Tag: reading

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: September 1 – September 7

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I’m not actually sure what happened this week. To the reading list I mean. I know what I was doing, and I don’t think I had substantively less reading time than any other week, and I definitely wasn’t out in the evenings in the way that I sometimes am. But here we are. A shorter than usual list, and one where I have no idea what I’m doing for BotW tomorrow…

Read:

Bell, Book and Scandal by Jill Churchill

Oh Say Can You Fudge by Nancy CoCo

The Sussex Murders by Ian Sansom

A Matter of Pedigree by Leslie Meier*

For The Love by Jen Hatmaker

The Accidental Florist by Jill Churchill

Started:

Footsteps in the Dark by Georgette Heyer

A Fine Line Between Clever and Stupid by Rob Reiner

Still reading:

Ritual of Fire by D V Bishop

Pet Shop Boys, Literally by Chris Heath

Abdication by Juliet Nicolson

Three books bought on my trip to Waterstones Piccadilly, one pre-order arrived and two ebooks.

Bonus picture: this is unacceptable for the first weekend in a September. A plague on you local garden centre!

*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: August 25 – August 31

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I can’t believe it’s September already. I mean the weather last week was pretty autumnal so maybe I can believe it, but anyway, the end of the school holidays is basically here and I will try and find a silver lining in the fact that hopefully it means that Central London will be a little bit quieter soon. Any way a pretty solid week in reading given that there was a bank holiday, I went to a concert and had a night out with a friend.

Read:

Cultish by Amanda Montell

Resort to Murder by T P Fielden

The Truth by Terry Pratchett

A Quarter Past Dead by T P Fielden

The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford

The Sunset Years of Agnes Sharp by Leonie Swann*

The Last Supper by Rosemary Shrager

Started:

Bell, Book and Scandal by Jane Churchill

The Sussex Murders by Ian Sansom

Still reading:

Ritual of Fire by D V Bishop

Pet Shop Boys, Literally by Chris Heath

Abdication by Juliet Nicolson

Three e-books and three actual books, including two in Saucy Books

Bonus picture: Martha Wainwright at Cadogan Hall on Saturday night. It was great.

*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: August 18 – August 24

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I’m in denial that August is nearly over, but the weather feels like it’s starting to change for the cooler, and the very early mornings are getting darker so it must be. Most of my reading time this week was spent on The Mitford Girls – which is 700 pages long and absolutely fascinating. It really does make me want to go off and read about more the various sisters and also the people around them, but I have so much non-fiction on the pile and they do tend to get slightly ignored in favour of fiction that I shall have to try and resist the urge to purchase more! And of the rest of the reading, aside from the Christie and Heyer which were on audio, the other three books were all from the pile, so if it wasn’t for that whole situation at the National Trust bookshops last week, I would be feeling quite good about myself. As it is, the pile is still larger than it was at the start of the month, and is looming at me from the corner of the sitting room and making me feel guilty.

Read:

Appointment with Death by Agatha Christie

Devil’s Cub by Georgette Heyer

The Mitford Girls by Mary S Lovell

The House of the Seven Mabels by Jill Churchill

City of Vengeance by D V Bishop

The Wombles at Work by Elizabeth Beresford

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

Started:

Ritual of Fire by D V Bishop

Cultish by Amanda Montell

Still reading:

Pet Shop Boys, Literally by Chris Heath

Abdication by Juliet Nicolson

One ebook bought, but that’s it. A positive relief after last week.

Bonus picture: an afternoon at the women’s World Cup rugby on Sunday.

*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: A Star is Bored

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Following on from The Celebrants two Tuesdays ago, today I’m writing about A Star is Born, which I discovered is written by Steven Rowley’s husband when I read the thanks for The Celebrants. And as I had on the pile already of course I went on to read that. And so here we are.

Charlie needs a new job and a gig as personal assistant to Kathi Kannon, an iconic Hollywood actress who played a character he had a figurine of as a child. He’s searching for meaning in his life and a way of moving on past his difficult childhood, she needs someone to organise her chaotic life. She’s impulsive and carefree, and everything that Charlie is not. She’s also Hollywood royalty with mental health and addiction issues and an octogenarian mother who was also an actress who lives next door.

Now if this sounds like Carrie Fisher (and her mum Debbie Reynolds) that might be because Bryon Lane worked as Fisher’s assistant for three years and says that that job inspired the novel. Now you can draw your own conclusions about how much of Kathi is Carrie and I can see from the reviews on Goodreads that it’s a polarising one. And if you’ve read any of Fisher’s memoirs that may also colour your opinions.

For me, Kathi’s hedonistic devil may care manic presence was there as a foil to Charlie’s own issues. He’s totally lost and allows the job to consume him and become his identity. It’s all amped up to eleven and Kathi’s antics seem purposefully extreme and exaggerated so that the reader is often thinking “come on Charlie, surely this is the thing that will make you wake up”. The blurb calls it hilarious, but a lot of the humour is too much towards the cringe for me, and I definitely wanted Charlie to pick himself up and grow some self worth well before he did. But by the end I was pleased with the journey that he had gone on and the person that had come out the other side.

Like The Celebrants, this one isn’t on Kindle and is going to be a special order, to the point where it’s not even listed on the Waterstones website. I’m not sure it’s a spend loads of money to get it type buy, but if it should come your way at a reasonable price it’s an interesting read. And I’d happy read another book by Byron Lane if that came my way.

Happy Reading!

