books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: October 19 – October 25

We are now in Peak Halloween season, so I’ve got a week of appropriate content lined up for you. But before we get to that, here’s the list from this week, and you may notice that I’ve finally given up on the third Simon Snow book. I’ve tried, and I’ve tried, but I can’t get into it, it’s feeling like a chore to try and read it and I’ve been trying for so long with so little success that it’s making me feel bad about myself. Maybe I’ll come back around to it, maybe I won’t but for now it’s off the list and gone. The rest of the list is a bit audiobook heavy – lots of wandering around listening to audiobooks last weeks – combined with the PHP outage which seemed to slow down the flow of podcasts for a few days. I’ve got three theatre trips this week (!), so we’ll see what that does to the reading…

Read:

Murder at the Ritz by Jim Eldridge

Ruddy Gore by Kerry Greenwood

The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy L Sayers

The Long Game by Rachel Reid

Away with the Fairies by Kerry Greenwood

An Inkling of Death by Anna Beer*

The Mummy Case by Elizabeth Peters

Apparently Sir Cameron Needs to Die by Greer Stothers

Started:

The Murders of Richard III by Elizabeth Peters

Murder on Royal Crescent by Harriet F Townson*

Still reading:

N/a

Two books and one ebook

Bonus picture: Halloween cakes spotted out and about in Soho

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

books

Recommendsday: South Korean books

This month it is a year since Baek Se-hee, the author of I Want To Die but I want to eat Tteokbokki died, at the age of just 34. It spawned an outpouring of love for her and for her work and so today I have for you a few South Korean books in translation. Her writing was a memoir, and I don’t really have anything else similar to that, but I do have some fiction – and if you liked any of the Japanese books in translation I recommended a few weeks back, then there are some that have a similar feel here.

Soyangri Book Kitchen by Kim Jee Hye*

Yoojin is the proprietor of the Book Kitchen which is cafe-bookshop and a retreat. Across the course of the book we meet the people who come to visit over its first year and see how their trip changes them and their lives. It’s described as for fans of Before the Coffee Gets Cold, but I actually think it is closer in many ways to What You Are Looking for is in the Library. It’s quite low key and definitely fairly low peril but I really like the variety of people who come through to visit and the insight into life and culture of South Korea. I read it in an evening without really moving from my reading spot.

DallerGut Dream Department Store by Miye Lee

Copy of DallerGut Dream Department Store

Penny is a new employee at a department store selling dreams. It’s her big chance and a huge opportunity for her and across the book we follow her as she learns how the job works, gets to know the other employees and the people behind the dreams that they are selling. This was everywhere about two years ago – I picked up a copy soon after it came out, started reading it and then promptly left it at a friend’s house and didn’t get it back for a year. And then when I did it went back on to the pile and I forgot about it. It had been so long since I started it that I did start again when I finally sat down to read it. This is also low peril, but has more focus on Penny and her life than it does on the dream customers and how their lives are changed (compared to the Book Kitchen I mean). It’s quirky, magical and escapist. There is a sequel now – it’s described as a duology and I can’t quite work out if I liked it enough to read it.

Baekjo laundry Has a Neat Answer to All Your Problems by Lee Jae-in*

Eunjo has been forced to move back to the coastal town she grew up in after the university she was attending was closed down before she could graduate from her fashion design course. Without a degree, there is no one who wants to hire her so when her parents decide to retire, she takes over (with no enthusiasm) their laundry shop. It’s sandwiched between a newly renovated apartment complex and one still awaiting work and he has a lot of baggage about growing up there. But she starts to notice mysterious things happening around the complex and decides to try and figure out what is happening. I think this has a great premise, but I think it’s let down by the translation. It switches from first person to third person at times for no real reason and there are jumps backwards and forwards that are never really explained, and plot developments that occur with no explanation. At first I thought it was a style thing, but as it went on and it got more confusing I put it down the translation. Which is a shame because I think it might have been trying to be a sort of low stakes mystery type of thing but just not pulling it off. Hey Ho.

That’s your lot today, please take care of yourself and if you’re struggling with your mental health, you are not alone and there are organisations who can help you.

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: October 12 – October 18

Happy Monday everyone. Back to earth with a bump and a much shorter list this week. And I’ve got a busy week coming so no guarantee that I’ll be able to do any different this week. Hey ho.

