The Mookse and the Gripes discussion
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Our Favourite Books of 2022 - Dynamic Rankings
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My adjusted weightings method:
Pos, Book, Average, Penalty Points, Adjusted, Count, First Places
1, Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, 5.67, 0.0, 13.13, 6, 0
2, Bolla by Pajtim Statovci, 4.57, 0.0, 15.27, 7, 0
3, Tomb of Sand by Geetanjali Shree, 10.83, 0.0, 21.70, 6, 2
4, Pollak's Arm by Hans van Trotha, 6.80, 0.0, 22.36, 10, 0
5, The Colony by Audrey Magee, 6.96, 0.0, 23.04, 25, 4
6, Call Me Cassandra by Marcial Gala, 6.86, 0.0, 23.87, 7, 2
7, Valli by Sheela Tomy, 2.50, 23.7, 27.79, 2, 1
8, Elena Knows by Claudia Piñeiro, 9.38, 0.0, 28.03, 13, 0
9, Didn't Nobody Give a Shit What Happened to Carlotta by James Hannaham, 3.50, 23.7, 30.69, 2, 1
10, I'm a Fan by Sheena Patel, 11.83, 0.0, 31.98, 6, 0
11, The Immortal King Rao by Vauhini Vara, 12.20, 0.0, 32.15, 5, 2
12, Nothing Is More Real Than Nothing by Daniel James, 5.00, 23.7, 32.74, 2, 1
13, Too Much of Life: Complete Chronicles by Clarice Lispector, 1.00, 31.6, 32.98, 1, 1
14, The Beasts They Turned Away by Ryan Dennis, 15.14, 0.0, 33.21, 7, 0
15, The Trees by Percival Everett, 9.50, 0.0, 33.56, 24, 2
16, Querelle de Roberval by Kevin Lambert, 6.50, 23.7, 33.77, 2, 0
17, The Pachinko Parlour by Elisa Shua Dusapin, 11.63, 0.0, 35.09, 8, 0
18, The Man Who Sold Air in the Holy Land: Stories by Omer Friedlander, 4.50, 23.7, 35.19, 2, 0
19, Chouette by Claire Oshetsky, 12.21, 0.0, 36.16, 14, 0
20, Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan, 10.88, 0.0, 36.94, 25, 1
21, The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunaratne, 13.38, 0.0, 37.28, 16, 0
22, Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart, 14.08, 0.0, 37.30, 12, 1
23, Companion Piece by Ali Smith, 13.23, 0.0, 38.32, 13, 1
24, Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies by Maddie Mortimer, 12.06, 0.0, 38.32, 18, 4
25, The Book of Mother by Violaine Huisman, 11.92, 0.0, 38.64, 12, 0
26, To Paradise by Hanya Yanagihara, 15.14, 0.0, 38.73, 7, 1
27, What We Fed to the Manticore by Talia Lakshmi Kolluri, 6.67, 15.8, 38.80, 3, 0
28, Somebody Loves You by Mona Arshi, 13.00, 0.0, 39.11, 17, 0
29, Seven Steeples by Sara Baume, 13.29, 0.0, 39.31, 17, 1
30, Chinatown by Thuận, 13.75, 0.0, 39.37, 8, 1
31, Cold Enough for Snow by Jessica Au, 12.94, 0.0, 39.73, 18, 0
32, My Volcano by John Elizabeth Stintzi, 12.50, 7.9, 40.12, 4, 0
33, Twilight of Torment: Melancholy by Léonora Miano, 6.00, 31.6, 40.34, 1, 0
34, Learwife by J.R. Thorp, 14.18, 0.0, 40.39, 11, 0
35, Time Shelter by Georgi Gospodinov, 14.57, 0.0, 40.54, 7, 0
36, How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu, 12.40, 0.0, 40.66, 10, 0
37, Thread Ripper by Amalie Smith, 14.64, 0.0, 41.15, 11, 0
38, Still Born by Guadalupe Nettel, 18.40, 0.0, 41.39, 5, 0
39, Strega by Johanne Lykke Holm, 16.83, 0.0, 42.46, 6, 0
40, Saint Sebastian's Abyss by Mark Haber, 13.40, 0.0, 42.49, 10, 0
41, Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel, 9.69, 0.0, 42.49, 16, 0
42, MUEUM by S.J. Fowler, 18.57, 0.0, 42.59, 7, 0
43, The English Understand Wool by Helen DeWitt, 10.86, 0.0, 42.60, 7, 1
