Welcome to Quick Lit, where we share short and sweet reviews of what we’ve been reading lately on the 15th of the month.
This month has been full of review and reflection on my reading life, as I’ve compiled not only this monthly collection but also my favorite books of 2022 and favorite audiobooks of the year (coming Monday!).
I always consult my My Reading Life book journal when I compile my monthly Quick Lit round-up, so it’s easy to know what I’ve been reading lately. This month I’ve continued some of my fall trends, both planned and unplanned: a healthy mix of fiction and nonfiction, a steady flow of books that are twenty-plus years old, and, unexpectedly, a large proportion of Irish works or books tied to Ireland.
Lately I’ve also read some very good books that are coming out in winter and spring 2023—but you won’t hear about those until our Spring Book Preview! That’s coming January 10, 2023 for our Modern Mrs Darcy Book Club and WSIRN Patreon communities. For now I will simply report that there’s lots for readers to look forward to in the year to come.
I hope you had a good reading month—I can’t wait to hear about your recent reads in comments!
Short and sweet reviews of what I’ve been reading lately
Everything Sad Is Untrue: (a true story)
This may be one of my favorite audiobooks of the year! I opted to listen after a wide variety of readers with wildly disparate tastes all gushed about this book, specifically recommending the audiobook. Our narrator for this epic is a 12-year-old Iranian-born named Khosrou, who now lives in Oklahoma and is known as Daniel, and the tales he spins are drawn from his rich family history, ancient Persian folklore, and sometimes from the extraordinary and ordinary moments of his middle school life. "Every story is the sound of a storyteller begging to stay alive," Daniel tells us, perhaps explaining why he puts his whole heart and soul into the tales he weaves for his audience. This is a beautiful, heartbreaking, hilarious book, and while the books are by no means readalikes, I thought often of Trevor Noah's Born a Crime while I was listening. More info →
The Reading List: A Novel
Our Modern Mrs Darcy Book Club members chose this as our December 2022 selection, and I'm grateful for the nudge to finally read it! In her debut novel, Adams explores howbooks intersect with our lives in unexpected ways and lead to unexpected friendships as well. Thanks to a handwritten list of books found between the pages of To Kill a Mockingbird, a teenage library worker named Aleisha connects with the elderly Mukesh, a lonely widower who yearns for a better relationship with his granddaughter, an avid reader. Aleisha shares the list she found, and the two lonely readers find solace in reading and discussing each title. Deeply moving, sad and sweet, this literary tale serves as a reminder of the power of books to heal, empower, and connect us to one another, with a strong through-line on the importance of mental health. (On that note, content warnings apply.) More info →
A Very Merry Bromance (Bromance Book Club 5)
I'm a longtime fan of the Bromance Book Club series, and this new holiday romp sure goes down easy. The fifth book in the series is once again set in Nashville, this time centering country music superstar Colton Wheeler (whose job is "to make other people happy. Even if it killed him") and immigration attorney Gretchen Winthrop (who, being from the wealthy Winthrop family, "carried the toxic gene of chaos and greed that infected everyone who came in contact with them"). I loved the country music setting, and being from Kentucky, where bourbon is king, reading about the sordid dealings of a Tennessee whiskey family was a whole lot of fun. You don't have to read this entire series in order, but you may enjoy the added context (who are these guys and how did they come to form a romance book club?) that comes with reading at least the first before starting this one. More info →
We Are the Brennans
I've especially been drawn to big-hearted, juicy family dramas this year, and this one did not disappoint. Five years ago, Sunday Brennan left her small New York hometown, abandoning her parents, three brothers, and devoted fiancé with no explanation. In the present, after a wildly uncharacteristic episode of binge drinking lands her in the hospital, her brother convinces her to come home for a little while to recuperate and help with the Irish American family's struggling bar. Not everyone is thrilled to see the prodigal daughter, and her reappearance eventually causes all kinds of long-held family secrets to finally come pouring out. I loved this for its portrayal of complex family dynamics (especially among the four siblings), its sweet tale of young love, the ever-interesting setting of the bar, and its hopeful—but not tidy—resolution. More info →
Four Letters of Love: A Novel
