January 2023 – Page 3 – Verity Reads Books (lots of them)

A new year and a new batch of Kindle offers for your delectation today. And it’s quite a good one so if you weren’t as lucky as me and Santa didn’t bring you what you told people you wanted, you might be able to pick some fresh reading material up in the offers.

One of my all time favourites is back on sale for 99p – Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus. I’d love to get something new from her in 2023, but as it’s only three years since The Starless Sea came out and it was nearly triple that between The Night Circus and that, I’m trying not to get my hopes up! And Bridget Jones’s Diary is also 99p – it’s been years since I read it (rather than watched the film!) but it was such a huge part of my reading back in the day – even if I haven’t read either of the two most recent sequels! Another book that I read ages ago and loved is on offer too – Amor Towles’ Rules of Civility. I didn’t love his follow up A Gentleman in Moscow, but I have the latest one, The Lincoln Highway, on the Kindle TBR and I must try and get to it soon.

This month’s 99p Georgette Heyer is The Quiet Gentleman – which is from the more mysterious end of her romance books and features Actual Peril at times. On the contemporary romance front, if you read and enjoyed the O’Neil Brothers books after I wrote about them before Christmas, Holiday in the Hamptons from Sarah Morgan’s From Manhattan with Love series is 99p. I bought myself the new Mary Balogh while writing this – Remember Love is the first in a new series for her and I’ve had a good history with her historical romances – right back to my Essex days. There’s also one of the recent Lisa Kleypas’s – Devil’s Daughter – which is the next generation sequel to her fan-favourite Devil in Winter.

If you’ve been reading Philippa Gregory’s Tudor novels after I wrote about them last summer, The Taming of the Queen (about Katherine Parr) is the one on offer at the moment. It’s not a great month on the crime/mystery offer front though. Or at least not if you read the sort of mysteries that I do – all the books on offer are the sort with dark and brooding covers with ominous shadows on them or bare branches, which is an indicator that they’re too psychological or gruesome for my tastes! A Spoonful of Murder is on offer though, which is one of the crop of if you like Richard Osman… that are now appearing and which I’ve got on the physical to-read pile but haven’t got around to yet!

Happy Wednesday!

Book of the Week

Book of the Week: Cheats edition

January 10, 2023January 9, 2023 veritywilde

So I don’t really have a book to recommend this week because as I said yesterday it was quite a week and I mostly reread Meg Langslow. So instead have a link to my thoughts on Terns of Endearment in a recommendsday last year and to Gone Gull which I technically finished the week before but was a BotW the first time I read it!

Have a great day everyone!

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: January 2 – January 8

January 9, 2023January 11, 2023 veritywilde

Well. It’s been a week and half, metaphorically speaking I mean, it’s only seven days since the last week in books post. Anyway, I spent five nights away from home, not all of them in the places I expected to spend them thanks to a boiler issue, and had a super busy week at work on top of all that. And the list reflects that – although I have made a load of progress on the long runners even if I haven’t finished them (yet). Oh and I have no ideas what I’m doing for Book of the Week tomorrow, so wish me luck! Anyway, let’s see what this week brings…

Read:

Toucan Keep a Secret by Donna Andrews

Lark! The Herald Angels Sing by Donna Andrews

Resting Scrooge Face by Meghan Quinn

Best of Luck by Kate Clayborn

Terns of Endearment by Donna Andrews

Started:

Better Late than Never by Jenn McKinlay

Still reading:

Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead

Going With the Boys by Judith Mackrell

The Empire by Michael Ball*

Travellers in the Third Reich by Julia Boyd

Rogues by Patrick Radden Keefe

The Charity Shop Detective Agency by Peter Boland*

A Christmas Gone Perfectly Wrong by Cecilia Grant

Two ebooks bought and another preordered. Relatively restrained!

Bonus photo: as seen on my Insta, here is my Christmas cactus, flowering for the first time! This was actually grown from a cutting taken from a plant that my mum has, which was a cutting from a plant that belonged to my granny’s sister, which was a cutting from a plant belonging to my granny’s mum. So absolutely no pressure to keep it alive…

*next to a book book title indicates that it came from NetGalley. ** indicates it was an advance copy from a source other than NetGalley.

