Tag: books

Authors I love, books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: July 5 – July 11

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Well I’ve already told you about one book on this list, because as previously discussed last Week’s BotW was somewhat cheaty. But I’m not beating myself up because last week I also did quite a good job of reading some of the books from this month’s NetGalley list and we all know that I’m traditionally not great at that. However I have not a clue what I’m going to pick tomorrow because two of the books could be a BotW or feature in my summer reading list (still coming very soon I promise). It’s going to be one of those weeks where I just start writing and see what happens isn’t it?

Read:

Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe

The Guncle by Steven Rowley

Death and Croissants by Ian Moore*

Meet the Georgians by Robert Peal*

The Idea of You by Robinne Lee*

Skincare by Caroline Hirons

The Snake, the Crocodile and the Dog by Elizabeth Peters

Rosaline Palmer Takes The Cake by Alexis Hall

Started:

The Lock in by Phoebe Luckhurst*

Still reading:

A Pho Love Story by Loan Le*

The Camelot Caper by Elizabeth Peters

Bonus photo: so this last week in the England was very much dominated by football. And for about 65 minutes on Sunday night it looked like football might be “coming home”. But as ever, it all went to penalties and ended in tears. But this week’s photo is a picture of Wembley stadium that I took from my speeding train on my way home from work on Friday night when there was still the hope that England mighty win a major tournament for the first time in 55 years. Only 18 months until the World Cup I guess…

Wembley stadium, as seen in the distance from a train...

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

Authors I love, books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: June 28 – July 4

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Such mixed week of reading last week – three of the titles on this list are audiobook relistens (The Wimsey, Alleyn and Amelia Peabody) but I also got a long way through the Patrick Radden Keefe, which is a really, really fascinating read, and if I finish it today may be the Book of the Week tomorrow (I’m only about 30 page out from the end, but I had to go to sleep last night before I could finish!). Obviously in the real world, it was a stunning week for English football – who knows what the situation will be by this time next week. I can dare to dream.  Coming up on Wednesday is the Mini Reviews for last month, and if you missed it the stats are already up.

Read:

Mrs England by Stacey Halls*

Happy Endings by Thien-Kim Lam

Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy L Sayers

Shirley Flight, Air Hostess and the Diamond Smugglers by Judith Dale

The Nursing Home Murder by Ngaio Marsh

The Last Camel Died at Noon by Elizabeth Peters

Blueberry Muffin Murder by Joanne Fluke

Started:

Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe

The Camelot Caper by Elizabeth Peters

Death and Croissants by Ian Moore

Still reading:

Rosaline Palmer Takes The Cake by Alexis Hall

A Pho Love Story by Loan Le*

A couple of ebooks and a cookbook. Very restrained!

Bonus photo: I mean this is the furthest from home that I ventured last week. I was going to say that I would have a more exciting photo for next week – but actually the exciting thing that I was due to be doing has now been cancelled, so may be I won’t!

the park - 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

Authors I love, books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: June 21 – June 27

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Well well well. June is nearly over, it’s proper summer and we’ve had the longest day etc. My week was marked by sunshine, rain, wind and some very muggy weather. My reading was an eclectic mix of historical fiction, cozy crime, women’s fiction, boarding schools in various guises and some non fiction to boot. Quite a lot of fun to be honest and lots that I want to write about. Expect to hear more etc!

Read:

This is not a F**king Romance by Evie Snow

Yours Cheerfully by A J Pearce*

The Stepsisters by Susan Mallery*

Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P Manansala

The Last Party by Anthony Haden-Guest

Fence Vol 4 by C S Pacat and Johanna the Mad

Tommy Cabot was Here by Cat Sebastian

Started:

A Pho Love Story by Loan Le*

Still reading:

Mrs England by Stacey Halls*

Rosaline Palmer Takes The Cake by Alexis Hall

I may have added another Shirley Flight to my collection, as well as a couple of ebooks and a crime preorder or two. Positively restrained – but I haven’t been into a bookshop since the reopening so it can only be a matter of time.

Bonus photo: I could have posted another picture of the park to mark the 10 k I slogged around it on Sunday, but you’ve seen a lot of the park over the last year because it’s the only outings I’ve had. So instead have some of my cooking. This is the oven paella from The Roasting Tin Around the World.

Casserole full of paella

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

Authors I love, books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: June 14 – June 20

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Massively busy week and then at the weekend we Went Somewhere and Did Something, and rather than reading books I was drinking wine and catching up with people. What I’m going to write about tomorrow, I do not know.

Read:

A Theatre for Dreamers by Polly Samson

The Game by Laurie R King

The Meet Cute Club by Jack Harbon

Still Knife Painting by Cheryl Hollon

The Larks of Jubilee Flats by Marjorie A Sindall

A Few Right Thinking Men by Sulari Gentill

Started:

The Last Party by Anthony Haden-Guest

Rosaline Palmer Takes The Cake by Alexis Hall

This is not a F**king Romance by Evie Snow

Still reading:

Mrs England by Stacey Halls*

Yours Cheerfully by A J Pearce*

Bonus photo: Slightly cheating because this is from late last week, but as we had a scorcher for most of the week (and then a muggy weekend) here’s a rare (for the blog) sighting of me in my garden hammock enjoying some sunshine.

