books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: October 14 – October 20

The Lily Bard binge reread is over, which means I’ll presumably find something else to fixate on imminently to distract me from reading the backlog. It was ever thus. That said, it wasn’t a bad week of reading, even if there are still a few on the long running pile. This week coming is going to be a busy one though, so we’ll see how that all plans out.

Read:

Shakespeare’s Trollop by Charlaine Harris

Shakespeare’s Counsellor by Charlaine Harris

Haunted Ever After by Jen DeLuca

More Work for the Undertaker by Margery Allingham

A Holiday for Homicide by Devon Delaney*

The Methods of Sergeant Cluff by Gil North

Unruly by David Mitchell

Started:

Digging Up History by Sheila Connolly

A Jingle Bell Mingle by Sierra Simone and Julie Murphy*

Still reading:

Small Bomb at Dimperley by Lissa Evans

Astor by Anderson Cooper

Bonus picture: party time in town on Saturday with an ABBA Tribute band to mark the end of the market square redevelopment. We were on our way to the cinema, so we didn’t stay that long!

*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: October 7 – October 13

I’m having one of those spells where I’m finding it hard to settle down and read some of the things on the list – but instead bingeing through something else. In this case, it’s manifesting in Patti Benning novellas and some Charlaine Harris. Who can tell the mysterious ways my mind works, I certainly can’t. Anyway, the weather has been awful, it’s proper sit inside and read weather – I feel like my feet have been on the edge of being damp for about a month now it’s been so wet. Hey ho.

Read:

Autumn Chills by Agatha Christie

Mis-Steak-n Identity by Patti Benning

Steered Wrong by Patti Benning

Coroners Pidgin by Margery Allingham

Bite Moves by Patti Benning

Shakespeare’s Landlord by Charlaine Harris

Shakespeare’s Champion by Charlaine Harris

Shakespeare’s Christmas by Charlaine Harris

Started:

Unruly by David Mitchell

Still reading:

Small Bomb at Dimperley by Lissa Evans

Haunted Ever After by Jen DeLuca

Astor by Anderson Cooper

Well, as usual in kindle offers week, a few ebooks bought – and I still have some samples left to read for other things so potentially more to come there. Two books in Foyles which you’ve already seen and a couple more ordered (but not yet arrived)

Bonus picture: some Art at the Outernet last week – it’s very cool but it makes my head hurt quite quickly!

*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-October edition

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, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: September 30 – October 6

The mornings are getting darker, we’re into October and it’s the final quarter of the year. Whatever happened to 2024? Anyway, a fairly ok week in books – not quite as much finished as I wanted, but there was a lot going on in the world.

Read:

The Hippopotamus Pool by Elizabeth Peters

Tour de Force by Christianna Brand

Dead End Street by Sheila Connolly

Nemesis by Agatha Christie

Death at the Dinner Party by Ellie Alexander

A View to A Grill by Patti Benning

Nose Knows by Patti Benning

Started:

Haunted Ever After by Jen DeLuca

Astor by Anderson Cooper

Still reading:

Small Bomb at Dimperley by Lissa Evans

Well I started writing the Kindle Offers post so you know how that goes. But I didn’t buy any physical books so that’s something!

Bonus picture: misty mornings on the train continue…

*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

September Stats

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, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: September 23 – September 29

A total mix of reading this week – non-fiction, fiction, children’s fiction, murder mysteries, new stuff, old stuff. And it’s been a real mixed bag although it was fairly easy to decide what to write about tomorrow! And tomorrow is the start of a new month too, so there’ll be all the usual bits and pieces this week as well.

Read:

Kingmaker by Sonia Purnell*

Hitchcock’s Blondes by Laurence Leamer

Heartburn by Nora Ephron

Sniffed Out by Patti Benning

Ruff Stuff by Patti Benning

Worrals goes East by W E Johns

Rocking It by Patti Benning

High Style and Homicide by Kathleen Bridge*

Started:

Dead End Street by Sheila Connolly

Still reading:

Tour de Force by Christianna Brand

Small Bomb at Dimperley by Lissa Evans

No books bought. A minor miracle.

Bonus picture: it has been so wet this week. It feels like it hasn’t really stopped raining, although of course it has. This is a photo from outside town at the start of the week (thanks dad!) – basically you shouldn’t be able to see any water here – the brook runs between the trees to the right – and is usually well out of sight.

