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It has been a week. I mean if you live in the UK I’m sure you’re well aware, but for those of you in the rest of the world, let me tell you, it has been a ride.  And I’ve been at work for a lot of it.  Consequently not a lot of reading has happened and I’ve had trouble finding stuff to read that fitted my mood, but a bit of stress-related book-buying has happened.  Tant pis.  On the brightside, I’ve started the Christmas-themed reading, which makes me somewhat better organised than I was last year.  Or better organised *at the moment* at least.

Read:

The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith

A Bollywood Affair by Sonali Dev

The Christmas Sisters by Sarah Morgan

Vacationland by John Hodgman

Started:

Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith

The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser

Still reading:

Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell

The Last of August by Brittany Cavallaro

My Friend Anna by Rachel DeLoache Williams

Two books bought. One more pre-order arrived – after some aggressive chasing of a certain multinational mega-company who took my order in June, emailed me last week to say it wasn’t going to dispatch until November and yet had it as available with Prime on their website on release day. Colour me unimpressed.  I like to pre-order books from authors that I really like because it helps them with their publishers.  But I really wish the aforementioned company did their pre-order price guarantee on ebook orders because it would be so much easier all around.

Bonus photo: Sunday night dinner, as prepared by Him Indoors – the dish we call Coq O’ven – because it’s Coq au vin done in the oven.  The recipe is from The Roasting Tin which, along with its two sequels, is in frequent rotation chez nous.

 

 

 

A real mix of reading this week – with everything from graphic novels aimed at middle graders to prize winning translated fiction with romance and Hollywood history in between.

Read:

Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton

The Castle on Sunset by Shaun Levy

Lumberjanes Vol 10 by Shannon Waters et al

Backstagers Vol 1 by James Tynion IV et al

The Age of Light by Whitney Scharer

The Order of the Day by Eric Vuillard

Meet Cute by Helena Hunting

Started:

The Last of August by Brittany Cavallaro

The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith

My Friend Anna by Rachel DeLoache Williams

Still reading:

Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell

Four books bought, no ebooks.  And one of the books was a book that had been recommended to me earlier in the week and that I then spotted in the charity shop serendipitously, so I can hardly be blamed for that right?

Bonus photo: my first attempt at flower arranging. I need help. Is there a book for that?

 

I’m really trying hard to ration myself and read Wayward Son nice and slowly.  Really slowly.  Make it last.  This was derailed this week by the arrival of my signed, special edition hardback, which has caused me no end of problems and worries – because I ordered it so long ago it was going to the old house, and Waterstones don’t let you change delivery addresses.  Nightmare.  Luckily our old house and our new one are so close together that we have the same postman and he is a Good Guy.  Phew.

Read:

The Allingham Minibus by Margery Allingham

Love and Ruin by Paula McLain

Southern Lady Code by Helen Ellis

Mrs Hemingway by Naomi Wood

Asterix in Britain by Goscinny and Uderzo

Asterix and Caesar’s Gift by Goscinny and Uderzo

Lumberjanes Vol 9: On A Roll by Shannon Waters et al

Who Is Vera Kelly by Rosalie Knecht

The Girls of Atomic City by Denise Kiernan

Started:

Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton

The Age of Light by Whitney Scharer

Still reading:

Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell

Bonus photo: my lovely copy of Wayward Son.  Isn’t it pretty…

 

Back to work after the holiday – and a couple of nights away from home and working the weekend meant it was a very busy week.

Read:

Agatha Oddly by Lena Jones

The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo

Chanel’s Riviera by Anne De Courcy

American Royals by Katherine McGee

When Paris Sizzled by Mary McAuliffe

Autoboyography by Christina Lauren

Started:

Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell

Love and Ruin by Paula McLain

Still reading:

The Girls of Atomic City by Denise Kiernan

Who Is Vera Kelly by Rosalie Knecht

Mrs Hemingway by Naomi Wood

No books bought – mostly because I didn’t have any free time on my nights away to wander through Foyles. That may not be the case this week though…

Bonus photo: best post of the week – an advance copy of the new Trisha Ashley Christmas novel and some goodies.  The goodies are to make a bauble to hang on your tree – that’s a bag of fake snow, not as one of my friends suggested, half a kilo of cocaine…

 

I am back in the UK after a very relaxing week’s holiday in Greece – and the book list is accordingly longer than usual – and it would have been even longer except that I’ve been in a nonfiction mood and those books are looooooong.  And yes, there’s a bunch of stuff started as well because holiday moods are like that! Some really good reads in there – and I’m back, refreshed and with lots of ideas for new posts – so watch out!

