fiction but real crime appalls us. I read somewhere that one of the countries where murder mysteries and crime yarns are not at all popular is Haiti. This is apparently because murder is so rife in that country that they, poor souls, cannot stand to read books about it.
Sam: Yes it was a huge shock and I still haven't quite got my head around what happened. We know a lot more now about who and why and to be honest it's even more shocking than it was before. As you said, the weirdness just keeps on coming.
I have some interesting books lined up for 2022 but also I can't wait to see what all of you will be reading too as you're all a constant source of inspiration to me.
Constance: Some paper records have been lost but luckily my daughter had her work laptop at home with her so much has been saved and the company can start trading again straight away. Yes, I think the feeling of personal attack (and it was personal apparently) for all of the employees is very hard to deal with.
Loved hearing about your snow and I don't blame you at all for hiring someone to shovel for you!
Yes, I think you encouraged me to read Brat Farrar and A Borrowing of Bones, along with a few other people. I love bloggers! LOL
Tracy: Yes, what a terrible start to the year. And yes, we have the same here, Covid cases very high though just starting to drop I notice tonight on the news. We passed 150,000 deaths today, not a nice milestone. The same with drs. apts. too, it's mostly phone apts. although I think if it's dire you can see a dr. or go to A&E, athough they're swamped as you can imagine. I hope Glen's eye surgery goes well if it goes ahead. Sorry to hear he needs that.
Middlesex 'is' long but it goes quite quickly if memory serves, because it's very readable.
Val: It is awful and it was personal too, which is adding to the shock within the company. Like you, no one can understand how this person could do this. Thank you, I'll be quite happy if 2022 is now completely uneventful.
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