Ms. Anderson's Last ATM of 2022

Okay, fun fact. I used to figure skate. Yep. Just like my bitmoji. Jumps, spins, and figures were my passion. Of course, that was back when I liked winter and I could fall on the ice regularly without injuring myself (at least most of the time).

Any-whoo....

Here we are just a few days before winter break. I'm excited and a bit flummoxed at how we have arrived at the end of 2022 so quickly!

One of my very favorite things about late December is that my TBR list is jammed. I have spent time trolling the "best of..." lists and am super excited about the titles on top of my stack. The thing of it is, books end up favorites for a reason. They are good.

I just started I Must Betray You on Saturday and I am still a bit mad that I had to come to work today instead of staying at home to finish it. It's outstanding.

First, it is about Romanian history. I know very little about Romania other than Nadia Comaneci (childhood favorite Olympic gymnast) is from there and defected to America when I was in high school. Second, the chapters are super short and it reads so, so fast. It's a spy novel a bit like Orphan, Monster, Spy and the story has such suspense that I can hardly stop reading! I kept making deals with myself this morning: I'll read just 10 more minutes and do the dishes after work and I'll read just 2 more minutes and get dressed very fast. It was a struggle in the best reading way.

This bares repeating: I love a good mystery. And Karen McManus does not disappoint. She captured my attention with her freshman work, One of Us is Lying, and The Cousins has the same twisty grit. I'm listening to this and it was a bit confusing at first. There are lots of changes of perspectives and shifts in time which are hard to keep up with (at least for me) when I'm listening. I feel like there are likely subtle visual cues to let the reader know things are changing that aren't captured in audio, but once I got familiar with the characters is got easier to follow.

And that's it. I'm only reading one book and listening to one audio. But they are both so good so I'm one happy reader. I can't wait for the next 22 days to see what gems and surprises are in store. And as always, I'll share my Top 10 when we return from break. Until then....happy reading everyone!

Ms. Anderson