Tag: books

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: April 27 – May 3

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It’s a bank holiday in the UK today – if you’re off work I hope you have a lovely time and that the weather where you are is good. And if (like me) you’re at work – I hope your day is easy and over fast and that you have the next bank holiday off! Anyway back down to earth after the two weeks off and a fairly solid list, helped by the fact that I was on the train every day. This week I’m staying in London a couple of nights and hoping to catch a show or too so the list may suffer accordingly. I am making progress on the still reading books – even though it might not look like it!

Read:

William II by John Gillingham

Swing, Brother, Swing by Ngaio Marsh

Mr Campion’s Fox by Mike Ripley

Richard I by Thomas Asbridge

Opening Night by Ngaio Marsh

Blue Devil Woman by Sloane Fletcher*

Banton of Paramount by Howard Gutner*

Beattie Cavendish and the White Pearl Club by Mary-Jane Riley

Started:

Sconed to Death by Betty Hechtman*

Still reading:

Death and Other Occupational Hazards by Veronica Dapunt

Any Way the Wind Blows by Rainbow Rowell

Game Changer by Rachael Reid

One cookbook bought – but that’s it. And as cookbooks don’t go on the pile, they sort of don’t count as a book purchase!

Bonus picture: Spring time (but almost summertime heat!) in Regent’s Park.

*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

Reading Stats: April 2026

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Books read this month: 38*

New books: 32

Re-reads: 6 (all audiobooks)

Books from the to-read pile: 7

NetGalley books read: 10

Kindle Unlimited read: 4

Ebooks: 10

Audiobooks: 6

Non-fiction books: 3

Favourite book: Probably While You Were Seething

Books bought: About 15 ebooks bought, two books at the airport and a couple of pre-orders turned up too.

Most read author: Travis Baldree (two Legends and Lattes books

Books read in 2026: 128

Books on the Goodreads to-read shelf (I don’t have copies of all of these!): 587

Any month where I go on holiday means a good month in the stats usually, and this is no exception – because the holiday was longer than usual. I’m pretty pleased with myself for the amount of NetGalley books I read, but also because despite being away from home I still managed to read a fair few from the pile. We’ll skate over how many I bought though.

Bonus picture: another picture from the holiday…

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

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: April 20 – April 26

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I’m safely home now, so I can exclusively reveal that we’ve been away on holiday for nearly two weeks. And that is why the reading lists this week and last week look so healthy – sun lounger time (and flights) mean more reading time – and why the still reading list looks as it does – the remaining ones are physical copies that were at home. I’ve got a Recommendsday coming up this week with some of my holiday reads, but more of them will be popping up over the next little while too because some of them were advance copies of books coming out over the next few months. Check me getting ahead – who even know I could do that!

Read:

Betrayal by Tom Bower

Murder on the Bernina Express by J G Colgan

The Chateau Murder by Greg Mosse

Played to Death by Mike Ripley*

The Shrew Detective: The Case of the Pilfered Pearls by Margi Preus*

The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman

Death by Noir by Olly Smith*

Opening Night by Ngaio Marsh

The Gatsby Gambit by Claire Anderson Wheeler*

Death and Fromage by Ian Moore

How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin

Started:

Death and Other Occupational Hazards by Veronica Dapunt

William II by John Gillingham

Still reading:

Any Way the Wind Blows by Rainbow Rowell

Game Changer by Rachael Reid

Six ebooks and one preorder arrived (at my parents!)

Bonus picture: some beautiful Cretan countryside. You can’t see them but there was a herd of goats among the olive groves and their bells were tinkling madly as I took this.

*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: April 13 – April 19

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Happy Monday everyone. I’ve had a very productive week in reading – having finished the Francesca Wade book and got the still reading list down a bit. Need to work on the NetGalley list a bit though!

Read:

Lord of the Silent by Elizabeth Peters

Brigands and Breadknives by Travis Baldree

A Case of Mice and Murder by Sally Smith

Murder on the Rocks by T E Kinsey*

A Deadly Episode by Anthony Horowitz*

Square Haunting by Francesca Wade

The Queen Who Came in From the Cold by S J Bennett

Love Songs and Ferry Tales by Julie Farley

The Mystery of the Faberge Egg by S J Bennett

Death is for Death by Harriet F Townson

Started:

The Chateau Murder by Greg Mosse

Still reading:

Any Way the Wind Blows by Rainbow Rowell

Game Changer by Rachael Reid

Two books bought and one preorder arrived.