44, Diego Garcia by Natasha Soobramanien & Luke Williams, 20.33, 0.0, 42.61, 6, 0
45, Imagine A Death: A Novel by Janice Lee, 13.00, 15.8, 43.65, 3, 0
46, December Breeze by Marvel Moreno, 4.00, 31.6, 44.27, 1, 0
47, Children of Paradise by Camilla Grudova, 9.00, 23.7, 44.69, 2, 0
48, Activities of Daily Living by Lisa Hsiao Chen, 16.67, 15.8, 45.96, 3, 0
49, Diary of a Void by Emi Yagi, 13.75, 0.0, 46.67, 8, 0
50, The Doloriad by Missouri Williams, 18.56, 0.0, 47.44, 9, 1
51, Losing the Plot by Derek Owusu, 15.33, 15.8, 47.58, 3, 0
52, I Am Not Your Eve by Devika Ponnambalam, 17.33, 0.0, 47.71, 9, 0
53, Trespasses by Louise Kennedy, 17.50, 7.9, 47.78, 4, 0
54, Tender by Ariana Harwicz, 19.20, 0.0, 49.97, 5, 0
55, The Sentence by Louise Erdrich, 18.00, 0.0, 51.63, 12, 0
56, Thirsty Sea by Erica Mou, 22.00, 0.0, 52.39, 9, 1
57, After Sappho by Selby Wynn Schwartz, 17.22, 0.0, 54.63, 18, 0
58, Pure Colour by Sheila Heti, 24.20, 0.0, 55.09, 5, 0
59, A Tiny Upward Shove by Melissa Chadburn, 6.00, 31.6, 55.24, 1, 0
60, Treacle Walker by Alan Garner, 16.35, 0.0, 55.42, 20, 0
61, Absence by Lucie Paye, 14.00, 23.7, 55.65, 2, 0
62, Little Boy by John Smith, 22.22, 0.0, 56.14, 9, 0
63, Rivers of the Unspoilt World by David Constantine, 24.56, 0.0, 56.59, 9, 0
64, Love in the Big City by Sang Young Park, 20.67, 0.0, 58.55, 9, 0
65, When I Sing, Mountains Dance by Irene Solà, 12.33, 15.8, 59.11, 3, 0
66, Mystery Train by Can Xue, 15.00, 23.7, 60.51, 2, 0
67, Whisper by Yu-Ko Chang, 2.00, 31.6, 60.73, 1, 0
68, Solo Dance by Kotomo Li, 12.67, 15.8, 61.45, 3, 0
69, We Measure the Earth with Our Bodies by Tsering Yangzom Lama, 18.67, 15.8, 61.94, 3, 0
70, The Whalebone Theatre by Joanna Quinn, 14.67, 15.8, 62.85, 3, 0
71, My Annihilation by Fuminori Nakamura, 14.00, 7.9, 63.33, 4, 1
72, Lungfish by Meghan Gilliss, 16.50, 23.7, 68.12, 2, 0
73, Solenoid by Mircea Cărtărescu, 27.00, 23.7, 69.83, 2, 0
74, Love Marriage by Monica Ali, 18.33, 15.8, 73.97, 3, 0
75, What You Can See from Here by Mariana Leky, 10.00, 31.6, 78.01, 1, 0
76, When Women Kill: Four Crimes Retold by Alia Trabucco Zerán, 3.00, 31.6, 80.48, 1, 0
77, Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel, 22.00, 31.6, 85.89, 1, 0
78, Son of Sin by Omar Sakr, 26.00, 31.6, 90.35, 1, 0
79, Cocoon by Zhang Yueran, 15.00, 31.6, 102.69, 1, 0
Paul-style aggregate of comparisons
Pos, Book, Average, Relative ranking, Count, First Places
1, The Colony by Audrey Magee, 6.96, 216, 25, 4
2, Bolla by Pajtim Statovci, 4.57, 127, 7, 0
3, Pollak's Arm by Hans van Trotha, 6.80, 111, 10, 0
4, Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, 5.67, 102, 6, 0
5, Call Me Cassandra by Marcial Gala, 6.86, 99, 7, 2
6, The Trees by Percival Everett, 9.50, 91, 24, 2
7, Elena Knows by Claudia Piñeiro, 9.38, 76, 13, 0
8, Tomb of Sand by Geetanjali Shree, 10.83, 72, 6, 2
9, Nothing Is More Real Than Nothing by Daniel James, 5.00, 61, 2, 1
10, I'm a Fan by Sheena Patel, 11.83, 58, 6, 0
11, Querelle de Roberval by Kevin Lambert, 6.50, 57, 2, 0
12, Valli by Sheela Tomy, 2.50, 51, 2, 1
13, Imagine A Death: A Novel by Janice Lee, 13.00, 48, 3, 0
14, Chouette by Claire Oshetsky, 12.21, 42, 14, 0
15, Didn't Nobody Give a Shit What Happened to Carlotta by James Hannaham, 3.50, 40, 2, 1
