Tag: reading

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: September 9 – September 15

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Read:

How to Have Meaningful Conversations by Sarah Rozenthuler

A Question of Death by Kerry Greenwood

Transcription by Kate Atkinson

You Think It, I’ll Say It by Curtis Sittenfeld

Empty Mansions by Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell Jr

Out of Africa by Isak Dineson

The Silver Gun by LA Chandler

Shadows on the Grass by Isak Dineson

Started

Rose Petal Summer by Katie Fforde

This Town by Mark Liebovich

Still reading:

Autoboyography by Christina Lauren

The Queen Con by Meghan Scott Molin

City of Jasmine by Deanna Raybourn

Chanel’s Riviera by Anne De Courcy

Magnolia Buildings by Elizabeth Stuckey

Two books bought: one for me, one for Him Indoor for holidays so that doesn’t really count right?!

Bonus picture: a mews in London, backing on to Maisie Dobbs’ square

Bonus, bonus picture: the paperback edition of Franny Langton, still one of my favourite new books is the year- and thank you Penguin for a paperback copy too. All I need to do now is figure out what to do with it… answers on a postcard (or in the comments…) also, don’t my Shirley Flight books look super cool?!

Book of the Week, detective

Book of the Week: A Case of Murder in Mayfair

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Just a short BotW this week, because as I said yesterday it’s been A Week. And I don’t see this one being any less busy. Anyway, this second Freddy Pilkington-Soames mystery was what I needed on the late nights trains last week.

Cover of A Case of Murder in Mayfair

I read the first in this series back in February last year . And I said then in my review on Goodreads that the premise was basically a slightly less stupid Bertie Wooster accidentally solves crimes and I stand by that assessment. Freddy is a somewhat hapless reporter for a London newspaper, where he got the job because of his mum’s connections. In the first book he’s trying to solve the murder because he stumbled upon the corpse and is keen not to be the prime suspect. In this he’s off duty at a party with a friend when the actress-hostess falls to her death from the balcony of her hotel room. But was it an accident or was she pushed? And then there’s the small matter of a rival reporter snooping around while investigating the cocaine trade in London.

This mixes elements from not just PG Wodehouse, but also a bit of Death Bredon from Sayers’ Murder Must Advertise and a touch of nosy Nigel Bathgate from Inspector Alleyn. And it all works out rather nicely. There are not a lot of surprises here and it’s not doing anything groundbreaking or original but you’ll enjoy it while you’re reading it – just like you do with a contemporary-set cozy crime novel. I could nitpick but that would be mean and this series (or what I’ve read of it) is not mean.

You can get A Case of Murder in Mayfair on Kindle – where it’s currently 99p – and Kobo or in paperback where it’s not 99p! Or you can start at the beginning of the series and read A Case of Blackmail in Belgravia – which is free on Kindle as I write this.

Happy Reading!

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: September 2 – September 8

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So it’s been a bit of a week.  In case you missed it, British politics has been crazy busy and that means that my working life has been too.  So busy in fact that one night last week I didn’t even make it home from work.  And this week may well be similarly busy.  Wish me luck.  So the reading list is somewhat short and sweet this week – my brain has been fried and having trouble settling on anything.

Read:

The Girls by Emma Cline

A Case of Murder in Mayfair by Clara Benson

Meet Me in Monaco by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb

Asterix and the Roman Agent by Goscinny and Uderzo

Asterix and the Great Crossing by Goscinny and Uderzo

Monster, She Wrote by Lisa Kroeger and Melanie R Anderson

Started:

Chanel’s Riviera by Anne De Courcy

How to Have Meaningful Conversations by Sarah Rozenthuler

Magnolia Buildings by Elizabeth Stuckey

Still reading:

Autoboyography by Christina Lauren

Empty Mansions by Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell Jr

The Queen Con by Meghan Scott Molin

City of Jasmine by Deanna Raybourn

Out of Africa by Isak Dineson

And there was a fair bit of book purchasing that went on too – not only two new release hardbacks during the week but also a bit of a second hand spree on Sunday at Cannons Ashby’s secondhand bookshop. Thank you National Trust!

Bonus photo: a bit of historic home library porn from the aforementioned Cannons Ashby. The gardening stuff is in the cupboards because the owner of the time it’s set up as was a keen gardener and that’s where he kept it!

library shelves full of books with an open cupboard filled with gardening tools.

