out of the depths . . . at last!

My 2022 and 2023 were years of highs and lows, days that sometimes flew by much too quickly and weeks that dragged their feet through endless muddy hours. 

In January of 2022, my adult son, J, was hospitalized for 12 days when he was suddenly and mysteriously unable to stand. Because he's non-verbal, I stayed with him 'round the clock, sleeping in chairs, taking bird baths in sinks, and advocating for his care as best I could. 

The hospital was overwhelmed with Covid cases at the time, and so we were relocated 7 times over those 12 days, moving from floor to floor to keep us safe as wards filled up behind us with contagious patients. 

Gradually, J regained his strength and we returned home with an enduring appreciation for the often thankless work of the men and women who care for us when we most need help. 

In the autumn of 2022, we braved a major renovation of our condo to create a more accessible bathroom for J. Coincidentally, our upstairs neighbour was renovating his bathroom at the same time. In a (not so funny) comedy of errors, the upstairs contractor managed to break the main water valve, flooding our freshly drywalled space and necessitating three days with the roar of a giant industrial fan to dry things out. While repairing the mess created in our space, the 'contractors from hell' broke my new vanity light. And then [cue duh-duh-duh music] cracked the replacement vanity light while attempting the installation. Three strikes and they were out. My own wonderful contractors made everything right and I'm still happily enjoying the bathroom of my dreams.

But wait! There's more! 

While temporarily staying elsewhere during the major phase of renovations, Covid finally had its wicked way with both of us. Fortunately, we're both fully vaxxed, our illnesses were manageable, and we had people who checked on us and brought us meals. We left quarantine just in time to return home.

Early in 2023, I began having intense pain in my shoulders, back, and hips that made walking, sitting, and even sleeping a struggle. After several months of tests, I was diagnosed with osteoarthritis and started a treatment plan of physiotherapy, acupuncture, chiropractic, and medication. I began using a cane and, eventually, a walker/rollator to get around. Thankfully, the treatments are working, the pain is no longer constant, and (most nights) I can sleep again. And I've a new appreciation for assistive devices - not things to be avoided, rather tools that mean freedom!

And then, the very best thing happened!

In August of 2023, J achieved a long-time dream when he moved to his own home, shared with new friends and supported by caregivers who truly are the very best sort of people. 

He's so happy with his newfound independence - this smile makes my heart sing.

With so much going on, books were definitely my happy place and a comforting, welcome escape. I read and listened to some excellent stories last year, including Shadow Play, a terrific new release from Peggy Blair. She brings back some characters from her Inspector Ramirez series (Simon & Schuster). This book is set in Ottawa and features a bad guy hero you can't help but root for, and a teenaged hacker-girl who helps him … well, you should read the book and find out! 

I interviewed Peggy for The Write Spot here on the blog back in 2016. You can read that interview here.

Another favourite of my reading year was John Scalzi's fantastic Starter Villain. You guessed it. I came for the cat on the cover. But I stayed for the wildly entertaining ride. What a book!

You can check out the rest of my 2023 reads, all 40 of them, on my Reading Challenge page at Goodreads. If you poke around a bit, you'll find my 2022 list there, as well.

Thanks for visiting. Here's hoping for better things in this fresh new year: health, happiness, and peace in the world. Happy New Year! 

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stillpoint... blog of Canadian author Cheryl Cooke Harrington

Has it really been a year?

I've definitely been letting the blog slide. I'll blame it on pandemic isolation and leave it at that... but I can't let the new year begin without a look back at the books I enjoyed in 2021. Follow that link to see them all. Meanwhile, here are a few of my top reads of last year.

Grave Reservations by Cherie Priest

The Apollo Murders by Chris Hadfield

The Last Garden in England by Julia Kelly

The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny

Castle Shade by Laurie R. King

A Match Made for Murder by Iona Whishaw

The Postscript Murders by Ellie Griffiths

Stargazer by Anne Hillerman

The Mystery of Mrs. Christie by Marie Benedict

Death on Tuckernuck by Francine Mathews

Murder in a Teacup by Vicki Delany

To Helvetica and Back by Paige Shelton

I'm always looking for my next great read, so leave a comment and share your favourite book(s) of last year. Happy New Year! May 2022 be good to you... and happy reading!

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stillpoint... blog of Canadian author Cheryl Cooke Harrington

the strange year that was 2020 ...

