My (first) September book haul

It’s a very surreal (in some ways) and unsettling time here in the UK as we go through a period of transition. I’ve largely put books aside for the moment, and as I’m not reading much I thought it was a good time to post a book haul.

September is a key month in publishing and I had a lot of pre-orders in place; here’s what’s arrived so far.

REVENGE OF THE LIBRARIANS by Tom Gauld – a wonderful collection of cartoons on “the spectre of failure, wrath of social media and other supernatural enemies of the author” – I love reading his cartoons in the Guardian every Saturday.

SLENDERMAN: A Tragic Story of Online Obsession & Mental Illness by Kathleen Hale – this looks into the shocking stabbings in Wisconsin in 2014 where two 12-year-old girls attempted to kill a classmate, apparently under the spell of an internet meme. I remember this case and the fact the girls were tried as adults, and will be interested in the author’s take

BLACKSTONE FELL by Martin Edwards – the third in the excellent Rachel Savernake series; a locked room puzzle with “a Gothic sensibility” set in 1930 – what’s not to love?

DEATH OF A BOOKSELLER by Bernard J Farmer – the 100th book in the always excellent British Library Crime Collection, I actually got this as a paperback because its the hundredth (obviously), but also because it has a lovely cover. It’s the first time the novel has been in print since 1956.

FAIRY TALE by Stephen King – a mysterious shed, a recluse (and dog) and parallel worlds. It’s Mr King so of course I was going to buy it.

ITHACA by Claire North – I love Claire North and this sounds amazing (and is getting excellent reviews) – telling the story of Penelope, the wife of Odysseus, it “breathes life into myth”.

BACK TO THE GARDEN by Laurie R King – going back to her non-Holmesian roots, this is the story of a fifty-year old cold case opened up by the discovery of human remains in California, taking us back to wealthy people indulging themselves during the counterculture.

THINGS HAVE GOTTEN WORSE SINCE WE LAST SPOKE & Other Misfortunes by Eric LaRocca – an author new to me, recommended by other bloggers and a good opportunity for me to widen my horror reading; looking forward to giving this a go.

KOKO by Peter Straub – sad to hear of the passing of Mr Straub I thought that rather than re-reading something from the books of his that I already own I would get a hold of this, which I missed the first time round. Again, a recommendation, this time on Twitter.

AGATHA CHRISTIE: A Very Elusive Woman by Lucy Worsley – a biography with a particular focus on why Mrs Christie chose to portray herself as a “retiring Edwardian lady of leisure” when she was in fact an extremely successful working woman who loved to try new things. I have a nice little collection of Agatha-related books which I will enjoy reading when the darker nights arrive.

There will be more new books coming in during the next few weeks, so watch this space!

My Week – 15 May edition (just a wee bit late)

Looking back at last week where I managed to both do some reading and get out into the big wide world….

What I finished:

I managed two this week, a bit of entertaining true crime and an engrossing mystery

Alice Diamond and the Forty Elephants: Britain’s First Female Crime Syndicate by Brian McDonald

I was listening to an episode of the Dirty Sexy History podcast hosted by Jessica Cale (well worth a listen if you are interested in stuff that is a bit outside the mainstream history we mostly get taught) when this book was mentioned, and remembered that I had picked up the Kindle edition some time last year. It’s a very entertaining, extremely detailed and fast paced dive into mostly female criminality in south London, with some social history thrown in and lots of dodgy male offenders as well. I really liked it but the title is a bit misleading as we don’t get to Alice until we are quite far into the book, and what we do get was clearly insufficient for some reviewers on Goodreads who expected a full biography of the lady herself.

The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett

I really enjoyed Hallett’s first novel (The Appeal, which I didn’t review but should have because it was just excellent) and if anything this is even better. The narrative device this time is the use of transcriptions of voice recordings made by our protagonist Steven, who is recently out of prison and has become obsessed with trying to solve a mystery from his childhood – the disappearance of his teacher after a school outing where the investigated clues in the works of Edith Twyford, an out-of-fashion children’s author based loosely on Enid Blyton. Almost everything we read comes from Steven’s perspective and we are in potentially unreliable narrator territory here; I won’t say more because watching it all unfold is part of the joy of the book. The clues are all there for the reader to solve, and now that I know how things turn out I am almost certainly going to read it again to find the clues I missed. I really recommend this if you want something a bit different, and am looking forward to what she might do next.

