The pile

Books Incoming: Mid-June edition

It’s that time again, and this month I have done much better on the restraint front.

So here we have this month’s haul: two pre-orders, one charity shop acquisition, two from Upper Street Books and one pre-holiday purchase. The preorders are the new Taylor Jenkins Reid Atmosphere (special Waterstones edition, signed by the author) and the new Annabel Monaghan It’s a Love Story, which is already read and off the pile. The Upper Street Books acquisitions are the two non-fiction books, A Waiter in Paris and Sovietistan. The charity shop purchase is The 7-10 Split which was recommended to me as an option for the 50 states challenge at the back end of last year. And the holiday book is the new Plum Sykes Wives Like Us, which I picked because I thought I could pass it on to my sister (also on the trip) after I finished it.

Have a great weekend!

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: June 2 – June 8

It’s June and we’ve been down to the seaside, so of course there were flash floods. British summertime everyone. Anyway, on the reading front I finished the Mitchell and Markby reread and then had to figure out what to read next. Which turned out to be more murder mysteries. I mean it almost always does turn out to be more murder mysteries at the moment, it just depends on what type.

Read:

That Way Murder Lies by Ann Granger

These Old Shades by Georgette Heyer

Nine Lessons by Nicola Upson

Deadly Company by Ann Granger

The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side by Agatha Christie

Copper Script by K J Charles

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q Sutanto*

Started:

A Schooling in Murder by Andrew Taylor*

Sorry for the Dead by Nicola Upson

Still reading:

The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater*

The Sweet Dove Died by Barbara Pym

Wish You Were Here by Jess K Hardy*

Abdication by Juliet Nicolson

One bought, one preorder arrived – the new Taylor Jenkins Reid.

Bonus picture: Bournemouth pier in June…

*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

May Stats

Books read this month: 32*

New books: 13

Re-reads: 19 (5 audiobooks)

Books from the to-read pile: 6

NetGalley books read: 1

Kindle Unlimited read: 6

Ebooks: 13

Audiobooks: 5

Non-fiction books: 0

Favourite book: of the new things that I read, probably On Turpentine Lane.

Most read author: Ann Granger with 14 (!) books (re)read – see below

Books bought: still too many – especially given that I had to buy the Mitchell and Markby‘s because I had borrowed them from a friend when I read them the first time.

Books read in 2025: 156

Books on the Goodreads to-read shelf (I don’t have copies of all of these!): 793

After finishing the Ruth Galloway binge last month, I have gone on an even more intensive binge re-reading the Mitchell and Markby books after I bought that one at Baddesley Clinton despite everything else that was demanding to be read. This is why the NetGalley total is so measly – just the one, right at the start of the month before the binge started – and explains the lack of non-fiction too. The good news here (I guess) is that I’ve only got a couple left to read before I’ve finished the series and then I’ll have to read other things. But it probably says something about where my head is at at the moment that I’ve retreated into cosy murder mystery re-reads.

Bonus picture: Despite the re-reading last month, I am ahead of schedule on my beat the TBR pile bookcase. Of course some of this is due to the Elly Griffiths binge – check out all those dark green books – but there’s basically just a lot of murder mystery in my first five months of physical book reading!

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

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: May 25 – June 1

We’re into June and I’m still playing outfit roulette in the mornings because the weather just can’t seem to sort itself out. But on the bright side, we’ve started to get the summer releases through. And on the even brighter side, I’ve finally finished that Cher Memoir. Admittedly there are still other long runner on that list I haven’t finished, but that’s the one that’s been sitting there the longest, so it’s definitely progress.

Read:

Beneath These Stones by Ann Granger

Curtain Call to Murder by Julian Clary

Shades of Murder by Ann Granger

A Restless Evil by Ann Granger

It’s a Love Story by Annabel Monaghan

The Bookstore Family by Alice Hoffman

The June Paintings by Maggie Shipstead

Swan Song by Edmund Crispin

Cher: The Memoir Part One by Cher

Started:

Nine Lessons by Nicola Upson

Still reading:

The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater*

The Sweet Dove Died by Barbara Pym

Wish You Were Here by Jess K Hardy*

Abdication by Juliet Nicolson

Two pre-orders arrived, two ebooks bought and a second hand paperback.

Bonus picture: I’m annoyed I didn’t take a screen grab on day 1500 exactly, but still it’s pretty impressive.

*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: May 19 – May 25

It’s another Bank Holiday Monday here in the UK, so I hope those of you who aren’t working have a nice day and that the weather cooperates with whatever your plans are. There are three different football teams celebrating today, two of them with full on parades, so chances are there’ll be rain at some point! I continue to binge my way through the Mitchell and Markbys – and it’s surprising me how much I had forgotten from first time around. It makes them even more of a treat, but also harder to resist just going straight on to the next one! But I’ve still managed to get a few other things read this week – even if I didn’t get that much off the long-running list! Onwards we go…

Read:

A Touch of Mortality by Ann Granger

A Knife to Remember by Jill Churchill

A Word After Dying by Ann Granger

The Beast of Littleton Woods by T E Kinsey

Call the Dead Again by Ann Granger

Amelia’s Shadow by Marie Benedict

On Turpentine Lane by Elinor Lipman

Started:

The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater*

Still reading:

Curtain Call to Murder by Julian Clary

The Sweet Dove Died by Barbara Pym

Wish You Were Here by Jess K Hardy*

Abdication by Juliet Nicolson

Cher: The Memoir Part One by Cher

Three ebooks and a pre-order

Bonus picture: Rainbows and sunshine at the train station.

