My Life in Book Titles 2022

My Life in Books is the perfect antidote to the post Christmas energy slump.

Thanks to Lizzy Siddal for reminding me that it’s time to play this game once more. The idea is simple:

Using only books you have read this year, answer these prompts. Try not to repeat a book title. 

Links in the titles below will take you to my reviews where they exist.

In high school I was: Educated (Tara Westover)

People might be surprised by: The Old Woman With The Knife (Gu Byeong-mo)

I will never be: Mrs Hemingway (Naomi Wood)

My life post-lockdown was: Heaven (Mieko Kawakami) 

My fantasy Job is: (At) The Glass Hotel  (Emily St John Mandel)

At the end of a long day I need: A Time  To Laugh (Rhys Davies)

I hate being: (The) Redhead By The Side Of The Road (Anne Tyler)

I wish I had: The Marriage Portrait (Maggie O’Farrell)

My family reunions are: Small Pleasures  (Clare Chambers)

At a party you’d find me Chasing The King Of Hearts (Hanna Krall)

I’ve never been to The Hiding Place (Trezza Azzopardi)

A happy day includes: People From My Neighbourhood (Hiromi Kawakami)

Motto I live by: Small Acts of Kindness  (Jennifer Anthill)

On my bucket list is: The Beach House (Beverley Jones)

In my next life, I want to have: A Perfectly Good Man (Patrick Gale)

!

Well this was just as much fun as in previous years.
Annabel, Chris and Cathy have also come up with their versions.
Why not join in the fun yourself ?

BookerTalk

What do you need to know about me? 1. I'm from Wales which is one of the countries in the UK and must never be confused with England. 2. My life has always revolved around the written and spoken word. I worked as a journalist for nine years then in international corporate communications 3. My tastes in books are eclectic. I love realism and hate science fiction and science fantasy. 4. I am trying to broaden my reading horizons geographically by reading more books in translation

27 thoughts on “My Life in Book Titles 2022

  • December 30, 2022 at 6:27 pm
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    I really enjoy these posts, probably won’t get a chance to do it myself. I recently ordered Heaven with Christmas book tokens.

    Reply
    • December 30, 2022 at 9:44 pm
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      I’ll look forward to reading it – you always come up with something different

      Reply
  • December 30, 2022 at 4:57 pm
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    Excellent. I forgot about this one but I’ll try to do one in mid-January because my blog is full until then!

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    • December 30, 2022 at 5:05 pm
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      Now will you just stop showing off with all your forward planning?? Some of us mere mortals blog by the skin of our teeth (LOL)

      Reply
  • December 30, 2022 at 11:23 am
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    I nearly chose The Marriage Portrait for that question too! Great list.

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    • December 30, 2022 at 5:06 pm
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      I see a few people have put the Glass Hotel on their lists which is interesting because it’s not a 2022 publication

      Reply
  • December 30, 2022 at 1:27 am
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    I like your strategy for the end of a long day…

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    • December 30, 2022 at 5:09 pm
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      The irony is that there wasn’t anything to laugh about in that book and it wasn’t very good. The sentiment is still valid though

      Reply
  • December 29, 2022 at 5:22 pm
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    Hello, I did not know that your name is Karen; last evening, I kept telling my husband that they were all speaking about a Karen and I did not know what was what; anyhow, Bookertalk is what I think of the name and I am sorry to keep missing it. Book reviewers are clever as are librarians and the likes. Our parents name us when we’re born with a date of birth and society plays with this to no end; all the names are familiar at times for a reason which escapes me. I waste time commenting when I do know not what is going on or being said; I am all over the place with no sense of direction so I waste time online doing poorly. What I have read this year is one big blur and there’s more to be read when I feel the need to. I keep meaning to not reply and so I should stick to this bit and save some time. Take care and get well soon!

    Reply
    • December 29, 2022 at 10:29 pm
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      No need to apologise at all – I don’t use my real name very often so it’s not that evident.
      My parents thought they had been very clever in giving me a name that could not be abbreviated – only to find some relatives calling me Kar (horrible)

      Reply
  • December 29, 2022 at 5:18 pm
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    Chasing the King of Hearts, eh? You do know how to party after all! And I second the motto title; it reminds me of the line in The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse shown recently on the box: “What do you want to be when you grow up?” The answer? “Kind.”

    Reply
    • December 29, 2022 at 10:30 pm
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      We saw a little of that adaptation – the animation was breathtaking but we found the homilies a little hard to take!

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      • December 29, 2022 at 10:57 pm
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        It rather veered towards cloying, didn’t it? But its heart was in the right place I felt. There was an interesting documentary of the artist associated with the animation, equally respectful, but there’s no doubting Charlie Mackesy’s talent.

        Reply
        • December 30, 2022 at 5:02 pm
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          It might be less cloying in written form

  • December 29, 2022 at 5:06 pm
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    I love it! I’ll play too, though I had already started to plan answers to Shelleyrae’s questionnaire, as Book Admirer mentions. I’ll do ’em both. Why not?

    Reply
    • December 29, 2022 at 10:33 pm
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      Just had a read through of your post – interesting to see how the prompts compare with the version I did

      Reply
    • December 29, 2022 at 10:34 pm
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      Kindness is something that I’ve seem far more in evidence in recent years amid all the adversity of the covid restrictions and now the cost of living crisis.

      Reply
    • December 29, 2022 at 10:35 pm
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      I almost put that as the answer to the prompt on “my ideal job” 🙂

      Reply

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