What I’m currently reading:

The Fall of Paris has gone onto my Set Aside for Now stack; I will definitely be going back to it later in the year.

Girl 4 by Will Carver – this is the first novel from Carver who has become one of my favourite authors, largely due to his excellent DS Pace trilogy (which I loved so much and intend to read again). This is the first in a series of novels involving a police detective, January David, who specialises in very violent crimes. This first tale is a serial killer targeting young women (which is what they do) with the first victim hitting very close to home for our protagonist. I’m just over a third of the way in, so shall say no more.

Unmasked by Paul Holes – the cold case investigator whom I first came across via Michelle McNamara’s excellent I’ll Be Gone in the Dark (as mentioned here) and numerous mentions on the My Favorite Murder podcast , as well as his own investigative podcast with Billy Jensen, The Murder Squad. I have only just started this and it looks like a mix of cases he has worked on and the impact his career has had on his family and so far so good.

New books worth mentioning:

In honour of finishing the TV adaptation Slow Horses and the publication of the latest Slough House novel Bad Actors, I treated myself to all of Mick Herron’s series in one fell swoop. Will bereading the fifth entry in the series very shortly.

Last week I mentioned Under the Banner of Heaven which I had just finished, and had an interesting conversation with Kathy at Simple Tricks & Nonsense where she recommended Heaven’s Ditch about the building of the Erie Canal and religious stuff around it; now ordered and awaiting its arrival.

Most of this week’s book spend was focussed on the Book God’s birthday list, so my recommendation will be out of sync for the next wee while.

Other stuff:

So this week I finally got back to Sadler’s Wells, my favourite venue for all things dance, to see the Northern Ballet perform Casanova. I had such a good time; the costumes and sets were gorgeous and a quick glass of prosecco at the interval added to the fun. But oh, so many people on public transport were not wearing masks (I was fully masked the hole time) and that did make me feel uncomfortable, especially on the Tube which on the way home in particular was so crowded. This is how it will from now on I suppose….

Until next time I hope you are all well and have a great reading week!

My Week – 8 May edition

A quick look back at what turned out to be a very quiet week in which nothing much happened but somehow I still needed to sleep a lot…..

What I finished:

Only one book this week but it was totally absorbing. Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer came to my attention because I saw that there is a TV adaptation starring Andrew Garfield (I may already have mentioned this somewhere) and I am one of those people who (where possible) likes to read the book before watching the film/TV series.

My only exposure to Mormonism was via a deep and abiding love for The Osmonds (don’t judge!) and the occasional knock on the door from missionaries looking for the Latter Day Saints church (temple?) in my little corner of Paisley.

This book kicks off with a particularly nasty murder of a young woman and her little daughter and goes back and forward between the case and a history of fundamentalist Mormonism, with particular reference to polygamy. The book is around 20 years old so of course excludes the recent stuff about Warren Jeffs (ugh – more about him later). I found it deeply fascinating and disturbing and beautifully written and would recommend if you have an interest in the subject.

What I’m currently reading:

I have almost finished Alice Diamond and the Forty Elephants, and am about a third of the way through The Twyford Code, but haven’t made much progress on The Fall of Paris; I mentioned all of these books in my last post and I’m trying very hard not to start anything else until I have finished at least two of these.

What have I bought?

The Queen’s Consort by Steven Veerapen – the fateful second marriage of Mary Queen of Scots as seen from Darnley’s perspective. I’ve always thought he was a bit of a drip but am open to being persuaded otherwise….
The Abbey Close, also by Steven Veerapen – any synopsis which starts out “Paisley, 1542. As the armies of Henry VIII and James V prepare for battle, Catholic exile Simon Danforth must decide his loyalties” is a must read for me.
Love, Sex, Fear, Death by Timothy Wyllie – the Inside Story of The Process Church of the Final Judgment states the subtitle, a cult I know very little about but it was mentioned in the afterword to Adam Nevill’s Last Days (which I finished recently – thoughts here) so I thought why not?
When Men Become Gods by Stephen Singular (possibly one of my favourite author names, a bit like Stephen Strange without the chaos magic), this follows on from Under the Banner of Heaven which I reviewed above, and tells the horrendous story of Warren Jeffs and his fundamentalist cult. One to be read in small doses I think.