Me in a hammock

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

American imports, Book of the Week, romance, romantic comedy

Book of the Week: Second First Impressions

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After yesterday’s little essay at the start of my Week in Books I feel a little bit like I’ve already talked way too much this week. But I’ve got plans in my head for a summer reading post and a couple of last weeks books are likely to feature in that. So this weeks BotW is a fun and frothy romance, perfect for reading any time of year, not just in a sunny garden in summer.

Ruthie has been working at Providence Retirement Villas for six years. That’s her whole adult life – and she’s turned the job into her entire life. She’s shrunk her world so that it revolves around the residents (human and turtles) and maintaining the place. She is nervous, risk averse, acts way older than her age and her latest fear is what the property developer who has just bought the site might do to up end her life. It turns out that the first thing he’s going to do is land Providence with his son. Teddy has run out of places to stay and needs to raise money for his share of the tattoo parlour he wants to open. He’s tall, dark and handsome – and dangerous for Ruthie’s self control. So she sets him up with the one job no one has ever lasted at: personal assistant to two rich, 90 year old trouble making ladies – who get most of their enjoyment from setting their assistants fiendish tasks. But Teddy looks set to be the one who stays the course – but is his charm for real or is is all just an act?

That’s quite a long plot summary and makes this sound way more complicated than it is. It’s a charming opposites attract romance with a sweet but wary heroine and a charming people pleaser hero who have to do a lot of figuring out about what they both want in life. The retirement village provides an excellent cast of supporting characters to make you laugh as you watch Ruthie and Teddy do some cautious getting to know each other. It does suffer a little bit from the end wrapping up too quickly (oh a common theme returns to my reviews) but I sort of forgive it because it was just so charming for the rest of the book. I’ve been hearing good things about Sally Thorne for a while, but this is the first time I’ve managed to get around to reading one of her books – even though I think I may own the Hating Game. I am annoyed that it’s taken me so long. But again: what is new there. In summary: charming escapist reading.

My copy of Second First Impressions came from the library but it’s out now on Kindle and Kobo and in (very expensive) hardback. No paperback (in the UK at least) until next year.

Happy Reading!

Authors I love, books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: June 7 – June 13

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It’s strange how my reading can sometimes fall into patterns – and not just library books coming due and NetGalley release dates (when I’m paying attention to them properly). This week is probably one of the best examples of that I have recently had. Firstly, I’m going through a huge audiobook phase – rather than listening to my regular diet of podcasts. And not just any audiobooks, audio books of old favourites. So this week on the list you can see that I finished a new (to me) audiobook of Have His Carcase – one of my favourite Wimseys, but that I’ve previously only had on audio as a radio play. I’ve also been listening to Heyer’s Devil’s Cub in a new version (still not right, but better now than the previous one) and Venetia (again). We’ve finished another in the Amelia Peabody re-listen. But there are more patterns than just that. Frieda and Theatre for dreamers both deal with writers (and artists) and their muses. I’ve been taking my time over The Game because I needed to finish Alexandria which also deals with British machinations in Afghanistan and India (although a century apart). There is fodder for posts here, if only I can find third (or fourth) books to continue the themes. The question is, do I want to?

Read:

Have His Carcase by Dorothy L Sayers

Sunrise by the Sea by Jenny Colgan*

Tiny House, Big Love by Olivia Dade

The Summer Seekeers by Sarah Morgan*

Frieda by Annabel Abbs

Deeds of the Disturber by Elizabeth Peters

Second First Impressions by Sally Thorne

Alexandria by Edmund Richardson*

Started:

A Few Right Thinking Men by Sulari Gentill

Yours Cheerfully by A J Pearce*

Still reading:

A Theatre for Dreamers by Polly Samson

The Game by Laurie R King

Mrs England by Stacey Halls*

A couple of books bought, but all bargains. Honest!

Bonus photo: British summer time in the park on Saturday evening. Blue skies, mid 20s, not too awfully humid.

A sunny park in the evening

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

Authors I love, books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: May 31 – June 6

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Well blimey Love in the Blitz is long. And it took a lot of my reading time up this week because I was determined to finish it! Some really good stuff on this week’s list though – it’s going to be hard to chose what to write about tomorrow!

Read:

Desire and the Deep Blue Sea by Olivia Dade

Feast by Margaret Kennedy*

Death of a Ghost by Margery Allingham

Deadly Decor by Karen Rose Smith

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid*

Love in the Blitz by Eileen Alexander*

Creativity by John Cleese

Started:

Mrs England by Stacey Halls*

Sunrise by the Sea by Jenny Colgan*

Still reading:

Frieda by Annabel Abbs

A Theatre for Dreamers by Polly Samson

Alexandria by Edmund Richardson*

The Game by Laurie R King

I had to buy some books as gifts this week, so of course I bought myself one as well, because it would be rude not to, wouldn’t it? And apart from that I don’t think there were any more purchases, but I haven’t exactly investigated too closely!