Book of the Week

Book of the Week: Meddling and Murder

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I really enjoyed a couple of books last week and had but of a debate with myself about what to pick. Alisha Rai’s The Right Swipe is new out and very good – and other book which looks at American Football and head trauma – but it’s only a few months since I picked a novel from her. It’s also not long since I picked Anne Helen Petersen, but Scandals of Hollywood was also very good. I have picked Ovidia Yu and the aunty Lee series before, but it was a year ago, it’s been a while since I picked a mystery and this is really very good.

Cover of Meddling and Murder

To catch you up on the series set up: Rosie Lee is the widow of an rich older husband. She’s getting on a bit herself now but she isn’t planning on slowing down. She fills her day cooking Perenaken food in her restaurant in a not as posh as her daughter in law would like area, and keeping up with the gossip and scandal in her community. And she also seems to find crimes and mysteries to solve. This is the fourth book in the series and she’s also started to build a friendly relationship with one of the local policemen, although she’s not above using her late husbands contacts to get her way.

In Meddling and Murder, one of her school friends has died leaving a handsome, younger Chinese husband and a sister who are setting up a nursery school in the house they have inherited. Their maid has gone missing and they ask to borrow Aunty Lee’s beloved Nina, who has some issues of her own going on that means that Aunty Lee thinks some time away might be a good idea. But as time goes on Aunty Lee grows more and more worried about what exactly happened to Beth Kwan’s maid and what Jonny Ho is really up to.

You’re pretty much guaranteed to come away from this feeling hungry – even if, like me you don’t know anything about Singaporean food! This has a lot of the features of a cozy crime – food, amateur sleuth – but a really different setting that makes it feel fresh and different. That’s true of both of the other books in the series that I’ve read so far, but this also has a slightly darker underside (which I like) subtly looking at some social issues – like the treatment of foreign domestic workers and of how unscrupulous people can try to badger/confuse/inveigle old people into giving their money away. But it’s all done so matter of factly and in passing that you do a double take – and it also doesn’t feel at all preachy or crusadey.

As previously mentioned, this isn’t the first in ther series, but I don’t think you need to read these in order necessarily, so feel free to dive in. These can sometimes be a little expensive to get hold of in the UK, but it’s on a deal on ebook at the moment. Meddling and Murder is available on Kindle and Kobo – it’s £1.49 on both at time of writing – and as a paperback – although that may be harder to find.

Happy Reading!

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: August 26 – September 1

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Another really busy week.  And really quite hot too. A shame I was at work for most of it!  Hey ho.  There was some really interesting reading this week – a lot of it on the train – and I’m still not sure what I’m going to pick for BotW tomorrow, which is unusual.

Read:

Schoolgirl Reporter by Constance M White

A Study in Scandal by Caroline Linden

The Right Swipe by Alisha Rai

The Painted Garden by Noel Streatfeild

Scandals of Classic Hollywood by Anne Helen Petersen

Meddling and Murder by Ovidia Yu

Come As You Are by Emily Nagoski

Started:

City of Jasmine by Deanna Raybourn

Out of Africa by Isak Dineson

Still reading:

Autoboyography by Christina Lauren

The Girls by Emma Cline

Empty Mansions by Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell Jr

The Queen Con by Meghan Scott Molin

One book bought in the charity shop and one ebook.

Bonus photo: The nice cupboard with my “fancy” (aka hardback) Girl’s Own books…

Shelf of hardback children's books

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: August 19 – August 25

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Super busy week again – and lovely weather.  Of course I missed most of it at work.  Sigh.

Read:

Devil in Spring by Lisa Kleypas

Shirley Flight: Air Hostess and the Flying Doctor by Judith Dale

Crimson Rust by C Bernard Rutley

Deliver Me by Farrah Rochon

The Frame-Up by Meghan Scott Molin

A Spear of Summer Grass by Deanna Raybourn

Started:

The Queen Con by Meghan Scott Molin

Still reading:

Autoboyography by Christina Lauren

The Girls by Emma Cline

Empty Mansions by Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell Jr

I may have bought a few books.  Ok, there’s no may about it, I did. One actual book and two ebooks.  Oopsies.

