books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: September 8 – September 14

A slightly more normal week in reading, despite a theatre trip and a day out at a car show and various other bits and bobs. It’s definitely starting to get a bit autumnal though, so perhaps the day trips and evenings out will start to turn into quiet cozy nights in in the next few weeks?!

Read:

Footsteps in the Dark by Georgette Heyer

The Murder Wheel by Tom Mead

Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie

Cabaret Macabre by Tom Mead

Chris at the Kennels by Patricia Baldwin

A Fine Line Between Clever and Stupid by Rob Reiner

The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett

Started:

The Vanderbeekers on the Road by Karina Yan Glaser

Still reading:

Ritual of Fire by D V Bishop

Pet Shop Boys, Literally by Chris Heath

Abdication by Juliet Nicolson

I don’t think I bought anything, but I did get a gift – the Patricia Baldwin as seen in Books Incoming, which is already read and off the pile.

Bonus picture: yes, I’ve already been to seen The Producers in its return to the West End!

*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: September 1 – September 7

I’m not actually sure what happened this week. To the reading list I mean. I know what I was doing, and I don’t think I had substantively less reading time than any other week, and I definitely wasn’t out in the evenings in the way that I sometimes am. But here we are. A shorter than usual list, and one where I have no idea what I’m doing for BotW tomorrow…

Read:

Bell, Book and Scandal by Jill Churchill

Oh Say Can You Fudge by Nancy CoCo

The Sussex Murders by Ian Sansom

A Matter of Pedigree by Leslie Meier*

For The Love by Jen Hatmaker

The Accidental Florist by Jill Churchill

Started:

Footsteps in the Dark by Georgette Heyer

A Fine Line Between Clever and Stupid by Rob Reiner

Still reading:

Ritual of Fire by D V Bishop

Pet Shop Boys, Literally by Chris Heath

Abdication by Juliet Nicolson

Three books bought on my trip to Waterstones Piccadilly, one pre-order arrived and two ebooks.

Bonus picture: this is unacceptable for the first weekend in a September. A plague on you local garden centre!

*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

August Stats

Books read this month: 32*

New books: 25

Re-reads: 6 (all audiobooks)

Books from the to-read pile: 10

NetGalley books read: 4

Kindle Unlimited read: 3

Ebooks: 5

Audiobooks: 9

Non-fiction books: 4

Favourite book: probably The Mitford Girls, even though I haven’t written about it yet!

Books bought: possibly slightly better than last month, but still way too many

Most read author: T P Fielden of the new stuff, but Agatha Christie and Nancy Mitford if you’re including the re-reads

Books read in 2025: 251

Books on the Goodreads to-read shelf (I don’t have copies of all of these!): 808

Another fairly solid month in reading – especially considering that the Mary Lowell Mitford book is 700 pages long and that takes time, and there aren’t a lot of short stories on this month’s list.

Bonus picture: yarn bombing in Northampton for the rugby, courtesy of my mum!

*includes some short stories/novellas/comics/graphic novels – including 1 this month!

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: August 25 – August 31

I can’t believe it’s September already. I mean the weather last week was pretty autumnal so maybe I can believe it, but anyway, the end of the school holidays is basically here and I will try and find a silver lining in the fact that hopefully it means that Central London will be a little bit quieter soon. Any way a pretty solid week in reading given that there was a bank holiday, I went to a concert and had a night out with a friend.

Read:

Cultish by Amanda Montell

Resort to Murder by T P Fielden

The Truth by Terry Pratchett

A Quarter Past Dead by T P Fielden

The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford

The Sunset Years of Agnes Sharp by Leonie Swann*

The Last Supper by Rosemary Shrager

Started:

Bell, Book and Scandal by Jane Churchill

The Sussex Murders by Ian Sansom

Still reading:

Ritual of Fire by D V Bishop

Pet Shop Boys, Literally by Chris Heath

Abdication by Juliet Nicolson

Three e-books and three actual books, including two in Saucy Books

Bonus picture: Martha Wainwright at Cadogan Hall on Saturday night. It was great.

*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: August 18 – August 24

I’m in denial that August is nearly over, but the weather feels like it’s starting to change for the cooler, and the very early mornings are getting darker so it must be. Most of my reading time this week was spent on The Mitford Girls – which is 700 pages long and absolutely fascinating. It really does make me want to go off and read about more the various sisters and also the people around them, but I have so much non-fiction on the pile and they do tend to get slightly ignored in favour of fiction that I shall have to try and resist the urge to purchase more! And of the rest of the reading, aside from the Christie and Heyer which were on audio, the other three books were all from the pile, so if it wasn’t for that whole situation at the National Trust bookshops last week, I would be feeling quite good about myself. As it is, the pile is still larger than it was at the start of the month, and is looming at me from the corner of the sitting room and making me feel guilty.

Read:

Appointment with Death by Agatha Christie

Devil’s Cub by Georgette Heyer

The Mitford Girls by Mary S Lovell

The House of the Seven Mabels by Jill Churchill

City of Vengeance by D V Bishop

The Wombles at Work by Elizabeth Beresford

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

Started:

Ritual of Fire by D V Bishop

Cultish by Amanda Montell

Still reading:

Pet Shop Boys, Literally by Chris Heath

Abdication by Juliet Nicolson

One ebook bought, but that’s it. A positive relief after last week.