 

However you experienced it, I think we can agree: 2020 truly was a year like no other. 

For me, it began with six weeks of recovery from major surgery. Then, in late January, my son J and I were both miserably ill with sore throats, fevers, and respiratory problems. Was it Covid-19? Probably not, but we may never know. The two of us were just beginning to get our lives back to normal when news broke about a dangerous new corona virus. Suddenly nothing was "normal" at all. (Lately I find myself wondering if we'll ever know that kind of easy-going normal again.)

In the early days of the pandemic my middle son and his wife, who both work in health care, were felled by the virus. Thankfully they were able to recover in isolation at home but it was brutal. Being unable to help them was brutal, as well. (And don't even get me started on the wickedly brutal 14 days in May when J was hospitalized and I wasn't permitted to be with him at all, even though he's non-verbal. What a nightmare.)

Those of you who've read this blog for a while may remember that J has multiple disabilities, putting him at risk for worst-case complications. Age and asthma put me as risk as well, so excepting those terrible 14 days, the two of us have been hunkered down at home since mid-March. As I write this, we've been apart from friends and family for 293 days with only a handful of masked and socially distanced outdoor visits. Groceries, prescriptions - just about everything we might need - can be ordered locally and either dropped at our door or picked up curbside. We reminisce about "the before times", he missing the friends and mental stimulation of his adult day program and me missing restaurant dinners, theatre nights, and road trips with friends. And hugs. We really miss the hugs.

Through it all, I've been so thankful for family and friends who call or text, just to check in; for the countless front-line workers who make it possible for us to shelter at home; for a new virtual day program that keeps J engaged and happy (yay, Zoom!); and for peace and safety at a time when so many have neither.

I'm thankful, too, for the books of 2020. More than ever, it was a year to escape, to visit times and places where people could still meet for coffee and laugh and sing and dance. I was surprised, though, to discover I haven't read nearly as much as predicted. I've been doing the Goodreads Challenge since 2015 and have always exceeded my goal. Until this year. Missed it by a lot! Maybe all that home cooking, bread making, and (thinking about) closet purging used up my book time. But I did enjoy a fairly long list of cozy mysteries and feel-good stories - no angst this year. The real world has quite enough of that! 

Here, then (in no particular order), are my 2020 five-star reads. Visit me at Goodreads 2020 Challenge to see all 57 books - I enjoyed them all. 

The Corpse with the Crystal Skull (Kate Morgan #9) by Cathy Ace
Forbidden Fruit (Corinna Chapman #5) by Kerry Greenwood
A Death Long Overdue (Lighthouse Library #7) by Eva Gates
All the Devils Are Here (Gamache #16) by Louise Penny
Closing Time (Stonechild and Rouleau #7) by Brenda Chapman
Acqua Alta (Commissario Brunetti #5) by Donna Leon
Tea & Trechery (Tea by the Sea #1) by Vicki Delany
Hid from Our Eyes (Fergusson & Van Alstyne #9) by Julia Spencer-Fleming
Umbrella Man (Inspector Ramírez #4) by Peggy Blair
Riviera Gold (Russell & Holmes #16) by Laurie R. King
The Vineyards of Champagne by Juliet Blackwell
Read and Buried (Lighthouse Library #6) by Eva Gates
The Stone Circle (Ruth Galloway #11) by Elly Griffiths
The Dark Angel (Ruth Galloway #10 by Elly Griffiths
A Deceptive Devotion (Lane Winslow #6) by Iona Whishaw
Meet Your Baker (Bakeshop #1) by Ellie Alexander
There's a Murder Afoot (Sherlock Holmes Bookshop #5) by Vicki Delany
The Royal Nanny by Karen Harper

What were your favourite reads last year? What books are you most looking forward to in 2021? Leave a comment or connect on Goodreads and let's share.

Happy reading... and stay safe out there. Wear a mask!

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stillpoint... blog of Canadian author Cheryl Cooke Harrington

Books of 2019...

