Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Book #37 in 2022
3.5 out of 5 (photo from Goodreads)

I’ve enjoyed most of this author’s books. While this wasn’t a favorite, I still liked reading about the main character. It was kind of nice to read a book that didn’t have a timeline that bounced around and multiple points of view. While I don’t mind plots with either, a simple, basic plot is also nice.

Carrie Soto makes an appearance in this author’s book, Malibu Rising, which I really liked. This is a spin-off about just this character and her comeback after retirement from professional tennis. I enjoy tennis, watch professionals play, and understand the game. Even without that I enjoyed Soto’s character.

I didn’t find this book to be a page turner because you wanted to know what happened. What kept my attention was Soto’s character, which admittedly isn’t necessarily all that complex. But she still jumped off the pages for me and I wondered what it would be like to meet her in real life. She felt like a real person and not a character in a book.

Swindle by Gordon Korman

Book #36 in 2022
4.0 out of 5 (photo from Goodreads)

This is a book my fourth grader recently read and wanted me to read to because he liked it. I enjoyed it too as an upper elementary school book.

The main character, Griffin finds a Babe Ruth baseball card in a house that’s going to be demolished. He and his friend, Ben, sell it to a local dealer thinking they got some extra cash. Turns out the dealer swindled them. So they plan on stealing the card back but need some help from others to get the job done.

There’s also a movie version of the book which I personally thought was horrible. Worse than most movies made from books.

Stop here if you want to avoid spoilers!

Upgrade by Blake Crouch

Book #35 in 2022
3.5 out of 5 (photo from Goodreads)

After a reading hiatus this was a decent book to pick up. It wasn’t my favorite by this author but the plot kept me engaged and I completed the book in a few days.

This sci-fi novel is something you could potentially see happening in the right circumstances. I think that’s why I liked it. I enjoyed the plot. What would happen if a human’s genetics could be upgraded? Would it be worth it? How much testing should be done before unleashing something on the public?

What fell flat for me with this book was the main character (and all of them, actually). I didn’t not like him but I didn’t feel like I was rooting for him necessarily either. When Crouch tried to show emotional sides to Logan I didn’t feel touched.

Still, if you’re a fan of sci-fi and/or of this author it’s worth picking this up and reading.

Stop here if you want to avoid spoilers!

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Back to the Prarie by Melissa Gilbert

Book #34 in 2022
3.0 out of 5 (photo from Goodreads)

I gave Gilbert’s first memoir, published in 2009, two stars. I did like this better but it wasn’t anything spectacular. My rating is based on reading other memoirs rather than another book that I felt was just average in another genre.

This is the grown up version of Melissa’s look at life. It’s not too much of a look back as it takes place a few years before COVID-19 hit and goes to mid-2021. While there are mentions of Little House on the Prairie, there isn’t any dishing on what her childhood was like growing up on the set.

Chapters in this book tell of moving from life outside of Hollywood and finding love in a third marriage. Gilbert writes about fixing up an old farmhouse, of getting back into nature, of enjoying life as a mom and grandmother. She also talks politics. And if you don’t agree with her liberal leaning ways this could be a turn off.

Overall, I felt the book was okay. It didn’t turn me off and I do feel like Gilbert was genuine in what she wrote on the pages. But it’s not a book I’ll recommend to people as a must read.

The Night Shift by Alex Finlay

Book #33 in 2022
2.5 out of 5 (photo from Goodreads)

I found this to be an average mystery. It wasn’t horrible but nothing that I felt was gripping. In December of 1999 multiple people are killed at a Blockbuster. The suspect ran off and the murders were never solved. Ella is the only survivor.

Now fifteen years later a similar scene happens at an ice cream shop. This time Jesse is the only survivor. Ella, who is now a therapist, comes in to see if she can get Jesse to talk.

The book switches between the points of view of Ella, Sarah (an FBI agent working on the case), and Chris (a lawyer). Are the two incidents connected? How do people who were involved in the Blockbuster event connect (or not)?

The plot takes place over the course of three days. There are mini cliff hangers at the end of each chapter. I felt like because there were so many characters none of them were really fleshed out enough for me. I did like Sarah. She reminded me of a cross between the female officer from Fargo and Clarice from Silence of the Lambs.

There are quite a few red herrings throughout the plot to keep you guessing on how things will wrap up. Those looking for a decent mystery will enjoy this. Reviews on Goodreads indicate I’m in the minority for not loving the book.

Stop here if you want to avoid spoilers!!!

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The Oceanography of the Moon by Glendy Vanderah

Book #32 in 2022
3.5 out of 5 (photo from Goodreads)

I’ve read all three books that this author has written. This is my least favorite but I did still enjoy it. The style of writing draws you in and you can picture all that is going on without every detail being displayed on the pages. Even though the plot isn’t a page turner the writing kept me interested. I wasn’t necessarily enthralled by the characters either but I wanted to know what happened to them. I like how all of this author’s books incorporate nature and even a bit of a feel of magic into the plot. They’re almost like secondary characters the way they are portrayed.

