Yes, I know it’s already February 2023 and I’m still working on a post about 2022. But this is the last one! It’s all 2023 things from here on out.
That being said, I have the last 2022 Recent Reads post for you! This rounds out the books I finished in October through December of 2022. There’s some nonfiction, some historical fiction, some fantasy, and some combination thereof. Let’s get into it!
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Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America
“Some Americans insist that we’re living in a post-racial society. But racist thought is not just alive and well in America–it is more sophisticated and more insidious than ever. And as award-winning historian Ibram X. Kendi argues, racist ideas have a long and lingering history, one in which nearly every great American thinker is complicit.
“In this deeply researched and fast-moving narrative, Kendi chronicles the entire story of anti-black racist ideas and their staggering power over the course of American history. He uses the life stories of five major American intellectuals to drive this history: Puritan minister Cotton Mather, Thomas Jefferson, abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison, W.E.B. Du Bois, and legendary activist Angela Davis” (x).
This is an essential read for anyone who wants to know more about how racism is embedded in the foundation of the United States. It’s an incredible read. It’s devastating – don’t get me wrong – but it’s a deep dive into hundreds of years of history.
It’s also incredibly long. Honestly? I read it over the course of several years. (Also because I have a harder time reading nonfiction than fiction.) But it’s well-sourced and, if I didn’t already believe that racism was part of the start and not something recently added, I definitely would be after reading.
Trigger Warnings: Everything related to slavery and racism (including slavery, rape, lynchings, etc.).
2022 Recent Reads: July-September
“Tracker is known far and wide for his skills as a hunter: “He has a nose,” people say. Engaged to track down a mysterious boy who disappeared three years earlier, Tracker breaks his own rule of always working alone when he finds himself part of a group that comes together to search for the boy. The band is a hodgepodge, full of unusual characters with secrets of their own, including a shape-shifting man-animal known as Leopard.
“As Tracker follows the boy’s scent–from one ancient city to another; into dense forests and across deep rivers–he and the band are set upon by creatures intent on destroying them. As he struggles to survive, Tracker starts to wonder: Who, really, is this boy? Why has he been missing for so long? Why do so many people want to keep Tracker from finding him? And perhaps the most important questions of all: Who is telling the truth, and who is lying?” (x).
Here’s the thing: this is an incredible book, but I had a hard time getting into it, which finally convinced me that high fantasy just isn’t for me.
To be clear, I had the exact same experience with the Lord of the Rings series, the Hobbit, and Children of Blood and Bone. (I’ve never read Game of Thrones, but I expect I would have the same problem with that.)
The fantasy books I’ve always liked are ones that are a combination of other genres, like historical fiction, or are contemporary fantasy. I thought the LOTR books were just randomly a book/series I couldn’t get into, but it turns out it’s the high fantasy that’s the reason.
And I know that because this is a REALLY good book! It was just the final example that my problem is with the genre.
Trigger warnings: graphic depictions of violence, a LOT of explicit sex, rape, attempted rape, and drug use.
“While Elizabeth Bennet and her sisters fuss over balls and husbands, Sarah, their orphaned housemaid, is beginning to chafe against the boundaries of her class. When a new footman arrives at Longbourn under mysterious circumstances, the carefully choreographed world she has known all her life threatens to be completely, perhaps irrevocably, upended. Mentioned only fleetingly in Jane Austen’s classic, here Jo Baker dares to take us beyond the drawing rooms of Regency England and, in doing so, uncovers the real world of the novel that has captivated readers’ hearts around the world for generations” (x).
This retelling is very fun! What I especially like about it is that the events of Pride and Prejudice are only a small part of this novel; yes, all the Bingley drama is going on in the background, but it really, truly is focused on the servants and what they are up to when The Family is doing all their things.
Additionally, the events of Longbourn go past the weddings of the Bennet girls; Sarah’s story continues after the weddings and the book ends a number of months (maybe a year?) after the end of P&P.
Plus, it’s also very interesting to see how the Bennet sisters are viewed by their servants. For example, Elizabeth’s frequent walking is very annoying for Sarah, since she’s the one who has to get 3 inches of mud out of Elizabeth’s dresses and petticoats. I definitely won’t view Elizabeth the same way now that I’ve considered who actually has to fix the problems she creates and doesn’t realize she’s created.
Trigger warnings: implied pedophilia and attempted pedophilia. (Nothing explicitly mentioned; the prior is more in reference to the Wickham-Lydia relationship and the latter is attempted but stopped. You can skip it.)
20+ of the Best History Novels
“Carlota Moreau: A young woman growing up on a distant and luxuriant estate, safe from the conflict and strife of the Yucatán peninsula. The only daughter of a researcher who is either a genius or a madman.