It was only upon perusing my reading journal that I realized how much Irish fiction I've been reading lately, including this 1997 debut novel from the Dublin-born Williams. While the story isn't terribly old, it feels decidedly old-fashioned. The story unspools slowly; the plot is anchored by four life-changing letters written decades apart. First we meet 12-year-old Nicholas Coughlan, whose father soon announces he's received a calling from God to quit his job and become a painter, with tragic and unforeseen consequences. In another part of Ireland, young Isabel Gore is a poet's daughter, whose life is upended when her beloved and talented brother suffers a terrible seizure that make his planned future impossible. We know the two are destined to connect, and Williams methodically (perhaps miraculously?) weaves their paths together. One of my favorite books of 2021 was Shirley Hazzard's The Transit of Venus; the tone of Williams's story reminded me very much of Hazzard's. More info →
Our Book of Awesome: A Celebration of the Small Joys That Bring Us Together
I've had the pleasure of knowing Neil Pasricha ever since we met up at Union Square on March 5, 2020, and exchanged elbow bumps in greeting before recording a podcast in the wild. This new book, a follow-up to the 2010 sensation The Book of Awesome, continues with the original's purpose to identify small pleasures, write them down, and focus on gratitude (very much in the vein of yesterday's and related posts). The magic of this book is the way shared small pleasures make you light up inside with recognition: the smell of a library, when a stranger laughs at a joke between you and your friends, completely nailing the timing on that avocado. This is a fun book to read through a few entries at a time over a month or to leave on the coffee table to dip in and out of when you need a pick-up. More info →
What have YOU been reading lately? Tell us about your recent reads—or share the link to a blog or instagram post about them—in comments.
59 comments
The Reading List was SO moving, Anne. Such a heartwarming pick for this time of year. Your other selections are all new to me, so thank you!
November was another good reading month for me and included a slow read of Babel (amazing!) and several new releases I’d been looking forward to. And as always, plenty of readalouds with my kids! Please visit my Cozy Burrow to see more: https://katiegilley.com/2022/12/05/november-2022-reading/
This month was chock full of five star reads and I can’t wait to share them with you!!
https://neverenoughnovels.com/2022/12/15/december-2022-mini-book-reviews/
The Reading List sounds interesting. Who doesn’t love a book about books?
Here’s what I’ve been reading lately: https://readeatrepeat.net/2022/12/15/books-in-progress-december-2022/
We Are the Brenans was the first book I read in 2022, and 11 months later I’m still thinking about that family…
I’ve been learning a lot about technology and its influence, and my nonfiction reading this month reflected this current interest/concern. I also read two backlist middle grade novels, two novellas (one I adored, one that was too creepy for my taste), a classic I FINALLY got around to reading, some intriguing contemporary fiction, and a couple of 5-star faith-based books.
https://kendranicole.net/quick-lit-december-2022/
I’ve got a fascinating picture book biography, an unputdownable thriller, and a middle grade for soccer fans.
https://carolinestarrrose.com/quick-lit-what-ive-been-reading-lately-22/
I’m reading The Maid, by Nita Prose, and thoroughly enjoying the title character’s voice!
I’ve had an o.k. reading month, it definitely could have been better, but I’ve also had worse. I’ve been a fan of Kelly Ripa’s forever and I really enjoyed her memoir/short stories. A great palette cleanser between heavier books.
https://sonovelicious.substack.com/p/nibbles-and-bits-vol-6
I finally started the audio version of Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. So intriguing!
Our Book of Awesome might have to be a last minute gift for my daughter.
November was my best reading month all year. Here’s what I read:
http://www.allthebooksihaventread.com/blog-1/2022/12/13/show-us-your-books-december-2022
Anne, if you haven’t read it, another wonderful Niall Williams book is “This Is Happiness”, also set in small village Ireland, as he describes when “the electric” came to the region. Beautiful writing and quirky loveable characters. One of our highest rated books in IRL book club.
I am finally reading The Count of Monte Cristo on audio and loving it!
A relative gave me Niall Williams’ “History of the Rain.” Is anyone familiar with this book? Trying to decide where in my TBR to slot it. Near the top? Or farther down?
I loved History of the Rain and This is Happiness. I have Four Letters of Love on my nightstand and will get to it soon. He is such a beautiful writer. I plan to read his entire back list over time.
Eileen I loved This is Happiness and so did my book club. His prose is so beautiful and provoked such a feeling of peace and calm. Really needed in these times. Irish authors have become my favorites.
I think I’ve relistened to Everything Sad is Untrue at least three times. He’s such a born storyteller!!
My favorite read this month was A Quiet Life by Ethan Joella – it was heartbreaking, but also so warm and wonderful.
