Monthly Roundup - May 2015

May has ended with another full-on family few days and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that June will bring me some days of solitude and quiet.


To keep my records up to date a very quick roundup of what I read this month - total books = 11

Beowulf 
The Kill by Emile Zola
Vanessa and her Sister by Priya Parmar
The Shore by Sara Taylor
Swimming in the Dark by Paddy Richardson
The Dead Duke, His Secret Wife and the Missing Corpse by Piu Marie Eatwell (NF)
The Sandman by Lars Keplar
Strange Shores by Arnaldur Indridson
The Long Fall by Julia Crouch
Second Life by S.J.Watson 

Looking forward to......

Allie's Victorian Celebration 

I have Dr Thorne by Anthony Trollope half-finished , the next county for the Reading England challenge ready to go and after reading O's glowing review of Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell which was my Classic Club spin winner I'm eager to get on and read it now.

Hope everyone has a great June!

 

Monthly Roundup - February 2015

Books read in February = 8

Helbeck of Bannisdale by Mrs Humphry Ward
In Chancery by John Galsworthy

The Winter Foundlings by Kate Rhodes
The Crooked House by Christobel Kent
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
The Mangle Street Murders by M R C Kasasian

One Pair of Feet by Monica Dickens
The King in the North by Max Adams (NF)

rereading Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte - 100/407p

Fiction = 7
Non-Fiction = 1
Library Books = 5
E-books = 0
Off my Shelf - 3

Other Posts

Reading England 2015 - Where to next?
Library Loot                                          
Shirley Country - A Visual Tour
I'm Reading..                                 
Library Loot - Books for The Begorrathon

Added to My Bookshelf = 2

Early for my hairdressing appointment I popped into the charity shop and couldn't resist the James Herriot which I bought for the beautiful photographs of Yorkshire but no doubt will also reread the stories. For $2 the poetry anthology was too good to leave behind.

The Best of James Herriot - memories of a country vet
The Rattle Bag - edited by Seamus Heaney and Ted Hughes.

What's Ahead in March

• hopefully another month of summer although the mornings already have an autumn feel.
• continuing Jane Eyre
• To Let - the third part of The Forsyte Saga
• another county, another book for Reading England
• The Begorrathon - reading Ireland.

That should be enough to keep me busy!

Monthly Roundup - January 2015

Gorgeous prose and ghastly people were the keynotes of my first books for 2015 with a lighter ,brighter tone emerging as the month progressed and overall a most pleasurable and satisfying start to the new year.
A very hot and humid January which is fine if a shady place can be found to read in but limits the blogging because who wants to sit in front of a computer on a summer's day. I've also spent more than a few hours watching the Australian Open tennis - an annual event I always enjoy.
I'm pleased I stuck to my resolution not to take on anything with posting deadlines that might put me under pressure even if it meant foregoing two challenges that really appealed and I also have to ask how much did Lory's challenge contribute...

...and if I'm honest it was quite a lot. No pile of books with due dates screaming to be read made for a far more relaxed approach. I began just before Christmas so it's almost six weeks since I visited the library and it hasn't been as painful as I thought it might be although I was very happy to return to my weekly visit yesterday. The only books I buy are classics and Virago type - no contemporary fiction so a lack of the variety I like in my reading and really looking forward to a good crime thriller for a change and being able to participate again in the Library Loot meme.

Books read in January = 9
* A Century of Books

The Fortune of the Rougons by Emile Zola
The Man of Property by John Galsworthy
Shirley by Charlotte Bronte 
The Vet's Daughter by Barbara Comyns*
Danger Point by Patricia Wentworth*
The Sun In Scorpio by Margery Sharp*
One Pair of Hands by Monica Dickens * (NF)
A Breath of French Air by H.E.Bates
High Rising by Angela Thirkell

DNF - Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser. I'm always telling myself I must read more American classics so Care's readalong  seemed a good opportunity but I didn't like it at all and with so much else I really want to read I decided it just wasn't for me. 

Also posted

Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
Reading England 2015 - Stepping Ashore
A Beautiful Interlude

Moving on into February and looking forward to another month of summer weather, a new title for Reading England, more of A Forsyte Saga........and whatever else takes my fancy. 

Have a great February!

Monthly Roundup - October

A busy week followed by a long holiday weekend and suddenly the end of another month was staring me in the face. So a quick roundup of what I read in October - I am still struggling with finding satisfaction in what I'm choosing to read , constantly starting and discarding and doing everything possible to avoid writing about what I do finish. I can only hope that with patience this will pass.

