I fell off the blogging train for a while, but my reading has continued. This is probably my last reading update for 2022, but who knows with some time off for the holidays. This takes me to 24 books for the year – my lowest number since the pandemic began, but almost twice what I read in 2019.

I Thought You Said This Would Work by Ann Garvin: A silly little road trip book about some not-so-silly situations that old college friends find themselves in. I could quibble about some of the less-than-realistic moments that befall the trio of travelers, but that’s beside the point. Madcap adventures help the group face up to the reality of their lives together with an ending that is part happy, part sad. Just like life.

Bottom of the 33rd by Dan Barry: I wanted to like this more than I did. As a Baltimore Orioles fan, I knew the basic details of the 33-inning game that its affiliate team, the Rochester Red Wings, played back in the early 1980s. I looked forward to learning all kinds of small oddities about this large oddity. In the end, I did, but it took way more words than necessary. I didn’t hate this book, but I wished I had a chance to be this guy’s editor.

Four Lost Cities by Annalee Newitz: An NPR podcast put this on my list a while back, and I finally delved into it late in the year. Just as the title says, this examines four cities lost to time. Pompeii, of course, is on, and I learned a lot of details about what had happened there. But I also learned about Çatalhöyük in Central Turkey, Angkor in Cambodia, and Cahokia, which stood beside the Mississippi River where East St. Louis is today. She does an amazing job mixing storytelling with raw archeology and opened up my eyes to the many paths that have led us to today’s society.

The Temps by Andrew DeYoung: Apocalyptic story lines don’t always grab me, but the description made it clear that a wonderful human story served as the bedrock for this one. I loved the characters and slowly found myself deeply engaged in the story. If you enjoy watching things like Elon Musk’s megalomaniacal descent into absurdity, you will have some sort of connection with the path that this story takes.

The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections by Eva Jurczyk: I dipped into this one on the recommendation of my wife. A mix of personal story with a hint of mystery wrapped in the maddening intrigue of academia made this an enjoyable read. I have spent the last 22 years working in higher ed in some capacity, and I am always fascinated by the commonalities almost every institution shares. This book delivered with the pettiness of some people as well as the odd characters you come across in every department.

Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel: I don’t know what drove me to purchase this, but I found it when I was looking for something to read. Since it clocks in at 230-some pages, I couldn’t resist. I didn’t need long to rip through this engaging story. I don’t always consider speculative fiction in my wheelhouse, but each time I dip my toe into this world, I emerge happy. I love the short, clipped nature of some chapters interspersed with longer narratives.