A Quiet Life in on my library holds list. I enjoyed his debut.
Thanks for the list, Anne. I always enjoy your critiques and recommendations. I really loved Barbara Kingsolver’s Demon Copperhead. Long but a great read. Just an observation about other comments, I do not have the time nor the desire to click on links in other comments without a compelling book title or two.
I totally agree about the links!
I always wonder why so many posters here promote their own sites? Is this a tradition from the launch of MMD? Was it once a book club of some sort for bloggers? Would love the backstory one of these days 🙂
I think the answer is that these monthly QuickLit posts are specifically designed to be link-ups. So lots of people participate via their own blogs. I don’t have a site myself, but I have found the link-up to be a fun way to “get to know” other bloggers and book reviewers, and I have found that there are certain bloggers whose interests coincide with mine, so I always look forward to following their links and reading their reviews.
Agreed. 100%.
I think I need to add the Reading List to my TBR along with Our Book of Awesome. My reading this month has been light -https://myviewofthehoneypot.blogspot.com/2022/12/what-i-read-december-and-yearly-book.html
I am looking forward to more Reading Adventures in the New Year
Demon Copperhead. I loved this book. 5 stars at least. So many themes in this book.
I am on the Demon Copperhead strugglebus! I am a little past the halfway point and can’t seem to get any momentum. I don’t have trouble not finishing books but 50% seems like a point of no return. I just need to sit down and finish it. I like the story and find Demon’s voice to be really sharp and compelling. I’m not sure why I’m having to work so hard.
I also struggled with DC, Patricia, and had a hard time figuring out why. Demon is a very interesting narrator, but he kind of bugged me a little bit. And I was bummed because I really wanted to LOVE this one!
Oh, I’ve had Everything Sad Is Untrue on my radar for a long time and heard only great things!
– This month, I read A Gentleman in Moscow, and I thought it was going to be boring, but it was NOT. I loved it.
– I found a used copy of The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield, and it completely sucked me in. It had just the right amount of creepy suspense for me (I’m a total wuss).
– I was equally inspired and convicted by M Is for Mama by Abbie Halberstadt. This was JUST what my homeschool-mom-heart needed.
– My kids and I listened to Tolkien’s Letters from Father Christmas on audio in the car, and it was a very merry start the Christmas season! I didn’t realize that this was a collection of letters that Tolkien actually wrote to his own kids over an, oh, 15-year period. Very sweet.
Here’s everything I read this winter: https://bookdevotions.com/book-reviews-winter-2022/
Also loved A Gentleman in Moscow. The author wrote another book more recently called The Lincoln Highway, which I also enjoyed.
Yes! I read The Lincoln Highway over the summer (a gorgeous hardback copy was in my Little Free Library and I just couldn’t resist!) That book (which I devoured) nudged me toward A Gentleman. Now, I have Rules of Civility on my nightstand waiting it’s turn. Haha.
You are not alone with Gentleman from Moscow! It’s a superb book and anything but boring. Have you listened to it on audio?? Have to recommend that as EVEN BETTER.
I highly recommend The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep for any classic literature lovers out there! I’m adding the Reading List to my list of books about books TBR. =) Other books I’ve read lately, including a bunch of read-aloud with my kids, are here: https://miathereader.com/reading-recap-read-alouds-up-first/
4 memoirs!
http://www.lindastoll.net/2022/12/2022s-cherished-memoirs.html?m=1
I have recently discovered Beth Brower books and especially love The Unselected Journals of Emma M Lion series. They are funny, clever, sweet and thoughtful.
The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 1 https://a.co/d/011ZqzD
My favourite read from the past month is Fault Lines by Emily Itami. Pure fun was Nora Goes Off Script. I decided to try a graphic book (something I never read) and went with the graphic memoir French Milk. Would love to hear about other good graphic novels or memoirs. I enjoy contemporary fiction (Ann Patchett, Jhumpa Lahiri and Fredrick Backman are favs).
This might depend on how old your parents are, or if you might be caring for them, but if it’s now, or in your future, you must look at “Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant?” a graphic memoir by Roz Chast. Her parents are in their 80s and living in an apartment in Brooklyn. Then they are in their 90s. Their only daughter feels the need to help, and this is funny, awful and true, all at the same time. It’s a page turner!!
There’s something in each of the books you recommend that I think I would love, Anne! I need to narrow it down to only one or two though. lol.