Best of...

Kindle Unlimited Review of the Year

January 8, 2023January 7, 2023 veritywilde

Back when I first tried Kindle Unlimited, I promised to keep you posted on how long I kept it for and the sort of value for money I was getting out of it. I’ve not always been great at remembering to do that, but as I did last year, now we’ve finished another year, here is the lowdown on 2022.

If my Goodread shelves are correct, I read 39 books via KU last year – which doesn’t included another few that I started and then abandoned. It averages to just over a month, although some months I did more than that, and others less. The months where it got a bit patchy include when I had Covid as well as my bout of shingles and then obviously that massive Meg Langlsow binge that I’m still on! I’ve almost always got the maximum number of books on loan – as I have a bad habit of borrowing things when I see them with the intentions of reading it later and then… getting distracted!

I’ve used it to try out – and then reject in some cases – new cozy crime and historical crime series, which would have come under my rules about too hard to tell if they’re worth paying for from the sample rules, but I would have been annoyed if I’d paid for them when I got to the end! And yes I know I did pay for them if I got them in KU, but you know what I mean. On a practical financial angle, 18 of the 29 were British Library Crime Classics – which tend to retail at about £3 a book in ebook so that’s half the cost of the year of KU covered right there! And a lot of them were very good with some of them ending up as Books of the week – like Til Death Do Us Part, The Incredible Crime, Death of a Bookseller and Green for Danger – others have ended up in various Recommendsdays – including the specific BLCC one.

Aside from the BLCC masses, there are a few short stories, but almost everything else has been cozy crime or historical mystery books, which is exactly why I wanted KU to start with – mostly they don’t take me long to read, but the actual kindle price is over my maximum, or at least over the maximum that I’m prepared to pay for something I can read in an afternoon. They also help me tick of states in the 50 States challenge – although (spoiler alert) as we saw yesterday, I didn’t manage to complete it last year. But 2023 could be different…

So all in all, I reckon I’ve done ok on the KU value this year – but I need to monitor it slightly more carefully, particularly when it comes to how much the stuff I’m reading would be to buy to make sure it stays worth it.

Have a great Sunday everyone.

reading challenges

Read Across the USA 2022: End of year

January 7, 2023January 4, 2023 veritywilde

Alabama – Double Dip by Gretchen Archer
Alaska – The Unsinkable Greta James by Jennifer E Smith
Arizona – Pumpkin Spice Peril by Jenn McKinlay
Arkansas – Paint the Town Dead Nancy Haddock
California – Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
Colorado – The Wedding Set Up by Charlotte Greene
Connecticut – Acting Up by Adele Buck
Delaware –
Florida – Murder Mystery Book Club by Danielle Collins
Georgia – Some Hauntings Never Go Out of Fashion by Rose Betancourt
Hawaii –
Idaho – There’s Something About Merry by Codi Hall*
Illinois – When Stars Collide by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Indiana –
Iowa – The Unforgettable Guinevere St Clair by Amy Makechnie
Kansas –
Kentucky –
Louisiana – Complete Sookie Stackhouse Short Stories by Charlaine Harris
Maine – Yule Log Murder by Leslie Meier
Maryland – Well Matched by Jen De Luca
Massachusetts – The Romance Recipe by Ruby Barrett
Michigan – Paper Lion by George Plimpton
Minnesota – Lemon Meringue Pie Murder by Joanna Fluke
Mississippi – Double Dip by Gretchen Archer
Missouri –
Montana –
Nebraska – Fangirl the Manga: Vol 2 by Rainbow Rowell and Sam Maggs
Nevada – Better Luck Next Time by Julia Claibourn Johnson
New Hampshire –
New Jersey –
New Mexico –
New York – The Editor by Stephen Rowley
North Carolina – Book Lovers by Emily Henry
North Dakota –
Ohio – Beware False Profits by Emilie Richards
Oklahoma –
Oregon –
Pennsylvania – Rooted in Deceit by Wendy Tyson
Rhode Island – Vanderbilt by Anderson Cooper
South Carolina – The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston
South Dakota –
Tennessee –Grave Surprise by Charlaine Harris
Texas – Without a Hitch by Mary Hollis Huddleston and Asher Fogle Paul
Utah – Something Wilder by Christina Lauren
Vermont – A Merry Little Meet Cute by Sierra Simone and Julie Murphy
Virginia – Twelve Jays of Christmas by Donna Andrew
Washington – Death by Intermission by Alexis Morgan
West Virginia –
Wisconsin – Death Checked Out by Leah Dobrinska*
Wyoming –
Washington DC – Method Acting by Adele Buck

