Tag: books

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: April 8 – April 14

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Another busy week at work and another goodly pile of books read.  And I didn’t do too badly at working my  way down that ongoing reading pile.  I’m not at work this week, so my aim is to do soe more work on the NetGalley backlog as well as on the actual TBR pile.  Wish me luck.

Read:

An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole

He’s So Fine by Jill Shalvis

On the Road and off the Record with Leonard Bernstein by Charlie Harmon

The Binding by Bridget Collins

One in a Million by Jill Shalvis

Forbidden by Beverly Jenkins

Twelfth Night: Mary McCartney by Mary McCartney

The High Tide Club by Mary Kay Andrews

A Hope Divided by Alyssa Cole

Started:

Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams

Trainwreck by Sady Doyle

Still reading:

The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe

The Austen Playbook by Lucy Parker

Lies, Damned Lies and History by Jodi Taylor

Two books bought:  the gorgeous Mary McCartney – which is very much a coffee table book, but as I read every word of it, it counts – and the new Cat Sebastian ebook.

Bonus picture: the theatre before Sir Ian McKellen’s one man birthday show on Sunday night!

Theatre programme with picture of Sir Ian McKellen with a stage in the background

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: April 1 – April 7

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Not a bad week’s reading, considering it was a really busy week for various reasons.  But the Still Reading list is starting to look a little out of control, so I’m going to try and tackle that this week.  We’ll see how that goes!

Read:

Just One of the Guys by Kristen Higgins

Operation Atonement by Talia Hibbert

The Confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara Collins

Not Quite Over You by Susan Mallery

It’s In His Kiss by Jill Shalvis

Takeover by Anna Zabo

The Return of Mr Campion by Margery Allingham

Started:

He’s So Fine by Jill Shalvis

The Austen Playbook by Lucy Parker

Lies, Damned Lies and History by Jodi Taylor

Still reading:

The Binding by Bridget Collins

On the Road and off the Record with Leonard Bernstein by Charlie Harmon

The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe

An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole

Forbidden by Beverly Jenkins

No books bought!  Hurrah!

Bonus picture: Misty London on Monday morning. NB: for Maisie Dobbs fans, the square I’m about to walk into is Fitzroy Square where Maisie has her office!

View of the BT tower and Fitzroy Square

American imports, Book of the Week

Book of the Week: Bring on the Blessings

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I really enjoyed my reading last week – writing the Diverse Romance post sent me off down a rabbit hole of library loans and kindle bargains and mailing list freebies and they all really lifted my mood.  So it’s fitting that one of the authors I mentioned in that is my pick this week for BotW.

Cover of Bring on the Blessings

Bring on the Blessings is the first in Beverly Jenkins’ Blessings series.  It tells the story of Bernadine Brown who, when she  catches her husband cheating on her on her fifty-second birthday, takes him for half of his (vast) fortune and uses it to buy a struggling town on ebay with a view to turning it to give foster kids a second chance at life.  This story introduces you to Bernadine, the historic black township of Henry Adams, Kansas, and its residents.  Bernadine is trying to pay back her blessing from God (the cash from her divorce settlement) by doing some good and paying it forward and giving back is the main theme of a lot of the storylines.    As well as Bernadine, there are five foster children from across the country and the families that are going to look after them, as well as various other town residents.

First thing to say: This is not a romance.  It has romantic elements, but there is no Happily Ever After for anyone at the end of Bring on the Blessings. What it does have is the set up and first phase of an overarching plot for the series and some incremental progress into resolutions for each of the story threads. I’ve struggled a little bit to figure out exactly which genre it fits in to to be honest, but Goodreads lists its as Romance, Fiction and Christian Fiction and Amazon lists it as Small Town and Rural Fiction, African American Fiction and African American Romance, all of which gives you a bit of a flavour of what is going on.

