TBR 22 in '22 Challenge -- WRAP UP POSTS

WRAP UP PAGE

TBR 22 IN '22 CHALLENGE

January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022

THIS IS THE PAGE TO LINK YOUR WRAP UP POSTS

TO LINK A REVIEW, GO TO THIS PAGE

TO SIGN UP FOR THE CHALLENGE, GO TO THIS PAGE OR CLICK THE CHALLENGE BUTTON ABOVE

LINK YOUR WRAP UP POSTS HERE

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WRAP UP LINKS

If you complete the challenge, please link some kind of wrap up post in the Linky box above. That way, I know who finished the challenge. If you just update your original post and do not do a wrap up post separate from your sign up post that's fine! Please still add the link to the updated post in the box above.

If you have trouble adding your link, leave it in a comment and I will add it or email me your link at gilion at dumasandvaughn dot com and I will add it for you. Please put your name and the name of the book you reviewed in the comment or email. Thanks!

REVIEWS

If you review a book for the TBR 22 in '22 Challenge, please add the link to your review on the review page. Please link to your review post, not the main page of your blog or social media account.

You do not have to have a blog to participate in this challenge. If you review books on Instagram, goodreads, or some other social media, use the link from your social media review post in the Linky box above. Please link to the review, not your profile page. If you have questions about how to find the URL for a social media review post, leave a comment or email me at gilion at dumasandvaughn dot com.

BOOKS AND REVIEWS

The only point of the challenge is to clear 22 book off your TBR shelf in 2022. You can pick them ahead of time but you don't have to. If you pick them, you can change your mind later and switch books. The only "rule" is that you must own the book before January 1, 2022. 

Your TBR shelf can include a virtual shelf of ebooks or audiobooks, as long as you owned them prior to January 1, 2022. It does not include library books. 

You do not have to review books to complete the TBR 22 in '22 Challenge.  

This is supposed to be fun!

TBR 22 in '22 Challenge -- REVIEW PAGE

REVIEW PAGE

FOR THE TBR 22 IN '22 CHALLENGE

January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022

THIS IS THE PAGE TO LIST YOUR REVIEWS

IF YOU HAVE FINISHED, WRAP UP POSTS GO ON THIS PAGE, HERE

TO SIGN UP, GO TO THE MAIN CHALLENGE PAGE, HERE,

OR CLICK THE BUTTON ABOVE

LINK YOUR REVIEWS HERE

Please put your name and/or the name of your blog or social media handle and the name of the book you reviewed. Please link to your review post and not your blog home page or main social media profile page.

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LINKS

If you review a book for the TBR 22 in '22 Challenge, please add the link to your review in the Linky box above. Please link to your review post, not the main page of your blog or social media account.

You do not have to have a blog to participate in this challenge. If you review books on Instagram, goodreads, or some other social media, use the link from your social media review post in the Linky box above. Please link to the review, not your profile page. If you have questions about how to find the URL for a social media review post, leave a comment or email me at gilion at dumasandvaughn dot com.

If you have trouble adding your link, leave it in a comment and I will add it or email me your link at gilion at dumasandvaughn dot com and I will add it for you. Please put your name and the name of the book you reviewed in the comment or email. Thanks!

BOOKS AND REVIEWS

The only point of the challenge is to clear 22 book off your TBR shelf in 2022. You can pick them ahead of time but you don't have to. If you pick them, you can change your mind later and switch books. The only "rule" is that you must own the book before January 1, 2022. 

Your TBR shelf can include a virtual shelf of ebooks or audiobooks, as long as you owned them prior to January 1, 2022. It does not include library books. 

You do not have to review books to complete the TBR 22 in '22 Challenge.  

This is supposed to be fun!

WRAP UP

If you complete the challenge, please link some kind of wrap up post on the wrap up page. That way, I know who finished the challenge. If you just update your original post and do not do a wrap up post separate from your sign up post that's fine! Please still add the link to the updated post on the wrap up page.

Champagne Widows by Rebecca Rosenberg - BOOK BEGINNINGS

 

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

Brrrr! It's a cold week here in the Pacific Northwest! How about where you are? Settling in with a good book and a cuddly blanket sounds like a good way to spend this chilly weekend.

It is time again for Book Beginnings on Fridays, where we share the opening sentence (or so) of the books we are reading this week. You can also share the first line from a book that has caught your fancy and you feel like highlighting. 

MY BOOK BEGINNING

My Book Beginning this week comes from a new historical fiction book that launches in paperback next week, on March 1, called Champagne Widows.

Grand-mère sways over the edge of the stone stairs into the cavern, and I step between her and eternity, dizzy from the bloody tang of her head bandage.

-- from chapter 1, "Le Nez, The Nose" in Champagne Widows by Rebecca Rosenberg. Chapter 1 notes that it is set in Reims, Champagne, France in 1797. 

That opening sentence sets quite a scene! Why does the narrator's grandmother have a bloody bandage on her head? 

Champagne Widows is the fictionalized account of Barbe-Nicole Clicquot who, after the death of her husband became Veuve (Widow) Clicquot, of champagne fame. It is a story of love, tragedy, war, entrepreneurship, romance, and bravery. 

I got an early copy and cannot wait to read it! It is available on kindle now and in paperback next week. 

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

Add the link to your Book Beginnings post in the Linky box below. If you share on social media, please use the hashtag #bookbeginnings, with an s on the end. 

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THE FRIDAY 56

The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice is a natural tie in with this event and there is a lot of cross over, so many people combine the two. The idea is to post a teaser from page 56 of the book you are reading and share a link to your post. Find details and the Linky for your Friday 56 post on Freda’s Voice.

MY FRIDAY 56

From Champagne Widows:

"He doesn't expect you to love him now, after what he's experienced. He's a broken man."

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Twenty-year-old Barbe-Nicole inherited Le Nez (an uncanny sense of smell) from her great-grandfather, a renowned champagne maker. Determined to use Le Nez to make great champagne, she learns her childhood sweetheart, François Clicquot, wants to start a winery and marries him despite his mental illness.

Her husband's tragic death forces her to become Veuve (Widow) Clicquot and grapple with a domineering partner, the complexities of making champagne, and six Napoleon wars, which cripple her ability to sell champagne. When she falls in love with her sales manager, Louis Bohne, who asks her to marry, she must choose between losing her winery to her husband, as dictated by Napoleon Code, or losing Louis.

In the ultimate showdown, Veuve Clicquot risks imprisonment and even death, defying Napoleon himself.

Book Beginning on Fridays - FINALLY!

 

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

It's time for Book Beginnings on Fridays, where participants share the opening sentence (or so) of the books they are reading this week. 

I am ridiculously late getting the post up this week. I've been in a weeklong mediation in a private school sex abuse case and my brain is scrambled. We represent 20 former students of the Catlin Gabel private school in Portland who were all abused between 1970 to 2001. It's been a long and exhausting week. 

Please share your Book Beginning post in the Linky box below. I don't have a Book Beginning of my own because I'm trapped in a conference room in a skyscraper in downtown Portland without a book.

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2022 European Reading Challenge -- WRAP UP PAGE

WRAP UP PAGE

THIS IS THE PAGE FOR WRAP UP POSTS

TO LIST YOUR REVIEWS, GO TO THIS PAGE

TO SIGN UP, GO TO THE MAIN CHALLENGE PAGE, HERE, OR CLICK THE BUTTON ABOVE

LINK YOUR POST

When you complete the 2022 European Reading Challenge at whatever level you signed up for, please do a wrap up post and enter a link to your post here. Please link to your wrap up post, NOT the main page of your blog or social media profile.

A wrap up post can be very simple. If you participate in the challenge on your blog and just update your original post without doing a separate wrap up post, that's OK. Just post a link to your updated post here. If you participate on social media, please do some kind of wrap up post listing the books you read and link it here.

OR LEAVE A COMMENT

If you want, you can also simply leave a comment below listing the books you read. Please include your name, the name of the books, the authors of the books, and the countries of the books.

WANT THE PRIZE? WRAP IT UP!

Without some kind of wrap up post, I don't have any way to know if you finished the challenge. I like to know so I can visit everyone. But it is more important if you are competing for the Jet Setter Prize. If you want to compete for the prize, you have to leave a wrap up post or I will have no way to know if you visited more countries than the other people competing with you.

When I announce the prize winner, Honorable Mention will go to the participants who visited the most countries, with links to their wrap up posts. If you don't link a wrap up post, I won't be able to find you.

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NOTE ABOUT DATES

One change in 2022 is that we no longer extend the challenge into January as in years past. You now have to read all books by December 31, 2022. You have until January 31, 2023 to finish your reviews and your wrap up post. I will announce the winner as soon as possible after January 31, 2023.

2022 European Reading Challenge -- REVIEW PAGE

REVIEW PAGE

THIS IS THE PAGE TO LIST YOUR REVIEWS.

IF YOU HAVE FINISHED, WRAP UP POSTS GO ON THIS PAGE.

