Monthly Reading Summary – August 2021

A very slow reading month for me, the slowest I think I’ve had in years actually. But I did get quite a lot of writing and research done so that probably explains it. I also took a trip to Barter Books which meant I bought quite a lot of books this month. Our book club book for this month was ‘My Dark Vanessa’ by Kate Elizabeth Russell which I found quite disturbing.

Books Read This Month:

• Charlaine Harris – Living Dead in Dallas ★★★
  • Paperback, 2002, Gollancz
  • Adult Fiction, Fantasy

• Helen Cox – Death Awaits in Durham ★★★★
  • Paperback, 2020, Quercus Publishing
  • Adult Fiction, Crime/Mystery

• Kate Elizabeth Russell – My Dark Vanessa ★★★
  • Paperback, 2020, Fourth Estate
  • Adult Fiction, Drama

• Lex Croucher – Reputation ★★★★★
  • Paperback, 2021, Zaffre
  • Adult Fiction, Historical Romance

• Conor Bowman – Bat & Zoo ★★★
  • Paperback, 2019, Clockwork Press
  • Adult Fiction, Short Stories

Books Bought This Month:

• Charlaine Harris – The Complete Sookie Stackhouse Stories
• Edward Marston – Rage of the Assassin
• Helen Cox – Death Awaits in Durham
• Edward Marston – Fugitive from the Grave
• Kate Elizabeth Russell – My Dark Vanessa
• Lex Croucher – Reputation
• Edward Marston – Railway to the Grave
• Edward Marston – Timetable of Death
• Elizabeth Norton – Jane Seymour: Henry VIII’s True Love
• Carola Dunn – Damsel in Distress
• Carola Dunn – A Mourning Wedding
• Ruth Hogan – The Keeper of Lost Things
• Anne Somerset – Elizabeth I
• Alison Plowden – Danger to Elizabeth
• A.L. Rowse – The England of Elizabeth
• Nicola Tallis – Uncrowned Queen: The Fateful Life of Margaret Beaufort, Tudor Matriarch

Statistics:

• Books Read – 5
• Currently Reading – 1
• TBR – 139

• Fiction – 5 (100%)
• Non-Fiction – 0 (0%)

• Male Author – 1 (20%)
• Female Author – 4 (80%)
• Multiple Authors – 0 (0%)

• Paperback – 5 (100%)
• Hardback – 0 (0%)
• eBook – 0 (0%)
• Audiobook – 0 (0%)

• Total Pages Read – 1,449
• Average Pages Per Book – 290
• Hours Listened – 0

• Average Star Rating – 3.6

‘Dead Until Dark’ by Charlaine Harris

Genre: Adult Fiction – Paranormal

Published: 2001

Format: Paperback

Rating: ★★★

I do love how Charlaine Harris manages to introduce so many characters in such a detailed way in so short a book. It’s just a pity that this isn’t kept up in later books, which become a bit vague character-wise. Sookie just keeps going, no matter how much stuff keeps being thrown at her, and stuff just keeps coming for her!

I like this book, though it isn’t my favourite Sookie Stackhouse novel. I also think the adaptation into the TV series ‘True Blood’ was very well done and quite true to the book. The writing isn’t exactly sophisticated, but I think that adds to the charm of the book because it’s an easy read, but it does lack a little in description at times. A lot of my imagination of the way that the characters and people should look comes from the TV show really than the book descriptions.

I have seen several comments over the last few years asking if the Sookie Stackhouse novels are like the ‘Twilight’ novels by Stephenie Meyer. Charlaine Harris wrote these novels before Meyer wrote Twilight, and I think they’re much better character-wise and story-wise. The whole idea of vampires coming ‘out of the coffin’ is an intriguing one, and not one that we see in other books. Sookie knows her own value and doesn’t moon over Bill in the same annoying way that Bella does over Edward in ‘Twilight’.

