Category: Book Musings (Page 1 of 32)

A bit late posting this, as we have been away and have been starting the process of packing before moving next month!!!!! Anyway, this is what I did manage to read in July.

Books Read

Poole and Sandbanks – Leigh Hatts & Marion Marples – 3 Stars

The Meteorites: Encounters with Outer Space & Deep Time – Helen Gordon – 4 Stars

Three Rivers: The Extraordinary Waterways That Made Europe – Robert Winder – 3 Stars

The Drowned Places: Diving In Search Of Atlantis – Damian le Bas – 3.5 Stars

Nonviolent Communication: A Language Of Life – Marshall B. Rosenberg – 2 Stars

Meditations For Mortals: Four Weeks To Embrace Your Limitations And Make Time For What Counts – Oliver Burkeman – 4 Stars

The Cuckoo in June: Tales of a Sussex Orchard – David Atkins – 3 Stars

Nature’s Ghosts: The World We Lost And How To Bring It Back – Sophie Yeo – 3.5 Stars

RSPB Handbook of Garden Wildlife: 3rd edition – Peter Holden & Geoffrey Abbott – 4 Stars

Wilderlands: The Human History Of Wild Britain – Eloise Kane – 4 Stars

Terry Street – Douglas Dunn – 3 Stars

You Took the Last Bus Home – Brian Bilston – 4 Stars

Volkswagen Camper: Six Decades of Success – Richard Copping & Ken Cservenka – 4 Stars

Book(s) Of The Month

The Path More Travelled: The Secret History Of Britain’s Footpaths – Nicholas Crane – 4.5 Stars

Top Genres

Travel – 19

Natural History – 12

Miscellaneous – 9

Fiction – 9

Poetry – 8

Top Publishers

Longbarrow Press – 4

British Library Publishing – 4

Faber & Faber – 4

Icon Books – 3

Profile Books – 3

Review Copies Received

What Have You Done for Victory? A Cultural History Of The Spanish Civil War – Jo Labanyi

UnWilded – Alastair Humphreys

Library Books Checked Out

None!

Books Bought (Or Sent by Friends)

As I have said elsewhere, I am trying to buy fewer books. So I will give totals of l the number of books that enter my house and those that leave permanently. These are the figures for this month:

Books in: 17 I kept these below:

Bangladeshi Restaurant Curries – Pat Chapman

Book of Lives: A Memoir of Sorts – Margaret Atwood (Signed)

The Edge of Silence: In Search of the Disappearing Sounds of Nature – Neil Ansell (Signed)

My Body is a Meadow: Finding Freedom in the Outdoors – Bethany Handley

Hookland: Fragments Volume One: Remembering Differently – David Southwell

Africa Dances – Geoffrey Gorer

Memory Maps – Lis St Aubin De Teran (Signed)

Books out: 74 (The books leaving the house were sold, returned to the library or passed on to friends or charity. I am aiming for this number to be higher than the one above!!!).

So, are there any from that list that you have read, or now seeing them, now want to read? Let me know in the comments below.

Another month and another unfeasibly large TBR.

Still Reading

The Years of Travelling Anxiously: A Travel Writer’s Search for Peace of Mind– Tom Skyes

Review Books

Your Journey Your Way: The Recovery Guide to Mental Health– Horatio Clare

Slow Trains Around Britain: Notes from a 4,088-Mile Adventure on 143 Rides– Tom Chesshyre

Little Ruins– Manni Coe

Cry of the Wild: Tales Of Sea, Woods and Hill– Charles Foster

Politics, But Better: An A – Z Guide to Creating a More Hopeful Future– Tatton Spiller

News From Tartary: A Journey from Peking to Kashmir– Peter Flemming

An Unnatural History of Britain: A Journey In Search of Our Non-Native Species– Kevin Parr

The Medieval Scriptorium: Making Books in the Middle Ages– Sara J. Charles

Survival of the City: Living and Thriving in an Age of Isolation– Edward Glaeser, David Cutler

