Not bad going all in all – and some really good stuff. I’m going to have trouble picking my Book of the Week tomorrow!
Read:
The Hissing of the Silent Lonely Room by Paul Charles
Jeeves in the Offing by P G Wodehouse
Dead is Good by Jo Perry
Paper Girls Vol 2 by Brian K Vaughan
Killer Party by Lynn Cahoon
Lowcountry Bombshell by Susan M Boyer
The Camomile Lawn by Mary Wesley
Started:
Room For Doubt by Nancy Cole Silverman
Still reading:
Kick by Paula Byrne
Reel History: The World According to the Movies by Alex von Tunzelmann
The Greedy Queen by Annie Gray
Modern Lovers by Emma Straub
A couple of books bought (two secondhand and two Ebooks), but nothing too bad really. I mean not compared to the last few weeks! I did treat myself to a new Kindle though…
Started the week going great guns, and then slowed to a halt – partly because of a family party on Saturday. On the bright side I got to dress up as an extra from the Bronze and live out some Buffy-ish moments!
Read:
Lowcountry Boil by Susan M Boyer
Trans Like Me by CN Lester
Dimsie, Head Girl by Dorita Fairlie Bruce
Murder in D Minor by Alexia Gordon
Lumberjanes Vol 5: Band Together by Noelle Stevenson et al
Started:
Modern Lovers by Emma Straub
Jeeves in the Offing by P G Wodehouse
Still reading:
Kick by Paula Byrne
Reel History: The World According to the Movies by Alex von Tunzelmann
The Greedy Queen by Annie Gray
The Hissing of the Silent Lonely Room by Paul Charles
I bought rather a few books again. Ooops. But some came from the Barnes Booksale – and were total bargains – and three ebooks as well. Naughty Verity. Must do better!
Books from the Library book pile: 1 – sort of – I’m counting a book borrowed from a friend here!
Non-fiction books: 0 (although I have several on the go)
#ReadHarder categories completed: 1
Most read author: Alice Loweecey (2 books read)
Books read this year: 182
Books bought: 3 ebooks, 9 actual books…
Books on the Goodreads to-read shelf: 526 (I don’t have copies of all of these!)
I’m a little disappointed with progress this month to be honest – despite the holiday, I haven’t got as much read as I wanted to. On the brightside, I’m much more up to date with my NetGalley requests than I have been, but I also bought quite a few books too…
The bingo card looks slightly different this month because the card generator wasn’t working properly…
*Includes some short stories/novellas/comics (3 this month)
A busy week of news and work. Honestly I wish it would just stop. It’s starting to feel a bit end of days to be honest. Here’s hoping the world improves.
Read:
An Expert in Murder by Nicola Upson
Gridiron Grit by Noel Sainsbury Jr
Fatal Forgeries by Ritter Ames
Bitch Planet Vol 1 by Kelly Sue DeConnick et al
Rivers of London: Detective Stories 1 by Ben Aaronovitch et al
Fatal Facade by Alison Campbell
The Antique House Murders by Leslie Nagal
Started:
Trans Like Me by CN Lester
The Early Birds by Laurie Graham
Nun Too Soon by Alice Loweecey
Still reading:
Kick by Paula Byrne
Reel History: The World According to the Movies by Alex von Tunzelmann
The Headmistress by Angela Thirkell
Standard Deviation by Katherine Heiny
Written in Dead Wax by Andrew Cartmel
I may have bought a few Kindle John LeCarrés, but apart from that, well behaved. I’m also trying to make the Cartmel last because I’m really enjoying it!
I’m not that surprised I didn’t get much read this week – it was elections and I’ve been super busy with work and have done a lot of hours. Hopefully this week will be more normal…
Read:
Marriage is Pure Murder by Staci McLaughlin
Once in a Lifetime by Jill Shalvis
Death by Vanilla Latte by Alex Erickson
Bad Housekeeping by Maia Chance
Started:
Fatal Forgeries by Ritter Ames
An Expert in Murder by Nicola Upson
Written in Dead Wax by Andrew Cartmel
Still reading:
Kick by Paula Byrne
Reel History: The World According to the Movies by Alex von Tunzelmann
The Headmistress by Angela Thirkell
Standard Deviation by Katherine Heiny
Yeah. Quite a lot of books bought – two proper books at the lovely Big Green Bookshop after work on Saturday and five ebooks which were on various short term offers…
Not as much read as I wanted this week, but sometimes it goes like that – I’ve been super busy and I can’t see this week being any quieter, what with the election on Thursday.
Read:
Flat-Out Sexy by Erin McCarthy
Westmorland Alone by Ian Sansom
The Sussex Downs Murder by John Bude
One Fete in the Grave by Vickie Fee
Bearly Departed by Meg Macy
Started:
Marriage is Pure Murder by Staci McLaughlin
Standard Deviation by Katherine Heiny
Still reading:
Kick by Paula Byrne
Reel History: The World According to the Movies by Alex von Tunzelmann
The Headmistress by Angela Thirkell
Only one ebook bought so I’m counting that as a big success. Fingers crossed I can keep that going…
So yesterday I took advantage of the last of my post-nightshift days off to go on a family jolly to Blenheim Palace. It’s less than an hour from home, but surprisingly I’d never been before – perhaps because it’s not National Trust or English Heritage so you have to pay. It was fabulous – and I got my day ticket converted into a year pass (which doesn’t cost any extra to do) so I can go back again and see some of the bits we didn’t have time for on Tuesday. Any how, after a day out at a country house, it got me thinking about books which feature amazing houses. So here’s a few for you for Recommendsday.
OK the sky wasn’t as blue as I was hoping, but at least we didn’t get rained on…
I know it’s totally the obvious choice, but I had to start with Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh. It’s not my favourite Waugh (that’s Vile Bodies) but I know I may be in the minority on that. I had a massive Waugh kick a couple of years ago and read a whole load of his novels back to back and for the most part they still really work. Brideshead tells of Charles Ryder’s infatuation with the Marchmains and their upper class and crazy world. The house is at the centre of it all as a character in and of itself. Well worth reading if you haven’t already. I definitely need to watch one or other of the TV/film versions soon. And read Vile Bodies too.
Next, if you haven’t read any Roderick Alleyn books (and why not?) the first in the series, A Man Lay Dead, is set around a weekend party at a country house where one of the guests ends up dead. Again, it’s not my favourite of the Alleyns (that’s Artists in Crime) but it’s a really good start to the series and a really good example of a country house murder mystery.
It feels like a while since I mentioned Rebecca on here, which is strange since the Du Maurier classic is one of my mum’s favourite books and I have a lovely Virago hardback copy which sits on my downstairs keeper shelf. It’s creepy and gothic and has one of the most famous opening lines in literature in “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderlay again”. If you haven’t read it, why not and if you have go and reread it. You won’t regret it*.
Finally, if you want something funny, try PG Wodehouse’s Blandings series. The first one is Something Fresh, where you meet Lord Emsworth, his son Freddie and his secretary The Efficient Baxter and get a taste for the sort of high jinx that ensue. I think I like them better than the Jeeves and Wooster books, but again I think I’m in the minority there.
I could go on – I haven’t even mentioned I Capture the Castle, Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre or The Secret Garden..
All recommendations for more books with amazing houses gratefully received, in the meantime
Happy reading!
*Even if, spoiler alert, you never trust a housekeeper again.
Verity Reads Books (lots of them) 