Saturday 13 August 2016

JULY 2016 - READING LIST AND PICK OF THE MONTH



10 books read in July, 2016 which was a bit less than I'd hoped for. I had 4 read by the end of the first week when still on holiday, but the pace dropped after that - one book kind of slowing things down in addition to being back at work.

They were.....


Preston Lang - The Carrier (2014 ) (4.5)

Brendan Gisby  - The Burrymen War (2013) (4)

Craig Faustus Buck - Go Down Hard (2015) (4)

Philip Reed - Off and Running (2015) (4)

Stephen C. Levi - Dead Men Do Come Back (2016) (3.5)

Gerri Brightwell - Dead of Winter (2016) (4)

Beaird Glover - Unconscious Knowledge (2016) (4)

Verge LeNoir - Killing Crows (2016) (4.5)

Steve Brewer - Bank Job (2005) (4.5)

Dan O'Shea - Old School (2012) (4.5)

Book of the Month ? Well no 5 star reads, 4 were rated a shade below. I'll choose Steve Brewer's Bank Job on the basis that I'd pick that one as a re-read over any of the others.

So, 4 reads at 4.5, 5 rating 4 stars and 1 slightly less - Stephen C. Levi - Dead Men Do Come Back at 3.5. Probably not a massive fan of Ye Olde Historical Mystery or Alaska in the 1910s.

Nothing sucked, nothing wasted my time.


A bit more trivia or data........

5 of the 10 were new-to-me authors, 5 have been read before - Dan O'Shea, Verge LeNoir, Craig Faustus Buck, Preston Lang and Steve Brewer.

No surprises here - 9 dudes, only 1 dudess - Gerri Brightwell. (Same as last month.)

8 authors hail from the US, 1 from Scotland, 1 from England

All 10 reads were fiction.

2 were paperback reads, 8 were Kindle editions, 

9 from this decade - 4 from this year. 1 from the 2000s.

5 of the 10 books were pre-owned, though 1 was a recent Amazon Freebie, 2 were accessed via Net Galley/Brash Books, 2 were sent to me by publishers - Salt Publishing and Crime Wave Press and 1 from an author/publicist on their behalf.

Favourite cover? Old School - I think I'd pick this one up first if I saw all 10 laying down on a table side by side.

Total page count = 2118

1 < 50,
2 between 51 < 100,
1 between 101 < 200,
4 between 201 < 300 and
2 over 300 - the longest being 372 Mr Buck's Go Down Hard.

10 comments:

  1. I'm glad you had a good reading month, Col - no disappointments among 'em, and that's great. And several new to you authors, too, to add variety. Some interesting-looking titles here, too.

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    1. Margot thanks, I'll get around to posted some thoughts on all of them at some point. I'm nearly as far behind with my blogging as I am with my reading!

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  2. Col, 10 is a good number and you read some fine novels with top rating.

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    1. I had hoped for a couple more, but 10 was respectable!

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  3. Ten's OK! And an intriguingly varied collection.

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    1. Better than 9 at least! I'm 2 books behind my target for the year, but hey we know I'll always cheat if I have to come December!

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    2. Bring on the short stories and novellas, huh?

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    3. Hopefully not, but needs must, we'll have to see

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  4. I would be thrilled if I read 10 books in a month, even if they were all short. Although I would never get them all reviewed, so maybe it is just as well.

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    Replies
    1. I'm still running about 20 reviews behind!

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