Feeding the Machine: The Hidden Human Labour Powering AI– James Muldoon, Mark Graham & Callum Cant

Nature Within: How the Natural World Shapes Our Minds, Bodies & Health– James Bashford

Books I’m Clearing

Russians Among Us– Gordon Corera

Shadow State: Murder, Mayhem, and Russia’s Attack on the West– Luke Harding

Chris Hoy: The Autobiography– Chris Hoy

Suffolk Bedside Book: A Collection Of Prose And Poetry– Clive Paine

Professor Stewart’s Casebook of Mathematical Mysteries– Ian Stewart

The Summer Book– Tove Jansson

The Well-Gardened Mind: The Restorative Power of Nature– Sue Stuart-Smith

How to Be a Craftivist: The Art of Gentle Protest– Sarah P. Corbett

Library

Lost Gods of Albion– Paul Newman

Underwing: A Story Of Motherhood, Loss And Wild Intuition– Jennifer Lane

Landscape, Monuments and Society: The Prehistory of Cranborne Chase– John Barrett, Richard J. Bradley & Martin T. Green (Ed)

In Search Of Lost Frogs– Robin Moore

Secret Britain: A Journey Through The Second World War’s Hidden Bases And Battlegrounds– Sinclair McKay

Poetry

I read two poetry books last month, so none this month

Bookclub

Have chosen not to read this month’s book

#20BooksOfSummer (2025 Reboot!!)

Sunfall – Jim Al-Khalili

Revenger – Alastair Reynolds

Shadow Captain – Alastair Reynolds

So are there any from that list that you have read, or now seeing them, now want to read? Let me know in the comments below.

–

^t

Monthly TBR
Another month and another unfeasibly large TBR.

Still Reading
The Years of Travelling Anxiously: A Travel Writer’s Search for Peace of Mind– Tom Skyes

Review Books

Your Journey Your Way: The Recovery Guide to Mental Health– Horatio Clare
Slow Trains Around Britain: Notes from a 4,088-Mile Adventure on 143 Rides– Tom Chesshyre
Little Ruins– Manni Coe
Cry of the Wild: Tales Of Sea, Woods and Hill– Charles Foster
Politics, But Better: An A – Z Guide to Creating a More Hopeful Future– Tatton Spiller
News From Tartary: A Journey from Peking to Kashmir– Peter Flemming
An Unnatural History of Britain: A Journey In Search of Our Non-Native Species– Kevin Parr
The Medieval Scriptorium: Making Books in the Middle Ages– Sara J. Charles
Survival of the City: Living and Thriving in an Age of Isolation– Edward Glaeser, David Cutler
Feeding the Machine: The Hidden Human Labour Powering AI– James Muldoon, Mark Graham & Callum Cant
Nature Within: How the Natural World Shapes Our Minds, Bodies & Health– James Bashford

Books I’m Clearing
Russians Among Us– Gordon Corera
Shadow State: Murder, Mayhem, and Russia’s Attack on the West– Luke Harding
Chris Hoy: The Autobiography– Chris Hoy
Suffolk Bedside Book: A Collection Of Prose And Poetry– Clive Paine
Professor Stewart’s Casebook of Mathematical Mysteries– Ian Stewart
The Summer Book– Tove Jansson
The Well-Gardened Mind: The Restorative Power of Nature– Sue Stuart-Smith
How to Be a Craftivist: The Art of Gentle Protest– Sarah P. Corbett

Library
Lost Gods of Albion– Paul Newman
Underwing: A Story Of Motherhood, Loss And Wild Intuition– Jennifer Lane
Landscape, Monuments and Society: The Prehistory of Cranborne Chase– John Barrett, Richard J. Bradley & Martin T. Green (Ed)
In Search Of Lost Frogs– Robin Moore
Secret Britain: A Journey Through The Second World War’s Hidden Bases And Battlegrounds– Sinclair McKay

Poetry

Bookclub
Have chosen not to read this months book

#20BooksOfSummer (2025 Reboot!!)
Sunfall – Jim Al-Khalili
Revenger – Alastair Reynolds
Shadow Captain – Alastair Reynolds

So are there any from that list that you have read, or now seeing them, now want to read? Let me know in the comments below.

