Monthly Reading Summary – January 2024

Top Book of the Month – ‘Anne Boleyn’s Letter from the Tower: New Updated Edition’ by Sandra Vasoli

Book Club Book This Month – N/A

Books Read This Month:

• ‘Faking Christmas’ by Kerry Winfrey ★★★
• ‘Four Weddings and a Christmas’ by Phillipa Ashley ★★★★
• ‘Anne Boleyn’s Letter from the Tower: New Updated Edition’ by Sandra Vasoli ★★★★★
• ‘How To Kill Your Family’ by Bella Mackie ★★★★
• ‘Mary I: Queen of Sorrows’ by Alison Weir ★★★★
• ‘The Mysterious Affair at Styles’ by Agatha Christie ★★★★

Books Bought This Month:

• ‘Unladylike Lessons in Love’ by Amita Murray
• ‘The Whalebone Theatre’ by Joanna Quinn
• ‘Must Love Books’ by Shauna Robinson
• ‘A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder’ by Holly Jackson
• ‘Pride and Premeditation’ by Tirzah Price
• ‘Mary I: Queen of Sorrows’ by Alison Weir
• ‘Holbein at the Tudor Court’ by Kate Heard
• ‘My Legendary Girlfriend’ by Mike Gayle
• ‘Murder on the Lusitania’ by Edward Marston
• ‘Sisters Behaving Badly’ by Maddie Please

Statistics:

• Books Read – 6
• Currently Reading – 1
• TBR – 244

• Fiction – 1 (16.67%)
• Non-Fiction – 5 (83.33%)

• Male Author – 0 (0.00%)
• Female Author – 6 (100.00%)
• Non-Binary Author – 0 (0.00%)
• Multiple Authors – 0 (0.00%)

• Paperback – 3 (50.00%)
• Hardback – 0 (0.00%)
• eBook – 3 (50.00%)
• Audiobook – 0 (0.00%)

• Total Pages Read – 1,910
• Average Pages Per Book – 318.33
• Hours Listened – 0.00

• Average Star Rating – 4.00

Monthly Reading Summary – October 2023

Top Book of the Month – ‘Trouble’ by Lex Croucher

Book Club Book This Month – ‘Hallowe’en Party’ by Agatha Christie

Books Read This Month:

• ‘Richard III: A Failed King?’ by Rosemary Horrox ★★★
• ‘Trouble’ by Lex Croucher ★★★★
• ‘To Marry and to Meddle’ by Martha Waters ★★★★
• ‘The Marlow Murder Club’ by Robert Thorogood ★★★★
• ‘To Swoon and to Spar’ by Martha Waters ★★★

Books Bought This Month:

• ‘Hex and the City’ by Kate Johnson
• ‘The Mysterious Affair at Styles’ by Agatha Christie
• ‘The Murder of Roger Ackroyd’ by Agatha Christie
• ‘Death in the Clouds’ by Agatha Christie
• ‘Death on the Nile’ by Agatha Christie
• ‘After the Funeral’ by Agatha Christie
• ‘Cat Among the Pigeons’ by Agatha Christie
• ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ by Agatha Christie
• ‘Hallowe’en Party’ by Agatha Christie
• ‘Hunting the Falcon: Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn and the Marriage that Shook Europe’ by John Guy & Julia Fox

Statistics:

• Books Read – 5
• Currently Reading – 2
• TBR – 223

• Fiction – 4 (80.00%)
• Non-Fiction – 1 (20.00%)

• Male Author – 1 (20.00%)
• Female Author – 3 (60.00%)
• Non-Binary Author – 1 (60.00%)
• Multiple Authors – 0 (0.00%)

• Paperback – 5 (100.00%)
• Hardback – 0 (0.00%)
• eBook – 0 (0.00%)
• Audiobook – 0 (0.00%)

• Total Pages Read – 1,495
• Average Pages Per Book – 299
• Hours Listened – 0.00

