Reading Round-up – June into July reading

Legi, Lego, Legam – I read, I am reading, I will read …

It’s monthly round up time.  Like last month, I finished seven books, but the page count was well up as four out of seven had more than 425 pages. The books I read were:

37. Carte Blanche by Jeffery Deaver (7.5/10) O Review Buy
38. The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters O* Buy
39. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (bedtime read aloud) O* Review Buy
40. Lasting Damage by Sophie Hannah (7.3/10) O Review Buy
41. The Novel in the Viola by Natasha Solomons (9.5/10) AV Review Buy
42. The Dark Tower Bk 2: The Drawing of the Three by Stephen King (7.5/10) O Review Buy
43. The Rules of Engagement by Anita Brookner O* (6.5/10) Review Buy

Book Club: The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters – we’ll be discussing that next week, so look out for the write-up and review.

Book of the month: The Novel in the Viola by Natasha Solomons. A lovely wartime romance book that had enough grit to escape being at all twee.

Currently Reading:  Jill Dawson’s new novel about an East End girl who becomes a female crime wave. Full of period detail from the Blitz onwards – very enjoyable so far.

Readalongs: I’m keeping up with the Dark Tower readalong at Shelf Love. I have started reading the Gormenghast Trilogy for Jackie’s readalong at Farm Lane Books but have a way to catch up. I may only be a few chapters in, but the book is visionary – as good as I remember it, if not better.

Reading Plans for July into August:

• At book group, the exciting thing is that for the first time we’re reading on a theme rather than a specific title.  We started with a big theme – dystopias.  It will be fascinating to see which ones our members choose. I’m still deciding what to read, but it may be a re-read of Lord of the Flies.
• I have a couple of new young adult novels in the bedside pile – A Greyhound of a Girl by Roddy Doyle, featuring four generations of a family, and Life: An Exploded Diagram by Mal Peet – a coming of age story set against the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.
• I’m also very excited about David Almond’s new novel The True Tale of the Monster Billy Dean, which is being marketed in adult and YA versions by Penguin. It’s published in September, but I managed to get an ARC.
• I’ve also acquired several of the books from the TV Book Club and Richard and Judy summer reading lists.

So that’ll keep me going this month!  How’s your reading been in June?

Legi, Lego, Legam – May into June reading

I thought it was time I started writing monthly round-up posts. In the spirit of my blog’s Latin motto (Noli domo egredi, nisi librum habes – Never leave home without a book), I’ve called this post – Legi, Lego, Legam – I read, I am reading, I will read – sounds so much clunkier in the English translation.

This month, I’ve been so absorbed in the on-going problems of dealing with my too large collection of mostly unread books, that reviews have tended to get submerged in the navel-gazing – although all your comments on that have been extremely helpful to me – Thank you.

So back to the books, of which I finished seven. My monthly average is slightly down this year – as I’ve been rather busy and preoccupied with other things lately. Title and ‘Buy’ links, where appropriate, click through to Amazon UK…

LEGI:

• Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok (7.5/10) Review Buy
• Exegesis by Astro Teller (5.5/10) Review Buy
• Salmon fishing in the Yemen by Paul Torday Buy Review coming soon
• The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt (10/10) Review Buy
• The Dark Tower Bk 1: The Gunslinger by Stephen King (8.5/10) Review Buy
• Tomorrow Pamplona by Jan van Mersbergen Buy Review coming soon
• The Tunnel by Ernesto Sabato Buy Review coming soon

Book Group:  Salmon fishing in the Yemen will be discussed at Book Group next week, so review to follow. Last month’s choice was The Snowman by Jo Nesbo, which I reviewed this month here.

Book of the Month: I read one standout book in May. In fact I’d go so far as to say that it’s the best thing I’ve read this year.  The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt, is a wonderfully witty, yet emotional rollercoaster of a Western set during the San Francisco goldrush era. I likened it to The Blues Brothers meets Deadwood, and hope that it might appeal to some of you too – It was mighty fine!

Readalongs: I am currently engaged in just one – The Dark Tower readalong hosted by Jenny & Teresa at Shelf Love. I enjoyed the first installment, The Gunslinger, very much and hope to be along for the whole ride…

LEGO:

I am currently reading the latest James Bond novel - Carte Blanche by Jeffrey Deaver whom I saw talk about it here.  So far, it’s jolly good fun!  Deaver may have skipped some decades but his Bond, although modelled strictly on Fleming’s books, is definitely in the Sean Connery mould which ain’t no bad thing at all!

LEGAM:

Definite June reading plans include:

• Our Book Group’s choice to discuss at the beginning of July – The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters.
• Book 2 of Stephen King’s Dark Tower readalong – The Dark Tower: Drawing of the Three Bk. 2

Then some of the following from the top of my TBR pile perhaps:

• Lasting Damage
• Something Borrowed, the second Brenda and Effie novel by Paul Magrs – been meaning to read this for ages.
• The Novel in the Viola by Natasha Solomons – this has gone straight up the pile after reading Simon Savidge’s grilling of the author (click here).
• Briar Rose & Spanking the Maid two novellas by Robert Coover given a new Penguin Modern Classics edition.  After discovering Coover’s brilliant short story The Babysitter in a Penguin Mini Modern I am looking forward to these very much, and Just William’s Luck reviews them here
• Scarlett Dedd by Cathy Brett – a very novel novel for older children that looked so much fun that I have to read it before audition it for my daughter.

I’ve also been debating whether to join in with Jackie’s Gormenghast readalong.  I have been planning to re-read the books for years, but rather than read a few chapters per week, I’ll go full immersion and join in at the end of each month if I can fit it in. I’ve also acquired the DVD of the BBC’s rather good TV adaption from 2000.

I’d better go and get reading!  What are your plans?