Read:

The Shippers by Katherine Center

Three of Hearts by Katie Cotugno

Back to You by Ann Liang

Death of an Englishman by Anna Beer

Take a Chance, Sasha Sinclair by Ashley Herring Blake

Seventh Sinner by Elizabeth Peters

Started:

Murder at the Ritz by Jim Eldridge

Still reading:

Any Way the Wind Blows by Rainbow Rowell

One book and one ebook

Bonus picture: I was going to post another picture of my view from the commute which is now pitch black but luckily I have something more cheerful…

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

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: October 5 – October 11

So here’s the thing… I’ve been on holiday. And I was on holiday this time last week is true. So today’s list is huge. In fact the holiday list in general is massive and I’m pretty pleased with myself because my goal was to read some non fiction (done) and to try and make progress on the NetGalley list (done). And I know what I’m picking for tomorrow too, so I will break the streak of writing about books I finished on Monday! This week I’m back down to earth with a bump so we’ll see what happens to the list now, but I think we already know it’s going to be *much* shorter.

Read:

Julia at the Drive-In by Rainbow Rowell

The Final Problem by Arturo Perez-Reverte

Murder at Canterbury Cathedral by Jim Eldridge

Regime Change by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan

Winter Breakage by David Levithan

The Price of Admission by Dustin Thao

The Spy and the Snake by M J Rowbotham*

Lord Peter Views the Body by Dorothy L Sayers

The Shadows of Kensington Gore by Ross Montgomery*

Death in the Dressing Room by Simon Brett

The Bloodshed in the Bookshop by Simon Brett

Miss Hortense and the Last Rites by Mel Pennant*

Pride, Prejudice and Peril by Jessica Bull*

Started:

Take a Chance, Sasha Sinclair by Ashley Herring Blake

Still reading:

Any Way the Wind Blows by Rainbow Rowell

Eight ebooks bought (offers post writing does tend to do that to me), one pre-order put in and another pre-order turned up. I’m expecting another pre-order this week so we already know there’ll be at least one book on next week’s list.

Bonus picture: a picture from (nearly) the top of Teide, the third highest volcano in the world. There was sand from the Sahara in the air so we couldn’t see as far as you usually can, but we still got all the effects of being 3,500m above sea level…

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

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: September 28 – October 4

Considering how big the finished list is, I really shouldn’t have added a book to the still reading pile, and yet I did. I got distracted and forgot about it until Sunday. And I’m in a bit of a situation for tomorrow too because I did that thing again last week. When will I learn? (Ed: never!) Anyway, let’s see if I can fix that this week coming…

Read:

A Game of Cat and Killer by Jiro Akagawa*

Unnatural Death by Dorothy L Sayers

Murder on the Cornish Train by J M Hall*

Alan Opts Out by Courtney Maum*

The Voices of the Dead by Nicola Upson*

Puzzles of the Parish edited by Martin Edwards

The Gentleman’s Book of Vice by Jess Everlee*

Take Six Girls by Laura Thompson

A Murder at Midnight by Ellie Alexander

Started:

Julia at the Drive-In by Rainbow Rowell

Pride, Prejudice and Peril by Jessica Bull*

Still reading:

The Final Problem by Arturo Perez-Reverte

Any Way the Wind Blows by Rainbow Rowell

Two books and one ebook

Bonus picture: as I started the week by picking a book I finished on Monday as my BotW I’m carrying on the cat theme with a picture of this kitty, spotted in my neighbourhood.

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

books, stats

Reading Stats: September 2026

Books read this month: 30*

New books: 25

Re-reads: 5 (all audiobooks)

Books from the to-read pile: 9

NetGalley books read: 10

Kindle Unlimited read: 1

Ebooks: 4

Audiobooks: 5

Non-fiction books: 3

Favourite book: Philippa Flynn’s Year of Panic and Piracy

Books bought: five books and ten ebooks

Most read author: Probably Dorothy L Sayers because I’ve started the Wimsey audiobooks with a different narrator…

Books read in 2026: 294

Books on the Goodreads to-read shelf (I don’t have copies of all of these!): 591

A fairly solid month in books in the end. I’m sort of surprised it turned out so well because there were a lot of theatre trips in there – five musicals and a concert. And we’re deep into the autumn new release season so it’s a surprise to me that I didn’t buy more in the end. Roll on October.

Bonus picture: the final curtain of the special 20th anniversary performance of Avenue Q – with many of the original cast and the current revival one. A lovely night in the theatre.

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

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: September 21 – September 27

It was one theatre trip and a concert in the end – and a non-fiction book, which always takes me longer than fiction. And we’re hurtling towards the end of September too, which is terrifying. Hey ho, we will get there. A quieter week this week (I hope) with plenty of opportunities for reading.

