It’s time for the books of September!

We had some beautiful weather, so we did a lot of hiking. Which is awesome. But also reduces the number of books I read. But I’m OK with that.

My favorite books of the month were Firebug by Lish McBride, a re-read of Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay, and the audio books of A Rare Book of Cunning Device by Ben Aaronovitch narrated by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith and Who Killed Sherlock Holmes? by Paul Cornell narrated by Damian Lynch. All are fantasy, but the first two are very different from the two audio books.

Guy Gavriel Kay is one of my favorite authors, however, I have to be in the mood to read his stories, because they are long and intricate and fascinating and need to be read slowly. Lish McBride writes YA urban fantasy, and I really enjoy her writing.

YA Fantasy

Firebug (2014) Lish McBride (8.5/10)

Audio Books

A Rare Book of Cunning Device, Audio Short Story (2017) Ben Aaronovitch narrated by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith (8/10)
Who Killed Sherlock Holmes? Audio Edition (2016) Paul Cornell narrated by Damian Lynch (8.5/10)
Spenser
Ceremony, Audio Book (1982/1992) Robert B. Parker narrated by Michael Prichard
The Widening Gyre, Audio Version (1983/1992) Robert B. Parker narrated by Michael Prichard (7.5/10)
Valediction, Audio Version (1984/1992) Robert B Parker narrated by Michael Prichard (7.5/10)

Fantasy

Under Heaven (2010) Guy Gavriel Kay (9/10)

Historical Mystery

A Study In Scarlet Women (2016) Sherry Thomas (6.5/10)

Historical Romance

As Luck Would Have It (2008) Alissa Johnson (7.5/10)
Tempting Fate (2009) Alissa Johnson (8/10)
McAlistair’s Fortune (2009) Alissa Johnson (8.5/10)
Destined To Last (2010) Alissa Johnson (7.5/10)
It Takes a Scandal (2014) Caroline Linden (6/10)

And now the breakdown!

eBooks : 8
Audio : 5
Re-Reads: 5

Because we traveled a good deal, and because I did a fair amount of work around the house, there were a lot of audio books.

Fantasy : 4
Mystery : 6
Romance : 4
YA : 1

The books were pretty evenly split between three different genres.

Male : 6
Female : 7

And a pretty even split between male and female authors this month.

And those are the books of September!

Another month of a lot of reading–the weather was hot at the beginning of the month, and then events conspired to keep us at home on weekends towards the end of the month.

I did a fair amount of re-reading this month, mostly historical romances and mysteries. For some reason I’ve been in the mood for books that remind me how glad I am to live in the future.

My recommendations from this month’s reading? Let’s start with Mockingbird. This is marvelous and delightful, but it did take a second reading for me to be way less confused. It is NOT for kids, but it is wonderful. What’s especially fascinating is the contrast between the Mockingbird and New Avengers portion of the second volume. I adore Mockingbird, but have no interesting in reading New Avengers, even if that did help clarify just what had happened to her.

If you like geek heroines, then I highly recommend checking out Courtney Milan. You’ll find an evolutionary biologist (botany), an astronomer, and a suffragette. Plus a fabulous doctor.

If you want characters that are outside the normal heroes and heroines, you’ll find virgin heroes, heroes with dyslexia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, PTSD, a history of substance abuse, and characters with a history of ruin (including a former courtesan), what would be called today autism spectrum disorder, and characters of color and non-WASP ancestry. She really is marvelous.

An unexpected delight was Alissa Johnson’s third book in her Thief-Takers series, A Dangerous Deceit, where the heroine has hearing issues (the previous two books are also marvelous, where the heroines are sisters with a criminal past). And I really enjoyed re-reading Michelle Diener‘s Regency series, which are mysteries with strong and unusual heroines.

And although I listened to the audio version of the second book, if you haven’t read Paul Cornell‘s Shadow Police series, you are truly missing out on some fantastic urban fantasy.

Historical Romance

The Brothers Sinister
The Duchess War (2012) Courtney Milan
A Kiss for Midwinter (2012) Courtney Milan
The Heiress Effect (2013) Courtney Milan
The Countess Conspiracy (2013) Courtney Milan
The Suffragette Scandal (2014) Courtney Milan
Talk Sweetly to Me (2014) Courtney Milan
The Turner Series
Unveiled (2011) Courtney Milan
Unclaimed (2011) Courtney Milan
Unraveled (2011) Courtney Milan
The Worth Saga
Once Upon a Marquess (2015) Courtney Milan
Her Every Wish (2016) Courtney Milan
Rules of Scoundrels
A Rogue by Any Other Name (2012) Sarah MacLean
One Good Earl Deserves a Lover (2013) Sarah MacLean
No Good Duke Goes Unpunished (2013) Sarah MacLean
Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover (2014) Sarah MacLean
Scandal & Scoundrel
The Rogue Not Taken (2015) Sarah MacLean (6.5/10)

Audio Book

Shadow Police
The Severed Streets: Audio Version (2014/2015) Paul Cornell narrated by Damian Lynch
Soulwood
Blood of the Earth, Audio Version (2016) Faith Hunter narrated by Khristine Hvam
Curse on the Land, Audio Version (2016) Faith Hunter narrated by Khristine Hvam

