books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: June 12 – June 18

We’ve been living through a heatwave this last week – which may or may not have been the entirety of this year’s summer! Still 25 plus degrees at night is hard to sleep in, and Ive been really feeling it. But there’s been some good reading in there – I’m really enjoying the new audiobook versions of Terry Pratchett and some of the summer’s new romances continue to be delightful. All in all, a good week if humid!

Read:

Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood

Feet of Clay by Terry Pratchett

Winter’s Gifts by Ben Aaronvitch

Death of Jezebel by Christianna Brand

Busman’s Honeymoon by Dorothy L Sayers

Mrs Nash’s Ashes by Sarah Adler

A Crime of Poison by Nancy Haddock

Started:

Single Dad’s Club by Therese Beharrie

Piece of Cake by Mary Hollis Huddleston and Asher Fogle Paul*

Still reading:

The Dress Diary of Mrs Anne Sykes by Kate Strasdin*

The Empire by Michael Ball*

Travellers in the Third Reich by Julia Boyd

One book in Foyles and three in the National Trust secondhand bookshop!

Bonus photo: an English country garden on Saturday.

*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

Series Redux: Rivers of London

This is a week late, but I’m blaming it on the fact that my preordered copy didn’t get delivered on time (don’t get me started), but the latest Rivers of London novella is out so this seems like a good time to point you at my series I love post about everyone’s favourite police wizard, Peter Grant. Except that the new novella is actually not a Peter PoV story – it’s Agent Reynolds and I’m very excited to read it. I’m planning on it being my treat this weekend…

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: May 8 – May 14

Well as expected, Eurovision week put a dent in my reading time. But I regret nothing. I also went to Tony! The Rock Opera on one of the non-Eurovision nights, which was fun, but also no reading time! Will normal service be resumed this week? We will see.

Read:

Death at the Dolphin by Ngaio Marsh

Prime Cut by Diane Mott Davidson

Famous for a Living by Melissa Ferguson*

Have His Carcase by Dorothy L Sayers

To Love and Be Wise by Josephine Tey

Started:

Proper English by K J Charles

Sticks and Stones by Diane Mott Davidson

Still reading:

Wild Dances by William Lee Adams**

The Dress Diary of Mrs Anne Sykes by Kate Strasdin*

The Empire by Michael Ball*

Travellers in the Third Reich by Julia Boyd

Reach for the Stars by Michael Cragg

Five books bought – including ebooks but also a preorder or two – and a couple of preorders arrived as well.

Bonus photo: it’s wisteria season again!

*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: May 1 – May 7

It’s bank holiday Monday – again! I’ve had a fun week of reading – I’m nearing the end of the Alleyn re-listen (or at least as far as I’m prepared to go!) and I’m rationing myself with the Wimseys. It’s Eurovision week so Ive started reading a Eurovision-related memoir written by someone I know and I’ve made some progress on the long runners. I’m away a couple of nights this week so we’ll see what that means – also Eurovision does tend to interfere with reading time…

Read:

Dead Water by Ngaio Marsh

Falling Hard for the Royal Guard by Megan Clawson*

Absence of Mallets by Kate Carlisle

Five Red Herrings by Dorothy L Sayers

Shadows of London by Andrew Taylor*

Grave Expectations by Alice Bell*

Strange Bedpersons by Jennifer Crusie

The Mountbattens by Andrew Lownie

Started:

Wild Dances by William Lee Adams**

Prime Cut by Diane Mott Davidson

Still reading:

The Dress Diary of Mrs Anne Sykes by Kate Strasdin*

The Empire by Michael Ball*

Travellers in the Third Reich by Julia Boyd

Reach for the Stars by Michael Cragg

One ebook bought. A minor miracle.

Bonus photo: spring is sprung so have something pretty from the church car 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, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: April 24 – April 30

It’s the first of May so Happy Bank Holiday Monday if you’re in the UK. We have three this month because it’s the Coronation next weekend. I’m hoping this all means some extra reading time for me but who knows what will actually happen. Anyway, all the usual end of month stuff coming up this week after a productive week of reading at the end of April – even if the long running list is still long!