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: August 11 – August 17

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A good week – in life and in reading. We’ve wandered Norfolk, I read an entire book while sitting in a field at Sandringham waiting for bands to perform, and I’ve finished another non-fiction book – two now this month. Bravely I’ve started two more, here’s hoping they don’t end up on the long-running list…

Read:

Wigs on the Green by Nancy Mitford

Seams Like Murder by Dorothy Howell

The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie

Grime and Punishment by Jill Churchill

Ask Not by Maureen Callahan

A Star is Bored by Byron Lane

The Stranger’s Companion by Mary Horlock*

Started:

The Mitford Girls by Mary S Lovell

City of Vengeance by D V Bishop

Pet Shop Boys, Literally by Chris Heath

Still reading:

Abdication by Juliet Nicolson

Um. Well yes. I may have lost my head a little in the National Trust bookshops. More on that at the weekend. And an ebook too.

Bonus picture: the library at Blickling Hall. Isn’t it awesome?

*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: August 4 – August 10

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A pretty solid list this week, although slightly more classic crime than I was expecting! But another one off the long-running list so that’s good. And after being nudged in Waterstones the other day, I’ve got started on some of the Kennedy books on the shelf. And we had a nice weekend in Cumbria so I got to wander around one of my favourite bookshops again as well as everything else!

Read:

Heads You Lose by Christianna Brand

About That Kiss by Jill Shalvis

A Schooling in Murder by Andrew Taylor*

The Art of Catching Feelings by Alicia Thompson

Any Trope But You by Victoria Lavine*

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

Sinister Spring by Agatha Christie

Started:

Wigs on the Green by Nancy Mitford

Ask Not by Maureen Callahan

Still reading:

Abdication by Juliet Nicolson

A Star is Bored by Byron Lane

Four ebooks and two actual books.

Bonus picture: butterflies in Cumbria on Sunday

*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: July 28 – August 3

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Well that’s a much better list than last week isn’t it. I mean it’s mostly because I was exhausted and so didn’t try and get any theatre tickets while I was staying in London and stayed in instead. And it was a bit rainy too which doesn’t exactly encourage wandering around. That said, I did wander over to Waterstones Gower Street and yes, I did buy a book and there were some Kindle offers. Ahem. But I can’t be perfect all the time…

Read:

Making Money by Terry Pratchett

Sweet Little Lies by Jill Shalvis

At Bertram’s Hotel by Agatha Christie

Scandalize My Name by Fiona Sinclair

The Ex-Wives Club by Sally Hepworth

A Dark and Twisting Path by Julia Buckley

The Windsors at War by Alexander Larman

The Prodigal Son by Sulari Gentill

The Celebrants by Steven Rowley

Started:

Heads You Lose by Christianna Brand

A Star is Bored by Byron Lane

Still reading:

A Schooling in Murder by Andrew Taylor*

Abdication by Juliet Nicolson

Five ebooks (because there were offers) and one ebook preorder, and then the book from Waterstones…

Bonus picture: 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: July 21 – July 27

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So this week was as busy as advertised, and then some. But here’s the list, I did get a couple of the long runners sorted and I’ve got a few things that are close to being read so it could be worse.

Read:

Six Sweets Under by Sarah Fox

Flipped for Murder by Maddie Day

Grilled for Murder by Maddie Day

A Howl of Wolves by Judith Flanders

Murder in Vienna by E C R Lorac

Finders Keepers by Sarah Adler

Started:

Scandalize My Name by Fiona Sinclair

Sweet Little Lies by Jill Shalvis

Still reading:

A Schooling in Murder by Andrew Taylor*

Abdication by Juliet Nicolson

Nothing else bought, but a bunch of stuff arrived…

Bonus picture: Pouring rain at the National before Nye on Tuesday night.

*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: July 14 – July 20

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I said last week that this week was busy, and it really was. But every week is busy at the moment, so what can you do. This one had a three event weekend and a theatre trip earlier in the week so I’m surprised that the list is as long as it is. I haven’t added anything new to the long-running list, but I haven’t got anything off it either, so mixed work there. I shall endeavour to focus my efforts this week!

Read:

The Spotted Dog by Kerry Greenwood

Not To Be Taken by Anthony Berkeley

Abscond by Abraham Verghese

A Bed of Scorpions by Judith Flanders

A Cast of Vultures by Judith Flanders

Going Postal by Terry Pratchett

Crunch Time by Diane Mott Davidson

Started:

n/a

Still reading:

Finders Keepers by Sarah Adler

Six Sweets Under by Sarah Fox

A Schooling in Murder by Andrew Taylor*

Abdication by Juliet Nicolson

Four books bought, all secondhand.

Bonus picture: At the athletics on Saturday, watching the British 4 x 400m men’s relay team from the Athens World Championships in 1997 get their gold medals 28 years on after their result was upgraded.

*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: July 7 – July 13

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Hello from my sofa back in the UK, where I am safely back after a week in Ghana. It was incredibly busy week and so the list sort of reflects that – especially as the flight home on Saturday was an overnight one. I put an old Bond film on to go to sleep to and it worked a treat – it was Goldfinger and I don’t even remember the card game by the pool! Anyway, I’ve got a couple of days off at the start of this week, but the job list is huge – and we’ve got a super busy weekend as well, so the list maybe similarly small next week…

Read:

Shoe Nuff by Patti Benning

The Spirit Killers by Hugh Morrison

Nemesis by Agatha Christie

Photo Finish by Ngaio Marsh

A Death on Location by Rev Richard Coles

Next Stop, Murder by Hadley K Knox

Barriers to Entry by Ariel Lawthorn

Started:

Crunch Time by Diane Mott Davidson

Still reading:

Finders Keepers by Sarah Adler

Six Sweets Under by Sarah Fox

A Schooling in Murder by Andrew Taylor*

Abdication by Juliet Nicolson

Two more pre-orders arrived – the new Elissa Sussman and the latest Three Dahlias.

Bonus picture: Accra from above on the way home on Saturday night.

Bonus bonus picture: I might not have read a lot; but I did hit a target!

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