I did this tag last year, too. (I guess it’s an annual tradition now.) I’d forgotten about this tag until I saw it on Diana (Thoughts on Papyrus)’s blog, and I decided to give it a go again!
Best Book You’ve Read So Far in 2020
The Sunday Girl by Pip Drysdale ties with Safecracker by Ryan Wick. They are both debut novels, but you wouldn’t know it from the authors’ assured writing and superb storytelling skills. Drysdale’s novel features a woman who uses The Art of War to get revenge on her horrible ex, but the book has a lot of insights into domestic violence and the psychological dynamics of abusive relationships. Safecracker is a terrific thriller about a safecracker who becomes involved with a dangerous drug cartel (are there any other kinds of drug cartels?!) or his friends and family will be killed.
New Release You Haven’t Read But Really Want To
Author Michael Jenkins has gifted me his newest release The Moscow Whisper. I read the previous book, The Kompromat Kill, for a blog tour earlier this year and thoroughly enjoyed it. So I’m thrilled that I’ll have a chance to read more about disgraced intelligence agent Sean Richardson.
Most Anticipated Release for the Second Half of the Year
A Door Between Us by Ehsaneh Sadr. I’ve been trying to read more books from non-white, non-Western authors, and when I ran across this title on Netgalley, I was intrigued.
Favourite New Author
I have to pick only one? I’m like a grandma with her grandkids when one asks who is the favorite. “You’re all my favorite!” I will say that Denis Shaughnessy (a.k.a., the voice of Marco Ocram, of The Awful Truth about the Sushing Prize) is a lot of fun to follow on Twitter. He provides a daily dose of deep intellectual and philosophical discussion that is otherwise absent on the site.
Biggest surprise
Newest Fiction Crush
Luis Caldoza in Into Darkness by TJ Brearton. A police officer who stands up to his colleagues’ sexism and calls them out for it. Love it.
Newest Favorite Character
Sam Kelson from Trouble in Mind and Lucky Bones by Michael Wiley. A private investigator who can’t lie . . . because he can’t stop talking. Ever. I mean the guy can’t shut up. Period. While I’m glad that I don’t live with him–I’d be jailed for murder if I had to be quarantined with him!–I loved reading about him. I also want to take him along on a clothes shopping trip. Then I might get an honest answer to the question, “So, does this dress/shirt/jeans look good on me?” (And since he’s fictional, I don’t have to feel bad about yelling at him if the truthful answer isn’t the preferred answer.)
Book That Made You Cry
Woman on the Edge by Samantha M. Bailey. This was a deeply personal book for me. From my review: “Nicole’s increasingly distraught and isolated state resonated with me. It felt real. Raw. It mattered to me in ways that novel conflicts rarely do, no matter how well-crafted they are.”
Book That Made You Happy
Where the Wild Ladies Are by Aoko Matsuda. Feminist retellings of Japanese ghost stories? Yes, please! Matsuda’s retellings are incredibly imaginative, her ghosts are richly characterized, and the book’s short stories are linked in rich, not-always-apparent ways. I had no idea what to expect from this short story collection and while I’m normally not a fan of those, I thoroughly enjoyed her tales about these useful, friendly ghosts.
Favourite Book-to-Film Adaptation
I don’t watch many films, but my younger daughter, my husband, and I have been watching the BBC’s adaptation of Charles Dickens’ Bleak House. Unfortunately, we can’t get disc #2 to work (it’s a library copy), so I think we’ll have to order it. But the first few episodes of the adaptation were great. I’m currently wading through the novel, all 800+ pages of it, and it’s fun to see how screenwriter Andrew Davies tackled the challenge of translating Dickens’ sentimentalism and brilliance into a screenplay.
Favourite Post This Year
I enjoyed writing Awesome Mysteries for Dog Lovers.
Most Beautiful Book You’ve Bought This Year
Tapestry by Beth Duke. I thoroughly enjoyed this Southern novel about a young woman in search of her family roots. The blog tour will be at the end of July, so don’t miss it.
Best Sequel
I don’t tend to read a lot of series books. But I did enjoy Lucky Bones, book two in the Sam Kelson series by Michael Wiley.
A Book You Want to Read By the End of the Year
Well, it would be good if I could finish Bleak House by the end of the year, considering that I started it several years ago. My husband read it. Then, not to be outdone by a rocket scientist, I read the first 500 pages, gave up–or got distracted by newer, shorter books, more likely–and put it on the shelf for a few years, and pulled it off the shelf a few weeks ago. I seem to do this will longer novels. (The Brothers Karamazov!) Only 100 pages to go.
Your Turn!
I don’t have specific people to tag, so if you’d like to participate, feel free to use this one. Have fun, and remember to link back to the original poster or wherever you found it. (Like this post!) I think the tag originated on YouTube, from EarlGreyBOoks and IsThatChami, but I don’t know who originally used it in a written blog. Let me know if you do this tag. I’d love to read your answers!