Category: books

books, stats

March Stats

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New books read this month: 45*

Books from the to-read pile: 9

Ebooks read:  26

Books from the Library book pile: 5 borrowed from elsewhere

Non-fiction books: 2

#ReadHarder categories completed: 3

Most read author: MC Beaton (2 books)

Books read this year: 95

Books bought:  4 – 1 book, 3 ebooks

Books on the Goodreads to-read shelf: 495 (I don’t have copies of all of these!)

Can you tell this was a holiday month?  Exactly.  Lots of books read, not too many bought and a few Read Harder categories ticked off too.  Win, win.

Read Harder Bingo card
The latest status of the Read Harder Bingo card.

*Includes some short stories/novellas/comics (6 this month)

 

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week In Books: March 20 – March 26

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I’ve been on holiday – I wonder if you can tell.  And yes, I did do things other than reading – we drove the whole way around Fuerteventura and I walked along a lot of beaches!

Read:

The Roanoake Girls by Amy Engle

The Accidental Detective by Michael RN Jones

Sam Keddie: An Introduction by Paddy Magrane

See You in the Cosmos by Jack Cheng

The Duke by Kerrigan Byrne

One Wild Night by Melissa Cutler

Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions by Mario Giordano

Last Night with the Duke by Amelia Grey

Cream Buns and Crime by Robin Stevens

My One True Highlander by Suzanne Enoch

Tightening the Threads by Lea Waite

Forever Geek by Holly Smale

Rosie’s Little Café on the Riviera by Jennifer Bohnet

Double Up by Gretchen Archer

Shock and Awe by Simon Reynolds

Duels and Deception by Cindy Anstey

Started:

The Whole Art of Detection by Lynsday Faye

Still reading:

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

Difficult Women by Roxane Gay

I bought on ebook – as a kindle daily deal – but that was it. Not bad.

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week In Books: March 13 – March 19

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A varied week in books this week – a non fiction account of addiction, various sorts of crime and some romance. I’m fairly pleased with me! And of course if you missed it over the weekend, do go read my interview with Duncan MacMaster and my review of his new book.

Read:

Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen

No Way Home by Annette Dashofy

Mystery at Maplemead Castle by Kitty French

Rivers of London: Black Mould 5 by Ben Aaronvitch et al

Rogues’ Holiday by (Margery Allingham writing as) Maxwell March

Blu Heat by David Burnsworth

Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie

How to Murder Your Life by Cat Marnell

Started:

Duels and Deception by Cindy Anstey

Difficult Women by Roxane Gay

The Accidental Detective by Michael RN Jones

Still reading:

Shock and Awe by Simon Reynolds

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

I was reasonably good this week – I bought a kindle book and preordered another, but that was it. And I took some library books back as well!

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week In Books: March 6 – March 12

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A better week in reading with a lot of ground covered and a real mix of genres – historical fiction, children’s fiction, mystery, YA, fantasy – and I’ve really enjoyed it!

Read:

A Certain Age by Beatriz Williams

Seven Scamps by Elinor M Brent-Dyer

HER by Michael R N Jones

The Summer Hideaway by Susan Wiggs

Ballerina Dreams by Michaela DePrince

Dishing the Dirt by M C Beaton

First Women by Kate Andersen Brower

A Gathering of Shadows by V E Schwab

Our Own Private Universe by Robin Talley

Started:

Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen

Still reading:

Shock and Awe by Simon Reynolds

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

A little bit of backsliding on the book buying front – I picked up a paperback and a kindle book as well.  But I did read three library books and finished a non-fiction book so that’s good for the March targets – and ticked off a few Read Harder categories too.  So it could be worse.

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week In Books: February 27 – March 5

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My brain was still on a bit of a post-nightshifts go-slow this week, but in the end I read quite a bit – and caught up on my comic book reading!

Read:

The Little Teashop of Lost and Found by Trisha Ashley

Class by Jenny Colgan writing as Jane Beaton

Balconies and Blue Nets by Mabel Ester Allen

Bitter Harvest by Wendy Tyson

Rivers of London: Black Mould Part 3 by Ben Aaronovitch et al

Rivers of London: Black Mould Part 4 by Ben Aaronovitch et al

Death of a Nurse by MC Beaton

The Clancys of Queens by Tara Clancy

Started:

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

Seven Scamps by Elinor M Brent-Dyer

Still reading:

First Women by Kate Andersen Brower

Shock and Awe by Simon Reynolds

A Certain Age by Beatriz Williams

A bit of backsliding on the book-buying front – because the theatre bookshop that I walk past on the way to and from work is closing down and having a clear-out sale and I couldn’t resist picking up a few play scripts for Terry Pratchett adaptations…

books, stats

February Stats

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New books read this month: 26*

Books from the to-read pile: 9

Ebooks read: 17

Books from the Library book pile: 0

Non-fiction books: 0

#ReadHarder categories completed: 0

Most read author: Elinor M Brent Dyer (2 books)

Books read this year: 51

Books bought: 3 (!) all ebooks

Books on the Goodreads to-read shelf: 496(I don’t have copies of all of these!)

I’m very impressed with my book-buying will power this month – even if I’m not impressed with how well I did at Read Harder, library books and non-fiction.  However I’m blaming the nights for that – because it was more than two weeks of a short month where my brain couldn’t concentrate on anything difficult or complicated!  But l’m focussing on the book buying restraint – I did double nights and didn’t buy any books at all!