Read:

False Scent by Ngaio Marsh

The Frangipani Tree Mystery by Ovidia Yu

Mother of the Bride Murder by Leslie Meier*

Hand in Glove by Ngaio Marsh

Paper Cuts by Ellery Adams*

Beach Read by Emily Henry

Games and Rituals by Katherine Heiny

Murder of a Lady by Anthony Wynne

Started:

Falling Hard for the Royal Guard by Megan Clawson*

Absence of Mallets by Kate Carlisle

Still reading:

The Dress Diary of Mrs Anne Sykes by Kate Strasdin*

Shadows of London by Andrew Taylor*

The Empire by Michael Ball*

Travellers in the Third Reich by Julia Boyd

Reach for the Stars by Michael Cragg

Two books bought. Oops daisy.

Bonus photo: my second rugby match in less than a month! This time watching the Saints beat Leicester (whilst following the women’s six nations on the phone)

*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 17 – April 23

It’s starting to feel very spring-like. Of course now I’ve said that the weather will probably teach me a lesson, but this week I’ve been wandering around at times without a coat and thinking about getting some of the more summery outfits out. In book terms, I was away for a couple of nights last week so haven’t managed to read much more of the Michael Cragg, so the ongoing list has grown again, but apart from that it was a good week of reading.

Read:

Singing in the Shrouds by Ngaio Marsh

The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy L Sayers

Killer Pancake by Diane Mott Davidson

The Hollow Crown by Dan Jones

Strong Poison by Dorothy L Sayers

The Cheat Sheet by Sarah Adams

Premeditated Mortar by Kate Carlisle

Happy Place by Emily Henry

Started:

Games and Rituals by Katherine Heiny

The Frangipani Tree Mystery by Ovidia Yu

Still reading:

The Dress Diary of Mrs Anne Sykes by Kate Strasdin*

Shadows of London by Andrew Taylor*

The Empire by Michael Ball*

Travellers in the Third Reich by Julia Boyd

Reach for the Stars by Michael Cragg

One new arrival – but it was a gift not a purchase and it was also the reason I managed to resist in Daunt – I needed the space for it in my suitcase! But that was it last week. Go me.

Bonus photo: a lamb frolicking. I said it was starting to feel like spring!

*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 10 – April 16

Well. Two nights away from home off the back of a bank holiday Monday, and today’s list is long, but doesn’t feature any of the long runners, which is a it of a fail. However I am relatively up to date with this month’s NetGalley releases, so that should count for something right? It does mean I’m in a bit of a pickle about what I write about tomorrow, because there is a clear front runner but, well, you’ll see tomorrow. Apologies in advance…

Read:

Shot Through the Hearth by Kate Carlisle

If Only You by Chloe Liese*

Off With His Head by Ngaio Marsh

Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson*

Delilah Green Doesn’t Care by Ashley Herring Blake

Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail by Ashley Herring Blake

A Thief in the Night by K J Charles

This Bird Has Flown by Susanna Hoffs

Started:

Reach for the Stars by Michael Cragg

Killer Pancake by Diane Mott Davidson

Still reading:

The Dress Diary of Mrs Anne Sykes by Kate Strasdin*

Shadows of London by Andrew Taylor*

The Empire by Michael Ball*

Travellers in the Third Reich by Julia Boyd

Well you’ve seen three purchases in Books Incoming and there was also one kindle – Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail. I guess it could have been worse?!

Bonus photo: at the Reach for the Stars book event on Thursday night. Very exciting times.

*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 3 – April 9

I hope you all had a good Easter Sunday if you celebrate – and if you don’t I hope you at least got a bank holiday out of it. We’ve had a lovely long weekend so far and it’s a bank holiday here today, so who knows what I might manage to finish this week coming – after all I got another book off the long runners list this week so that’s progress. I’m also having a good go at getting through the April NetGalley releases I have – I hesitate to even write that down, but I’m trying!