I read a total of 95 books in 2019 and binged a few terrific new (to me) mystery series. You can check out the entire list over on Goodreads but these few were my five-star favourites, listed in order read with most recently finished first:

The Dragon Lady by Louisa Treger
The Other Windsor Girl by Georgie Blalock
Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice

Silent Night, Deadly Night by Vicki Delany
A Sorrowful Sanctuary by Iona Wishaw
A Dance of Cranes by Steve Burrows

I Shall Not Want by Julia Spencer-Fleming
A Better Man by Louise Penny
All Mortal Flesh by Julia Spencer-Fleming
It Begins in Betrayal by Iona Wishaw
A Fountain Filled with Blood by Julia Spencer-Fleming
An Old, Cold Grave by Iona Wishaw
Something Read, Something Dead by Eva Gates
A Killer in King's Cove by Iona Wishaw
The Lost Carousel of Provence by Juliet Blackwell
The Tale Teller by Anne Hillerman
The Prisoner in the Castle by Susan Elia MacNeal
Color Me Murder by Krista Davis
Malice in Miniature by Jeanne M. Dams
Just Killing Time by Julianne Holmes
The Clockmaker's Daughter by Kate Morton

What were  your favourite reads last year? What books are you most looking forward to in the coming year? Leave a comment or connect on Goodreads and let's share!

Wishing you a happy, healthy New Year and happy reading in 2020! 

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stillpoint... blog of Canadian author Cheryl Cooke Harrington

books of 2018...

I read eighty-seven books in 2018, most of them e-books on my iPad. 

These seventeen were my highest-rated (listed alphabetically, by author):

A Tiding of Magpies by Steve Burrows 
Bleeding Darkness by Brenda Chapman 
The Cat of the Baskervilles by Vicki Delany
A Scandal in Scarlet by Vicki Delany
'Twas the Knife Before Christmas by  Jacqueline Frost
The Spook in the Stacks by Eva Gates
The Little French Bistro by Nina George
Wishful Seeing by Janet Kellough 
Death in the Off Season by Francine Mathews
Caroline: Little House Revisited by Sarah Miller
The Deep End by Julie Mulhern 
Vanessa and Her Sister: A Novel by Priya Parmar
The Lightkeeper's Daughters by by Jean E. Pendziwol
The Birdwatcher, by William Shaw
To Brew of Not to Brew by Joyce Tremel
The Patriarch by Martin Walker
The Bengal Identity by Eileen Watkins

Check out all eighty-seven on my Goodreads Challenge page.

I'd love some recommendations for what to read next - did you have a favourite book of 2018? Tell me in the comments. And Happy New Year! May 2019 be kind to us all, and may we all be kind.



stillpoint... blog of Canadian author Cheryl Cooke Harrington

books of 2017...

Happy New Year and welcome to my seventh annual New Year's Day book list. I almost made it to one hundred books in 2017... but not quite. According to Goodreads, I missed the big number by four. 

My five-star reads were a mix of mystery, historical fiction, and non-fiction and if there's an overarching theme, it must be books with a French connection. I binged on first two Brittany Mysteries (Commissaire Dupin) by Jean-Luc Bannalec and can't wait for April to get my hands on The Fleur de Sel Murders, book three in this terrific series that is slowly (too slowly!) being translated from the original German. That led me to Martin Walker's Bruno, Chief of Police mysteries - highly recommended for the settings and food alone. Closer to home, Janet Kellough's Thaddeus Lewis series is a step back in time to pre-Confederation Ontario - engrossing history in clever mysteries. 

2017 five-star reads, in no particular order:

If you'd like to see all ninety-six books, hop on over to my 2017 Goodreads Challenge round-up page and browse around. 

So... what were your best books of the year? Do we have any titles in common?

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stillpoint... blog of Canadian author Cheryl Cooke Harrington

Books of 2016

Welcome to my surprisingly fulsome sixth annual New Year's Book List! I read a lot in 2016, surpassing my original goal of 60 books in early summer when I upped my goal to 100. I blew past that in autumn and kept right on reading. Grand total: 134 books. I'm honestly not sure where I found the time… but I know I've enjoyed myself (and Sam has enjoyed the lap time).

Here's the breakdown of how I read: 85 library books (Overdrive e-books); 34 audiobooks (about half with an Audible subscription and the rest Overdrive Listens); 8 Kindle editions; 6 paperbacks; and 1 hardcover. Included in those totals are 5 advance reading copies – thank you, NetGalley!

As predicted, I listen to fewer audiobooks now that I'm not commuting to work every day. I was surprised by how quickly e-books on my iPad have taken over as my preferred way to read. The Toronto Public Library at my fingertips without ever leaving the house. I still seek out my favourites in hard copy for the keeper shelf, though.

