Tag: to-read pile

The pile

Books Incoming: Mid-February 2025

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For once I have already read half of these. So they’re not going into the pile – but straight onto the shelves – or in some case to the parents for them to read. Who knew I could do that. Actually it’s probably one of the most me things ever – the mood reader buys books and immediately reads them instead of everything waiting on the shelf. Anyway: the ones I’ve read are the Richard Coles, the Nev Fountain and the second Vicki Delany. The Elly Griffiths is the next for me in the series after I remembered about them when mum’s book club read the first one. And then the other two are cozy crimes I had a read of when I was in Waterstones Picadilly and Gower Street and liked the look of. So not adding too much to the pile but not exactly restrained either!

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: February 3 – February 9

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Well it all went a bit downhill this week after Ballet Shoes – work was insanely busy and I had a cold. And I didn’t even stay up for the start of the Super Bowl – which tells you something about how tired and grotty I was feeling! Fingers crossed for a better week this week…

Read:

A Victim at Valentines by Ellie Alexander*

A Surfeit of Lampreys by Ngaio Marsh

Indignant in Indiana by Patti Benning

Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild

Fatally Flaky by Diane Mott Davidson

Charred to Handle by Patti Benning

Death Upon a Star by Amy Patricia Meade*

Started:

Murder in the Dressing Room by Holly Stars*

Metropolitan Murders edited by Martin Edwards

Poppy Harmon and the Pillow Talk Killer by Lee Hollis

Still reading:

The Favourites by Layne Fargo*

A Traveller in Time by Alison Utley

Cher: The Memoir Part One by Cher

One book bought. That’s it. Restrained.

Bonus picture: the National Theatre and South Bank complex looking over towards St Paul’s after Ballet Shoes

*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

Book of the Week: The Fan Who Knew Too Much

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I’ve got one of my recent purchases for this week’s pick – I love it when a bookshop wander turns up something good that you didn’t know about before, and that’s exactly what happened with The Fan Who Knew Too Much.

When a podcaster is murdered live on air when about to reveal a secret about cult 1980s TV show Vixens from the Void, fellow fan and friend Kit finds herself dragged into an investigation disguised as a Blu Ray extra documentary. Was Wolf killed because he had discovered something new about the disappearance of an extra on the show 40 years earlier – and is there as yet undiscovered trivia to be found from reuniting the original stars of the show?

Nev Fountain is a writer on the sketch show Dead Ringers and this has got blurbs from Andrew Cartmel, Ben Aaronovitch and Jenny Colgan if that gives you a clue about the sort of end of the mystery and fiction spectrum this falls into. I would also say it’s pretty British and has got a lot of references to British culture (beyond that of old TV series) that might be lost on you if you’re not someone who grew up watching low budget TV and setting the video for your favourite shows.

I’m not a massive Doctor Who fan, but I was a big viewer of Star Trek and also of shows like Buck Roger when they were repeated when I was little. I’m also not a stranger to the world of online fandom and communities so this really appealed to the nerd inside me. And it’s not perfect – some times it’s just too, too bonkers – but I think that’s part of the point. If you want to follow a group of professional fans trying to recreate some low budget sci fi in Brighton while corralling a group of aging actors and their egos, this delivers on that in spades. Some of the murder plot is frankly insane and it could have used being slightly shorter, but I forgave it because it had enough hilarious moments that they’re the bits that stick with you.

I bought my copy in Waterstones, but it’s also available on Kindle and Kobo – where it also looks like it’s in Kobo Plus. And there’s a sequel coming later in the year too.

Happy Reading!

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: January 27 – February 2

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Another busy but solid week in the end. Slightly more novellas than usual, but a few things crossed my path and it was a bit of a difficult week so they suited what my brain could cope with. Hopefully this week will be better.