Bonus picture: flowers and sunshine

*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: April 6 – April 12

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So a somewhat mixed week. On the one hand, I read two new release romances in the week that they came out, so only slightly behind in NetGalley terms. On the other I got completely distracted from reading other things by bingeing my way through the last three of a series so I didn’t finish any of the books I started last week and now the still reading list is huge again. Why do I do this to myself?

Read:

Now You See Them by Elly Griffiths

The Midnight Hour by Elly Griffiths

Enemies to Lovers by Alisha Rai*

While You Were Seething by Charlotte Stein*

Died in the Wool by Ngaio Marsh

How Can I Resist You by Jeevani Charika*

The Great Deceiver by Elly Griffiths

Started:

Murder on the Rocks by T E Kinsey*

Still reading:

Any Way the Wind Blows by Rainbow Rowell

Brigands and Breadknives by Travis Baldree

Game Changer by Rachael Reid

Square Haunting by Francesca Wade

One and a pre-order

Bonus picture: spring is springing and it’s pink.

*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: March 30 – April 5

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Happy Bank Holiday Monday to everyone who is celebrating. Here the sun is out and I’m starting to think that we may be using up our quota of nice bank holiday weather! I had a two show week last week, but also the Easter weekend so the reading list is a reflection of that. And also of the fact that I was writing the Kindle Offers post and it was an expensive one as you will see on Wednesday! As for tomorrow’s pick, I sort of gave myself issues by using the French Bookshop Murder to solve last week’s difficulties so I do need to get back on a bit of an even keel. Oh and the re-read of A Case of Life and Limb was the audiobook as it was on offer – and it’s just as good as an audio as it was to read.

Read:

The French Bookshop Murder by Greg Mosse

Colour Scheme by Ngaio Marsh

Sky High by Michael Gilbert

Bookshops and Bonedust by Travis Baldree

Dallergut Dream Department Store by Miye Lee

A Case of Life and Limb by Sally Smith

The Madonna of Darkness by Hugh Morrison

The Geomagician by Jennifer Mandula*

Started:

Any Way the Wind Blows by Rainbow Rowell

Enemies to Lovers by Alisha Rai*

Brigands and Breadknives by Travis Baldree

Still reading:

Game Changer by Rachael Reid

Square Haunting by Francesca Wade

We shall not talk about – no actual books but more than half a dozen kindle books. Whoops.

Bonus picture: On the way out of the Bridge on Wednesday night after Into The Woods.

*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

Reading Stats: March 2026

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Books read this month: 33*

New books:26

Re-reads: 7 (6 audiobooks)

Books from the to-read pile: 10

NetGalley books read: 8

Kindle Unlimited read: 6

Ebooks: 3

Audiobooks: 6

Non-fiction books: 1

Favourite book: of the things that have been published Agnes Aubert but also the upcoming Nora Breen sequel

Books bought: lets just skip over this because that Saturday in Leicestershire was a lot and that’s before anything else I did…

Most read author: Jess Kidd with Murder at Gulls Nest and the sequel

Books read in 2026: 92

Books on the Goodreads to-read shelf (I don’t have copies of all of these!): 598

A pretty solid month all in. I was actually quite surprised when I came to put this together because I thought I had more novellas in there than I did, but actually my dedication to the NetGalley list and reading from the pile at weekends has paid off a bit. Not as good on the non-fiction front though, so that’s something to work on – and it’s Good Friday today so maybe Easter weekend is my opportunity. All the motorsport is cancelled after all!

Bonus picture: Leicester Square Theatre right back at the start of the month ahead of a recording of The Horne Section podcast – complete with former Taskmaster contestant special guests!

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

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: March 23 – March 29

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It’s nearly the end of March and Easter is fast approaching. The clocks have sprung forward and my commute this morning was plunged back into darkness again after a couple of weeks of glorious daylight. I had a day off last week and a day of work from home and the lack of commuting reading time on those two days shows up on the list and the fact that I’m not really sure what I’m going to write about tomorrow…

Read:

A Death in the Dark by Ellie Alexander*

A Surfeit of Lampreys by Ngaio Marsh

Just As You Are by Camille Kellogg

Mrs Spy by M J Rowbotham*

Death and the Dancing Footman by Ngaio Marsh

Fishing for Trouble by Elizabeth Logan

Cloaked in Chaos by Patti Benning

Started:

The Geomagician by Jennifer Mandula*

The French Bookshop Murder by Greg Mosse

Still reading:

Game Changer by Rachael Reid

Square Haunting by Francesca Wade

I managed to resist buying too many books this week, considering how over the top I went last week, but if you are in the market for books, Dawn Tripp’s Jackie is 99p on Kindle at the moment – I don’t know how long it will last because it doesn’t say, but march ends shortly and often that is the cue for price changes.

Bonus picture: I do not need novelty salt and pepper shakers. I do not need novelty salt and pepper shakers…

*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: March 16 – March 22

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Genuinely cannot tell you how please with myself I am for getting the two longest runners off the list this week. Sadly it happened mostly because I was poorly for a couple of days and stuck at home, but the point is, I did it. Yay me. And aside from that a pretty good week in reading too – I read the new Katherine Center short I mentioned in last week’s BotW and strangely that is one of two on this list which are a second chance romance with hero who is in the Navy. So long since I’ve had a military hero pop-up in a book and then two come along at once. Had a bit of a day out on Saturday – more on that to come – but it was an eight book (purchase) day. Which is great in terms of new reading material, bad in terms of size of the shelf!

Read:

Woof Times by Patti Benning

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Fairies by Heather Fawcett

Tea’d Off by Patti Benning

Death with a Dark Red Rose by Julia Buckley

Everybody’s Favourite Guy by Katherine Center

Ritual of Fire by D V Bishop

Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell*

Pet Shop Boys, Literally by Chris Heath

A Murder in Eight Cocktails by Kelly Mullen*

Started:

Mrs Spy by M J Rowbotham*

Just As You Are by Camille Kellogg

Still reading:

Game Changer by Rachael Reid

Square Haunting by Francesca Wade

As mentioned up top, eight books bought just on Saturday. Luckily that’s it – apart from one pre-order placed.

Bonus picture: a misty frosty morning on the train, which turned into a 17 degree day! Spring is doing some weird things right now.

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

Book of the Week

Book of the Week: The Love Haters

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I mentioned yesterday that I had to crack out an emergency book over the weekend because I wasn’t feeling very well and that’s what I’ve ended up picking today: the latest Katherine Center, The Love Haters, which came out in paperback back in November. And it’s particularly good timing because it turns out that Center has written an Amazon Original story that is out today too.

Katie Vaughan is a videographer. For her day job she works for a small media company who make corporate and promotional video. For herself she makes day in the life videos about people who have done something heroic. The trouble is the passion project doesn’t pay the rent and there is a massive round of layoffs happening at the day job. So that’s why when her boss Cole offers her a last chance job she takes it. Trouble is, it’s filming a coast guard rescue swimmer and Katie doesn’t swim and the swimmer is Hutch, Cole’s brother. Hutch is internet famous after his rescue of a dog went viral, but he’s turned down every interview request since. But Katie really needs her job, so she heads off to the Florida Keys, where she finds that everything is just a bit different – and Hutch is definitely not what she was expecting either.

So I had a few qualms at a couple of points when I was reading this. Firstly there was a point where I was worried that this was going to have too much comedy based on humiliation, then there was a big third act twist that I was a bit dubious about and then I was concerned about the finale. But every time, it pulled it around – for me at least. I can see from the reviews that some people have found the plot strand around body image too much for them, but as someone who grew up in the terrible times that were the early 2000s I could totally understand where Katie was coming from and found her evolution on that front quite satisfying. Hutch is a great character – I wasn’t really aware of Coast Guard Swimmers being a thing before this book, but it was the perfect match of character and job and makes total sense for the way that the ending plays out. I don’t know that it’s my favourite of hers – I think I love The Rom-Commers the most, and it’s not a surefire recommendation for people because for reasons that may be apparent from what I’ve already written, but I read this in the space of an afternoon and evening and really enjoyed it.

This is out now in Kindle, Kobo and paperback. It’s showing up as being in stock in some of the London Waterstones so I think you should be able to get it in stores too.

Happy Tuesday!