One of my favorite books this month was Dr. Becky’s, “Good Inside” even though I’m no longer in the active parenting years. It’s applicable for all ages! 🙂 I also read an excellent Diana Chamberlain novel and Jodi Picoult novel.
Here are 6 books I recommend this month:
https://lisanotes.com/books-i-recommend-november-2022/
I am 5 books away from completing my goal of 2022!!! Not sure I can make it to 50, but I am enjoying trying!
Currently reading Bomb Shelter by Mary Laura Philpott. I started it in June, when I had major surgery & thought a short story format would be easier post surgery. I’d put it aside (returned to library) & thought now, it would be helpful to get back to & help meet my goal. The writing is very good.
I finished Kevin Wilson’s Now Is Not The Time To Panic last night. I wish I’d known the story behind the catch-phrase (which drove me nuts!) beforehand. Watch the interview with Jenna Bush Hager on You Tube.
Also Foster by Claire Keegan. Loved it!!!! Just goes to show how short & sweet can say it all! Brilliant small book.
I finally attempted Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine. I had already read The Maid and hated it. So feeling like I was hearing that character/voice all over again did not work for me. A DNF.
I’ll have to try out the reading list–I love books about books, but have been disappointed by my last few.
It’s been a slow few months of reading, but I’ve found my limited reading time in this season is allowing me to savor the books and be a bit more discerning about what I’m finishing.
Here’s what I’ve been reading:
https://www.mindjoggle.com/december-2022-book-reviews/
I am intrigued by Everything Sad Is Untrue!
It’s been a busy but great month of reading making sure I’m on track to completing my reading challenges before or at least not too long after the end of the year.
http://www.avikinginla.com/2022/12/what-ive-been-reading-lately-november-2022/
I DNRd Everything Sad is Untrue several years ago. I simply found it difficult to read, but I loved the idea of the story. Maybe it’s better on audio.
I just finished We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman and loved it! I’ve been a longtime fan of her blog (her annual gift guide is perfecto), and her voice really came through in the novel.
If you’re looking for more books about Ireland by Irish authors, I would also recommend Trespasses by Louise Kennedy. Set in Northern Ireland during The Troubles, it is a debut novel but you would never know it.
I just finished Meredith, Alone by Claire Alexander. I just loved getting to know the main character, Meredith, who has sequestered herself in her house for almost four years. The reason for this is gradually revealed, as well as her thought process as she considers whether or not to rejoin the outside world again. It is ultimately an uplifting and often amusing book, but does cover some serious issues. The book I just started is The Authenticity Project written by Clare Pooley, which is also what I would call a character-driven story about strangers who reveal their true lives in one notebook they each randomly come across.
I read several great queer romances this month, as well as a few books that I’d heard a lot about that didn’t quite live up to the hype: https://cocoonofbooks.blogspot.com/2022/12/what-ive-been-reading-lately-quick-lit.html
I just finished reading The Circus Train by Amita Parikh, which I believe came out earlier this month. It was fantastic, I gave it 5 stars on Goodreads. It’s not the type of book I would normally reach for, as I usually enjoy sci fi, thrillers, and mysteries, but I would 100% read more from this author. What caught my eye was that it was described as Water for Elephants(I loved this movie, never read the book)meets The Night Circus(which I have read and loved). It’s a coming of age story, and a World War II story and a love story, and a story of this traveling circus that ultimately created a family of people that supported each other throughout their lives. There are also some secrets that get revealed along the way that I did not at all see coming!
I don’t want to give a spoiler alert so I won’t say it fully but there should be a trigger warning for The Reading List. Do others agree? It completely surprised me and I might not have read it if I knew. I SO loved the book except for how that part impacted me.
My goal in November was to finish some of the books that I had started but had not finished. I always read multiple books at a time but I started November with nine books going at the same time. My goal was to finish them or set them aside for good. I ended up finishing quite a few over the last month, which was great. I also decided to just set a few aside because they just were not for me. I feel like it has been a great way to end the year reading wise. https://fromourbookshelf.com/november-2022-reads/
Oooh, I’m always looking for a good audiobook- thanks for the tip on Everything Sad! Here’s what I’ve been reading 😊 https://www.instagram.com/p/CmFrX9ypfHN/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
I am reading The Winners by Fredrik Bachman and listening to How to Fall out of Love Madly. Enjoying both, probably The Winners more so.
