CDVicarage's Eighth Year Reading (more than) 75 books

I'm Kerry and I live in rural Cheshire with my husband, Jon, and cat, Kevin, in a lovely converted stable block which is the Rectory. The Old Rectory, which is next door, could feature in a Jane Austen TV adaptation, and I'm quite jealous until I remember that it would be no fun to clean a house with twelve bedrooms and half a dozen or so reception rooms.

I've never had any trouble reading 75 books in a year and I hope I shall be successful this year.

January

1. Mary Poppins Comes Back, 1st January
2. Swallowdale, 3rd January, ROOT
3. Sail Away, 4th January
4. Doreen, 4th January, ROOT
5. The Skylarks' War, 5th January
6. The Affacombe Affair, 6th January
7. Can Any Mother Help Me?, 8th January, ROOT
8. Frederica, read by Clifford Norgate, 9th January
9. Peter Duck, 12th January, ROOT
10. Alibi for a Corpse, 13th January
11. Miss Clare Remembers, read by Gwen Watford, 13th January, ROOT
12. Family Roundabout, 14th January, ROOT
13. Death on Doomsday, 16th January
14. Cyanide with Compliments, 17th January
15. Operation Pax, 19th January
16. Winter Holiday, 21st January ROOT
17. No Vacation From Murder, 23rd January
18. Buried in the Past, 25th January
19. Courage Calls to Courage Everywhere, 25th January
20. The Making of a Marchioness, read by Lucy Scott, 25th January ROOT
21. Coot Club, 28th January ROOT
22. Begin Again, 30th January
23. An Occupied Grave, 31st January

February

24. Blind Corner, 1st February
25. A Staged Death, 2nd February
26. When the Party Died, 2nd February
27. Daughters-in-Law, 3rd February
28. The Fair Miss Fortune, read by Patience Tomlinson, 3rd February
29. The Other Family, 4th February
30. Murder at Hawthorn Cottage, 8th February
31. The Talisman Ring, read by Phyllida Nash, 8th February
32. Murder in the Morning, 9th February
33. Murder on the Clifftops, 10th February
34. Step in the Dark, 11th February
35. Murder at the Manor Hotel, 13th February
36. The Black Moth, read by Julian Rhind Tutt, 16th February
37. Murder on a Winter Afternoon, 16th February
38. Murder in the Orchard, 17th February
39. Murder at Larkfield Barn, 18th February
40. Murder in Langley Woods, 19th February
41. A Private View, 23rd February
42. Hetty, 23rd February
43. Black Sheep, read by Barbara Leigh-Hunt, 28th February
44. Belinda, 28th February

March

45. Pigeon Post, 1st March ROOT
46. Murder on the Oxford Canal, 3rd March
47. Appleby Talks, 4th March
48. We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea, 4th March ROOT
49. Murder at the University, 5th March
50. Murder of the Bride, 6th March
51. Murder in the Village, 7th March
52. Murder in the Family, 7th March
53. Murder at Home, 7th March
54. Murder in the Meadow, 8th March
55. Murder in the Mansion, 9th March
56. Murder in the Garden, 9th March
57. Murder by Fire, 10th March
58. Murder at Work, 11th March
59. Murder Never Retires, 12th March
60. Murder of a Lover, 12th March
61. Murder Never Misses, 13th March
62. Murder at Midnight, 14th March
63. Murder in Mind, 14th March
64. Hillary's Final Case, 15th March
65. Just One Damned Thing After Another, read by Zara Ramm, 16th March
66. A Life in Questions, 20th March
67. Appleby Talks Again, 20th March
68. Slightly Foxed 59, 21st March
69. A Symphony of Echoes, read by Zara Ramm, 22nd March
70. Secret Water, 25th March ROOT
71. The Promise, 28th March
72. The Body on the Doorstep, 30th March
73. A Second Chance, read by Zara Ramm, 31st March

April

74. Absolution by Murder, 1st April
75. The Body in the Ice, 4th April
76. A Trail Through Time, read by Zara Ramm, 5th April
77. The Body in the Boat, 7th April
78. No Time Like the Past, read by Zara Ramm, 9th April
79. Murder Most Welcome, 10th April
80. What Could Possibly Go Wrong?, read by Zara Ramm, 12th April
81. Lies, Damned Lies and History, read by Zara Ramm, 15th April
82. The Chalet School and Cornelia, 17th April
83. And the Rest is History, read by Zara Ramm, 19th April
84. The Long and the Short of it, read by Zara Ramm, 19th April
85. Christmas Past, read by Zara Ramm, 19th April
86. An Argumentation of Historians, read by Zara Ramm, 21st April
87. The Battersea Barricades, read by Zara Ramm, 22nd April
88. The Steam-Pump Jump, read by Zara Ramm, 22nd April
89. Death is the Cure, 22nd April
90. And Now For Something Completely Different, read by Zara Ramm, 22nd April
91. The Dead Queen's Garden, 23rd April
92. Murder Undeniable, 24th April
93. Hope for the Best, 25th April
94. The House of Hopes and Dreams, 27th April
95. Wide Sargasso Sea, 28th April
96. The Quiet Side of Passion, 28th April

May

97. The Provincial Lady in Wartime with The Provincial Lady in Russia, read by Georgina Sutton, 2nd May
98. The Invisible Library, 3rd May
99. The Continuum, 4th May
100. The Grandmother Paradox, 5th May
101. The Cassandra Complex, 5th May
102. Hope For The Best, read by Zara Ramm, 7th May
103. A Few Green Leaves, 10th May
104. Her Royal Spyness, read by Katherine Kellgren, 20th May
105. The King's General, 23rd May
106. The Crow Trap, 27th May
107. Telling Tales, 28th May
108. Hidden Depths, 29th May
109. Silent Voices, 30th May
110. The Glass Room, 31st May

June

111. Harbour Street, 1st June
112. The Moth Catcher, 2nd June
113. The Seagull, 3rd June
114. Raven Black, 4th June
115. Venetia, read by Phyllida Nash, 5th June
116. White Nights, 6th June
117. Red Bones, 7th June
118. Blue Lightning, 8th June
119. Dead Water, 10th June
120. Thin Air, 11th June
121. Cold Earth, 12th June
122. Wild Fire, 14th June
123. An Expert in Murder, read by Sandra Duncan, 15th June
124. Holy Island, 16th June
125. The Only Story, 19th June
126. Sycamore Gap, 20th June
127. Heavenfield, 21st June
128. Mrs Tim of the Regiment, 25th June
129. A Fatal Obsession, 26th June
130. The Crossing Places, 29th June
131. Angel With Two Faces, read by Sandra Duncan, 30th June

July

132. To Die But Once, 1st July
133. The Zig Zag Girl, 2nd July
134. The American Agent, 5th July
135. Smoke and Mirrors, 8th July
136. Long Story Short, 11th July
137. A Fatal mistake, 11th July
138. Fatal Inheritance, 13th July
139. Two For Sorrow, read by Sandra Duncan, 17th July
140. The Janus Stone, 17th July
141. The House at Sea's End, 20th July
142. A Room Full of Bones, 21st July
143. Ruth's First Christmas Tree, 22nd July
144. Dying Fall, 24th July
145. The Outcast Dead, 26th July
146. The Ghost Fields, 27th July
147. Fear in the Sunlight, read by Sandra Duncan, 28th July
148. An American Marriage, 28th July
149. The Woman in Blue, 29th July

August

150. The Chalk Pit, 1st August
151. The Blood Card, 2nd August
152. The Dark Angel, 4th August
153. The Death of Lucy Kyte, read by Sandra Duncan, 8th August
154. Mrs. Tim Carries On, 8th August
155. Mrs. Tim Gets a Job, 9th August
156. A Fatal Flaw, 11th August
157. Before Lunch, 14th August
158. Mrs. Tim Flies Home, 17th August
159. Cheerfulness Breaks In, 18th August
160. London Rain, read by Sandra Duncan, 19th August
161. A Girl Called Justice, 19th August
162. Death in the Dark Walk, 21st August
163. One Summer in Tuscany, 23rd August
164. Death at the Beggar's Opera, 25th August
165. Murder at Benbury Brook, 27th August
166. Nine Lessons, read by Sandra Duncan, 29th August
167. Howards End is on the Landing, 30th August