Books read in October = 8 + 1 short story
Italics are from my bookshelf or on my Kindle.
* R.I.P. - list of what I read is here
* A Century of Books

The Ladies of Lyndon by Margaret Kennedy*
The Secret Place by Tana French*
Bodies of Light by Sarah Moss
The Facts of Life and Death by Belinda Bauer*
Wolf by Mo Hayder*
The Taxidermist's Daughter by Kate Mosse
Mrs Dalloway in Bond St (SS)
Ex Libris - Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman (NF)
The Year of Reading Dangerously by Andy Miller (NF)

No Name by Wilkie Collins - slow, slow progress. 300/610p read.

Fiction = 6
Non-Fiction = 2
Library Books = 7
E-books = 0
Off my Shelf - 1 + 1SS

November Reading

For AusReading Month I have the three I mentioned in Library Loot to choose from plus three possibles on my bookshelf.

Voss by Patrick White, We of the Never-Never by Mrs Aeneas Gunn and For Love Alone by Christine Stead are all considered Australian classics and I'd love to end the month crossing three more titles off my Classics Club list... so we shall see.

The Home Maker by Dorothy Canfield Fisher is the November choice for The Old Fashioned Girl's Book Club and I shall be making a start on that very soon.

And of course No Name will continue and hopefully be finished this month and, as always, there will be other books calling me in a different direction which is how is should be. The spontaneous titles picked up on a whim are often the best reads.

Have a great November!

Monthly Roundup - September 2014

September began in rather a confused way as I started and discarded book after book with nothing seeming to suit and not really knowing what I wanted.. Frustrating, but things improved as the month went on and I found myself , the chunkster queen, most satisfied with shorter novels, novellas, short stories and even some essays. I enjoyed both the events I took part in although I didn't read as much as I had hoped but that's usually what happens. So overall a good and varied reading month.

Books read in September = 14
Italics are from my bookshelf or on my Kindle.
* R.I.P.
* A Century of Books

The View From Castle Rock by Alice Munro 
Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev ( most of it read in Aug and still needs the review finished)
Summer House With Swimming Pool by Herman Koch
Crazy Pavements by Beverley Nichols *
Wildfire at Midnight by Mary Stewart * 
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James 
The Secret House of Death by Ruth Rendell **
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
Revenge by Yoko Ogawa *  (Diversiverse)
A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle *
The Evil Eye by Joyce Carol Oates *
The Map of Love by Ahdaf Soueif  * (Diversiverse)
Her by Harriet Lane *
The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters *

Fiction = 14
Non-Fiction = 0
Library Books = 8
E-books = 0
Off my Shelf - 6

Coming Up in October

Margaret Kennedy Reading Week - 6th -12th October is being hosted by Jane @ Fleur in her World. I'm looking forward to this event as Margaret Kennedy is an author I haven't read before.

Book Fair

Early in September I packed up two bags of books to donate towards this annual charity event and now waiting with great anticipation to fill the gaps. It begins on the 1st Oct and goes through to Sunday 5th so more than one visit I should think.

First books for October....

No Name by Wilkie Collins - 69/600p read and loving it.
The Secret Place by Tana French - picking this up from the library today.
The Ladies of Lyndon by Margaret Kennedy - will begin reading at the weekend.

Have a wonderful October!

Monthly Roundup/May & a Week Off

I know things have been quiet here on the blog but I'm resigned now to the fact that is how it's going to be until the middle of August. In July we're going travelling, a long anticipated trip to my niece's wedding in the UK and with the mounting excitement as this year flies by and the necessary organisation I cannot settle to writing posts. 
I had planned on participating in the Barbara Pym Week but this week we are, unexpectedly, going to visit our daughter and her family so I will miss it unfortunately.

Books read in April = 13
Italics are from my bookshelf or on my Kindle. 

Classics

Parades End by Ford Madox Ford - books 1 & 2  - 440/744p
Middlemarch by George Eliot - almost finished Book 5 - 570/960p
The Unrest Cure and other stories by Saki

Non- Fiction

The Deadly Sisterhood by Leonie Frieda
Wave by Sonali Deraniya
Love From Nancy - the letters of Nancy Mitford
Uncommon Arrangements by Katie Roiphe

Fiction

The Sea by John Banville
The Book of Secrets by Fiona Kidman
The Summer School Mystery by Josephine Bell
Part of the Spell by Rachel Heath
The First Rule of Swimming by Courtney Angela Brkic
A Wreath of Roses by Elizabeth Taylor
A Glass of Blessings by Barbara Pym
Snow White Must Die by Nele Neuhaus
Sea Escape by Lynne Griffin

DNF = 1

Hide Me in the Grave by Tim Powers 

Fiction = 7
Non-Fiction = 4
Library Books = 9
E-books = 3
Off my Shelf - 1

Added to my bookshelf  = 4

From Netgalley

From the library sales shelf:

The Complete Shorter Fiction of Virginia Woolf

The Passionate Friends by H.G.Wells

The Wife of Sir Isaac Harman by H.G.Wells

Happy reading in June!