16, Twilight of Torment: Melancholy by Léonora Miano, 6.00, 36, 1, 0
17, The Man Who Sold Air in the Holy Land: Stories by Omer Friedlander, 4.50, 31, 2, 0
17, What We Fed to the Manticore by Talia Lakshmi Kolluri, 6.67, 31, 3, 0
17, The Beasts They Turned Away by Ryan Dennis, 15.14, 31, 7, 0
17, Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan, 10.88, 31, 25, 1
21, Losing the Plot by Derek Owusu, 15.33, 24, 3, 0
22, My Volcano by John Elizabeth Stintzi, 12.50, 23, 4, 0
22, The Immortal King Rao by Vauhini Vara, 12.20, 23, 5, 2
24, Too Much of Life: Complete Chronicles by Clarice Lispector, 1.00, 20, 1, 1
25, Children of Paradise by Camilla Grudova, 9.00, 17, 2, 0
26, Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies by Maddie Mortimer, 12.06, 16, 18, 4
27, December Breeze by Marvel Moreno, 4.00, 14, 1, 0
27, Mystery Train by Can Xue, 15.00, 14, 2, 0
29, The Pachinko Parlour by Elisa Shua Dusapin, 11.63, 13, 8, 0
30, Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel, 9.69, 11, 16, 0
31, A Tiny Upward Shove by Melissa Chadburn, 6.00, 7, 1, 0
32, Activities of Daily Living by Lisa Hsiao Chen, 16.67, 6, 3, 0
33, Companion Piece by Ali Smith, 13.23, 3, 13, 1
34, The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunaratne, 13.38, 2, 16, 0
35, Whisper by Yu-Ko Chang, 2.00, 1, 1, 0
35, Thread Ripper by Amalie Smith, 14.64, 1, 11, 0
35, The Book of Mother by Violaine Huisman, 11.92, 1, 12, 0
35, Somebody Loves You by Mona Arshi, 13.00, 1, 17, 0
39, The Whalebone Theatre by Joanna Quinn, 14.67, 0, 3, 0
40, When Women Kill: Four Crimes Retold by Alia Trabucco Zerán, 3.00, -1, 1, 0
40, Chinatown by Thuận, 13.75, -1, 8, 1
42, What You Can See from Here by Mariana Leky, 10.00, -3, 1, 0
43, When I Sing, Mountains Dance by Irene Solà, 12.33, -4, 3, 0
44, Absence by Lucie Paye, 14.00, -5, 2, 0
44, Seven Steeples by Sara Baume, 13.29, -5, 17, 1
46, How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu, 12.40, -6, 10, 0
46, Learwife by J.R. Thorp, 14.18, -6, 11, 0
48, Saint Sebastian's Abyss by Mark Haber, 13.40, -7, 10, 0
49, To Paradise by Hanya Yanagihara, 15.14, -9, 7, 1
50, Solo Dance by Kotomo Li, 12.67, -10, 3, 0
50, Trespasses by Louise Kennedy, 17.50, -10, 4, 0
50, Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart, 14.08, -10, 12, 1
53, Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel, 22.00, -12, 1, 0
54, Cocoon by Zhang Yueran, 15.00, -13, 1, 0
55, Lungfish by Meghan Gilliss, 16.50, -15, 2, 0
55, MUEUM by S.J. Fowler, 18.57, -15, 7, 0
57, Tender by Ariana Harwicz, 19.20, -16, 5, 0
58, Son of Sin by Omar Sakr, 26.00, -17, 1, 0
59, We Measure the Earth with Our Bodies by Tsering Yangzom Lama, 18.67, -18, 3, 0
60, The English Understand Wool by Helen DeWitt, 10.86, -22, 7, 1
61, Strega by Johanne Lykke Holm, 16.83, -24, 6, 0
62, Solenoid by Mircea Cărtărescu, 27.00, -25, 2, 0
62, Diego Garcia by Natasha Soobramanien & Luke Williams, 20.33, -25, 6, 0
64, Love Marriage by Monica Ali, 18.33, -32, 3, 0
65, Cold Enough for Snow by Jessica Au, 12.94, -34, 18, 0
66, Still Born by Guadalupe Nettel, 18.40, -36, 5, 0
66, The Doloriad by Missouri Williams, 18.56, -36, 9, 1
68, I Am Not Your Eve by Devika Ponnambalam, 17.33, -39, 9, 0
