Category: The pile

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: August 1 – August 7

veritywilde

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.

Read:

Husband Material by Alexis Hall*

Murder at the Brightwell by Ashley Weaver

The Beckoning Lady by Margery Allingham

Death Wears a Mask by Ashley Weaver

A Dream of Sadlers Wells by Lorna Hill

Veronica Goes to the Wells by Lorna Hill

Started:

Mercury Pictures Presents by Anthony Marra*

The Twist of the Knife by Anthony Horowitz*

Still reading:

Godemersham Park by Gill Hornby*

Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead

Another Time, Another Place by Jodi Taylor

Femina by Janina Ramirez*

Castle Shade by Laurie R King

Going With the Boys by Judith Mackrell

Two books in Foyles on Monday. I said the willpower wouldn’t last!

Bonus photo: theatre trio three – Glass Menagerie, which I studied at school but had never seen.

An * next to a 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 25 – July 31

veritywilde

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.

Read:

Mean Baby by Selma Blair

The Quiet Gentleman by Georgette Heyer

Infamous by Lex Croucher*

The Affair of the Blood Stained Egg Cozy by James Anderson

Riviera Gold by Laurie R King

Rhode Island Rooster by Charlotte Carter

My Italian Bulldozer by Alexander McCall Smith

Started:

Husband Material by Alexis Hall*

Castle Shade by Laurie R King

Going With the Boys by Judith Mackrell

Still reading:

Godemersham Park by Gill Hornby*

Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead

Another Time, Another Place by Jodi Taylor

Femina by Janina Ramirez*

No books bought – despite that visit to Waterstones. Don’t worry. It won’t last!

Bonus photo: the giant bull from the Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony in Birmingham city centre on Friday.

An * next to a 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 18 – July 24

veritywilde

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!

Read:

Dead Water by Ngaio Marsh

Children of the Storm by Elizabeth Peters

That Woman by Anne Sebba

Singing in the Shrouds by Ngaio Marsh

Method Acting by Adele Buck

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin*

Acting Lessons by Adele Buck

Fast Acting by Adele Buck

Started:

Infamous by Lex Croucher*

Femina by Janina Ramirez*

Riviera Gold by Laurie R King

Still reading:

Godemersham Park by Gill Hornby*

Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead

Mean Baby by Selma Blair

Another Time, Another Place by Jodi Taylor

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 our next Amelia 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

 

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: July 11 – July 17

veritywilde

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!

Read:

Murder and Mendelssohn by Kerry Greenwood

Death in Daylesford by Kerry Greenwood

Death at Victoria Dock by Kerry Greenwood

Lumberjanes/Gotham Academy by Chynna Clugston Flores et al

Heartstopper Vol 2 by Alice Oseman

Started:

That Woman by Anne Sebba

Still reading:

Godemersham Park by Gill Hornby*

Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead

Mean Baby by Selma Blair

Another Time, Another Place by Jodi Taylor

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

 

The pile

Books Incoming: July edition

veritywilde

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!

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: July 4 – July 10

veritywilde

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!

Read:

Death by Water by Kerry Greenwood

The Laughter of Dead Kings by Elizabeth Peters

Death at the Dolphin by Ngaio Marsh

The Incredible Crime by Lois Austen-Leigh

Dead Man’s Chest by Kerry Greenwood

Unnatural Habits by Kerry Greenwood

Shipped by Angie Hockman

Started:

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin*

Still reading:

Godemersham Park by Gill Hornby*

Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead

Mean Baby by Selma Blair

Another Time, Another Place by Jodi Taylor

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

 

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: June 27 – July 3

veritywilde

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…

Read:

Black Sheep by Georgette Heyer

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

Regency Buck by Georgette Heyer

The Unsinkable Greta James by Jennifer E Smith

A Lowcountry Bride by Preslaya Williams

Heartstopper Vol 1 by Alice Oseman

Devil’s Cub by Georgette Heyer

Plan for the Worst by Jodi Taylor

The Romance Recipe by Ruby Barrett*

Started:

