Happy New Year again everybody! (Just in case I didna say it with sufficient verve last week.)

My chief reflection, regarding the post title above, is whether I read and reported on the books featured on January 9 last year. An important consideration before embarking on anything similar for this year.

The answer—hip-hip-huzza!—is that I have read all bar one, but not reported on them all, chiefly for reasons of time, writing, and general life busy-ness. I’ll recap them now, with either a link to my post/book report, or an indication of ‘how I found them’ and whether or not a longer report is forthcoming.

To recap, the books I had lined up this time last year were:

1. Curse of Shadows by AK Wilder

Fantasy / Epic Fantasy / YA

A mighty second installment to Kim’s AMASSIA series: that’s the very short version. To read my full paean, click here.

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2. Dogside Story by Patricia Grace

Contemporary Realism / NZ Lit

I’m a great fan of Patricia Grace’s writing and Dogside Story was no exception. I reported on my read, fittingly I believe, on February 6, Waitangi Day. If you missed it then, or want to refresh, the post is here.
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3. Not One But Two Richard Osman’s: The Man Who Died Twice and The Bullet That Missed

Contemporary / Crime

I raced through these over the summer holiday last year and thoroughly recommend for light, humorous, whodunnit type reading, as reported in the January 9 post.

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Also on the January 9 list were:

4. King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo

King of Scars is part of a newer series set in the Shadow and Bone and Crows worlds, and another tale I raced through early in the year, only without reporting at all: mea culpa! However, I was pushing for the linear end of WALL #4 at the time, which must serve as my excuse.

As with Patricia Grace, I tend to heart Leigh Bardugo’s writing, so although Six of Crows will probably always be m’favourite, King of Scars is an enjoyable read.

And there—now I’ve not only read but reported back. Two-for-one, heh… 😀

5. Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

You may recall that at the end of 2021, Barbara Kingsolver’s Prodigal Summer was one of my three top reads of the year. I’ve since read The Poisonwood Bible ( “I know”, so late to the party!) so I didn’t hesitate to read for fear of (comparative) disappointment, but because I wanted to have the time to do it justice.

The upshot being that I finally read Demon Copperhead over the recent holiday break. Since it’s recent I am going to bring you a fuller post but the short version is that I loved it, loved it, LOVED it — which I hope will tide you over. 😀

6. Novelist As A Vocation by Haruki Murakami

When I posted last year I had already dipped into this collection of essays on Haruki Murakami’s experience of and philosophy on writing, and indicated that I intended to continue to do so through the year.

The reason I haven’t is not a reflection on the book, since (as I’m sure regulars here know) I love Murakami’s writing, but entirely to do with where I’m currently at in my own writing life.

In short, I’m fully immersed, and I want to save the essays until the revision is done and I have the time to dig deep into Novelist As A Vocation and really reflect on Haruki Murakami’s insights and observations. From what I’ve read so far, they both deserve that time and are likely to repay it.

7. Other Books

The other books that garnered reports last year, which I hadn’t acquired—whether by fair means or foul 😉 — on January 9 were:

• Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (Book 3 in the Locked Tomb series — Science Fantasy / Space Opera)
• The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng (Historical Fiction)
• The Axeman’s Carnival by Catherine Chidgey (Contemporary Realism)