Graphic Novel

Rivers of London: Detective Stories #2: Old Soldiers (2017) Ben Aaronovitch, Andrew Cartmel, Lee Sullivan, Luis Guerrero, Gary Erskine, Yel Zamor
Rivers of London: Detective Stories #3: Cry Me a River (2017) by Ben Aaronovitch, Andrew Cartmel, Lee Sullivan, Luis Guerrero
Mockingbird Vol. 1: I Can Explain (2016) Chelsea Cain, Kate Niemczyk, Ibrahim Moustafa, Joelle Jones (9/10)
Mockingbird Vol. 2: My Feminist Agenda (2017) Chelsea Cain, Kate Niemczyk, Sean Parsons, Rachelle Rosenberg (8/10)

Historical Mystery

The Thief-Takers
A Talent for Trickery (2015) Alissa Johnson
A Gift for Guile (2016) Alissa Johnson
A Dangerous Deceit (2017) Alissa Johnson (8.5/10)
Regency London
The Emperor’s Conspiracy (2012) Michelle Diener
Banquet of Lies (2013) Michelle Diener
A Dangerous Madness (2014) Michelle Diener

Mystery

Inspector Montalbano
A Nest of Vipers (2013/2017) Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Sartarelli (written in 2008) (7/10)

Supernatural Romance

The Edge
Steel’s Edge (2012) Ilona Andrews

As usual, I read (or re-read) mostly eBooks, with the paper exceptions being comics, which I strongly prefer in paper format, since I miss a lot of things otherwise (I can’t really get the whole page with ebooks, and it’s a PITA to flip back and forth to check things.)

Trade Paperback: 2
eBook: 26
Audio: 3

Multiple Formats: 5
Re-read: 24

Genre-wise, it was a LOT of historicals this month.

Fantasy: 7
Mystery: 10
Romance: 22
Comic: 4

And this was the month female authors caught back up (what with all the historicals).

Male: 4 (39% for the year)
Female: 24 (41% for the year)
Joint + Anthology: 3

And that wraps up the books of August.

Where on earth did the summer go? Jeesh.

Favorite reads of the month were actually a lot of newly published books. (Although there was plenty of re-reading.)

Cold Reign by Faith Hunter is the latest Jane Yellowrock book, and I do love that series. The Furthest Station by Ben Aaronovitch, which is the latest novella in the Rivers of London series. Which I also love. Which means I also loved Rivers of London Volume 3: Black Mould by Ben Aaronovitch, Andrew Cartmel, Lee Sullivan, which is the comic series. And finally Where the Dead Lie by C.S. Harris, which is the latest in the Sebastian St Cyr series.

Historical Mystery

Some Danger Involved (2004) Will Thomas
Sebastian St Cyr
Where the Dead Lie (2017) C.S. Harris

Supernatural Fantasy

Rivers of London
The Furthest Station (2017) Ben Aaronovitch
Jane Yellowrock
Cold Reign (2017) Faith Hunter

Supernatural Romance

Hidden Legacy
Burn for Me (2014) Ilona Andrews
White Hot (2017) Ilona Andrews
Wildfire: A Hidden Legacy Novel (2017) Ilona Andrews
The Edge
On the Edge (2009) Ilona Andrews
Bayou Moon (2010) Ilona Andrews
Fate’s Edge (2011) Ilona Andrews

Comics

Rivers of London Volume 3: Black Mould (2017) Ben Aaronovitch, Andrew Cartmel, Lee Sullivan
Princeless Vol. 1: Short Stories Collection
Princeless: Make Yourself

So I mostly read eBooks this month, although two of the comics were in paper format. And there were six re-reads, because I’m in one of those funks where I don’t know what I want to read.

Genre-wise, a bit more variety this month.

Fantasy : 10
Romance : 6
Comic : 3
Mystery : 2
YA : 2

The romance was all supernatural romance, and all Ilona Andrews. Which is perfectly fine.

Male didn’t pull ahead that much, but female authors didn’t particularly catch up, since half of what I read was Ilona Andrews, which is a jointly written series.

Male : 3
Female : 2
Anthology : 2
Joint : 6

And those are the books of July. My favorite books were the latest additions to series, so I don’t recommend starting there. But there are plenty of books out there, and you can always start those series I love!

Why yes, I have been hiking a lot, so not that many books this month.

Best books of the month? I’d say Stiletto by Daniel O’Malley is the sequel to The Rook and just as good. The other was Passionate Minds: Emilie du Chatelet, Voltaire, and the Great Love Affair of the Enlightenment by David Bodanis which I really enjoyed.

