Verity Reads Books (lots of them)
In which our heroine attempts to tame the to-read pile
This is actually the final part of last month’s bumper crop of arrivals – I’ve been holding back in case I impulse bought any more festive books, but I think I’ve done the lot now, so I’m risking it. Here we have the Christmas Three Dahlias, the new Martha Waters Christmas book and the Most Wonderful Crime of the Year aka a locked room Christmas mystery, which since I bought it has gone into KU which is a tad frustrating but hey, the paperback is pretty.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Books read this month: 39*
New books: 32
Re-reads: 7 (all audiobooks)
Books from the to-read pile: 8
NetGalley books read: 5
Kindle Unlimited read: 9
Ebooks: 10
Audiobooks: 7
Non-fiction books: 1
Favourite book this month: Rivals or The Rom-Commers
Most read author: Simon Brett because of the Fetherings binge plus Charles Paris re-listen
Books bought: we will continue to not talk about it, although I did have a clear out of the bookshelves so that has improved things a little despite the amount incoming..
Books read in 2024: 375
Books on the Goodreads to-read shelf (I don’t have copies of all of these!): 741
Genuinely a really solid month in reading, mostly, but not entirely down to the holiday. I’m still quite a long way short of my 50 states though, and a fair few books short on the beat the to-read pile challenge in my journal, so I’m not sure I can complete both of them this year. Doesn’t mean I won’t try though…
Bonus picture: After writing about Avenue Q, this is from the night after that Q concert – with two of the stars, Jon Robyns and Simon Lipkin doing a late night show together in the West End. It was also wonderful.
*includes some short stories/novellas/comics/graphic novels – including 6 this month!
As I said last week, there were too many arrivals for just one post, so I’m back with a second one. And this is fifty percent preorders (that’s the whole front row), and then a few others. And several of the others are because I’ve been ordering Christmas books – and to get free postage from Waterstones you need to spend more than £30… so I just bought myself something to get up to the value, because I haven’t been organised I’ve just been ordering in dribs and drabs. Anyway, to the actual books: we’ve got the new final Vanderbeeker book which is finally out here in paperback, the next part in the Fangirl Manga and the latest Katherine Center (which I also saw in the shops last week). Then there’s A Star Is Bored which has been recommended by several authors that I enjoy reading, the Roseanne Montillo book about Truman Capote and Ann Woodward and The Divorce Colony, which has been on the list for so long that I forget who recommended it to start with, but which had a price drop. So all lovely stuff hopefully, I just need to stop acquiring things and start reading them…
Have a great weekend!
Books read this month: 31*
New books: 20
Re-reads: 11 (6 audiobooks)
Books from the to-read pile: 4
NetGalley books read: 2
Kindle Unlimited read: 8
Ebooks: 5
Audiobooks: 6
Non-fiction books: 2
Favourite book this month: Probably A Dark and Stormy Murder
Most read author: Charlaine Harris, with the Lily Bard reread
Books bought: moving on….
Books read in 2024: 336
Books on the Goodreads to-read shelf (I don’t have copies of all of these!): 754
A pretty solid month by figures, but still more than I’d like in novellas rather than actual books because that means it’s not reducing either the physical TBR pile or the Netgalley list. Still in the main they’re coming via KU so at least it means I’m getting value out of that membership!
Bonus picture: is it wrong to be proud of a cake?! Any way, I made this and I was so…
*includes some short stories/novellas/comics/graphic novels – including 7 this month!
So, an unusual month in a way, in that I’ve already read three of the books in this picture. So on the bright side, they’re not on the pile – they’re already off and through. On the downside, there were only two more until I went into Foyles this week and got carried away. Never mind. Four more on the pile is better than it has been. And I have all the Museum mysteries now so I can’t buy any more of those, which is something I guess. Although the Olivia Blackie is a new to me series so that could be dangerous in itself. Wish me luck…
Books read this month: 36* which seems like more than I was expecting!
New books: 29
Re-reads: 7 (all audiobooks)
Books from the to-read pile: 13
NetGalley books read: 4
Kindle Unlimited read: 8
Ebooks: 4
Audiobooks: 7
Non-fiction books: 5
Favourite book this month: Kingmaker or the Masquerades of Spring
Most read author: Sheila Connolly – four in the Fundraising the Dead series
Books bought: still not counting, because Kuala Lumpur was… book heavy
Books read in 2024: 305
Books on the Goodreads to-read shelf (I don’t have copies of all of these!): 747
A pretty solid month I’m going to say helped a fair bit by those long haul flights right at the start. And now we enter the last quarter of the year heading towards the festive season and all the Christmas books…
Bonus picture: Worrals goes East may have been a terrible book, but it did push me over the 200 book mark for the year. Time to up the target!
*includes some short stories/novellas/comics/graphic novels – including 4 this month!
Books read this month: 29*
New books: 29
Re-reads: 2 (all audiobooks)
Books from the to-read pile: 9
NetGalley books read: 3
Kindle Unlimited read: 15
Ebooks: 0
Audiobooks: 2
Non-fiction books: 0
Favourite book this month: probably Let’s Play Dead by Sheila Connelly, given that I went and bought the first book and third book in the series straight after I finished it and have read the first one already!
Most read author: Patti Benning
Books bought: not counting…
Books read in 2024: 269
Books on the Goodreads to-read shelf (I don’t have copies of all of these!): 742
A very bookish month because of Book Con, even if the stats would seem to belie that. Onwards to September and the rush of new books for the autumn!
Bonus picture: I said I went to Kiss Me Kate again… it’s definitely my favourite show of the summer so have another picture!
*includes some short stories/novellas/comics/graphic novels – including this month!
I did Book Con last week, but here’s the other stuff that’s arrive in the last month, not including those ones. So we have two books from Persephone Books – on which more next week. The there is Film Stars at Riverlea which came from a friend, two books from the charity shops – The Fixer Upper and Lilian Boxfish Takes a Walk. I said in my post when the new Lady Sherlock came out we would see how long it took for my preorder to turn up – and here is the answer: it arrived on August 8! Then we have Laurence Leamer’s book Hitchcock’s Blondes, which came down in price in hardback and a cozy crime that I got cheap second hand. All very nice.
Happy weekend everyone!
Books read this month: 32*
New books: 25
Re-reads: 7 (all audiobooks)
Books from the to-read pile: 3
NetGalley books read: 5
Kindle Unlimited read: 16
Ebooks: 1
Audiobooks: 7
Non-fiction books: 1
Favourite book this month: Do Me a Favour
Most read author: Probably Patti Benning again, because I read a bunch at the start of the month, but Hugh Morrison coming up fast behind at the end of the month
Books bought: One book-book, two ebooks and a preorder
Books read in 2024: 240
Books on the Goodreads to-read shelf (I don’t have copies of all of these!): 740
A pretty solid month in reading, although ending slower than it started. I was binging through one author at the start of the month, and moved on to mini-binges on a couple of others as we moved through. Not enough Netgalley reading done, which is all pretty standard stuff for me.
Bonus picture: Another picture from the Barbican Conservatory before Kiss Me Kate
*includes some short stories/novellas/comics/graphic novels – including this month!
I think this might be a first. Hold on to your hats, something amazing has happened. No not quite that amazing, but it’s pretty good:
Only two books bought – and I read both of them on holiday so they have not added to the pile! I think this is a complete first. You can read my book of the week review of The Formula here. And the other of course is the third in Reverend Richard Coles’s Canon Clement series, which I included in my murder mysteries with vicars post.
Have an amazing Saturday everyone!