*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 16 – September 22

A slightly shorter list than I would have hoped this week, but Kingmaker is *really* long – 500+ pages all in – but it’s also really good, so I’ve spent a fair bit of time reading that this week. And I’m nearly done with Hitchcock’s Blondes too – I’ve reached Tippi Hedren, but as I said last week, it’s a hardback and they don’t travel to work with me. Anyway, fingers crossed this week I’ll actually finish them as we barrel towards the end of September.

Read:

Light Thickens by Ngaio Marsh

Murder in Waiting by Lynn Cahoon

Negligent in New York by Patti Benning

Razing the Dead by Sheila Connolly

Privy to the Dead by Sheila Connolly

The Man Who Didn’t Fly by Margot Bennett

Started:

Tour de Force by Christianna Brand

Still reading:

Kingmaker by Sonia Purnell*

Small Bomb at Dimperley by Lissa Evans

Hitchcock’s Blondes by Laurence Leamer

One book and one ebook bought – and a couple of last week’s purchases arrived too!

Bonus picture: after mentioning Maigret in my post about Parisian books on Wednesday, I noticed this themed display tower in Waterstone’s Gower Street when I was in there on Thursday!

*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 9 – September 15

Another really busy week – but this time commuting from home every day so lots of reading time on the train! A pretty good list to be honest, even if I didn’t manage to finish everything I started the previous week – but some of that is a hardback copy issue. Will work on that this week!

Read:

Roller Skates by Ruth Sawyer

The Talisman Ring by Georgette Heyer

The Singing Sands by Josephine Tey

Between a Flock and a Hard Place by Donna Andrews

Black Sheep by Georgette Heyer

Memories and Murder by Lynn Cahoon

Monument to the Dead by Sheila Connolly

Vicki Finds the Answer by Helen Wells

Started:

Kingmaker by Sonia Purnell*

Murder in Waiting by Lynn Cahoon

Still reading:

Small Bomb at Dimperley by Lissa Evans

Hitchcock’s Blondes by Laurence Leamer

Five books bought. Oopsie daisy.

Bonus picture: Distinctly autumnal on the train to work last week. Which was a contrast with Kuala Lumpur on the temperature front that I was not appropriately dressed for.

*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: Kuala Lumpur edition

As promised last week, here’s a second Books Incoming post – as I said on Monday, I was in Kuala Lumpur for work last week, and I may have found a bookshop while I was there and gone a little bit crazy, on account of the fact that they had a buy four books and get a fifth free promotion on. I mean how could I not! More on the bookshop itself to follow, but first up, here are the books that I brought back from Malaysia with me.

Lets start with the airport purchases. The autumn releases haven’t really kicked in yet, so the selection in W H Smiths was a little disappointing, but I still managed to find two I wanted. I’d nearly finished Going Infinite by the time I got to Kuala Lumpur – and I’ve already written about it – and the Elena Armas was the other half of the buy one get one half price. Then the five from the bookshop are the three on the back row and the other half of the middle row. I’m hoping at least one of them is a Rich People Problems book, but the shrink wrap means it’s a bit of a lottery, but all the blurbs were good – and Marlowe Banks… is one I’ve had my eye on for a while, but which hadn’t come my way at a price I was willing to pay before. At the front we have a book of short stories that was given to me by the author, who is a friend of a friend and was kind enough to show me around while I was visiting, and she also gave me Ripples. So thank you Daphne – I had a fabulous time with you and I’m looking forward to reading the books. Oh and if you were wondering what the blind date with a book turned out to be, here’s the answer:

Have a great weekend everyone

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: September 2 – September 8

Well that was quite a week! I’m back in the UK now, but I’ve been travelling again for work – this time to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. I had an amazing time and I also had a lot of reading time on the journey home. I’ve finally got the still reading list sorted out – but I’ve also started a bunch of stuff so unless I’m careful it’ll be building up again…

Read:

Five Love Affairs and a Friendship by Anne de Courcy

Devil’s Cub by Georgette Heyer

Sylvester by Georgette Heyer

Daughter of Time by Joesephine Tey

Let it Crow! Let it Crow! Let It Crow! by Donna Andrews

What Time the Sexton’s Spade Doth Rust by Alan Bradley*

The Red House Mystery by A A Milne*

The Nonesuch by Georgette Heyer

The Masquerades of Spring by Ben Aaronovitch

Started:

The Singing Sands by Josephine Tey

Small Bomb at Dimperley by Lissa Evans

Roller Skates by Ruth Sawyer

Hitchcock’s Blondes by Laurence Leamer

Still reading:

N/a

So many I’m trying not too think about it…

Bonus picture: so many pictures I could have chosen from last week, but I’ve gone for this one because the Petronas Towers are iconic and they look so cool at 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.