books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: September 28 – October 4

Considering how big the finished list is, I really shouldn’t have added a book to the still reading pile, and yet I did. I got distracted and forgot about it until Sunday. And I’m in a bit of a situation for tomorrow too because I did that thing again last week. When will I learn? (Ed: never!) Anyway, let’s see if I can fix that this week coming…

Read:

A Game of Cat and Killer by Jiro Akagawa*

Unnatural Death by Dorothy L Sayers

Murder on the Cornish Train by J M Hall*

Alan Opts Out by Courtney Maum*

The Voices of the Dead by Nicola Upson*

Puzzles of the Parish edited by Martin Edwards

The Gentleman’s Book of Vice by Jess Everlee*

Take Six Girls by Laura Thompson

A Murder at Midnight by Ellie Alexander

Started:

Julia at the Drive-In by Rainbow Rowell

Pride, Prejudice and Peril by Jessica Bull*

Still reading:

The Final Problem by Arturo Perez-Reverte

Any Way the Wind Blows by Rainbow Rowell

Two books and one ebook

Bonus picture: as I started the week by picking a book I finished on Monday as my BotW I’m carrying on the cat theme with a picture of this kitty, spotted in my neighbourhood.

*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

Reading Stats: September 2026

Books read this month: 30*

New books: 25

Re-reads: 5 (all audiobooks)

Books from the to-read pile: 9

NetGalley books read: 10

Kindle Unlimited read: 1

Ebooks: 4

Audiobooks: 5

Non-fiction books: 3

Favourite book: Philippa Flynn’s Year of Panic and Piracy

Books bought: five books and ten ebooks

Most read author: Probably Dorothy L Sayers because I’ve started the Wimsey audiobooks with a different narrator…

Books read in 2026: 294

Books on the Goodreads to-read shelf (I don’t have copies of all of these!): 591

A fairly solid month in books in the end. I’m sort of surprised it turned out so well because there were a lot of theatre trips in there – five musicals and a concert. And we’re deep into the autumn new release season so it’s a surprise to me that I didn’t buy more in the end. Roll on October.

Bonus picture: the final curtain of the special 20th anniversary performance of Avenue Q – with many of the original cast and the current revival one. A lovely night in the theatre.

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

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: September 21 – September 27

It was one theatre trip and a concert in the end – and a non-fiction book, which always takes me longer than fiction. And we’re hurtling towards the end of September too, which is terrifying. Hey ho, we will get there. A quieter week this week (I hope) with plenty of opportunities for reading.

Read:

Kimberly Akimbo by David Lindsay-Abaire and Jeanne Tesori

Clouds of Witness by Dorothy L Sayers

Hollywood Whispers by Eileen Cope*

Baekjo Laundry Has a Neat Answer to All Your Problems by Lee Jae-in*

Curse of the Pharaohs by Elizabeth Peters

Get Over It, April Evans by Ashley Herring Blake

Safe Harbor by Nicola Yoon

Started:

The Final Problem by Arturo Perez-Reverte

A Game of Cat and Killer by Jiro Akagawa*

The Gentleman’s Book of Vice by Jess Everlee*

Still reading:

Any Way the Wind Blows by Rainbow Rowell

Three books and one ebook. I couldn’t help myself – I went to five different bookshops…

Bonus picture: Biscuit Moomins in the window of a shop in Notting Hill.

*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: September 14 – September 20

A fairly solid week of reading, considering that I had two theatre trips and a *very* busy week. Not as much progress on the NetGalley list as I would have liked, but three books off the physical pile is pretty good for me, especially given the extreme levels of indecision I find myself with when I stand in front of the bookcase. It’s definitely starting to feel autumnal now and I’m being pulled towards murder mysteries even more than ever!

Read:

Whose Body by Dorothy L Sayers

When Gavin Met Stacey and Everything in Between by Ruth Jones and James Corden

In Dog We Trust by Beth Kendrick

Rum Affair by Doroth Dunnett

To Brew or Not to Brew by Joyce Tremel

Sugar Plum Poisoned by Jenn McKinlay

The Tsubaki Stationery Store by Ito Ogawa*

Started:

Baekjo Laundry Has a Neat Answer to All Your Problems by Lee Jae-in*

Still reading:

Any Way the Wind Blows by Rainbow Rowell

One ebook bought.

Bonus picture: One last time at The Producers last Monday before it closed at the weekend. I love this show so much and this was a great production of it. I saw it five times across the Menier and the London run, which is the most I’ve seen a show in a very long time, certainly the most I’ve seen a show in a two year span since the heady days of We Will Rock You….

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

The pile

Books Incoming Mid-September 2026

Check me out. An incredibly restrained month with just two books. The Road to Roswell came from South Kensington Books which I had spotted when I went there before Rufus Wainwright but bought something else and then was recommended it by someone else, so was pleased to see they still had when I went back before the American Classics Prom. And then I’m not sure there was any way I was going to be able to resist buying Daggerbound when I saw it in a store after how much I enjoyed Swordheart. But I’m pretty pleased for not buying anything else because I had plenty of opportunities – I’ve been in Foyles at least twice as well as stared at several book exchange shelves.

Have a great weekend.

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: September 7 – September 13

After a very changeable week of weather and a lot of time on the train, the list is somewhat back on track. I’ve got at least one theatre trip this week, so that may not last though. But I’m going to give it my best shot! There are some good reads on here though – and some less good – many of which you’re going to hear about in the posts to come.

