Category: books

books

Travelling Home for Christmas

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I suspect some of you are on the road today, making your way to wherever you want to be this Christmas. I’ve already given you a fair few Christmas recommendation – including a Christmas road trip in the Holidays with the Wongs series – and I hope if you are on the road you have got a good audiobook to listen to on the way.

There are a lot of books about trips out there – although not always Christmas ones. If you’re looking for one, you could try Jade Chang’s The Wangs vs the World – where a Chinese immigrant family go on a road trip together across America after the father loses all the money from his cosmetics empire. It’s funny and has an interesting cast of characters. Or you could go for a classic murder mystery like Death on the Nile or Murder on the Orient Express. Or there are a fair few fantasy novels with trips in them – like Howl’s Moving Castle or A Wrinkle in Time, or Neil Gaiman’s Stardust or even Wayward Son, the second in what’s now the Simon Snow trilogy from Rainbow Rowell, although you need to have read the first one really to get the best from that. As for me, I’ve got Road Trip by Beth O’Leary on my tbr pile, but our Christmas commute isn’t really long enough for e to read it. Also I get travel sick if I read in the car!

Happy Travels everyone.

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: December 12 – December 18

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Ah. Oh dear. Well it’s not really oh dear because I have enjoyed myself. But I have been burning through the Meg Langslow reread – because I was still poorly (or at least not 100 percent) and it was so cold outside and they’re such lovely comfort reads. Of course this means I have no idea what I’m writing about tomorrow! Never mind. It’s nearly Christmas and you’re allowed a treat!

Read:

A Clutch of Constables by Ngaio Marsh

No Nest for the Wicket by Donna Andrews

The Penguin who Knew too Much by Donna Andrews

Cockatiels at Seven by Donna Andrews

Six Geese A-Slaying by Donna Andrews

Swan for the Money by Donna Andrews

The White Priory Murders by Carter Dickson

Stork Raving Mad by Donna Andrews

Started:

Rogues by Patrick Radden Keefe

Still reading:

Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead

Going With the Boys by Judith Mackrell

The Inverts by Crystal Jeans

The Empire by Michael Ball*

Travellers in the Third Reich by Julia Boyd

The Many Dates of Indigo by Amber D Samuel*

To Get to the Other Side by Kelly Ohlert*

Well, I bought a stack of second hand copies in a cozy crime series and they arrived – does that count? And I bought the Patrick Radden Keefe because it was on a kindle deal.

Bonus photo: shamelessly using one of mum’s picture this week as I barely left the house – but here is the Dachshund in the snow – I treated myself to a Christmas hoodie this year that says “Dachshund through the snow” so I’m going to claim this is a festive photo too!

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

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Recommendsday: December Kindle Offers

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So it’s the end of the year – which means it’s the run up to Christmas AND the best books of the year season, so the offers this month are a strange mix.

Lets start with the Christmas stuff. Last week’s series post was about a Sarah Morgan series – and her Christmas book for this year, Snowed in for Christmas, is 99p this month. My former Novelicious colleague Cressida McLauglin also has a Christmas book on offer – The Cornish Cream Tea Bookshop is 99p and there’s also a Jenny Colgan Christmas novel – Christmas at the Island Hotel – which is in her Mure series. One of my favourite Christmas novels from previous years is on offer too – Christina Lauren’s In a Holidaze is sort of Groundhog Day meets festive rom com and I really enjoyed it.

It’s not strictly Christmas – but it has had a festive rejacket/recover, so it makes a nice segue through to the other stuff – Rev Richard Coles’ cozy crime debut Murder Before Evensong is 99p. I included it a Recommendsday about Mysteries with Vicars back in the summer, and a second Canon Clement book is due in June (and a third also planned!).

Mrs England Cover

In the best books of the year type stuff, a bunch of the award winners or nominees from the last few years are on offer – like Jonathan Freedland’s The Escape Artist and Douglas Stuart’s Shuggie Bain. Stacey Halls’ Mrs England is on offer again – and the wintery Yorkshire setting would make it a great fireside read if you need one. It would be atmospheric at this time of years – but more I cannot say for fear of spoilers – but you can see a review in the July Mini Reviews. Sara Collins’ The Confessions of Frannie Langton is also 99p – which I really enjoyed back in 2019. I also wrote a whole post about Philippa Gregory’s Tudor books – and The Other Boleyn Girl is also on offer this month. And another one I’ve written a tonne about is Theranos – Bad Blood, the book by John Carreyrou that started it all is 99p this month. Read it before you watch the TV series.