69, Time Shelter by Georgi Gospodinov, 14.57, -40, 7, 0
70, My Annihilation by Fuminori Nakamura, 14.00, -45, 4, 1
71, Diary of a Void by Emi Yagi, 13.75, -49, 8, 0
72, Pure Colour by Sheila Heti, 24.20, -86, 5, 0
73, The Sentence by Louise Erdrich, 18.00, -93, 12, 0
74, Little Boy by John Smith, 22.22, -111, 9, 0
75, Thirsty Sea by Erica Mou, 22.00, -116, 9, 1
76, Love in the Big City by Sang Young Park, 20.67, -122, 9, 0
77, Rivers of the Unspoilt World by David Constantine, 24.56, -144, 9, 0
78, After Sappho by Selby Wynn Schwartz, 17.22, -158, 18, 0
79, Treacle Walker by Alan Garner, 16.35, -172, 20, 0
Mod
5*:
Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies
Elena Knows
After Sappho
Somebody Loves You
Seven Steeples
The Colony
Tomb of Sand
Pollak's Arm
Chouette
Small Things Like These
Companion Piece
Thread Ripper
Learwife
4*:
Diego Garcia
The Book of Mother
I Am Not Your Eve
Rivers of the Unspoilt World
Call Me Cassandra
The Trees
Love in the Big City
The Beasts They Turned Away
Cold Enough for Snow
The Pachinko Parlour
Diary of a Void
Little Boy
The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida
The Sentence
Thirsty Sea
Treacle Walker
3*:
MUEUM
Tender
The Doloriad
Links are to my reviews (I have a lot to catch up on)
Here's how I'd rank those I've read:1. Call Me Cassandra
2. Imagine a Death
3. Bolla
4. Valli
5. Tender
6. Twilight of Torment: Melancholy
7. Chinatown
8. The Doloriad
9. I'm a Fan
10. I Am Not Your Eve
11. Querelle of Roberval
12. Mystery Train
13. MUEUM
14. The Colony
15. The Trees
16. Pollak's Arm
17. Elena Knows
18. Chouette
19. Tomb of Sand
20. Thread Ripper
21. The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida
22. Diego Garcia
23. Young Mungo
24. My Volcano
25. The Pachinko Parlour
26. The Beasts They Turned Away
27. Cold Enough for Snow
28. Saint Sebastian's Abyss
29. Trespasses
30. Little Boy
31. Somebody Loves You
32. Seven Steeples
33. Still Born
34. Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies
35. Love in the Big City
36. After Sappho
37. To Paradise
38. Activities of Daily Living
39. Rivers of the Unspoilt World
40. Thirsty Sea
41. Small Things Like These
42. We Measure the Earth With Our Bodies
43. Treacle Walker
44. The Sentence
45. Companion Piece
46. Pure Colour
47. Solenoid
The first nine could all be number one depending on the qualities they're being ranked for, 9, 10 and 11 would come second, 12 and 13 third, and 14/15/16/17 would come a long way below the rest as they weren't ones I was particularly keen on in any real sense.1. Chinatown
2. Children of Paradise
3. Cold Enough for Snow
4. Diary of a Void
5. The Pachinko Parlour
6. Seven steeples
7. Bolla
8. Solo Dance
9. Stillborn
10. Pollok's Arm
11. Somebody Loves You
12. Companion Piece
13. To Paradise
14. After Sappho
15. Sea of Tranquility
16. The Whalebone Theatre
17. Love, Marriage
1. The Colony2. Time Shelter
3. The Pachinko Parlour
4. Pollak's Arm
5. Small Things Like These
6. Cold Enough for Snow
7. The Trees
8. Saint Sebastian's Abyss
9. I'm a Fan
10. Somebody Loves You
11. Treacle Walker
12. The English Understand Wool
13. Tender
I am still undecided about the rank order between four novels #4-7, might change it by the end of January, depending on which one stays with me longer.
