Tag: to-read pile

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: February 20 – February 26

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How is it nearly the end of February already? I know that it’s the shortest month, and January always feels like it goes on forever, but this year it seems to have gone even quicker. Anyway, what have I done in the last week? Ummmmm. Well. Lots of work? And quite a bit of reading? Oh. I know. We watched seven episodes of Drive To Survive after it came out on Friday. That would explain it. Anyway, there are another couple of books nearly finished, so we’ll see how that goes this week, when I have another couple of nights away in London and an event or two I’m planning to go to. All the usual stuff coming up this week by the way including the Stats and Quick Reviews.

Read:

Movie Star by Jessica Simpson

The Unknown Ajax by Georgette Heyer

Murder Served Neat by Michelle Hillen Klump*

The Pot Thief Who Studied Pythagoras by J Michael Orenduff

Death in the Stars by Frances Brody

I Want to Die But I Want to Eat Tteokbokki by Baek Se-hee

Started:

Gone But Not for Garden by Kate Collins*

The Dress Diary of Mrs Anne Sykes by Kate Strasdin*

Catering to Nobody by Diane Mott Davison

Shadows of London by Andrew Taylor*

Still reading:

Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead

The Empire by Michael Ball*

Travellers in the Third Reich by Julia Boyd

Rogues by Patrick Radden Keefe

Two books bought in Foyles because I just can’t help myself and another two books in the post plus two Kindle books. Whoops.

Bonus photo: The park again as that’s the prettiest photo I have from the week. It’s starting to look more green and less muddy and the hope that spring is coming is rising.

*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: February 13 – February 19

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Another very busy week including a few nights away from home, but with a bit of excitement as well – like a panel about Eurovision and a trip to the Cotswolds. Oh and Valentine’s Day and even more romance reading because why not!

Read:

A Surfeit of Lampreys by Ngaio Marsh

In Farm’s Way by Amanda Flower*

A Lie for a Lie by Emilie Richards

Fudge Cupcake Murder by Joanne Fluke

Peril in Paris by Rhys Bowen

Death and the Dancing Footman by Ngaio Marsh

The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren

Started:

Murder Served Neat by Michelle Hillen Klump*

The Pot Thief Who Studied Pythagoras by J Michael Orenduff

Still reading:

Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead

The Empire by Michael Ball*

Travellers in the Third Reich by Julia Boyd

Rogues by Patrick Radden Keefe

One book pre-ordered, but that’s about it. I’m surprised at myself.

Bonus photo: Bourton-on-the-Water on Saturday. Beautiful but jam packed with people, although I think I’ve done quite a good job of disguising that in the picture!

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

Book previews

Upcoming releases

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When I wrote the Anticipated Books post at the very start of the year, I was lamenting the lack of detail on what was coming and when, but things are getting a little clearer now, so I’m back with a release update.

There are a couple of things coming next month. Firstly there is a new novel from Jacqueline Winspear, that is not in her Maisie Dobbs series. The White Lady is about a former spy living a retired life in 1947 Kent but who gets drawn (back) into a world of violence. And there’s a new novel from Jesse Sutano – I loved Dial A for Aunties, but didn’t like the sequel anywhere near as much, so I’m looking forward to seeing what she does with something different – Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murders has a 60 year old heroine who discovers a dead body in her tea shop.

The most exciting (for me anyway) might be the new Curtis Sittenfeld which is coming out in early April and is called Romantic Comedy. The blurb promises a TV screenwriter who is over romance but who meets an unlikely love interest that might change her mind. It’s nearly three years since Rodham and given that Eligible (her Pride and Prejudice retelling) is my favourite of her novels, I just can’t wait. Also in April is the new Emily Henry, which I did mention in the previous post and a new book from T J Klune – which is a Pinocchio retelling called In the Lives of Puppets.

Going even further into the future, I’m looking forward to the next Ali Hazelwood romance and Alice Bell’s Grave Expectations – a murder mystery about a medium with a ghost who follows her around and which has got a quote from Ben Aaronovitch on the cover. Talking of Aaronovitch, there’s a new Rivers of London novella coming in June called Winter’s Gifts. And there are a fair few of my regular autobuys who have books coming up – I wrote about Donna Andrews Meg Langslow series last week, and she has two more in the series coming in the second half of the year, including the fabulous pun Birder, She Wrote. Sarah MacLean’s next, Knockout is out in August, Christina Lauren have The True Love Experiment coming in May, Bridgerton author Julia Quinn is due to have a new book out in May, although there isn’t even a title yet – just a date on Amazon! And there’s a new Veronica Speedwell just a couple of weeks away too.