Monthly Roundup - April 2013

Books read in April = 17
Italics are from my bookshelf or on my Kindle

Italics are from my bookshelf or on my Kindle 

Classics -both of these should have had posts done by now but no doubt I'll get to it eventually.

Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks
The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West

Non- Fiction - I recommend both of these.

The Red Sweet Wine of Youth by Nicholas Murray - the story of the WWI poets.
Gardening Women: their stories 1600 to the present by Catherine Horwood

Fiction

The Larnachs by Owen Marshall
Gold Digger by Frances Fyfield
Monsieur Linh and his Child by Philippe Claudel
Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
Lost Voices by Christopher Koch
The Carrier by Sophie Hannah
River of Destiny by Barbara Erskine
Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel
The Dinner by Herman Koch
Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple
Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan
Z: a novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler
Union Street by Pat Barker

DNF - The Bellwether Revivals by Benjamin Wood

Fiction = 15
Non-Fiction = 2
Library Books = 14
E-books = 1
Off my Shelf - 2

Added to my bookshelf  = 4

The Summer School Mystery by Josephine Bell (from Bello Books)

From NetGalley

The First Rule of Swimming by Courtney Angela Brkic ( Open Road Integrated Media)
A Glass of Blessings by Barbara Pym (Open Road Integrated Media)
The Unrest-Cure and other stories by Saki ( NYBR Classics)

Happy reading in May!

Monthly Roundup - March 2013

Happy Easter - I hope everyone is having a great weekend.
We continue to enjoy the late but welcome summer sunshine. Since the week before Christmas we've only had one day of rain and it's only in the early morning now we feel a touch of autumn chill  although with daylight saving ending next week that will soon change.
An excellent reading month with lots of longlists and shortlists offering tempting new titles and hopefully the cooler weather will restore my blogging enthusiasm in April.

Books Read in March = 16
Italics are from my bookshelf or on my Kindle

Classics

Bleak House by Charles Dickens - the second half
The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington - Classics Club Spin
Middlemarch by George Eliot - Book 3
Short Stories by Katherine Mansfield - I reread some of them for the Modern March event but as I never did get a post written I was a total failure as a participant.

Non-Fiction - I should, but seldom do write posts on the non-fiction I read but both of these were wonderful.

Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo
The Pinecone by Jenny Uglow - my March favourite. A biography of a fascinating woman and a fascinating look at life in pre-Victorian 19th century England. Read Jane's review.

Also Read

On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan
Questions of Travel by Michelle de Kretser
Seahearts by Margo Lanagan
Disgrace by Jussi Adler-Olsen
The Lives She Left Behind by James Long
The Red Book by Deborah Copaken Kogan
The Light Between Oceans by M.L.Stedman
Angelica by Arthur Phillips
There Should Be More Dancing by Rosalie Lam
Why Shoot a Butler? by Georgette Heyer
Devil by the Sea by Nina Bawden
Honour by Elif Shafak

DNF - Sufficient Grace by Amy Espeseth
The Prophet by Michael Koryta - I thought this would be perfect Easter reading but oh, dear - too, too much about American football in which I have no interest at all. 30p - boring!

Fiction = 14
Non-Fiction = 2
Library Books = 14
E-books = 1
Off my Shelf - 1

Added to my bookshelf  = 18

17 from the library sale which I listed here and here and...

What Matters in Jane Austen by John Mullan which I was thrilled to win in Lisa's birthday giveaway. With perfect timing it arrived here on my birthday. 

Have a wonderful April!

Monthly Roundup - February 2013

The cat has been sleeping on the job this month but that's alright - everyone needs a break at times.

Reading has been a different story - everything I read in February (bar 1) was very good and  two of them were superb. 
It was Dickens month at Classiclit and I feel a bit guilty that I never managed to write a post but I did read....

Bleak House - 377/914p......I'm really enjoying it but it requires full attention so I'm not in any hurry to finish it.

Charles Dickens: a biography by Claire Tomalin - very good as one would expect from this biographer but I finished it not liking the man at all.

Also read - Italics are from my bookshelf or on my Kindle
The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford
The Laughterhouse by Paul Cleave
The Shooting Party by Isabel Colegate
Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood
Ferney by James Long
A Half Forgotten Song by Katherine Webb
Mad Puppetstown by M.J.Farrell (Molly Keane)

Middlemarch by George Eliot - Bk 2 - it is very good but so far I'm liking, not loving. Dorothea has not yet captured my heart as Maggie did in The Mill on the Floss.

DNF - Habits of the House by Fay Weldon - I must have been crazy to even consider reading this after the brilliance of The Good Soldier and The Shooting Party.

Books read in February = 8

Fiction = 7
Non-Fiction = 1
Library Books = 4
E-books = 0
Off my Shelf = 4

Added to my bookshelf  = 1

Have a wonderful March!