Tag: reading

The schools are going back and the holidays are over. Normal life is resuming. Or is it? Can it ever? Well who knows, but these are still quite strange times. However, I’ve used whatever back to school energy I could summon to reduce the number of books on the Still Reading List a bit. I’m quite pleased with me. In relative terms anyway.

Read:

Real Men Knit by Kwana Johnson

She Represents by Caitlin Donohue*

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman*

The Last Boyfriend by Nora Roberts

Last Tang Standing by Lauren Ho

Uneasy Lies the Crown by Tasha Alexander

Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward*

Started:

Hoax by Brian Stelter

Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld

Tweet Cute by Emma Lord

Murder on a Girls’ Night Out by Anne George

Still reading:

Jane Austen at Home by Lucy Worsley

The AI Who Loved Me by Alyssa Cole

Eight Detectives by Alex Pavesi*

Still not counting.

Bonus photo: the latest addition to the to read pile. Isn’t it beautiful? And it’s signed. And I got a Reading is Fundamental print too. Thank you Foyles.

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

 I can’t believe that it’s the end of August today. I mean. Where did the summer go? Anyway, book of the week coming up tomorrow, mini reviews on Wednesday, August stats on Thursday and that’s your week. Or at least I think it is!

Read:

Paper Girls Vol 6 by Brian K Vaughan et al

The Miseducation of Evie Epworth by Matson Taylor*

Sex and Vanity by Kevin Kwan

Fall into Death by Emily Toll

Untamed by Glennon Doyle

Toll the Bell for Murder by George Bellairs

The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman

Started:

Uneasy Lies the Crown by Tasha Alexander

Still reading:

Jane Austen at Home by Lucy Worsley

Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward*

Last Tang Standing by Lauren Ho

The AI Who Loved Me by Alyssa Cole

 Eight Detectives by Alex Pavesi*

Real Men Knit by Kwana Johnson

Still not counting.

Bonus photo: my cousin’s dog’s puppies are growing, and their mum has the haunted, sleep deprived, what on earth hit me look of new mums every where.

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

So some progress on the still reading list, but maybe not as much as I wanted. I had a bit of decision making fatigue at the end of the week and over the weekend and found it hard to pick a book and stick to it. Hey ho, it seems to be my new normal during the quarantimes to be honest.

Read:

We Germans by Alexander Starritt*

Bones in the Wilderness by George Bellairs

The Gravity of Us by Phil Stamper

V for Victory by Lissa Evans*

To Helvetica and Back by Paige Shelton

A Question of Holmes by Brittany Cavallaro

Blue Rosette by Pamela MacGregor-Morris

Started:

Eight Detectives by Alex Pavesi*

Fall into Death by Emily Toll

Real Men Knit by Kwana Johnson

Toll the Bell for Murder by George Bellairs

Still reading:

The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman

Jane Austen at Home by Lucy Worsley

Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward*

Last Tang Standing by Lauren Ho

The AI Who Loved Me by Alyssa Cole

The Miseducation of Evie Epworth by Matson Taylor*

Still not counting. Still don’t care.

Bonus photo: My lovely sunflowers. So bright,so friendly, such a mood lifter.

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

Another week, another post where the still reading list is quite long. I am working on it, but as with several other points in the Quarantimes I’m finding it hard to concentrate at times, and move towards lighter books with guaranteed resolutions.

Read:

The Man with the Golden Gun by Ian Fleming

Death March for Penelope Blow by George Bellairs*

The Vinyl Detective: Low Action by Andrew Cartmel

The Next Always by Nora Roberts

Welcome to Moonlight Harbor by Sheila Roberts

Sweet Home Montana by Shann McPherson*

Ice Cream Lover by Jackie Lau

Cecil Beaton’s Bright Young Things by Robin Muir

The Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz*

Started:

We Germans by Alexander Starritt*

To Helvetica and Back by Paige Shelton

The Miseducation of Evie Epworth by Matson Taylor*

Still reading:

The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman

Jane Austen at Home by Lucy Worsley

Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward*

Last Tang Standing by Lauren Ho

The AI Who Loved Me by Alyssa Cole

A Question of Holmes by Brittany Cavallaro

Still not counting.

