Balancing the Books – March 2022

I also bought the Vintage Jane Austen editions but seeing as I already own copies of all of them they don’t count as incoming. However, the box of 37 second hand books I also bought don’t fall inside that loophole…
Here’s what I read:

1. The Coffin Club by Jacquie Sutherland, sent for review by Point Blank Books.
2. Acts of Love and War by Maggie Brookes, sent for review by Century.
3. Dear Hugo by Molly Clavering, a purchase from Blackwells.
4. The Bay by Allie Reynolds, sent for review by Headline.
5. Date with Betrayal by Julia Chapman, sent for review by Pan Macmillan.
6. Ducklings by Eve Ainsworth, sent for review by Penguin.
7. The First Day of Spring by Nancy Tucker, bought from my local independent bookshop, Read Holmfirth.
8. Under the Whispering Door by T J Klune, another treat.
9. The Match by Harlan Coben, sent for review by Century.
10. Truly, Darkly, Madly by Victoria Selman, a Twitter competition win.
11. My Cousin Rachel by Daphne Du Maurier.
12. Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier.
13. Excellent Women by Barbara Pym.
14. A Far Cry from Kensington by Muriel Spark. The four were bought in the Virago Designer Classics sale.
15. A Little Hope by Ethan Joella, sent for review by Muswell Press.
16. My Name is Yip by Paddy Crewe, sent for review by Doubleday.
17. Dead Man’s Grave by Neil Lancaster, another purchase from Blackwells.
18. Strange Journey by Maud Cairnes.
19. Keeping Up Appearances by Rose Macaulay.
20. Death of a Bookseller by Bernard J Farmer. These three were sent for review by the British Library.
21. The Doves of Venus by Olivia Manning.
22. Murder on Sea by Julie Wassmer. These last two were charity shop finds.
23. The Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy.
24. The Tortoise and the Hare by Elizabeth Jenkins.
25. A Game of Hide and Seek by Elizabeth Taylor. These last three were purchases in another Virago sale (told you it was their fault).
26. The Splendid City by Karen Heuler, sent for review by Angry Robot.
27. The Measure by Nikki Erlick, sent for review by Borough Press.
28. The Homecoming by Anna Enquist, sent for review by Katrina Power.
29. Under the Glacier by Halldor Laxness.
30. Fish Can Sing by Halldor Laxness.
31. Salka Valka by Halldor Laxness.
32. The Atom Station by Halldor Laxness.
33. Independent People by Halldor Laxness. These were all sent for review by Vintage.
34. Madwoman by Louisa Tregor, sent for review by Bloomsbury.
35. The Silent Child by J G Kelly, sent for review by Hodder & Stoughton.
36. Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins Valdez, sent for review by Phoenix.

Well, here we are, spring has sprung, and then decided to vanish again as we’ve just had a flurry of snow the last few days. We’ve also been doubly blessed with more Covid, though helpfully spread out over the month and not at the same time (she says sarcastically). My reading slump has continued, and probably gone a bit more slumpy as my concentration, and time for reading, has disappeared, much like the sun. I can also tell you now that there is no where near a balance in the books this month as I may have gone a bit overboard on the buying front. I blame Virago and their half price sale.

So what did make it’s way to the house in March? Here’s a handy list.

1. The House in the Cerulean Sea by T J Klune.
2. A Matter of Time by Claire Askew.
3. The Corinthian by Georgette Heyer.

Have you read any of the books listed? Did you go mad in the Virago sale too? (I’m sure I wasn’t the only one). I hope you enjoyed whatever you read in March and whatever you read this month.
See I told you the reading in March was woeful. I didn’t even manage to palm any off on anyone. So that’s 73 in, give or take 10, and 3 out. I am definitely a lost cause.