Category: stats

books, stats

January Stats

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Books read this month: 30*

New books: 13

Re-reads: 17

Books from the to-read pile: 4

NetGalley books read: 2

Kindle Unlimited read: 3

Ebooks: 15

Audiobooks: 6

Non-fiction books: 0

Favourite book this month: Of the new stuff, probably The Three Dahlias

Most read author: Donna Andrews – 11 Meg Langslows, only one left in the reread now

Books bought: I mean I’d rather not talk about it to be honest. Probably about 20!

Books read in 2023: 30

Books on the Goodreads to-read shelf (I don’t have copies of all of these!): 669

Minor tweaks to the format of the stats for 2023 – taking out library books, for now at least. Aside from that the new year continued as the end of the old – with the Meg Langslow binge. But as I only have one left now, that can’t really continue so I look forward to seeing what I replace it with in February!

Bonus picture: from our day out in Wells as part of our trip. You may recognise this as a location from Hot Fuzz, and yes we were intermittently muttering lines from the movie at each other all day!

*includes some short stories/novellas/comics/graphic novels – including 4 this month

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: January 23 – January 29

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So I’m realising that the problem with some of the long runners (I’ll let you work out which) is that they are books I need to concentrate on, and also a bit miserable. And this means that I need to be in the right mood for them (and one of them is also a hardback) and my brain is a bit frazzled right now, so it’s been happy to carry on down the Meg Langslow binge reread (only one left now!) as well as romance. I’m working on it though. I’ll get there in the end.

Read:

The Three Dahlias by Katy Watson

Death in Ecstasy by Ngaio Marsh

Missing Christmas by Kate Clayborn

Twelve Jays of Christmas by Donna Andrews

Vintage Murder by Ngaio Marsh

Georgie, All Along by Kate Clayborn*

Round Up the Usual Peacocks by Donna Andrews

Started:

Irish Coffee Murder by Leslie Meier, Lee Hollis and Barbara Ross*

Still reading:

Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead

Going With the Boys by Judith Mackrell

The Empire by Michael Ball*

Travellers in the Third Reich by Julia Boyd

Rogues by Patrick Radden Keefe

Exes and O’s by Amy Lea*

Well I may have picked up a couple of books (one ebook, one actual book) but that’s much, much better than last week so I’m counting it as a total win!

Bonus photo: A new plant, to soothe my wounded heart after I killed off a couple a few weeks back. Say hi to Fern-mino!

*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: January 16 – January 22

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So last week was the annual January trip, and this year we stayed in the UK and did lots of sightseeing, rather than going abroad and sitting on a beach. So the list isn’t quite as long as it can be for a week away, but we had a blast, I’m super relaxed and I have a bunch of new ideas too. So a total win really.

Read:

The Nursing Home Murder by Ngaio Marsh

A Christmas Gone Perfectly Wrong by Cecilia Grant

Gift of the Magpie by Donna Andrews

This Old Homicide by Kate Carlisle

Murder Most Fowl by Donna Andrews

Death Spins the Wheel by George Bellairs

The Charity Shop Detective Agency by Peter Boland*

Started:

Exes and O’s by Amy Lea*

The Three Dahlias by Katy Watson

Georgie, All Along by Kate Clayborn*

Still reading:

Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead

Going With the Boys by Judith Mackrell

The Empire by Michael Ball*

Travellers in the Third Reich by Julia Boyd

Rogues by Patrick Radden Keefe

Oh an absolute tonne. Nine just on the holiday, and then a couple more before we left… Oopsies.

Bonus photo: out of control fringe, that can’t be entirely blamed on the wind, but here I am at Lands End last week, hopefully looking as happy as I felt (also quite cold).

*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: January 9 – January 15

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Another insanely busy week with a lot going on. But I started a new cozy crime series and continued the Meg Langslow binge so it’s all going well in the grand scheme of things!

Read:

Owl Be Home for Christmas by Donna Andrews

A Man Lay Dead by Ngaio Marsh

The Falcon Always Wings Twice by Donna Andrews

Enter a Murderer by Ngaio Marsh

Better Late than Never by Jenn McKinlay

A High-End Finish by Kate Carlisle

Started:

Death Spins the Wheel by George Bellairs

Still reading:

Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead

Going With the Boys by Judith Mackrell

The Empire by Michael Ball*

Travellers in the Third Reich by Julia Boyd

Rogues by Patrick Radden Keefe

The Charity Shop Detective Agency by Peter Boland*

A Christmas Gone Perfectly Wrong by Cecilia Grant

A couple of books bought. As a special treat to myself!

Bonus photo: a few boxes from my parents’ garage arrived – containing a lot of old school and uni work. Astonishing how much work I actually did at uni, considering most of my memories are of hanging out in the student radio station!

*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: January 2 – January 8

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Well. It’s been a week and half, metaphorically speaking I mean, it’s only seven days since the last week in books post. Anyway, I spent five nights away from home, not all of them in the places I expected to spend them thanks to a boiler issue, and had a super busy week at work on top of all that. And the list reflects that – although I have made a load of progress on the long runners even if I haven’t finished them (yet). Oh and I have no ideas what I’m doing for Book of the Week tomorrow, so wish me luck! Anyway, let’s see what this week brings…

Read:

Toucan Keep a Secret by Donna Andrews

Lark! The Herald Angels Sing by Donna Andrews

Resting Scrooge Face by Meghan Quinn

Best of Luck by Kate Clayborn

Terns of Endearment by Donna Andrews

Started:

Better Late than Never by Jenn McKinlay

Still reading:

Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead

Going With the Boys by Judith Mackrell

The Empire by Michael Ball*

Travellers in the Third Reich by Julia Boyd

Rogues by Patrick Radden Keefe

The Charity Shop Detective Agency by Peter Boland*

A Christmas Gone Perfectly Wrong by Cecilia Grant

Two ebooks bought and another preordered. Relatively restrained!