September

168. Death at the Devil's Tavern, 2nd September
169. The Vanishing Box, 5th September
170. The Stone Circle, 7th September
171. Good Evening, Mrs Craven, 9th September ROOT
172. Death on the Romney Marsh, 11th September
173. The Eagle of the Ninth, 14th September ROOT
174. The Silver Branch, 16th September ROOT
175. Frontier Wolf, 18th September
176. The Lantern Bearers, 21st September ROOT
177. The Parasites, 25th September
178. The Thirty Nine Steps, read by David Thorn, 25th September
179. Love in a Cold Climate, read by Patricia Hodge, 27th September

October

180. The Big Six, 1st October ROOT
181. Dear Mrs Bird, 4th October
182. Whatever happened to the Likely Lads?, 4th October
183. A Gentleman in Moscow, 9th October
184. Trials for the Chalet School, 10th October
185. The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy: primary phase, 11th October
186. Cotillion, read by Phyllida Nash, 14th October
187. The Scribbler No. 11 March 2019: A retrospective literary review, 15th October
188. Theodora and the Chalet School, 15th October
189. Doing Time, 18th October
190. Joey & Co. in Tirol, 19th October
191. Ruey Richardson-Chaletian, 21st October
192. Missee Lee, 21st October ROOT
193. The Picts and the Martyrs: Or, Not Welcome at all, 24th October ROOT
194. A Future Chalet School Girl, 28th October
195. Great Northern?, 29th October ROOT
196. The Vicarage Murder, 31st October
197. The Scribbler No. 12 July 2019: A retrospective literary review, 31st October

November

198. The Flower Show Murder, 1st November
199. The Feud in the Chalet School, 2nd November
200. Slightly Foxed 60: A Dickens of a Riot Winter 2018, 3rd November
201. Persuasion, read by Juliet Stevenson, 4th November
202. The Chalet School Triplets, 5th November
203. The Misremembered Man, 7th November ROOT
204. The Chalet School Reunion, 9th November
205. Sword at Sunset, 11th November ROOT
206. Dawn Wind, 14th November ROOT
207. Devil's Cub, 15th November
208. Slightly Foxed 61: The Paris Effect, 15th November
209. Jane and the Chalet School, 16th November
210. Before the Coffee Gets Cold, 17th November
211. Redheads at the Chalet School, 18th November
212. Adrienne and the Chalet School, 25th November
213. The War of the Worlds, 28th November
214. A Brief History of Britain 1066-1485, read by Roger Davis, 30th November

December

215. Secrets at St Bride's, 2nd December
216. Summer Term at the Chalet School, 3rd December
217. The Secret Garden, read by Johanna Ward, 6th December
218. End of Term, 9th December
219. Death on a Longship, 13th December
220. Seasonal Shorts: An Anthology of Christmas Stories and Poems, 14th December
221. Christmas at Thrush Green, read by Nicolette McKenzie, 15th December
222. The Great Christmas Knit-Off, 16th December
223. The Great Summer Sewing Bee, 17th December
224. Humbugs and Heartstrings, 20th December
225. The Christmas Mouse, read by Gwen Watford, 20th December
226. The Story of Holly and Ivy, 23rd December
227. A Christmas Carol, read by Anton Lesser, 24th December
228. No Holly for Miss Quinn, read by Gwen Watford, 24th December
229. The Christmas Mystery, 24th December
230. An English Murder, 24th December
231. A Child's Christmas in Wales, read by Dylan Thomas, 25th December
232. Why is nothing ever simple?, 25th December
233. Two Sams at the Chalet School, 27th December
234. A Refuge for the Chalet School, 29th December
235. Lanterns Across the Snow, 30th December
236. Why Mummy Doesn't Give a ****!, finished 31st December

Welcome back!

Hello, Kerry!

Happy New Year & New Thread Kerry! Starred you!

Dropping my star here, Kerry; very glad to see your thread again.

Happy New Year Kerry!

Happy reading in 2019, Kerry!

Goodreads Around the Year in 52 Books
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/19645196-the-52-topics-for-the-2019-reading...

1. A book that was nominated for or won an award in a genre you enjoy
2. A book with one of the 5 W's in the title (Who, What, Where, When, Why)
3. A book where the author’s name contains A, T, and Y
4. A book with a criminal character (i.e. assassin, pirate, thief, robber, scoundrel etc)

5. A book by Shakespeare or inspired by Shakespeare
6. A book with a dual timeline
7. 2 books related to the same topic, genre, or theme: Book #1
8. 2 books related to the same topic, genre, or theme: Book #2

9. A book from one of the top 5 money making genres (romance/erotica, crime/mystery, religious/inspirational, science fiction/fantasy or horror)
10. A book featuring an historical figure
11. A book related to one of the 12 Zodiac Chinese Animals (title, cover, subject)
12. A book about reading, books or an author/writer

13. A book that is included on a New York Public Library Staff Picks list
14. A book with a title, subtitle or cover relating to an astronomical term
15. A book by an author from a Mediterranean country or set in a Mediterranean country
16. A book told from multiple perspectives
17. A speculative fiction (i.e. fantasy, scifi, horror, dystopia)

18. A book related to one of the elements on the periodic table of elements
19. A book by an author who has more than one book on your TBR
20. A book featuring indigenous people of a country
21. A book from one of the polarizing or close call votes

22. A book with a number in the title or on the cover
23. 4 books inspired by the wedding rhyme: Book #1 Something Old
24. 4 books inspired by the wedding rhyme: Book #2 Something New
25. 4 books inspired by the wedding rhyme: Book #3 Something Borrowed

26. 4 books inspired by the wedding rhyme: Book #4 Something Blue
27. A book off of the 1001 books to read before you die list
28. A book related to something cold (i.e. theme, title, author, cover, etc.)
29. A book published before 1950
30. A book featuring an elderly character

31. A children’s classic you’ve never read
32. A book with more than 500 pages
33. A book you have owned for at least a year, but have not read yet
34. A book with a person's name in the title

35. A psychological thriller
36. A book featured on an NPR Best Books of the Year list
37. A book set in a school or university
38. A book not written in traditional novel format (poetry, essay, epistolary, graphic novel, etc)

39. A book with a strong sense of place or where the author brings the location/setting to life
40. A book you stumbled upon
41. A book from the 2018 GR Choice Awards
42. A book with a monster or "monstrous" character
43. A book related to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) (fiction or nonfiction)

44. A book related in some way to a tv show/series or movie you enjoyed (same topic, same era, book appeared in the show/movie, etc.)
45. A multi-generational saga
46. A book with a (mostly) black cover
47. A book related to food (i.e. title, cover, plot, etc.)

48. A book that was a finalist or winner for the National Book Award for any year
49. A book written by a Far East Asian author or set in a Far East Asian country
50. A book that includes a journey (physical, health, or spiritual)
51. A book published in 2019
52. A book with a weird or intriguing title

I'll post this here in case I find myself wanting to follow a reading challenge this year.

Thank you all for your welcomes; I too have been around the new threads commenting and starring. I hope I can keep it up through the year. I've decided to try and keep this as a diary as well as a reading diary, but one that gets only significant, not daily, updates.

Christmas

Since my husband is a C of E clergyman this is always a fairly stressful time of year for us, and this year, as well as exchanging presents, we've been sharing cold germs. I'm trying to look on the positive side - if you start the year with a cold things can only get better, right?

Before the germs got too strong a hold we managed a family trip to the cinema to see Mary Poppins Returns. We were all very keen to do this as Andrew, my son, has a small part in it, so we've been following the film's progress for nearly two years now, and only on seeing the film were we sure that Andrew was really in it. He claimed not to care, as he was paid whether his part was used or not, but we could tell that he was very pleased to see himself on the big screen. He plays one of the cycling, but non-dancing, leeries, and for half a second is Mary Poppins. He spent two days riding a bike and doing tricks, wearing a wig, dress and heeled shoes for this half-second! Still 'Body double for Emily Blunt' might look good on a CV for a particular type of job application.

Last year we joined the bellringers at New Year but I think it will be a quiet evening at home, nursing our colds, this year. I may be able to make use of the time to start my 2019 reading!

How exciting to see your son in a film. It's so difficult to get a foothold in that industry. I hope this leads to more roles for him!