Bonus picture: an afternoon at the women’s World Cup rugby on Sunday.

*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: August 11 – August 17

A good week – in life and in reading. We’ve wandered Norfolk, I read an entire book while sitting in a field at Sandringham waiting for bands to perform, and I’ve finished another non-fiction book – two now this month. Bravely I’ve started two more, here’s hoping they don’t end up on the long-running list…

Read:

Wigs on the Green by Nancy Mitford

Seams Like Murder by Dorothy Howell

The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie

Grime and Punishment by Jill Churchill

Ask Not by Maureen Callahan

A Star is Bored by Byron Lane

The Stranger’s Companion by Mary Horlock*

Started:

The Mitford Girls by Mary S Lovell

City of Vengeance by D V Bishop

Pet Shop Boys, Literally by Chris Heath

Still reading:

Abdication by Juliet Nicolson

Um. Well yes. I may have lost my head a little in the National Trust bookshops. More on that at the weekend. And an ebook too.

Bonus picture: the library at Blickling Hall. Isn’t it awesome?

*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: August 4 – August 10

A pretty solid list this week, although slightly more classic crime than I was expecting! But another one off the long-running list so that’s good. And after being nudged in Waterstones the other day, I’ve got started on some of the Kennedy books on the shelf. And we had a nice weekend in Cumbria so I got to wander around one of my favourite bookshops again as well as everything else!

Read:

Heads You Lose by Christianna Brand

About That Kiss by Jill Shalvis

A Schooling in Murder by Andrew Taylor*

The Art of Catching Feelings by Alicia Thompson

Any Trope But You by Victoria Lavine*

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

Sinister Spring by Agatha Christie

Started:

Wigs on the Green by Nancy Mitford

Ask Not by Maureen Callahan

Still reading:

Abdication by Juliet Nicolson

A Star is Bored by Byron Lane

Four ebooks and two actual books.

Bonus picture: butterflies in Cumbria on Sunday

*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: July 28 – August 3

Well that’s a much better list than last week isn’t it. I mean it’s mostly because I was exhausted and so didn’t try and get any theatre tickets while I was staying in London and stayed in instead. And it was a bit rainy too which doesn’t exactly encourage wandering around. That said, I did wander over to Waterstones Gower Street and yes, I did buy a book and there were some Kindle offers. Ahem. But I can’t be perfect all the time…

Read:

Making Money by Terry Pratchett

Sweet Little Lies by Jill Shalvis

At Bertram’s Hotel by Agatha Christie

Scandalize My Name by Fiona Sinclair

The Ex-Wives Club by Sally Hepworth

A Dark and Twisting Path by Julia Buckley

The Windsors at War by Alexander Larman

The Prodigal Son by Sulari Gentill

The Celebrants by Steven Rowley

Started:

Heads You Lose by Christianna Brand

A Star is Bored by Byron Lane

Still reading:

A Schooling in Murder by Andrew Taylor*

Abdication by Juliet Nicolson

Five ebooks (because there were offers) and one ebook preorder, and then the book from Waterstones…

Bonus picture: it’s Wisteria season again

*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

July Stats

Books read this month: 31*

New books: 23

Re-reads: 8 (6 audiobooks)

Books from the to-read pile: 4

NetGalley books read: 1

Kindle Unlimited read: 12

Ebooks: 5

Audiobooks: 6

Non-fiction books: 0

Favourite book: Dear Miss Lake probably

Most read author: Judith Flanders – three books in the Sam Clair series.

Books bought: too many

Books read in 2025: 219

Books on the Goodreads to-read shelf (I don’t have copies of all of these!): 799

I mean I think you must be bored of me telling you that it’s been a really busy week/month at this point, because I feel like I’m always typing it. But it really is true. In July I had a work trip to Accra, two theatre trips and a concert to name but a few. And the malaria pills and the overnight flight home really wiped me out and it’s taken (is taking?!) a while to recover. But given all of that, I’m pretty pleased with the stats for the month, even if they don’t include any non-fiction books *again*. Must really try and sort that out this month. Possibly wishful thinking though.

Bonus picture: another picture from Accra.

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

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: July 21 – July 27

So this week was as busy as advertised, and then some. But here’s the list, I did get a couple of the long runners sorted and I’ve got a few things that are close to being read so it could be worse.

Read:

Six Sweets Under by Sarah Fox

Flipped for Murder by Maddie Day

Grilled for Murder by Maddie Day

A Howl of Wolves by Judith Flanders

Murder in Vienna by E C R Lorac

Finders Keepers by Sarah Adler

Started:

Scandalize My Name by Fiona Sinclair

Sweet Little Lies by Jill Shalvis

Still reading:

A Schooling in Murder by Andrew Taylor*

Abdication by Juliet Nicolson

Nothing else bought, but a bunch of stuff arrived…

Bonus picture: Pouring rain at the National before Nye on Tuesday night.

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