Bonus photo: as seen on my Insta, here is my Christmas cactus, flowering for the first time! This was actually grown from a cutting taken from a plant that my mum has, which was a cutting from a plant that belonged to my granny’s sister, which was a cutting from a plant belonging to my granny’s mum. So absolutely no pressure to keep it alive…

*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

December Stats

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Books read this month: 38*

New books: 16

Re-reads: 22 – redressing the balance from last month!

Books from the to-read pile: 10

NetGalley books read: 3

Kindle Unlimited read: 1

Ebooks: 19

Library books: 0

Audiobooks: 2

Non-fiction books: 3

Favourite book this month: Can’t pick – probably one of the Donna Andrews in the reread I just can’t decide which!

Most read author: Donna Andrews by a country mile having read 20 (!) Meg Langslows in December!

Books bought: 5 physical books, 7 ebooks – mostly while writing the Christmas book gift posts!

Books read in 2022: 388

Books on the Goodreads to-read shelf (I don’t have copies of all of these!): 669

Here we are at the end of another year. And December both fits the pattern and breaks it. Rereading is the main theme – which is in keeping with the year, it’s just the sheer volume and bingey ness of it that isn’t. And the number of audiobooks at the end of the year is way down on earlier in the year – but that’s mostly because I’ve been relistening to ones that I’ve already counted once in the total for 2022. Kindle Unlimited uncharacteristically low – but that’s because of that massive binge. Roll on 2023, lets see what it brings!

Bonus picture: Christmas lights in Fitzroy Square – the home of Maisie Dobbs (although probably not on this side of the square!)

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

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: December 26 – January 1

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What does a week off work and time to read look like? Well a list pretty much like this. My big old binge read of the Donna Andrews series continues and I’ve basically given up on getting anything else done until I finish it. Which given that I’m already in the 20s, might not be that far away! This week is back a more normal life so expect the list to change accordingly!

Read:

The Good, The Bad and the Emu by Donna Andrews

Rivers of London: Deadly Ever After by Ben Aaronovitch et al

The Nightingale Before Christmas by Donna Andrews

The Inverts by Crystal Jeans

Lord of the Wings by Donna Andrews

Heartstopper Vol 4 by Alice Oseman

The History of Europe in Bite-sized Chunks by Jacob F Field

Die Like An Eagle by Donna Andrews

Born Lucky by Rita Coatts

Zionism: A Very Short Introduction by Michael Stanislawski

Death of a Necromancer by Nick Bryan et al

Gone Gull by Donna Andrews

The Finch Before Christmas by Donna Andrews

Started:

Best of Luck by Kate Clayborn

Still reading:

Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead

Going With the Boys by Judith Mackrell

The Empire by Michael Ball*

Travellers in the Third Reich by Julia Boyd

Rogues by Patrick Radden Keefe

The Charity Shop Detective Agency by Peter Boland*

A Christmas Gone Perfectly Wrong by Cecilia Grant

Five books bought – two which you saw in the Christmas Books Incoming and then three more later in the week. All actual books

Bonus photo: New Year’s Eve chez nous – a roaring fire and some good books. Exciting.

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

Best of..., stats

Goodbye 2022… hello 2023

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Well here we are. We’ve made it to the start of a year. What am I hoping for in 2023? Well this time last year I said we didn’t know that 2021 could be even more exhausting that 2020, and for me personally I think 2022 has been even worse again. I had covid in the first third of the year, shingles in the last third and an awful virus that lasted basically the whole of December. Sprinkled in between all of that, at work we had the War in Ukraine, the death of Elizabeth II and another structural reorganisation. So it’s been insanely busy and insanely hard. If 2023 could be a little bit less of all of that I would really appreciate it. I think you’ll see the stresses and strains in the stats, and the reflection posts that I’ve been writing for the next few days.

I’ve carried on with the rereading – including the massive Meg Langslow binge of the last month. I think I’ve reduced the NetGalley backlog a little – or at least I haven’t added to it. I was doing well at not requesting more books, but then a whole load of really interesting looking stuff for the first half of next year got added and I got trigger happy on the request button. I’ve definitely read less non-fiction this year, apart from Actor Memoirs, but I’ve enjoyed what I read. I have done better on the physical books front than this time last year, but not as well as I wanted to.

Here’s hoping for a calmer year in 2023.

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: December 19 – December 25

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It’s Boxing Day here at the end of a very emotional Christmas week. Big changes at work just before Christmas mean a longer Christmas break for me than usual, so I’m clinging on to that. And Christmas Day was lovely. I’m still on a Meg Langslow binge though… will I ever finish those long runners?!

Read:

To Get to the Other Side by Kelly Ohlert*

The Real Macaw by Donna Andrews

Some Like It Hawk by Donna Andrews

The Many Dates of Indigo by Amber D Samuel*

Hen of the Baskervilles by Donna Andrews

Duck the Halls by Donna Andrews

Started:

The Charity Shop Detective Agency by Peter Boland*

A Christmas Gone Perfectly Wrong by Cecilia Grant

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

Rogues by Patrick Radden Keefe

Several books received (watch this space) and the new Rivers of London graphic novel but that’s it…

Bonus photo: what else could it be but a Christmas tree?

*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: 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.