We were chatting with a Presbyterian minister about getting together sometime in December and my husband said, "I guess you're probably too busy even to go out for a beer" to which the minister replied that a beer or several is exactly what he would need in the middle of Advent season. We had a good chuckle about that. It is indeed a crazy busy time. I hope your husband gets a bit of time off after Christmas to recharge his batteries.

Happy New Year!

>23 lauralkeet: Thanks, Laura.

Andrew never wants to be on a film set again! It's boring - too much time hanging around doing nothing.

I always get those dangerous book bullets when I visit your thread. Happy 2019 reading!

Wishing you another great year of reading, Kerry! I look forward to following your thread and finding more books to add to my TBR list.

I'm also wishing you and your husband a speedy return to health, and I'm glad Andrew's part made it onto the screen.

I wish you from my heart a healthy 2019 filled with happiness, satisfaction, laughter and lots of good books.

Happy new year! Wishing you lots of good reading in 2019.

Happy New Year, Kerry. I hope the cold is better soon.

Happy 2019
A year full of books
A year full of friends
A year full of all your wishes realised

I look forward to keeping up with you, Kerry, this year.

Welcome back Kerry!

>1 CDVicarage: 'I'm quite jealous until I remember that it would be no fun to clean a house with twelve bedrooms and half a dozen or so reception rooms.'

Yep!

>22 CDVicarage: Oh wow - congratulations to Andrew! The new Mary Poppins film is one I'd really like to watch but we don't make it to the cinema all that often so I expect I will need to wait until it's released on DVD.

Happy new year, Kerry.

It seems as though Christmas is now over in our house: the trees have been stripped of decorations and the lights have come down. There are still lots of Christmas goodies to be eaten, though.

I've had a good reading start to the year; my cold has been lingering so I've spent plenty of time sitting in front of the fire reading instead of busying myself with housework etc and have finished five books in the first week:



Mary Poppins Comes Back, finished 1st January. This is a re-read - I got this copy for Christmas about fifty years ago! - inspired by seeing the new film recently.



Swallowdale, finished 3rd January. Despite not having particularly enjoyed the first one I feel mysteriously compelled to continue the series. I didn't read these as a child and chose the first one to fulfil a category in the PopSugar challenge last year.



Sail Away, finished 4th January. An easy read but not wonderful. Since Andrew had worked on a cruise ship for a while I knew a bit about behind the scenes already.



Doreen, finished 4th January. This is the second title I've read for the Virago group Read the 1940s project. This copy was a Secret Santa gift too many years ago and it felt appropriate to be reading it. The story was good, too, about a small girl evacuated from London during WW2 and the conflicting emotions suffered by her, her mother and her hosts.



The Skylarks' War, finished 5th January. A children's/YA book set in the early 20th century. Very good.

You have been doing a lot of reading, Kerry. Doreen looks like one I would like.

A few more finished this week:



The Affacombe Affair, finished 6th January. The second in the Pollard and Toye series and a comfortable easy read. They are set in the 60s so nicely dated without being historical (to me).



Can Any Mother Help Me?, finished 8th January. This was a (mostly) very interesting read but not quite what I was expecting. From the resumé I was expecting a correspondence version of the WI but the set-up was much more contained and organised. The articles and attitudes were, on the whole, interesting, although there were some segments that I skimmed through.



Frederica, read by Clifford Norgate, finished 9th January. A lovely re-read.



Peter Duck, finished 12th January. The third Swallows and Amazons story, and I definitely liked it less than the two previous ones, and skimmed through parts of it, but I know I am going to continue with the series...

You're off to a great start for the year! Doreen caught my eye. It sounds like one I would like.

I thought I'd slowed down but I finished six books this week:



Alibi for a Corpse, finished 13th January. I'm enjoying this series very much and have several more to go.



Miss Clare Remembers, read by Gwen Watford, finished 13th January. While I like (most of) the Fairacre and Thrush Green books I do not really like Gwen Watford as a reader, but this is the last one I have to listen to so I'll go back to print.



Family Roundabout, finished 14th January. I read this as part of the Virago Group's Reading Through the 1940s Project. I've read several other of Richmal Crompton's books for adults but I think this is the best so far.



Death on Doomsday and Cyanide With Compliments, finished 16th and 17th January. Two more in the Pollard and Toye series.



Operation Pax, finished 19th January. This is the twelfth in the Inspector Appleby series and a good one - they've been variable - it is set in Oxford in the 50s and almost seemed like a Gervaise Fen story it was so much lighter in tone than some of the others.

>37 CDVicarage: I'll try to remember not to listen to the Miss Read books in audio format if Gwen is reading.

Hi, Kerry. I'm stopping by to drop a star - you and I have 729 books in common, so I'm sure I'll enjoy following your reading! I have a couple of Michael Innes' Inspector Appleby series on my list to read this year. And very exciting that Andrew was in a film - even if he wasn't crazy about the experience, it will always be something exciting to look back on and talk about.

>39 rretzler: Thanks Robin, I've starred you in return, and shall enjoy following your thread given the books we have in common!

>38 thornton37814: Lori, Gwen Watford has a lovely voice and good diction but she puts the emphasis in the wrong place for me, so do listen to a sample before dismissing her!

It's been another good week for reading for me - five titles finished:



Winter Holiday, finished 21st January. The fourth in the Swallows and Amazon series and we are introduced to the two Ds - Dick and Dorothea - and there's no sailing as the lake is frozen.



No Vacation From Murder and Buried in the Past, finished 23rd and 25th January. Sixth and seventh in the Pollard and Toye series and the last I have. I hope the rest of the series - another ten books - will appear in Kindle form soon.



Courage Calls to Courage Everywhere, finished 25th January. This was originally a speech, delivered by Jeanette Winterson as the 2018 Richard Dimbleby Lecture and has some excellent points. There is also included the text of Freedom of Death a speech by Emmeline Pankhurst, delivered in Hartford, Connecticut, on 13 November 1913.



The Making of a Marchioness read by Lucy Scott, finished 25th January. A good reading of this rather odd novel(s).

You are starting the year with a lot of good reading, Kerry. I will look for Courage Calls to Courage Everywhere.

I managed three more titles before the end of the month:



Coot Club, finished 28th January. The fifth in the Swallows and Amazons series is set in East Anglia and doesn't feature any of the Swallows or Amazons but the two Ds meet the Coot Club and learn to sail.



Begin Again, finished 30th January. Another good read from the Furrowed Middlebrow list, but not as good as most. It's still witty and amusing but having been a naive teenager and having dealt with my own teenagers it felt a bit too much like real life.



An Occupied Grave, finished 31st January. The first in another police procedural series - The Brock and Poole Mysteries - was a good read. It's a bit like Midsomer Murders (the TV series) so fairly light and not gory, but not 'cosy' either. I've got two more and I expect I'll read them fairly soon.

January round-up:

A good reading month for me: twenty three titles finished. Two paper books, eighteen ebooks and three audiobooks. Twenty titles were new to me and nine of those were ROOTs i.e. had been in my possession for more than a year, and only four were re-reads.

We shall be downsizing within the next five to ten years so I am looking at my shelves with a view to reducing the number of paper books I have. I have made a collection entitled 'Dispose?' and managed to put 38 titles in it - all books for which I have matching ebooks. Since I have over 2500 paper books this is not really enough but I hope I shall be able to put more titles into Dispose? as time goes on. But I can't part with my Viragos or Persephones or my Girlsown books and they come to nearly a thousand...

It's Jon's birthday today and we were planning a family get-together and expecting to meet Andrew's girlfriend, Paulina, for the first time, however it has not gone to plan. Andrew and Paulina split last week and Andrew has decided to nurse his sorrows with his friends in London instead. Given the cold snowy weather we have in much of England I'm quite glad he is not making the journey from Bristol to Cheshire although I shall miss him, and now we'll never meet Paulina.

We shall still be going out for a meal with Clare and Richard and some local friends so Jon gets a bit of a celebration.

I've had a good start to February, reading-wise:



Blind Corner, finished 1st February. This was a re-read of the first book in the Chandos series. It's an old-fashioned, non-PC, Ripping Yarn, something I like from time to time, but I have to be able to ignore the non-PC aspects.