I’ve just finished re-watching True Blood, so I really wanted to reread these books. I know the TV series diverges quite a bit from the books, but that’s half the fun of rereading them. Getting back into the world of Sookie, Bill, Eric, Sam, and Arlene is always a joy because it lets you escape real life for hours at a time.

Monthly Reading Summary – August 2021

I’ve had quite a good month reading, though three of the eleven books I read were novellas. One was also a re-read. The book club book for this month was ‘The Vanishing Half’ by Brit Bennett. I’ve been a bit ill this month which possibly explains the larger number of books read, and the shorter books as well.

Books Read This Month:

• Paul Dryburgh – Royal Seals: Images of Power and Majesty ★★★★★
  • Hardback, 2020, Pen & Sword
  • Adult Non-Fiction, History

• Terry Deary – Gorgeous Georgians ★★★
  • Paperback, 1998, Scholastic
  • Children’s Non-Fiction, History

• Alison Weir – The Wicked Wife ★★★★
  • eBook, 2021, Headline Review
  • Adult Fiction, Historical

• Alison Weir – The Queen’s Child ★★★
  • eBook, 2021, Headline Review
  • Adult Fiction, Historical

• Alison Weir – In This New Sepulchre ★★★★
  • eBook, 2021, Headline Review
  • Adult Fiction, Historical

• Steven Pressfield – The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles ★★★★
  • Paperback, 2002, Black Irish Entertainment
  • Adult Non-Fiction, Psychology

• Alison Weir – Katharine Parr: The Sixth Wife ★★★★
  • Hardback, 2021, Headline Review
  • Adult Fiction, Historical

• S.J. Bennett – The Windsor Knot ★★
  • Audiobook, 2020, Zaffre
  • Adult Fiction, Cosy Crime

• Brit Bennett – The Vanishing Half ★
  • Paperback, 2020, Dialogue Books
  • Adult Fiction, Drama

• Stephen Alford – The Watchers: A Secret History of the Reign of Elizabeth I ★★★
  • Hardback, 2012, Allen Lane
  • Adult Non-Fiction, History

• Charlaine Harris – Dead Until Dark ★★★
  • Paperback, 2001, Gollancz
  • Young Adult Fiction, Fantasy

Books Bought This Month:

• Brit Bennett – The Vanishing Half
• Clare Marchant – The Queen’s Spy
• Alison Weir – The Wicked Wife
• Alison Weir – The Queen’s Child
• Alison Weir – In This New Sepulchre
• Charlaine Harris – Dead Until Dark
• Charlaine Harris – Living Dead in Dallas
• Charlaine Harris – Club Dead
• Charlaine Harris – Dead to the World
• Charlaine Harris – Dead as a Doornail
• Charlaine Harris – Definitely Dead
• Charlaine Harris – All Together Dead
• Charlaine Harris – From Dead to Worse
• Charlaine Harris – Dead and Gone
• Charlaine Harris – Dead in the Family
• Charlaine Harris – Dead Reckoning
• Charlaine Harris – Deadlocked
• Charlaine Harris – Dead Ever After
• Lacey Baldwin Smith – Treason in Tudor England: Politics and Paranoia
• Richard Rex – Elizabeth: Fortune’s Bastard?
• Jenny Wormald – Mary Queen of Scots
• John Guy – My Heart is My Own: The Life of Mary Queen of Scots
• Susan Doran – The Tudor Chronicles 1485-1603
• Susan Doran – Queen Elizabeth I

Statistics:

• Books Read – 11
• Currently Reading – 1
• TBR – 130

• Fiction – 7 (63.64%)
• Non-Fiction – 4 (36.36%)

• Male Author – 4 (36.36%)
• Female Author – 7 (63.64%)
• Multiple Authors – 0 (0%)

• Paperback – 4 (36.36%)
• Hardback – 3 (27.27%)
• eBook – 3 (27.27%)
• Audiobook – 1 (9.1%)

• Total Pages Read – 2,253
• Average Pages Per Book – 225.3
• Hours Listened – 8.33

• Average Star Rating – 3.27