1. The Doloriad2. Querelle de Roberval
3. Solenoid
4. My Volcano
5. The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida
6. Call Me Cassandra
7. Didn't Nobody Give a Shit What Happened to Carlotta
8. The Trees
9. Young Mungo
10. Bolla
11. Pollak's Arm
12. Thread Ripper
13. The Colony
14. Saint Sebastian's Abyss
15. Chinatown
16. Children of Paradise
17. Elena Knows
18. The Sentence
19. I'm a Fan
20. I Am Not Your Eve
21. Solo Dance
22. Love in the Big City
23. Strega
24. After Sappho
25. Little Boy
26. Son of Sin
27. Seven Steeples
28. Thirsty Sea
29. Somebody Loves You
30. MUEUM
31. Time Shelter
32. Rivers of the Unspoilt World
33. Tomb of Sand
34. Small Things Like These
There are several on the main list I would like to read so this is definitely not the definite list except for the first five. And there are a few I disliked so much I won't even bother including them on my list.
EDIT: The hated ones are now listed...
1 Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies - 5*https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
2 The Colony - 5*
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
3 Small Things Like These - 5*
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
4 Companion Piece – 5*
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
5 Sea of Tranquility – 5*
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
6 Losing The Plot – 5*
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
7 Chouette – 5*
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
8 Young Mungo – 5*
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
9 Nothing is More Real Than Nothing – 5*
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
10 Demon Copperhead - 4.5*
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
11 Immortal King Rao – 4.5*
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
12 The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida – 4.5*
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
13 I'm A Fan – 4.5*
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
14 The Beasts They Turned Away – 4.5*
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
15 Treacle Walker – 4*
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
16 Somebody Loves You – 4*
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
17 Seven Steeples – 4*
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
18 Learwife – 4*
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
19 How High We Go In the Dark – 4*
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
20 The Trees – 4*
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
21 To Paradise – 4 *
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
22 Trespasses- 4*
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
23 The Sentence - 4*
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
24 After Sappho - 4*
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
25 Love Marriage – 4*
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
26 Mueum – 4*
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
27 Thread Ripper – 4*
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
28 Tender – 3.5*
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
29 Cold Enough for Snow – 3.5*
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
30 Thirsty Sea by Erica Mou/Clarissa Botsford – 3.5*
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
31 Chinatown – 3*
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
32 Diego Garcia – 3*
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
33 Little Boy - 3*
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
34 Rivers of the Unspoilt World – 2.5*
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
35 Pure Colour – 2*
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
36 I Am Not Your Eve – 2*
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
37 The Doloriad – 1.5*
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
In contrast to RC I really loved the top 3
Only the bottom 6 were a disappointment
Edited 16.121. Tomb of Sand
2. Seven Steeples
3. Treacle Walker
4. Rivers of the Unspoilt World
5. Chouette
6. The Trees
7. The Pachinko Parlour
8. Elena Knows
9. I Am Not Your Eve
10. Time Shelter
11. The Colony
12. When I Sing, Mountains Dance
13. Little Boy
14. Small Things Like These
15. The Doloriad
16. Thirsty Sea
17. Thread Ripper
Edited 16 December:=1. Too Much of Life
=1. Learwife
2. Chinatown
3. December Breeze
4. The Book of Mother (read in the French edition which was cut in the English translation)
5. Still Born
6. After Sappho
7. Thread Ripper
8. Cold Enough for Snow
9. The Doloriad
10. MUEUM
11. I'm a Fan
12. I Am Not Your Eve
13. Trespasses
14. Treaclewalker
15. Little Boy
16. Thirsty Sea
17. Rivers of the Unspoilt World
18. The Colony
19. Small Things Like These
20. Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies
I *really* hated those bottom three!
1, The Immortal King Rao 2. The Colony
3. We Measure the Earth with Our Bodies
4. The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida
5. Seven Steeples
6. What We Fed to the Manticore
7. The Man Who Sold Air in the Holy Land
8. The Trees
9. Demon Copperhead
10. Activities of Daily Living
11. The Sentence
12. Learwife
13. Small Things Like These
14. Companion Piece
15. How High We Go in the Dark
16. Time Shelter
17. Cold Enough for Snow
18. Tomb of Sand
19. Sea of Tranquility
20. Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies
21. Saint Sebastian's Abyss
22. Treacle Walker
23. Kaikeyi
24. Diary of a Void
25. Somebody Loves You
26. After Sappho
27. The Whalebone Theatre
28. Chouette
29. Lungfish
30. Strega
31. Diego Garcia
32. When I Sing, Mountains Dance
33. The Book of Mother
I either liked or loved all of these except the last four.