A Staged Death and When the Party Died, finished 2nd February. The second and third books in the Brock & Poole series. The two main protagonists make a good team. Both have problems in their private lives which affect their professional lives but not too extreme. There are only three books in the series at the moment but I'm sure more are planned.



Daughters-in-Law, finished 3rd February. I usually enjoy Joanna Trollope's books but I feel the later ones have less to them than the early ones. They're still worth reading, though.



The Fair Miss Fortune, read by Patience Tomlinson, finished 3rd February. A delightful, if insubstantial, bedtime re-read.



The Other Family, finished 4th February. I liked this one a bit more because some of it took place in Newcastle and Tynemouth, areas I know well.



Murder at Hawthorn Cottage, finished 8th February. The first in a cosy mystery series and it was a pleasant (apart from the murder, of course) easy read , and I shall go on with the series.



The Talisman Ring, read by Phyllida Nash, finished 8th February. A re-read of one of my favourite Heyers, and it's an excellent reading.



Murder in the Morning, finished 9th February. The second in the Melissa Craig series. The whole series of twelve books is being re-published - it dates originally from the early 1990s - under different titles. The new titles all start with 'Murder...'.

Murder on the Clifftops, finished 10th February. Number three and Melissa Craig takes a holiday in France.



Step in the Dark, finished 11th February. I found another in the Pollard & Toye series - number 8. It was a pleasant enough read but I think the series is winding down so I shan't make an effort to find the final nine books in the series. This series has been recently re-published, probably for the American market, and I've been irritated by the covers, which don't really fit the stories but are just generic country scenes.



Murder at the Manor Hotel, Murder on a Winter Afternoon, Murder in the Orchard, Murder at Larkfield Barn and Murder in Langley Woods, finished 13th to 19th February. I have enjoyed this series and as I was feeling a bit under the weather - a bad cold - I've been spending my time with some easy reading.



The Black Moth, read by Julian Rhind Tutt, finished 16th February. This was a re-read, but as I didn't like it the first time, I don't know why I did it. It's not one of the best Georgette Heyer stories - it was her first - but the reading was very irritating, and he doesn't do women's voices very well - a bit pantomime dame-ish. I've now disposed of the audiobook and if I want to read it again I shall read it in print.

You did some great reading. Sending sunny greetings from my skiing holiday in Davos.

You have had a great month of reading, Kerry.

So, now that you've read several of those Rowland books, does the quality improve after the first one? Obviously you liked them well enough to go on with the series. I think my issue with the first one was the prostitution and drug angle that made it less than cozy. Those themes turn me off so I guess I'm wondering if it is worth my time to continue.

>51 thornton37814: The early books in the Melissa Craig series were OK for me in that such details as you mention, were mentioned but not described, but later books get a bit more detailed. I've stopped at Murder in Langley Woods, the eighth of a possible twelve, partly because I don't have the others but also because that one was definitely more unpleasant and I don't think I shall look for the others. If they were to fall into my kindle I might read them as, from looking at reviews and descriptions, the series now takes a different turn anyway, but I shan't make an effort.

I've had a few days away, staying with my mum on the south coast. We had a lovely time as the weather was warm, dry and generally summer-like. She had me walking miles, around Rye and Rye Harbour and along the coast at Bexhill, where she lives. I'll now have a restful few days a home before our next lot of visitors arrive on Wednesday.

Now for the rest of my February reading and round-up:



A Private View, finished 23rd February. I'm working my way through this series as I find kindle editions and still enjoying them. This is the thirteenth of a possible thirty six!



Hetty, finished 23rd February. I remember reading this as a child - aged about nine or ten - and bits of the story had stuck in my mind so when I found it in a second hand shop I bought it and read it straight away. I enjoyed it still and shall look out for more by Barbara Willard as I see some of her books are set in Sussex an area I know well.



Black Sheep, read by Barbara Leigh-Hunt, finished 28th February. A lovely re-read. It's one of her later books, published 1966, so quite a contrast to The Black Moth, which was published in 1921.



Belinda, finished 28th February. I've been reading this along with the group read organized by Liz in the Virago group. I think I would not have either wanted to read it or finished it without that support because there was a lot that needed explaining. I did almost skim through the final chapters as that aspect of the story seemed very silly to me and Liz's explanation told me all I wanted to know! As we were using the original version I bought the kindle edition in the Oxford World's Classics series and was very disappointed with it. There were commas, apostrophes and full stops scattered at random and a lot of missing letters and other OCR mistakes. Had it been a 99p cheap edition I would have shrugged it off but I did complain to Amazon who refunded me the cost.

So in February I finished twenty one titles: one paper book, sixteen ebooks and four audiobooks. Fifteen books - all ebooks - were new to me and six were re-reads. No titles qualified for the ROOT challenge.

I've got quite a few books in my Currently Reading collection that I have ground to a halt with and I shall have to consider whether I shall restart them or give them up for now. There are also a few ER books that haven't actually been started so I can see I shall have to organize myself!

>53 CDVicarage: I seem to remember reading Hetty as well - at least I remember reading a book with someone called Hetty in it.

I've done a lot of reading in March so far:



Pigeon Post, finished 1st March. Still working my way through this series. Not much sailing in this one so more enjoyable for me.



Appleby Talks, finished 4th March. Fourteenth in the Inspector Appleby series, this is a collection of short stories.



We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea, finished 4th March. Sailing in the North Sea and quite exciting.



Murder on the Oxford Canal, Murder at the University, Murder of the Bride, Murder in the Village, Murder in the Family, Murder at Home, Murder in the Meadow, Murder in the Mansion, Murder in the Garden, Murder By Fire, Murder at Work, Murder Never Retires, Murder of a Lover, Murder Never Misses, Murder at Midnight, Murder in Mind and Hillary's Final Case, all finished between 3rd and 15th March. When I started this series I fortunately had all the books to hand as I really got caught up in the characters and stories. The series has recently been updated and re-issued under new titles - previously all had 'Narrow' in the title - for the American market, I think.

>56 CDVicarage: I've seen that series by Faith Martin listed at Amazon. How was it? I think I've been a little afraid of it because most of the entries have "an absolutely gripping whodunit full of twists" out to the side. That makes me think they were self-published and that I can't trust the reviews because a lot might be solicited of the author's friends. They are selling for about $2.99 each for Kindle format.

>57 thornton37814: There are always plenty of red herrings but not exactly 'twists'. I don't think they are self-published. She has two other mystery series written as Faith Martin and three other pseudonyms for 'cosy' mysteries, 'spooky' mysteries and romances. I took advantage of a Kindle Unlimited trial but, having started, I would have paid for them if I'd had to. The Hillary Greene series is not a 'cosy' though, but I didn't find it too gory or nasty. The individual books vary but overall the series was a very good read for me. Hillary starts as a detective in the Thames Valley police but takes early retirement after Murder at Work and then comes back as a civilian to work on cold cases.

>58 CDVicarage: I actually prefer police detectives so I might try the first, at least.

Final March reading:



Just One Damned Thing After Another, read by Zara Ramm, finished 16th March. The next book is due out towards the end of April so I thought I'd refresh my memory of the series.



A Life in Questions, finished 20th March. More a memoir than an autobiography, I found it an interesting read and enjoyed it more than I expected.



Appleby Talks Again, finished 20th March. The next in the Inspector Appleby series - the fifteenth - and another collection of short stories.



Slightly Foxed 59: Manhattan Moments, finished 21st March. Another lovely collection of articles; my wishlist usually grows when I read one of these...



A Symphony of Echoes, read by Zara Ramm, finished 22nd March.



Secret Water, finished 25th March. The eighth in the Swallows and Amazons series, set in Norfolk/Suffolk.



The Promise, finished 28th March. I'm going to stay with my sister next week and her book club meets while I'm there and I shall be going so I had to read the book. I found parts of it good but it all happened very quickly she marries, apparently falls in love with her husband, and is killed in the storm all within a week .



The Body on the Doorstep, finished 30th March. The first in a new series: a historical mystery set in Romney Marsh at the end of the eighteenth century. There are another two to read and there will probably be more.



A Second Chance, read by Zara Ramm, finished 31st March

I finished a lot of books in March - twenty nine. The total was inflated by the seventeen books of the Hillary Greene series that I read from start to finish. However it did leave me at a loose end, not knowing what to read next, but I think I've got my reading rhythm back now with two new series started and a re-read of the St Mary's Chronicles in progress.