I absolutely raced through this. The characters are engaging, the plot has enough peril to keep you reading but without being stressful. And I think possibly the cleverest thing about this is the way it weaves all its messages together in a way that doesn’t become overpoweringly About The Message.  It may be more overtly religious than most of my reading, but it’s not saccharine or too preachy.  It’s also got a wry sense of humour tucked in there as well. I mentioned in my post last week that Miss Bev is a giant of the romance genre and this totally shows why. Addictive reading that suits the romance reader in me, but which isn’t wholly romance.  It’s sort of like a whole load of the subplots from a romance novel bundled themselves together into a book.  And that’s a good thing. I went straight on from book one to book two (thank you library) which says a lot about how much I was enjoying life in Henry Adams – and how keen I was to find out what would happen next – and I would have gone on to book three, but then I got distracted…

I borrowed my copy of Bring on the Blessings from the library, but it is available on Kindle, Kobo and in paperback in the UK – although I suspect the latter may be a special order job.

Happy Reading!

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: March 25 – March 31

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It’s been a bit of a week.  First of all I was away for three nights for work – and used each evening to go out and do something, which ate into my reading time.  In fact I was out four evenings – I finally saw The Favourite on Monday, then Taylor Jenkins Reid talking about Daisy Jones and the Six followed by the hilarious A Night at the Musicals with Le Gateau Chocolate and Jonny Woo on Tuesday, Emilia the play on Wednesday and Follies (again) on Thursday.  And then we had dinner guests on Friday.  That’s like a month’s worth of social life in a week for me!  But I’ve been quite productive on the post front – if you missed it, there’s my Quarter 1 favourites post from yesterday and my Romance Recommendations from Wednesday (which I think you can tell have been influencing my reading this week!).

Read:

I’ll Catch You by Farah Rochon

FIT by Rebekah Weatherspoon

Bring on the Blessings by Beverly Jenkins

A Second Helping by Beverly Jenkins

Come to Dust by Derek Farrell

Always with You by Talia Hibbert

Rafe by Rebekah Weatherspoon

Started:

An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole

Forbidden by Beverly Jenkins

Just One of the Guys by Kristen Higgins

The Confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara Collins

Operation Atonement by Talia Hibbert

Still reading:

The Binding by Bridget Collins

On the Road and off the Record with Leonard Bernstein by Charlie Harmon

The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe

Five ebooks bought or pre-ordered…

Bonus picture: Taylor Jenkins Reid chatting on Tuesday

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: March 19 – March 24

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Started the week in Portugal and ended it by working all weekend, so this week’s list has some plane reading, some commuter reading and some days off work and taking advantage reading!

Read:

From the Corner of the Oval by Beck Dorey Stein

The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin

Why Not Tonight by Susan Mallery

The Road to Grantchester by James Runcie

First Comes Marriage by Huda Al-Marashi

Eve’s Hollywood by Eve Babitz

It Happened One Christmas by Susan Mallery

Can’t Escape Love by Alyssa Cole

Mrs Martin’s Incomparable Adventure by Courtney Milan

Started:

The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe

Still reading:

The Binding by Bridget Collins

On the Road and off the Record with Leonard Bernstein by Charlie Harmon

No books bought 🙂

Bonus picture: Creepy statue from a Portuguese monastery.  If i have to have nightmares, so do you:

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: March 11 – March 18

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Two nights away from home for work (including a trip to the theatres) and then a holiday to see friends at the weekend. Sorry, not sorry.