*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: May 12 – May 18

Well I said on Friday that I was on a mega-binge of Mitchell and Markby books, and you see the results of that here – in the read list and in the purchases because I had to buy them to keep reading. We had a lovely trip away at the weekend and it was a busy week at work so I’m choosing to blame that for the increasing length of the still reading list…

Read:

A Farewell to Yarns by Jill Churchill

Where Old Bones Lie by Ann Granger

Men at Arms by Terry Pratchett

A Fine Place for Death by Ann Granger

Flowers for his Funeral by Ann Granger

Masqueraders by Georgette Heyer

A Candle for a Corpse by Ann Granger

Started:

N/a

Still reading:

The Beast of Littleton Woods by T E Kinsey

Curtain Call to Murder by Julian Clary

The Sweet Dove Died by Barbara Pym

Wish You Were Here by Jess K Hardy*

Abdication by Juliet Nicolson

Cher: The Memoir Part One by Cher

Five books bought.

Bonus picture: Another photo from a sunny Sunday afternoon in the countryside. Just glorious.

*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: May 5 – May 11

So here’s the thing, despite the fact that I have a tonne of books waiting to be read, at the start of last week all my brain wanted to do was re-read Mitchell and Markby books. Now this started because I bought the first one second hand a few weeks back as you know, and started reading it on Sunday night. And then I ended up buying the next few on kindle so I could read on because when I read them originally I had borrowed them from a friend and I gave them back like the good girl I am. And then I really struggled to get started on anything new to me and so moved on to more familiar old friends – with new books in series that I like and a dash of Terry Pratchett. We will see where this week takes us…

Read:

Say it With Poison by Ann Granger

A Season for Murder by Ann Granger

The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer

Cold in the Earth by Ann Granger

Murder Among Us by Ann Granger

Underscore by Andrew Cartmel

Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett

Started:

A Farewell to Yarns by Jill Churchill

The Beast of Littleton Woods by T E Kinsey

Still reading:

Curtain Call to Murder by Julian Clary

The Sweet Dove Died by Barbara Pym

Wish You Were Here by Jess K Hardy*

Abdication by Juliet Nicolson

Cher: The Memoir Part One by Cher

Four books bought and one pre-order made. And of course another preorder arrived.

Bonus picture: we have a flower on the new(ish) arrival!

*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: April 28- May 4

It’s a Bank Holiday in the UK today so if you have a day off work, I hope you’re enjoying it and sorry that the nice weather didn’t last. It’s also May, which means hopefully the nice weather will come back at some point, although we’re all bound to spend the next month getting our outfits wrong as we try and predict whether we need to be dressing for heat or cold. Anyway, continued progress on some fronts on the reading, and less so on others as there’s been a lot going on in real life. But I seem to be saying that a lot at the moment, so maybe this is just normal now? What a worrying thought.

Read:

Death on the Pier by Jamie West

The 4.50 from Paddington by Agatha Christie

Death at the Matinee by Jamie West

Murder on Line One by Jeremy Vine*

Tea on Sunday by Lettice Cooper

Death at the Playhouses by Stuart Douglas

Regency Buck by Georgette Heyer

Started:

Curtain Call to Murder by Julian Clary

The Sweet Dove Died by Barbara Pym

Still reading:

Wish You Were Here by Jess K Hardy*

Abdication by Juliet Nicolson

Cher: The Memoir Part One by Cher

Two books bought – one in Quinns, one in Oxfam.

Bonus picture: the narrow alley down to Quinns bookshop – which I always expect to be higher up the hill than 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

April Stats

Books read this month: 30*

New books: 22

Re-reads: 8 (5 audiobooks)

Books from the to-read pile: 10

NetGalley books read: 6

Kindle Unlimited read: 5

Ebooks: 4

Audiobooks: 5

Non-fiction books: 1

Favourite book: Tough – but I’m going to go with The Last Remains because I thought it finished the Ruth Galloway series off so nicely

Most read author: Probably Kerry Greenwood – with three Corinna Chapmans, but it would be tight on page count with the two Elly Griffiths and Sally Smiths’ two Gabriel Vine books.

Books bought: still too many

Books read in 2025: 124

Books on the Goodreads to-read shelf (I don’t have copies of all of these!): 789

Lots of stuff going on in the real world too but still pretty solid month in reading all in. Onwards to May!

Bonus picture: House plant progress with a flower coming on a new plant

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

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: April 21 – April 27

Another pretty solid week of books. I’ve got one of the long running list and I’ve made progress on some of the others too. Perhaps not quite as much progress as I wanted but it was a very busy week in real life and there’s nothing you can do about that.

Read:

A Clutch of Constables by Ngaio Marsh

Barking! by Grace Smith

A Pocket Full of Rye by Agatha Christie

Fell Murder by E C R Lorac

The Oscar Wars by Michael Schulman

Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree

Murder Will Out by Alison Joseph

Started:

Wish You Were Here by Jess K Hardy*

Death at the Playhouses by Stuart Douglas

Still reading:

Murder on Line One by Jeremy Vine*

Abdication by Juliet Nicolson

Cher: The Memoir Part One by Cher

Three books bought.

Bonus picture: a misty morning on the train. It’s nearly impossible to get a good photo from the train but I keep trying because it can be so beautiful.

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