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One of the great benefits of travelling in the RV is that often without television or internet, we have plenty of time to read. When we drive, we have listened to a few audiobooks, but more often podcasts. I’ve been tracking and posting on my personal Instagram about these books and have decided to summarize them below for followers of @wonderwherenow.
These are in order by the date read with the oldest first. Enjoy!
The Plot
This story centers around a professor and struggling writer who hears of a great story from one of his students. When the student dies without publishing, the professor takes the idea and writes it himself. The professor’s book becomes a best seller and soon enough, someone begins threatening to oust him as a plagiarist, but who?
Educated
A recommendation from my friend, Patty. This is the memoir of Tara Westover, a girl born to survivalists in Idaho who never stepped foot in a classroom until she was 17. The story isn’t just about her education, but a story about growing up and the changing family dynamics that occur as each individual develops their ideas and life.
The Last Thing He Told Me
Finally a book where the stepmom isn’t evil! It’s the story of a husband who disappears and the search by his daughter and her stepmother for the truth about who he really is, or was. A page turner from the first page with a surprising ending.
Where’d You Go Bernadette
A laugh-out-loud, quick read with an eccentric mother and her daughter’s relationship at its core. Strangely relatable characters and I loved that the bulk of the story was told through emails, text messages, even an emergency room bill! If you liked Anxious People by Fredrik Backman, I think you’ll enjoy this as well.
A Visit From the Goon Squad
A series of 13 different stories only connected by characters in common – a music executive and his assistant. Enjoyed each individual story, but because the author doesn’t tell the stories linearly (timeline changes similar to the movie “Pulp Fiction”), it was more confusing than necessary. Critics gave it rave reviews but it wasn’t one of my favorites this year.
The Paris Library
Another quick read about the friendship between a widow (who was a librarian) that worked to keep a Paris library open in WWII and a neighborhood girl. The librarian’s life lessons about families, friends, fear, hope and love are shared with the girl and the girl teaches the widow a few things in return. The WWII research about this library adds a lot to the book.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
The book was a real page turner about an aging A-list star (Evelyn Hugo) turned recluse who gives a final interview to an unknown journalist. Evelyn plans to reveal how she made her way to L.A. in the 1950s; discusses her meteoritic rise to stardom and her decision to leave it all behind in the late 80s; plus the story behind her seven husbands along the way. As Evelyn’s story catches up with the present day her reason for giving her tell-all to the unknown journalist becomes tragically clear.
Blindness
The plot? Suddenly people are hit by an epidemic of “white blindness”. Authorities initially confine the blind and those who’ve been in close contact to an empty mental hospital to prevent its spread, but soon a criminal element takes hold within the hospital and the only woman who hasn’t been blinded by the disease must lead her tribe to safety. It’s a tough read as it presents humans at their worst – fighting for food, living in filth and chaos – but if you can stomach all of that, you’ll also find a tale of love, hope, survival and strength. This book gave me a lot to think about.
A Gentleman in Moscow
In 1922, Count Rostov, a Russian aristocrat is sentenced by the Bolsheviks to house arrest at a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin. Despite his “confinement” he manages to live a very full life – friends, romance, family, and political intrigue. The book is witty, charming and reminds me that happiness is a state of mind. Just loved it!
The Lost Apothecary
In present day, Caroline is a woman who has been betrayed by her husband. She stumbles upon a clue that leads her to discover a secret London apothecary operating in the late 1700s that appears to have been illegally dispensing poisons for women to kill men who had wronged them. In 1791, a young girl enters the apothecary’s shop requesting a poison. It sets in motion a chain of events from which there’s no turning back. Pick up this page turner!
Let’s Pretend This Never Happened
Jenny Lawson is the daughter of a a morbidly eccentric man. Her story is stranger than fiction. In Let’s Pretend This Never Happened, Lawson’s long-suffering husband supports her as she discovers that often those moments we want to pretend never happened are the very same moments that make us who we are today. The writer of this true story has a very specific style that you’ll either love or hate by the end of the book.