Stay safe and I’ll see you in my next post!

It’s time for another book haul

I’m trying quite hard to cut back on buying new books. Long-term readers will be aware that I rarely buy physical books now because there is no more shelf/floor/window sill space chez Bride, but it’s just so easy to click that order button when browsing Kindle editions, so I need to work on that even though it goes against every fibre of my being 😀

These are the things that have made it onto my virtual (with one exception)stack so far in April:

My Evil Mother by Margaret Atwood

Life is hard enough for a teenage girl in 1950s suburbia without having a mother who may—or may not—be a witch. A short story by Ms Atwood is not to be missed.

The Candy House by Jennifer Egan

This was a pre-order. I’ve read several (but not all, and not in order of publication) of Jennifer Egan’s books starting with Goon Squad and I understand that this new book builds on that earlier work & might even be a sequel.

Watch Me by James Carol

I mentioned in my last post that I had read and quite enjoyed the first Jefferson Winter serial killer thriller Broken Dolls and thought I would give the second one a go to see if its a series with which I want to continue

Jane’s Country Year by Malcolm Saville

Mr B and I sadly attended the funeral of a friend and former colleague a few weeks ago, and on of her interests was the work of Malcolm Saville, a children’s author from the mid-twentieth century who was completely new to me, so I thought I would pick one to try out, and this tale spoke to me the most. Originally published in 1946.

Business as Usual by Jane Oliver

I can’t resist a story constructed from letters, so when I cam across this novel from 1933 I thought I should give it a try, especially as it concerns a young woman from Scotland trying to make her way in London by working in what is clearly meant to be Selfridges.

Sea of Tranquility by Emily St John Mandel

Sea of Tranquility is a novel that investigates the idea of parallel worlds and possibilities, that plays with the very line along which time should run.

Amongst Our Weapons by Ben Aaronovitch

The ninth entry in the Rivers of London series; I am so far behind in reading these but I know I’ll get to them eventually. Plus this is one of the few authors I read in hardback and I have a lovely matching set, which counts for a lot in my world.

Letters to Gwen John by Celia Paul

Gwen John is one of my favourite artists and I thought this book, by the artist Celia Paul would be interesting, though I understand that its likely to be more about Celia than Gwen…

Hide by Nell Pattison

I can’t remember where I saw this mentioned (another blogger? a newsletter? a website recommendation?) but it involves hiking, a group trying to rekindle the friendship and a murder. Known as Nowhere to Hide outside the UK I think, looks like fun.

Agatha Christie’s Poirot by Mark Aldridge

From Agatha Christie’s earliest conceptions and publication history, to forays on the stage and screen, the story of Poirot is as fascinating as it is enduring. Mark Aldridge tells this story decade-by-decade, exploring and analyzing Poirot’s many and often wildly different appearances, following the detective to present day when he is enjoying a worldwide renaissance.

Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer

I have already started reading this, having bought it because of a reference in the afterword to Adam Nevill’s Last Days and seeing information about the soon-to-be-released TV adaptation starring the wonderful Andrew Garfield. Murderous fundamentalist Mormons are fascinating it seems. To me at least.

Have you read any of these? Are they already on your TBR list? Or is this the first time you’ve heard of these titles? Let me know in the comments.

Stay safe everyone!

February wrap

Well, after a fairly ordinary January, I found myself devouring books in February for no particular reason other than picking some really absorbing titles and, if I’m honest, finishing a couple of books that didn’t quite make it the previous month.

The Stats

Books read = 10 (I know!)

Pages read = 3,861

Goodreads progress = 22% of my goal, 4 books ahead of schedule

I’m going to cover the books I read in a couple of posts over the next few days so look out for them. I will mention one DNF or (more accurately) one set aside for later as I think I still want to read it. That book is The Quantum Curators & the Faberge Egg by Eva St John. I picked it up because I had been reading a lot of intense and dark stuff and thought I could do with a bit of humour and whimsy but apparently I was wrong. Nothing negative to say about the book, I was just in the wrong frame of mind, and intend to pick it back up at some point.

