Books and puzzles December 2021 - January 2022

   Pictures are from my latest jigsaw puzzles and a fun Advent puzzle of the day calendar.  

This is the final gift from the Advent calendar

-by Louise Erdrich

The Night Watchman:  Slice of life of 1950s family on an Indian reservation.  Loved the characters, some of the tough stories really stuck with me.

-by Naomi Novick

The Last Graduate: second book, can't wait for the third one in early 2022

Here is the Advent calendar after we finished it.  It was totally amazing, very clever.

Mend Repair:  This was hyped too much, I was underwhelmed.  Super repetitious, especially regarding her own journey.  I didn't even find the illustrations all that helpful.  If I need to review anything practical I would go back to Lily Fulop's book.  I think she is trying to be kind, but it came off as sanctimonious...maybe that's just me!

-by Alice Feeny

Rock Paper Scissors:  Oh no, another troubled marriage book?  Phew!  Totally saved-it is a thriller.  Tons of twists, just what I like.

Detail puzzle pieces, flowers within flowers. 

-by Ashley Hope Perez

Out of Darkness:  Recently popped up because it is being banned in Texas.  Based in East Texas in 1930's Sure, there is some teen sex (purported reason for banning), but racism and ugly people make people uncomfortable.  Couldn't put it down, highly recommend.

-by Jennifer Wiener

Big Summer:  meh.  I was looking for a fun beach read, which this is.  But not the best.  Too much talk of food (but not in memorable detail) and clothes (too much detail).

This is from the magic puzzle company.  These don't work by putting the outline together first, so instead I went with colors.  Rooftops in this case.

-by Louise Penny
The Madness of Crowds:  I picked this up because the review said it was a good treatment of pandemic writing.  It is also the latest in a long line of mysteries.  Set in Quebec province, Inspector Gamache.  Liked it enough to put a hold on the first one.

Still Life:  First book in the series!  Next one on hold.  I like the tiny town and characters, nicely described and I know many of them are going to be there for the series.

-by Alexandra Andrews

Who is Maud Dixon?: Another twisty thriller.  I like our main character because she is just out of college, naive, learning that she is not a special as she grew up believing.  Also about writers.  I caught a couple of the twists, but not all.  Not the best I've read, but not too long.

-by Jacqueline Winspear

Maisie Dobbs:  First in a series of well loved detective novels.  Bright young Maisie was taken under the wing of the lady of the house.  Then WWI happens.  Maisie becomes a detective. Fun, will read more.

Then I moved the rooftops into place.

-by Annette Gordon-Reed

On Juneteenth:  Loved this history book.  A very personal look at Texas, the origin of the Juneteenth holiday. 

-by Elliot Ackerman and Admiral James Stavridis

2034:  Future fiction of WWIII.  This is not my genre at all...and true to form I thought this was just okay.  Predictable and leaned on stereotypical characters.  And yet I finished it pretty quickly, well written.  It is good to give things a try.

Adding in the windows.

-by Yaa Gyasi

Homegoing:  Loved this!  Character sketches of individuals in a familial lineage. Half on the Gold Coast of Africa and half in the United States.  Starting from the beginning of the slave trade to present day.  Manages to give a very specific depiction of each person and their circumstances in short chapters.

-by Carl Zimmer

Life's Edge:  This is right up my alley.  What is life?  What is alive?  It seems obvious, but all the edge cases highlighted here show it is not obvious at all.  What is the origin of life on earth-you get a layman's explanation of the current research areas

Woo hoo!

Next up, my middle grade YA reads

Tiny puzzle of roses and succulents.  Harder than it looks!

-by Varian Johnson

The Parker Inheritance:  Do you love The Westing Game?  Read this next!

-by Nathan Hale

The Underground Abductor:  Graphic novel about Harriet Tubman.  Love this guys history-makes it fun and memorable.  A Donner Dinner Party is the best.

Next puzzle, a mystical maze. 

-by Jen Wang
Stargazing:  Graphic novel of growing up.  I have managed to read a lot of these (graphic novels about growing up) lately.  It is kind of a trend.

Cute pieces in the maze puzzle

-by Kim Dwinell

Surfside Girls, the Secret of Danger Point: picked up randomly, middle grade surfing girl sleuths.  Cute, but no need to read more.

-by Svetlana Chmakova

Weirn book 1:  Town that is half supernatural folks-kids have their own nighttime school.  I loved her earlier middle grade books, this was okay.  Bet the kids who love series will go for it.

A book I skimmed 

-by George M Johnson

We Are Not Broken:  Biography of growing up with his brother and cousins-the antics they get into and family love.  I didn't read every chapter, but picked up some of them.  I might be a bit burnt out on kids growing up books.