–
^t

June flew by. And because we were so busy, I didn’t get to read as much as I would have liked to. Selling our house has, and will, take up a lot of energy in the coming months!

But I did read, and here are the books:

Books Read

Threads: The Delicate Life of John Craske – Julia Blackburn – 3.5 – Stars

Finding Albion: Myth, Folklore And The Quest For A Hidden Britain – Zakia Sewell – 4 – Stars

Hampshire Curiosities – Jo Draper – 2.5 – Stars

How to Con Friends and Manipulate People: The Subtle Art of Being a Total Psychopath – Geraint Anderson – 3.5 – Stars

I’m a Joke and So Are You: Reflections on Humour and Humanity – Robin Ince – 3 – Stars

Radical Acceptance: Awakening The Love That Heals Fear And Shame Within Us – Tara Brach – 2 – Stars

The New Eden: Wildlife In The City, And Discovering Our Shared Home – JC Niala – 3 – Stars

Trees Ancient and Modern: Woodland Cultures and Conservation – Charles Watkins – 3.5 – Stars

Alexa, What Is There To Know About Love? – Brian Bilston – 4 – Stars

En Route: A Journey Round France In The Company Of Great Writers – Peter Fiennes – 4 – Stars

Book(s) Of The Month

Wild Cities: Discovering New Ways Of Living In The Modern Urban Jungle – Chris Fitch – 4.5 – Stars

Wild Pavements: Exploring Britain’s Cities With An Urban Naturalist – Amanda Tuke – 4.5 – Stars

Top Genres

Travel – 18

Fiction – 9

Natural History – 8

Miscellaneous – 7

Poetry – 6

Top Publishers

British Library Publishing – 4

Longbarrow Press – 4

Jonathan Cape – 3

Icon Books – 3

Head of Zeus – 2

Review Copies Received

What Have You Done for Victory? A Cultural History Of The Spanish Civil War – Jo Labanyi

UnWilded – Alastair Humphreys

Library Books Checked Out

The Path More Travelled: The Secret History Of Britain’s Footpaths – Nicholas Crane

En Route: A Journey Round France In The Company Of Great Writers – Peter Fiennes

Wild Pavements: Exploring Britain’s Cities With An Urban Naturalist – Amanda Tuke

Books Bought (Or Sent by Friends)

As I have said elsewhere, I am trying to buy fewer books. So I will give totals of l the number of books that enter my house and those that leave permanently. These are the figures for this month:

Books in: 13 I kept these below:

Villager – Tom Cox

The Farmer’s Year – Clare Leighton

Looking for Mr Schwitters – Jennifer Potter (signed)

Books out: 20

(The books leaving the house were sold, returned to the library or passed on to friends or charity. I am aiming for this number to be higher than the one above!!!).
So, are there any from that list that you have read, or now seeing them, now want to read? Let me know in the comments below.

I am a little late posting this, this month, as I have been fairly busy. We have sold our house! And found another!! So, have begun the process of clearing stuff!!! (Including books)

Another month and another unfeasibly large TBR.

Still Reading

Nature’s Ghosts: The World We Lost And How To Bring It Back – Sophie Yeo

Meditations For Mortals: Four Weeks To Embrace Your Limitations And Make Time For What Counts – Oliver Burkeman

Volkswagen Camper: Six Decades of Success – Richard Copping & Ken Cservenka

Review Books

RSPB Handbook of Garden Wildlife: 3rd edition – Peter Holden & Geoffrey Abbott

Survival of the City: Living and Thriving in an Age of Isolation – Edward Glaeser, David Cutler

Feeding the Machine: The Hidden Human Labour Powering AI – James Muldoon, Mark Graham & Callum Cant

Your Journey Your Way: The Recovery Guide to Mental Health – Horatio Clare

Slow Trains Around Britain: Notes from a 4,088-Mile Adventure on 143 Rides – Tom Chesshyre

