So, the fireworks are thankfully behind us (until the end of December). The boxes of Christmas decorations are being dug out of lofts, shed and garages, ready to bedeck halls, and living rooms (and possibly pets). Daylight is around for about 2 hours and those of us who have managed to wait are ready to crack open the advent calendars.
I also palmed a book onto a fellow blogger, posted out another one and took a book back to a friend at work that I’d had for 18 months. (She returned a bag full and I brought home another bagful but technically they are from March 2020 so I’m not counting them as incoming). So that’s 26 in and 10 out. Definitely not balanced by any stretch of the imagination. December sees me open my book advent calendar, Christmas and my birthday. I don’t get many books for either occasion though this year there’s definitely at least 2 as I’ve ordered them myself and which I will be passing on to my husband to wrap. I’m practising my surprised face in preparation.
- The Seeker by S G Maclean.
- We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson. Both of these were a treat to myself.
- The Three Locks by Bonnie McBird, sent for review by Harper Collins.
- The Diabolical Bones by Bella Ellis.
- The Red Monarch by Bella Ellis, both sent for review by Hodder & Stoughton.
- Jane’s Country Year by Malcolm Saville, sent for review by Handheld Press.
- The Shadows of Men by Abir Mukherjee, sent for review by Harvill Secker.
- Latitudes of Longing by Shubhangi Swarup, part of the Reposed Secret Book Service sent for review.
- Murder in the Basement by Anthony Berkeley, sent for review by the British Library.
- The Language of Food by Annabel Abbs, sent for review by Simon & Schuster
- Real Easy by Marie Rutkoski, sent for review by Tinder Press.
- Crime at Christmas by C H B Kitchen, another present to myself.
- The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco, a purchase after I sought out recommendations for books about books on Twitter.
- Still Life by Louise Penny, another purchase, this time after I sought recommendations for happily married (in this case) or happily single detectives.
- 12 Hours to Say I Love You by Olivia Poulet & Laurence Dobiesz, sent for review by Headline.
- Family Money by Nina Bawden, a charity shop purchase.
- They Do it with Mirrors by Agatha Christie.
- Cat Among the Pigeons by Agatha Christie.
- Appointment with Death by Agatha Christie.
- Ordeal by Innocence by Agatha Christie.
- At Bertram’s Hotel by Agatha Christie. All of these were an auction win. Of course I went over my limit but in my defence they are books. And two of them are first editions.
- The Key in the Lock by Beth Underdown, sent for review by Viking.
- A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske, sent for review by Tor.
- A Will to Kill by RV Raman, sent for review by Pushkin Vertigo.
- White Spines by Nicholas Royle, kindly sent to me by Susan at A Life in Books.
- B: A Year in Plagues and Pencils by Edward Carey, sent for review by Gallic Books.
Here’s what arrived this month:
As always I though it had been a quiet month for books. And as always, I’m proved a liar when I add them all up.
- Halloween Party by Agatha Christie
- A Ghost in the Throat by Doireann Ni Ghriofa
- Rules for Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson
- Should I Tell You? by Jill Mansell
- Still Life by Louise Penny
- Persuasion by Jane Austen
- The Star-Nosed Mole by Isabel Bannerman
Here’s what I managed to read:
