I am so far behind on my monthly reading lists; I am writing this summary of July reading in early September. Looking back on July, there was a good bit of variety in my reading. Only three of the seven books I read were crime fiction, which is unusual. The five novels were from my 20 Books of Summer list but the two nonfiction books were not.
So here are the books I read in July...
Nonfiction / Books about Books
More Book Lust: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment, and Reason (2005) by Nancy Pearl
This book is part of Nancy Pearl's Book Lust series, which includes Book Lust and Book Lust to Go. I have read all three of these books multiple times, and I believe this was my fourth time to read More Book Lust. One of the limitations of this book is that it was published almost 20 years ago and so could be considered out of date. For me, that doesn't matter, as I want to know about older authors as well as newer ones. The book is divided into various topics. Many of the topics include mystery and crime fiction suggestions, which I appreciate. And each time I reread the books, I discover new books and authors.
Nonfiction / Travel / Adventure
Lost Lands, Forgotten Stories (2002) Alexandra Pratt
The subtitle of this book is "A Woman's Journey into the Heart of Labrador." Pratt describes a challenging canoeing expedition that she took with a native guide (of the Innu tribe) on a series of rivers in Labrador. It was an amazing journey. See my review.
Science Fiction
A Closed and Common Orbit (2016) by Becky Chambers
This is the second book in the Wayfarers series; the first two books are only loosely connected. The only characters shared between the two books are Pepper, an engineer, and Lovelace, an AI that ran the ship in the first book. I loved the writing and the story telling and the world building.
Fantasy
The Dead Fathers Club (2006) by Matt Haig
This is a modern retelling of Hamlet. The main character and narrator is 11-year-old Philip Noble whose father recently died in a car accident. I am not sure if it was aimed at adults or young adults, and I am still not sure what I think of it. I liked it, mostly, and it definitely wasn't boring. It was very funny at times and I was pleased with the ending.
Crime Fiction
A Cast of Falcons (2016) by Steve Burrows
Steve Burrows is a Canadian author and this was the first book I read for the Canadian Reading Challenge. A Cast of Falcons is the third book in Burrow's Birder Murder Mystery series. See my review.
War Game (1976) by Anthony Price
Anthony Price published 19 novels; all featured David Audley, a British spy during the Cold War. The focus in this espionage series is on characterization and intellect, not action, although there is some of that present. Most of the books in this series have historical events infused into a present day story (keeping in mind that they were written between 1970 and 1990). In Other Paths to Glory, which won the Gold Dagger in 1974, it was World War I and the battlefields of the Somme. In Colonel Butler's Wolf, the site of the story is Hadrian's Wall. War Game is the seventh book in the series and centers around the English Civil War and events in 1643. I love this series, but I need to read them closer together because I forget who the continuing characters are, except for David Audley.
Dark Fire (2004) by C.J. Sansom
This is a historical mystery set in London in 1540; it is the second book in a series of seven featuring lawyer Matthew Shardlake as the protagonist. In the first book, Dissolution, Shardlake was working for Thomas Cromwell, helping with the dissolution of the monasteries. In this book, it is three years later, and he is again working for Thomas Cromwell, this time under duress. See my review.
Currently reading
I am now reading The White Lioness by Henning Mankell, the 3rd book in the Wallander series. It was published in 1993. It is the story of a murder in Sweden that has its roots in South Africa, and it addresses the issues of Apartheid at that time.
The two photos at the top of the post were taken in our back fenced-in area in 2010. They are motivating me to spend more time cleaning up the back yard and potting up more plants. The photo immediately above is Rosie the cat, taken in 2013, the year that she came to live with us. Click on the images for best viewing quality.
22 comments:
Like you, I need to do some backyard brushing up and cleaning. Love your photos and what a lovely cat! You had a good reading month in July... I've read a couple of them as you know. Book Lust really interests me. I have two similar books by Susan Hill that I read and reread so I know exactly what you mean. Every time I read them I find something new.
Tracy, lovely photos - whenever they are from. I love flower pictures, probably because gardening and plants are not in my area of skills or gifts. Ha! I read those Book Lust books a long while back and I agree that even if they were published a while back, they are still relevant. You enjoy reading 'classic' mysteries and I can see how they would be interesting and helpful to you. Hope you have a nice September!!
I love those flowers, Tracy! And I'm impressed by the variety in the books you read in July. I keep telling myself I need to read more non-fiction, but I haven't done it yet *sigh.*
I'm familiar with five of the seven authors you listed, Traci, but have not read any of their books, even though they are lurking around here somewhere...