Bonus photo: I give you summer in the United Kingdom: at the start of the week in the mid 30s, by the end of the week – this…

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

Such a hot week. Sometimes all I wanted to do was find a cool area and read. But I also had a fairly busy week, so that wasn’t actually always possible…

Read:

The Clutter Corpse by Simon Brett

Daring and the Duke by Sarah MacLean

Paper Girls Vol 5 by Brian K Vaughan et al

Dance Away with Me by Susan Elizabeth Philips

So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo

Death Sets Sail by Robin Stevens

Murder Makes Mistakes by George Bellairs

Started:

The Vinyl Detective: Low Action by Andrew Cartmel

Dead March for Penelope Blow by George Bellairs*

The Man with the Golden Gun by Ian Fleming

Still reading:

The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman

Jane Austen at Home by Lucy Worsley

Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward*

Last Tang Standing by Lauren Ho

The AI Who Loved Me by Alyssa Cole

Cecil Beaton’s Bright Young Things by Robin Muir

A Question of Holmes by Brittany Cavallaro

Still not counting, still don’t care.

Bonus photo: here’s one of my cousin’s cocker spaniel puppies. It’s the most adorable photo I have this week, maybe this year.

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

I’m going to go on the record and say that I was really glad to see the back of July. Here’s hoping that August is better. I worked over the weekend, which I usually do for the British Grand Prix weekend – but that’s usually because I’m trying to avoid the floods of fans coming in to my home town and the surrounding villages. Obviously that wasn’t a problem this year – and the race is in August (not July) and there’s another one at Silverstone next weekend, but it did at least make life feel a little bit more normal. Anyway the usual end of month/start of month posts are underway – if you missed it on Saturday here are the stats. Tomorrow is BotW as usual and then Wednesday will be the mini reviews.

Read:

One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London*

The Garden of Forgotten Wishes by Trisha Ashley*

The Night They Killed Joss Varan by George Bellairs

Evidence of the Affair by Taylor Jenkins Reid

The Radium Girls by Kate Moore

A Dead Djinn in Cairo by P Djèlí Clark

The Great Godden by Meg Rosoff*

Started:

Daring and the Duke by Sarah MacLean

Still reading:

The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman

Jane Austen at Home by Lucy Worsley

Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward*

Last Tang Standing by Lauren Ho

The AI Who Loved Me by Alyssa Cole

Cecil Beaton’s Bright Young Things by Robin Muir

A Question of Holmes by Brittany Cavallaro

Still not counting what I’m buying and determinedly so, but on top of the impulse buying a couple of preorders dropped onto my kindle this week as nice gifts from PastVerity so that was cheering too.

Bonus photo: there were a couple of beautiful days last week – I was in the office over the weekend so didn’t get to take advantage of all of them, but this was from Thursday when I went for a walk near home and headed down to the stream.

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

A slightly better week, but to be honest we’re grading on a curve. You may be able to tell that I mostly cheered myself up by bingeing on Inspector Littlejohn books. It worked. Didn’t help me make any progress on the still reading list though…

Read:

The Crime at Halfpenny Bridge by George Bellairs

Here for It by R Eric Thomas

The Case of the Headless Jesuit by George Bellairs

The Cursing Stones Murder by George Bellairs

My Beijing by Nie Jun

A Scarf for Keiko by Ann Malaspina

Death in Dark Glasses by George Bellairs

Say Yes to the Duke by Eloisa James

Started:

A Question of Holmes by Brittany Cavallaro

Still reading:

The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman

The Radium Girls by Kate Moore

Jane Austen at Home by Lucy Worsley

Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward*

Last Tang Standing by Lauren Ho

The AI Who Loved Me by Alyssa Cole

Cecil Beaton’s Bright Young Things by Robin Muir

One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London*

Still not counting and determinedly so.

