Verity Reads Books (lots of them)
In which our heroine attempts to tame the to-read pile
A smaller selection this month – and you’ve already seen two of them – Last Hero was a BotW already, and the Rainbow Rowell was a book I bought myself for Christmas! Then there’s a proof copy of Triple Cross that just appeared, my copy of Death of a Necromancer that I contributed to the Kickstarter for (and my bonus content!), the latest – and one of the last Girls Gone By Chalet School Books before my collection is complete and the new Jen DeLuca. Nice.
As I mentioned in last week’s Buy me a Book for Christmas post, I did a bit of purchasing while I was putting that post together, so this weekend, here’s the stuff I bought, in case you need further inspiration!
Firstly I should say that the way that I put together the Buy Me a Book post is the same every year – I go through my Amazon wishlists of Books and my Goodreads to-read shelf to look for books that I’ve added over the course of the year but haven’t bought. And then I go wandering around the various book buying websites to see how easy (or otherwise) they are going to be to get hold of. And secondly I try not to ask for books that might go on offers, be available in the supermarket 2 for however many offers and thirdly I should say that I was writing the original post in November, but it’s now December, so bear that in mind if I’m mentioning offers. Oh – and there are no graphic novels on the list because I buy those from my local comic book store and want to give them the custom.
Fiction picks
And the reason that the Buy me a book post was non-fiction heavy was partly because a lot of the fiction I was after was on some kind of offer! So I picked up the latest Emma Straub novel, This Time Tomorrow, and also the next book in Alexis Hall’s baking show series, Paris Daillencourt is About to Crumble. I also preordered the next in Jen DeLuca’s Willow Creek series Well Traveled as well as the new Olivia Dade (which as you know already came out and I’ve already read), and I finally bought Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Gods of Jade and Shadow. And because I happened to wandering around the Waterstones site, I picked up a signed copy of Rainbow Rowell’s new short story collection Scattered Showers. I did look at the British Library Crime Classics selection too – but that just added a load of books to my Kindle Unlimited list! Finally there’s Mrs Harris Goes to Paris, which was on offer in a special tie-in edition because the movie came out a couple of months back.
Non fiction picks
I’ve had my eye of Julia Boyd’s Travellers in the Third Reich for a while and this year a follow up is out. but both Travellers and A Village in the Third Reich were on offer on Kindle when I was putting the post together so rather than asking for the paperbacks, I just bought them! The new Anne De Courcy about Nancy Cunard (another in that group from the 1920s who pops up a lot) Five Love Affairs and a Friendship was on offer on Kindle at a sensible price for non-fiction, as was Mary Churchill’s War (the wartime diaries of Winston Churchill’s daughter, edited by Emma Soames) and Spying and the Crown by Richard J Aldridge and Rory Cormac. Then there is Heiresses by Laura Thompson, about heiresses from the Seventeenth Century to the present, which is in Kindle Unlimited at the moment, so I borrowed it. Oh What a Lovely Century would also have been on the list for this Christmas – if I hadn’t found that copy in the work charity book sale.
And I think that’s the lot. Have a great weekend everyone!
Books read this month: 30*
New books: 30
Re-reads: 0 – which is frankly astonishing given this year so far
Books from the to-read pile: 8
NetGalley books read: 5
Kindle Unlimited read: 8
Ebooks: 9
Library books: 0
Audiobooks: 0
Non-fiction books: 1
Favourite book this month: Probably Carrie Soto is Back – for all that it took me ages to read
Most read author: SJ Bennett on that binge read of HM the Queen Investigates series
Books bought: Oh dear. Quite a lot. Because of the research for the Christmas books posts. Yes, posts. About 20 books, including a couple of pre-orders. Eeeeeeeeep.
Books read in 2022: 350
Books on the Goodreads to-read shelf (I don’t have copies of all of these!): 667
Well. This is quite an interesting list. I have two audiobooks that I’ve nearly finished, but not in time for this list. I’m on a big podcast kick at the moment, and the proportion of my listening time that is audiobooks has gone down. And the fact that I didn’t reread anything is interesting. But then it’s nearly the end of the year and I have been trying to get on top of the NetGalley list again so have focused on that a little. But good progress in reading stuff off the physical to-read pile so that’s good. Win some and lose some.