Graphic Novel

Mockingbird Vol. 2: My Feminist Agenda (2017) Chelsea Cain and Kate Niemczyk
Rivers of London: Detective Stories #4.1 (2017) Ben Aaronovitch, Andrew Cartmel, Lee Sullivan, Luis Guerrero, Mack Chater
Princeless Vol. 4: Be Yourself (2015) Jeremy Whitley, Emily Martin and Brett Grunig

Fantasy

Stiletto (2016) Daniel O’Malley

Threads of Malice (2005) Tamara Siler Jones

Non-Fiction

Dead Men Do Tell Tales: The Strange and Fascinating Cases of a Forensic Anthropologist (1994) Dr. William Maples
Passionate Minds: Emilie du Chatelet, Voltaire, and the Great Love Affair of the Enlightenment (2006) David Bodanis

Audio Books

Sanibel Flats (1990/2010) Randy Wayne White narrated by  Dick Hill
Legion: Skin Deep, Audio Version (2014) Brandon Sanderson narrated by  Oliver Wyman

How did things break down?

Ebooks and audio books, although a single paper graphic novel snuck in there.

Trade Paperback: 1
eBook: 6
Audio: 2

Genre-wise there was a fair amount of variety this month.

Fantasy: 5
Mystery: 2
Comic: 3
Non-Fiction: 2
History: 1

Male authors are still ahead. We’ll see how the rest of the year pans out.

Male: 6
Female: 2
Anthology: 1

Yup, the weather definitely changed this month so we were able to get out and go hiking. That’s not a bad thing, because I love to hike. Just means I read fewer books this month.

So, I can’t say that I read a lot of excellent books this month. I’ve been trying to finish the Elvis Cole series, but the later books are often Joe Pike books, and the last book I read just… it wasn’t what I wanted out of an Elvis Cole book.

I re-read Galileo’s Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith and Love by Dava Sobel which was excellent. I believe there is a fair amount of misunderstanding about Galilelo’s Catholic faith. This book–which contains letters his daughter wrote to him–makes it clear that despite his treatment by the Catholic hierarchy, he never lost his faith in God, or even in the Catholic church as an institution. Which is what makes the story so fascinating.

Mystery

Elvis Cole & Joe Pike
The Forgotten Man (2005) Robert Crais
The Watchman (2007) Robert Crais
Chasing Darkness (2008) Robert Crais
The First Rule (2010) Robert Crais
The Sentry (2011) Robert Crais
Taken (2012) Robert Crais

Non-Fiction, History and Science

Galileo’s Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith and Love (1999) Dava Sobel

Audio Books, Mystery

The Shape of Water, Audible Version (1994/2006) Andrea Camilleri narrated by Grover Gardner
Spenser
Looking for Rachel Wallace, Audio Version (1980/1987) Robert B. Parker narrated by Michael Prichard
A Savage Place, Audio Version (1981/1987) Robert B. Parker narrated by Michael Prichard
Early Autumn, Audio Edition (1981/1992) Robert B. Parker narrated by Michael Prichard

Stats wise, as I said, we were finally able to really go hiking this month, so I read only (HA!) eleven books this month. And four of them are audio books that I listen to while we travel or while I walk.

As far as genre, except for Dava Sobel’s book, everything else was mystery.

And male authors caught up more this month, with only that single book by a female author. That puts male authors ahead 52 to 40 so far this year. However, I think I am done trying to finish Robert Crais’ Elvis Cole series, so we’ll see how that changes things in the coming months.

Thus closes May’s reading.

My reading was NOT out of control in April, although I did still read quite a bit–sixteen books. But that’s because I’m me.

This month still had a lot of re-reads, but that’s mostly because I found several series I’d been wanting to re-read available from Overdrive with a WV library card. (SCORE!)

As for new books, I quite liked the newest Brunetti mystery by Donna Leon, Earthly Remains. I don’t think this is a good book for someone not familiar with the series, but for a long-time reader of the series, I really enjoyed this book. I also finally read the fifth book of Sergei Lukyanenko‘s Night Watch series–I still have to read the sixth and final book, but I wanted to mull over the fifth book before reading the last.

I finally got around to reading Ilona Andrews‘s Magic Stars, which is a lovely gift to long-time readers of the Kate Daniels series, but I’m not sure it’d be a good entrance for newbies.

Mystery

Guido Brunetti
Earthly Remains (2017) Donna Leon (Rating: 8/10)

Peter & Rina Drecker by Faye Kellerman
Grievous Sin (1993), Sanctuary (1994), Justice (1995)

Elvis Cole by Robert Crais
Sunset Express (1996), Indigo Slam (1997), L.A. Requiem (1999), The Last Detective (2003)

Fantasy, Urban

Grey Wolf
Magic Stars (2015) Ilona Andrews (Rating: 8/10)

Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko translated by Andrew Bromfield
Night Watch (1998/2006), Day Watch (2000/2006), Twilight Watch (2006/2007), The Last Watch (2009)
New Watch (2012/2013) (Rating: 8/10)

Audio Books

Promised Land, Audible Edition (1976/1987) Robert B. Parker narrated by Michael Prichard
The Judas Goat, Audible Version (1978/1987) Robert B. Parker narrated by Michael Prichard

Now, onto the stats!

14 ebooks & 2 audio books. 10 of those stories were re-reads, and seven of those books I own in multiple formats. (With the death of Shelfie, the number of ebook purchases when I already own the paper format is going to go down pretty solidly.)

Genre had 10 mysteries and 6 fantasies.

