Books Read in July 2023

I had a good reading month in July. No complaints at all. I noticed that I read no vintage mysteries at all, this month or in June. I guess that is because I chose only one of those for my 20 Books of Summer list, and mostly I have been sticking to that list.

And now to the seven books I read:

Nonfiction

The Book of Forgotten Authors (2017) by Christopher Fowler

This is a reread. I read this book first in October 2020, and read it again this year for the Bookish Books Reading Challenge, hosted by Susan  at Bloggin' About Books. Christopher Fowler was interested in finding out about forgotten authors, and wrote a column on that subject in a British newspaper for many years before this book was published. Fowler's essays are entertaining and opinionated, and this is a book well worth reading. 

Jane Austen Cover to Cover: 200 Years of Classic Book Covers (2014) by Margaret C. Sullivan

This book compiles two hundred years of book covers for Austin's six novels and her other writings. It cannot cover every edition ever published but with over 200 images it is very impressive. The book also includes historical commentary and Austen trivia. I also read this book for the Bookish Books Reading Challenge.

Historical Fiction

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (2009) by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

This epistolary novel set in London and on Guernsey in 1946 depicts the German occupation of Guernsey during World War II from the eyes of the residents. This was another book I read for the Bookish Books Reading Challenge. My review is here.

Science Fiction / Alternate History

SS-GB (1979) by Len Deighton

SS-GB is an alternate history in which England has been invaded by Germany. Len Deighton is one of my favorite authors and I was not disappointed in this book. My review is here.

Crime Fiction

The Nature of the Beast (2016) by Louise Penny

This book is the 11th in the Armand Gamache series by Louise Penny, and is set in Three Pines, Quebec in Canada. I like these books no matter where they are set, but when they are in Three Pines, it means that some of my favorite characters will feature: Ruth, Clara, Olivier and Gabriel, and Myrna at the bookstore. My review is here.

Disco for the Departed (2007) Colin Cotterill

This is the 3rd book in the Dr. Siri Paiboun series. This series is especially interesting because of the setting: Laos, in 1977, when the Communists are in power. My review is here.

Murder Most Fowl (1994) by Bill Crider 

This is the seventh book in Bill Crider's longest running series, the Sheriff Dan Rhodes series. This one provides a picture of rural Texas in the 1990's. The series has 25 books total and the last book was published in 2019. My review is here.

Garden Plants in August 

The photos at the top of this post are of Tibouchina heteromalla (Silver leafed Princess Flower) plants in our front flower beds. We just started seeing purple blooms on the plants in the last week. The foliage is also lovely, all year round. 

The top photo immediately above is the red lantana that is planted beside the Princess Flower. Those plant started blooming in late July which seems awfully late to me. 

Directly above is a volunteer strawberry plant that somehow grew in a pot of our succulents out front.

Photos taken and processed by my husband. Click on the images for the best viewing quality.

Books from the TBR piles

Earlier this year my husband took these photos of books I got at last year's Planned Parenthood book sale, so I thought would share them with you. Three of these are crime fiction, one is historical fiction, the other two are non-genre fiction.

I haven't read any of them yet. Hopefully I will get them read in the next few months.

I Hear Sirens in the Street by Adrian McKinty
Book 2 in Adrian McKinty's Sean Duffy series. I liked the first book, The Cold, Cold Ground, and intend to continue the series which features Detective Sean Duffy of the Royal Ulster Constabulary. The books are set in Belfast, during the Irish Troubles, and Duffy is a Catholic cop in a primarily Protestant police force.

The Dry by Jane Harper
I was surprised and thrilled to find a copy of this at the book sale last year (at a good price), because it had only been published in the US in early 2018, and it normally would be higher priced. I haven't read anything by this author yet, but looking forward to reading this one. This book is crime fiction, set in Australia, featuring Federal Agent Aaron Falk, and there is a second book in the series.

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Beware, Beware is the second of three crime fiction books by Steph Cha featuring Korean-American Juniper Song. I loved the first book in the series, Follow Her Home (reviewed here), and was happy to find the other two books in the series at the book sale.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
I don't know much about this book. It is set in January 1946 as London emerges from the Second World War and the story is told through correspondence, mostly letters. The setting is enough to interest me. See the review at Mysteries and More from Saskatchewan.

More Tales of the City and Further Tales of the City
by Armistead Maupin
I read Tales of the City for the first time in 2018, forty years after it was first published. It amazes me that I missed it when it came out in 1978, since I was living in California at the time. That was a transitional time in my life so I guess other things were on my mind. The book is set in San Francisco, California, and it was originally published in newspaper columns. I am hoping to enjoy the second and third books in the series as much as the first. I love the covers.