Updated to include the late entries. The score after each book in on a scale where 1 = best book of year, 100 = least favourite and linearly interpolated in between. It's the scale I use to compare books from different years.1 Nothing Is More Real Than Nothing 5* 1.6
2 Bolla 5* 2.1
3 Imagine A Death: A Novel 5* 3.2
4 Tomb of Sand * 5* 3.8
5 Strega 5* 4.4
6 Treacle Walker 5* 4.9
7 Small Things Like These 5* 5.4
8 Saint Sebastian's Abyss 5* 5.5
9 I'm A Fan 5* 6.0
10 The Colony 5* 6.6
11 Chouette 5* 7.0
12 MUEUM 5* 7.2
13 Losing the Plot 5* 8.3
14 The Pachinko Parlour 4* 8.8
15 The Beasts They Turned Away * 4* 9.4
16 The Doloriad 4* 10.5
17 Somebody Loves You 4* 11.6
18 Book of Mother 4* 13.3
19 Tender 4* 13.9
20 Seven Steeples 4* 17.8
21 Diego Garcia 4* 18.3
22 Learwife 4* 18.5
23 I Am Not Your Eve 4* 20.0
24 Thread Ripper 4* 20.6
25 Thirsty Sea 4* 22.8
26 Absence 4* 25.1
27 Cold Enough for Snow 4* 26.2
28 After Sappho 4* 30.6
29 The Trees 4* 31.2
30 The English Understand Wool 4* 35.1
31 Rivers of the Unspoilt World 4* 35.7
32 Elena Knows* 4* 39.3
33 Time Shelter 4* 44.6
34 Little Boy 4* 49.1
35 Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies 3* 55.8
36 Companion Piece 3* 64.2
37 The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida 3* 65.9
38 Young Mungo 3* 67.6
39 Still Born 3* 71.5
40 Diary of a Void 3*
41 Love in the Big City 3* 77.6
42 Chinatown DNF ( I need to re-read this I think but have lost it) 87.7
The list now contains 13 of my top 14 eligible books of 2022 (and a couple right at the top of 2021). Oddly - and I failed to nominate - it doesn't contain my favourite book of 2022, Waypoints.
Only really bottom 7 that weren't great for me and two of those it was definitely more me not engaging properly with the book.
1. The Colony2. Strega
3. Cold Enough for Snow
4. Small Things Like These
5. Bolla
6. Somebody Loves You
7. The Book of Mother
8. Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies
9. Elena Knows
10. Treacle Walker
11. The Trees
12. After Sappho
These are all excellent books, even the ones at the bottom of my list.
1. Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies2. The Trees
3. The Colony
4. Sea of Tranquility
5. Elena Knows
6. Young Mungo
7. Somebody Loves You
8. Companion Piece
9. Small Things Like These
10. The Sentence
11. We Measure the Earth with Our Bodies
12. How High We Go in the Dark
13. Seven Steeples
5*1. Companion Piece
2. Pollaks Arm
3. Sea of Tranquility
4. Thread Ripper
5. Somebody Loves You
6. Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies
7. Demon Copperhead
8. Little Boy
9. The Trees
10. Small Things Like These
11. The Sentence
12. The Colony
13. Thirsty Sea
14. To Paradise
4*
15The Beasts They Turned Away.
16. When I Sing, Mountains Dance
17. Call Me Cassandra
18. The Book of Mother
19. Seven Steeples
20. Learwife
21. Cold Enough for Snow
22. Rivers of the Unspoilt World
23. The Doloriad
24. How High We Go in the Dark
25.Chouette
26. Young Mungo
27. Losing the Plot
3*
28. The Immortal King Rao
29. Love in the Big City
30. Treacle Walker
31. Strega
32. After Sappho
33. The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida
34. Imagine a Death: a novel
I ended 2022 with 30 and read 4 more in January 2023. I have more on the TBR shelf but have been diverted by the longlist for the new US&CA RoC prize.
. Valli by Sheela Tomy Valli by Sheela Tomy2. The Colony by Audrey Magee
3. The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka
4. How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu
5. What We Fed to the Manticore by Talia Lakshmi Kolluri
6. Diary of a Void by Emi Yagi
7. Cold Enough for Snow by Jessica Au
8. Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
9. Solo Dance by Kotomi Li
10. The Book of Mother by Violaine Huisman
11.Love in the Big City by Sang Young Park
12.. Treacle Walker by Alan Garner
I too would have a "wishlist" addition of Tomb of Sand by Geetanjali Shree, which I would rank third above Seven Moons.