Gender sees male authors catching up for the year, with 11 male authors, 4 female authors, and one jointly-written book. That puts men up 44:39 for the year. That trend will probably hold for awhile, while I finish the Elvis Cole series, but I new Jane Yellowrock book did just come out, and that might shift what I want to read.

And those are the books of April!

I was out of control in March. Seriously. The weather was mostly crap, so there was little hiking, and it felt like it rained most of the time, so even getting out to walk was unlikely. I read so much I’m not even going to tell you the number, because it’s ridiculous.

Why? Because I went on a binge to catch-up on as well as re-read several series. I re-read and finished Carrie Vaughn’s Kitty series, I got caught up (excluding the most recently book) Ilona Andrew’s Kate Daniel’s series. I’ve started re-reading Robert Crais’ Elvis Cole series, and I’ve begun (finally) Faye Kellerman’s Drecker and Lazarus series. (I finally went back and got another library card, and have been using Overdrive for a lot of books, which is AWESOME.)

So what was good? I really enjoyed the start of the Rat Queens comic series, even if book three went off the rails. I also finished Princess Ugg, and got caught up on the latest Rivers of London. I finally read (and loved) Randall Munroe’s What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions. It’s a delight.

And I finally got around to reading Daniel O’Malley’s The Rook, which I very much enjoyed.

And I’m now all caught-up on listening to Faith Hunter’s Jane Yellowrock series, and have shifted to listening to Robert B Parker’s Spenser series while I walk.

Mystery

Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus – Faye Kellerman
The Ritual Bath (1986), Sacred and Profane (1987), Milk and Honey (1990), Day of Atonement (1991), False Prophet (1992)
Elvis Cole – Robert Crais
The Monkey’s Raincoat (1987), Stalking the Angel (1989), Lullaby Town (1992), Free Fall (1993), Voodoo River (1995)

Historical Romance / Mystery

Dark Angel (1994) Tracy Grant
Shores of Desire (1997) Tracy Grant
Mission for a Queen (2016) Tracy Grant

Supernatural Fantasy

Salsa Nocturna: A Bone Street Rumba Collection (2012) Daniel José Older
The Rook (2012) Daniel O’Malley
Kate Daniels –  Ilona Andrews
Magic Bites (2007), Magic Burns (2008), Magic Strikes (2009), Magic Bleeds (2010), Magic Slays (2011), Magic Gifts (2011), Kate Daniels Short Stories
Gunmetal Magic (2012), Magic Rises (2013), Magic Breaks (2014), Magic Shifts (2015)
Kitty the Werewolf – Carrie Vaughn
Kitty and The Midnight Hour (2005), Kitty Goes to Washington (2006), Kitty Takes a Holiday (2007), Kitty and the Silver Bullet (2008), Kitty and the Dead Man’s Hand (2009), Kitty Raises Hell (2009), Kitty’s House of Horrors (2010), Kitty Goes to War (2010), Kitty’s Big Trouble (2011), Kitty’s Greatest Hits (2011), Kitty Steals the Show (2012), Kitty Rocks the House (2013), Kitty in the Underworld (2013), Low Midnight (2014), Kitty Saves the World (2015)

Fantasy

The Phoenix Guards (1991) Steven Brust

Comics

Rat Queens Vol. 2: Far Reaching Tentacles of N’rygoth (2015) Kurtis J Wiebe, Roc Upchurch, Stjepan Sejic
Rat Queens Volume 3: Demons (2016) Kurtis J. Wiebe, Tamra Bonvillain, Tess Fowler
Princess Ugg Volume 2 (2015) Ted Naifeh, Warren Wucinich
Mockingbird Vol. 1: I Can Explain (2016) Chelsea Cain, Joelle Jones, Ibrahim Moustafa, Kate Niemczyk
Rivers of London Volume 3: Black Mould (2017) Ben Aaronovitch

Non-Fiction

What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions (2014) Randall Munroe

Audio

Shadow Rites, Audible (2016) Faith Hunter narrated by Khristine Hvam

I read twice as many female authors as male authors last month, but the Robert Crais run is going to shift that back again for April.

Oh, I did read three mass-market paperback books, so I could finish the Kitty series, and the comics were trade paperback. So some paper this month, but only because I couldn’t find electronic copies of the books and was determined to get caught up.

Weather was pretty much horrible most of this month, so I did a lot of reading. Mind you, the tail end of that was comics (which are shorter) but I also read a lot of new books.

So what was good this month? Honestly, most everything.

Mystery had be finishing the Erlendur series by Arnaldur Indridason. The final book was excellent–I very much enjoyed the series, and the glimpse into a non-English speaking country. I also read the first two Veronica Speedwell books by Deanna Raybourn, which were good (I got fed up with her other series and stopped reading. So far this one doesn’t have the bits that irritate me about the other series.)

All the new books I read that were part of an ongoing series were excellent. Daniel José Older concluded his Bone Street Rumba, and it was of course excellent (there are other books set in this world, even if the main arc for Carlos is done). Ben Aaronovitch‘s newest Rivers of London was long delayed, but I didn’t mind the wait. Lisa Shearin‘s latest SPI Files was also a fun romp. And then there was Paul Cornell‘s latest Shadow Police. The last three are all supernatural police books, but all three are as different as it’s possible to be. And all three were thoroughly enjoyable. If you don’t like dark, avoid the Shadow Police, if you don’t like lighter romps, skip the Lisa Shearin.