Mean Baby by Selma Blair

Another Time, Another Place by Jodi Taylor

Still reading:

Shipped by Angie Hockman

Godemersham Park by Gill Hornby*

Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead

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

 

The pile

End of the first half of 2022

veritywilde

It’s the last day of June! How?! Where did the first half of the year go? And why did I write 2020 in the title of this post when I started putting it together? I mean I think the answer to that is the fact that it does sometimes feel like we got to March 2020 and never left it…

Anyway I started pulling together my favourite books of the years so far for this post, but it got way too long and unwieldy so I have split it up and it’s going to be two posts. Tomorrow it’s the stats as usual, then we have the quick reviews next week but there’ll also be a Fifty States 2022 update too.

I would say that so far in 2022 it has been the year of rereading. Last year I was revisiting old favourites mostly by listening to them on audiobook, this year it’s been actual rereading as well and going back through some of my favourite series. And although I’m still reading a lot of romance and mystery, in the last month I’ve also read a bunch of stuff that’s not either of those so maybe I’m finally starting to emerge from the anxiety related quest for resolution and happy endings? We can hope.

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: June 20 – June 26

veritywilde

Well. Last week was another big news week then. Blimey. Anyway, I had some time off work, so I got a lot of reading done as you can see. I was aiming to get the still reading list all read, but as you can see I didn’t quite manage it. Maybe this week?! Anyway, it’s also nearly the end of the month, and with it the end of the first half of the year, so as well as starting a new journal I have some halfway point posts planned – so look out for those over the next week and a bit along with all the usual end of month goodies.

Read:

The Golden One by Elizabeth Peters

The Castlemaine Murders by Kerry Greenwood

Paper Lion by George Plimpton

A Lonely Little Death by Beth Byers

Betraying the Crown by T P Fielden

Cue the Easter Bunny by Liz Evans

Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie

Beach House Summer by Sarah Morgan*

Murder Before Evensong by Rev Richard Coles

Queen of the Flowers by Kerry Greenwood

Acting Up by Adele Buck

Started:

Shipped by Angie Hockman

Godemersham Park by Gill Hornby*

The Unsinkable Greta James by Jennifer E Smith

Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead

Still reading:

Plan for the Worst by Jodi Taylor

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

Yeah, so I had a little slip up. One actual book bought – but a whole load of e-books, including the Adele Buck you see on the list and its sequel. There was a whole bunch of stuff on offer and I did a bit of a spree on sample reading to see if I liked them, and I liked all of them. Whoopsie. Sorry, not sorry.

Bonus photo: this month’s peonies, after my best attempt to arrange them. Flower arranging is not my forte. But they do look beautiful and survived being delivered to behind my hedge on really quite a hot day.

An * next to a 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: June 13 – June 19

veritywilde

A heatwave! I’ve been really trying to work on that long list of ongoing books. And also the NetGalley ones. And I’m still rereading Phryne. So it’s all got a bit mixed on the list.

Read:

What Bloody Man Is That by Simon Brett

Rotten to the Core by T E Kinsey*

A Matter of Love and Death by Carmen Radtke

Away with the Fairies by Kerry Greenwood

Death of a Bookseller by Bernard J Farmer

Murder in Montparnasse by Kerry Greenwood

The Nonesuch by Georgette Heyer

The Intoxicating Mr Lavelle by Neil Blackmore

Miss Aldridge Regrets by Louise Hare*

Started:

A Lonely Little Death by Beth Byers

Still reading:

Paper Lion by George Plimpton

Plan for the Worst by Jodi Taylor

Beach House Summer by Sarah Morgan*

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

Murder Before Evensong by Rev Richard Coles

Cue the Easter Bunny by Liz Evans

A couple of books bought. But I tried to be restrained!

Bonus photo: Tuesday morning in central london – beautiful blue sky and BT tower remembering the people who died in the Grenfell fire five years ago.

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