Category: books

Here is the final WiB of 2017 – ending neatly at the end of the year precisely.  And everything that I finished this week was to try and finish ReadHarder – and it worked!  As it’s the end of the year, I’ve rationalised the ongoing books – and given up on the Rushdie – I wasn’t enjoying it and I’ve got lots of other things I’d rather read in 2018.

Read:

Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly

Meridian by Alice Walker

French Poems of the Great War translated by Ian Higgins

Revolutionary Ride by Lois Pryce

Northern Lights by Philip Pullman

Started:

Second Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones

Still reading:

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders

Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler

The Square and the Tower by Niall Ferguson

The Vanity Fair Diaries by Tina Brown

I was so busy trying to finish ReadHarder that I only bought one book – in the Waterstone’s sale and no ebooks.  Not too bad really.

 

Yeah.  This is a day late, but you had a nice bonus post yesterday, so I don’t feel too sorry for you.  And as it’s been another one of those weeks – all reading plans derailed by the need to catch up on Christmas preparations – you weren’t really missing out on much anyway!

Read:

Christmas at the Grange by T E Kinsey

A River in the Sky by Elizabeth Peters

Started:

The Vanity Fair Diaries by Tina Brown

Still reading:

The Golden House by Salman Rushdie

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders

Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler

The Square and the Tower by Niall Ferguson

French Poems of the Great War translated by Ian Higgins

Meridian by Alice Walker

A couple of books bought – but I blame the stress of Christmas!

The less said about this week the better.  Let’s just move on and get to Christmas and hope things get better.

Read:

Maigret’s Christmas by Georges Simenon

Mr Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookshop by Robin Sloan

Schoolgirl Jen at the Abbey by Elsie J Oxenham

Runout Groove by Andrew Cartmel

Started:

Christmas at the Grange by T E Kinsey

Still reading:

The Golden House by Salman Rushdie

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders

Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler

The Square and the Tower by Niall Ferguson

French Poems of the Great War translated by Ian Higgins

Meridian by Alice Walker

One ebook bought.  Admirable restraint shown in the face of stress and temptation.  This may not last

Still reading #Noirville entries this week and less of everything else.  Still a nice week of reading though, even if I do have way too many books on the go at once as I try and finish off my #ReadHarder challenge.  I suspect this week won’t be much better – because it’s Christmas party week.

Read:

Maybe This Christmas by Sarah Morgan

Paris for One by Jojo Moyes

Suddenly Last Summer by Sarah Morgan

Christmas in New York by Holly Greene

Romancing the Werewolf by Gail Carriger

Started:

Mr Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookshop by Robin Sloan

Meridian by Alice Walker

Still reading:

The Golden House by Salman Rushdie

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders

Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler

The Square and the Tower by Niall Ferguson

Runout Groove by Andrew Cartmel

French Poems of the Great War translated by Ian Higgins

A couple of Christmas ebooks bought or preordered, but really quite restrained.

So I may have slipped up a bit in the book buying stakes this week – but it’s nearly Christmas and there are offers.  My main task in the next few weeks has got to be finishing off #ReadHarder2017 – I’ve really got to pull my finger out now…

Read:

The One that Got Away by Melissa Pimentel

Need You Now by Emma Douglas

China Court by Rumer Godden

The Finch that Stole Christmas by Donna Andrews

The Christmas Surprise by Jenny Colgan

Marling Hall by Angela Thirkell

Started:

Runout Groove by Andrew Cartmel

Paris for One by Jojo Moyes

French Poems of the Great War translated by Ian Higgins

Maybe This Christmas by Sarah Morgan

Still reading:

The Golden House by Salman Rushdie

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders

Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler

The Square and the Tower by Niall Ferguson

1 book and 3 ebooks bought – and 4 collectable Girl’s Own books, which count but sort of don’t!

 

In case you missed it over the weekend – here are my first two Christmas book suggestion posts: Books for Him and Books for Her.  The post with books that I want for Christmas is coming this week.  Meanwhile it’s been a murderous week of reading!

Read:

Gone Gull by Donna Andrews

And Death Goes To… by Laura Bradford

The Word is Murder by Anthony Horowitz

Hollywood Hang Ten by Eve Goldberg

Rivers of London: Cry Fox 1 by Ben Aaronovitch et al

New Romancer 3 by Peter Milligan and Brett Parson

Historically Dead by Greta McKennan

Started:

The Square and the Tower by Niall Ferguson

The One that Got Away by Melissa Pimentel

Still reading:

The Golden House by Salman Rushdie

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders

China Court by Rumer Godden

Marling Hall by Angela Thirkell

Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler

I bought quite a few books this week – but they were all presents, so they don’t count!

Still too many on the still-reading list, but I’m working on it.  I’m also still working on my #Noirville entries. And regular readers may already have an idea as to what tomorrow’s BotW might be…

Read:

Clouds in my Coffee by Julie Mulhern

Imprudence by Gail Carriger

My Name is Markham by Jodi Taylor

The Perfect Storm by Jodi Taylor

Mystery in White by J Jefferson Farjeon

A Murder for the Books by Victoria Gilber

A Gentleman of Fortune by Anna Dean

Started:

Gone Gull by Donna Andrews

Still reading:

The Word is Murder by Anthony Horowitz

The Golden House by Salman Rushdie

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders

China Court by Rumer Godden

Marling Hall by Angela Thirkell

Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler

Still no books bought. But I’m not getting ahead of myself and getting smug, no indeed, because that way lies complacency and book buying!

I officially have too many books on the go at once.  Admittedly some of them are hardbacks and I’ve been staying away from home a lot, but some of them are books I’ve started and not got into and ended up leaving in favour of something else.  So this week I’m going to try and do something about that – either finish some of them or give up and cull them.   And I’ve still got more #Noirville entries to read too…

Read:

Holiday Wishes by Jill Shalvis

Altered to Death by Christina Freeburn

A Spy in the House by Y S Lee

The Deep End by Julie Mulhern

Paper Girls Vol 3 by Brian K Vaughan et al

The Very First Damned Thing by Jodi Taylor

The Great St Mary’s Day out by Jodi Taylor

Started:

Imprudence by Gail Carriger

Clouds in my Coffee by Julie Mulhern

Still reading:

The Word is Murder by Anthony Horowitz

The Golden House by Salman Rushdie

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders

China Court by Rumer Godden

Mystery in White by J Jefferson Farjeon

Marling Hall by Angela Thirkell

Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler

No  books bought at all – although 2 pre-orders did arrive on my Kindle.