March pre-orders

Coming up this month:

Stars and Bones by Gareth Powell – this may look familiar as I mentioned it last time; due originally for publication in February I actually received it this morning
Sundial by Catriona Ward – Stephen King says it’s authentically terrifying so who am I to argue?
The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St James – a true crime blogger gets more than she bargained for….
Femina by Janina Ramirez – a new history of the middle ages focussing on the women written out of traditional narrative, really looking forward to this
Insomnia by Sarah Pinborough – another book about not being able to sleep – feel drawn to this theme at the moment even as my own intermittent insomnia is dormant (I’m probably going to regret saying that…)
A Sunlit Weapon by Jacqueline Winspear – Maisie Dobbs #17 – I am very behind with this series also
The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd – maps, I love maps
Dark Queens by Shelley Pulaski – more medieval history focussing on women; i think I see a pattern here
Escape from Yokai Land by Charles Stress (the 12th Laundry Files book – I really need to catch up with this series being only at book 7) – also arrived this morning and now I look at it properly it is (a) a novella and (b) actually book 7.5 so will probably shoot up my TBR 🙂

Currently reading Gallows Court by Martin Edwards but haven’t picked my non-fiction read as yet.

What are your plans for March? Let me know in the comments.

Have a great month everyone, stay safe!

Looking back at June 2021

A quick round-up of bookish things from the last month. There was so. much. RAIN!

The stats:

Books read – 5
Pages read – 1382
Goodreads update – 37 books completed, 62% of my target

Challenges:

20 Books of Summer – I have only read five books from the 20 I’m aiming for, with three currently underway.
David Copperfield – I’ve decided not to do this now; I think it’s more of a winter project for me.

And now to July’s pre-orders

What Big Teeth by Rose Szabo – being described as Miss Peregrine meets the Addams Family; works for me.
Notes from the Burning Age by Claire North – “Ven was once a holy man, a keeper of ancient archives. It was his duty to interpret archaic texts, sorting useful knowledge from the heretical ideas of the Burning Age – a time of excess and climate disaster. For in Ven’s world, such material must be closely guarded, so that the ills that led to that cataclysmic era can never be repeated.” I love Claire and I’m really looking forward to this.
A Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers – the beginning of a new series called Monk and Robot; much anticipated.
The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix – sounds most excellent and I’ll try very very hard not to compare if to We Are All Completely Fine 🙂
Mimic by Daniel Cole – more serial killers; this one recreating works of art with dead bodies because of course they are
The Book of Accidents by Chuck Wendig – Rural Pennsylvania, long-buried secrets, a child in danger – share your secrets with your family before you move into the creepy house, people!
The Dying Squad by Adam Simcox – a supernatural police force, a spirit guide and a detective called Lazarus; should be fun
Bryant & May – London Bridge is Falling Down by Christopher Fowler – the next entry in the long-running and thoroughly enjoyable B&M series.
Dog Rose Dirt by Jen Williams – I have a lot of admiration for Jen and am really looking forward to her first foray into crime/thriller territory
The Letters of Shirley Jackson, because I love reading other people’s letters……

I’m currently reading four books and hoping to have a prolific month, but we’ll have to wait and see. Hope you all have a great July and stay well 🙂

My Month in Review | May 2021

I can’t believe that we are already at the end of May (or the start of June when this will be published); almost halfway through the year. So much better than this time last year. The Book God and I have both been fully vaccinated, we’ve ventured out to a restaurant for the first time in I don’t know how long, and we have plans to do interesting things over the next few weeks.

The sun is also shining and the temperatures are beginning to climb above 20 degrees (centigrade) and things are looking good.

I’ve probably jinxed it now!

It’s been a good reading month too.

Books read this month = 8
Pages read = 3417
Progress against Goodreads challenge = 53% (8 books ahead of schedule)

In terms of challenges, I have half-heartedly started the David Copperfield Reading project with nothing substantive to report so far, and the Twenty Books of Summer challenge starts tomorrow (1 June). You can find my book selections here.