Bonus photo: Northampton in the sunshine… some things never change…

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: August 12 – August 18

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So a few books still haven’t turned up after the move – I think you can work out which ones  – which is annoying and means I’m going to have to do some more unpacking and tidying on my days off this week.  Sigh.  And a bit of a weird week in reading too – I’m really enjoying Empty Mansions – but it’s loooooong.  And why the list is a little bit shorter than usual this week.

Read:

Top Marks for Murder by Robin Stevens

Spice and Smoke by Suleika Snyder

The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez

The Wallflower Wager by Tessa Dare

Shirley Flight: Air Hostess in Desert Adventure by Judith Dale

Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey

Started:

A Spear of Summer Grass by Deanna Raybourn

Devil in Spring by Lisa Kleypas

Still reading:

Autoboyography by Christina Lauren

The Girls by Emma Cline

Empty Mansions by Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell Jr

Two more Shirley Flight books bought (oops) and an ebook.

Bonus photo: A shelf of old school children’s books I somehow managed to resist at the vintage store…

Old books

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: August 5 – August 11

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A mix of earlies and late shifts this week and a lot of train journeys.  Some interesting reading  and some that was kind disappointing.  But that’s fairly par for the course really isn’t it!

Read:

The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite

Shirley Flight Air Hostess in Storm Warning by Judith Dale

Brazen and the Beast by Sarah MacLean

The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan

Love and Death Among the Cheetahs by Rhys Bowen

We Are Never Meeting In Real Life by Samantha Irby

Dig Here by Charlaine Harris and Andrew Gross

A Little Light Mischief by Cat Sebastian

Started:

Empty Mansions by Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell Jr

Top Marks for Murder by Robin Stevens

Still reading:

Autoboyography by Christina Lauren

The Girls by Emma Cline

No books bought – but two pre-orders arrived – one book and one ebook!

Bonus photo: Another week, another Shirley Flight book – this one was a house warming present from a friend and hoo boy it was a wild ride!

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: July 29 – August 4

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So.  Turns out the week after the move is just as busy (maybe worse?) than the week before the move, especially when you’re away from home for 4 nights of it. Hey ho. We’ll get there.  And the bookshelves are mostly unpacked now, so the new house is starting to look really good!  And on Saturday I met up with part of the UK contingent of Sarah MacLean’s Romance book club as well as Sarah herself for lunch – so it’s been a pretty bookish week all things considered!

Read:

Say No to the Duke by Eloisa James

The Hairy Hand by Robin Bennett

Shirley Flight, Air Hostess in Canadian Capers by Judith Dale

Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Muraka

Dim Sum of All Fears by Vivien Chen

Too Fat, Too Slutty, Too Loud by Anne Helen Peterson

Started:

Brazen and the Beast by Sarah MacLean

The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan

The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite

Still reading:

We Are Never Meeting In Real Life by Samantha Irby

Autoboyography by Christina Lauren

The Girls by Emma Cline

Two actual books bought – the Shirley Flight (see photo) on a cheeky lunchtime trip to The Second Shelf and the new Sarah MacLean.  Also pre-ordered a couple – one in ebook, one actual book.  August, already the month of book buying.

Bonus photo:

Copy of Shirley Flight Air Hostess in Canadian Capers in a pink and white striped paper bag.

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: July 22 – July 28

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So we moved house.  I’m exhausted and still surrounded by boxes, despite my best efforts.  And this week I’m away three nights for work, so it’s only going to get worse right?  Anyway, the house got packed up on Tuesday, so most of this weeks reading were ebooks – because the actual books were Unavailable!

Read:

Money in the Morgue by Ngaio Marsh and Stella Duffy

T is for Trespass by Sue Grafton

U is for Undertow by Sue Grafton

The Great Successor by Anna Fifield

A Kiss in the Snow by Susan Mallery

Summer Wives by Beatriz Williams

Pride by Ibi Zoboi

Started:

Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Muraka

Say No to the Duke by Eloisa James

Still reading:

We Are Never Meeting In Real Life by Samantha Irby

Autoboyography by Christina Lauren

The Girls by Emma Cline

No books bought.  Hurrah.

Bonus photo: the bookshelves in the process of being reassembled.  NB: The car magazines belong to Him Indoors.

Bookshelves part filled