Read:

The Author’s Guide to Murder by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig and Karen White

Tiffany Aching’s Guide to Being a Witch by Rhianna Pratchett and Gabrielle Kent

Philippa Flynn’s Year of Panic and Piracy by Jacqueline Firkins*

Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel by Lucy Foley*

The Vineyard Murder by Greg Mosse*

A Ruse of Shadows by Sherry Thomas

The Break-Up Pact by Emma Lord

Started:

The Tsubaki Stationery Store by Ito Ogawa*

Still reading:

Any Way the Wind Blows by Rainbow Rowell

One ebook bought.

Bonus picture: It’s that time of year again – the mornings are darker and that means I’m getting some spectacular sunrises on the train to work.

*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: August 31 – September 6

Two mistakes this week that mean that the list is shorter: two nights at the theatre and committing to a non-fiction book. Add to that the fact that I wrote about the Tim Curry memoir last Tuesday despite finishing it on Monday and I’m in a bit of a bind for tomorrow. Hey ho. Many train journeys this week so hopefully reading balance will be resumed.

Read:

Vagabond by Tim Curry

A Clutch of Constables by Ngaio Marsh

The Kennedys and the Windsors by Caroline Hallemann

The Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters

Laura Clark Is Away from Her Desk by Helen Russell*

That Detestable New Girl by Dora Chapman

Started:

The Author’s Guide to Murder by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig and Karen White

Tiffany Aching’s Guide to Being a Witch by Rhianna Pratchett and Gabrielle Kent

Still reading:

Any Way the Wind Blows by Rainbow Rowell

A bunch of Kindle books bought (because I was writing the offers post) but no actual hardcopies of anything.

Bonus picture: A sad victim of my fight with a buddleia over the weekend. So far, the buddleia is winning…

*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

Reading Stats: August 2026

Books read this month: 31*

New books: 25

Re-reads: 6 (all audiobooks)

Books from the to-read pile: 7

NetGalley books read: 4

Kindle Unlimited read: 11

Ebooks: 3

Audiobooks: 6

Non-fiction books: 1

Favourite book: The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy, but it was close with Swordheart and also Vagabond

Books bought: two actual books, ten ebooks

Most read author: the three Helen books probably mean Linda Graeme, but they’re not long books (and the print is big) so it could be T Kingfisher because Swordheart is 450 pages!

Books read in 2026: 264

Books on the Goodreads to-read shelf (I don’t have copies of all of these!): 595

A pretty good month in reading. I’ve tried to tackle the to-read pile after the huge amounts of books acquired in July and actually done ok on that front despite spending a of time away from home. I read all the August released I’d requested from NetGalley which is pretty good going (and I’ve even written some about them) and I (mostly) resisted the urge to buy more physical books – even if I did have a bit of a bonanza time while writing the Kindle offers. We are however heading into the bumper autumn release season so I dread to think what I might manage to get up to this month.

Bonus picture: Judy! on the wall at the Palladium. I’m not going to say it was my favourite thing about the trip to JCS because that would be unfair on how much I enjoyed Richard Armitage as Herod (which is under five minutes of the show and late in the second act). But it was high on the list!

*often includes some short stories/novellas/comics/graphic novels – 8 this month!

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: August 24 – August 30

Happy Bank Holiday Monday to all who celebrate it. Although to be fair last week didn’t feel like much of a week to celebrate. I was looking back at my photos from last week when I was writing this and saw the ones from the Proms on Monday – which was wonderful but feels like a life time ago given Dolly Parton on Tuesday night, Tim Curry on Wednesday and then of course the landslides in Nepal where the news on the numbers of missing just keeps getting worse and worse. But here we are. The list this week is short – I had the Proms, then I had a migraine, and then we did a last minute flit to the Far North to visit my sister for the weekend which we hadn’t planned. I read lots of books while we were there – but I don’t think Where is Pierre, That’s not my Dinosaur, Six Dinner Sid or any of the other dozen or so books I read my niece really count here. That said, Six Dinner Sid is a stone cold classic and I really loved Where is Pierre which I hadn’t seen before.

Read:

Nemesis by Agatha Christie

Murder-Sur-Mer by Hugh Morrison

Battle of Round House by Tananarive Due

The Cairndale Orphan by J M Miro

After Park by Patti Benning

Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie

Started:

Vagabond by Tim Curry

The Kennedys and the Windsors by Caroline Hallemann

Still reading:

Any Way the Wind Blows by Rainbow Rowell

After doing so well for the rest of the month and not buying anything I cracked – two books bought. But they weren’t impulse purchases, or at least not really. I promise I’ll explain in the next Books Incoming

Bonus picture: waiting for the American Classics Prom on Monday night – it’s on TV (or bits of it are) later this week, and it’s on BBC Sounds if you just want the audio. It’s worth it – especially the Rhapsody in Blue with the Marcus Roberts trio.

*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: August 17 – August 23

A super busy week last week, but not too awful week in reading all together. This coming week is even busier, so we’ll see how I go, but I have at least finished all of my August new releases from NetGalley before the end of the month which is practically a first. If only I had finished the July ones. Or the June ones.

Read:

The Double Turn by Carol Carnac

My Name is MacKenzie Bly by Lissa Evans

The Truth About Love by Stephanie Laurens

The Comeback by Mel Giedroyc*

At Bertram’s Hotel by Agatha Christie

Swordheart by T Kingfisher

The Wizard Who Kept Himself Suspicious by Scott Lynch

Started:

n/a

Still reading:

Any Way the Wind Blows by Rainbow Rowell

Nothing bought!

Bonus picture: The orchestra pit at The Car Man.

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