“Do you not know that a man is not dead while his name is still spoken?”
– Terry Pratchett, Going Postal

“Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it.”
– Terry Pratchett, Reaper Man

“Real stupidity beats artificial intelligence every time.”
– Terry Pratchett, Hogfather

“If you trust in yourself… and believe in your dreams… and follow your star… you’ll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren’t so lazy.”
– Terry Pratchett, The Wee Free Men

“Just erotic. Nothing kinky. It’s the difference between using a feather and using a chicken.”
– Terry Pratchett, Eric

Ann Rule’s The I-5 Killer popped up in my Book Bub recommendations last month. I knew I’d read something by Ann Rule before (can’t for the life of me remember what) so I knew I liked her writing, and I figured, hey, I-5 is near me, that might be an interesting read. Yikes, y’all. I did not realize that much of the book happened basically where I live. 😬 Made for an unusually gripping read.

1. Dead in Dublin: A Charming Irish Cozy Mystery (The Dublin Driver Mysteries Book 1), Catie Murphy
2. The I-5 Killer, Ann Rule
3. Green River, Running Red: The Real Story of the Green River Killer – America’s Deadliest Serial Murderer, Ann Rule

Hey, guess what, there are a bunch of books based on the Supernatural TV show. I was unaware of this. I stumbled over them on Amazon right after Christmas and tried a couple out. They don’t suck. They’ve actually been a fair amount of fun – strictly popcorn books, quick, light reads which have, so far, had a pretty decent grasp of the show and the characters. A couple suffered a bit from not being beholden to a TV shooting budget or the constraints of special effects and got a little ridiculous during the final fight, but other than that, no complaints. I have a handful left to read, so I’m looking forward to them.

I also read Fangs, written by Sarah Anderson, who does the “Sarah’s Scribbles” and “Cryptid Club” web comics. Fangs is a short, delightful comic, very sweet and funny.

1. Fangs, Sarah Andersen
2. Supernatural: Nevermore, Keith R.A. DeCandido
3. Supernatural: Witch’s Canyon, Jeff Mariotte
4. Supernatural: Bone Key, Keith R.A. DeCandido
5. Supernatural: Heart of the Dragon, Keith R.A. Decandido
6. Supernatural: The Unholy Cause, Joe Schreiber
7. Supernatural: War of the Sons, David Reed, Rebecca Dessertine
8. Supernatural: One Year Gone, Rebecca Dessertine
9. Supernatural: Coyote’s Kiss, Christa Faust
10. Supernatural: Night Terror, John Passarella
11. Supernatural: Rite of Passage, John Passarella
12. Supernatural: Fresh Meat, Alice Henderson
13. Supernatural: Carved in Flesh, Tim Waggoner
14. Supernatural: Cold Fire, John Passarella
15. Supernatural: Mythmaker, Tim Waggoner

It’s been a murder mystery-heavy year – the vast majority of books on the list this year were murder mysteries. I discovered Tana French, who writes pretty good books. I enjoyed everything I read by her this year. I also read several John Scalzi books – The Kaiju Preservation Society was especially good. Tons of fun.

Heading into 2023, I want to read The Expanse novels. I read the first one last year and then got sidetracked and never finished the series. So that’s on my to-do list. So are more John Scalzi books – I’ve heard good things about The Old Man’s War series. Chuck Wendig did a sequel to Wanderers that came out this past fall, called Wayward, and that’s on my to-read list, too.

Here’s 2022’s reading by month, with a few notes on what I’d read: January | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November.

Of course, December’s reads are smushed into this year-end list, but begin with #96, The Cold Blue Blood, which was a fun book. Scalzi’s Collapsing Empire series was fantastic. Mercedes Lackey’s “origins of Valdemar” series – Beyond, Into the West – has been a bit disappointing. Dull, contrived, forced, and like, the voice in these novels is so different that I would bet a not-insignificant sum of money on them being ghost written. Go read Arrows of the Queen then read these two newest ones and tell me Mercedes Lackey wrote ’em all. I am dubious.

At any rate, I’ve listed everything I read this year below. Bolded items were particularly good reads.

