Balancing the Books: July

 

I don’t usually do a reading round up or do a book haul post. That said I thought it might be interesting (for me at least), if I had a look at how many books I manage to read in a month and compare it to how many arrive in the house. I know for a fact that the one in one out policy is never implemented, though I am trying to reliquish some books to make room for the kids.

I don’t read many books each month, at least not compared to many bloggers, though none bloggers will probably wonder where I get my time to read as many books as I do. Because of that it is more than likely that the scales will be tipped towards incoming books rather than outgoing ones (i.e. read books or those given away). I am lucky in that I sometimes receive books for review, though at the moment I get very few books sent to me so the bulk of my incoming books tend to be the ones I have bought (this wasn’t helped by stumbling across a huge pile of green Viragos in my local charity shop). However July was bumped up by the fact I went to Theakstons Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate, where I was lucky enough to acquire a few new books and some “accidental” bookshop visits when I went to London.

So first up – what came in:

Sweet Sorrow by David Mitchell

Real Tigers by Mick Herron

Gone by Leona Deakin

The Toll Gate by Georgette Heyer

Partners in Crime/At Betram’s Hotel/The Hound of Death by Agatha Christie

Bone China by Laura Purcell

American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins

Nothing to Report by Carola Oman

The House Without Windows

I See You by Clare Mackintosh

The Family by Louise Jenson

She by H.C. Warner

The Holiday by T.M. Logan

Forced Confessions by John Fairfax

The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware

Hitler’s Secrets by Rory Clements

City of Spies by Mara Timon

We Begin at the End by Chris Whittaker

To Keep You Safe by Kate Bradley

The Lying Days by Nadine Gordimer

The Odd Woman by George Gissing

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

The Three Miss Kings by Ada Cambridge

My Antonia by Willa Cather

My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin

Surfacing by Margaret Attwood

The White Bird Passes by Jessie Kesson

Vendetta in Death by J.D. Robb

The Richer The Poorer  by Dorothy West

The Wedding by Dorothy West

The Woman Novelist and Other Stories by Diana Gardener.

(Technically 33 entered the house as I also bought Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day to replace my misplaced copy, and I bought a second copy of Real Tigers not realising I’d just bought it…)

As for those that I read, that is a much shorter list. In fact I just read a pathetic total of one (but it was a good one)! In my defence I did also discover Queer Eye and Lucifer so I’ve been busy.

Never Be Broken by Sarah Hilary.

(I did give a few books to school for the staff room so they can be added to the out column. I’ll say 5 but it may have been more.)

So for July, 33 books came into Chez Emson and 6 left. Nowhere near balanced but not too bad. Let’s see what August has in store.

14 Comments Add yours

  1. Some impressive finds, and a lovely pile of Viragos there! the .woman Novelist is great! 😁

    Liked by 1 person

    1. janetemson says:

      Oh good to know. I’ll try that one first 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  2. Karen says:

    I think 6 going out is pretty impressive. It’s 6 more than went from my house! 😉

    Liked by 1 person

    1. janetemson says:

      I was surprised it was that many!

      Like

  3. MarinaSofia says:

    I dread doing things with my own books… Although for a while there the book buying ban seemed to work.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. janetemson says:

      I don’t usually. But thought I’d better assess the damage 🙂

      Like

  4. I like that you’re trying to make room for your kids! 😀

    Liked by 1 person

    1. janetemson says:

      Well I will for a bit. Until they grow too much 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  5. bleuroses says:

    Oh how I love stacks of green spines – what a lovely haul, Janet! I must say that our in-coming vs. read is quite similar. 15 new arrivals in July, 41 in June (I guess I was busy elsewhere in July…?!) I’ve read 3 for #20BooksofSummer (in my defense, they were doorstoppers with small print!) and not a single book from my original intended summer reading stack. I’m okay with this….😳😉

    Liked by 1 person

    1. janetemson says:

      I’m very behind with my 20 Books of Summer but I didn’t expect to read them all. 41 in June is a bumper month!

      Like

  6. Lovely haul Janet! My balance is always tipped the same way – if only I could read as fast as I buy books 😀

    Liked by 1 person

    1. janetemson says:

      Exactly, then there’d be no problems 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  7. BookerTalk says:

    You were lucky to find those Viragos – I seldom see them in any charity shops in my area of the country….

    Liked by 1 person

    1. janetemson says:

      Usually there are one, perhaps two if I’m lucky. I must have hit delivery time so I made the most of it!

      Liked by 1 person

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