I read more in 2021 than at any time in my previous 64 years. It's been rewarding on several levels. More than anything, I've displaced a good deal of the television in my life with books.
In the way of fiction, I finished reading all the Mitch Rapp books written by Vince Flynn. I thoroughly enjoyed each and every one. If you like good guys killing bad guys, this series is for you. Books in the series seem to run from 450 to 550 pages in length, but they're written with a style that allowed me to breeze through at a good clip. They're hard to put down, and I read several of his books in two days.
I love Lee Child's Jack Reacher series, and worked my way through most of it, having read quite a few in 2020, and then again likewise on 2021. I have three left for 2022, plus the new one, which I won't but until I can get it cheap at a used bookstore or thrift shop. Like Flynn's Rapp books, Reacher books are super easy to read and I blow through them in 2-3 days, despite their usual 500+ pages. Jack Reacher isn't an assassin like Mitch Rapp, but he brings a finality to many bad guys, which is always a nice part of his stuff.
I read three of Craig Johnston's Longmire series. I loved the television show, and the books are no exception. They're very enjoyable, Walt Longmire and the other characters in the books are the same as on the tv show, but the storylines are a little different and situationally the characters are different. Notably, Longmire's relationship with his deputy, Vic Moretti is different than as portrayed on tv. I love the west and especially rhe mountain west, and these stories, taking place in fictional Absaroka County, Wyoming, bring the location into every storyline, which I find a plus.
Speaking of the mountain west and fictional story lines, I read the fourth and last of Christine Catbo's murder mysteries, A Sharp Solitude. All Carbo's stories are centered in and around Glacier National Park in Montana. I really enjoy how she weaves the park into the stories in ways that make it integral. If you're looking for something different in murder mystery fiction, and you love the west like I do, I recommend Christine Carbo.
And lastly, on the fiction front, I started the Bosch series by Michael Connelly. So far I've read three of them, and I'm very much enjoying them. They're generally a little shorter than my other fiction reading, running 300 pages, plus or minus so far. Like Longmire, there is a tv show on Amaz0n that we really like. And like Longmire, the characters are the same, but the story lines are different, making it so the books aren't totally spoiled for having seen the tv program.
In 2022 I expect to finish the last of the Reacher series, and to continue with Longmire and Bosch books. I got a recommendation for an author I'm not familiar with, Ivan Doig, who writes fiction centered in the mountain west, Montana primarily, I think. I hope I enjoy his stuff, but hard to say till I try one.
I haven't decided on a goal for 2022. The 25,000+ pages and 60 books in 2021 is probably a record that will stand for the coming year. Maybe 48 books and/or 20,000 pages will be a good goal for this year, I'm not sure. I may go lower and increase my goal as I go, which is what I did this year. I have some really long and heavy non-fiction on my shelf, a couple of them 1000+ pages unto themselves. I may try to spread those out, 100 or 200 pages at a time, then set them aside and read something else, lighter non-fiction or some fiction in between.
As was the case and has been my primary interest in non-fiction, I plan to read several books about Native Americans and the west. I also want to learn more about Theodore Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson, Harry Truman, and Andrew Jackson. I have biographies for the last three, and have something in mind for Roosevelt, even as it's not on my shelf at this time.
Lastly, there are several books I have earmarked to re-read. Goodbye Darkness by Manchester, for sure is one of them. I may also read Empire of Shadows, by George Black, which is an excellent study of the history of Yellowstone National Park and the surrounding area. There are so many new books to read, but I think one or two re-reads are in order. I may re-read some James Michener, too. He's always been a favorite. I have a copy of his Texas on my shelf. It's well over 40 years sonce I read it, and perhaps it's time to dust it off and give it another go. One reading related goal I have for 2022 is to study the geography and history of Wyoming and Montana and become well acquainted with all the rivers, mountain ranges, parks, historical landmarks of my interest, and Native American reservations and important lands in Native American history in those western states.
I'm on Goodreads, which is where I log and track my reading progress. If you're on there, find me,
What are you gonna read in 2022?
