2022 Book Review and 2023 Plans

My reading plan from last year worked out very well. The trilogies went quickly, I was done in plenty of time. Here's the rundown...

Fiction--three books from A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast:

• Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather. Reviewed here.
• One Corpse Too Many by Ellis Peters. Reviewed here.
• Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey. Reviewed here.

History--two trilogies here...

• Galveston Flood trilogy--three books about the hurricane that hit Galveston Island in 1900
• Isaac's Storm by Erik Larson. Reviewed here.
• A Weekend in September by John Edward Weems. Reviewed here.
• Through a Night of Horrors edited by Casey Edward Greene and Shelly Henley Kelly. Reviewed here.
• Legendary Men trilogy--three books about larger than life characters from the past
• Blackbeard the Pirate: A Reappraisal of His Life and Times by Robert E. Lee (no, not that one). Reviewed here.
• Lincoln by David Herbert Donald. Reviewed here. 
• Inventing Wyatt Earp: His Life and Many Legends by Allen Barra. Reviewed here.

Theology--three books from my shelf about the famous Anglican convert to Catholicism, John Henry Cardinal Newman

• John Henry Newman: His Inner Life by Dr. Zeno, Capuchin. Reviewed here.
• Mary: The Virgin Mary in the Life and Writings of John Henry Newman edited with an introduction and notes by Philip Boyce. Reviewed here.
• The Heart of Newman, A Synthesis Arranged by Erich Przywara, S.J. Reviewed here.

Philosophy--three books on the natural law that have been waiting around to be read

• A Critique of the New Natural Law Theory by Russell Hittinger.  Reviewed here.
• Natural and Divine Law: Reclaiming the Tradition for Christian Ethics by Jean Porter. Reviewed here.
• 50 Questions on the Natural Law: What It Is and Why We Need It by Charles Rice. Reviewed here.

I discovered a lot of graphic novels are available on Hoopla through my local library. That was a huge supplement to my reading of physical books.

1. Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser--reviewed here.
2. Harriet Tubman Toward Freedom--reviewed here.
3. Marie Curie A Life of Discovery--reviewed here.
4. Shang-Chi Volume 1--reviewed here.
5. Sir Edward Grey Witchfinder Omnibus One--reviewed here.
6. Invisible Woman: Partners in Crime--reviewed here.
7. Usagi Yojimbo Book 10--reviewed here. 
8. Slam Dunk Volume 1--reviewed here.
9. Slam Dunk Volume 2--reviewed here.
10. Sir Edward Grey Witchfinder Vol. 5--reviewed here.
11. Ant-Man Season One--reviewed here.
12. Slam Dunk Volume 3--reviewed here.
13. Slam Dunk Volume 4--reviewed here.
14. Sir Edward Grey Witchfinder Volume 6--reviewed here.
15. iZombie Volume 1--reviewed here.
16. Slam Dunk Volume 5--reviewed here.
17. Slam Dunk Volume 6--reviewed here.
18. Moon Knight Volume 1--reviewed here.
19. Lily Renee, Escape Artist--reviewed here.
20. iZombie Volume 2--reviewed here.
21. The Twelve--reviewed here.
22. Slam Dunk Volume 7--reviewed here.
23. Slam Dunk Volume 8--reviewed here.
24. Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters--reviewed here.
25. The Girl Who Married a Skull and Other African Stories--reviewed here.
26. iZombie Volume 3--reviewed here.
27. Marvel Masterworks: X-Men Volume 6--reviewed here.
28. Tamamo the Fox Maiden and Other Asian Stories--reviewed here.
29. Falconspeare--reviewed here.
30. iZombie Volume 4--reviewed here.
31. Shang-Chi Volume 2--reviewed here.
32. Witchfinder Volume 4--reviewed here.
33. Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales: Cold War Correspondent--reviewed here.
34. The Night Marchers and Other Oceanian Stories--reviewed here.
35. Crimson Lotus--reviewed here.
36. Fantastic Four Masterworks Vol. 1--reviewed here.
37. Usagi Yojimbo/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Complete Collection--reviewed here.
38. Abe Sapien Volume 8--reviewed here.
39. The Nixie of the Mill Pond and Other European Stories--reviewed here.
40. Death Note Volume 1--reviewed here.
41. Death Note Volume 2--reviewed here.
42. Anne Frank's Diary: The Graphic Adaptation--reviewed here.
43. The House of Lost Horizons: A Sarah Jewell Mystery--reviewed here.
44. Mother Teresa: Little Acts of Love--reviewed here.
45. Death Note Volume 3--reviewed here.
46. Death Note Volume 4--reviewed here.
47. Way of the House Husband Volume 7--reviewed here.
48. Abe Sapien Dark and Terrible Volume 1--reviewed here.
49. Spy x Family Volume 1--reviewed here.
50. Spy x Family Volume 2--reviewed here.
51. Jack Kirby: The Epic Life of the King of Comics--reviewed here.
52. Death Note Volume 5--reviewed here.
53. Death Note Volume 6--reviewed here.
54. Death Note Volume 7--reviewed here.
55. X-Men Milestones: The Fall of the Mutants--reviewed here. 
56. Spy x Family Volume 3-reviewed here.
57. Spy x Family Volume4--reviewed here.
58. Death Note Volume 8--reviewed here.
59. Death Note Volume 9--reviewed here.
60. Spy x Family Volume 5--reviewed here.
61. Spy x Family Volume 6--reviewed here.
62. Thor & Loki: Double Trouble--reviewed here.
63. X-Men: From the Ashes--reviewed here.
64. Marvel Masterworks: Werewolf by Night Volume 1--reviewed here.
65. Death Note Volume 10--reviewed here.
66. Death Note Volume 11--reviewed here.
67. Death Note Volume 12--reviewed here.
68. Irredeemable Premier Edition Volume 4--reviewed here.
69. Spy x Family Volume 7--reviewed here.
70. Spy x Family Volume 8--reviewed here.
71. Andre the Giant: Life and Legend--reviewed here.
72. One-Punch Man Volume 1--reviewed here.
73. One Punch Man Volume 2--reviewed here.
74. Death Note Short Stories--reviewed here.
75. Werewolf by Night: New Wolf Rising--reviewed here.
76. The Sword of Hyperborea--reviewed here.
77. Usagi Yojimbo: Bunraku and Other Stories--reviewed here.
78. Spider-man and Venom: Double Trouble--reviewed here.
79. One-Punch Man Volume 3--reviewed here.
80. One-Punch Man Volume 4--reviewed here.

Here's my plan to get some more books off the shelf of shame this year. In the board gaming community, a lot of people have shifted from using "shelf of shame" to "shelf of opportunity." What they lose in alliteration they more than make up for with positive attitude. Here is the categorical breakdown...

Fiction--

• The Blazing World and Other Writings by Margaret Cavendish
• The Desert of Souls by Howard Andrew Jones
• Probably a bunch of books from A Good Story is Hard to Find Podcast--I'm looking at you, Invisible Man (or am I?)

History--

• The Complete Writings of Thucydides
• The Shadow of His Wings by Gereon Goldmann
• The Pope and the Holocaust by Michael Hessmann 

Theology--

• The Sword of the Spirit by Msgr. John Steinmueller
  
• Vibrant Paradoxes by Robert Barron
• Selected Commentaries on the New Testament by Thomas Aquinas

Philosophy--

• The 4 Dimensions of Philosophy by Mortimer J. Adler
• The Republic of Plato translated by Allan Bloom
• Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion by David Hume
• On Liberty by John Stuart Mill

Folklore/Mythology

• Northumberland Folk Tales by Rosalind Kerven
• Scottish Folk Tales by various authors
• Mules and Men by Zora Neale Hurston
• The Greek Way by Edith Hamilton
• The Great Book of King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table by John Matthews

Self-Improvement

• MicroShifts by Gary Jansen
• Bringing Up Geeks by Marybeth Hicks
• Get-It-Done Guy's 9 Steps to Work Less and Do More by Stever Robbins
• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey

I will still read a lot of graphic novels available on Hoopla and through my local library. And the handful that I buy or are given as gifts!