So I think I would have managed it all again this year – if it hadn’t been for the awful three months at the end that started with me getting shingles and continued through insanely busy times at work and then the virus from hell at the start of December. I even have books for some of the states I just decided to binge read Meg Langslow again instead because that was what my brain wanted and I decided to just enjoy my reading and not force anything. Be Kind To Yourself is my new motto.

Best of...

The Year in Rereading

January 6, 2023January 4, 2023 veritywilde

This time last year I wrote a post about revisiting Gaudy Night. And in 2022 I included rereads in my total (for the first time?). And it’s been a year of revisiting old favourites. So it’s time to take a bit of a look back over one of the big themes of my reading year.

Firstly it should be said that I’m still listening to Gaudy Night fairly regularly. I could probably recite along with some of it by this point, but I’ve definitely done all the Peter and Harriet books a couple of times this year and I think I’ve listened to the whole series – just not as much. I’ve also worked my way back through many of the Alleyn mysteries but this time in audio. I haven’t read those anywhere near as much so it’s been interesting hearing them and noticing new things. I’d done some in abridged versions before but I’ve switched to the unabridged in the main now. Having watched all the BBC Miss Marples again this year, I’ve reread a few of them to remind myself of the changes in the adaptations. The same actually for some of the Alleyns and a Poirot or two after I read the book about the series.

This year I have also reread the entire Phryne Fisher series and binged two thirds of the Meg Langslow series in December alone. I’ve also done most of the Amelia Peabody series again in audio and all the Vicky Blisses (not in audio!). I’ve also revisited a bunch of Georgette Heyers as new audio versions have been published of ones that had narrators I hated before (like Devil’s Cub) or just plain weren’t available (Masqueraders).

A lot of the audiobook revisits have been because I’ve spent many more nights away from home in 2022 than I did in 2021 and so they’ve been my regular listens to get to sleep. I am very bad with silence at the best of times and I mostly stay in hostel dorms and I like to have something to listen to to block out what ever is happening in them. And that something needs to be something that I don’t have to concentrate too hard on and that I’m not so interested in that it will keep me awake. This means more often than not it’s something I’ve read before at least once.

And for that reason I expect the rereading to continue in 2023 – I’m in a hostel for most of this week because of train strikes so I expect I’ll be back to an old favourite to drown out the sound of the traffic on the Euston road!

books, stats

December Stats

January 5, 2023January 4, 2023 veritywilde

Books read this month: 38*

New books: 16

Re-reads: 22 – redressing the balance from last month!

Books from the to-read pile: 10

NetGalley books read: 3

Kindle Unlimited read: 1

Ebooks: 19

Library books: 0

Audiobooks: 2

Non-fiction books: 3

Favourite book this month: Can’t pick – probably one of the Donna Andrews in the reread I just can’t decide which!

Most read author: Donna Andrews by a country mile having read 20 (!) Meg Langslows in December!

Books bought: 5 physical books, 7 ebooks – mostly while writing the Christmas book gift posts!

