May & June, 2023: Months in Review

 

 

 

 

 

Goal: 100 books and 1500 hours

YTD:  114 Books Read, 1001 Hours Spent

May: 13 Books Read, 113 Hours Spent

Jun: 24 Books Read, 191 Hours Spent

 

May was a bit of a disaster;  I didn't get much reading done and I didn't get around to posting my usual monthly round up. I also started doing a weekly round up in May, to make the lists shorter and easier to deal with.  June is done and I decided that even with the weekly Monday Mash Up, I still want to do the monthly  round-up. So, here we go. Fun stuff above the fold with the list of books itself hidden from view but preserved for posterity.

 

In spite of the lack of reading time in May, the last two months of reads have been a hell of a lot of fun. A huge sale at  Audible filled my shelf with cheap books -- 37 books in all.  With at least a dozen Discworlds under my belt, I finally got my hands on The Colour of Magic. Along the way. I introduced myself to a couple of new authors; among the keepers are Jhumpa Lahiri and Arthur Upfield.  And, among the misses are the rant-worthy Nina George and Lucy Worsley.  Finally, I've been playing  "100 Days of Summer" and have finished 25 books with an average spin of 6.52.

 

 

The Merry Month of May

 

Best of the Month: Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, Razzamatazz, The Crime of Miss Oyster Brown..., A Few Right Thinking Men

Worst of the Month: Bookish People, Finlay Donovan Is Killing It

Most Disappointing: Miss Pym Disposes

Biggest Surprise of the Month: The Crime of Miss Oyster Brown...

Best line:  Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow: ("his hair has the color and rigidity of onyx")

 

Glorious June

 

Best of the Month: Reader, I Buried Them, The Chequer Board, Knockdown, The Miracles of the Namiya General Store, Interpreter of Maladies

Worst of the Month: Agatha Christie, The Little Paris Bookshop,  The Detective Wore Silk Drawers

Biggest Surprises of the Month: The Miracles of the Namiya General Store

Best Palate Cleansers: What's So Funny, Artifact

Best Final Scene: Mr. Jelly's Business

Biggest Disappointments of the Month: Agatha Christie,  The Detective Wore Silk Drawers.

DNF: Barcelona Noir, The Detective Wore Silk Drawers

 

On Hold at the Library:

 

• Legends and Lattes, placed Apr 28 (11 weeks to go),  28th in line (started at 40), 31 people in line on 5 copies.

• The Bandit Queens, placed Jun 12 (9 weeks to go), 19th in line. 20 people waiting on 8 copies.

• Have You Eaten Yet, places June 12 (4 weeks to go), 2nd in line (started at 3). 7 people waiting on 1copy.

• Remarkably Bright Creatures, placed Jun 29 (12 weeks to go), 351th in line (started at 365) 482 people waiting on 58 copies.

• Great Courses: The City of God, placed Jul 1. I'm next.

• The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece, placed Jul 1 (10 weeks to go), 78th in line (started at 78), 116 people waiting on 15 copies.

 

 

May Books

 

Partners in Crime by Agatha Christie    NEW71

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin    NEW70

Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie    NEW71

Razzmatazz by Christopher Moore    NEW72

Witches Abroad by Terry Pratchett     NEW73

Bookish People by Susan Coll    NEW74

The Crime of Oyster Brown by Peter Lovesey    NEW75

The Defense by Steven Cavanagh    NEW76

Finlay Donovan Is Killing It by Elle Cosimano    Re-read

Dancers in Mourning by Margery Allingham    NEW77

Miss Pym Disposes by Josephine Tey    NEW78

The Art of English Murder by Lucy Worsley    NEW77

A Few Right Thinking Men by Sulari Gentill     NEW79

 

JuneBooks

 

The Chequer Board by Nevil Shute    Re-read

The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie    NEW80

The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett     NEW81

Reader, I Buried Them by Peter Lovesey    NEW82

The Village of Eight Graves by Seishi Yokomizo    NEW83

Death of a Swagman by Arthur W. Upfield    NEW84

Barcelona Noir NEW85

Final Curtain by Ngaio Marsh    NEW86

The Western Star by Craig Johnson    Re-read

Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder by Valerie Burns    NEW87

Brunelleschi's Dome by Ross King    NEW88

The Clock Strikes Twelve by Patricia Wentworth    NEW89

Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri    NEW90

Agatha Christie by Lucy Worsley    NEW91

Knockdown by Dick Francis    NEW92

Mr. Jelly's Business by Arthur W. Upfield    NEW93

The Miracles of the Namiya General Store by Keigo Higashino    NEW94

The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George    NEW95

Artifact by Gigi Pandian    NEW96

The Horse You Came in On by Martha Grimes    NEW97

The Detective Wore Silk Drawers by Peter Lovesey    NEW98

What's So Funny? by TimConway    Re-read

The Black Ascot by Charles Todd    NEW99