Monthly Reading Summary – November 2022

There has been a lot going on generally this year so it’s no surprise that once again I haven’t read as many books as I would have liked. Our book group read for November was ‘A Flicker in the Dark’ by Stacy Willingham.

Books Read This Month:

Mickey Mayhew – Imprisoning Mary Queen of Scots: The Men Who Kept the Stuart Queen ★★★★

• Hardback, 2022, Pen and Sword
• Adult Non-Fiction, History

Grady Hendrix – The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires ★★

• Paperback, 2020, Quirk Books
• Adult Fiction, Horror

Julia Chapman – Date with Deceit ★★★

• Audiobook, 2021, Pan Macmillan
• Adult Fiction, Cosy Crime

Emily Henry – You and Me on Vacation ★★

• Paperback, 2021, Penguin Books
• Adult Fiction, Chic Lit

Nathen Amin – Henry VII and the Tudor Pretenders: Simnel, Warbeck, and Warwick ★★★★★

• Hardback, 2020, Amberley Publishing
• Adult Non-Fiction, History

Books Bought This Month:

• Stacy Willingham – A Flicker in the Dark
• Natalie Grueninger – The Final Year of Anne Boleyn
• Stephanie Garber – Once Upon a Broken Heart
• Kate Johnson – Hex Affair
• Rosie Blake – The Hygge Holiday

Statistics:

• Books Read – 5
• Currently Reading – 2
• TBR – 159

• Fiction – 3 (60%)
• Non-Fiction – 2 (40%)

• Male Author – 3 (60%)
• Female Author – 2 (40%)
• Multiple Authors – 0 (0%)

• Paperback – 2 (40%)
• Hardback – 2 (40%)
• eBook – 0 (0%)
• Audiobook – 1 (20%)

• Total Pages Read – 1,336
• Average Pages Per Book – 334
• Hours Listened – 11.25

• Average Star Rating – 3.2

Monthly Reading Summary – September 2022

It’s been an up and down rocky month for me this month, and I’ve noticed I always seem to read less at the end of the month than the beginning! I’ve been gifted quite a few books by Pen and Sword this month, for which I am incredibly grateful! Our book club read for this month was ‘Northanger Abbey’ by Jane Austen.

Books Read This Month:

Helen Castor – Elizabeth I: A Study in Insecurity ★★★★

• Paperback, 2018, Penguin Books
• Adult Non-Fiction, Historical Biography

Tom Moore – Captain Tom’s Life Lessons ★★★★★

• Audiobook, 2021, Michael Joseph
• Adult Non-Fiction, Autobiography

Ali Hazelwood – The Love Hypothesis ★★★★

• Paperback, 2021, Sphere
• Adult Fiction, Chic Lit

Anthony Horowitz – Moonflower Murders ★★★★

• Paperback, 2020, Arrow Books
• Adult Fiction, Crime/Mystery

Erin Sterling – The Ex Hex ★★★★

• Paperback, 2021, Headline Eternal
• Adult Fiction, Chic Lit/Paranormal

Jane Austen – Northanger Abbey ★★★★

• eBook, 1817, Public Domain
• Adult Fiction, Classic

Books Bought This Month:

• Heather R. Darsie – Anna of Cleves: The King’s ‘Beloved Sister’
• Rosemary Horrox – Richard III: A Failed King?
• Kyra Kramer – Interpreting the Death of Edward VI: The Brief Life and Mysterious Demise of the Last Tudor King
• Caroline Angus – The Private Life of Thomas Cromwell
• Mickey Mayhew – Imprisoning Mary Queen of Scots: The Men Who Kept the Stuart Queen
• Ali Hazelwood – Love on the Brain
• Natalie Grueninger – Discovering Tudor London: A Journey Back in Time
• Julia Fox – Jane Boleyn: The Infamous Lady Rochford

Statistics:

• Books Read – 6
• Currently Reading – 3
• TBR – 149

• Fiction – 4 (66.67%)
• Non-Fiction – 2 (33.33%)

• Male Author – 2 (33.33%)
• Female Author – 4 (66.67%)
• Multiple Authors – 0 (0%)

• Paperback – 4 (66.66%)
• Hardback – 0 (0%)
• eBook – 1 (16.67%)
• Audiobook – 1 (16.67%)

• Total Pages Read – 1,593
• Average Pages Per Book – 318.6
• Hours Listened – 2.5

• Average Star Rating – 4.17

Monthly Reading Summary – April 2022

I really enjoyed the books I read this month, though I really need to speed up reading as my TBR list is growing rather than shrinking! Oops. So many books, so little time. Our book club read for this month was a book that I absolutely love; ‘The Word is Murder’ by Anthony Horowitz.

