Balancing the Books – February 2022

So the shortest month is behind us, though ironically it contains the longest week (Half Term). My reading has still been sporadic. I’ve been stuck in a rut since last year. It’s not that I’ve not enjoyed books when I’ve picked them up. I have. It’s just it’s taking a lot of work to actually sit and read. I’m going to try and throw some shorter novels and novellas into the mix and see if that helps kick start the reading.
Here’s what arrived this month:
I also bought some other Agatha Christie novels but they ended up being duplicates so won’t count. I don’t make the rules, oh wait, yes I do.

  1. Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow, sent for review by John Murray.
  2. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus, sent for review by Doubleday.
  3. Conversations on Love by Natasha Lunn, sent for review by Penguin.
  4. Last Resort by Andrew Lipstein, sent for review by W&N.
  5. London Rules by Mick Herron.
  6. Murder on the Ballarat Train by Kerry Greenwood, both of these were charity shop finds.
  7. Wake by Shelley Burr, sent for review by Hodder & Stoughton.
  8. A Wedding in Provence by Katie Fforde, sent for review by Century.
  9. The Second Sight of Zachery Cloudesley by Sean Lusk, sent for review by Doubleday.
  10. Woman, Eating by Claire Kohda, sent for review by Virago.
  11. Thea and Denise by Caroline Bond, sent for review by Corvus.
  12. Elizabeth of York: The Last White Rose by Alison Weir, sent for review by Headline.
  13. This Might Hurt by Stephanie Wrobel, sent for review by Michael Joseph.
  14. Nobody But Us by Laure Van Rensburg, sent for review by Michael Joseph.
  15. The Haven by Amanda Jennings, sent for review by Amanda.
  16. A Matter of Time by Claire Askew, sent for review by Hodder & Stoughton.
  17. Echo of the Dead by Alex Gray, sent for review by Sphere.
  18. Breakneck Point by T. Orr Munro, sent for review by HQ.
  19. The Gifts by Liz Hyder, sent for review by Manilla Press.
  20. Songs of Innocence and Experience by William Blake, an addition to my Penguin Clothbound Classics series.
  21. Murder at the Minster by Helen Cox, a purchase from Blackwells.
  22. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exbury, another addition to my Penguin Clothbound Classics collection.
  23. The Railway Children by E Nesbitt, the start of a new collection of the Wordsworth Collectors Edition series.
  24. The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie.
  25. A Murder is Announced by Agatha Christie.
  26. The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie. These were all charity shop finds.

As for what came and went, there is much more than I thought when I sat down and had a look.

Here’s what I read:

  1. Give Unto Others by Donna Leon.
  2. The Last Good Funeral of the Year by Ed O’Laughlin.
  3. Jane’s Country Year by Malcolm Saville.
  4. Even the Darkest Night by Javier Cercas.
  5. Thrown by Sara Cox.

I also lent 6 books to a friend and gave two others to another. So that’s 26 in and 13 out. I think we all know that the books are never going to balance. It’s always worth a shot pretending though. I hope you enjoyed the books you read last month.

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