Bonus picture: an action shot from the figure skating. As I said, hard to do on a phone but this is the best I have!
*includes some short stories/novellas/comics/graphic novels – including 3 this month
So as you’ll see, there is a massive Harper Connelly binge as the start of the week and a weekend away at the end of it. And I still managed to get some other stuff read and made progress on the long runners even if you can’t tell that from the list. So it’s a net yay me. And this is the end of October, so we have all the usual things coming up this week for your delectation.
Read:
Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris
Grave Surprise by Charlaine Harris
Ice Cold Grave by Charlaine Harris
Grave Secret by Charlaine Harris
The Hog’s Back Mystery by Freeman Willis Crofts
Rooted in Deceit by Wendy Tyson
Some Hauntings Never Go Out of Fashion by Rose Betancourt
When Stars Collide by Susan Elizabeth Philips
Started:
Snowed in for Christmas by Sarah Morgan*
Dashing through the Snowbirds by Donna Andrews
Still reading:
Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead
Going With the Boys by Judith Mackrell
Mercury Pictures Presents by Anthony Marra*
Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
The Inverts by Crystal Jeans
The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatio Sancho by Paterson Joseph*
The Empire by Michael Ball*
One book bought – but I was going on holiday so it’s practically a requirement!
Bonus photo: some monastic ruins and historic buildings out the back of Canterbury Cathedral cloister. I love a good cathedral.
An * next to a book title indicates that it came from NetGalley. ** indicates it was an advance copy from a source other than NetGalley.
So I spent five nights away from home last week. Five. And that’s probably all you need to know about why the list looks like it does. Still I achieved a lot in the real world – even if I didn’t in the actual reading – so I can’t be cross with myself. I even know what I’m writing about tomorrow already so that’s a bonus too.
Read:
Death in the Tunnel by Miles Burton
A Mansion for Murder by Frances Brody
Double Dip by Gretchen Archer
Cherry Ames: Boarding School Nurse by Helen Wells
Heartstopper: Vol 3 by Alice Oseman
Started:
The Hog’s Back Mystery by Freeman Willis Crofts
Still reading:
Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead
Going With the Boys by Judith Mackrell
Mercury Pictures Presents by Anthony Marra*
Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
The Inverts by Crystal Jeans
The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatio Sancho by Paterson Joseph*
The Empire by Michael Ball*
I went to Foyles and bought two books – including that new Kate Shackleton that i mentioned on Friday and have now finished. I also picked up the new Marian Keyes because it was a Kindle deal on Sunday. Apart from that, I’ve been very restrained!
Bonus photo: two bonuses this week – here’s me and my friends out playing mini golf on Tuesday – swipe through to see me celebrating and possible the best photo of me in half a decade. And then check out the flowers I got at the school I visited as a speaker at their careers day on Friday!
An * next to a book title indicates that it came from NetGalley. ** indicates it was an advance copy from a source other than NetGalley.
Well I’m making some progress on some of the long runners, but the first week back from holiday has been a super busy one. But it always is. And I don’t think this week coming is going to be any calmer. But we will see.
Read:
April Lady by Georgette Heyer
Murder at the Theatre Royale by Ada Montcrieff*
A Pocketful of Happiness by Richard E Grant
A Merry Little Meet Cute by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone*
A Dancer from the Abbey by Elsie J Oxenham
Fangirl Vol 2 by Rainbow Rowell and Sam Maggs
Started:
Death in the Tunnel by Miles Burton
The Empire by Michael Ball*
Still reading:
Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead
Going With the Boys by Judith Mackrell
Mercury Pictures Presents by Anthony Marra*
Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
The Inverts by Crystal Jeans
The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatio Sancho by Paterson Joseph*
Did I buy anything this week? I don’t think I did. So that’s something right?
Bonus photo: back on my walk through Fitzroy Square after the holiday!
An * next to a book title indicates that it came from NetGalley. ** indicates it was an advance copy from a source other than NetGalley.
Another hectic week. I’m working on that huge ongoing list and I will get there eventually. If only so many of them weren’t hardbacks! Still at least September is over. Please, please, please can October be a better month. Please.