Riley lives with her cousin’s family on a farm. She has been there since she was 11 (she’s 21 in the book’s present) when her aunt and mom died. Vaughn is a best selling and famous author faced with writer’s block. He looks to find land to buy in Wisconsin as a means to get away and find some creativity.

Riley and Vaughn both have things that happened to them in the past that they generally want to keep locked up. But their paths cross and they’re drawn to each other. Maybe it’s the mystery of untold things from their past. But they’re drawn to each other. Do they have a chance of staying together as their past comes to the surface?

Stop reading here if you want to avoid spoilers!

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Insomnia by Sarah Pinborough

Book #31 in 2022
1.5 out of 5 (photo from Goodreads)

I was hoping for something with twists and turns and even a bit of creepiness. Instead, I got characters that were annoying, a plot that dragged on, and surprises that were lame. I should have stopped reading at some point but I was hoping that I’d get to a point where I’d be drawn in. Eventually, I kept reading just to see how things would end. I can’t get back the time spent reading this book just like you can’t get back lost sleep due to insomnia. Otherwise this book was a snooze fest for me.

Emma is coming up on her 40th birthday. As her mother approached her 40th birthday she started to have insomnia and went crazy. Emma fears, as she starts to not be able to sleep, that the same thing will happen to her. There’s a secret Emma holds from her childhood about her mother, whom she hasn’t had a relationship with since childhood, but it’s always hinted at.

Emma complains about not being able to sleep. A lot. This is partly why the book drags on for hundreds of pages. The same thing over and over. This puts a strain on her relationship with her husband, estranged sister, and other acquaintances. But rather than being mysterious, it’s annoying. I didn’t care about what was going on.

Obviously this book didn’t work for me. Perhaps for someone else it will be an interesting read. Quite a few reviews on Goodreads give it four and five stars. For me, my 1.5 stars feels a bit generous.

Stop here if you want to avoid spoilers!

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Read more: Insomnia by Sarah Pinborough

This book dragged on and on and on just to find out Emma and her mom are psychic? That’s the mental breakdown at 40? But it seemed to only be “telling” of one event. After reading boring page after boring page, this big twist, reveal, whatever you want to call it felt lame. By the time it came I wasn’t invested in the characters or their story.

The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James

Book #30 in 2022
5.0 out of 5 (photo from Goodreads)

After being a little disappointed by the previous book by this author, I was happy to really like this book. I read it in less than 24 hours. I might have completed it in one sitting had I not started it until later in the evening.

This is a mystery/suspense with a paranormal/ghost element included. It’s a slow burn kind of page turner but enough happens in the plot that kept me interested.

The book is split between two timelines. In 2017 Shea is a cold case blogger that spends her time outside of her normal job writing about unsolved murders. In 1977 Beth is charged with murdering two people but is later acquitted.

Shea has the opportunity to interview Beth and jumps at the chance to get more insight into a decades old crime from the person who was accused. The two women have their own quirks and things from their past that they keep hidden. Why does Beth decide to talk to Shea? Will Shea get the scoop she’s looking for and be able to solve a crime that hasn’t been resolved?

Stop here if you want to avoid spoilers!

Maybe Not by Colleen Hoover

Book #29 in 2022
2.0 out of 5 (photo from Goodreads)

I didn’t have high expectations for this book since I wasn’t a huge fan of Maybe Someday, but I was interested in what would happen in the book. It’s a short read that I completed in one sitting.

This book is from Warren’s point of view. He and Bridgette, the other main character in this book, are both in Maybe Someday as more minor characters. Ridge, Sydney, and Brennan even have brief appearances.

Perhaps I’m too *old* for this book. I didn’t care about reading about the over and over again sex two early twenties people were having. Because the book was short the characters weren’t really developed so the insta-love didn’t seem necessarily real or believable.

We’ll see if I find the motivation someday to read Maybe Now. It’ll likely be a while with all of the other books on my list that I’d like to read.

Funny Farm by Laurie Zaleski

Book #28 in 2022
3.5 out of 5 (photo from Goodreads)

Overall I enjoyed this book. I was expecting more stories of the animals at Funny Farm but Laurie’s personal story kept my interest.

The author tells of her growing up in a dysfunctional family with a mom who loved taking care of animals. There’s heartbreak and examples of perseverance that lead Zaleski to running Funny Farm, an animal rescue and sanctuary with hundreds of different kinds of animals live and are cared for.

The author also has an active Facebook page and other social media accounts. She does a Facebook live event each Sunday where she shares different things that are going on at Funny Farm.