Books from the Library book pile: 1 – sort of – I’m counting a book borrowed from a friend here!
Non-fiction books: 0 (although I have several on the go)
#ReadHarder categories completed: 1
Most read author: Alice Loweecey (2 books read)
Books read this year: 182
Books bought: 3 ebooks, 9 actual books…
Books on the Goodreads to-read shelf: 526 (I don’t have copies of all of these!)
I’m a little disappointed with progress this month to be honest – despite the holiday, I haven’t got as much read as I wanted to. On the brightside, I’m much more up to date with my NetGalley requests than I have been, but I also bought quite a few books too…
The bingo card looks slightly different this month because the card generator wasn’t working properly…
*Includes some short stories/novellas/comics (3 this month)
A bonus post for you this weekend with what may seem like an over dramatic title, but as I was relaxing on the beach last week I realised that without my ereader, my holidays would be very different. Allow me to explain.
One very loved kindle and slightly battered case…
As you may have worked out by now, I am a fast reader. I read twelve books during my week in Croatia – and that’s not even the most I’ve read during a week away. I’d either need an extra suitcase or to take no clothes with me to take enough reading material for a week on the beach and the flights to get me to said beach. And that’s before you take into account my notoriously flighty nature and tendency to want to read something, anything other than the books that I’ve brought with me*.
What you may not know is that I’m not good when left alone with my own head. I have to have something to listen to to go to sleep – silence makes my brain start obsessing over things – did I do everything I should have done at work today, why haven’t I done x or y, death, that sort of thing. So laying on the beach doing nothing was never my sort of holiday because although a bit of people watching is fun, I can’t just about doing doing nothing for hours but there was no way I could take enough books to keep me going for a week. But sometimes you don’t want a holiday full of activities, where you’ve always got places to be or things to be doing. Sometimes you just need to relax and unwind and do nothing and the ereader means that I can do that.
I was a (relatively) late adopter of ereaders. I like the feel of books, I like the smell of them. I like the way your favourites fall open to your favourite passages and the way you can lend books you love to the people that you love. I managed the whole of my first year of the long commute without an ereader – taking proper books with me in my bag and occasionally using the Kindle app for free books on my phone when I ran out of reading material before I got home. But then came EURO 2012 – when I was going to be spending a month away from home in Poland. I knew I wouldn’t have space in my suitcase for books, but might well have some reading time. I treated myself to a Kindle Touch (the first generation of them I think) and I’ve never looked back.
This holiday we took 4 actual books with us between us – a Janet Evanovich (that I’d already read) for Him Indoors who is working his way through the Steph Plum series one holiday at a time, two books he picked out from a selection from my to-read pile that he would like to read too and my holiday book – the Andrew Cartmel that was this week’s BotW. He read the Steph Plum and then nicked my kindle to continue his Vicky Bliss odyssey. I finished two of the three and started the other. Without the ereader(s) we would have been lost. The iPad isn’t allowed on the beach, but in the evenings we were often to be found relaxing on the balcony, him with the Kindle and me with the iPad.
If I didn’t like a book, I didn’t have to finish it (I hated one of the paperbacks and although I did finish it, I abandoned it to its fate at the hotel, clearing space in the suitcase for an extra bag of sweets for my long-suffering work colleagues) and equally if I loved a book and wanted the next in the series or another by the same author, the joys of wifi meant that I could just buy it. I stocked it up with some cozy crimes and some favourite authors before we went and I had more than enough choice to keep me going for the week.*
My trusty Kindle is almost exactly five years old now and is groaning with the weight of the books stored on it. I use it on the train every time I travel too or from work, I use it at the hostel on the nights I’m way from home and I use it on my breaks in the early hours during the dreaded night shifts. I’m debating getting a new one – because reading on the iPad is just not the same – I’m sentimentally attached to my worn, well loved Kindle that makes me loath to let it go. Although it would mean next holiday we’d have two to use on the beach…
If only I’d had an e-reader back in the day when I used to have to go on camping trips!
*I think this is the same tendency that makes me not want to eat packed lunches that I’ve made for myself.
**To be honest, I’ve probably got enough to keep me going for a year if only authors didn’t keep publishing new books.
A busy week of news and work. Honestly I wish it would just stop. It’s starting to feel a bit end of days to be honest. Here’s hoping the world improves.
