First book review of 2022! Let’s dive in, shall we?
The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman
This book is the sequel to the mega-hit novel The Thursday Murder Club which if you haven’t read yet, you need to. Both books revolve around four elderly friends who live in a retirement community in England who solve crimes. It is highly entertaining and laugh-out-loud funny, and you will honestly wish you knew these people in a real-life setting. I absolutely recommend giving The Man Who Died Twice a go, but please read the initial installment first. It will give you a better feel for the characters and the situations that eventually set up the second book.
The Matter of Black Lives edited by Jelani Cobb and David Remnick
This tome is over 800 pages of previously published articles in The New Yorker by black authors. Here, you will read missives from many different authors regarding race and what it meant to be black in America. James Baldwin wrote his piece for The New Yorker in the early 60’s which laid the foundation for his book The Fire Next Time, which is a fantastic read by the way. I learned about Zora Neale Hurston and Ralph Ellison. I also learned about The Pullman Strike and the lives that continued to be affected by Hurricane Katrina.
Decades and decades worth of stories that just pull you in and make your heart hurt. I cried several times reading this book. It is that good. Don’t let the number of pages be a preventative measure to reading this book. This is one you must read.
The Crooked House by Agatha Christie
So, several years ago I sold quite a few books that I no longer read and were just taking up room on my bookshelf. I figured someone else would get use out of them and love them just as much as I did.
Well, The Crooked House was one of those books. As much as I adore Christie and her mysteries, not all of them are ones I love or enjoy giving them a proper re-read. This book was one of the ones I had sold so when I happened to see it on the bookshelves at my local library, I decided to check it out and read it again and remember why I didn’t keep it.
Oh, so that’s why I didn’t keep it, is what I kept saying as I read the book. I don’t want to give anything away if you haven’t read this one yet and were planning to, but it just wasn’t that good. Mysteries where it is told in the first-person and they cannot figure out who did it until one page from the end of the book drive me crazy. Have someone else tell the story then! If they have all the same clues at their disposal and we can figure it out, but they can’t… *sigh* I just can’t with books like that.
That’s all from me this month. What have you read lately?
I should maybe get a digital version of The Matter of Black Lives. It’s easier for me to read longer books like that.
That’s a great idea! 🙂
I just added The Thursday Murder Club to my tbr list from another SUYB post! What a coincidence. I will be adding The Matter of Black Lives, too.
I didn’t love Crooked House, either. And Then There Were None is one of my favorites, though!
Oh my goodness, you’ll love The Thursday Murder Club 😀
And Then There Were None is so good! One of her best! I am glad that I wasn’t the only one who didn’t like Crooked House.
Clearly I need to check out Thursday Murder Club as it sounds terrific! And I love a good mystery but am craving lighter ones that don’t leave depressed about mankind. 🙂 The Matter of Black Lives also sounds really good and definitely goes on the TBR as well. Still haven’t read an Agatha Christie (so embarrassed) but know to avoid Crooked House.
I can go on and on about how good The Thursday Murder Club is! It is soooo good and I think it will help you get out of your reading rut. Fiction, especially good fiction, is the answer to any bad day 🙂
The Matter of Black Lives is definitely going on my list, but I’ll probably buy it so I can read it slowly and mixed in with other books.
That is a great idea. It will take a while to get through.