This months’ Terry Pratchett is Unseen Academicals at £1.99, the Hamish MacBeth is Death of a Green-eyed Monster and the Agatha Raisin is Dishing the Dirt. The 99p Georgette Heyer is my beloved These Old Shades, but it’s sequel Devil’s Cub and my beloved Masqueraders are among the £1.99 ones at the moment. If you want some historical romance that has been written a bit more recently, The Lady Most Willing a joint novel by Bridgerton’s Julia Quinn, Eloisa James and Connie Brockaway is a bargain at the moment too. The Peter Wimsey are the very first in the series, Whose Body and The Collected Short Stories, which I think I own twice in paperback. Or at least I own some of the stories in it at least twice. Also in series, the latest Maisie Dobbs, A Sunlit Weapon is £1.49, and To Die But Once and The American Agent are £1.99 which is a good price for this series.

And as ever there are also a few things that I bought while putting this together – The Kiss Curse, the next in Erin Sterling’s series that started with The Ex Hex, Delilah Green Doesn’t Care by Ashley Herring Blake (I think it’s on offer because the next in the series has just come out).

Happy Wednesday everyone!

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: December 5 – December 11

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Well I’ve had a rotten week – I started some sort of virus (not Covid) on Monday afternoon and it just got worse and worse all week – I ended up coming home from London a day early because I couldn’t face another night not in my own bed. I’ve been feeling very sorry for myself. So say hello to comfort reading central on this week’s list – including a lot of Meg Langslow because in my weakened state I appear to have embarked on a reread…

Read:

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

Death Checked Out by Leah Dobrinska*

Murder with Puffins by Donna Andrews

Revenge of the Wrought-Iron Flamingos by Donna Andrews

Masters in this Hall by K J Charles

The Chalet School Wins the Trick by Elinor M Brent Dyer

Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon by Donna Andrews

Well Traveled by Jen DeLuca

We’ll Always Have Parrots by Donna Andrews

Owls Well That End Well by Donna Andrews

Started:

The Many Dates of Indigo by Amber D Samuel*

To Get to the Other Side by Kelly Ohlert*

Still reading:

Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead

Going With the Boys by Judith Mackrell

The Inverts by Crystal Jeans

The Empire by Michael Ball*

Travellers in the Third Reich by Julia Boyd

Only one – the K J Charles on the read list. And of course the pre-order of Well Traveled turned up too.

Bonus photo: a picture of one of the panels at the BBC 100 Women event at the Barbican on Monday before I came down with the lurgy.

*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 Incoming: December edition

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A smaller selection this month – and you’ve already seen two of them – Last Hero was a BotW already, and the Rainbow Rowell was a book I bought myself for Christmas! Then there’s a proof copy of Triple Cross that just appeared, my copy of Death of a Necromancer that I contributed to the Kickstarter for (and my bonus content!), the latest – and one of the last Girls Gone By Chalet School Books before my collection is complete and the new Jen DeLuca. Nice.

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: November 28 – December 4

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A good week of reading in the end in terms of the mix of genres, even if I didn’t finish any more of the long runners. I’m still working on it though. We’re into December now though – so we have the quick reviews this week after last week’s stats but there is more Christmas stuff coming up and you’ve already had buy me a book and the stuff I bought myself.

Read:

Green for Danger by Christianna Brand

Murder Mystery Book Club by Danielle Collins

Mystery in the Channel by Freeman Willis Crofts

James Bond: My long and eventful search for his father by Len Deighton

This Telling by Cheryl Strayed

Luck of the Draw by Kate Claybourn

A Sunlit Weapon by Jacqueline Winspear

Murder with Peacocks by Donna Andrews

Started:

Death Checked Out by Leah Dobrinska*

Still reading:

Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead

Going With the Boys by Judith Mackrell

The Inverts by Crystal Jeans

The Empire by Michael Ball*

Travellers in the Third Reich by Julia Boyd

Bonus photo: the South Bank arts complex on Tuesday night as I walked across the river

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

books, stats

November Stats

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Books read this month: 30*

New books: 30

Re-reads: 0 – which is frankly astonishing given this year so far

Books from the to-read pile: 8

NetGalley books read: 5

Kindle Unlimited read: 8

Ebooks: 9

Library books: 0

Audiobooks: 0

Non-fiction books: 1

Favourite book this month: Probably Carrie Soto is Back – for all that it took me ages to read

Most read author: SJ Bennett on that binge read of HM the Queen Investigates series

Books bought: Oh dear. Quite a lot. Because of the research for the Christmas books posts. Yes, posts. About 20 books, including a couple of pre-orders. Eeeeeeeeep.