Little Ruins – Manni Coe

Cry of the Wild: Tales Of Sea, Woods and Hill – Charles Foster

Politics, But Better: An A – Z Guide to Creating a More Hopeful Future – Tatton Spiller

News From Tartary: A Journey from Peking to Kashmir – Peter Flemming

An Unnatural History of Britain: A Journey In Search of Our Non-Native Species – Kevin Parr

Books I’m Clearing

Russians Among Us – Gordon Corera

Shadow State: Murder, Mayhem, and Russia’s Attack on the West – Luke Harding

Chris Hoy: The Autobiography – Chris Hoy

The Meteorites: Encounters with Outer Space & Deep Time – Helen Gordon

Professor Stewart’s Casebook of Mathematical Mysteries – Ian Stewart

Here Comes Everybody – Clay Sharky

The Cuckoo in June: Tales of a Sussex Orchard – David Atkins

Suffolk Bedside Book: A Collection Of Prose And Poetry – Clive Paine

Library

Wilderlands: The Human History Of Wild Britain – Eloise Kane

The Drowned Places: Diving In Search Of Atlantis – Damian le Bas

Lost Gods of Albion – Paul Newman

Underwing: A Story Of Motherhood, Loss And Wild Intuition – Jennifer Lane

Nonviolent Communication: A Language Of Life – Marshall B. Rosenberg

Landscape, Monuments and Society: The Prehistory of Cranborne Chase – John Barrett, Richard J. Bradley & Martin T. Green (Ed)

In Search Of Lost Frogs – Robin Moore

WFMAC

The Year of Living Danishly: My Twelve Months Unearthing the Secrets of the World’s Happiest Country – Helen Russell

Along the River that Flows Uphill: From the Orinoco to the Amazon – Richard Starks

Poetry

You Took the Last Bus Home – Brian Bilston

Bookclub

Have chosen not to read this months book

#20BooksOfSummer (2025 Reboot!!)

Sunfall – Jim Al-Khalili

Revenger – Alastair Reynolds

Shadow Captain – Alastair Reynolds

So are there any from that list that you have read, or now seeing them, now want to read? Let me know in the comments below.So are there any from that list that you have read, or now seeing them, now want to read? Let me know in the comments below.

May came and went in a bit of a rush, with lots going on! However, I did get a moderate amount read in the end; listed below.

Books Read

The Luck Of the Town – Marion Fox – 3 Stars

Possessed: A Lost Novel of the Occult – Rosalie Synton & Edward Synton – 3.5 Stars

The Folklore Of Trees: The Fascinating Stories Behind Nature’s Guardians – Aidan Meighan – 3.5 Stars

Amuse Bouche: How To Eat Your Way Around France – Carolyn Boyd – 4 Stars

Tales Of The Suburbs: LGBTQ+ Lives Behind Net Curtains – John Grindrod – 4 Stars

The Edges Of The World: At The Margins Of Life, Lands And History – Charles Foster – 4 Stars

The European Eel – Steve Ely – 3.5 Stars

There Will Be Headwinds: Kayaking The Northwest Passage – Mark Agnew – 3 Stars

Saints of Sind – Peter Mayne – 4 Stars

Frostlines:, An Epic Exploration Of The Transforming Arctic – Neil Shea – 4 Stars

Storm: Chasing Nature’s Wildest Weather – Hank Schyma – 4 Stars

Book(s) Of The Month

The Waterlands: Follow A Raindrop From Source To Sea – Stephen Rutt – 4 Stars

Top Genres

Travel – 17

Fiction – 9

Miscellaneous – 6

Poetry – 5

Natural History – 4

Top Publishers

British Library Publishing – 4

Longbarrow Press – 4

Icon Books – 3

Bantam Press – 2

Profile Books – 2

Review Copies Received

Beasts with Five Fingers: Strange Tales of Disembodied Hands – Brian J. Showers (Ed)

