Tess Reads 100 from her shelves!

Hello, I'm Tess, a semi-retired history professor. My favorite genre is historical fiction (the hard-core stuff, not the romance/mystery). This year I'm also trying to read the three "A's", Australia, Africa, and Asia.

My favorite thing about LT are the great people. Getting some great BB's runs a close second!

My reading year actually runs from Dec 25 to Dec 25--so I can start on the new and shiny right away!

January-February

1. Kim by Rudyard Kipling 3* 305 pages
2. The Curtain Call Caper (The Gabby St. Claire Diaries #1) by Christy Barritt 3 * 276 pages
3. Women in Black Madeleine St. John 4* 224 pages
4. The Stranger by Lisa Unger 4* 324 pages
5. Three Tigers, One Mountain: A Journey through the Bitter History and Current Conflicts of China, Korea, and Japan by Michael Booth 3* 305 pages
6. King Lear by William Shakespeare 320 pages (2 versions)
7. Meditations by Marcus Aurelius 256 pages 4*
8. The China Governess by Margery Allingham audio read 75 pages 2* DNF will attempt with hard copy later in the year
9. 101 Hymn Stories 4*
10. Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles 3*

March-April

May-June

July-August

September-October

November-December

7. Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. Thought this would be slog, as I find many philosophy writings, but surprisingly, Aurelius kept my attention and has some sage advice. I will be looking for a biography of Aurelius sometime this year to "complete" my reading.

8. The China Governess by Margery Allingham. I had the audio of this book, but the British accents were so strong that I could not discern the words even playing at 80% speed. I have now secured a hard copy of the book and will get back to it, hopefully before the end of the year. This is a Golden Age detective mystery.

9. 101 Hymn Stories by Kenneth Osbeck History of specific church hymns.
10. Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles a disappointment after reading his A Gentleman From Moscow

>7 Tess_W: I'd never considered reading this, but your review encourages me to have a go.

11. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe Tradition vs. change, British colonialism, anger management issues. 256 pages 3 stars

>11 pamelad: Still pretty much a "geek" read, but at least one I could understand and walk away with a few concrete thoughts. He was also emperor for about 20 years so I guess a bio of him is in the future as I know nothing about that time period. I know he was a Stoic and that's about it!

12. The Woman in Black by Susan Hill--haunted house, just meh. 141 pages 2.5 stars

13. Mrs. Poe 4* Historical fiction
14. The Hungry Road Historical fiction concerning Irish potato famine 4*
15. West From Home Laura Ingalls Wilder's letter from San Francisco while visiting her daughter 4*

16. The Greenhouse by Auour Ava Olafsdottir. Coming of age story, quite disappointing. 2.5 stars 262 pages

17. The Cadaver King and the Country Dentist A non-fiction read about the biased court system in Mississippi in the 1990's. 3 stars 416 pages

18. Little Lord Fauntleroy by Frances Hodgson Burnett Sickeningly sweet! 146 pages 3-stars

19. Richard III by William Shakespeare. The best! 361 pages 5 stars

>19 Tess_W: YES totally agree. Richard III is my favorite