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 Formulahere. 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.
Well that was quite a week. I’m still not sure if I’m coming g or going. And my brain has been pretty fried so I think that explains the descent into binge-reading of Patti Benning mini-mysteries. I wish I could say what I’m going to do tomorrow, but I don’t know yet and I’m hoping inspiration will come to me at some point.
Books bought: Three book-books, four ebooks and two pre-orders
Books read in 2024: 208
Books on the Goodreads to-read shelf (I don’t have copies of all of these!): 736
A pretty solid month of reading all in all. Not as much from the NetGalley list as I should have done, but more from the to-read pile than some months so swings and roundabouts.
Bonus picture: Regents Park on a summer evening. Lovely stuff.
*includes some short stories/novellas/comics/graphic novels – including 2 this month!
Only three things to tell you about today, and one of them is a check in on something I mentioned on release day, but hey, here we go:
One Last Summer by Kate Spencer*
I read Kate Spencer’s In A New York Minute back in 2022 and enjoyed it so I was really excited to see what she had written next. This is about a group of friends who met at summer camp and have kept a tradition going of meeting up at that camp again into adulthood. But this summer is the last hurrah – because the camp is being sold. Clara our heroine hasn’t been on the last few reunions – but her boss has forced her to take time off so she’s back – and now has to deal with her former camp crush Mack. I really liked the premise, but I found Clara really hard to like and the one-upmanship vibe that her relationship with Mack has is just not my thing. It will be for some people – but it veered to close to the “I’m pranking you to show you I like you” vibe that can really get on my last nerve. It was also much closer to New Adult in feel than I was expecting. Not for me – but never mind, I know other people will really like it, which is why I’m including it here.
Truly, Madly, Deeply by Alexandria Bellefleur
I mentioned this when it came out, so now I’ve read it, it’s only fair I come back to report. I’ve got a longer summary of the plot in that last post – but it’s a jaded romance author and a family lawyer at the centre of it and a enemies to lovers plot. I’m sad to report that it didn’t really work for me – mainly because of some issues with the subplots that I can’t really explain without spoiling them completely. But I am finding a theme with the Alexandria Bellefleurs that I’ve read that I like the idea of them or the plot description more than I like the actual execution. Count Your Lucky Stars was a BotW – but I had an issue with the final act. I don’t ever hate them – because I keep coming back for more – I just don’t ever love them-love them if that makes sense!
Career Books for Girls by Kay Clifford
It’s only a month to go before Book Con 2024, so I’m having a quick check that I’ve read everything I bought home from Bristol two years ago (yes, I know, I know) and this was one of the ones I found. As the title suggests, this is basically an encyclopaedia of books aimed at encouraging girls into careers, or informing them about what was actually involved in careers, in the long first half of the twentieth century. I had read more of them than I was expecting – and I really liked Kay’s writing which wryly points out the issues with the world view of these books as well as telling you about them. It’s not meant to be read all at once, more a dip into type thing, but that didn’t stop me!
Not the longest list this week – but some of the stuff I didn’t finish is quite long. Also the Euros are on and there was Formula One and MotoGP at the weekend. And the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders documentary on Netflix… and that’s all before you get to the wonderful weather!
An eclectic selection this month. There are two Lumberjanes that I somehow didn’t get when they first came out, the two books I bought on the way to Lagos, the first Cesare Aldo which I ordered second hand after reading the first on holiday in April, a non-MaisieJacqueline Winspear and a Lauren Willig that I preordered ages ago and seems to have only just become available in paperback in the UK.
And what I realised after I took this photo is that – despite the fact that there is one Winspear in here so it should have jogged my memory, I forgot to include the final Maisie Dobbs in it. Now is that because I genuinely forgot or because my brain didn’t want to admit that I’d walked down to Waterstones Piccadilly on release day to buy it – and it a hardback at full price too. Thank goodness for a £10 Waterstones loyalty card reward. Even if that means I’ve already spent a lot of money there. And it’s not even the only bookshop I use…
Well that was a week. I’m trying to get ahead on my summer reading so I can recommend some of them but there’s just so much good stuff. And yes I did buy the final Maisie Dobbs, on release day, in hardback – but I am trying to pace myself with it so it’s not over too soon. And given that it is a hardback and I don’t want to wreck it, that may be easier than if I had bought the kindle version!
I’m hoping I’m getting into my summer reading stride. Of course it could all go terribly wrong – and it frequently has in the past – but I’m choosing to be optimistic. I think the weird and unpredictable weather has helped with this, because when it’s not sunny outside it’s nice to read summer-y books to hope that the nice (but hopefully not too boiling) weather is coming soon.
Most read author: Margery Allingham because of the ebooks
Books bought: 5 books and 6 ebooks and one preorder
Books read in 2024: 171
Books on the Goodreads to-read shelf (I don’t have copies of all of these!): 740
I’m going to call this the month of Kindle Unlimited, because it’s true really. I’ve read so much from there this month for various reasons, but it’s really justified its subscription price.
Bonus picture: another Lagos picture. Not that you can really tell!
*includes some short stories/novellas/comics/graphic novels – including 8 this month!
So it turns out that despite there being no time difference between Nigeria and the UK, it can still make you exhausted. To be honest, I think it was the night flight home that was the big problem – and then I had (another) super busy week on top. Hopefully this week will be calmer/better/easier!