How to Con Friends and Manipulate People: The Subtle Art of Being a Total Psychopath – Geraint Anderson

Library Books Checked Out

Up: A Scientist’s Guide To The Magic Above Us – Lucy Rogers

Things We Found in the Ground – Eleanor Bruce & Lucilla Gray

The Edges Of The World: At The Margins Of Life, Lands And History – Charles Foster

Digital Minimalism: On Living Better With Less Technology  – Cal Newport

Finding Albion: Myth, Folklore And The Quest For A Hidden Britain – Zakia Sewell

Radical Acceptance: Awakening The Love That Heals Fear And Shame Within Us – Tara Brach

Wild Cities: Discovering New Ways Of Living In The Modern Urban Jungle – Chris Fitch

The Folklore Of Trees: The Fascinating Stories Behind Nature’s Guardians – Aidan Meighan

The New Eden: Wildlife In The City, And Discovering Our Shared Home – JC Niala

Books Bought (Or Sent by Friends)

As I have said elsewhere, I am trying to buy fewer books. So I will give totals of l the number of books that enter my house and those that leave permanently. These are the figures for this month:

Books in: 19 I kept these below:

Future Rural: Imagining Tomorrow’s Countryside – Adrian Cooper (Ed)

The Book of Birds – Jackie Morris & Robert Macfarlane

Birdland: A Journey Around Britain on the Wing – Jon Gower

A House in the High Hills: Dreams and Disasters of Life in a Spanish Farmhouse – Selina Scott

Books out: 30 (The books leaving the house were sold, returned to the library or passed on to friends or charity. I am aiming for this number to be higher than the one above!!!).

So, are there any from that list that you have read, or now seeing them, now want to read? Let me know in the comments below.

Monthly TBR

Another month and another unfeasibly large TBR.

Still Reading

Finding Albion: Myth, Folklore And The Quest For A Hidden Britain – Zakia Sewell

Review

Your Journey Your Way: The Recovery Guide to Mental Health – Horatio Clare

Slow Trains Around Britain: Notes from a 4,088-Mile Adventure on 143 Rides – Tom Chesshyre

Return of the Ancients: Unruly Tales of the Mythological Weird – Katy Soar  (Ed)

Little Ruins – Manni Coe

Cry of the Wild: Tales Of Sea, Woods and Hill – Charles Foster

Politics, But Better: An A – Z Guide to Creating a More Hopeful Future – Tatton Spiller

News From Tartary: A Journey from Peking to Kashmir – Peter Flemming

Trees Ancient and Modern: Woodland Cultures and Conservation – Charles Watkins

An Unnatural History of Britain: A Journey In Search of Our Non-Native Species – Kevin Parr

Books I’m Clearing

Russians Among Us – Gordon Corera

Shadow State: Murder, Mayhem, and Russia’s Attack on the West – Luke Harding

Chris Hoy: The Autobiography – Chris Hoy

Volkswagen Camper: Six Decades of Success – Richard Copping & Ken Cservenka

I’m a Joke and So Are You: Reflections on Humour and Humanity – Robin Ince

Threads: The Delicate Life of John Craske – Julia Blackburn

WFMAC

The Year of Living Danishly: My Twelve Months Unearthing the Secrets of the World’s Happiest Country – Helen Russell

Along the River that Flows Uphill: From the Orinoco to the Amazon – Richard Starks

Library

Nature’s Ghosts: The World We Lost And How To Bring It Back – Sophie Yeo

Meditations For Mortals: Four Weeks To Embrace Your Limitations And Make Time For What Counts – Oliver Burkeman

The Drowned Places: Diving In Search Of Atlantis – Damian le Bas

Lost Gods of Albion – Paul Newman

Underwing: A Story Of Motherhood, Loss And Wild Intuition – Jennifer Lane

Radical Acceptance: Awakening The Love That Heals Fear And Shame Within Us – Tara Brach

Wild Cities: Discovering New Ways Of Living In The Modern Urban Jungle – Chris Fitch

Poetry

Alexa, what is there to know about love? – Brian Bilston

Bookclub

Have chosen not to read this month’s book

#20BooksOfSummer (2025 Reboot!!)

