So here we are after a break of 3 weeks and I thought it might be fun to look at the books I’ve finished so far this month.
It’s been a fairly good month for reading but not a great one for blogging; what can I say? More mini-reviews are likely to follow, but let’s stick with these six for now, along with an update on what I’m currently reading and some other stuff that might be of interest.
Somewhere Beneath Those Waves by Sarah Monette – a collection of short stories missing fantasy & science fiction which I really enjoyed, especially as it includes a Kyle Murchison Booth story (see my review of her collected Booth stories here)
Follow Me by Angela Clarke – an enjoyably fast read, a police procedural with social media right at the forefront. I read it in one sitting and have bought the sequels
Walking to Aldebaran by Adrian Tchaikovsky – a very creepy sci-fi novel which was almost psychedelic in its language and imagery. Very unsettling. So good.
The Love-Charm of Bombs by Lara Feigel – as I’m getting older I’m finding that my interest is shifting from WWI to WWII, especially social history and the home front. This is a joint biography of several authors (namely Elizabeth Bowen, Rose Macaulay, Henry Green, Graham Greene and Hilde Spiel) who were all based in London in the Blitz. It was fascinating to find out about their complicated personal lives.
The Last Book on the Left – from the guys who write & present the Last Podcast on the Left, this is a quick trot through the lives and crimes of several very well-known serial killers. Now, if you’ve been here for any length of time you will know that I cannot resist true crime and I follow many podcasts (I’m a proud Murderino for example) but I’ve never found this one particularly engaging. The book is fine but the comic interjections just didn’t work for me.
The Killing Streets by Tanya Bretherton – another true crime read, this covers the story of what appears to be the first known serial killer in Australia. Set in the 1930s in Sydney, the main interest for me is the social history elements – the expectations on women, the behaviour of the police and so on – but I wasn’t totally convinced that these murders of young women were connected.
In terms of what I’m currently reading, I seem to be stuck in the middle of several books and not making much progress.
Lies Sleeping by Ben Aaronovitch – the seventh in the Rivers of London series, I started this in January and have been making very slow progress for reasons I don’t understand, but I do want to finish it because I have three more to read 🙂
The Outsider by Stephen King – enjoyed what I’ve read so far and really want to know how it turns out so this will get finished
True Detective by Max Allan Collins – the first Nathan Heller novel, I picked this up because the Book God has read many (if not all) of the series and thought I would enjoy it and so far he has been spot on.
As none of these titles is on my list for this year’s Twenty Books of Summer challenge, I need to make an effort to finish them by June 1.
As if that wasn’t enough, my need for non-fiction has led me to start a book about Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple, which ticks so many boxes for me it isn’t true.
And I have finally succumbed and signed up to Audible so that if nothing else I can listen to Neil Gaiman’s Sandman when it launches in July.
Being indoors apart from forays for groceries and exercise, we’ve been watching more films – I miss going to the cinema more than anything else – and some great TV. Killing Eve hasn’t finished yet so I’m reserving judgement, but last night, so much later than everyone else, of course, we finished watching DEVS. I loved it so much. I think Alex Garland is an amazing writer/director and the series was thought-provoking and beautiful. A highlight of this year so far.
How are you guys holding up in these unusual times?
Bride of the Book God 2 
Ooh, what’s the Jim Jones book? That sounds really interesting! I learned about that whole affair in college and just felt astonished that such a thing was possible.
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Hi Jenny, it’s called The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple by Jeff Guinn who has also written on Manson I think. I was 16 when this all happened but a lot of the detail wasn’t reported over here so I am finding this fascinating. I also have Ryan Roy’s novel Jonestown becuase it appears that I can’t stop reading about cults.
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I really need to read Adrian Tchaikovsky. I constantly read good things about his work. I’ve seen that title before and every time I do my Star Wars mind rewords it to Walking to Alderaan. Which would be quite difficult, seeing as how it was blown up. Not to mention it is another planet. 🙂
I need to bookmark The Love-charm of Bombs for my wife for a gift. I know she reads at least one of those authors and she likes nonfiction about WWII.
We are holding up well through it all. I’ve been reading far more than usual and we’ve been revisiting some old movies and shows we like as well as experimenting with new stuff. We have two episodes left of A Confession, a short based-on-a-true-story crime drama that examines a specific murder case. Martin Freeman is the star and he is truly an amazing actor. We have it through our Britbox subscription via Amazon Prime.
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Good to hear that you are doing well Carl. I also couldn’t help thinking about Alderaan whenever I saw the title, but all those thoughts went ut of my head when I read it because it is dark. I’ve seen Adrian speak at a Con (a few years ago now) and he’s so interesting. Hope you get the chance to read him – Children of Time is the classic I believe.
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Yes, Children of Time is the one I see pop up everywhere.
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Interesting list. I’ve enjoyed several WWII books. Thanks for sharing about the one you read this month 🙂
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I’ve just finaished Transcription by Kate Atkinson which is set in MI5 during the war and it was excellent.
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