And then there were the comics.

If you have not read Princeless, then you must immediately stop what you are doing and go find a copy. ESPECIALLY if you have small people in your life. Princeless is a delightful take on the princess trapped in a tower fairy tale trope. It’s truly lovely–the first book was a ten for me.

Along a similar vein is Princess Ugg, which is more for older kids and younger teens, and I liked it quite a bit.

And then for something completely different AND NOT FOR KIDS was Rat Queens, which I really really liked. I said not for kids, yes? I mean it. It’s a snarky RPG story with sex and drinking and drugs and I really liked it.

Fantasy, Supernatural

Battle Hill Bolero (2017) Daniel José Older (Bone Street Rumba) (8.5/10)
The Hanging Tree (2017) Ben Aaronovitch (Rivers of London) (8.5/10)
The Ghoul Vendetta (2017) Lisa Shearin (SPI Files) (9/10)
Who Killed Sherlock Holmes (2016) Paul Cornell (Shadow Police) (8/10)

Comics

Rat Queens Vol. 1: Sass & Sorcery (2013) Kurtis Wiebe and Roc Upchurch (9/10)
Princess Ugg Vol. 1 (2014) Ted Naifeh and Warren Wucinich (8/10)
Wonder Woman, Vol. 1: Blood (2012) Brian Azzarello, Cliff Chiang, and Tony Akins
Thor Vol. 2: Who Holds the Hammer? (2016) Jason Aaron, Russell Dauterman, Matthew Wilson, Jason Aaron, Noell Stevenson, CM Punk
Mighty Thor Vol. 1: Thunder in her Veins (2017) Jason Aaron and Russell Dauterman

Comics, Kids

Princeless
Princeless: Vol. 1: Save Yourself (2012) Jeremy Whitley and Mia Goodwin
Princeless, Vol 2: Get Over Yourself (2014) Jeremy Whitley and Emily Martin
Princeless Vol 3: The Pirate Princess (2014) Jeremy Whitley, Rosy Higgins, Ted Brandt

Lumberjanes Vol. 1 Beware the Kitten Holy (2015) Noelle Stevenson, Shannon Watters, Brooke A Allen

Mystery, Historical

Veronica Speedwell
A Curious Beginning (2015) Deanna Raybourn (8.5/10)
A Perilous Undertaking (2017) Deanna Raybourn (7.5/10)

Mystery, Police

Erlendur
Voices (2003/2006) Arnaldur Indridason translated by Bernard Scudder
The Draining Lake (2004/2007) Arnaldur Indridason translated by Bernard Scudder
Arctic Chill (2005/2009) Arnaldur Indridason translated by Bernard Scudder and Victoria Cribb
Hypothermia (2007/009) Arnaldur Indridasontranslated by Victoria Cribb
Outrage (2008/2011) Arnaldur Indridason translated by Anna Yates
Black Skies (2009/2012) Arnaldur Indridason translated by Victoria Cribb
Strange Shores (2010/2012) Arnaldur Indridason translated by Victoria Cribb  (9/10)

Non-Fiction, Science

My Planet: Finding Humor in the Oddest Places (2013) Mary Roach

Audio Books

Legion (2012) Brandon Sanderson read by Oliver Wyman (8.5/10)

So how did the stats come out? 24 books this month, nine of which were trade paperback (the comics), one audio book, and the rest (14) were ebooks. The six re-reads were all the Inspector Erlendr mysteries–I had re-read the older books so I could finish the lat two books in the series.

Genre-wise things were relatively evenly split:

Fantasy : 13
Mystery : 10
Comic : 9
Non-Fiction : 1

Well, except for that single non-fiction book there.

Gender wise men have taken the lead for the year.

Male : 14
Female : 5
Anthology : 5

Part of that was reading the entire Erlendur series, but the rest of it was reading comics, which are male dominated. Yes, there were female writers and artists, but although there were comics written completely by those bearing the Y chromosome, this month had only a single comic whose crew had all X chromosome comics. (Lumberjanes is very good, but it also is not my thing.)

And that’s how things worked out. Here’s hoping for better weather so I can get out more.

The start of the month was for short stories–including finishing up anthologies I’d been reading for ages and ages.

I read a lot of good books this month, including going back and re-reading a book I’d almost forgotten about.

As for my favorite books of the month, let’s start with A Fantastic Holiday Season: The Gift of Stories which was an anthology I picked up solely for the Patricia Briggs story. Which I’ve not read about five times, because I kept re-reading it when I’d flip past it or while on a Patricia Briggs reading bender. Not all the stories were for me, but in all it was a strong anthology.

I know I keep going on about Daniel José Older, but that’s because I really do love his writing. Ghost Girl in the Corner is set following the events of Shadowshaper, but follows Tee and her girlfriend Izzy. As expected, the teenage girls are all strong characters I enjoyed spending time with. Kudos again for that.