Read:

Scales of Justice by Ngaio Marsh

The White Lady by Jacqueline Winspear*

Unnatural Death by Dorothy L Sayers

Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld*

The Final Revival of Opal and Nev by Dawnie Walton*

Bookman, Dead Style by Paige Shelton

The Vanderbeekers Make a Wish by Karina Yan Glaser

Started:

If Only You by Chloe Liese*

Shot Through the Hearth by Kate Carlisle

Still reading:

The Dress Diary of Mrs Anne Sykes by Kate Strasdin*

Shadows of London by Andrew Taylor*

The Empire by Michael Ball*

Travellers in the Third Reich by Julia Boyd

Well I went into two bookshops on our trip to London on Saturday looking for a specific book with no luck. I’ve now got it reserved at Waterstones Gower Street – but as I haven’t paid for it yet that doesn’t count right? So it’s just one preorder. Check me.

Bonus photo: Easter Sunday afternoon in the countryside with the little dog after a lovely family meal. Exactly how I like a religious holiday.

*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 27 – April 2

Oh my goodness. I’m making progress on the long runners! Two finished and more progress on the others. I will get there. I will. Anyway we’ve reached the end of the first quarter of the year – and as you can see from the stats I’m on track with the bookshelf challenge, even if the books come from the pile in front of the shelf! And considering how busy last week was, it’s a good list really. Go me. I’ve reached the point in the Alleyn’s where I’m past my favourites and I don’t already own the audiobooks so to conserve my credits I’ve started to re listen to Peter Wimsey as well as given myself permission to skip any Alleyns that I fancy – like the weird one with the kidnapping and the smugglers. Even if it does have some Troy in it. But I make the rules so I can break them too!

Read:

The Roughest Draft by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka

Whose Body by Dorothy L Sayers

The Plantagenets by Dan Jones

Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead

Rogues by Patrick Radden Keefe

Clouds of Witness by Dorothy L Sayers

A Wrench in the Works by Kate Carlisle

A Very Merry Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams

Started:

Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld*

Still reading:

The Dress Diary of Mrs Anne Sykes by Kate Strasdin*

Shadows of London by Andrew Taylor*

The Empire by Michael Ball*

Travellers in the Third Reich by Julia Boyd

The Final Revival of Opal and Nev by Dawnie Walton*

Two books bought – one is the new Lady Sherlock which I’ve finally been able to order in paperback and the other was another book by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka because, well that’s the way I roll isn’t it…

Bonus photo: after Tuesday night at Darren Hayes, it was Sunday afternoon at the Rugby – for England’s win over Italy in the women’s Six Nations.

*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

Book of the Week: Funny You Should Ask

It’s only a few weeks since I recommended Nora Goes Off Script, but I’m back with another romance that features a movie start – and I don’t care because it is so, so good. This is the book I was talking about yesterday when I talked about trying to cure a book hangover!

Ok, this plot is a little complicated – because the narrative is split between now and then. The then is the start of Chani Horowitz’s career. She’s graduated from her writing course, but instead of writing novels like her fiancé, she’s writing magazine articles. Then she’s asked to write a profile piece of Hollywood heartthrob Gabe Parker. He is her celebrity crush – and he’s just been cast as James Bond. The weekend she spends with him for the piece changes her life – it launches her career and also sets the tabloids buzzing. The now is ten years on. Chani is asked to revisit the subject of her most famous piece to do a second interview. After a decade being asked about that profile, and fresh from a divorce, Chani knows she should say no. But she has never forgotten that weekend – and it could be a chance to finally turn the page.

I loved this so much. So, so much. It’s got a long slow pine and so much yearning. And two people trying to figure out what is going on between them. There is a lot of drinking in the before part of the story – and the Gabe of the now section is fresh from rehab and newly sober. And unlike one of the books I read after this last week as I tried to get over my book hangover, you get to see that Gabe has grown and changed and is a different (and better) version of himself. And Chani is a great heroine. She’s smart and clever and fed up of her career being defined by one piece when she wants to do different things.

I bought this in my haul from Foyles earlier in the year – you can see it in the February Books Incoming – I started reading it in the shop and knew it was going to be good, which is why I’ve read it so soon (for me!). I finished it and immediately ordered Elissa Sussman’s next book which comes out later the year.

You should be able to get hold of this fairly easily – I’ve seen it all over the place since I bought it, and it’s in kindle and Kobo too. The only thing I couldn’t find was the audiobook on Audible but there does seem to be one on Goodreads so it may yet turn up.

Happy Reading!