And no, I’m not telling you how many of these I have already preordered…

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: February 6 – February 12

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Well in case you couldn’t tell, I had quite a fun week last week – with a trip to the theatre and a nice meal out with my parents. Work continues a little busy, but I’m hoping this week coming will be better as it is half term week for the people with children. I’m due to be in town a couple of nights again and I’m hoping to have a bit of fun, so we’ll see what they does to next week’s list. As for this week, I finally got a book off the long running list, which is quite the achievement given my recent record. If only I can manage another before the end of the month!

Read:

Overture to Death by Ngaio Marsh

Going With the Boys by Judith Mackrell

Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan

Death at the Bar by Ngaio Marsh

Invitation to a Killer by G M Malliet*

Vera Kelly: Lost and Found by Rosalie Knecht

Exes and O’s by Amy Lea*

Started:

A Lie for a Lie by Emilie Richards

In Farm’s Way by Amanda Flower*

Still reading:

Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead

The Empire by Michael Ball*

Travellers in the Third Reich by Julia Boyd

Rogues by Patrick Radden Keefe

Peril in Paris by Rhys Bowen

Well, one book in Foyles (on top of the three in there last week) ahead of Noises Off, and one on kindle while I was writing the Kindle Offers post.

Bonus photo: a frosty morning in Fitzroy Square last week. For once I had a whole week of cold but dry on the commute!

*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, The pile

Books Incoming: mid-February edition

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Well I suppose it’s a smaller selection than the last one, so I should try and be pleased with that. But if you think that these AND everything in the birthday post are all January acquisitions, then you’ll see why I find that not a lot to cheer about. Anyway, to the actual books. The Elizabeth Taylor is Kate Andersen Brower’s new book and given my interest in classic Hollywood and how much I enjoyed her books about the White House and it’s occupants, it probably shouldn’t be a surprise that I bought it for myself for my birthday. I also bought myself (or rather preordered myself) the signed Really Good, Actually which I just kept hearing about all over the place. As I mentioned in the post about the Christy Kennedy series, there are a few I haven’t read – and I’ve bought a couple of them after writing the post!

Then there’s the last two Emilie Richards Ministry is Murder books which I’ve been eying for a long time and bought in a week moment and The Foyles Three (as alluded to last weekend) – two romances because they had an offer on and how could I resist and the very, very discounted cosy crime which is from a series that I read several of via NetGalley years ago and haven’t seen around for ages. All in all not a bad haul and if only it wasn’t for the state of the to read bookshelf I would be quite happy. As it is the overspill pile is getting out of control so now I will have to redouble my efforts now I have finished the Meg Langslow reread!

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: January 30 – February 5

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It is official: I have finished the Meg Langslow re-read and I now have to wait until *checks* August for a new one. But, even though it’s been a blast, it has set me behind some of my other goals for the year. The best the to read page in my journal is looking worryingly empty. And this week hasn’t really helped that much as I was away for four nights and didn’t take a book with me – and I bought three on that trip to Foyles on Friday. Oopsie daisy. Still at least I made some progress on the NetGalley list and a lot of progress on one of the long runners. Maybe this week…

Read:

Artists in Crime by Ngaio Marsh

Vermeer to Eternity by Anthony Horowitz

Death of an Author by E C R Lorac

Irish Coffee Murder by Leslie Meier, Lee Hollis and Barbara Ross*

Death in a White Tie by Ngaio Marsh

Death Comes to Marlow by Robert Thorogood*

Dashing Through the Snowbirds by Donna Andrews

Crowned and Mouldering by Kate Carlisle

Started:

Vera Kelly: Lost and Found by Rosalie Knecht

Peril in Paris by Rhys Bowen

Still reading:

Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead

Going With the Boys by Judith Mackrell

The Empire by Michael Ball*

Travellers in the Third Reich by Julia Boyd

Rogues by Patrick Radden Keefe

Exes and O’s by Amy Lea*

Three books bought in Foyles, plus one Kindle book. And the audiobook on CD of the last (chronologically) Amelia Peabody so that Him Indoors can hear how it all ends!

Bonus photo: as I mentioned, I was away for four nights – this time staying near St Paul’s cathedral. So I offer you a lovely nighttime photo of that, that I took on my way back from the theatre on Friday.

*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

January Stats

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Books read this month: 30*

New books: 13

Re-reads: 17

Books from the to-read pile: 4

NetGalley books read: 2

Kindle Unlimited read: 3

Ebooks: 15

Audiobooks: 6

Non-fiction books: 0

Favourite book this month: Of the new stuff, probably The Three Dahlias

Most read author: Donna Andrews – 11 Meg Langslows, only one left in the reread now

Books bought: I mean I’d rather not talk about it to be honest. Probably about 20!

Books read in 2023: 30

Books on the Goodreads to-read shelf (I don’t have copies of all of these!): 669

Minor tweaks to the format of the stats for 2023 – taking out library books, for now at least. Aside from that the new year continued as the end of the old – with the Meg Langslow binge. But as I only have one left now, that can’t really continue so I look forward to seeing what I replace it with in February!