Sunfall – Jim Al-Khalili

Revenger – Alastair Reynolds

Shadow Captain – Alastair Reynolds

So are there any from that list that you have read, or now seeing them, now want to read? Let me know in the comments below.

April was a slower reading month for some reason. I seemed to have a lot going on so didn’t get as much time to read as I would have liked. Such is life. I did read 11 in the end, thanks to two fairly short books at the end of the month! Anyway, here are the April, stats:

Books Read

Broken Country – Clare Leslie Hall – 2 Stars

Possessions: A Memoir Of Transformation In An Era Of Precarity – Davina Quinlivan – 3 Stars

Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes – Robert Louis Stevenson – 3 Stars

Hemisphere – Pete Green – 3.5 Stars

Here Comes the Fun: A Year of Making Merry – Ben Aiken – 3.5 Stars

Terrible Maps – Michael Howe – 3.5 Stars

Tiny Experiments: How To Live Freely In A Goal-Obsessed World – Anne-Laure Le Cunff – 4 Stars

Roads To Santiago: Detours and Riddles in the Land and History of Spain – Cees Noteboom – 4.5 Stars

What We Have Lost: The Dismantling of Great Britain – James Hamilton-Paterson – 4.5 Stars

Farewell to Russia: A Journey through the Former USSR – Joe Luc Barnes – 4.5 Stars

Book(s) Of The Month

Night Train To Odesa: Covering The Human Cost of Russia’s War – Jen Stout – 5 Stars

Top Genres

Travel – 14

Fiction – 7

Miscellaneous – 5

Poetry – 4

Natural History – 3

Top Publishers

Longbarrow Press – 3

Bantam Press – 2

Icon Books – 2

Vintage – 2

Jonathan Cape – 2

Review Copies Received

None! Handy that I still have loads of others to read…

Library Books Checked Out

Radical Cartography: What Maps Tell Us About Who We Are – William Rankin

Tales Of The Suburbs: LGBTQ+ Lives Behind Net Curtains – John Grindrod

Amuse Bouche: How To Eat Your Way Around France – Carolyn Boyd

Books Bought (Or Sent by Friends)

As I have said elsewhere, I am trying to buy fewer books. So I will give totals of l the number of books that enter my house and those that leave permanently. These are the figures for this month:

Books in: 17 I kept these below:

Mad Shepherds – L.P. Jacks

Passionate Nomad: The Life of Freya Stark – Jane Fletcher Geniesse

Faster, They’re Gaining – Peter Biddlecombe

Books out: 12 (The books leaving the house were sold, returned to the library or passed on to friends or charity. I am aiming for this number to be higher than the one above!!!).  IT WASN”T ;-(

So, are there any from that list that you have read, or now seeing them, now want to read? Let me know in the comments below.

Monthly TBR

Another month and another unfeasibly large TBR.

Still Reading

Saints of Sind – Peter Mayne

Review

Your Journey Your Way: The Recovery Guide to Mental Health – Horatio Clare

Slow Trains Around Britain: Notes from a 4,088-Mile Adventure on 143 Rides – Tom Chesshyre

Return of the Ancients: Unruly Tales of the Mythological Weird – Katy Soar  (Ed)

Little Ruins – Manni Coe

Cry of the Wild: Tales Of Sea, Woods and Hill – Charles Foster

Politics, But Better: An A – Z Guide to Creating a More Hopeful Future – Tatton Spiller

News From Tartary: A Journey from Peking to Kashmir – Peter Flemming

The Waterlands: Follow A Raindrop From Source To Sea – Stephen Rutt

Possessed: A Lost Novel of the Occult – Rosalie Synton & Edward Synton

The Luck Of the Town – Marion Fox

Books I’m Clearing

Russians Among Us – Gordon Corera

Shadow State: Murder, Mayhem, and Russia’s Attack on the West – Luke Harding

Chris Hoy: The Autobiography – Chris Hoy

Volkswagen Camper: Six Decades of Success – Richard Copping & Ken Cservenka

I’m a Joke and So Are You: Reflections on Humour and Humanity – Robin Ince

WFMAC

The Year of Living Danishly: My Twelve Months Unearthing the Secrets of the World’s Happiest Country – Helen Russell