Books Read This Month:

• Mickey Mayhew – House of Tudor: A Grisly History
  • Hardback, 2022, Pen & Sword
  • Adult Non-Fiction, History

• Anthony Horowitz – The Word is Murder
  • Paperback, 2017, Arrow Books
  • Adult Fiction, Crime & Mystery

• Naomi Novik – A Deadly Education
  • Hardback, 2020, Del Rey
  • Adult Fiction, Fantasy

• Naomi Novik – The Last Graduate
  • Hardback, 2021, Del Rey
  • Adult Fiction, Fantasy

Books Bought This Month:

• Carrie Hope Fletcher – With This Kiss
• Victoria Mas – The Mad Women’s Ball
• Sarah Penner – The Lost Apothecary

Statistics:

• Books Read – 4
• Currently Reading – 3
• TBR – 141

• Fiction – 3 (75%)
• Non-Fiction – 1 (25%)

• Male Author – 2 (50%)
• Female Author – 2 (50%)
• Multiple Authors – 0 (0%)

• Paperback – 1 (25%)
• Hardback – 3 (75%)
• eBook – 0 (0%)
• Audiobook – 0 (0%)

• Total Pages Read – 1,285
• Average Pages Per Book – 321.25
• Hours Listened – 0

• Average Star Rating – 4.00

‘House of Tudor: A Grisly History’ by Mickey Mayhew

Genre: Adult Non-Fiction – History

Published: 2022

Format: Hardback

Rating: ★★★

Thanks to Pen and Sword for gifting me a copy of this to review.

This is quite a different take on the Tudor period which I did enjoy. It’s written in really short chapters which makes it easy to read and dip in and out of and return to if you want to refresh your memory on a particular event.

The book covers 45 different events of the Tudor period which are the most grisly events of the period rather than the most common events. These include the poisoning of Bishop Fisher, the blackened heart of Katherine of Aragon, Mary I’s phantom pregnancies, and the kidnap of Mary Queen of Scots, among many others. Particular attention is paid to some of the more gory or unusual aspects of the events described which is quite novel and something that some history books skate over.

The book has a good selection of images, and a comprehensive index, though some of the copyright permissions need looking at – images not in the public domain are listed as being so. There is a lack of original / contemporary primary sources listed in the bibliography though they have been used in the text itself sometimes, and a distinct lack of sources for the amount of information, so missing citations. There is also an overabundance of information from Showtime’s ‘The Tudors’ which lets it down. There is also only mention of Henry VII in the Bosworth chapter but no further mention of him really, even given the Simnel and Warbeck rebellions and the execution of the Earl of Warwick.

It really does cover so many different things that there will be something for everyone whatever your interests are; political, personal, medical, or death. A gory discourse on my favourite period of history.

Monthly Reading Summary

This has been the slowest reading month I’ve had in a long time – only 3 books completed! But I have also started a new job this month so that’s been a lot to take in and I don’t always feel like I have the energy to read as much as I’d like. Our book club book for this month is ‘Araidne’ by Jennifer Saint, which I only have a few days to finish off! I’ve also had a little clear out of books that have been sat there for years and I’ve never read, so my TBR list is a little shorter now, though not a lot.

Books Read This Month:

• John Matusiak – A History of the Tudors in 100 Objects
  • Paperback, 2016, The History Press
  • Adult Non-Fiction, History

• Flora Harding – Before the Crown
  • Paperback, 2020, HarperCollins
  • Adult Fiction, Historical

• Scott Christianson & Colin Salter – 100 Books That Changed the World
  • Hardback, 2018, Batsford
  • Adult Non-Fiction, Literature

Books Bought This Month:

• Jennifer Saint – Ariadne
• Beth O’Leary – The Road Trip
• Mickey Mayhew – House of Tudor: A Grisly History
• Stephen Browning – On the Trail of Sherlock Holmes

Statistics:

• Books Read – 3
• Currently Reading – 2
• TBR – 132

• Fiction – 1 (33.3%)
• Non-Fiction – 2 (66.6%)

• Male Author – 1 (33.3%)
• Female Author – 1 (33.3%)
• Multiple Authors – 1 (33.3%)

• Paperback – 2 (66.6%)
• Hardback – 1 (33.3%)
• eBook – 0 (0%)
• Audiobook – 0 (0%)

• Total Pages Read – 972
• Average Pages Per Book – 324
• Hours Listened – 0

• Average Star Rating – 4