Bonus picture: from our day out in Wells as part of our trip. You may recognise this as a location from Hot Fuzz, and yes we were intermittently muttering lines from the movie at each other all day!

*includes some short stories/novellas/comics/graphic novels – including 4 this month

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: January 23 – January 29

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So I’m realising that the problem with some of the long runners (I’ll let you work out which) is that they are books I need to concentrate on, and also a bit miserable. And this means that I need to be in the right mood for them (and one of them is also a hardback) and my brain is a bit frazzled right now, so it’s been happy to carry on down the Meg Langslow binge reread (only one left now!) as well as romance. I’m working on it though. I’ll get there in the end.

Read:

The Three Dahlias by Katy Watson

Death in Ecstasy by Ngaio Marsh

Missing Christmas by Kate Clayborn

Twelve Jays of Christmas by Donna Andrews

Vintage Murder by Ngaio Marsh

Georgie, All Along by Kate Clayborn*

Round Up the Usual Peacocks by Donna Andrews

Started:

Irish Coffee Murder by Leslie Meier, Lee Hollis and Barbara Ross*

Still reading:

Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead

Going With the Boys by Judith Mackrell

The Empire by Michael Ball*

Travellers in the Third Reich by Julia Boyd

Rogues by Patrick Radden Keefe

Exes and O’s by Amy Lea*

Well I may have picked up a couple of books (one ebook, one actual book) but that’s much, much better than last week so I’m counting it as a total win!

Bonus photo: A new plant, to soothe my wounded heart after I killed off a couple a few weeks back. Say hi to Fern-mino!

*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: January 16 – January 22

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So last week was the annual January trip, and this year we stayed in the UK and did lots of sightseeing, rather than going abroad and sitting on a beach. So the list isn’t quite as long as it can be for a week away, but we had a blast, I’m super relaxed and I have a bunch of new ideas too. So a total win really.

Read:

The Nursing Home Murder by Ngaio Marsh

A Christmas Gone Perfectly Wrong by Cecilia Grant

Gift of the Magpie by Donna Andrews

This Old Homicide by Kate Carlisle

Murder Most Fowl by Donna Andrews

Death Spins the Wheel by George Bellairs

The Charity Shop Detective Agency by Peter Boland*

Started:

Exes and O’s by Amy Lea*

The Three Dahlias by Katy Watson

Georgie, All Along by Kate Clayborn*

Still reading:

Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead

Going With the Boys by Judith Mackrell

The Empire by Michael Ball*

Travellers in the Third Reich by Julia Boyd

Rogues by Patrick Radden Keefe

Oh an absolute tonne. Nine just on the holiday, and then a couple more before we left… Oopsies.

Bonus photo: out of control fringe, that can’t be entirely blamed on the wind, but here I am at Lands End last week, hopefully looking as happy as I felt (also quite cold).

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

Book of the Week, cozy crime

Book of the Week: A High-End Finish

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New year (yes it’s still a new year even if we’ve hit the middle of the month), new cozy crime series for me and something different to talk about in today’s BotW. And you know I love a cozy crime series. So here we go.

A High-End Finish is the first in a series of cozy crimes featuring Shannon Hammer, a contractor specialising in Victorian homes in her town of Lighthouse Cove on the Northern California coast. In this first book, Shannon finds a dead body in the basement of a house that she’s working on – and becomes a suspect in a murder inquiry as she went on a blind date with the victim a few days earlier – and was heard threatening him after he wouldn’t take no for an answer. The town’s new police chief doesn’t seem inclined to believe that she had nothing to do with the murder, so Shannon starts investigating herself with the help of her friends, her nosy neighbours and a crime writer who has just moved to town.

This is a really nice set up for a new series but because there are a lot of characters to introduce and backstories to set up, the detecting is not quite as well developed as you would like and I thought the solution was a bit, ho hum. BUT I really liked Shannon, her friends and the town itself so I forgive it – because first books in series are often like this – either they don’t do a good enough job of setting up the side characters or the mystery isn’t as good as you want it to be. This usually settles down in book two – especially if it’s an established author starting a new series (which Kate Carlisle is). Luckily I picked up the next book in the series (in fact the whole series so far) second hand last month (as seen in Books Incoming) so it’s a good thing I liked them and I can also go straight on to book two to see if the problems get ironed out.

It is nice to have a home improvement/contractor theme for a cozy series though – as previously mentioned, I’m a bit cookery cozied out, and as I’m not usually into the supernatural sometimes it feels like there aren’t a lot of choices for me beyond that. Still hopefully these will keep me busy for a few weeks (at least).

As previously mentioned, my copy of A High-End Finish came via one of my Facebook book groups, but they’re available on Kindle and Kobo as well as in paperback. As they’re American Mass Market Paperbacks though, you may have trouble finding them in stores in the UK – so your best bet might be ordering from Book Depository or similar.

Happy Reading!