Bonus photo: I didn’t go anywhere interesting last week. So my glass of rose is the most interesting photo of the week. Says. It. All.

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

It was not a good week for a variety of reasons, not least the tenth anniversary of the death of my darling grandpa. And the reading list reflects the awful, which really hit my concentration and my reading time. Hey ho. Surely 2020 can’t get any worse?!

Read:

The Chiffon Trenches by André Leon Talley

Not a Creature was Stirring by Christina Freeburn

The Turning Tide by Catriona McPherson*

Calamity at Harwood by George Bellairs

Murder Stalks a Mansion by Anne-Marie Sutton

The Case of the Seven Whistlers by George Bellairs

Started:

Cecil Beaton’s Bright Young Things by Robin Muir

One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London*

Still reading:

The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman

The Radium Girls by Kate Moore

Jane Austen at Home by Lucy Worsley

Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward*

Last Tang Standing by Lauren Ho

The AI Who Loved Me by Alyssa Cole

Still not counting, and feeling even less bad about book purchases than I was before.

Bonus photo: Oreo Cookie brownies from this weeks’ comfort baking.

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

Having lost what felt like pounds of hair, I am feeling a lot lighter in spirit as well. A lot of genres in this week’s reading – romance, non-fiction, horror, Girls Own, Literary fiction, mystery – aka pretty much the whole spectrum of what I read. Still got a lot of ongoing stuff though, but I’m working on it.

Read:

Hope Flames by Jaci Burton

On the Rocks by Sawyer Bennett

White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo

Hello World by Hannah Fry

The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix

The Chalet School and the Lintons by Elinor M Brent-Dyer

First Time in Forever by Sarah Morgan

The Constant Rabbit by Jasper Fforde*

Started:

Not a Creature was Stirring by Christina Freeburn

Still reading:

The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman

The Radium Girls by Kate Moore

Jane Austen at Home by Lucy Worsley

Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward*

Last Tang Standing by Lauren Ho

The AI Who Loved Me by Alyssa Cole

The Chiffon Trenches by André Leon Talley

Still not counting…

Bonus photo: As the most important thing that happened last week was getting my hair cut, here is an in-progress picture. This is a lot of hair coming off (for me!!) after nearly 4 months without a cut!

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

A much better week in reading – mostly because I used my days off at the start of the week to chill out and read. My next target is to try and clear the still reading list.

Read:

The Ultimate Pi Day Party by Jackie Lau

The October Man by Ben Aaronovitch

Sisters by Raina Telgemaier

Welcome to Ballet School by Ashley Bouder*

Murder on a Mississippi Steamboat by Leighann Dobbs

The Margot Affair by Sanaë Lemoine*

Harbor by Rebekah Weatherspoon**

Guts by Raina Telgemaier

A Lesson in Secrets by Jacqueline Winspear

Not Your Sidekick by CB Lee

Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz

Started:

The Constant Rabbit by Jasper Fforde*

Hope Flames by Jaci Burton

Still reading:

The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman

The Radium Girls by Kate Moore

Jane Austen at Home by Lucy Worsley

Hello World by Hannah Fry

Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward*

Last Tang Standing by Lauren Ho

The AI Who Loved Me by Alyssa Cole

The Chiffon Trenches by André Leon Talley

Still not counting. I ordered a few things this week, but I was much better behaved than I had been.

Bonus photo: Never have I regretted having short hair so much as since the hairdressers cut. I have an appointment booked for tomorrow and I cannot wait. It’s been 15 weeks since it was cut (instead of 5!) so it hasn’t been this long in probably a decade. People keep telling me that it looks fine (some even say it looks great!) but living with it is not so much fun – if a gust of wind catches it one way I have early 90s boyband curtains, another and I look like a budget Justin Bieber look alike.

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