Of the twenty nine books I finished in March one was paper, twenty five were ebooks and three were audiobooks. Only three fell into the ROOT category so the TBR pile is a s big as ever.

Congrats on a successful reading month.

>60 CDVicarage: I'm taking a book bullet on the first in the Appleby series and on The Body on the Doorstep. I added both to my wish list.

Well done for passing 75 books already, Kerry.

Have a lovely weekend.

>64 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul, and the same to you!

>65 CDVicarage: Thanks Kerry; I'll take the weekend part (although I'm working) but I won't be passing 75 any time soon!

Congrats on passing the goal!

Congratulations on reaching 75, Kerry!

Congrats on reaching 75, Kerry. That didn't take long.

Congratulations on reaching (and passing) 75 books already, Kerry!

Happy Easter weekend, Kerry.

>71 Ameise1: Thanks, Barbara, I hope you've had a good time as well.

So far this month I've mostly been reading the Chronicles of St Mary's getting ready for the next book which is due out in 4 days, now!



Absolution by Murder, finished 1st April. This is the first in a series and I'm looking forward to the next. It's set in 7th century England at the Synod of Whitby. I've been reading a few novels set in this time lately and found them very interesting.



The Body in the Ice, finished 4th April. Second in the series, set in late 18th century Romney Marsh.



The Body in the Boat, finished 7th April. Part three, and there are no more yet.



A Trail Through Time, No Time Like the Past, What Could Possibly Go Wrong?, Lies, Damned Lies and History, And the Rest is History, The Long and Short of it, and Christmas Past, all read by Zara Ramm, finished between 5th and 19th April.



Murder Most Welcome, finished 10th April. The start of another series; a light amateur detective story, good enough to go on to the others.



The Chalet school and Cornelia, finished 17th April. A new Chalet school series fill-in. It was good and I shall include it in future re-reads of the series.

More April reading:



And the Rest is History, The Long and Short of it, Christmas Past, An Argumentation of Historians, The Battersea Barricades, The Steam Pump Jump, And Now For Something Completely Different, all read by Zara Ramm, finished between 19th and 22nd April. I finished my re-readthrough of the Chronicles of St Mary's in good time for the new one, published 25th April. The short stories were slotted in at the appropriate places. And the Rest is History was just as harrowing as the last time, even though I knew the story.



Death is the Cure, finished 22nd April. The second in the Charlotte Richmond series - a pleasant enough read, and I shall go on to the next one, but a bit tame after St Mary's.



The Dead Queen's Garden, finished 23rd April. Third and currently final story in the Charlotte Richmond series but I expect there'll be some more.



Murder Undeniable, finished 24th April. This is the first in a series featuring a CofE deacon, a student (and ex-escort) and her grandmother, set in the Peak District. In this story the three protagonists solve a series of murders and set up their own private investigation business. It was an easy, enjoyable read and I shall happily go on to the next.



Hope For The Best, finished 25th April. This is the tenth full length episode in the Chronicles of St Mary's and I read it on publication day. As the series goes on I worry that each new story will not be as good as the ones before, because that always happens with a long series, doesn't it? It hasn't happened yet and this story was as good as I'd hoped - and it isn't the last in the series! I have the audio version to read in the near future, too.



The House of Hopes and Dreams, finished 27th April. Calmed myself down with some pleasant chicklit.



Wide Sargasso Sea, finished 28th June. I've recently found a book group to join, unfortunately this is the next book. I read this many years ago - while still a teenager, I think - and didn't think much of it then. I thought I might appreciate it more now but I still found it rather a struggle - fortunately it's a slim volume. The edition I read - Penguin Modern Classics - had almost as many notes as there was text, which I usually find to be a bad sign. A lot were unnecessary - I know what shingles, cassava, guava, stephanotis and jasmine are, and I recognised many of the quotations - but if I need to have the book explained to me - and I think I'm an averagely well-educated and intelligent reader - it hasn't worked as a piece of writing. LT members give it the full range of star ratings and review-opinions, I'll see what my book group thinks on Wednesday!

Only one more book finished this month:



The Quiet Side of Passion, finished 28th April. The twelfth book in the series and I'm still enjoying them and looking forward to the next.

April was another good reading month with 23 titles finished; a lot of them were re-reads getting ready for the new Chronicles of St Mary's book. Two were paper books, ten were ebooks and eleven were audiobooks. Eleven titles were new to me, but also new to my library, so no effect on the TBR pile, and twelve were re-reads.

Things might slow down in May as I have no long journeys planned and we will be having visitors and being visitors, so there probably won't be as much reading time as this month.

I'm in a reading slump at the moment; I'd been waiting with baited (bated?) breath for the new St Mary's Chronicles book - Hope for the Best (which was great) - and read through the whole series in advance but there's nothing calling to me now. I'm reading some books that I 'have' to read - one for a book club and one that I committed myself to in writing - but I'm not really enjoying either. As I expected I haven't had as much opportunity for reading this month but I still find myself at a loose end sometimes. I don't think this has ever happened to me before - even my comfort re-reads don't look that appealing - and my catalogued TBR is over 2,000 items, so there should be no excuse. I'm sure it will pass...

>77 CDVicarage: I went through a reading slump recently. I'm reading again, but I'm not up to the usual amount. That doesn't surprise me. I've got some deadlines coming up for conference syllabi so I know I need to get all those done. I have about 3 weeks before the deadline. One of them needs some "pruning" to get it down to the right size. The other will be easier to put together so I've been holding off on it. I anticipate getting both completed in the next week or two.

As predicted I didn't do as much reading this month as previously:



The Provincial Lady in Wartime with the Provincial Lady in Russia, read by Georgina Sutton, finished 2nd May. I didn't listen to the second part but very much enjoyed the first. I'm so pleased to have the four Provincial Lady books in such good audio and I'm sure I shall listen to them again and again.



The Invisible Library, finished 3rd May. This is the first example of this type of book that I've read - is it Steampunk? - And I struggled to start with but by the end I was enjoying it and have the second in the series lined up for the future.



The Continuum, The Grandmother Paradox, and The Cassandra Complex, finished 4th and 5th May. I won The Cassandra Complex in the Early Review giveaway and as it was the third in a series the publishers sent the first two as well and I read them in order. They were easy reads - all three were slim volumes - and I enjoyed the stories but they failed for me on several levels - not all the writer's fault. I am a fan of the St Mary's Chronicles and, although these have similarities, they aren't as good: not as well written, the plots seem a bit random and the world is not entirely consistent (neither is the world of St Mary's but I don't notice the inconsistencies as I'm reading). The main difficulty for me, is my problem: I'm British, and my knowledge of history is concentrated on Western Europe. This writer is American and most of the history is, naturally, American and not nearly so familiar to me.



Hope For The Best, read by Zara Ramm, finished 7th May. A quick re-read of the latest St Mary's book in audio.



A Few Green Leaves, finished 10th May. A re-read.



Her Royal Spyness, read by Katherine Kellgren, finished 20th May. Another new series for me, which I've seen recommended on several threads. I think audio is definitely the way to go for this one - I love the cut-glass upper class accents.



The King's General, finished 23rd May. I wanted to take part in Ali's Daphne Du Maurier reading week and although I was tempted to read Rebecca again I made the effort to try a new title. I started this in audio but it didn't take off and I changed to print. It won't be joining my favourite Du Maurier titles but anything she produced is well-written so I'm glad to have read it.

I expect to finish at least one more book this month so I'll leave the month's round-up till later.

The Crow Trap, Telling Tales, Hidden Depths, Silent Voices and The Glass Room, finished 27th to 31st May. Well I did get more reading done in May: having watched an episode of Vera on the TV I decided to start reading the books and, as you can see, found them very easy to read. I particularly enjoyed the setting as it covered areas I knew well. I was a student at Newcastle University in the 70s and lived in the city and then on the coast until 1992.

So for the May totals:

I finished fourteen titles in May: twelve ebooks and two audiobooks. Two were re-reads and twelve were new to me, but also fairly new to my library so the ROOT total stays the same.

I've got a long train journey tomorrow but with my husband not alone so I may not get much reading done. However at the end of the month I shall be travelling solo so I shall be reading then.

>80 CDVicarage: I just finished Telling Tales, but your post reminded me I need to add #3 to my Overdrive wish list so I can enjoy it later in the year.