Bonus photo: summer time in the UK. A couple of sunny hours earlier this week, where everything looked beautiful.

A small river and its surroundings, looking very green and pretty in the sunshine.

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

Authors I love, books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: May 24 – May 30

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A varied week in reading last week – partly because of my quest to finish some stuff off before the end of the month, but also because I wasn’t very well for part of last week so the reading list reflects the sort of thing that my brain could cope with. But more generally, I’m realising that my brain is still not in a place for books where I don’t know that there is going to be a positive resolution at the end. I will expand more on this tomorrow – I promise! It’s also the end of the month today, so there’s plenty coming up this week: as well as the Book of the Week tomorrow, there will be the Mini Reviews and the Stats. A veritable bonanza.

Read:

His Bride for the Taking by Tessa Dare

The Marriage of Mary Russell by Laurie R King

Literary Landscapes edited by John Sutherland

Justice Hall by Laurie R King

Black Sheep by Georgette Heyer

Twice in a Blue Moon by Christina Lauren

The Lion in the Valley by Elizabeth Peters

The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins

Circus of Wonders by Elizabeth MacNeal*

Started:

Alexandria by Edmund Richardson*

The Game by Laurie R King

Deadly Decor by Karen Rose Smith

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid*

Still reading:

Frieda by Annabel Abbs

Love in the Blitz by Eileen Alexander*

A Theatre for Dreamers by Polly Samson

I’m still not counting, but I can confirm I did but a fair few books this week. It seemed like a bunch of books that appealed to me we’re on offer *and* I had got behind on my preordering. It was a real hardship… not!

Bonus photo: it’s peony season! And this is my vase full. Love them so much. So beautiful and they made me happy this week.

A vase full of Peonies in various shades of pink

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

Authors I love, books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: May 17 – May 23

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Every week is a busy week at the moment it seems, but even amidst all the busy and the stress, reading is a constant for me. Yes, this week is mostly old favourite authors who I’ve told you about before. No I don’t feel guilty about that – although I do feel guilty that I’m making slower progress than I’d hoped down the NetGalley list, but sometimes when you’re tired and stressed, you just want to pick up something that you know will make you happy and not have to concentrate too hard on something new.

Read:

The Reluctant Widow by Georgette Heyer

O Jerusalem by Laurie R King

Wrapped by Rebekah Weatherspoon

Wilde Child by Eloisa James

Lumberjanes Vol 18 by Shannon Watters et al

Elizabeth and Monty by Charles Castillo*

Her Big City Neighbour by Jackie Lau

Started:

Justice Hall by Laurie R King

A Theatre for Dreamers by Polly Samson

Still reading:

Circus of Wonders by Elizabeth MacNeal*

Frieda by Annabel Abbs

Love in the Blitz by Eileen Alexander*

Bonus photo: It has unlocked even more here now – and so I had my first evening out with friends this year last week, for the second semi final of Eurovision. There was prosecco, there was schnitzel, there were some terrible songs and some even worse performances and I loved every minute. Thus, it is this week’s bonus photo.

A glass of prosecco in front of a large screen showing Eurovision Semi final 2

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

Book of the Week, LGTBQIA+, non-fiction

Book of the Week: Fabulosa!

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A few options under serious consideration from last week, but in the end I settled on Paul Baker’s Fabulosa! because it was really, really good and I’m not sure it will have come onto people’s radar. So this week’s BotW could be seen as the latest in a line that has already included Legendary Children and Diary of a Drag Queen – and also Art of Drag – which you can actually see in the background of my photo below.

In case you don’t already know, Polari is a language that was used mostly by gay men in the first half of the twentieth century. It had a brief moment in the limelight in the mid 1960s when it featured in Julian and Sandy sketches on the radio show Round the Horne, and then dropped away again. In Fabulosa! Paul Baker examines the language’s roots – in Cant, dancers’ slang and Lingua Franca – the reasons why it was spoken and the reasons for its decline. Baker is a linguistics professor and the foundations for the book are from of his PHD research – and interviews conducted with surviving speakers of Polari.

This is part linguistic study, part social history and really very enjoyable. There are a fair few word which crossed over into common usage from Polari – as well as the origins of a few of the words you may have encountered in Drag Race. One of the main roles for Polari was a means of communicating with a level of camouflage – but it’s hard to work out at this distance how successful that was. Baker is very frank that it was hard to find people who spoke it to interview, and there is very littl documentation about it and so it’s hard to work out how Polari was actually used – and whether it ever reached the level of a language rather than a variety, and whether people who didn’t speak Polari would have recognised it as something spoken by the gay community and been able to expose this and thus defeat the object.

IF you’re interested in language or social history – or both, this is well worth a look to discover a hidden part of the recent past. I bought my copy from Foyles – where the hardback is now out of stock but they do have the paperback, but it’s also available on Kindle and Kobo. You’ll probably need a reasonably large or specialist bookshop to be able to wander in and pick up a copy.

Happy reading!

And one last bonus – here are Kenneth Williams and Hugh Paddick reviving Julian and Sandy – on camera for a BBC programme in the late 1980s, shortly before Paddick’s death. Both this and the clip above are discussed in the book.