Books read in 2022: 350

Books on the Goodreads to-read shelf (I don’t have copies of all of these!): 667

Well. This is quite an interesting list. I have two audiobooks that I’ve nearly finished, but not in time for this list. I’m on a big podcast kick at the moment, and the proportion of my listening time that is audiobooks has gone down. And the fact that I didn’t reread anything is interesting. But then it’s nearly the end of the year and I have been trying to get on top of the NetGalley list again so have focused on that a little. But good progress in reading stuff off the physical to-read pile so that’s good. Win some and lose some.

Bonus picture: an action shot from the figure skating. As I said, hard to do on a phone but this is the best I have!

*includes some short stories/novellas/comics/graphic novels – including 3 this month

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: November 21 – November 27

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Another super busy week – I’m beginning to think that’s the only sort of weeks that I have these days. Anyway, some interesting reading, one off the long running list and progress made on some of the others. It’s nearly December too, so as well as the usual end of month posts, I’ve been working on all the Christmas content. My Buy me a book for Christmas post is the first of them, but there is much more to come!

Read:

On the Hustle by Adriana Herrera*

An Act of Foul Play by TE Kinsey*

Snowed in for Christmas by Sarah Morgan*

Crook O’Lune by ECR Lorac

Murder on a Summer’s Day by Frances Brody

Beginner’s Luck by Kate Clayborn

Jane Fills the Breach by Bessie Marchant

Started:

Green for Danger by Christianna Brand

A Sunlit Weapon by Jacqueline Winspear

Still reading:

Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead

Going With the Boys by Judith Mackrell

The Inverts by Crystal Jeans

The Empire by Michael Ball*

Travellers in the Third Reich by Julia Boyd

Well, there were a few books bought – because as as I said in Buy Me a Book, I did buy a fair few things while putting it together.

Bonus photo: the houseplant obsession continues – one of my friends brought me some cuttings, which I carefully nurtured on my desk for three days before I could take them home. Hopefully they survived the journey…

An * next to a 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: November 14 – November 20

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Well that was an interesting week. Another few nights away from home off the back of my weekend at the skating and an evening at the theatre on top of all the usual stuff and the bits I already mentioned. Oh and the Cowboys won on Sunday. And as I think you can probably tell from the list, a good week in reading even if, once again, I failed to reduce the length of the still reading list. This week. I will do better this week.

Read:

Murder Most Royal by S J Bennett*

Better Than Fiction by Alexa Martin

That Summer by Lauren Willig

Death on the Riviera by John Bude

The Last Hero by Terry Pratchett, illustrated by Paul Kidby

Chester House Wins Through by Irene Smith

Shop Wrecked by Olivia Dade

Started:

Murder on a Summer’s Day by Frances Brody

Travellers in the Third Reich by Julia Boyd

Still reading:

On the Hustle by Adriana Herrera*

Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead

Going With the Boys by Judith Mackrell

The Inverts by Crystal Jeans

The Empire by Michael Ball*

Snowed in for Christmas by Sarah Morgan*

Yeah, so I bought some books. All will be revealed in due course on the kindle front, but also my Olivia Dade turned up and the Terry Pratchett graphic novel. What a week.

Bonus photo: Thursday night at the London Palladium with Jinkx Monsoon and BenDeLaCreme.

An * next to a 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: November 7 – November 13

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So, the list has been impacted by a couple of things – the fact that I was away from home for two nights at the start of the week, then I spent the whole weekend watching figure skating – and when you’re at the rink from 8am until after half past ten at night, that doesn’t leave a lot of time for reading! But it was so amazing. Also, I realised at the start of the week that I have the first two books in the S J Bennett series, so I went back to read them first before carrying on with Murder Most Royal.

Read:

Seat of the Scornful by John Dickson Carr

The Windsor Knot by S J Bennett

Death of a Shadow by George Bellairs

A Three Dog Problem by S J Bennett

Fire in the Thatch by E C R Lorac

Started:

Better Than Fiction by Alexa Martin

Still reading:

On the Hustle by Adriana Herrera*

Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead

Going With the Boys by Judith Mackrell

The Inverts by Crystal Jeans

The Empire by Michael Ball*

Snowed in for Christmas by Sarah Morgan*

Murder Most Royal by S J Bennett*

One book bought, in Foyles at the start of the week…

Bonus photo: have a selfie of me at the skating – because all my live action pictures were terrible!

Bonus bonus: have a video of my favourite performance of the weekend – Latvia’s Deniss Vasiljevs skating his Free (long) programme as well as I’ve ever seen him skate.

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