Tag: The pile

The pile

Books Incoming: Mid-September edition

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So this is slightly less bad than last month, in that in August there were ten books, and in this there are eight. We do have to remember though that I went so insane on our trip to Norfolk that I had to do an extra Books Incoming post to handle it and if I hadn’t done that, there would be 19 books in this post. Ahem. Anyway, here we have Dream on Ramona Riley and ZomRomCom which were my Saucy Books purchases and From Russia with Love which was my Penguin pop-up purchase and Fishing for Trouble and Buffalo West Wing which I bought in Piccadilly at the same time. That leaves the Spinal Tap book, which was a pre-order from Big Green, Hattie Steals the Show was a purchase and then Chris at the Kennels was a gift. And that’s all of them. Unless there’s one hiding somewhere that I forgot. But I don’t think there is…

books, stats

August Stats

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Books read this month: 32*

New books: 25

Re-reads: 6 (all audiobooks)

Books from the to-read pile: 10

NetGalley books read: 4

Kindle Unlimited read: 3

Ebooks: 5

Audiobooks: 9

Non-fiction books: 4

Favourite book: probably The Mitford Girls, even though I haven’t written about it yet!

Books bought: possibly slightly better than last month, but still way too many

Most read author: T P Fielden of the new stuff, but Agatha Christie and Nancy Mitford if you’re including the re-reads

Books read in 2025: 251

Books on the Goodreads to-read shelf (I don’t have copies of all of these!): 808

Another fairly solid month in reading – especially considering that the Mary Lowell Mitford book is 700 pages long and that takes time, and there aren’t a lot of short stories on this month’s list.

Bonus picture: yarn bombing in Northampton for the rugby, courtesy of my mum!

*includes some short stories/novellas/comics/graphic novels – including 1 this month!

The pile

Books Incoming: Mid-August edition

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Oh this looks bad. Really bad. But it’s not as bad as it looks. Honestly. Let me explain: nearly a third of these were pre-orders, so really they shouldn’t count right? I mentioned the Nev Fountain on Thursday, and the new Dahlia, and I really should have mentioned the Elissa Sussman too, but it came out the same week as the Sarah MacLean. Then the Otto English and the Richard Coles were my airport purchases on the way to Ghana – and were the only books I took with me. Now I was so busy that week that I only read one of them, but that still means that that one is going straight from the incoming pile to the shelf. And A Howl of Wolves is going onto the shelf too because it’s that fourth Sam Clair that you can’t get on Kindle, so really buying it was the only way I was going to get to read it and thus finish the series. And then while I was buying it from Abebooks, I checked what else the seller had that was on my list, because you get postage on a scale if you’re buying more books from the same person, and that’s how/why I got the Jill Churchills. And then finally the Jackie, Ethel, Joan was my purchase in Waterstones last week. So really that’s the only one that counts as an impulse purchase. And that’s what I’m meant to be working on…

Happy Saturday!

books, stats

July Stats

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Books read this month: 31*

New books: 23

Re-reads: 8 (6 audiobooks)

Books from the to-read pile: 4

NetGalley books read: 1

Kindle Unlimited read: 12

Ebooks: 5

Audiobooks: 6

Non-fiction books: 0

Favourite book: Dear Miss Lake probably

Most read author: Judith Flanders – three books in the Sam Clair series.

Books bought: too many

Books read in 2025: 219

Books on the Goodreads to-read shelf (I don’t have copies of all of these!): 799

I mean I think you must be bored of me telling you that it’s been a really busy week/month at this point, because I feel like I’m always typing it. But it really is true. In July I had a work trip to Accra, two theatre trips and a concert to name but a few. And the malaria pills and the overnight flight home really wiped me out and it’s taken (is taking?!) a while to recover. But given all of that, I’m pretty pleased with the stats for the month, even if they don’t include any non-fiction books *again*. Must really try and sort that out this month. Possibly wishful thinking though.

Bonus picture: another picture from Accra.

*includes some short stories/novellas/comics/graphic novels – including 3 this month!

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.

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: June 30 – July 6

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Happy Monday everyone. I feel like every week I say that it’s been a busy week but this week really has been. And I’m on a work trip at the moment, so it’s only going to get busier. What can you do. I haven’t made much progress at all on the two new books I started last week because I had so many nights away from home and didn’t take them with me.

Read:

Knit, Purl, Die by Anne Canadeo

Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy L Sayers

The Yellow Rambutan Tree by Ovidia Yu

Cooking the Books by Kerry Greenwood

Dear Miss Lake by A J Pearce*

We Three Queens by Rhys Bowen

Murder by Moonlight by Julie Mulhern

Started:

The Spirit Killers by Hugh Morrison

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 books bought, one pre-order arrived.

Bonus picture: a fashion show being set up on my route to work. Or at least I assume that’s what it is!

*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

June Stats

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Books read this month: 31*

New books: 22

Re-reads: 9 (5 audiobooks)

Books from the to-read pile: 5

NetGalley books read: 6

Kindle Unlimited read: 5

Ebooks: 10

Audiobooks: 5

Non-fiction books: 0

Favourite book: maybe A Murder for Miss Hortense of the new stuff, but I’ve really enjoyed the re-reads too

Most read author: Nicola Upson with the three Josephine Tey books I hadn’t read because they were on offer and Anne Granger with the last two Mitchell and Markbys and the new Campbell and Carter.

Books bought: 4 ebooks, about four book-books and also a pre-order arrived

Books read in 2025: 188

Books on the Goodreads to-read shelf (I don’t have copies of all of these!): 795

A pretty solid month all in. The heatwave made it a bit hard to concentrate towards the end of the month and I’m still behind on the new releases but I read a lot of stuff I enjoyed and at least I finished the Mitchell and Markby reread so there’s a fighting chance I might read some more new stuff in July.

Bonus picture: the crowd (and me) outside the Palladium to watch Rachel Zegler so Don’t Cry for Me Argentina from the balcony. I could see her arm and her side profile at best – but I only got there ten minutes before. When I had walked past an hour earlier there were already more than a hundred people in the prime spots and I wasn’t prepared to wait that long!

*includes some short stories/novellas/comics/graphic novels – including 3 this month!

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: June 23 – June 29

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Hello from the heatwave. It’s so hot. And Britain isn’t built for this heat. It’s making it very hard to concentrate on anything. Oh and I did two shows last week – one was The Frogs, the less said about the other the better! I’ve got another super busy week this week and it’s only going to get hotter, so who knows what this list will look like next week…

Read:

Five Red Herrings by Dorothy L Sayers

Sorry for the Dead by Nicola Upson

The Dead of Winter by Nicola Upson

Death and the Conjurer by Tom Mead

Fear of Frying by Jill Churchill

Have His Carcase by Dorothy L Sayers

The Chow Maniac by Vivian Chien

Started:

Finders Keepers by Sarah Adler

Six Sweets Under by Sarah Fox

Still reading:

Knit, Purl, Die by Anne Canadeo

A Schooling in Murder by Andrew Taylor*

Abdication by Juliet Nicolson

One ebook bought, one actual book bought, one preorder arrived.

Bonus picture: more Miffy!

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