• Average Star Rating – 3.6

Monthly Reading Summary – September 2023

Top Book of the Month – ‘Red, White and Royal Blue’ by Casey McQuiston

Book Club Book This Month – ‘Our Wives Under the Sea’ by Julia Armfield

Books Read This Month:

• ‘Anne of Athelhampton and the Riddle of the Apes’ by Giles Keating ★★★
• ‘Red, White and Royal Blue’ by Casey McQuiston ★★★★★
• ‘The Tudors by Numbers: The Stories and Statistics Behind England’s Most Infamous Royal Dynasty’ by Carol Ann Lloyd ★★★★★
• ‘A Perfect Cornish Christmas’ by Phillipa Ashley ★★★★
• ‘Henry VI: A Good, Simple and Innocent Man’ by James Ross ★★★★
• ‘A Secret Cornish Summer’ by Phillipa Ashley ★★★★
• ‘Our Wives Under the Sea’ by Julia Armfield ★★

Books Bought This Month:

• ‘The Roughest Draft’ by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka
• ‘Red, White and Royal Blue’ by Casey McQuiston
• ‘Accidental Magic’ by Iris Beaglehole
• ‘To Swoon and to Spar’ by Martha Waters
• ‘A Lady’s Guide to Fortune-Hunting’ by Sophie Irwin
• ‘Our Wives Under the Sea’ by Julia Armfield
• ‘Roomies’ by Christina Lauren
• ‘The Christmas Murder Game’ by Alexandra Benedict
• ‘Trouble’ by Lex Croucher
• ‘The Running Grave’ by Robert Galbraith

Statistics:

• Books Read – 7
• Currently Reading – 2
• TBR – 219

• Fiction – 5 (71.43%)
• Non-Fiction – 2 (28.57%)

• Male Author – 2 (28.57%)
• Female Author – 4 (57.14%)
• Non-Binary Author – 1 (14.29%)
• Multiple Authors – 0 (0%)

• Paperback – 1 (14.29%)
• Hardback – 1 (14.29%)
• eBook – 5 (71.42%)
• Audiobook – 0 (0%)

• Total Pages Read – 1,974
• Average Pages Per Book – 282.00
• Hours Listened – 0.00

• Average Star Rating – 3.86

Monthly Reading Summary – August 2023

Top Book of the Month – ‘Falling Hard for the Royal Guard’ by Megan Clawson

Book Club Book This Month – ‘The Cat Who Saved Books’ by Sosuke Natsukawa

Books Read This Month:

• ‘Henry VIII: The Heart and the Crown’ by Alison Weir ★★★
• ‘Penelope: Tudor Baroness’ by Tony Riches ★★★★
• ‘The Lost Bookshop’ by Evie Woods ★★★★
• ‘Falling Hard for the Royal Guard’ by Megan Clawson ★★★★★
• ‘Holbein’s Hidden Gem: Rediscovering Thomas Cromwell’s Lost Book’ by Owen Emmerson and Kate McCaffrey ★★★★★

Books Bought This Month:

• ‘Falling Hard for the Royal Guard’ by Megan Clawson
• ‘The Afterlife of Anne Boleyn: Representations of Anne Boleyn in Fiction and on the Screen’ by Stephanie Russo
• ‘Tudors and Stuarts on Film: Historical Perspectives’ by Susan Doran & Thomas Freeman
• ‘The Historian and Film’ by Paul Smith
• ‘Holbein’s Hidden Gem: Rediscovering Thomas Cromwell’s Lost Book’ by Owen Emmerson & Kate McCaffrey
• ‘The Boleyns of Hever Castle’ by Owen Emmerson & Claire Ridgway
• ‘It Should Have Been Me’ by Phillipa Ashley
• ‘The Witch is Back’ by Sophie H. Morgan
• ‘The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper’ by Hallie Rubenhold
• ‘Broken Homes’ by Ben Aaronovitch
• ‘Foxglove Summer’ by Ben Aaronovitch
• ‘The Hanging Tree’ by Ben Aaronovitch
• ‘A Ticket to Oblivion’ by Edward Marston
• ‘The Circus Train Conspiracy’ by Edward Marston
• ‘A Christmas Railway Mystery’ by Edward Marston
• ‘Blood on the Line’ by Edward Marston
• ‘Murder on the Minnesota’ by Edward Marston
• ‘The Cosy Cat Society’ by Charlie Lyndhurst
• ‘Murder in a Mill Town’ by Helen Cox
• ‘Styx and Stones’ by Carola Dunn