Defending Jacob
Andy Barber is a respected assistant DA. He, his wife and his son Jacob are happy suburbanites. When a boy in Jacob’s class is stabbed to death in a leafy park, Andy takes on the case until shockingly, Andy’s own son—shy, awkward, mysterious Jacob – is accused. Andy’s recused of his duties but now has to decide if he believes his son? Or did Jacob do it? This book looks at how far you would go to protect your own child.
The Man Who Invented Motion Pictures
If you think Thomas Edison invented motion pictures, think again. Paul Fischer’s research follows the life, the accomplishments and the mysterious disappearance of Louis Le Prince – the man who should be credited for inventing motion pictures based on issued patents, years of hard work, and movie evidence. But in 1890, just weeks before Le Prince planned to debut movies to the world, Le Prince vanished! The stage is now set for Edison to claim the prize and rewrite motion picture history using unscrupulous tactics that do not seem wholly unfamiliar to him. But did he go as far as murder? The research for this non-fiction book is great and it reminds me once again that history is written by the victors and PR, lawyers, money and power have been around a long time! A fascinating read. 1888 movie link below.
Atonement
It’s 1935 and a party is about to take place. Just prior to it, 13-year-old wannabe writer Briony witnesses flirtation between her older sister, Cecilia, and Robbie Turner, the servant’s son. This incident leads to a strange apology letter from Robbie to Cecilia which is intercepted by little sis Briony. With the party in full swing, Briony then witnesses what she believes is the rape of her cousin and her eye witness account is that Robbie, that sex-crazed maniac, is responsible. Repercussions follow. Misconceptions, lies, and omissions are explored throughout the book. This book was made into a movie, but I haven’t seen it.
The Mystery of Mrs. Christie
Did you know that Agatha Christie is the best selling novelist of all time? Only outdone by Shakespeare and the Bible? Did you know that in 1926 this up and coming mystery writer disappeared? Me neither!! Investigators found her empty car, but no body, on the edge of a pond and feared the worst. England unleashed an unprecedented manhunt to find her. Eleven days later, she reappeared, just as mysteriously as she disappeared, claiming amnesia and providing no other explanations. Despite her fame, she never spoke of the incident again so the truth cannot be proven, but this historical fiction provides a likely explanation. Two thumbs up!
The Expats
This is a great thriller. Secretive Kate is ex-CIA and her husband, Dexter, is a mild mannered IT security expert who gets a new job in Luxembourg. When Kate discovers the FBI is trailing them, she’s shocked to learn they aren’t following her…but Dexter! Kate attempts to find out what’s really going on. This book has some unexpected turns that kept me guessing until the end! Really enjoyed the book.
The Rose Code
This book is one part “The Crown” and one part “Imitation Game”. It’s the story of three WWII female codebreakers working at Bletchley Park. These very different women form an unlikely friendship that’s destroyed by the very thing that brought them together. Will they put their differences aside to catch a traitor who has been working right under their noses? This fictional novel is based on composites of real women codebreakers. Too much steamy bodice ripping (though no bodices were harmed in the making of this novel), but the story is great and well worth the read!
Daisy Jones and the Six (Audiobook)
It’s the story of a 1970s rock band, The Six, and how they met, wrote & produced one of the greatest albums of all time with ephemeral solo singer, Daisy Jones. It’s also the story of why, after this one magical album, they broke up. Fleetwood Mac vibes? No surprise as they were likely an inspiration. The audiobook was perfect for this story told entirely through band interviews in rock documentary format! It stalled a few times & didn’t include music but I cared about each character & enjoyed Reid’s dialogue. So well done that I Googled to see if it was a true story! Read it or better yet listen to it before the movie arrives in the spring of 2023.
Billy Summers
It’s part crime novel, part Stockholm romance, & definitely a story of revenge all rolled into one. The main character, Billy Summers, is a hit man with a code to only kill bad people. He wants to retire, but of course, anything that could go wrong with his final job, does & things get complicated. King handles the done-before storyline with new twists & flawed characters so well, that you too will be rooting for the assassin. It’s not typical King, so some may be disappointed, but if you like a good revenge story, it’s decent & the writing is good. It is, after all, Stephen King.