Read:

The Bookstore Sister by Alice Hoffman

The Bookstore Wedding by Alice Hoffman

Death in a White Tie by Ngaio Marsh

Murder as Fine Art by Carol Carnac

Vexed in Vermont by Patti Benning

Overture to Death by Ngaio Marsh

Oddities in Ohio by Patti Benning

The Fan Who Knew Too Much by Nev Fountain

Tune in Tomorrow by Melanie Benjamin

Started:

A Victim at Valentines by Ellie Alexander*

Still reading:

Fatally Flaky by Diane Mott Davidson

The Favourites by Layne Fargo*

A Traveller in Time by Alison Utley

Cher: The Memoir Part One by Cher

One book, one pre-order. Restrained.

Bonus picture: another jigsaw finished. The Discworld Emporium ones are really tricky. Lots of similar colours in different areas.

*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: 31 *

New books: 19

Re-reads: 12 (all audiobooks)

Books from the to-read pile: 5

NetGalley books read: 2

Kindle Unlimited read: 8

Ebooks: 4

Audiobooks: 12

Non-fiction books: 1

Favourite Book: Paradise Problem (although the final part of the Fangirl Manga was also really good)

Most read author: excluding the Ngaio Marsh and Kerry Greenwood audiobooks, Diane Mott Davidson and Vicki Delany with two each.

Books bought: Five books and three ebooks

Books read in 2025: 31

Books on the Goodreads to-read shelf (I don’t have copies of all of these!): 760

A very busy month in real life, and a set of stats held up by the fact that it’s the start of the new year and audiobook relistens count to the total again. Relatively restrained on the purchasing front – mostly helped by the fact that a lot of what I wanted to read was in Kindle Unlimited.

Bonus picture: my favourite sign from my visit to Bookends at the start of the month

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

books, stats, The pile, week in books

The Week in Books: January 20 – January 26

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A fairly solid week – it may be the end of January but I’m still reading a bit of Christmas stuff here and there, which is fairly typical for me. I also need to remember to keep track of this so I don’t forget them by the autumn! Anyway – more physical books than ebooks, but also still not the long runners. Hey ho. Better luck this week…

Read:

A Vintage Murder by Ngaio Marsh

The Vanishing Box by Elly Griffiths

Artists in Crime by Ngaio Marsh

White House by the Sea by Kate Storey

Deadly Directors Cut by Vicki Delany

Murder under the Mistletoe by Rev Richard Coles

Fangirl the Manga: Vol 4 by Rainbow Rowell and Gabi Nam

Natural Selection by Elin Hilderbrand

Started:

The Fan Who Knew Too Much by Nev Fountain

Fatally Flaky by Diane Mott Davidson

Still reading:

The Favourites by Layne Fargo*

A Traveller in Time by Alison Utley

Cher: The Memoir Part One by Cher

Well… I may have been in to Waterstones Piccadilly, and I may have bought two books and ordered two more. I’ve read two of them and started a third (the fourth hasn’t arrived yet). And I bought an ebook too. Oops.

Bonus picture: Shaftesbury Avenue on the way back from that Waterstones jaunt on Monday night – in a rare moment I haven’t seen any of the shows whose theatres you can see. But I do intend to change that asap with Oliver!

*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 13 – January 19

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I had a week off work. And this year we didn’t go on the usual January holiday, instead I’ve been up to Carlisle and back again and then mooched around the house and town for the rest of the week. But a four hour each way drive means you can’t read a book (if you’re driving, which I was) and quality time with the family is more important than reading. So this week’s list is heavy on the audiobooks and light on the new reads and finishing of long runners. But it was a lovely, lovely week.

Read:

Enter a Murderer by Ngaio Marsh

Deadly Summer Nights by Vicki Delany

The Nursing Home Murder by Ngaio Marsh

Murder on the Marlow Belle by Robert Thorogood*

Murder on the Celtic by Edward Marston

Death in Ecstasy by Ngaio Marsh

Sweet Revenge by Diane Mott Davidson

Started:

The Favourites by Layne Fargo*

Still reading:

White House by the Sea by Kate Storey

A Traveller in Time by Alison Utley

Cher: The Memoir Part One by Cher

Four books bought – which you saw on Saturday as the majority of the Books Incoming. Three in Bookends and one in Milton Keynes.