Arun
1. Didn’t Nobody Give a Shit What Happens to Carlotta2. Call Me Cassandra
3. Pure Color
4. Diary of a Void
5. Lungfish
6. A Tiny Upward Shove
7. Pollak’s Arm
8. Cold Enough for Snow
9. The Book of Mother
10. The Colony
11. How High we Go in the Dark
12. Learwife
13. The Trees
14. The Sea of Tranquility
15. After Sappho
16. I am Not Your Eve
17. My Annihilation
18. Small Things Like These
Loved:1. Tomb of Sand
2. The Trees
3. Diego Garcia
4. Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies
5. The Sentence
6. Elena Knows
7. How High We Go in the Dark
8. The Colony
Really Liked:
The Book of Mother
To Paradise
The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida
Companion Piece
After Sappho
Liked:
Small Things Like These
Cold Enough for Snow
Sea of Tranquility
Chouette
Young Mungo
Meh:
Learwife
Somebody Loves You
Treacle Walker
Seven Steeples
Disliked:
My Annihilation
Pure Colour
Tomb of Sand is my book of the year though!
Loved 1. Thirsty Sea
2. Absence
Really Liked
3. Thread Ripper
4. The Pachinko Parlour
5. Diary of a Void
Liked
6. Love in the Big City
Liked (in parts)
7. Chinatown
But Tomb of Sand was my favourite read
1 The English Understood Wool
2 The Sea of Tranquility
3 After Sappho
4 Diary of a Void
Really hard to decide how to rank Sea of Tranquility because much of the richness comes from having read the rest of St John Mandel's work and the way her world continually expands in time. I figure it's my rankings so I don't need to take into consideration if other people have read her entire oeuvre or not!
2 The Sea of Tranquility
3 After Sappho
4 Diary of a Void
Really hard to decide how to rank Sea of Tranquility because much of the richness comes from having read the rest of St John Mandel's work and the way her world continually expands in time. I figure it's my rankings so I don't need to take into consideration if other people have read her entire oeuvre or not!
Edited as I keep reading...I am struck by how many titles on the nominations list I haven't read (including several I have not heard of). Apart from anything else, this exercise shows me how many potentially wonderful reads I still have ahead of me. I did not nominate The Trees because it's a 2021 book in the US, but if someone nominates it, it would be fairly high up on my list.
1. To Paradise
2. The Whalebone Theatre
3. Demon Copperhead
4. Companion Piece
5. Trespasses
6. Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies
7. The Trees
8. Sea of Tranquility
9. The Colony
10. Small Things Like These
11. Elena Knows
12. The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida
13. Love Marriage
14. How High We Go in the Dark
15. Seven Steeples
16. Young Mungo
17. The Sentence
18. Treacle Walker
19. Lear Wife
20. The Immortal King Rao
21. After Sappho
I've read very few of the books this year. My rankings:
1. My Annihilation
2. Whisper
3. When Women Kill
4. Call Me Cassandra
1. Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies2. Small Things Like These
3. Young Mungo
4. Elena Knows
5. Cold Enough for Snow
6. Chouette
7. Learwife
8. The Colony
9. The Book of Mother
10. Somebody Loves You
11. Sea of Tranquility
12. The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida
13. The Trees
14. Treacle Walker
15. Love in the Big City
16. After Sappho
1 The Trees2 The Man Who Sold Air in the Holy Land
3 Pollak's Arm
4 Saint Sebastian's Abyss
5 Still Born
6 Small Things Like These
7 The Book of Mother
8 Sea of Tranquility
9 When I Sing the Mountains Dance
10 What you can see from here
11 The Colony
12 The Pachnko Parlour
13 Cold Enough for Snow
14 Seven Steeples
15 Cocoon
16 Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies
1. The Colony2. The Trees
3. Companion Piece
4. Chinatown
5. Cold Enough for Snow
6. Sea of Tranquility
1. Call Me Cassandra 2. Bolla
3. Pollak’s Arm
4. Elena Knows
5. Chouette
6. The English Know Wool
7. Seven Steeples
8. Cold Enough for Snow
9. The Beast They Turned Away
10. Somebody Loves You
11. Learwife
12. Strega
13. Saint Sebastian’s Abyss
14. The Seven Moons of Maali Almeda
15. Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies
16. Small things like these
17. The Colony
18. The Trees
19. Young Mungo
1. The Colony2. Time Shelter
3. Small Things Like These
4. Pollak's Arm
5. Saint Sebastian's Abyss
6. The Trees
7. The English Understand Wool
I enjoyed them all. #1-6 were 5 stars for me, only #7 was 4 stars, but still an excellent read. Apart from the top 2, I had a very hard time ranking the rest.