“Montgomery Laughton: A melancholic overseer with a tragic past and a propensity for alcohol. An outcast who assists Dr. Moreau with his experiments, which are financed by the Lizaldes, owners of magnificent haciendas and plentiful coffers.
“The hybrids: The fruits of the doctor’s labor, destined to blindly obey their creator and remain in the shadows. A motley group of part human, part animal monstrosities.
“All of them live in a perfectly balanced and static world, which is jolted by the abrupt arrival of Eduardo Lizalde, the charming and careless son of Dr. Moreau’s patron, who will unwittingly begin a dangerous chain reaction. For Moreau keeps secrets, Carlota has questions, and, in the sweltering heat of the jungle, passions may ignite” (x).
This is by the same author who wrote Mexican Gothic (see my review here).
I really enjoyed this book. It’s a reimagining of The Island of Doctor Moreau with the idea that Dr. Moreau had a daughter.
I haven’t read The Island of Doctor Moreau, so I can’t speak to whether it’s a better version or if does things wrong, but I really enjoyed it. The point of view shifts between Carlota and Montgomery, so you get to see the events from their very different perspectives.
If you’re a baby when it comes to horror like I am, I would say that this book should be fine. There were a few scenes that I had to skip – I only had to skip one in Mexican Gothic – but by and large, I was fine.
Trigger warnings: Explicit sex, kind-of-maybe bestiality, graphic depictions of violence, experiments on sentient beings, and euthanasia.
2022 Recent Reads: January-March
“In their six years of marriage, Elizabeth and Darcy have forged a peaceful, happy life for their family at Pemberley, Darcy’s impressive estate. Her father is a regular visitor; her sister Jane and her husband, Bingley, live nearby; the marriage prospects for Darcy’s sister, Georgiana, are favorable. And preparations for their annual autumn ball are proceeding apace. But on the eve of the ball, chaos descends. Lydia Wickham, Elizabeth’s disgraced sister who, with her husband, has been barred from the estate, arrives in a hysterical state—shrieking that Wickham has been murdered. Plunged into frightening mystery and a lurid murder trial, the lives of Pemberley’s owners and servants alike may never be the same” (x).
I was REALLY on a classic-retellings spree in quarter 4 of 2022! (To be fair, I read this because I read Longbourn and wanted more.)
This is a book that I’ve put off reading for a long time, and I saw the mini-series at least twice before I read the book.
This will not come as a surprise, but the book is better than the adaptation!
While Longbourn has the events of Pride and Prejudice happening in the background – with the main characters from the classic as supporting ones – this is truly the next step in Pride and Prejudice’s world.
Aside from the murder mystery happening, it really does seem like what would happen in Jane Austen had written a sequel set size years after the original. You see what Elizabeth’s life as the Lady of the Manor is like and what her relationship with her family might be like.
It also addresses something I had never really thought about before: how Lady Catherine de Burgh found out about Darcy proposing to Elizabeth. (The author posits that Charlotte, still feeling miffed about Elizabeth not reacting well when learning about her engagement to Mr. Collins – and in general, considering the idea of the life Charlotte was leading to be subpar – told Lady Catherine. Which makes total sense!)
So as a big Jane Austen fan, I loved this book. I loved it even more than I expected to, given I had seen the mini-series.
Trigger warnings: nothing, I think.
17 Classic Novels Worth Reading
“Throughout the worlds, the forces of both heaven and hell are mustering to take part in Lord Asriel’s audacious rebellion. Each player in this epic drama has a role to play—and a sacrifice to make. Witches, angels, spies, assassins, tempters, and pretenders, no one will remain unscathed. Lyra and Will have the most dangerous task of all. They must journey to a gray-lit world where no living soul has ever gone and from which there is no escape. As war rages and Dust drains from the sky, the fate of the living—and the dead—comes to depend on Lyra and Will. On the choices they make in love, and for love, forevermore” (x).
This was a reread, and so far, every time I read one of the books in the series, I get more from it. This book is beautiful and entertaining and heartbreaking … all the things. I also think it’s my favorite one of the three in the main trilogy.
Trigger warnings: graphic depictions of violence.
2021 Recent Reads: October-December
Like this post? Share it! Then check out:
The Best Audiobooks I’ve Listened To, 19 Retellings of Classic Fiction You Need To Read, Advice Books To Read (That Aren’t Cheesy!), 17 Modern Classic Novels
Kate Mitchell is a blogger, chronic illness patient, and advocate who helps people understand chronic illness and helps chronic illness patients live their best lives.
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