Read:

This Town by Mark Liebovich

Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

The Queen Con by Meghan Scott Molin

City of Jasmine by Deanna Raybourn

A Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

Trumbo by Bruce Cook

Kiss and Cry by Mina V Esguerra

Jim Henson by Brian Jay Jones

Magnolia Buildings by Elizabeth Stuckey

Rose Petal Summer by Katie Fforde

Started

American Royals by Katherine McGee

The Girls of Atomic City by Denise Kiernan

Who Is Vera Kelly by Rosalie Knecht

Mrs Hemingway by Naomi Wood

Agatha Oddly by Lena Jones

Still reading:

Autoboyography by Christina Lauren

Chanel’s Riviera by Anne De Courcy

Bonus photo: a picture of the very blue sea and sky from the top of the Acopolis at Lindos last week.

 

 

Read:

How to Have Meaningful Conversations by Sarah Rozenthuler

A Question of Death by Kerry Greenwood

Transcription by Kate Atkinson

You Think It, I’ll Say It by Curtis Sittenfeld

Empty Mansions by Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell Jr

Out of Africa by Isak Dineson

The Silver Gun by LA Chandler

Shadows on the Grass by Isak Dineson

Started

Rose Petal Summer by Katie Fforde

This Town by Mark Liebovich

Still reading:

Autoboyography by Christina Lauren

The Queen Con by Meghan Scott Molin

City of Jasmine by Deanna Raybourn

Chanel’s Riviera by Anne De Courcy

Magnolia Buildings by Elizabeth Stuckey

Two books bought: one for me, one for Him Indoor for holidays so that doesn’t really count right?!

Bonus picture: a mews in London, backing on to Maisie Dobbs’ square

Bonus, bonus picture: the paperback edition of Franny Langton, still one of my favourite new books is the year- and thank you Penguin for a paperback copy too. All I need to do now is figure out what to do with it… answers on a postcard (or in the comments…) also, don’t my Shirley Flight books look super cool?!

So it’s been a bit of a week.  In case you missed it, British politics has been crazy busy and that means that my working life has been too.  So busy in fact that one night last week I didn’t even make it home from work.  And this week may well be similarly busy.  Wish me luck.  So the reading list is somewhat short and sweet this week – my brain has been fried and having trouble settling on anything.

Read:

The Girls by Emma Cline

A Case of Murder in Mayfair by Clara Benson

Meet Me in Monaco by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb

Asterix and the Roman Agent by Goscinny and Uderzo

Asterix and the Great Crossing by Goscinny and Uderzo

Monster, She Wrote by Lisa Kroeger and Melanie R Anderson

Started:

Chanel’s Riviera by Anne De Courcy

How to Have Meaningful Conversations by Sarah Rozenthuler

Magnolia Buildings by Elizabeth Stuckey

Still reading:

Autoboyography by Christina Lauren

Empty Mansions by Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell Jr

The Queen Con by Meghan Scott Molin

City of Jasmine by Deanna Raybourn

Out of Africa by Isak Dineson

And there was a fair bit of book purchasing that went on too – not only two new release hardbacks during the week but also a bit of a second hand spree on Sunday at Cannons Ashby’s secondhand bookshop. Thank you National Trust!

Bonus photo: a bit of historic home library porn from the aforementioned Cannons Ashby. The gardening stuff is in the cupboards because the owner of the time it’s set up as was a keen gardener and that’s where he kept it!

Another really busy week.  And really quite hot too. A shame I was at work for most of it!  Hey ho.  There was some really interesting reading this week – a lot of it on the train – and I’m still not sure what I’m going to pick for BotW tomorrow, which is unusual.

Read:

Schoolgirl Reporter by Constance M White

A Study in Scandal by Caroline Linden

The Right Swipe by Alisha Rai

The Painted Garden by Noel Streatfeild

Scandals of Classic Hollywood by Anne Helen Petersen

Meddling and Murder by Ovidia Yu

Come As You Are by Emily Nagoski

Started:

City of Jasmine by Deanna Raybourn

Out of Africa by Isak Dineson

Still reading:

Autoboyography by Christina Lauren

The Girls by Emma Cline

Empty Mansions by Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell Jr

The Queen Con by Meghan Scott Molin

One book bought in the charity shop and one ebook.

Bonus photo: The nice cupboard with my “fancy” (aka hardback) Girl’s Own books…