TO SIGN UP, GO TO THE MAIN CHALLENGE PAGE, HERE,

OR CLICK THE BUTTON ABOVE.

LINK YOUR REVIEWS HERE

Please put your name and/or the name of your blog or social media handle, the name of the book you reviewed, and the country of the book or author. For example: Gilion at Rose City Reader, Anna Karenina, Russia.

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LINKS

When you review a book for the 2022 European Reading Challenge, please add it to this list using the Linky widget above. Please link to your review post, NOT the main page of your blog or social media account.

You do not need a blog to participate. If you review books on Instagram, Facebook, goodreads, or some other platform that generates a URL, you can add link to the review in the Mr. Linky box above the same as a link to a blog post. Please link to the review, not your profile page. If you have questions about how to find the URL for a social media review post, leave a comment to ask me or email me at gilion at dumasandvaughn dot com.

REVIEWS

You do not have to review books to complete the European Reading Challenge. You can complete the challenge simply by reading one to five books (or more), each set in a different European country or written by an author from a different European country. But if you do review books, please link your reviews here so other people can find them.

Also, if you want to win the Jet Setter Prize, you have to review the books. Only books reviewed count for the prize. If you are competing for the prize, definitely link your reviews here. You can link all your reviews, but only one book per country counts towards the prize.

WRAP UP

If you complete the challenge, please link some kind of wrap up post on the wrap up page. That way, I know who finished the challenge. If you do not do a wrap up post separate from your sign up post -- you just update your original post -- that's fine! But please, please, please link to the updated post after you finish the challenge. It is too hard for me to count all your reviews to figure out if you finished the challenge or not.

NOTE ABOUT DATES

One change in 2022 is that we no longer extend the challenge into January as in years past. You now have to read all books by December 31, 2022. You have until January 31, 2023 to finish your reviews and your wrap up post. I will announce the winner as soon as possible after January 31, 2023. 

The Last Professional by Ed Davis -- BOOK REVIEW

 BOOK REVIEW

The Last Professional by Ed Davis (2022 Artemesia Publishing)

The Last Professional is a novel about the last days of jumping trains and living on the road. It is the well-told story of Lynden Hoover, a young man fleeing his past who teams up with an old loner called The Duke. An enemy from The Duke’s past pursues them, things turn deadly, and the story rolls out against an American landscape bounded by railroad tracks.

 
Set in the late 1970s, driven by plenty of dialog and action, The Last Professional is a nostalgia-tinged, old-fashioned page turner, sure to please any reader who enjoys a good yarn.

NOTES

Read the opening sentence and a teaser from The Last Professional here. 

Read more about Ed Davis and his books, including other reviews of The Last Professional, on his Ed Davis website.

The Radical Potter: The Life and Times of Josiah Wedgwood by Tristram Hunt -- BOOK REVIEW

BOOK REVIEW

The Radical Potter: The Life and Times of Josiah Wedgwood by Tristram Hunt (2021, Metropolitan Books)

You probably recognize the iconic chalky blue background with white frosting decorations of Wedgwood’s most famous pottery. But who knew that Josiah Wedgwood himself was an iconoclast of 18^th Century marketing and manufacture? In Tristram Hunt’s new biography, The Radical Potter, he looks deep into The Life and Times of Josiah Wedgwood and it is a fascinating story.

The 1700s was an exciting era for ideas and industry and Wedgwood was in the center of both. He was a leader of the Industrial Revolution, advocating a system of canals for shipping and using advances in chemistry to grow his small, artisan pottery business into the first major English pottery factory. He was a marketing innovator, introducing ideas such as direct mail and illustrated catalogues, money back guarantees, and promotions like free delivery and buy one get one free. Hunt also explores how Wedgwood’s business advancements fit with the economic and political ideas of the times, particularly the ideas of Adam Smith and David Hume.

Probably the most interesting chapter in the book is the one titled “The Subject of Freedom” in which Hunt examines Wedgwood’s support of the American Revolution, the influence of the French Revolution on his thinking, and his strong stance in favor of the abolition of slavery. His factory mass-produced and distributed an anti-slavery medallion with the slogan, “Am I Not a Man and a Brother?” that brought great awareness to the abolitionist cause in Britain and America.

Hunt relies on Wedgwood archive materials, including business records and correspondence, to tell the story of Josiah Wedgwood. For readers with an interest in the Industrial Revolution or the history of pottery, The Radical Potter is a must-read biography of the man who profoundly changed how we work and live.

NOTES

Author Tristram Hunt is a historian and the director of the Victoria and Albert Museum. His “Epilogue” in The Radical Potter covers the sad decline of the Wedgwood company in the 21^st Century and the faint glimmer of hope for the future.

I got my ARC copy of The Radical Potter from the Early Reviewer program at LibraryThing.

Darrow's Nightmare by Nelson Johnson & The Image by Steven Faulkner -- BOOK BEGINNINGS

 

BOOK BEGINNING ON FRIDAYS

This is my birthday weekend so part of the festivities is a Book Beginning two-fer! These two books have been on my stack of books for a while and both of them look terrific. The lawyer one particularly appeals to me, since I am a lawyer myself. 

Do you have any special plans for this Valentine's weekend? Thanks for kicking it off with Book Beginnings on Fridays! Please share the opening sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, or just a book you want to highlight. 

MY BOOK BEGINNINGS

From Darrow's Nightmare:

She hadn't bargained for this, yet she dealt with it as best she could: standing over a coal-burning stove 'round the clock, boiling syringes to drain an incision, and injecting codeine to ease his pain were frightful tasks she was forced to learn on the fly.

-- from the Prologue, "Labor's Lawyer," in Darrow's Nightmare: The Forgotten Story of America's Most Famous Trial Lawyer, Los Angeles 1911-1913 by Nelson Johnson. 

In 1911, Clarence Darrow went to Los Angeles to represent two union agitators arrested for bombing the LA Times newspaper office. Shortly after a plea deal was announced, Darrow was arrested for bribing a juror and faced his own criminal trial. 

This nonfiction history book reads like an exciting, fictional courtroom drama, which you would expect from the author of Boardwalk Empire.   

From The Image:

A bearded monk reclines on one elbow in the shadow of tall pine trees near the gate of an old stone Maronite monastery built on a remote ridge of the southern Lebanese mountains. 

-- The Image: A Novel in Pieces by Steven Faulkner. Three linked stories make up this short novella about a centuries-old piece of art hidden in a cave in Lebanon. 

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

Please link to your book beginning post, not your blog or social media home page. If you share on SM, please use the #bookbeginnings hashtag.

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THE FRIDAY 56

Freda at Freda's Voice hosts another teaser event on Fridays. Participants share a two-sentence teaser from page 56 of the book they are reading -- or from 56% of the way through the audiobook or ebook. Please visit Freda's Voice for details and to leave a link to your post.

MY FRIDAY 56

From Darrow's Nightmare:

By jumping into a fight among the federal government, a national union and the railroads, Darrow's profile skyrocketed. Though his argument to the US Supreme Court in the appeal of In Re Debs was rejected in the spring of 1895, at the age of thirty-seven, his name was now being spoken among the powerful players of both labor and capital throughout the nation.

From The Image:

Once, when Israeli jets screamed over the valley, Ibrahim had ducked under a ledge and found a cave overgrown with bushes and vines. He had torn through the vines and entered the cave.

A Narrow Door by Joanne Harris -- BOOK BEGINNINGS

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

How is your February shaping up? Mine is roaring out the door. February is my birthday month, so I usually like to dawdle around, doing a lot of fun, personal stuff. Not much chance of that this year! We've got a couple of big cases on the boil here at work and it doesn't look like I'll have time to dawdle until some time in March, if I'm lucky!

At least I've had some terrific looking new books come my way lately. I hope I can at least find a few minutes to spend with them here and there. 

Please share the opening sentence (or so) of the book you are spending time with this week. Share your Book Beginning link in the linky box below. 

MY BOOK BEGINNING

I often find that men like you underestimate women like me.

-- from the Preface to A Narrow Door by Joanne Harris. Well, that's just a perfect book beginning for the mood I'm in right now! Of course, I'm afraid the narrator may be a sociopath. 

I've read a few of Joanne Harris's books, like Chocolat, of course. This one looks like something different, described as a "phycological thriller," about the first woman to be the head of St. Oswald's private school. I plan to read it this weekend.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

Add your Book Beginning link in the box below. If you share on social media, please use the hashtag #bookbeginnings. 

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THE FRIDAY 56

Freda at Freda's Voice hosts another teaser event on Fridays. Participants share a two-sentence teaser from page 56 of the book they are reading -- or from 56% of the way through the audiobook or ebook. Please visit Freda's Voice for details and to leave a link to your post.

MY FRIDAY 56

From A Narrow Door:

I can't claim the moral high ground, or course: I too favour the [Thirsty Scholar pub], with its battered old bookcases. Some of them are allegedly even from the old St. Oswald's library, which was rebuilt and refurbished in 1834, and refurbished by Jeremiah Smarthwaite, a local mining millionaire with delusions of immortality.