Read:

Who Killed Marilyn Monroe by Liz Evans

Swan Song by Kelleigh Greenberg-Jephcott

Black Panther: Soul of a Machine by Fabian Nicieza

The Vacationers by Emma Straub

Clammed Up by Barbara Ross

Started:

The Road to Grantchester by James Runcorn

Still reading:

The Binding by Bridget Collins

On the Road and off the Record with Leonard Bernstein by Charlie Harmon

From the Corner of the Oval by Beck Dorey Stein

One book bought, several more acquired from my friend…

Bonus picture: Portugal on Saturday:

 

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: March 4 – March 10

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I had two late shifts (slow trains home!) and three days off in a row last week – and look what it did to my reading list!  And yes, I’m still on that Susan Mallery jag…

Read:

Just One Kiss by Susan Mallery

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead

My Oxford Year by Julia Whelan

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

Two of a Kind by Susan Mallery

Three Little Words by Susan Mallery

Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Started:

Who Killed Marilyn Monroe by Liz Evans

Still reading:

The Binding by Bridget Collins

On the Road and off the Record with Leonard Bernstein by Charlie Harmon

Bonus picture: the stage at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket last night while I was waiting for Patti LuPone to be in conversation!

theatre ticket and stage in the background

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: February 18 – February 24

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Ok, so I’ll admit there’s a bit of a theme here. But I have a couple of Susan Mallery omnibuses and it’s so easy just to read straight on to the next one. Also I was on late shifts and worked the weekend and they were just what my tired brain needed this week.

Read:

Only His by Susan Mallery

Dear Santa by Nancy Naigle

Only Us by Susan Mallery

Diary of a Drag Queen by Crystal Rasmussen

Rivers of London: Action at a Distance 4 by Ben Aaronovich et al

Almost Summer by Susan Mallery

Summer Days by Susan Mallery

Started:

The Omega Objection by Gail Carriger

Summer Nights by Susan Mallery

Read and Gone by Allison Brook

Still reading:

A Well-Behaved Woman by Theresa Anne Fowler

The Binding by Bridget Collins

Is Everybody Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling

One ebook bought on a kindle daily deal but other than that, nada.

Bonus picture: The Gielgud Theatre on Thursday as I left after the Company matinee, before I headed to the National Theatre for Follies that evening. Double Sondheim. Lovely.

 

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: February 11 – February 17

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 A really busy real life week, but still a lot of reading done. Regulars here may spot an old friend popping up in the read list – I’ve been really lucky and got an early copy of which more anon!

Read:

Mistletoe Murder by Leslie Meier

Mrs, Presumed Dead by Simon Brett

Well-Read Black Girl ed. Glory Edim

Once Upon A Bride by Jenny Holiday

Star Island by Carl Hiaasen

The Mapping of Love and Death by Jacqueline Winspear

Death of an Angel by Derek Farrell

Started:

Diary of a Drag Queen by Crystal Rasmussen

Is Everybody Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling

Still reading:

A Well-Behaved Woman by Theresa Anne Fowler

The Binding by Bridget Collins

Only His by Susan Mallery

Two books bought, one from the wish list and one from the secondhand bookstore at Basildon Park – how could I resist?!

Bonus picture: the front of Basildon Park, aka Netherfield Park in the 2005 Pride and Prejudice, but which would also make a great setting for a 1920s house party murder mystery!

Stately home in the Palladian style, built 1790

 

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: February 4 – February 10

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A really busy week – lots of work and I saw two shows – one of which was Laura Linney being absolutely amazing in My Name is Lucy Barton at the Bridge Theatre. If you’re in London, try and see this if you can – it is the very definition of a virtuoso performance.  I finished the Trisha Ashley re-release I mentioned on Wednesday and hold on to your hats, I started another Simon Brett series.  And we know how that ended.

Read:

Finding Perfect by Susan Mallery

The Other Miss Bridgerton by Julia Quinn

The Skylark’s War by Hilary McKay

Written from the Heart by Trisha Ashley

Only Mine by Susan Mallery

Only Yours by Susan Mallery

A Nice Class of Corpse by Simon Brett

Started:

Well-Read Black Girl ed. Glory Edim

Only His by Susan Mallery

Still reading:

A Well-Behaved Woman by Theresa Anne Fowler

The Binding by Bridget Collins

One book bought (bonus picture below) and one preorder arrived!