Ghosts in the Snow is a good book, but it is extremely dark, and I’m not sure that I was in the mood for that much darkness, but if you like supernatural mysteries, then I do recommend it. As long as you’re aware that it’s dark.

The Peculiar Crimes Unit series is one I really do like, and when I realized I had the first book as an ebook, I set out to reread. Second book was also inexpensive, but the third? Well, that’s why I moved into another series. I’m waiting impatiently for that to go on sale. I’d like to note that Grandmom really enjoyed this series.

The other two mystery series are also very good–I’m re-reading the Inspector Erlendur series–but I can only read a couple Karin Fossum stories at a time, because they tend to be extremely depressing–two of the mysteries were about murdered children. The third was about a murdered teen. So small doses of that.

Mystery

Inspector Erlendur
Jar City (2000/2004) Arnaldur Indridason translated by Bernard Scudder (8/10)
Silence of the Grave (2003/2006) Arnaldur Indridason translated by Bernard Scudder (9/10)
Peculiar Crimes Unit
Full Dark House (2003) Christopher Fowler (8/10)
The Water Room (2004) Christopher Fowler (8/10)
Inspector Sejer
Black Seconds (2002/2007) Karin Fossum translated by Charlotte Barslund (8/10)
The Water’s Edge (2007/2009) Karin Fossum translated Charlotte Barslund
Bad Intentions (2008/2010) Karin Fossum translated by Charlotte Barslund

Supernatural Mystery

Ghosts in the Snow (2004) Tamara Siler Jones

Fantasy Anthology

Street Magicks (2016) edited by Paula Guran
Beyond the Pale: A Fantasy Anthology (2014) edited by Henry Herz
A Fantastic Holiday Season: The Gift of Stories (2014) edited by Kevin J. Anderson & Kieth J. Olexa (8/10)

Fantasy Short Stories

A Wolf in Holy Places (2009) Nina Kiriki Hoffman
Burnt Sugar (2014) Lish McBride
Ghost Girl in the Corner (2016) Daniel José Older (8/10)

And now, the statistics! Huzzah!

14 books this month, which is about average.

All ebooks this month (not a surprise), with 5 re-reads, three of which I have in paper. I would have continued on with Christopher Fowler’s series, but I’m not paying that much for a ecopy of a book I own in paper (and paid full price for at the time, I might add!).

eBook – 14
Multiple Formats -3
Re-read -5

Genre, things were split pretty evenly between fantasy and mystery.

Fantasy – 7
Mystery – 8
Anthology – 3

As to author genre, it’s split pretty evenly between male and female authors this month.

Male – 5
Female – 6
Anthology – 3

And that’s it for this month! YAY READING!

The year is pulling to a close, which seems utterly ridiculous to me, yet there it is.

I read a LOT this month, for a variety of reasons, some of which were spending an inordinate amount of time in hospital waiting rooms. Let’s just say the past two months have not been the best.

But, I read a lot of GOOD books, some of which were in published in this millennia!

I read two Paul Cornell books, The Severed Streets (2014) and The Lost Child of Lychford (2016), both of which were very good. In fact, Paul Cornell gets kudos for his second Shadow Police book, as it took me COMPLETELY by surprise. Also good was Faith Hunter’s latest Soulwood book, Curse on the Land (2016). If you are a Jane Yellowrock fan, then you’ll like Soulwood, but if you haven’t read any of the Jane books, you’ll be OK jumping into this series. All three of these are supernatural fantasy, but without much boinking.

I also stumbled upon C.E. Murphy’s historical fantasy, Magic and Manners (2016), which was utterly delightful. It’s a Pride & Prejudice with Magic retelling, and there was much to love here–especially the fact it was boink-free. There was also a new Inspector Montalbano, A Voice in the Night (2012/2016) by Andrea Camilleri. This book isn’t a good starting point, but as a series it is well-worth starting if you like police mysteries or loving descriptions of fabulous meals. (No, seriously, Montalbano’s meals are a character all their own in these books.)

So here’s what I read this month.

Mystery
Inspector Montalbano
A Voice in the Night (2012/2016) Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Sartarelli (8/10)

Historical Mystery
Sister Fidelma
Absolution By Murder(1994) Peter Tremayne (8/10)
Shroud for the Archbishop (1995) Peter Tremayne (8/10)
Brother Cadfael
The Confession of Brother Haluin (1988) Ellis Peters (8/10)
The Heretic’s Apprentice (1989) Ellis Peters (9/10)
The Potter’s Field (1989) Ellis Peters (9/10)
The Summer of the Danes (1991) Ellis Peters (9/10)
The Holy Thief(1992) Ellis Peters (9/10)

Supernatural Fantasy
Shadow Police
The Severed Streets (2014) Paul Cornell (9/10)
Soulwood
Curse on the Land (2016) Faith Hunter (8/10)
The Witches of Lychford
The Lost Child of Lychford (2016) Paul Cornell (9/10)