1 The Immortal King Rao - 4.5 stars - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...2 Elena Knows - 4.5 stars - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
3 The Trees - 4.5 stars - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
4 Somebody Loves You - 4.5 stars - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
5 The Book of Mother - 4.5 stars - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
6 Small Things Like These - 4.5 stars - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
7 Love in the Big City - 4 stars - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
8 Cold Enough for Snow - 4 stars - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
9 Sea of Tranquility - 3.5 stars - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
10 The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida - 3.5 stars - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
11 How High We Go in the Dark - 3.5 stars - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
12 Companion Piece - 3 stars - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
13 Saint Sebastian's Abyss - 3 stars - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
14 Chouette - 3 stars - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
15 My Annihilation - 3 stars - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
16 Seven Steeples - 2 stars - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
17 Treacle Walker - 2 stars - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
1. Seven Steeples by Sara Baume2. Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart*
3. Bolla by Pajtim Statovci
4. The Colony by Audrey Magee
5. Somebody Loves You by Mona Arshi
6. Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies by Maddie Mortimer
7. Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
8. The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunaratne
9. Treacle Walker by Alan Garner
10. Companion Piece by Ali Smith*
11. The Trees by Percival Everett
12. Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel*
13. After Sappho by Selby Wynn Schwartz (dnf)
*added on December 30.
1. Small Things Like These2. Activities of Daily Living
3. Demon Copperhead
4. The Colony
5. The Trees
6. The Beasts They Turned Away
7. How High We Go In the Dark
8. MUEUM
9. What We Fed To the Manticore
10. Chouette
11. The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida
12. Somebody Loves You
13. Pure Colour
14. Sea of Tranquility
15. After Sappho
16. The English Understand Wool
17. My Volcano
18. Mystery Train
19. Treacle Walker
20. Thread Ripper
21. Saint Sebastian’s Abyss
22. Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies
23. The Sentence
24. Rivers Of the Unspoilt World
25. The Doloriad
1. Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart2. Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
3. The Colony by Audrey Magee
4. Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
5. Seven Steeples by Sara Baume
6. Chouette by Claire Oshetsky
7. The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka
8. Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies by Maddie Mortimer
9. After Sappho by Selby Wynn Schwartz
10. To Paradise by Hanya Yanagihara
11. Treacle Walker by Alan Garner
12. The Trees by Percival Everett
13. I Am Not Your Eve by Devika Ponnambalam
14. Thread Ripper by Amalie Smith
15. The Sentence by Louise Erdrich
16. Little Boy by John Smith
If I'm not too late:1. The Trees, by Percival Everett
2. The Colony, by Audrey Magee
3. The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida, by Shehan Karnunaratne
4. The English Understand Wool, by Helen DeWitt
5. Elena Knows, by Claudia Pineiro
6. My Volcano, by John Elizabeth Stintzi
7. Small Things Like These, by Claire Keegan
8. Time Shelter, by Georgi Gospodinov
9. Treacle Walker, by Alan Garner
10. Sea of Tranquility, by Emily St. John Mandel
11. Chouette, by Claire Oshetsky
12. The Sentence, by Louise Erdrich
13. Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies, by Maddie Mortimer
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The Mookse and the Gripes
Books mentioned in this topic
Pollak's Arm (other topics)Call Me Cassandra (other topics)
Imagine a Death (other topics)
Losing the Plot (other topics)
Love in the Big City (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Claudia Piñeiro (other topics)Pajtim Statovci (other topics)
Mariana Leky (other topics)
Hatice Bilimer (other topics)
Percival Everett (other topics)
More...
I strongly encourage numbering them 1,2,3,...,number of books read - if you omit the numbers, I will assume that this is what you want, which may save you time.
NB I have also decided that for the league tables, I need to treat all lists as numbered 1,2,3,...,number of books, because this worked well last year and speeds up the spreadsheet maintenance.
Please post one list per person and use edit where necessary. I will keep this open until the end of January 2023.
Please do not post general chat here - it may be deleted to keep this tidy!
These are the 79 nominated books in alphabetical order by title (please do not vote for anything else!):