Along the River that Flows Uphill: From the Orinoco to the Amazon – Richard Starks

Library

Tales Of The Suburbs: LGBTQ+ Lives Behind Net Curtains – John Grindrod

Amuse Bouche: How To Eat Your Way Around France – Carolyn Boyd

Nature’s Ghosts: The World We Lost And How To Bring It Back – Sophie Yeo

Storm: Chasing Nature’s Wildest Weather – Hank Schyma

Meditations For Mortals: Four Weeks To Embrace Your Limitations And Make Time For What Counts – Oliver Burkeman

The Drowned Places: Diving In Search Of Atlantis – Damian le Bas

What The Wild Sea Can Be: The Future Of The World’s Ocean – Helen Scales

Frostlines:, An Epic Exploration Of The Transforming Arctic – Neil Shea

Lost Gods of Albion – Paul Newman

Underwing: A Story Of Motherhood, Loss And Wild Intuition – Jennifer Lane

Nonviolent Communication: A Language Of Life – Marshall B. Rosenberg

Poetry

The European Eel – Steve Ely

Bookclub

I have read this month’s book already. It is The Fairy Tellers by the ever fantastic Nick Jubber

#20BooksOfSummer (Still going…)

Sunfall – Jim Al-Khalili

Revenger – Alastair Reynolds

Shadow Captain – Alastair Reynolds

So are there any from that list that you have read, or now seeing them, now want to read? Let me know in the comments below.

–

^t

Some major deviations from the original March TBR, as after I posted it, we booked a week’s break in Alicante, so I picked six travel books set in Spain that I had languishing on shelves around the house. I managed to read five of them on the holiday! So here is what I read in March:

Books Read

Experimental Landscapes in Watercolour: Creative Techniques For Painting Landscapes And Nature – Ann Blockley – 3.5 Stars

Medusa: A Novel of Mystery, Ecstasy and Strange Horror – E. H. Visiak – 2 Stars

The Lost Stradivarius – John Meade Falkner – 3.5 Stars

The Future Of Agriculture – Sarah Bearchell – 4 Stars

21 Lessons for the 21st Century – Yuval Noah Harari – 3.5 Stars

Cabin: How To Build A Retreat In The Wilderness And Learn To Live With Nature – Will Jones – 2.5 Stars

The Starling: A Biography – Stephen Moss – 3.5 Stars

A Sleepwalk on the Severn – Alice Oswald – 3 Stars

The Santiago Pilgrimage: Walking the Immortal Way – Jean-Christophe Rufin, Malcolm Imrie & Martina Dervis (Tr) – 3 Stars

Spanish Lessons: Beginning a New Life In Spain – Derek Lambert – 3.5 Stars

It’s Not About the Tapas: A Spanish Adventure on Two Wheels – Polly Evans – 3.5 Stars

Pilgrim’s Road: A Journey to Santiago de Compostela – Bettina Selby – 4 Stars

Book(s) Of The Month

Common People: A Folk History Of Land Rights, Enclosure And Resistance – Leah Gordon & Stephen Ellcock – 5 Stars

Spring: The Story of a Season – Michael Morpurgo – 5 Stars

Spain – Jan Morris – 5 Stars

Top Genres

Travel – 9

Fiction – 6

Miscellaneous – 4

Poetry – 3

Natural History – 3

Top Publishers

Jonathan Cape – 2

British Library Publishing – 2

Bantam Press – 2

Penguin – 2

Longbarrow Press – 2

Quartley Stats:

Male Authors – 21

Female Authors – 21

Ethnic Minority Authors – 8

Non-Fiction – 31

Fiction – 8

Poetry – 3

Review Copies Received

Farewell to Russia: A Journey through the Former USSR – Joe Luc Barnes

News From Tartary: A Journey from Peking to Kashmir – Peter Flemming

Saints of Sind – Peter Mayne

The Waterlands: Follow A Raindrop From Source To Sea – Stephen Rutt

The Luck Of the Town – Marion Fox

Library Books Checked Out

Possessions: A Memoir Of Transformation In An Era Of Precarity – Davina Quinlivan

Tiny Experiments: How To Live Freely In A Goal-Obsessed World – Anne-Laure Le Cunff

Books Bought (Or Sent by Friends)

As I have said elsewhere, I am trying to buy fewer books. So I will give totals of l the number of books that enter my house and those that leave permanently. These are the figures for this month:

Books in: 14

I kept these below:

The Icknield Way – Edward Thomas

Avebury Cosmos: The Neolithic World of Avebury henge, Silbury Hill, West Kennet long barrow, the Sanctuary & the Longstones Cove – Nicholas R. Mann

Books out: 46

(The books leaving the house were sold, returned to the library or passed on to friends or charity. I am aiming for this number to be higher than the one above!!!).

So, are there any from that list that you have read, or now seeing them, now want to read? Let me know in the comments below.

My, not very short, list of books to read for April is below:

Still Reading

Roads To Santiago: Detours and Riddles in the Land and History of Spain – Cees Noteboom

Possessions: A Memoir Of Transformation In An Era Of Precarity – Davina Quinlivan

Tiny Experiments: How To Live Freely In A Goal-Obsessed World – Anne-Laure Le Cunff

Review Books

What We Have Lost – James Hamilton-Paterson

Your Journey Your Way: The Recovery Guide to Mental Health – Horatio Clare

Slow Trains Around Britain: Notes from a 4,088-Mile Adventure on 143 Rides – Tom Chesshyre

Return of the Ancients: Unruly Tales of the Mythological Weird – Katy Soar (Ed)

Little Ruins – Manni Coe

Cry of the Wild: Tales Of Sea, Woods and Hill – Charles Foster

Politics, But Better: An A – Z Guide to Creating a More Hopeful Future – Tatton Spiller

Farewell to Russia: A Journey through the Former USSR – Joe Luc Barnes

News From Tartary: A Journey from Peking to Kashmir – Peter Flemming

Saints of Sind – Peter Mayne

The Waterlands: Follow A Raindrop From Source To Sea – Stephen Rutt

Possessed: A Lost Novel of the Occult – Rosalie Synton & Edward Synton

Books I’m Clearing

Russians Among Us – Gordon Corera

Shadow State: Murder, Mayhem, and Russia’s Attack on the West – Luke Harding

Chris Hoy: The Autobiography – Chris Hoy

Volkswagen Camper: Six Decades of Success – Richard Copping & Ken Cservenka

I’m a Joke and So Are You: Reflections on Humour and Humanity – Robin Ince

WFMAC

The Year of Living Danishly: My Twelve Months Unearthing the Secrets of the World’s Happiest Country – Helen Russell

Along the River that Flows Uphill: From the Orinoco to the Amazon – Richard Starks

Stanfords Shortlist

A Training School for Elephants – Sophy Roberts (This was the Winner!!!)

Moonlight Express: Around the World By Night Train – Monisha Rajesh

Library

Here Comes the Fun: A Year of Making Merry – Ben Aiken

Fiesta: A Journey Through Festivity – Daniel Stables

Climbing Days – Dorothy Pilley

Meditations For Mortals: Four Weeks To Embrace Your Limitations And Make Time For What Counts – Oliver Burkeman

Poetry

Hemisphere – Pete Green

Bookclub

There is a book this month and I can’t remember the title of it!

#20BooksOfSummer (Still going…)

Sunfall – Jim Al-Khalili

Revenger – Alastair Reynolds

Shadow Captain – Alastair Reynolds

So are there any from that list that you have read, or now seeing them, now want to read? Let me know in the comments below.