I love coming here for ideas about mystery series to read! Plus, I'm beginning to have a yen for rereading G. Heyer -- on audio!

>83 sibylline: I spent years not wanting to read detective/mystery books and I now seem to be making up for lost time! I'm currently reading - in audio - the first in Nicola Upson's Josephine Tey series - An Expert in Murder and I'm pleased to see there are six more to follow.

June reading so far:



Harbour Street, The Moth Catcher and The Seagull, finished 1st to 3rd June. The final three in the 'Vera' series.



Venetia, read by Phyllida Nash, finished 5th June. Another bedtime re-read.



Raven Black, White Nights, Red Bones, Blue Lightning, Dead Water, Thin Air, Cold Earth and Wild Fire, finished 4th to 14th June. Another Ann Cleeves series, this time set in a place I don't know but just as enjoyable.



An Expert in Murder, read by Sandra Duncan, finished 15th June. This is the first in a new series; it has Josephine Tey - a real person - as one of the main characters but it covers a fictional episode. The reading was excellent and I'm pleased to see that the same reader does the rest of the series - seven more books!

>85 CDVicarage: I love the Shetland series! I just wish she'd written more. I suppose we should be grateful she expanded the quartet into an octet.

Holy Island, Sycamore Gap and Heavenfield, finished 16th, 20th and 21st June. Another new series; although it was improving over these three stories - writing, plot and ebook formatting! - I think I've overdone it on police procedurals for the time being so I shan't be going on to the other ten stories just yet.



The Only Story, finished 19th June. This was for my book group and I think I might not have finished it apart from that. I started it in good time and got about a third of the way through it but it didn't 'grab' me and I put it away until the day before the meeting when I then had to rush through it to be ready on time. The book is divided into thirds and the middle section is written in the second person, present, a style I rarely like; the main characters' relationship didn't seem at all convincing to me and the whole story seemed a bit self-indulgent. The group was split about 50-50 between those who shared my opinion and those who thought it was wonderful - about the same as those who have rated and reviewed it on LT.

Time to finish June's reading:



Mrs Tim of the Regiment, finished 25th June. This was recommended as being similar to The Provincial Lady series (which is my Desert Island book) and I did enjoy it very much and shall go on to the others in the series, (although it will not be going to the Desert Island with me).



A Fatal Obsession, finished 26th June. I very much liked Faith Martin's contemporary set police series, featuring Hillary Green, so I was keen to try this one: it is set in 1960s Oxford and our protagonists are a very junior policewoman and an ex-surgeon/current coroner. It's looking good so I shall go on to the next one when I get a copy.



The Crossing Places, finished 29th June. Another new series! I've been reading about this one in several threads on LT and thought it was time to try it for myself. I've got number two ready to go.



Angel With Two Faces, read by Sandra Duncan, finished 30th June. Purely by chance I was reading this in the area in which it takes place - Port Loe in Cornwall. I like the reader very much but I still find it rather odd to be reading fiction about real people. I've always been happy to read historical fiction but this seems a bit to recent - 1930s - although the characters are all dead now. I have the next few in the series ready.

Twenty one titles finished this month, nearly all of the same type: police procedurals. No paper books, eighteen ebooks and three audiobooks. One was a re-read and all the rest were new to me but quite new to my TBR collection so no ROOT successes this month.

>88 CDVicarage: The Nicola Upson book and your comments on it throw up an interesting question, Kerry. How historical does fiction need to be to be "historical". The 1930's is perhaps a little recent.

Have a splendid weekend.

>90 PaulCranswick: I'm now reading number three in the series - Two for Sorrow - in which Josephine Tey is writing a novel based on real characters and events that happened thirty years before, and some of those still-living characters do not think she should be. I'm not sure how much control one would have over one's appearance in fiction - most novels have a disclaimer at the front. In Josephine's book, which itself is fictional, I think it may be because one of the characters was involved in the current murder!

July reading so far:



To Die But Once, finished 1st July. I've found this series variable but these later stories are improving.



The Zig Zag Girl, finished 2nd July. The first in another series - Stephens and Mephisto - set in 1950s Brighton.Mephisto is a variety stage magician who worked with Stephens, now a police detective during the war.



The American Agent, finished 5th July. The next Maisie Dobbs story - the fifteenth - and it has a happy ending! That may not last as they are in the middle of the war.



Smoke and Mirrors, finished 8th July. The second in the series and the rather niche setting is still plausible.



Long Story Short, finished 11th July. A new collection of Chronicles of St Mary's short stories. There is one previously unpublished story which is really all I read today.



A Fatal Mistake, finished 11th July. Second in the Loveday and Ryder series.



Fatal Inheritance, finished 13th July. Sometimes I wish someone would leave me a Mediterranean villa out of the blue, but not if it means there is a terrible secret to be uncovered. I seem to have read this basic plot several times recently and this version was as good as any of the others (but none of them was that good).

July reading continued:



The Janus Stone, The House at Sea's End, A Room Full of Bones, Ruth's First Christmas Tree, Dying Fall, The Outcast Dead, The Ghost Fields, The Woman in Blue, finished between 17th and 29th July. You can probably tell I was very taken with the Ruth Galloway series. I've only got one left to read and there are only two more after that for me to buy. I hope Elly Griffiths writes quickly!



Two For Sorrow and Fear in the Sunlight, both read by Sandra Duncan, finished 17th and 28th July. This series is my bedtime audio book, although I have read some of the scarier bits during the day. Sandra Duncan is an excellent reader and the stories are better than I had expected. I think I had expected a 'cosy', light-hearted treatment but they are more serious and thought-provoking than that. I'm currently reading the fifth book and there are eight in total (at the moment).



An American Marriage, finished 28th July. I read this for my book club and I doubt I would have tried it otherwise. While I can see that it is a good, well-written book dealing with a serious and important subject, it was too 'American' for me. I find these days that I like to read books set in places I know, which means that I mostly read British books! and I am already in the basic mindset. I struggled with some of the language/dialect and cultural references, although I'm sure I knew what it meant but having to think about it jerked me out of the story. I'll find out what the rest of the group felt next week.

I finished eighteen books in July: sixteen were ebooks and two were audiobooks. All were new to me - no re-reads this month - but all were fairly new acquisitions so no ROOT points this month!

August reading has got off to a good start:



The Chalk Pit, finished 1st August. The ninth in the series and still as good.



The Blood Card, finished 2nd August. Third in Elly Griffiths other series. I'm not so hooked on this one but still enjoying it.



The Dark Angel, finished 4th August. The tenth outing for Ruth Galloway and she goes to Italy. I tried to save this one as it's the last one I have (although there are two more published) but I didn't last long.



The Death of Lucy Kyte, read by Sandra Duncan, finished 8th August. The fifth in the series and not quite so good as before as I had no real knowledge of the real murder case it referenced. Only two more to go, although there is another about to be published.



Mrs. Tim Carries On and Mrs. Tim Gets a Job, finished 8th and 9th August. Something a bit lighter from the Furrowed Middlebrow range.



A Fatal Flaw, finished 11th August. Back to police work in 1960s Oxford.

Luckily Elly Griffiths does write fairly quickly. I've read all of the Ruth Galloway and all of the post war Brighton series which I really enjoy too, and The Stranger Diaries which has been done as a standalone but I'd love to see the police detective in a further book. I also have the first in a kids series by her, set at a boarding school, out from the library.

>96 elkiedee: I intend to try the boarding school one!

August is over - here's the rest of my reading:



Before Lunch, finished 14th August. Another jolly episode in Barsetshire, although the War is imminent so things are a bit more serious.



Mrs Tim Flies Home, finished 17th August. The final episode in this series and another pleasant read.



Cheerfulness Breaks In, finished 18th August. The ninth Barsetshire book and ends with a cliffhanger!



London Rain, read by Sandra Duncan, finished 19th August. The sixth Josephine Tey mystery, set at the time of the Coronation of George VI.



A Girl Called Justice, finished 19th August. The first in Elly Griffith's new children's/YA series.



Death in the Dark Walk, finished 21st August. The first in a historical mystery series, set in eighteenth century London. The hero is John Rawlings, an apothecary, who works with the Blind Beak, John Fielding.



One Summer in Tuscany, finished 23rd August. A nice, light summer read.