I’ve read two Niall Williams books this year — This Is Happiness and History of the Rain — and love his slow, reflective, non-linear style. These are books to savor and not rush through. I have Four Letters of Love on my nightstand and plan to read it early 2023. I don’t think his novels are for everyone because they ramble a bit like a good Irish storyteller would. But I love the atmospheric qualities of his writing.
This month has flown by! Some of my recent reads are:
* Circe by Madeline Miller (3 stars) – This was a pick for my IRL book club but mythology is just not my cup of tea, and this one has some gruesome things that I do not want to think about, ever….
* Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan (4 stars rounded up) – If you like Jodi Picoult books this is well done but it feels like the same plot structure and formula as so many of her previous books, just wrapped around the current hot topic/social issue of the day.
* The Whalebone Theater by Joanna Quinn (5 stars) – This spans decades in the lives of the Seagrave “siblings”, who are unique, quirky, and very endearing. I loved this story and the characters.
* Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid (4 stars)
Happy Reading!
I finished strong in November with four 5⭐️ reads:
Good Inside
Flight
The Beatryce Prophesy (with my son)
We All Want Impossible Things
I’ve struggled a bit in December. I’m not sure Demon Copperhead is working for me right now. But I’ve finished Essentialism (fine), Lauren Graham’s new book of essays on audio (underwhelming), and City Spies (with my son).
I’m currently reading (along with Demon Copperhead) the memoir Stay True and listening to Bono’s new memoir. Also started the second volume of City Spies with my son.
Listened to Demon Copperhead audiobook. Wow wow wow. An amazing book and narrator. Bought copies for my daughters. 5+ stars. What a voice. Such despair and hope.
Long car trip so went to a new audiobook when done with Demon. It was Lark Ascending by Silas House. Hey this voice sounds familiar- yup, Charlie Thurston did both books! Dystopia caused by climate change. Entertaining and well written. 4 stars.
Now halfway through The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell. One of my favorite authors and have read just about everything of hers except recent historical fiction. Hamnet awaits in paperback. So far so very good.
I just discovered Silas House and am currently reading Clay’s Quilt.
https://thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown.blogspot.com/2022/12/reading-update.html
Books #69-74 of 2022.
My November reading wrap up …
https://readingladies.com/2022/11/30/november-2022-reading-wrap-up-novemberreadingwrapup/
I really loved The Reading List as well. Our Book of Awesome sounds like the kind of book I would love as well. This month is full of audiobooks. In this particular season, I have very little time to sit down with a book so most of my reading is on audio. I have 5 audiobooks to share including two historical fiction books that I loved, nonfiction that was just ok, and middle-grade fiction and adult fiction both recommended by Anne.
https://www.sincerelystacie.com/2022/12/quick-lit-mini-reviews-of-some-recent-reads-december-2022-edition/
Read The Road by Cormac McCarthy, a harrowing and moving book. I loved it but it is still haunting me. Also reading books by William Kent Krueger
I would also recommend Trespasses by Louise Kennedy. Set in Northern Ireland during The Troubles, it is a debut novel but you would never know it.
First, I am DYING to read the Claire Keegan books, but my library doesn’t have either one (and no book stores here)—I will have to order them.
Second, I am currently reading The Displacements by Bruce Holsinger and I’m all swept up in it! It’s about a Cat 6 Hurricane (no such thing as of the present) that wipes out both Miami, southern Florida, Galveston and Houston, and the incredible diaspora that accompanies the destruction of their homes. One upper class well-off family living in $2 million house in Miami ends up in FEMA shelter in Oklahoma with NOTHING! So prescient! Thought provoking!
I also read The Palace Papers by Tina Brown. If you want a comprehensive, but also readable and entertaining compilation of the Royal Family for the last 30 years, this is it!! I loved her writing, and also her lack of bias. She writes the good and the bad, and I couldn’t tell which royals she was sympathetic towards. Long book, but worth every page!
And This is the Story of a Happy Marriage, by Ann Patchett, is a collection of articles and essays and speeches, and despite my disappointment that it wasn’t a memoir of her marriage (though there is one essay with the title of the book), I hung on her every word. It is so relatable!
My favorites from the last few months were Cloud Cuckoo Land, The Bookwoman of Troublesome Creek, Salt to the Sea, The Winners (my FAVORITE), The Good Left Undone, The Ten Thousand Doors of January, and The Island of Missing Trees (this is a seven month reading span for me, ha!)