Statistics:

• Books Read – 5
• Currently Reading – 2
• TBR – 216

• Fiction – 4 (80%)
• Non-Fiction – 1 (20%)

• Male Author – 1 (20%)
• Female Author – 3 (60%)
• Multiple Authors – 1 (20%)

• Paperback – 4 (80%)
• Hardback – 0 (0%)
• eBook – 1 (20%)
• Audiobook – 0 (0%)

• Total Pages Read – 1,769
• Average Pages Per Book – 353.80
• Hours Listened – 0.00

• Average Star Rating – 4.2

Monthly Reading Summary – July 2023

Top Book of the Month – ‘The Cat Who Saved Books’ by Sosuke Natsukawa

Book Club Book This Month – None

Books Read This Month:

• Martha Waters – To Love and to Loathe ★★★★★
• Heather R. Darsie – Children of the House of Cleves: Anna and her Siblings ★★★★★
• Sosuke Natsukawa – The Cat Who Saved Books ★★★★★
• Kathryn Warner – Sex and Sexuality in Medieval England ★★★★
• Richard Osman – The Man Who Died Twice ★★★★

Books Bought This Month:

• Jenn McKinlay – Summer Reading
• Evie Woods – The Lost Bookshop
• Phillipa Ashley – A Secret Cornish Summer
• Richard Osman – The Bullet That Missed
• Conor Byrne – Lady Katherine Grey: A Dynastic Tragedy
• Sosuke Natsukawa – The Cat Who Saved Books
• Martha Waters – To Marry and to Meddle
• Carol Ann Lloyd – The Tudors by Numbers: The Stories and Statistics Behind England’s Most Infamous Royal Dynasty

Statistics:

• Books Read – 5
• Currently Reading – 1
• TBR – 199

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

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

• Paperback – 3 (60%)
• Hardback – 2 (40%)
• eBook – 0 (0%)
• Audiobook – 0 (0%)

• Total Pages Read – 1,443
• Average Pages Per Book – 288.6
• Hours Listened – 0.00

• Average Star Rating – 4.6

Monthly Reading Summary – May 2023

Top Book of the Month – ‘The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle’ by Stuart Turton

Book Club Book This Month – None

Books Read This Month:

• ‘Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers’ by Jesse Sutanto ★★★★
• ‘Educating the Tudors’ by Amy McElroy ★★★★
• ‘The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle’ by Stuart Turton ★★★★★
• ‘A Golden Cornish Summer’ by Phillipa Ashley ★★★★
• ‘Agatha Raisin: Down the Hatch’ by M.C. Beaton ★★★
• ‘Death of a Green-Eyed Monster’ by M.C. Beaton ★★★★
• ‘Agatha Raisin: Devil’s Delight’ by M.C. Beaton ★★★
• ‘Rosie’s Travelling Tea Shop’ by Rebecca Raisin ★★★★
• ‘Aria’s Travelling Book Shop’ by Rebecca Raisin ★★★★

Books Bought This Month:

• ‘Under the Whispering Door’ by T.J. Klune
• ‘A Golden Cornish Summer’ by Phillipa Ashley
• ‘Death of a Green-Eyed Monster’ by M.C. Beaton
• ‘Agatha Raisin: Down the Hatch’ by M.C. Beaton
• ‘Agatha Raisin: Devil’s Delight’ by M.C. Beaton
• ‘Children of the House of Cleves: Anna and her Siblings’ by Heather R. Darsie
• ‘The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels’ by India Holton
• ‘Renaissance Self-Fashioning: From More to Shakespeare’ by Stephen Greenblatt

Statistics:

• Books Read – 9
• Currently Reading – 2
• TBR – 194

• Fiction – 8 (88.89%)
• Non-Fiction – 1 (11.11%)

• Male Author – 1 (11.11%)
• Female Author – 8 (88.89%)
• Multiple Authors – 0 (0.00%)

• Paperback – 4 (44.44%)
• Hardback – 1 (11.11%)
• eBook – 3 (33.33%)
• Audiobook – 1 (11.11%)

• Total Pages Read – 2,224
• Average Pages Per Book – 278.00
• Hours Listened – 16.7

• Average Star Rating – 3.89

Monthly Reading Summary – April 2023

Top Book of the Month – ‘The Little Venice Bookshop’ by Rebecca Raisin

Book Club Book This Month – ‘Do I Know You?’ by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka

Books Read This Month:

• ‘Payback’s a Witch’ by Lana Harper ★★★★
• ‘Henry VIII and Charles V: Rival Monarchs, Uneasy Allies’ by Richard Heath ★★★★
• ‘The Undomestic Goddess’ by Sophie Kinsella ★★★★
• ‘The Little Venice Bookshop’ by Rebecca Raisin ★★★★★
• ‘Diddly Squat: A Year on the Farm’ by Jeremy Clarkson ★★★★
• ‘Do I Know You?’ by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka ★★★★
• ‘The Golden Prince’ by Alison Weir ★★★★

Books Bought This Month:

• ‘The Little Venice Bookshop’ by Rebecca Raisin
• ‘Aria’s Travelling Bookshop’ by Rebecca Raisin
• ‘Flora’s Travelling Christmas Shop’ by Rebecca Raisin
• ‘Rosie’s Travelling Tea Shop’ by Rebecca Raisin
• ‘To Davy Jones Below’ by Carola Dunn
• ‘The Undomestic Goddess’ by Sophie Kinsella
• ‘Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers’ by Jesse Sutanto
• ‘Do I Know You?’ by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka
• ‘Peril on the Royal Train’ by Edward Marston
• ‘Signal for Vengeance’ by Edward Marston
• ‘Tools of Engagement’ by Tessa Bailey
• ‘Love Her or Lose Her’ by Tessa Bailey
• ‘Fix Her Up’ by Tessa Bailey
• ‘Back in a Spell’ by Lana Harper
• ‘From Bad to Cursed’ by Lana Harper
• ‘The Golden Prince’ by Alison Weir
• ‘The Tudors’ by Richard Rex
• ‘Christmas at the Cornish Café’ by Phillipa Ashley

Statistics:

• Books Read – 7
• Currently Reading – 2
• TBR – 194

• Fiction – 5 (71.42%)
• Non-Fiction – 2 (28.58%)

• Male Author – 2 (28.58%)
• Female Author – 4 (57.13%)
• Multiple Authors – 1 (14.29%)

• Paperback – 1 (14.29%)
• Hardback – 1 (14.29%)
• eBook – 4 (57.13%)
• Audiobook – 1 (14.29%)

• Total Pages Read – 1,705
• Average Pages Per Book – 284.17
• Hours Listened – 2.5

• Average Star Rating – 4.14

Monthly Reading Summary – March 2023

Top Book of the Month – ‘Elodie’s Library of Second Chances’ by Rebecca Raisin

Book Club Book This Month – ‘The Bear and the Nightingale’ by Katherine Arden

Books Read This Month:

• ‘The Final Year of Anne Boleyn’ by Natalie Grueninger ★★★★★
• ‘The Golden Enclaves’ by Naomi Novik ★★★★
• ‘The No-Show’ by Beth O’Leary ★★★★
• ‘Infamous’ by Lex Croucher ★★★★
• ‘The Christmas Holiday‘ by Phillipa Ashley ★★★★
• ‘The Bear and the Nightingale’ by Katherine Arden ★
• ‘Elodie’s Library of Second Chances’ by Rebecca Raisin ★★★★★

Books Bought/Gifted This Month:

• ‘Catherine and Anne: Queens, Rivals, Mothers’ by Owen Emmerson, Kate McCaffrey, and Alison Palmer
• ‘Anne Boleyn: An Illustrated Life of Henry VIII’s Queen’ by Roland Hui
• ‘Rebellion Against Henry VIII: The Rise and Fall of a Dynasty’ by Phil Carradice
• ‘Henry VIII and Charles V: Rival Monarchs, Uneasy Allies’ by Richard Heath
• ‘The Bear and the Nightingale’ by Katherine Arden
• ‘Wars of the Roses: The People, Places, and Battlefields of the Yorkists and Lancastrians’ by Paul Kendall
• ‘Infamous’ by Lex Croucher
• ‘Elodie’s Library of Second Chances’ by Rebecca Raisin
• ‘Payback’s a Witch’ by Lana Harper
• ‘True Tales of Tudor York’ by Tony Morgan

Statistics:

• Books Read – 7
• Currently Reading – 2
• TBR – 183

• Fiction – 6 (85.71%)
• Non-Fiction – 1 (14.29%)

• Male Author – 0 (0%)
• Female Author – 7 (100%)
• Multiple Authors – 0 (0%)

• Paperback – 4 (57.14%)
• Hardback – 2 (28.57%)
• eBook – 0 (0%)
• Audiobook – 1 (14.29%)

• Total Pages Read – 2,177
• Average Pages Per Book – 362.83
• Hours Listened – 10.75

• Average Star Rating – 3.86

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 – October 2022

It’s been a really really slow reading month this month; just lots of things going on, and I was away seeing family for a week as well. Our book group read for this month was ‘The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires’ by Grady Hendrix. I also tend to gain a lot of books in October because of my birthday.

Books Read This Month:

Terry Deary – The Peasants’ Revolting Lives ★★★★

• Paperback, 2020, Pen and Sword
• Adult Non-Fiction, History

Beth O’Leary – The Road Trip ★★★

• Paperback, 2021, Quercus Publishing
• Adult Fiction, Chic Lit

Richard Charles Cobb – On the Trail of Jack the Ripper ★★★★

• Paperback, 2022, Pen and Sword
• Adult Non-Fiction, True Crime

Books Bought This Month:

• Phil Roberts – Cardinal Wolsey: For King and Country
• Helen Carr & Suzannah Lipscomb – What is History, Now?
• Grady Hendrix – The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires
• Richard Charles Cobb – On the Trail of Jack the Ripper
• Paul Kendall – Queen Elizabeth I: Life and Legacy of the Virgin Queen
• Stephanie Laurens – Foes, Friends, and Lovers
• Stephanie Laurens – The Secrets of Lord Grayson Child
• Shaun Bythell – Remainders of the Day: More Diaries from The Bookshop, Wigtown
• Tom Felton – Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard
• Joanne Paul – The House of Dudley: A New History of Tudor England

Statistics:

• Books Read – 3
• Currently Reading – 4
• TBR – 155

• Fiction – 1 (33.34%)
• Non-Fiction – 2 (66.66%)

• Male Author – 2 (66.66%)
• Female Author – 1 (33.34%)
• Multiple Authors – 0 (0%)

• Paperback – 3 (100%)
• Hardback – 0 (0%)
• eBook – 0 (0%)
• Audiobook – 0 (0%)

• Total Pages Read – 770
• Average Pages Per Book – 256.66
• Hours Listened – 0

• Average Star Rating – 3.66