Read:
An Expert in Murder by Nicola Upson
Gridiron Grit by Noel Sainsbury Jr
Fatal Forgeries by Ritter Ames
Bitch Planet Vol 1 by Kelly Sue DeConnick et al
Rivers of London: Detective Stories 1 by Ben Aaronovitch et al
Fatal Facade by Alison Campbell
The Antique House Murders by Leslie Nagal
Started:
Trans Like Me by CN Lester
The Early Birds by Laurie Graham
Nun Too Soon by Alice Loweecey
Still reading:
Kick by Paula Byrne
Reel History: The World According to the Movies by Alex von Tunzelmann
The Headmistress by Angela Thirkell
Standard Deviation by Katherine Heiny
Written in Dead Wax by Andrew Cartmel
I may have bought a few Kindle John LeCarrés, but apart from that, well behaved. I’m also trying to make the Cartmel last because I’m really enjoying it!
I’m not that surprised I didn’t get much read this week – it was elections and I’ve been super busy with work and have done a lot of hours. Hopefully this week will be more normal…
Read:
Marriage is Pure Murder by Staci McLaughlin
Once in a Lifetime by Jill Shalvis
Death by Vanilla Latte by Alex Erickson
Bad Housekeeping by Maia Chance
Started:
Fatal Forgeries by Ritter Ames
An Expert in Murder by Nicola Upson
Written in Dead Wax by Andrew Cartmel
Still reading:
Kick by Paula Byrne
Reel History: The World According to the Movies by Alex von Tunzelmann
The Headmistress by Angela Thirkell
Standard Deviation by Katherine Heiny
Yeah. Quite a lot of books bought – two proper books at the lovely Big Green Bookshop after work on Saturday and five ebooks which were on various short term offers…
Not as much read as I wanted this week, but sometimes it goes like that – I’ve been super busy and I can’t see this week being any quieter, what with the election on Thursday.
Read:
Flat-Out Sexy by Erin McCarthy
Westmorland Alone by Ian Sansom
The Sussex Downs Murder by John Bude
One Fete in the Grave by Vickie Fee
Bearly Departed by Meg Macy
Started:
Marriage is Pure Murder by Staci McLaughlin
Standard Deviation by Katherine Heiny
Still reading:
Kick by Paula Byrne
Reel History: The World According to the Movies by Alex von Tunzelmann
The Headmistress by Angela Thirkell
Only one ebook bought so I’m counting that as a big success. Fingers crossed I can keep that going…
I hate nightshifts. My brain is totally frazzled. Totally. And that’s before you get to the events of this week. It’s not been a good one. So I’ve read lots of lovely romance. Lots of it.
Read:
The Death of Lucy Kyte by Nicola Upson
Because of Miss Bridgerton by Julia Quinn
Summer, With Love by Sarah Morgan (omnibus edition of:
The Spanish Consultant, The Greek Children’s Doctor and the English Doctor’s Baby)
The Magnificent Flying Baron Estate by Eric Bower
The Nightingale Before Christmas by Donna Andrews
Started:
Westmorland Alone by Ian Sansom
Flat-Out Sexy by Erin McCarthy
Still reading:
Kick by Paula Byrne
Reel History: The World According to the Movies by Alex von Tunzelmann
On the brightside, I didn’t buy any books. So there is that. Onwards and upwards.
Lots of cozy crime novels this week – but I’ve also read a fair bit more of some of the long runners, just not finished them. I’ve also given up on one, which I just couldn’t get in to. Hey ho. Nights started on Sunday night (so hopefully I’ll just be waking up from a good days sleep as this publishes) so expect cozy crime and romance next week as my tired brain struggles with anything more complicated!
Read:
A Reference to Murder by Kym Roberts
The Woodpecker Always Pecks Twice by JR Ripley
Ivy Get Your Gun by Cindy Brown
Uniformly Dead by Greta Mckennan
Lumberjanes Vol 4: Out of Time by Noelle Stevenson et al
Angel Catbird Vol 2: To Castle Catula by Margaret Atwood et al
Started:
The Death of Lucy Kyte by Nicola Upson
Still reading:
Kick by Paula Byrne
Reel History: The World According to the Movies by Alex von Tunzelmann
One book bought – because it just happened to be in my Amazon basket when I was buying some other bits. Or at least that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it!
Verity Reads Books (lots of them) 