Happy 2022 - two months late! This year I'm focusing on books I truly want to read. Of course every book is a book I want to read, but this last year of being on Bookstagram has really increased my TBR (To-Be-Read) list exponentially. It's really easy to get distracted by new releases and books that everyone is talking about in the moment, but I want to get back to the basics for a bit, and that includes backlist books from my favorite authors, book series continuations, and books that have been on my TBR for a while!
Genre: Classic Whodunnit Mystery
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐
Format: Audiobook & E-book
Quick Synopsis: Detective Hercule Poirot is summoned via a cryptic letter to the town of Andover where Alice Ascher has been found murdered in her shop. Fast forward to another letter received just in time for Betty Barnard’s Murder in Bexhill… Poirot races to prevent the third before the madman can humiliate him again.
Quick Review: Agatha Christie is the queen of mystery and The ABC Murders is no exception. The writing just feels so authentic and really seems to pave the way for some of our favorite modern mysteries and thrillers.
Who Should Read This: Anyone who played the Nancy Drew computer games as a kid. Anyone who likes Peter Swanson books. Anyone who enjoys Escape the Room experiences.
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Format: Hardcover
Quick Synopsis: Dan quit his job as a mediocre teacher to run his own bookshop. Dan now has a failing bookshop and a dwindling savings account. To top it off, his wife wants a baby and Dan still feels mediocre compared to his wife’s late first husband. Dan copes with his stress by writing lists.
Quick Review: This book is written entirely in lists. My type-A heart loved this. There's lists detailing his savings accounts, judgy opinions about the world, and one sided text threads. But if you're gonna complain that the book would have been better if it was written like a normal novel, just skip this book - not for you.
Who Should Read This: Anyone who likes Where'd You Go Bernadette. Anyone who puts things on lists that they've already completed just to be able to cross something out.
Genre: Cult Thriller
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Format: Audiobook
Quick Synopsis: In the tradition of Angels & Demons and The Da Vinci Code, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon finds himself, once again, wrapped up in a grandiose scheme, this time facing a dangerous Freemason against the backdrop of Washington, DC.
Quick Review: Dan Brown follows the same format for this book as the previous two books (a horrifying prelude, arcane symbols woven throughout, religious undertones, a city packed with history, a terrifying and brooding villain, a strong and intelligent female companion...), but yet The Lost Symbol is still a race to the end. Dan Brown uses his skillful writing to entrance the reader with his short chapters chock-full of research and possible inside looks at some of history's most fascinating secrets and unseen truths. This is probably my least favorite of the three Robert Langdon's I've read, as I didn't find this specific plot to be as high-stakes as the destructive anti-matter in Angels & Demons or as iconic as the search for the Holy Grail in The Da Vinci Code.
Who Should Read This: Anyone who likes National Treasure. Anyone who is a U.S. history buff. Anyone who just needs a book they can rely on - nothing crazy.
Genre: Thriller
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Format: Audiobook
Quick Synopsis: The year is 1991. Charlie desperately needs to get home to clear her head, so she accepts a ride offered by a stranger she met on the college ride share board. But once inside his car on the long journey home in a pre-cell phone era, Charlie gets inside her own head, convinced she's being driven by a serial killer.
Quick Review: Sager has a knack for atmospheric writing. Sager really takes us back to college in 1991, which I truly appreciated. At the same time, I don't love unreliable narrators, which is a huge plot device for this book. Despite my misgivings for unreliable narrators, Sager did keep me intrigued, but it just kind of went off the rails near the end. Definitely a chaotic ending!
Who Should Read This: Anyone who likes unreliable narrators. Anyone who is a classic film buff. Anyone who loves road trips and late-night diners.
What's on deck for the next two months?
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman to buddy read with a Bookstagram friend - also one of the oldest books on my TBR!
Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith because the ending gets spoiled in Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson, my favorite thriller author!
We'll see what else strikes my fancy in the next two months!
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