Here it is, here is the post conference book haul. I mean nothing says “I had a great time” like nearly two dozen books. You’ll see I acquired a lovely copy of Ballet Shoes – which I think is the same edition I read when I first read it at primary school. Then there are a couple books from boarding school series that I haven’t read all of yet, the four Chalet School books which are to upgrade my Armada collection, one of the Swallows and Amazons hardbacks that I’m missing, a non-Sadlers Wells Lorna Hill, a bunch of standalone books of various types and then a small haul of British Library Crime Classics because how could I resist them. Just lovely. I’ve already read a couple of them…
Two nights in London for work? Check. Three nights at book conference? Check. More chatting than book reading? Check. I mean I’m sure I’ll have a lot to say about my weekend talking Girl’s Own books, but today basically all you need to know is that I mostly listened to talks about books and bought books rwther than actually reading them!
A much smaller pile this month – partly because the Persephone subscription has finished and there was a strange lack of preorders but mostly because I was trying to restrain myself before book conference! Who knows what I will come home with. Anyway, I picked up Rhode Island Red on a whim after getting it suggested to me by Amazon. I ordered it from Foyles though, and after I’d read it and enjoyed it, picked up the second book when I popped into the shop the other week. Piglettes also came from that trip. And then After Sappho and I want to die but I want to eat Tteokpokki were in that same Foyles order as Rhode Island Red. It was a day of poor impulse control. What can I say!
Two nights away from home, three theatre trips and an evening at the Commonwealth Games. Truly it is a miracle I read anything this week! But I did, go me. This week is looking equally frantic, so goodness knows what next week’s list will look like too.
Well it’s been an amazing week – Martha Wainwright, Commonwealth Games Gymnastics and then England won the women’s Euros. Is it any surprise that the list is slightly shorter that usual this week? It’s the end of the month too so we have the usual array of review posts coming up this week too. You’re welcome.
Check me out. A remarkably good and varied week in reading by recent standards. Non fiction, new fiction, contemporary romance, adventure and golden age crime. This week I have two nights away (only one last week) and a day out at the Commonwealth Games so who knows how much reading time I have. This could be the high point of the whole month!
Positively restrained – two Adele Bucks to enable the binge, but that’s it.
Bonus photo: The British Museum on Thursday evening as I walked past on my way to a gig at the Museum of Comedy.We’ve just started The Deeds of the Disturber as ournextAmelia Peabody relisten so it seemed apt for this week’s photo!
An * next to a book title indicates that it came from NetGalley. ** indicates it was an advance copy from a source other than NetGalley
So a shorter list this week. Partly because I finished the Phryne Fisher re-read rather than read new stuff, partly because of an overnight in London where I went out, but mostly because of a nightshift on Friday, that made my brain tired and not great at concentrating, and also meant I slept through part of the weekend. What I will write about tomorrow I do not know. And we’ve got a mega heatwave continuing this week, so that may also fry my brain!
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin*
Three actual books bought and two ebooks
Bonus photo: hostel life! Before the nightshift at the end of the week, there was a night away in London at the start of the week. And things are starting to get back to normal at the hostels – this was my first time back at my second favourite/choice one since October 2021 before the Omicron wave hit.
An * next to a book title indicates that it came from NetGalley. ** indicates it was an advance copy from a source other than NetGalley
Oh dear. Everything has gone a little bit bonkers hasn’t it. Whoopsie daisy. I could hardly get them all in the same photo. What you see here is the result of two different charity shops, two Persephone books arriving close together, the airport bookshop (and I’ve just realised that I’ve missed Great Circle out of the photo because it’s beside my bed and not on the new book pile on the bureau), a happy visit to the comic book store, a wander through WH Smith’s, a preorder arriving and a purchase to assist with the 50 states challenge. Just imagine what might have happened if I’d made it into Foyles during any of my trips to London!
Will I manage to be more restrained this month? Tune in in August to find out!
Only two “new” books on the list this week. Oopsie daisy. But I have reached a good point in the Phryne Fisher series – Death by Water (as mentioned in the cruise ship mysteries) and Dead Man’s Chest are really good. And I finished the Vicky Bliss reread (as evidenced in the series I love post!) too. And on top of that there were two nights in London, one of which was spent watching Pretty Woman: the Musical and another recovering from the strains of a day of breaking political news. It was really quite a week!
One preorder and the Persephone subscription arrived, but I didn’t make it to any bookshops during my stay in London, so that meant I managed not to buy more any *actual* books, which is good because the books incoming pile is already huge! I did however start compiling the July kindle offer post, which lead to a certain level of ebook acquisition – I think five.
Bonus photo:
There was a book fair at the church hall on Saturday! I had a good browse, but there weren’t any of my particular passions – and although there were a few books I was interested in, they all cost way too much money. It has however reminded me that I need to start compiling my lists ready for Bristol next month!
An * next to a book title indicates that it came from NetGalley. ** indicates it was an advance copy from a source other than NetGalley
Another fun week of reading, with two of my favourite books of the year so far on this list. I’m actually surprised how much is on this list considering the holiday and the fact that it was the British Grand Prix this weekend. And I’ve finally got all the long runners off the still reading list – but I haven’t managed to finish everything that I started last week. But I will get there, although Great Circle is 600ish pages and I have it in paperback so we’ll see how that goes…
Ummmmm. I may have bought a couple of books at the weekend. Just two. Nothing really. And put in a preorder. And nobly resisted some more on Kindle, but I haven’t really got very far through this month’s special offers yet…
Bonus photo: the wisteria is trying to flower again!
An * next to a book title indicates that it came from NetGalley. ** indicates it was an advance copy from a source other than NetGalley
Verity Reads Books (lots of them) 