Books read in 2022: 388

Books on the Goodreads to-read shelf (I don’t have copies of all of these!): 669

Here we are at the end of another year. And December both fits the pattern and breaks it. Rereading is the main theme – which is in keeping with the year, it’s just the sheer volume and bingey ness of it that isn’t. And the number of audiobooks at the end of the year is way down on earlier in the year – but that’s mostly because I’ve been relistening to ones that I’ve already counted once in the total for 2022. Kindle Unlimited uncharacteristically low – but that’s because of that massive binge. Roll on 2023, lets see what it brings!

Bonus picture: Christmas lights in Fitzroy Square – the home of Maisie Dobbs (although probably not on this side of the square!)

*includes some short stories/novellas/comics/graphic novels – including this month

Uncategorized

Recommendsday: December Quick Reviews

January 4, 2023January 3, 2023 veritywilde

To be honest I don’t have a lot to talk to you about this month and that’s mainly because of the massive Donna Andrews binge that has taken up so much of my reading time. Which is kinda hilarious in itself. And so I offer you just two this month.

Trixie and Katya’s Guide to Modern Womanhood by Trixie Mattel and Katya Zamolodchikova

This is exactly what you would expect or hope it to be Drag Race favourites Trixie and Katya giving very tongue in cheek advice. I listened to this on audiobook because I love listening to Trixie and Katya and it was a fun way to spend a few hours – just don’t listen to it on speaker in a public place – or even on your headphones if you’re a person who blushes easily!

Rivers of London: Deadly Ever After by Ben Aaronovitch et al

Slightly rule breaking here as this is the tenth of the Rivers of London graphic novels, but it is actually one that can be picked up standalone I think as the main characters are Beverly’s sisters Olympia and Chelsea who accidentally break an enchantment and fairy tale havoc ensues. I love the art for this series and I love the world. It’s always a long wait for the next instalment, and then they’re over too soon but I really enjoyed it.

And that’s it for December. Most of my content for December was sort of Christmassy which feels a little out of date now we’re into January, but if you want it you can still find it all under the Christmas tag!

Book of the Week, graphic novels

Book of the Week: Death of a Necromancer

January 3, 2023 veritywilde

So the first BotW of the new year is the last book that I finished in the old one. Which is sort of cool I think. Anyway, this is a slightly more obscure pick too so that’s fun as well.

Death of a Necromancer is a graphic novel that follows the town of Tibbin and their resident Necromancer Dr Victoria Hedgewood. At the start of the story we see Ralph resurrected after a work place incident and then we jump ahead to a town that seems to be almost more zombie than living. But what do the newly living dead lose in the transition? And is it worth is? Ralph is becoming less and less sure, but Victoria and the town seem dead set on going full steam ahead.

I loved Nick Bryan’s Hobson and Choi mystery novels a few years back and have been watching his graphic novels ever since. Death of a Necromancer is a really engaging read – the story is clever and the art is really, really attractive and (this may sound weird) I love the lettering. This was the subject of a kickstarter campaign to get published – which I backed and that’s how I got my copy (and some extra goodies) – so I don’t actually know how easy this is to get hold of. I know Nick is selling it at conventions he goes to, but beyond that, I’m not sure. But if it does come your way, it’s worth a look.

Happy Reading!

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: December 26 – January 1

January 2, 2023January 2, 2023 veritywilde

What does a week off work and time to read look like? Well a list pretty much like this. My big old binge read of the Donna Andrews series continues and I’ve basically given up on getting anything else done until I finish it. Which given that I’m already in the 20s, might not be that far away! This week is back a more normal life so expect the list to change accordingly!

Read:

The Good, The Bad and the Emu by Donna Andrews

Rivers of London: Deadly Ever After by Ben Aaronovitch et al

The Nightingale Before Christmas by Donna Andrews

The Inverts by Crystal Jeans

Lord of the Wings by Donna Andrews

Heartstopper Vol 4 by Alice Oseman

The History of Europe in Bite-sized Chunks by Jacob F Field

Die Like An Eagle by Donna Andrews

Born Lucky by Rita Coatts

Zionism: A Very Short Introduction by Michael Stanislawski

Death of a Necromancer by Nick Bryan et al

Gone Gull by Donna Andrews

The Finch Before Christmas by Donna Andrews