1. A Morbid Taste for Bones, Ellis Peters
2. One Corpse Too Many, Ellis Peters
3. Monk’s Hood, Ellis Peters
4. Saint Peter’s Fair, Ellis Peters
5. The Leper of Saint Giles, Ellis Peters
6. The Virgin in the Ice, Ellis Peters
7. The Sanctuary Sparrow, Ellis Peters
8. The Devil’s Novice, Ellis Peters
9. Dead Man’s Ransom, Ellis Peters
10. The Pilgrim of Hate, Ellis Peters
11. An Excellent Mystery, Ellis Peters
12. The Raven in the Foregate, Ellis Peters
13. The Rose Rent, Ellis Peters
14. The Leper of Saint Giles, Ellis Peters
15. The Confession of Brother Haluin, Ellis Peters
16. The Heretic’s Apprentice, Ellis Peters
17. The Potter’s Field, Ellis Peters
18. The Summer of the Danes, Ellis Peters
19. The Holy Thief, Ellis Peters
20. Brother Cadfael’s Penance, Ellis Peters
21. A Rare Benedictine: The Advent of Brother Cadfael, Ellis Peters
22. Fallen Into The Pit, Ellis Peters
23. Death and the Joyful Woman, Ellis Peters
24. Flight of a Witch, Ellis Peters
25. A Nice Derangement of Epitaphs, Ellis Peters
26. The Piper on the Mountain, Ellis Peters
27. Black Is the Colour of My True Love’s Heart, Ellis Peters
28. The Grass Widow’s Tale, Ellis Peters
29. Storm Front, Jim Butcher
30. Fool Moon, Jim Butcher
31. Grave Peril, Jim Butcher
32. Summer Knight, Jim Butcher
33. Death Masks, Jim Butcher
34. Blood Rites, Jim Butcher
35. Dead Beat, Jim Butcher
36. Proven Guilty, Jim Butcher
37. White Knight, Jim Butcher
38. Small Favor, Jim Butcher
39. Turn Coat, Jim Butcher
40. Changes, Jim Butcher
41. Ghost Story, Jim Butcher
42. Cold Days, Jim Butcher
43. Skin Game, Jim Butcher
44. Peace Talks, Jim Butcher
45. Battle Ground, Jim Butcher
46. Side Jobs, Jim Butcher
47. Brief Cases, Jim Butcher
48. Johannes Cabal the Necromancer, Jonathan L. Howard
49. Johannes Cabal the Detective, Jonathan L. Howard
50. The Fear Institute, Jonathan L. Howard
51. Johannes Cabal: The Brothers Cabal, Jonathan L. Howard
52. Johannes Cabal: The Fall of the House of Cabal, Jonathan L. Howard
53. In The Woods, Tana French
54. The Likeness, Tana French
55. Faithful Place, Tana French
56. Broken Harbor, Tana French
57. The Secret Place, Tana French
58. The Trespasser, Tana French
59. Unfuck Your Habitat, Rachel Hoffman
60. Every Heart a Doorway (Wayward Children Book 1), Seanan McGuire
61. Down Among the Sticks and Bones (Wayward Children Book 2), Seanan McGuire
62. Beneath the Sugar Sky (Wayward Children Book 3), Seanan McGuire
63. In an Absent Dream (Wayward Children Book 4), Seanan McGuire
64. The Law, Jim Butcher
65. The Orville: Sympathy for the Devil, Seth MacFarlane
66. The Sandman, 1-75, Neil Gaiman (comic books)
67. Be the Serpent (October Daye), Seanan McGuire
68. The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11, Garrett M. Graff
69. The Kaiju Preservation Society, John Scalzi
70. Fairy Tale, Stephen King
71. The Wee Free Men, Terry Pratchett
72. A Hat Full of Sky, Terry Pratchett
73. Wintersmith, Terry Pratchett
74. I Shall Wear Midnight, Terry Pratchett
75. The Shepherd’s Crown, Terry Pratchett
76. The Case of the Missing Marquess: An Enola Holmes Mystery, Nancy Springer
77. The Case of the Left-Handed Lady: An Enola Holmes Mystery, Nancy Springer
78. The Case of the Bizarre Bouquets: An Enola Holmes Mystery, Nancy Springer
79. The Case of the Peculiar Pink Fan: An Enola Holmes Mystery, Nancy Springer
80. The Case of the Cryptic Crinoline: An Enola Holmes Mystery, Nancy Springer
81. The Case of the Disappearing Duchess: An Enola Holmes Mystery, Nancy Springer
82. Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche, Nancy Springer
83. Enola Holmes and the Boy in Buttons, Nancy Springer
84. Enola Holmes and the Elegant Escapade, Nancy Springer
85. The Searcher, Tana French
86. Crossed By Death (Stitches In Crime Book 1), ACF Bookens
87. Bobbins and Bodies (Stitches In Crime Book 2), ACF Bookens
88. Hanged by a Thread (Stitches In Crime Book 3), ACF Bookens
89. Counted Corpse (Stitches In Crime Book 4), ACF Bookens
90. Stitch X For Murder (Stitches In Crime Book 5), ACF Bookens
91. Sewn at the Crime (Stitches In Crime Book 6), ACF Bookens
92. Blood and Back Stitches (Stitches In Crime Book 7), ACF Bookens
93. Fatal Floss (Stitches In Crime Book 8), ACF Bookens
94. Strangled Skein (Stitches In Crime Book 9), ACF Bookens
95. Publishable By Death (St. Marin’s Cozy Mystery Series Book 1), ACF Bookens
96. The Cold Blue Blood: A Berger and Mitry Mystery, David Handler
97. Beyond, Mercedes Lackey
98. The Collapsing Empire, John Scalzi
99. The Consuming Fire, John Scalzi
100. The Last Emperox, John Scalzi
101. Into the West, Mercedes Lackey
102. Supernatural: Bobby Singer’s Guide to Hunting, David Reed