Super glad to see a cat named Rosie. Early in our marriage we had a sweet little kitten named Rosie, a Manx. She loved us but was shy of strangers and would hide under the refrigerator when anyone came over. One day we had a construction crew working on out kitchen and one of them moved the refrigerator and out shot Rosie, heading lickety-split for the safety of out bedroom closet. The worker was traumatized, thinking he had somehow severed the cat's tail by moving the refrigerator. I took us several minutes to calm him down and explain that Manx cats were tailless.
Lovely flowers! And I always enjoy seeing people's reading lists. Wishing you a very happy week this week. :D
Very nice picture of Rosie. I am a Nancy Pearl fan too and More Book Lust: Books for every Mood is such a good resource because we go through different periods in our lives and books can help us get through them. And Book Lust provides a guide as to what to read depending on how we are feeling at the moment.
I've read two of your July books: the Sansom and the Haig. What a sweet photo of that kitty. I've never had a cat, but all three of my kids do so I'm able to enjoy having grandcats.
Cath, I love this photo of Rosie and she doesn't look that much different 11 year later. She is a little slower and much more demanding now.
I will look out for copies of Susan Hill's books about books at the book sale (coming soon!!!). If not there I will check out other resources for them.
Kay, gardening is getting harder for me, but it would also be incredibly good for me if I spent more time doing it. I need to remind myself of that daily.
I hope your reading is going well and hope September is nice in Austin. It is usually pretty warm here in September but we will see.
Margot, I have the same problem with nonfiction. I have a good number of nonfiction books I want to read, but I keep putting them off. Saturday night I started reading Tudors: The History of England from Henry VIII to Elizabeth I by Peter Ackroyd on Saturday night, but who knows how long it will take me to read, at over 500 pages. I am very interested in that time in England's history though.
Anonymous, Thanks for commenting. How fun to hear about another cat named Rosie. We think that is a lovely name for a cat (we modified it from the name she had been given at the shelter, Lady Rose). That is a great story about Rosie hiding under the refrigerator, and the construction worker.
Thanks, Lark, and I agree, I enjoy seeing list of books people have read. I hope your upcoming week is good also.
Kathy, It seems like I am rereading the three Book Lust books once a year now. I can pick them up anytime. Next time I may go through them via the index, which would not be quite a reread, but still fun.
Kelly, How did you like the Haig book? I did like it but a lot of the time I wasn't sure what was going on.
My sister has had cats and dogs and sometimes both, but right now she is a dog person. Most of the people where I live have dogs, although I see some cats walking around and some visiting our back yard. Our cat is indoor only.
I read it so long ago that when I read The Midnight Library (which I loved) I thought it was my first by that author. Looking back at my review, I don't think I was very impressed with it!
A very diverse group indeed.
Kelly, thanks for your feedback on The Dead Fathers Club. It is one of Haig's earlier books. I have read three of his books. Loved The Humans, and liked both The Midnight Library and The Dead Fathers Club, but they left me wanting more out of the book.
Patti, it was good to read a lot of different types of books but right now I would like to read a month of espionage novels.
I love your garden shots and Rosie the cat. So cute. She looks very content. Do you still have ferns in your back garden? With all the hot weather sometimes they don't survive, sadly. You had a wide variety of reads in July. I look forward to seeing what you'll read in Sept. Enjoy.
Susan, I have not had ferns for years, and I was wondering myself why I had them then but not now. The back area has no sun for about half of the year (northeast exposure) and the rest of the year there is mixed sun and shade. So there are challenges in growing some plants there. Succulents do great there, which is surprising. At that point I had orchids too and in that picture they look great.
It will be fun to have a month with no specified reading plan after getting through almost all of the 20 Books of Summer, although I will be reading My Antonia for the Classics Club Spin soon.
You really had a good reading month - and you've added a couple to my TBR list already, with a couple of others demanding a second look, too. What you said about the Book Lust books being out of date is one of the reasons I most enjoy thumbing through them every so often (I have all three of them, also). Book lists, library shelves, bookstore stock, etc. change so rapidly these days that I can't even imagine how many books slip right through the crack during the year they are published. Something like Book Lust is a second chance for a book or author to find new readers...and maybe lead to the rest of their backlist being enjoyed.
Sam, one of my favorite aspects of the Book Lust books is that they remind me of authors I have meant to read but haven't gotten to. There are a lot of those, unfortunately. I like the chapters called "Too Good to Miss". She did one on Rex Stout in Book Lust and several other authors I haven't read yet and should read.
Also, I wanted to tell you that I am now reading Silent Voices by Ann Cleeves; only a few chapters so far and I am really enjoying it.
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