Read:
Dead Room Face by Simon Brett
The Fabulous Bouvier Sisters by Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger
To Die But Once by Jacqueline Winspear
A Pocket Full of Rye by Agatha Christie
The Lion in the Valley by Elizabeth Peters
Cat Among the Pigeons by Agatha Christie
The American Agent by Jacqueline Winspear
A Visible Man by Edward Enninful*
Started:
The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston
Still reading:
Godemersham Park by Gill Hornby*
Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead
Another Time, Another Place by Jodi Taylor
Going With the Boys by Judith Mackrell
Mercury Pictures Presents by Anthony Marra*
Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
The Inverts by Crystal Jeans
Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn
Yeah – at least six. But I’m not counting. I deserve a treat.
Bonus photo: I feel like my empty pill packets for the antivirals make a good metaphor for how empty I feel after September!
An * next to a book title indicates that it came from NetGalley. ** indicates it was an advance copy from a source other than NetGalley.
I have shingles. It’s horrid. If I thought my concentration was shot before, it is even worse now. I’ve basically been sleeping and watching easy to understand TV – or rewatching old favourites like Howl’s Moving Castle, the Joan Hickson Miss Marples and the Inspector Alleyns from a couple of years later. September has really been a doozie – only five more days to get through. I do hope that October is a better month.
Read:
Murder by the Book ed. Martin Edwards
A Step so Grave by Catriona MacPherson
Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood
Started:
N/a
Still reading:
Godemersham Park by Gill Hornby*
Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead
Another Time, Another Place by Jodi Taylor
Going With the Boys by Judith Mackrell
Mercury Pictures Presents by Anthony Marra*
Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
The Inverts by Crystal Jeans
Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn
A few impulse buys while my will power was low. But really who can blame me.
Bonus photo: I haven’t left the house all week. Well except to go into the back garden. So maybe I should more accurately be I haven’t passed the front door? Anyway, that means that this week’s picture is of my house plants. In honour of the retirement of the Goat and my favourite ever tennis player, this is Roger the Swiss Cheese plant.
An * next to a book title indicates that it came from NetGalley. ** indicates it was an advance copy from a source other than NetGalley.
Yeah. It’s been another one of those weeks. Work has been crazy busy, I’m exhausted and some impulse purchasing may have taken place. 2022 is really proving to be quite something.
Read:
Make It Sweet by Kristen Callihan
Marple: Twelve New Stories by Various authors based on Agatha Christie’s character
Something Fabulous by Alexis Hall
Death and the Brewery Queen by Frances Brody
Round Up the Usual Peacocks by Donna Andrews
Coq au Vin by Charlotte Carter
Bats in the Belfry by E C R Lorac
Started:
A Step so Grave by Catriona MacPherson
Still reading:
Godemersham Park by Gill Hornby*
Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead
Another Time, Another Place by Jodi Taylor
Going With the Boys by Judith Mackrell
Mercury Pictures Presents by Anthony Marra*
Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
The Inverts by Crystal Jeans
Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn
One book in Waterstones Piccadilly, a couple more from Amazon and two preorders appeared too. I said the restraint wouldn’t last!
Bonus photo: a little mews near where I was staying last week. Charming.
An * next to a book title indicates that it came from NetGalley. ** indicates it was an advance copy from a source other than NetGalley.
I mean if you don’t know what happened in the UK this week, then I sort of envy your ability to avoid the news. It’s been a long, strange week. And no surprise that you can probably tell that in this post.
Read:
Stirring Up Love by Chandra Blumberg*
A Murder is Announced by Agatha Christie
The Holiday Trap by Roan Parrish*
There’s Something About Merry by Codi Hall*
Started:
Make It Sweet by Kristen Callihan
Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn
Still reading:
Godemersham Park by Gill Hornby*
Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead
Another Time, Another Place by Jodi Taylor
Going With the Boys by Judith Mackrell
Mercury Pictures Presents by Anthony Marra*
Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
The Inverts by Crystal Jeans
A couple of preorders arrived – on the kindle and on the doorstep, but I think that’s it. But my brain is a little frazzled right now.
Bonus photo: Sunday evening calm in the park.
An * next to a book title indicates that it came from NetGalley. ** indicates it was an advance copy from a source other than NetGalley.
Verity Reads Books (lots of them) 