Sunday 30 July 2017

Books read in July

I have to admit, July is not my favourite month of the year. In fact it's my least favourite. It can sometimes be too hot, even in the UK ha ha, and I hate that. Thankfully, July 2017 has not been too awful, just a few odd days in a row where it's been, for me, uncomfortably hot. At the moment we have cool temps. with some sunshine, many showers, weather you can get on and work in. The garden's going well, we're harvesting raspberries, plums, courgettes, runner beans, carrots and so forth. Tomatoes are just coming in. The shallot crop was large and those have been dealt with gradually over the last week, either frozen or pickled. I feel a certain sense of achievement in respect of the last month despite the fact that I hate July! Crazy, but there you go.

Oddly, despite all the harvesting, I've still managed a good reading month. Seven books in all, eight really, as one of them is a book that has two books within its pages. Anyway, these are they:

36. Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions - Mario Giordano

37. Waterlog - Roger Deakin

38. Excursion to Tindari - Andrea Camilleri

39. The Critic - Peter May

40. Words in a French Life - Kristin Espinasse

41. The Little French Guesthouse - Helen Pollard

42. Three Men in a Boat & Three Men on the Bummel - Jerome K. Jerome

So, a motley bunch. Two non-fictions, both good. Three crime yarns, a rom com, a couple of classics from Jerome K. Jerome. Three books set in France so that fascination's been with me for three months now (it started in early May) and shows no sign whatsoever of abating. Which is fine as I'm learning rather a lot... I'm now reading about The French Resistance during WW2... and knowledge never goes to waste.

I'm having trouble choosing a favourite book. The only one here that I gave a five star rating to on Goodreads is Waterlog by Roger Deakin. And it was indeed superb. Beautifully written and a book to immerse yourself in , no pun intend... oh, ok then perhaps I did mean it. ;-) But really if I think about these seven books, the one that's stayed with me is Peter May's The Critic.


It was so very French in its descriptions of wine making in the South of France, so much atmosphere and so very clever with its plotting. I should go back and give it a five on Goodreads rather than a four to be honest. Peter May is such a good writer and I haven't read anything by him that I haven't liked a lot.

So, onwards into August... another month I'm not mad about. Roll on September even though it's pretty much certain my husband's second knee operation will, at long last, be happening then. C'est la vie...

~~~oOo~~~

10 comments:

DesLily said...

Wow.. you had a great month of reading! I see my comment on the "french" post so I guess it's there. Would you believe I have only read 17 books this year?! I just dropped off the radar after my "vacation" in May. oh well. other things on my mind and want nothing but to sit and do nothing. I hope I snap out of it. Meanwhile you are a reading machine lol... love you!

Cath said...

Pat: It was a better reading month than I thought. 17 books is 17 more than most people read. Plus, it's not all about numbers. *Hugs you*

Yvonne @ Fiction Books Reviews said...

Hi Cath,

My reading has no volume to it right now and Fiction Books is turning into more of a promotional site, rather than a review site. I am at something of a crossroads and really need to decide which direction I am going to take. Either way, I need to increase my available reading time, as my TBR pile is seriously out of control.

I have a couple of books from Peter May's 'Lewis Trilogy' on my shelves, but haven't read anything by him to date. I like the sound of 'The Critc' and as it is only book 2 out of a 6 part series to date, I may go back and start reading from the beginning.

Good intentions and all that!!

I too, am more of a spring and autumn person, but we seem to be very much in the minority, so I am making the most of the slightly cooler weather while I can :)

Yvonne

Nan said...

As you probably know, I am not a summer fan. But I love July. It is a perfect month, most years. Warm, not too hot. Mostly sunny. The veg garden is producing and the daylilies are at their most beautiful. And, as I have noted a few times on the blog, one of my top fave songs is You Go To My Head, in which is said "like a summer with a thousand Julys" - that says it all to me.

Cath said...

Yvonne: It's hard when you're busy to find time to do everything you want to do. My tbr pile is the same, I need to stop buying books! It's also hard to know what to do with your blog sometimes. I'm finding reviewing all the books I read quite a task and like you need to work out a way to make blogging work for me. I like doing it but it is becoming a bit of a chore. It seems we both have decisions to make. Something I'm not very good at.

The Peter May series is very good indeed and one I certainly plan toread to the end.

Oh lovely, another spring and autumn person... I don't think we're as rare as you might thing.

Enjoy your weekend.

Nan: Oh right... here July tends to be high summer, although just lately I've noticed that June fits that description more accurately, temperaturewise. July was certainly cooler this year and August this year is very autumnal... so far anyway.

BooksPlease said...

You've certainly had a very busy month and still managed to read and review eight books! I am so behind with everything, especially writing reviews. I've read seven books and reviewed one!
Reviewing is getting to be a bit of chore for me too - I'd rather read. It hasn't helped that I've been away for half of July (but that was most enjoyable). July is not my favourite month either and the garden has gone berserk whilst we've been away. I love autumn, with those crisp mornings and beautiful colours.

I thought Peter May's book sounded familiar - and that's because I bought the first two Enzo Macleod books this time last year and they're still there waiting to be read. I'm so glad you enjoyed them and am really looking forward to reading them, but when I'll get round to it I just don't know.

Kailana said...

The summer has been so hot and humid. I prefer the fall. lol

Cath said...

Margaret: This time of year is always very busy, as it is with you I know. I do try to allow a bit of time to read though, but blogging about them can be a bit of a chore. Perhaps next year I'll do no challenges and then I'll only need to review those I really have something to say about. Famous last words...

You'll get to the Peter May books, I firmly believe we get to these books when the time is right.

Kelly: We're been luckier here in the UK, the worst the temps got up to was the mid 80s, and now it's feeling very autumnal. Which is fine.

Judith said...

I know exactly what you mean about July and August because they are not my favorite months either. Over here they're too humid, too warm, and we have too many tourists and too many BUGS!
We have been lucky that so far we haven't had temps in the 90s or high 80s. Very lucky indeed. Knock on wood.
Are your grandchildren coming over to visit you this month?

Cath said...

Judith: I always feel a bit of a wimp when I say I don't like July and August because of the heat... to be honest we don't know real heat here in the UK. Only rarely does it get over 80c and I know full well that in The States, in some areas, they would be *glad* of temps as low as 80 in the summer. A FB friend in Arizona regularly posts about temps well over 100c and I know Florida is horrible most of the year with its heat and humidity. Here in the UK August has turned very autumnal and it's rainy and cool. I'll keep my fingers crossed that it stays cool there.

Yes, we've seen quite a bit of the grandchildren and will continue to do so this month. It's why I'm not around quite so much at the moment.