And speaking of favourites, here are my five-star reads of 2016, listed alphabetically by author's last name:

The Corpse with the Garnet Face (Cait Morgan #7) by Cathy Ace

The Woman on the Orient Express by Lindsay Jayne Ashford (review)

Kaleidoscope (Joanne Kilbourne #13) by Gail Bowen

A Dark and Stormy Murder (Writer's Apprentice #1) by Julia Buckley

A Cast of Falcons (Birder Murder #3) by Steve Burrows (review)

The Chemistry of Death (Joe Tesla #3) by Rebecca Cantrell

Murder in Containment (New Scotland Yard #4) by Anne Cleeland (review)

We Wish You a Murderous Christmas (Year-Round Christmas #2) by Vicki Delany

Negative Image (Constable Molly Smith #4) by Vicki Delany

Unreasonable Doubt (Constable Molly Smith #8) by Vicki Delany

Fire in the Stars (Amanda Doucette #1) by Barbara Fradkin (review)

Do or Die (Inspector Green #1) by Barbara Fradkin

Reading up a Storm (Lighthouse Library #3) by Eva Gates (review)

On the Head of a Pin (Thaddeus Lewis #1) by Janet Kellough

The Murder of Mary Russel (Russell and Holmes #14) by Laurie R. King
The Bookman's Tale by Charlie Lovett
The Queen's Accomplice (Maggie Hope #6) by Susan Elia MacNeal (review)

A Great Reckoning (Gamache #12) by Louise Penny

Moonlight Over Paris by Jennifer Robson

Strange Things Done by Elle Wild (review)

Here's my complete 2016 reading list in order of reading with most recent pictured at the top. Click on any group for larger image.

I know I say this every year but please don't ask me to choose a favourite – it would be impossible to pick just one from so many wonderful stories – but do come find me at Goodreads where we can compare book lists. 

Currently reading: Shallow End (Stonechild and Rouleau #4) by Brenda Chapman (NetGalley ARC)

Next up: Letters from Paris by Juliet Blackwell

Impatiently awaited library holds: Buried in the Country (Cornish Mystery #4) by Carola Dunn, and The Echo of Twilight by Judith Kinghorn.

What are you looking forward to reading in 2017? Recommendations are always welcome because there's no such thing as too many books.

Happy New Year, all ... and happy reading!

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stillpoint is the blog of Canadian author Cheryl Cooke Harrington

Books of 2015

As the clock ticks onward to the start of a fresh new year, it's time to look back and remember all the wonderful books I've enjoyed in the last twelve months. Welcome to my fifth annual New Year's Book List.

Retirement has been very good for me, in no small part because there's more time for reading! My 2015 total is 84 books read – a new personal best. I'm happy to report I stuck to my resolution to expand my reading horizons, discovering some wonderful new (to me) authors in the process. 

How did I read? I listened to 37 audiobooks, read 32 ebooks, and 14 print books. I expect the breakdown will be very different in 2016. Nearly half of the audiobooks I enjoyed this past year kept me company on my long commutes to and from work between January and the end of April. Since retiring in May, I've spent less time listening and more with a book in my hands, savouring words on page or screen. However I read, it's all about the story, and I've read some corkers this year!

Here, then, is my year in books, most recent reads at the top. (click for larger view):

Please don't ask me to choose a favourite – it would be impossible to pick just one from so many wonderful stories – but do come find me at Goodreads where we can compare book lists.

Currently reading:

Audio: The Last Word (Books by the Bay #3 ) by Ellery Adams

Ebook: The Anteater of Death (Gunn Zoo #1) by Betty Webb

First up in 2016:

Audio: (updated) The Chemistry of Death by Rebecca Cantrell (because I awoke on December 30th to discover this long-anticipated third book in the Joe Tesla series newly released in audio!) ... and then Moonlight Over Paris: A Novel by Jennifer Robson

Paper: The Passenger by Lisa Lutz (Advance Reading Copy – thanks, Pat!)

Ebook: Transferral by Kate Blair (With thanks to the Toronto Public Library who notified me just an hour before this post went live that my name has finally reached the top of their holds list.)

Just the tip of my TBR iceberg!

What are you looking forward to reading in 2016? Recommendations are always welcome because there's no such thing as too many books!

Happy New Year and happy reading!

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stillpoint is the blog of Canadian author Cheryl Cooke Harrington