Next month’s pre-orders:

Castle Shade by Laurie R King – Mary & Holmes get caught up in a mystery involving Queen Marie of Romania. Transylvania might just be involved! This is the 17th entry in this series and I really do need to get caught up
The Wood Bee Queen by Edward Cox – librarians, local folklore, magical stones – what’ not to love!
The Murder of Graham Catton by Katie Lowe – death of Mr C thought to be solved, done and dusted but along comes one of those pesky true crime podcasts to stir things up again
The Maidens by Alex Michaelides – exclusive students in a Cambridge college – actually made it four comments down on the Amazon page before I hit my first reference to The Secret History
Falling by TJ Newman – pilot’s family is kidnapped and the only way to save them is to crash the plane…..
Star Eater by Kerstin Hall – magical bloodlines, shadowy factions, spying, all of the things
Artifact Space by Miles Cameron – what is targeting the great spaceships which transport stuff in human occupied space?

I’m going to try really, really hard not to buy anything else but we shall see. My track record is not good…

Nothing much else to add here, so I’ll wish you very happy reading, and stay safe!

April in Review

Here we are with a quarter of the year already gone and it’s time for another monthly round-up.

April was a good month for bookish matters.

The Stats

Books read = 8
Pages read = 2846
Goodreads challenge = 5 books ahead of schedule and already at 40%

Pre-orders for May

Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon – “Vern – seven months pregnant and desperate to escape the strict religious compound where she was raised – flees for the shelter of the woods. There, she gives birth to twins, and plans to raise them far from the influence of the outside world. But even in the forest, Vern is a hunted woman.”
Phase Six by Jim Shepard – reading a book about a global pandemic while in the middle of a global pandemic seems counter-intuitive but I am unable to resist. This was written pre-Covid btw
The Album of Doctor Moreau by Daryl Gregory – HG Wells meets boy band culture with some murder thrown in. Sounds awesome.
Last Days in Cleaver Square by Patrick McGrath – I have always had a great fondness for McGrath but it’s a while since I’ve read anything by him. The premise of this – set in 1975 where an old man is haunted by visions of the dying General Franco – sounds fascinating.
The Beresford by Will Carver – two of my favourite books so far in 2021 were written by Will Carver and I fully expect to love this new standalone thriller also
Witch by Iain Rob Wright – all I know about this is it is horror, there’s a witch (duh) and there may or may not be cursed manuscripts…….
The Nine by Gwen Strauss – my interest in the experiences of women caught up in WWII continues; this is the story of nine women fleeing a German forced labour camp.

Coming up

I get my second Covid vaccination this week about which I am very glad. Mr B is already fully vaccinated and I’m looking forward to feeling more confident about heading into London again as the museums re-open.

A BBC adaptation of Nancy Mitford’s The Pursuit of Love by Emily Mortimer starts next weekend. It looks lush and enjoyable with a great cast and high production values and I for one am sold.

I have a couple of challenges coming up:

Cathy at 746Books is hosting Twenty Books of Summer from 1 June to 1 September and I’m already compiling my list. This will be my year to finish, I can feel it 🙂
I’m challenging myself to read David Copperfield, prompted by having watched Armando Ianucci’s recent film version. These days I do tend to struggle with classic Victorian authors so I’m giving myself a chance and planning to read in line with the original publication schedule, which means I should finish around November. November 2022, that is.

Apart from that all is quiet (despite the howling wind outside at the moment). Hope you are all staying safe and have a great reading week!

Looking back on my week, ending 25 April

Part of me is thinking “How is it nearly May?”, but the other part of me, the one who was out in our tiny back garden today (Sunday) planting in the warm sunshine, was convinced that we are well into late spring!

This is a good thing.

And, despite being a little unwell and the (luckily) unsuccessful attempt to cut off my thumb with a craft knife – don’t ask me to explain the REALLY stupid thing I did that resulted in said injury – it has been a really good reading week. I’ve been on a bit of a roll, but of course now that I’ve said that I’ll hit a slump, but I don’t care.

Anyway, I read three books this week and I fully intend to review them over the next wee while. My track record on that has been appalling, so just in case…..

The Children of Red Peak by Craig DiLouie – cult survivors going back to Red Peak work out what actually happened on that fateful last night
An Evil Mind by Chris Carter (Robert Hunter #6) – the best of the Hunter novels so far IMHO, bit Silence of the Lambs, bit Israel Keyes, all good
Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots – what happens to the people who are collateral damage when the supes fight the villains?