Death at the Beggar's Opera, finished 25th August. Second in the John Rawlings series.



Murder at Benbury Brook, finished 27th August. The ninth in the Melissa Craig series and I shan't be reading any more.



Nine Lessons, read by Sandra Duncan, finished 29th August. The seventh (and currently the last) in the Josephine Tey series. These have been excellent readings and I'm looking forward to the next, which is soon to be published.



Howards End is on the Landing, finished 30th August. I was enjoying this until about half-way through when it got rather vague and rambling.

August round-up:

I finished eighteen books in August: one paper book, fourteen ebooks and three audiobooks. All were new to me and to my library, so no ROOT successes.

>98 CDVicarage: Wish I could say Death in the Dark Walk is a new book bullet for me, but it was already in my wish list. It wasn't in the library. I checked Book Depository which suggested AbeBooks. However, I discovered a Kindle edition was only 99 cents so I downloaded it. I'll add it to my upcoming reading list which is full of ARCs and one library book at the moment. I'll weave it in somewhere.

Regarding the Melissa Craig, with the drugs angle in the first book, I didn't find the series cozy enough for a cozy--a bit too noir for my taste. Unless I knew the remaining books lacked that angle, I'd probably not try any.

I just noticed that The Chalk Pit was your 150th book, so:
Belated congratulations on reaching 2 x 75, Kerry!

>101 FAMeulstee: Thanks, Anita. I've managed 200 for the last two years and I hope to do the same this year!

200 books per year is a goal I have set myself for a few years now and I seem to be getting further away from reaching it than otherwise. Too much real life by far!

Interested also in your earlier comments about not being able to identify too much with "american" literature and how it colours your choice of reading (note correct spelling of "colour").

To a large extent, I agree and certainly men and women tend to read more books by authors of their own gender and a Brit will read more "british" books than "american". I delight about reading about the olde country but from a sense of nostalgia nowadays rather than identification.

Have a lovely weekend.

I always seem to underestimate what I'll actually read. I won't come close to last year's total this year but I'll surpass my goal of 150 which I'm already almost at. I'll have a ton of non-fiction books (or at least ten to twelve) coming my way soon. I'll have to read them in a short time. I don't know if I'll hit 200 or not, but since I'm almost at 150, I'd like to try for 200, even if I end up reading picture books or Kindle shorts in December to reach my goal!

Hi Caroline. You've really been getting through the Elly Griffiths at a rate of knots! I'm on book 3 myself - going through them much slower than you but definitely enjoying them.

I can see what you mean about American books (or books of another culture generally). Sometimes I find it's nice to immerse myself in something different but often with books by US authors I feel that there are a lot of nuances that I'm just not getting in the same way as I would if the book were set in the UK.

September slipped by rather quickly for me but I'm going to catch up now:



Death at the Devil's Tavern, finished 2nd September. Third in the series and good enough to continue with.



The Vanishing Box, finished 5th September. This is the fourth in this series and it really seems to have got going now.



The Stone Circle, finished 7th September. The eleventh in this excellent series. The next one isn't due for publication until next February.



Good Evening Mrs Craven, finished 9th September. I read this as part of the Virago group 1940s project. I don't particularly care for short stories but these were very good and easy to read.



Death on the Romney Marsh, finished 11th September. The fourth in this series and I think I shall take a break for now.



The Eagle of the Ninth, finished 14th September. I've been meaning to read this for a long time and I wish I hadn't waited.



The Silver Branch, finished 16th September. Straight on to the next and it's just as good.



Frontier Wolf, finished 18th September. Although third in reading order this was written about twenty years after the original series and it is more complex.



The Lantern Bearers, finished 21st September. The fourth book and the Romans leave Britain.



The Thirty Nine Steps, read by David Thorn, finished 25th September. A re-read.



The Parasites, finished 25th September. I tried this in audio first but it wasn't bedtime reading for me so I switched to print. All Daphne Du Maurier books are good but I couldn't like or sympathise with any of the characters.



Love in a Cold Climate, read by Patricia Hodge, finished 27th September. Another re-read

September round-up:

I finished twelve books this month: nine ebooks, one paper book and two audio books. Ten were new to me and included four ROOT successes. The audio books were re-reads.

October's reading, part one:



The Big Six, finished 1st October. Ninth in the series and we're back in East Anglia where the Coot Club are accused of vandalism but manage to find the real culprit.



Dear Mrs Bird, finished 4th October. A good, easy read, set during WWII. Emmy dreams of being a war correspondent but finds herself working for the agony aunt of a very dated ladies magazine.



Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?: Complete BBC Radio Series, finished 4th October. Very funny - too funny for bedtime reading, really - but also a bit dated.



A Gentleman in Moscow, finished 9th October. This was a re-read. It was my choice for my book group; I had enjoyed it so much the first time that I was nervous of re-reading in case I didn't like it as much the second time. Fortunately I did still like it as much and so did the rest of my group.



Trials for the Chalet School, finished 10th October. The Chalet school is well-established in Switzerland and takes on a new girl who is disabled. By the end of the story she is straightened physically and mentally. Despite the dated language - 'crippled' and 'deformed' - EBD does have some advanced (for her time) attitudes.



The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy: The Primary Phase, finished 11th October. I first listened to this when it was broadcast on the radio in 1978. I've also seen the TV version, a stage version (in which the audience was used as part of the cast) and the film, but the original is still the best.



Cotillion, read by Phyllida Nash, finished 14th October. many times re-read.



The Scribbler No. 11 March 2019: A retrospective literary review, finished 15th October. The themes were: Abbeys, Convents and Nunneries, 'Lady Bountiful' - characters left fortunes, Lady Gardeners and Land Girls. Author spotlight - Elizabeth von Arnim, and a literary trail along the Cleveland coast.



Theodora and the Chalet School, finished 15th October. The Chalet School reforms another problem pupil and makes the Maynard triplets consider their own characters.



Doing Time, finished 18th October. The first in a new series by Jodi Taylor. Some characters from the St Mary's Chronicles appear but it concentrates on the Time Police. It is in the same hectic style and I'm looking forward to the next in the series.



Joey and Co. in Tirol, finished 19th October. A holiday story and Joey picks up three more children to add to her own eleven.

Time to finish off October:



Missee Lee, finished 21st October. The tenth in the series and another 'imagined' one the Blacketts and the Walkers are captured by pirates while sailing in the South China Sea. The Latin lessons are amusing but the substitution of 'l' for 'r' in the speech of every Chinese character is very annoying indeed. Probably my least liked of the series.



Ruey Richardson - Chaletian, finished 21st October. Joey latest adoptee becomes part of the Chalet School. A fairly standard plot, ending with a very brief account of the nativity play. The space sub-plot seems ridiculous now but may have been more reasonable when it was written.



The Picts And The Martyrs: Or, Not Welcome At All, finished 24th October. A much better entry in the series: we're back in the Lakes and the Blacketts and the Two D's are looking forward to a glorious summer but all their plans are disrupted by the arrival of the Great Aunt.



A Future Chalet school Girl, finished 28th October. Forty-seventh in the series and another holiday book. While it's nice to be back at the Tiernsee - and we meet another 'old girl' there - this is not a very good story. The whole series goes downhill from here.



Great Northern?, finished 29th October. The last complete entry in the series and the Blacketts, the Walkers and the Two D's are sailing up the west coast of Scotland. Dick spies a pair of Great Northern Divers nesting, which has never been seen before in Britain. They protect them from an egg-collector.



The Vicarage Murder, finished 31st October. The first in a series featuring a vicar's wife who manages to solve a murder quicker than the police.



The Scribbler No. 12 July 2019: A retrospective literary review, finished 31st October. The themes are Ladies Afloat, Ailing Ladies, Witches and a literary trail through East Lothian and Berwickshire.

October stats:

Eighteen books finished this month: seven paper books, eight ebooks and three audiobooks. Four ROOT successes and one series finished, although two more were started.

You had a good reading month!

November so far:



The Flower Show Murder, finished 1st November. Second in the series and the clever vicar's wife sees through the clues again.



The Feud in the Chalet school, finished 2nd November. Not a good story - a reused plot and an annoying character is the main protagonist. I shall be mostly skimming through these final titles, I think.