*Includes some short stories/novellas/comics (3  this month)

Read Harder challenge January update
After a good January, February has been a set back for Read Harder…

 

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week In Books: February 20 – February 26

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Nightshifts are finally over and I’m busy trying to get myself back onto normal person time – which is proving harder than usual after two weeks on nights.  The reading is still of the light and happy variety, but there’ve been some gems in there.

Read:

Seven Minutes in Heaven by Eloisa James

Pretty Face by Lucy Parker

Hack by Duncan MacMaster

Here We Go Round by Mabel Esther Allen

Judy the Guide by Elinor M Brent Dyer

A Secret Garden by Katie Fforde

Rivers of London: Black Mould Vol 1 by Ben Aaronovitch et al

Rivers of London: Black Mould Vol 2 by Ben Aaronovitch et al

Started:

A Certain Age by Beatriz Williams

Still reading:

First Women by Kate Andersen Brower

Shock and Awe by Simon Reynolds

I didn’t buy any books.  None. Despite the nightshifts.  I’m so proud of myself.  It’s the simple things.

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week In Books: February 13 – February 19

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Nightshifts all this week.  Nightshifts all next week.  Take a guess at what I’ve been reading.  Yup. No literary fiction in sight!  There are some very good books among them and I’ve managed to get away from the cozy crime a little too!

Read:

The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett by Chelsea Sedoti

The Wicked City by Beatriz Williams

The Prime Minister’s Secret Agent by Susan Elia MacNeal

Shunned No More by Christina McKnight

The Ballad of Sean and Wilko by Paul Charles

Headgirl at Vivians by Patricia K Cauldwell

Kennelmaid Nan by Elinor M Brent-Dyer

Started:

Seven Minutes in Heaven by Eloisa James

Still reading:

First Women by Kate Andersen Brower

Shock and Awe by Simon Reynolds

No books bought.  I’m actually quite proud of myself for resisting the urge to order a tonne of Kindle books in the early hours.

books, holiday reading

Half-Term Reading

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Bonus post ahoy!  Yes, I know we’re already well into half term (my bad) but here are some reading suggestions never the less.

Firstly, there’s a new Sinclair’s Mystery out from Katherine Woodfine.  I’ve mentioned this middle-grade historical mystery series set in the Edwardian era before (in my Christmas books post), but they’ve never got a proper review for some reason.  Book Three is The Mystery of the Painted Dragon sees Sophie and Lil and the gang investigating the theft of a painting from an exhibition at Sinclair’s department store.  There are a lot of mystery books aimed at this age group – I’ve spoken at length about Robin Stevens’ Wells and Wong series (for example here, here, here and here) and obviously there’s lots of Enid Blyton mysteries, but this is unusual in that the teenage characters are neither at school nor on school holidays – they’re out at work.  This makes for different challenges and opportunities as well as for an exciting air of independence for the characters.  If you’ve got an upper primary school child who’s bored this holiday, this would entertain them for an hour or two.  And if you’re a big kid like me, it’ll do the same for you too.

Off to the beach?  Then try Curtis Sittenfeld’s American Wife.  I finished this last week and it’s a big old doorstop of a book telling the story of a fictional First Lady.  It’s very clearly based on Laura Bush – in fact when I went to read Mrs Bush’s biography after reading the book I was surprised how very close it was and it made me feel a little uneasy.  But then I read books that are fictionalised versions of historical people’s lives all the time and that doesn’t make me feel squicky, so it’s a bit of a double standard.  Anyway, Alice is a great character to spend time with – although I liked the two thirds to three quarters of the book where she’s not in the White House much more than I liked that final section.

If you want something historical, I’ve just finished Beatriz Williams’ latest The Wicked City.  This is a time slip novel involving a flapper in 1920s New York and a forensic accountant in the city in the late 1990s.  If you’ve read any of Williams’ other novels there are a few familiar faces popping up too.  It’s been a while since I read my last novel and I’ve missed a couple so I’m starting to lose track of which Schulyers are which – I think that means I need to do a re-read!

And if you fancy some crime, Fahrenheit have just pubished the fourth Christy Kennedy book, The Ballad of Sean and Wilko, I haven’t read it yet, it’s waiting for me on my kindle for one of my nightshift commutes, but I’ve really enjoyed the first three, and there are 10 altogether, so if you’re in the mood for a new series to binge read, this could be for you.

None of these appeal, well then go and have a look at some of my recent Book of the Week posts – Crooked Heart, Miss Treadway or Semester of our Discontent would work, or go back further into the archives for The Rest of Us Just Live Here, The Madwoman Upstairs or even last year’s February picks.

Happy Reading!

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week In Books: February 6 – February 12

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A busy week at work, with four and a half commutes means lots of reading done, which is nice. I finally finished American Wife – which took me a while because it was my bedtime book – and made some inroads to my NetGalley list (it’s so easy to find and request stuff on there).

Read:

Copy Cap Murder by Jenn McKinlay

American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld

Waiting for an Earl Like You by Alexandra Hawkins

The Mystery of the Painted Dragon by Katherine Woodfine

The Riviera Express by TP Fielden

Verity Fair: Custard Creams and Pink Elephants by Terry Wiley

Circle of Influence by Annette Dashofy

Started:

The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett by Chelsea Sedoti

Still reading:

First Women by Kate Andersen Brower

Shock and Awe by Simon Reynolds

I didn’t buy any books this week – although I did pick up a big stack of books that I ordered a few weeks ago for a bargain price.  Two steps forwards, one step back!