Read:

Kimberly Akimbo by David Lindsay-Abaire and Jeanne Tesori

Clouds of Witness by Dorothy L Sayers

Hollywood Whispers by Eileen Cope*

Baekjo Laundry Has a Neat Answer to All Your Problems by Lee Jae-in*

Curse of the Pharaohs by Elizabeth Peters

Get Over It, April Evans by Ashley Herring Blake

Safe Harbor by Nicola Yoon

Started:

The Final Problem by Arturo Perez-Reverte

A Game of Cat and Killer by Jiro Akagawa*

The Gentleman’s Book of Vice by Jess Everlee*

Still reading:

Any Way the Wind Blows by Rainbow Rowell

Three books and one ebook. I couldn’t help myself – I went to five different bookshops…

Bonus picture: Biscuit Moomins in the window of a shop in Notting Hill.

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

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: September 14 – September 20

A fairly solid week of reading, considering that I had two theatre trips and a *very* busy week. Not as much progress on the NetGalley list as I would have liked, but three books off the physical pile is pretty good for me, especially given the extreme levels of indecision I find myself with when I stand in front of the bookcase. It’s definitely starting to feel autumnal now and I’m being pulled towards murder mysteries even more than ever!

Read:

Whose Body by Dorothy L Sayers

When Gavin Met Stacey and Everything in Between by Ruth Jones and James Corden

In Dog We Trust by Beth Kendrick

Rum Affair by Doroth Dunnett

To Brew or Not to Brew by Joyce Tremel

Sugar Plum Poisoned by Jenn McKinlay

The Tsubaki Stationery Store by Ito Ogawa*

Started:

Baekjo Laundry Has a Neat Answer to All Your Problems by Lee Jae-in*

Still reading:

Any Way the Wind Blows by Rainbow Rowell

One ebook bought.

Bonus picture: One last time at The Producers last Monday before it closed at the weekend. I love this show so much and this was a great production of it. I saw it five times across the Menier and the London run, which is the most I’ve seen a show in a very long time, certainly the most I’ve seen a show in a two year span since the heady days of We Will Rock You….

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

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: September 7 – September 13

After a very changeable week of weather and a lot of time on the train, the list is somewhat back on track. I’ve got at least one theatre trip this week, so that may not last though. But I’m going to give it my best shot! There are some good reads on here though – and some less good – many of which you’re going to hear about in the posts to come.

Read:

The Author’s Guide to Murder by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig and Karen White

Tiffany Aching’s Guide to Being a Witch by Rhianna Pratchett and Gabrielle Kent

Philippa Flynn’s Year of Panic and Piracy by Jacqueline Firkins*

Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel by Lucy Foley*

The Vineyard Murder by Greg Mosse*

A Ruse of Shadows by Sherry Thomas

The Break-Up Pact by Emma Lord

Started:

The Tsubaki Stationery Store by Ito Ogawa*

Still reading:

Any Way the Wind Blows by Rainbow Rowell

One ebook bought.

Bonus picture: It’s that time of year again – the mornings are darker and that means I’m getting some spectacular sunrises on the train to work.

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

books

Books in the Wild: Barbican Shop

Happy Saturday everyone, after a theatre-heavy week last week I have two show reviews coming up, but as one of them was at the Barbican (more on that next weekend) I also had a wander around the Barbican shop which I wrote about two years ago during the summer of Kiss Me, Kate but it’s definitely got a few changes since then. So here we go again.

I think the biggest change is that there are less books than there were. There are still book tables – and more than I’ve included photos of here because it would have been boring as I’ve hardly read any of them.

But there were fiction and non fiction books, all of which felt like they were well picked for the sort of people that are coming through the Barbican with its concert hall, cinemas, art gallery, theatre and restaurants. And they’ve still got all the prints of the Barbican at the back as well.

Where they have expanded is the non-book stuff. I really liked the Liberté, Egalité, Sororité t-shirts and the other stuff on this table. I might have been tempted by a t shirt if I had more space in my suitcase that week…

And because the show in the main theatre when I was there was based on a Manga (that was also an animé series) they also had merch to fit that for the people who were fans. So overall, I thought a good mix of stuff, hopefully some of which would tempt the manga fans in the building to buy more than just show merch. And the show merch was priced for the fans – £15 for a programme is probably the most I’ve paid although now I say that I’m doubting myself on how much the Avenue Q programme cost and the price of that isn’t on their website so I can’t double check!

Have a great weekend everyone.