Slightly Foxed 60: A Dickens of a Riot Winter 2018, finished 3rd November. I'm a year behind on these at the moment but they are always a delight to dip into at any time.



Persuasion, read by Juliet Stevenson, finished 4th November. Another many times re-read. This is definitely in my top four Austen books and is often number one.



The Chalet School Triplets, finished 5th November. Very appropriate date as the triplets' birthday is 5th November. This is a written-by-numbers story - equal amounts of adventures for each triplet ending with their joint rescue of their young sister who had been kidnapped.



The Misremembered Man, finished 7th November ROOT. I am reading my unread kindle purchases in order starting with the oldest. This was set in rural Ireland in the early 70s and was funny and tragic in turns. There are two more books in the series - also on my unread list - and I shall continue with them.



The Chalet School Reunion, finished 9th November. The fiftieth book in the series and it was given a special binding and five illustrations, in colour. However it's another written-by-numbers story but it is nice to see some characters from earlier books.

>112 CDVicarage: I just read the 3rd in the series I got through NetGalley. I didn't enjoy it that much. The 3rd one focused too much on the police investigation, and she seemed a secondary character. Of course, it may be because I had not read the first two in the series.

Kerry - You zip through series. I often get tired after reading two in a row, so have to put them down. Amazing. You remind me, it's been a while since I read a Taylor. I'll have to look to see which one is next for me.

I miss FictFact.

>114 BLBera: Yes, it was very useful, although the LT series information is usually good, if you know what you are looking for.

I'd better finish off November's reading:



The Sword at Sunset, finished 11th November. I knew as soon as I started this that I wasn't going to enjoy it - not because it wasn't a good book but because of the terrible inevitability of it. I knew how it was going to end and that it was going to be sad along the way. And I was right.



Dawn Wind, finished 14th November. Another good entry in this series and much easier to read. This is the last of these books that I have at the moment but there are two more to complete the series.



Devil's Cub, read by Michael Drew, finished 15th November. A re-read.



Slightly Foxed 61: The Paris Effect, finished 15th November. Only three issues behind now!



Jane and the Chalet School, finished 16th November. A fairly good book in the series - for a Swiss-set one.



Before the Coffee Gets Cold, finished 17th November. I read this for my Book Group and I didn't care for it, neither did the others, even the one who had suggested it. It had some nice ideas but didn't deliver.



Redheads at the Chalet School, finished 18th November. I think this is possibly the worst book in the series, perhaps sharing bottom place with a couple of others.



Adrienne and the Chalet School, finished 25th November. A bit better than the last but several plot lines just fizzling out.



The War of the Worlds, finished 28th November. I have been watching the latest TV adaptation of this story and decided to read it in print as well. I enjoyed both versions.



A Brief History of Britain 1066-1485, read by Roger Davis, finished 30th November. Over eighteen hours of non-fiction! Fortunately the reading was excellent, although if the content was very 'bitty'.

Seventeen books finished in November: eight paper books, six ebooks and three audiobooks. Nine were new to me and three of those were ROOT successes. The other eight were several times re-reads.

I'm up to 214 books finished so far so I shall probably manage 3x75 this year. I usually do lots of Christmas reading during December and most of those are quite short books so will boost my total further, although I have got a hefty book to read for my Book Group by 11th December so that might slow me down!

>116 CDVicarage: Your November reads include two books by Rosemary Sutcliff, I liked them both. A good reminder to read some of her books again :-)

It's been a wonderful series. I've got more of her stand alone books to read, as well.

>117 CDVicarage: Well done, Kerry.

One of these days I will get to 3x75 but I can't see it happening for a goodly while.

Have a lovely weekend.

>120 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul. I hope I don't have to eat my words!

Or in other words, Happy Christmas! And have a great New Year as well.

>122 SandDune: Thanks Rhian and the same to you and your family!

Thank you for keeping me company in 2019.......onward to 2020.

>124 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul. I'm starting to think about 2020's thread!

Congratulations on reaching 3 x 75, Kerry!

>126 FAMeulstee: Thanks, Anita. I think that's it for me now - I did wonder about getting to 250!

Amazing numbers here, Kerry! Congratulations on getting all these read this year.

I see that you do get right through a series. Like Beth above in >114 BLBera:, usually I like to read perhaps two or three in a row and then take a break, so my enthusiasm won’t wane. Years ago I would tear through a series pretty quickly, just absorbing them like some sort of bookish amoeba.

On reading American books versus British: I see your point, but the opposite is true for me, I think. Or, well, let me be more clear. I’ve been reading British books for so long, and so many of them, that they’ve almost become part of my DNA. Still, I occasionally have to look something up or ask one of my British friends here; “git” comes to mind as a recent unknown for me. So I feel nearly as comfortable in either literary location.

Have a wonderful rest of the week-end, and looking forward to seeing you around in 2020.

I've started a new thread for 2020, although there isn't much in it yet, but I hope you'll join me there.

2020 thread here

I'd better do my December (final) round-up:



Secrets at St Bride's, finished 2nd December. This was recommended on my Girlsown list - it's a school story for grown-ups - and was enjoyable so i shall happily go on to the next in the series when it's published.



Summer Term at the Chalet School, finished 3rd December. This has one of the silliest opening set-ups of the whole series but once you get over that it's a standard story.



The Secret Garden, read by Johanna Ward, finished 6th December. This was quite a good reading but the reader is American and it did show occasionally - de-TAILS - and her Yorkshire wasn't right but that's a fault that British readers often have!



End of Term, finished 9th December. One of the best school stories and definitely the best Nativity play description.



Death on a Longship, finished 13th December. This appealed because it is set in Shetland - I'd read Ann Cleeves's Shetland series earlier this year - and I shall go on with the series.



Seasonal Shorts: An Anthology of Christmas Stories and Poems, finished 14th December. A collection of variable quality but some nice, seasonal stories.



Christmas at Thrush Green, read by Nicolette McKenzie, finished 15th December. I read this in print, I thought, quite recently, but actually ten years ago, and I remembered very little of it. It wasn't actually written by Miss Read but by her agent, although Miss Read approved the storyline, and it shows. I probably shan't be including it in my re-reads of the Thrush Green series in future.



The Great Christmas Knit- Off, finished 16th December. Some nice cosy Christmassy chick-lit.



The Great Summer Sewing Bee, finished 17th December. A mildly enjoyable short story in the same series.



Humbugs and Heartstrings, finished 20th December, Some more mildly enjoyable seasonal chick-lit.



The Christmas Mouse, read by Gwen Watford, finished 20th December. One of my regular Christmas reads.



The Story of Holly and Ivy, finished 23rd December.



A Christmas Carol, read by Anton Lesser, finished 24th December. Pleased to have finished this on Christmas Eve.



No Holly for Miss Quinn, read by Gwen Watford, finished 24th December.



The Christmas Mystery, finished 24th December. My Advent calendar book.



An English Murder, finished 24th December. Some new - to me - Christmas reading.



A Child's Christmas in Wales, read by Dylan Thomas, finished 25th December.



Why is Nothing Ever Simple?, finished 25th December. The Christmas short story in the St Mary's Chronicles.



Two Sams at the Chalet School, finished 27th December. Another ridiculous set-up - two girls with fairly similar names, so they must be related - but another standard story.



A Refuge for the Chalet School, finished 29th December. The newest Chalet School fill-in: it fits in the middle of The Chalet School in Exile and is very well done. It even has a Christmas chapter so it's been very timely reading.



Lanterns Across the Snow, finished 30th December. I saw this recommended in several places just before Christmas and found it on Amazon. It arrived very quickly so I was able to include it in this year's Christmas reading.

I finished twenty-one titles in December, some were short stories and none were chunksters. Five were paper books, ten were ebooks and six were audiobooks. Surprisingly ten were new and eleven were re-reads, as I tend to re-read in the run up to Christmas, but no ROOT successes.

Having finished 235 titles this year, I managed to exceed last year's total by thirty one books and to beat my previous best of 233, in 2015. I can't imagine I'll do better next year but 200-ish seems a good number for a year.

Having thought I was finished for the year I got to the end of another book:



Why Mummy Doesn't Give a ****!, finished 31st December.

So my total for the year is 236 books.

Looks like you had a great December reading month!

Another resolution is to keep up in 2020 with all my friends on LT. Happy New Year!