Historical Fantasy
Magic and Manners (2016) C.E. Murphy (9/10)
Tremontaine: Season One Volume One (2016) by Patty Bryant, Joel Derfner, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Ellen Kushner, Malinda Lo, Racheline Maltese and Paul Witcover (7.5/10)
Glamourist Histories
Shades of Milk and Honey (2010) Mary Robinette Kowal (7.5/10)
Glamour in Glass (2012) Mary Robinette Kowal (8/10)
Without a Summer (2013) Mary Robinette Kowal (8/10)
Valour and Vanity (2014) Mary Robinette Kowal (5/10)
The Escapement of Blackledge (2016) Mary Robinette Kowal (7.5/10)

Anthology
Queen Victoria’s Book of Spells: An Anthology of Gaslamp Fantasy (2013) Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling

Audio
Midnight Taxi Tango, Audible Version (2016) Daniel Jose Older, read by the author (8/10)
The Dragon Conspiracy, Audible Version (2015) Lisa Shearin, narrated by Johanna Parker (8/10)
Broken Soul, Audible Version (2014) Faith Hunter, read by Khristine Hvam (8/10)
Salsa Nocturna, Audible Version (2012/2014) Daniel Jose Older, read by the author (8/10)

That’d be 23 books for the month, the most so far this year, bringing this years total to 170; I’ll probably break my previous record for books read in a single year (2013 and 174 books).

Format-wise, no paper books this month, but I did get around to finally reviewing a bunch of audio books I’d finished and forgotten to write up.
eBook: 19
Audio: 4

This month was NOT all historical mystery! Not that the historical mysteries weren’t good–I just ran out of ones I wanted to read, and none of the new-to-me series I started caught my interest.
Fantasy: 15
Mystery: 8
Romance: 2
Anthology: 1

As far as authors, I actually read some male authors this month, but female authors (including those using pseudonyms) were still ahead.
Male: 7
Female: 9
Male Pseudonym: 5
Anthology: 1
Joint: 1

And those are the books of November. If you haven’t read Paul Cornell, I really enjoy his writing and both of these books. However, the Witches of Lychford and the Shadow Police are quite different, and I wouldn’t recommend the latter for people who don’t like monsters (including human monsters who do terrible things).

If you don’t like historical mysteries, feel free to skip to the end. And if you already know how awesome Ellis Peter’s Brother Cadfael mysteries, same.

I’d picked a bunch of the Brother Cadfael mysteries up years ago, when they were on sale, but hadn’t gotten around to reading them. After finishing the Owen Archer series, I was floundering about looking for something else and couldn’t find the book/series to hit the spot, till I decided to read this.

I really like this series. It’s one of the best historical mystery series I’ve read in a very long time, and doesn’t suffer when reading one book after the other (some series, I can ready a couple books then have to take a break).

Historical Mystery

Brother Cadfael
A Morbid Taste for Bones (1977) Ellis Peters (8.5/10)
One Corpse Too Many (1979) Ellis Peters (8.5/10)
Monk’s Hood (1980) Ellis Peters (8/10)
The Leper of Saint Giles (1981) Ellis Peters (8/10)
The Virgin in the Ice (1982) Ellis Peters (8/10)
The Sanctuary Sparrow (1983) Ellis Peters (8/10)
The Devil’s Novice (1983) Ellis Peters (8.5/10)
Dead Man’s Ransom (1984) Ellis Peters (9/10)
The Pilgrim of Hate (1984) Ellis Peters (9/10)
An Excellent Mystery (1985) Ellis Peters (8/10)
The Raven in the Foregate (1986) Ellis Peters (8/10)
The Rose Rent (1986) Ellis Peters (8/10)
The Hermit of Eyton Forest (1987) Ellis Peters (8/10)

Charles Finch
A Stranger in Mayfair (2010) Charles Finch (6/10)

Now to the stats!

I read 14 books in October, bringing my total for the year to 147–the same number of books I read in all 2009.

All the books were ebooks, the books were mysteries. Currently, this is the highest percentage of mysteries I’ve read in a single year 92010 and 2015 were 34% mysteries).

And male authors fell even further behind, with only a single book this month–Ellis Peters was a male pseudonym, so this puts female authors even further ahead of the male authors writing only 19% of the books I’ve ready this year.

That’s it for October. I’m getting close to the end of the Brother Cadfael series, so I’m going to have to figure out what I’m going to read next–possibly a bunch of new releases I’ve been ignoring.

And it’s barely October!

I read 14 books this month, which puts me at 133 books for the year, which means I’ve read more books by October than I read in all of 2008, 2010, and 2011.

For what that’s worth.

Which isn’t much.

The best books were the Owen Archer series by Candace Robb (I believe this historical mystery series is completed),
Blood of the Earth the new start of a new series by Faith Hunter set in Jane Yellowrock’s world, and the second Rivers of London comic series, Rivers of London: Night Witch by Ben Aaronovitch, Andrew Cartmel, Lee Sullivan, Luis Guerrero. Plus I enjoyed Thor Volume 1: Goddess of Thunder. That was fun, even if there was a crap of subtext I totally missed.