Bonus picture: Carlisle again! It was damp again. In fact when I’m there it’s almost never dry.

*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 6 – January 12

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Well it’s that time of year where the counters are reset and some of the audiobooks that I listen to more than once a year will appear on the lists again. And aside from that, I’m also trying to be better with the NetGalley reading than I was for some (most?) of last year. So still a bit behind on clearing the long runners, and of course I broke my own rules with last week’s BotW so we’ll see what I do about tomorrow on that front…

Read:

The Cinderella Killer by Simon Brett

The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren

Dark Tort by Diane Mott Davidson

Murder and Mendelssohn by Kerry Greenwood

Scared Off by Barbara Ross

Murder on the Marlow Belle by Robert Thorogood*

A Man Lay Dead by Ngaio Marsh

Started:

Deadly Summer Nights by Vicki Delany

Murder on the Celtic by Edward Marston

Still reading:

White House by the Sea by Kate Storey

A Traveller in Time by Alison Utley

Cher: The Memoir Part One by Cher

Only one ebook bought I think, but that’s seems strangely low so I might have missed something…

Bonus picture: beautiful but cold Northamptonshire on the way to Stratford for Twelfth Night on Saturday!

*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: December 30 – January 5

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I finished the old year with possibly the last of the Christmas-themed reading (but who can tell) and started the new with lots of good resolutions about finishing the stuff on the long running list – and then forgot to take any of the physical copies of it up to the Frozen North with me. So one off the list, and a slow start to the year. But it was a busy week, and there was a lot of driving.

Read:

Unnatural Habits by Kerry Greenwood

The Christmas Book Hunt by Jenny Colgan

A Very Lively Midwinter by Katy Watson

The Green Mill Murder by Kerry Greenwood

Not in My Book by Katie Holt*

A Decent Interval by Simon Brett

Started:

White House by the Sea by Kate Storey

The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren

Still reading:

A Traveller in Time by Alison Utley

Cher: The Memoir Part One by Cher

Six books bought. The January kindle sales have been tempting!

Bonus picture: Snow in Carlisle on Sunday. It was cold. Very 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.

books, stats

December Stats

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Books read this month: 38*

New books: 28

Re-reads: 10 (all audiobooks)

Books from the to-read pile: 6

NetGalley books read: 0

Kindle Unlimited read: 18

Ebooks: 4

Audiobooks: 10

Non-fiction books: 3

Favourite book this month: Cure for the Common Breakup or Christmas is All Around

Most read author: Kerry Greenwood because all 10 of those audiobooks were Miss Fisher mysteries and no other author got on the list more than once because there were a lot of states to tick off…

Books bought: 2 preorders, 6 ebooks, 1 book. Most of the six were to fill in missing states, although Kindle Unlimited did a lot of that work for me.

Books read in 2024: 413

Books on the Goodreads to-read shelf (I don’t have copies of all of these!): 756

A month spent frantically ticking off the missing states in the 50 states challenge because that was infinitely more achievable than the idea of me carrying around physical books the whole month to try and finish that challenge, or in fact buying the kindle versions of books on the shelf to do it that way (because that is Defeating The Point). But I got there in the end, and the full list of what ticked off what is coming up in the next few days. All in all, a pretty good year in reading – 413 is my highest ever total, but I’m under no illusions that that’s because of the sheer number of cozy crime novella series I’ve read this year. But I couldn’t have completed the 50 states without them this year, so goodness knows what I’ll do next year if I do it again. I will try and pace myself better if I do it again – the mad dash in December isn’t a lot of fun and it meant I didn’t finish any NetGalley books last month because they didn’t fit the missing states. I need to work on that. I think I have done better at keeping my requests there down, but I always say that and I’m not sure it’s true. Anyway: here’s to a fresh start and a fresh slate in January!

Bonus picture: Goodreads tells me over 100k pages last year. Wowzers.

*includes some short stories/novellas/comics/graphic novels – including 7 this month!