Of these I would say that the greatest is Hench which I read in a single sitting on Friday, only stopping for comfort breaks and lunch.

This week’s impulse purchases were:

The Last Day by Andrew Hunter Murray – because the end of the world is always fascinating even in a pandemic
I Am Death (Robert Hunter 7) by Chris Carter – because this is one of my favourite series and I’m going to read them all
Shimmerdark by Sarah Mensinga – because I loved Sarah’s previous fantasy novel and the premise of this one sounds so good
Silenced by Solveig Palsdottir – because I have purchased (but not read) the first in this new series and the recommendations are many and uniformly favourable
Agatha Christie’s Marple by Anne Hart – because it sounds fun and I can’t resist anything that’s Agatha adjacent
Civilisations by Laurence Binet – because it sounds so cool

Currently reading – The Deadly Touch of the Tigress by Ian Hamilton, the first in his Ava Lee series. I wish I could remember who recommended this (I think it might have been Musings from the Sofa) but whoever they were I’m enjoying it so far.

Other stuff

For the second year in a row I am not pulling an all-nighter to watch the Oscars. I just haven’t been paying attention to the eligible movies and performances so would have been solely focusing on outfits and the red carpet will be a bit weird this year.

Sadly we have come to the end of the very last episode of Elementary. We’ve been watching these steadily over the past few months having come to it late due to misplaced snobbery. It’s now my favourite incarnation of the Great Detective (other than Basil Rathbone of course) and I may at some point go back to the beginning and start again just because I can. We shall see. Now looking for something else to fill the gap – may go back to The Blacklist as I’ve only watched the first two seasons.

Spent Sunday night focussed on the penultimate episode of Line of Duty S6 – as Ted Hastings would say “Jesus, Mary and Joseph and the wee donkey”; if you know, you know 😀

Anyway, enough rambling from me. Hope you are all staying safe, and have a great reading week.

Updating my week (ending 18 April)

We’ve been graced with beautiful sunny weather over the past few days which is guaranteed to lighten my mood, but last week didn’t start that way. On Monday 12th we woke up to sleet, of all things.

Anyway, despite that the signs of spring are increasingly evident, and the photo here shows the view as I walk out onto my front step 😀

Currently reading

I’ve got a few books that have been on my currently reading list for some time, but I have been absorbed in The Children of Red Peak by Craig DiLouie because of a long-held and continuing fascination with cults, whether real or fictional. Hoping to finish this soon.

Just finished

One by One, my next read in the Robert Hunter detective series by Chris Carter; I think it’s #5 but I’m far too lazy to check. Oh wait, yes it is. Deeply gruesome, I sat up until 02:30 to finish it, and have already added #6 to my TBR

New books (excluding pre-orders):

An Evil Mind by Chris Carter – as mentioned above
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens – planning to read this following the original publication schedule
Antiquities by Cynthia Ozick – In 1949, Lloyd Wilkinson Petrie has returned as a Trustee to live in the long-defunct boarding school that he had attended as a child. There he is preparing a memoir.
Hummingbird Salamander by Jeff VanderMeer – A speculative thriller about the end of all things, set in the Pacific Northwest. A harrowing descent into a secret world.
Made to Order: Robots and Revolution, edited by Jonathan Strahan – This collection of stories is where robots stand in for us, where both we and they are disadvantaged, and where hope and optimism shines through.
Theory of Bastards by Audrey Schulman – Francine is a luminary in her field of evolutionary science. She joins the Foundation to study a colony of bonobo apes: remarkable animals, and the perfect creatures to certify her revolutionary feminist theory of reproduction.
The Best Horror of the Year, edited by Ellen Datlow – volume 12 of this long-running series, a good source of new authors in the horror field

Currently watching:

We’ve been trying to finish off a number of series we had recorded, and have succeeded with ZeroZeroZero (awesome) and Briarpatch (very enjoyable), and we will soon come to the end of the very last series of Elementary, which will make me very, very sad.

Hope you are all doing well and staying safe. Some short movie reviews will be coming up soon, so watch this space.