Mystery, Historical

Owen Archer
The King’s Bishop (1996) Candace Robb (8/10)
The Riddle of St. Leonard’s (1997) Candace Robb (8/10)
A Gift of Sanctuary (1998) Candace Robb (7.5/10)
A Spy for the Redeemer (2002) Candace Robb (8/10)
The Cross-Legged Knight (2006) Candace Robb (8/10)
The Guilt of Innocents (2006) Candace Robb (8.5/10)
A Vigil of Spies (2008) Candace Robb (8/10)
Charles Lennox
The Fleet Street Murders (2009) Charles Finch (6/10)
The September Society (2008) Charles Finch (6/10)

Fantasy, Supernatural

Soulwood
Blood of the Earth (2016) Faith Hunter (8/10)

Graphic Novel

Rivers of London: Night Witch (2016) by Ben Aaronovitch, Andrew Cartmel, Lee Sullivan, Luis Guerrero (9/10)
Thor Volume 1: Goddess of Thunder (2015) Jason Aaron and Russell Dauterman (8/10)
Hellboy in Mexico (2016) Mike Mignola, Richard Corben, Mick Mahon, Fabio Moon, Gabriel Ba
She-Hulk Volume 2: Disorderly Conduct (2015) Charles Soule and Javier Pulido (6/10)

You might find this hard to believe, but I actually read four paper books this month!

They were all comics, but still! Paper!

And only two re-reads in September. Mostly because I was busy devouring the Owen Archer series.

Genre-wise, it was predominantly mysteries this month, plus the comics.

Fantasy : 2
Mystery : 9
Comic : 4

As far as authors go, men were almost even this month, but female authors are still way ahead for the year. (And will likely stay ahead, since the series I just started, I discovered was written under a male pseudonym.)

Male : 6
Female : 8

And that’s this month’s reading wrap-up!

This was a month for reading historical mysteries, with a dash of urban fantasy.

I re-read Salsa Nocturna: Stories by Daniel José Older and still love it. You should really read Daniel José Older.

Otherwise, nothing awesome stood out last month.

Historical Mystery

Owen Archer
The Apothecary Rose (1993) Candace Robb (7/10)
The Lady Chapel (1994) Candace Robb (8/10)
The Nun’s Tale (1995) Candace Robb (7.5/10)

Akitada
Black Arrow (2006) I.J. Parker (7.5/10)
Island of Exiles (2007) I.J. Parker (6/10)
The Hell Screen (2003) I.J. Parker (8/10)
The Masuda Affair (2011) I.J. Parker (7/10)
The Fires of the Gods (2011) I.J. Parker (7/10)
Death on an Autumn River (2011) I.J. Parker (7/10)
The Emperor’s Woman (2012) I.J. Parker (7/10)
The Crane Pavilion (2014) I.J. Parker (6.5/10)

Urban Fantasy

Salsa Nocturna: Stories (2012) Daniel José Older (8.5/10)
Jack the Giant-Killer (1987) Charles de Lint (7.5/10)

I read all eBooks this month. Except for cookbooks, which I REALLY need to review Any Time Now.

Genre breakdown is mostly mystery. As I said.

Fantasy : 2
Mystery : 11
Anthology : 1

Gender breakdown is overwhelmingly female, as the initials belong to a female author.

Male : 2
Female : 3
Initials : 8

That makes only 18% of the books I read this year by male authors, but I will note that the Akitada books had a male protaganist, while the Owen Archer series series splits the story between multiple characters, but primarily the male and female leads.

And that’s it for the books of August. As temperatures FINALLY drop, I’m hoping for more hiking and less reading in the coming months.

We’ll see.

It’s barely August and I’m posting about the books of July! Shocking!

Only nine books read this month, but that’s because I spent a week on vacation with many wonderful small people, and by the time I went to bed every night, I fell right to sleep. On the other hand, I’m still dealing with stress and anxiety, so I did a fair amount of re-reading and reaching for favorite authors. But despite “slacking off” this month, I’ve already read more than 100 books this year.

My favorite books of the month were two re-reads: A Matter of Magic by Patricia C. Wrede, American Gods by Neil Gaiman, and Charles de Lint I had not previously read: Someplace to Be Flying. I really love Charles de Lint–he is possibly the best short story author I’ve read, and he does a fantastic job writing female chracters.

Historical Fantasy (YA)
A Matter of Magic (2010): Mairelon the Magician (1991) and The Magician’s Ward (1997) Patricia C. Wrede (10/10)

Urban Fantasy
American Gods (2001) Neil Gaiman (10/10)
Someplace to Be Flying (1998) Charles de Lint (9/10)
Newford Stories: Crow Girls (2015) Charles de Lint
Moonlight & Vines (1999) Charles de Lint

Supernatural Fantasy
Chaos Choreography (2016) Seanan McGuire (6/10)

Historical Mystery
As Death Draws Near (2016) Anna Lee Huber (8.5/10)

Historical Romance
A Gift for Guile (2016) Alissa Johnson (8/10)
To Charm a Naughty Countess (2014) Theresa Romain (6/10)

I read all ebooks–aside from cookbooks, which I haven’t gotten around to reviewing, I haven’t read a single paper book this year.

Here’s the genre break-down:
Fantasy : 6
Mystery : 2
Romance : 3
YA : 1
Anthology : 2

And the gender break-down:
Male : 4
Female : 5

But male authors are still really far behind this year, at only 18% of the books I’ve read so far.

And those are the books of July.