Killing Floor
If you like a no-nonsense guy who walks into small towns, cleans up big messes with unrealistically high body counts, woos the town’s prettiest gal and then saunters off into the sunset, these books were made for you! You can’t help but love main character, Jack Reacher, from the moment he wanders into town and is wrongly convicted of murder to his quick solve of a convoluted ring of crime. That love will even blind you to the huge coincidence the author throws in to make the killing spree personal. The whole read is kinda like donut day at the office – you know you shouldn’t, but cheating once in a while tastes so good! This book is the 1st in a huge series.
Ready Player One
Gen Xers this one’s for you! The premise of the book is simple – the creator of a virtual world (called the OASIS) has died and has left behind a game to be solved. Find 3 keys, open 3 gates, locate the egg and become a billionaire who also controls the virtual world. The OASIS creator was an 80s geek so all the clues to win the game have to do with 80s video games, board games like D&D, music, movies, etc. so millions of people in the year 2044 are geeking out on the 80s to solve this puzzle…but so is an evil empire that wants to win and then control the OASIS. I lived & loved the 80s but even I didn’t get ALL the nerdy references. I got enough through to make it a fun, fast, guilty pleasure read. Don’t expect a deep book with important themes or intense character development, just enjoy the nostalgia and sci-fi aspects.
The Luminaries
Equal parts ghost story, politics, love story, murder, revenge, and treasure hunt this book has it all! An outsider, Walter Moody, awkwardly stumbles upon a tense gathering of 12 local men secretly discussing recent unexplained events in their small New Zealand gold rush town – a vanished wealthy man, smelted gold bars found in the home of a drunken hermit, and the town’s favorite harlot found nearly dead on the side of the road. Over several weeks Moody untangles this web to find the truth as the author explores the roles of luck, fate and nature vs nurture. A long read with a lot of characters to track but a great story written in a Treasure Island kind of prose. Check this one out but don’t be surprised if, like me, you have to sometimes re-read sections to remember the many, many characters and their intertwined stories.
Two Nights in Lisbon
Ariel’s new and much younger husband asked her to tag along on a business trip to Lisbon. The next morning Ariel’s husband is gone without a trace before she wakes. This is the stuff nightmares are made of. Did he leave her? Was he kidnapped? Murdered? She goes to the police, the embassy, anyone that will listen but the more questions they ask, the less she realizes she knows about her new husband. Finally she’s asked for ransom. Is she being played or will everything she has to do to get the money be worth it and bring him safely back?
Recursion (Audiobook)
This sci-fi thriller explores memory, it’s loss, and the pain memories can cause. But what if technological advancements could allow us to go back in time and undo certain moments, creating new memories to avoid that pain? Would this be good or bad for people and civilization as a whole. Enjoyed the audiobook readers, the characters and the main time travel concept but the book drug a bit at the end and had inconsistencies that I always struggle with in time traveling themes. Not a 2022 favorite.
The Mysterious Affair at Styles
The wealthy Emily Inglethorp has been poisoned! Suspects include her younger husband, resentful stepsons, longtime hired companion, a young family friend working as a nurse, and a London specialist on poisons but don’t worry Agatha Christie’s Inspector Poirot manages to wade through the plot twists with ease and still has time to insult his aspiring helper! This book made Agatha Christie a star and became the roadmap for how to write a good mystery. It was also her favorite.
Raising Lazarus
This book tries to move beyond why and how the crisis happened to what now? Its author preaches access to clean needle exchanges, buprenorphine to blunt cravings, and social services. It’s the only book I didn’t finish this year, not because I disagree with her research on what’s been effective in combatting the problem, but because she made her case and I didn’t need 300 more pages to understand it.
Evvie Drake Starts Over
This fast beach read is about a young woman who lost her husband suddenly in a car accident and her new tenant, a superstar baseball player who has lost the ability to pitch. This cute chic-lit reminds us that sometimes life throws curve balls, but it’s no reason to stop stepping up to the plate. If you’re looking for a romance novel, check this one out.
