September Books

Five books this month -- three mysteries, one novel and one that's pretty hard to categorize but I'll call non-fiction/history. All of these books are by favorite writers of mine, and I was predisposed to like them (and I did!) But they might not all be for everyone!

 

The Books of July

I only made it through six books in July, but when one is over 500 pages and another close to 1,000, I submit to defeat with a bit of grace. (My own personal goal was to read eight in July. Why I make goals like this, I have no idea.)

I'm pleased to say that five of the six are highly recommended. The last? It was fine. Just not memorable.

The June Books!

There are months when you read and everything was good, satisfying. June was one of those months. There was a nice mix of contemporary and vintage mysteries, a novel and a wonderful memoir. Any one of these would make for a good summer read.

April Reads

For a person who doesn't read a lot of fiction (in the form of novels, not mysteries) two of the best books I read this month fall into that category. Of the three mysteries were solid too, including one by one of my favorite authors, two were excellent or very good; one just OK.

 

The Books of March

March ended up being a surprisingly good -- and diverse -- reading month. How i managed eight books last month is a mystery to me! There were, of course, mysteries, but I also read two fiction novels, a biography and a delightful humor book. Or, was it political satire? Or an animal behavior book? I'll let you decide! 

(And thank you all for lovely comments and support! Surgery went well, and not as miserable as the previous two times! YAY!) Now, onward to books!

January Books

I had high hopes for January reading and ended up with four books, three mysteries and one novel. I did clock in a lot of pages -- most were pretty big. But more important, they were good, too. 

The Books of July

Gee, I love a good summer for catching up on reading! At the lake there are fewer distractions and for whatever reason, I don't feel overly guilty if I read during the day! Not surprisingly, mysteries make for good lake-reading fare but I also enjoyed a couple of memoirs and revisited a childhood favorite. 

 

This is a long one (ten books), but if you enjoy reading, onward!

At Home: April Books

After a bit of catch-up of at home activities, I thought it was FINALLY time to share the April book list. April was a tough month for me and when it's tough I go for comfort food. In this case, as you might expect, my reading was heavy (again) on the mysteries! I surrounded myself with some of my favorite characters by some of my favorite authors -- along with  introduction to a new one.

 

I confess, I was about four pages out of a fourth book -- one of what I call my "Bathroom and Waiting Room" books. (These are books with short bits that you can read, put down, and return to  whenever you choose!) I guess it's only fair to put that on in the May books! Onward!

At Home: The Books of March

I finally feel like I'm getting closer to my reading stride! March was productive and with a good mix of subjects (but most, as usual, mysteries). The four mysteries (by Ann Cleeves, Deborah crombie, Louise Penny and Donna Leon) are all "series" books with beloved characters. Add to it a bio-fiction book and a non-fiction look at a favorite composer and you have my March list!

At Home: Books from October through December!

Will it surprise you to know that my reading really tanked in October, November and December? So, I'm putting these three paltry months together! Some of my reviews are a bit shorter than usual because I didn't write them right after finishing the book!

The June Book Report

June wasn't the banner reading month I'd hoped but I was pretty satisfied with those I read. The list includes two memoirs, three good mysteries and one I wish had been better than it was.

 

April's Books

Cataract surgery slowed down my reading time in April (and it will continue this month, too). But All the books I read were well worth reading! As usual, most were mysteries but the gem was a non-fiction work.

 

The Books of March

Reading was my escape in the weather-weird, basement-boggling month of March. Somehow I managed to pull off seven books. Most were mysteries, and one, Rachel Maddow's astonishing "Prequel," was as frightening as a thriller and all too real. 

Postcards From the Lake: The August Books

For weeks I thought August was a slow reading month. Too much computer time? But somehow I finished seven books and they were all good ones. In this month's reviews, series mysteries by Donna Leon, Martin Walker, Mark Pryor and Ann Cleeves; as novel by Jodi Picoult; a delightful memoir of actor Martin Short,  and a remarkable, wee book that is timely and important. (And yes, there is a drawing in this post. Read on!)

Reading My Way Through June

Somehow I managed to squeeze in six books during June -- no doubt because most of them were so good I couldn't put them down! Not surprisingly, five of them were mysteries (including a recent entry in a delightfully popular series) and one a lovely and moving novel. The last book in the post, "Haunting Paris," is my first entry for the annual blog event "Paris In July." Hosted by Emma at Words and Peace, Paris in July is your one-stop place to find posts about the City of Light (and France) related to books, film, photography, food and more.