Recently, book blogger and avid reader Book Club Mom shared with the world all the books she’s read so far this year and I thought, ‘Well, now there’s a blogging idea I could steal!” (Don’t worry, she did ask at the end for her followers to share their reading lists, so I’m not stealing, I’m “participating.”). I also thought it might give you a little break from my rambling on about my own books.

But before I let you escape the clutches of marketing this week, let me help you add something to your bookshelf: a free print copy of my upcoming book The Maze: Book Three of the Osteria Chronicles! 

If you’re feeling lucky and if you’re on Goodreads, just follow this link and click on the big button that reads, “Enter Giveaway.” This giveaway is open to readers in the U.S. and many places in Europe (if you don’t see your country listed and want to enter, just let me know and I can easily add it). 

And now, on with the list (notice I’ve refrained from counting the 10,000 times I’ve proofread The Maze). Books I really enjoyed and recommend are in bold. Oh, and before you think I spend enormous amounts of time with my nose in a book, keep in mind that gobs of audiobooks have fleshed out this list. Here we go…

  1. The White Queen by Philippa Greggory
  2. The Red Queen by Philippa Greggory
  3. Lady of the Rivers by Philippa Greggory (I was on a bit of a Greggory kick, wasn’t I?)
  4. The Vatican Princess by CW Gortner
  5. The Oslo Conspiracy by Asle Skredderberget
  6. A Beautiful Blue Death by Charles Finch
  7. Grave Surprise by Charlaine Harris
  8. Ice Cold Grave by Charlaine Harris
  9. The White Princess by Philippa Greggory
  10. Storm of Swords by George RR Martin
  11. The Kingmaker’s Daughter by Philippa Greggory
  12. Dead Until Dawn by Charlaine Harris (okay, let me just admit to the embarrassing fact that I gobbled up all 12 of the Sookie Stackhouse series within a few months. I feel so dirty, but let’s move on with the list…)
  13. Feast for Crows by George RR Martin
  14. Shakespeare’s Landlord by Charlaine Harris
  15. The Fleet Street Murders by Charles Finch
  16. A Stranger in Mayfair by Charles Finch
  17. The Anatomist’s Apprentice by Tessa Harris
  18. Unstoppable by Bill Nye
  19. Three Sisters, Three Queens by Philippa Greggory
  20. The Dead Shall Not Rest by Tessa Harris
  21. Toward Zero
  22. The Kingmaker by Brain Haig
  23. Toward Zero by Agatha Christie
  24. To Cut a Long Story Short by Jeffery Archer
  25. Death in the Small Hours by Charles Finch
  26. The Devil’s Breath by Tessa Harris
  27. Maid of the King’s Court by Lucy Worsley
  28. The Art of the English Murder by Lucy Worsley
  29. The Lazarus Cures by Tessa Harris
  30. An Old Betrayal by Charles Finch
  31. If Walls Could Talk by Lucy Worsley
  32. The Laws of Murder by Charles Finch
  33. Shadow of the Raven by Tessa harris
  34. The Artist’s Guide to Grant Writing
  35. Home by Nightfall by Charles Finch
  36. The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart
  37. The Inheritance by Charles Finch
  38. Story Genius by Lisa Cron
  39. Heresy by SJ Parris
  40. Prophecy by SJ Parris
  41. The Beekeeper’s Assistant by Laurie King
  42. The Last Enchantments by Charles Finch
  43. Murder is Easy by Agatha Christie
  44. Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton
  45. Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay
  46. Sacrilege by SJ Parris 
  47. Something Borrowed, Someone Dead by MC Beaton
  48. Dearly Devoted Dexter by Jeff Lindsay
  49. Treachery by SJ Parris
  50. The Bat by Jo Nesbo
  51. Heart and Soul by Maeve Binchy
  52. Journey Within in a Story by Giovanni Venturi
  53. Born a Crime by Trevor Noah (thanks for the reminder, Carrie!!)

Phew! And it’s only October! I’m currently listening to the third book in the Dexter series (and loving every bit of its dark humor), reading Clash of Eagles by Alan Smale and How to Market a Book by Joanna Penn, and have oodles of other titles on my to-read list (some of them staring at me from the bookshelf right now wondering why they’re being ignored).

Looking at this list shows how quickly I can get caught up in a series (all those Charlaine Harris, Tessa Harris, Charles Finch, and SJ Parris books, for example) and that I need to branch out to reading some lesser known authors…which sounds suspiciously like a reading challenge for next year!

Alright everyone, next week it will be time to put my marketing hat back on, so expect to hear a bit more about The Maze and the Osteria Chronicles next Wednesday, and don’t forget to come back Saturday to see Finn exploring more of the island of Maui.

What have you read this year? Any favorites, any recommendations, any you’re embarrassed to admit to reading? I’d love some hints on what to read next, so be sure to drop a few into the comments below!

25 thoughts on “Reading, Reading, and More Reading”

  1. You’ve been busy! My favorite book I read this year was Trevor Noah’s nonfiction book “Born a Crime.” I actually listened to it as an audiobook, which is really the way to do it because Noah narrates it himself and is fantastic. He nails every accent perfectly.

    Like

    1. What in the world!? I “read” that too and somehow it didn’t get written down. Thanks for the reminder. And I agree, the audio version is the only way to go with “Born a Crime” because who can resist Trevor Noah’s accent(s)! I better go edit my list now.

      Liked by 1 person

  2. Good. Lord. You have made me feel so bad about my reading this year!!! I mean, to be fair to me, I have had to focus my commuting time (when I used to get in my reading) to active music listening lately for my other blog… but still.

    I’ve downed a measly 11 so far: Golden Hill (Francis Spufford), The Odd Women (Gissing), The Grapes of Wrath (Steinbeck), The Virgin Suicides (Jeffrey Eugenides), Hangover Square (Patrick Hamilton), Devil in the White City (Erik Larson), Rebecca (du Maurier), Excellent Women (Barbara Pym), A Scanner Darkly (Philip K Dick), Where Angels Fear to Tread (Forster), Howards End (Forster).

    I suspect you have, but if you haven’t read any Philip K Dick, I would recommend him. ‘A Scanner Darkly’ was well out of my 19th century Victorian novel comfort zone–but an excellent piece of literature nonetheless. I enjoyed all of the above, however… not a dud in the lot!

    Haha no shame in Sookie Stackhouse! While I haven’t really any of the books, I do looooooooove Eric Northman, er I mean, True Blood and have re-watched all seasons in their entirety multiple times!

    Whoops, you can probably now list this long comment I have left as novel #54: ‘Where Weekes Goes On and On and I Begin to Regret Asking People to Comment’

    Anyway, hoping to add at least one Osteria onto my list before 2018!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Phew, yes, I’m adding this comment to my list of books!

      Funny, you should mention Dick, I mean, Phillip, because I’ve been meaning to read one of his books for a while now but haven’t gotten around to it…the one audiobook I tried was horrrrribly narrated and I just had to shut it off. I am a little embarrassed that no “classics” made it onto my list this year, I’m usually much better at working a few in every couple months.

      I haven’t seen the True Blood shows. I think I built up too much of my own idea of what these characters would look like that no real human could meet my expectations (if you could only see MY Eric Northman! Swoon City!).

      Thanks for the suggestions! And thanks for trying to squeeze some Osteria into your busy schedule!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Ohhhh definitely try to get your hands on some Dick, er Philip K Dick, because I think you will enjoy his well-written dystopian sci fi.

        I mean….. I don’t think my tiny mind could have possibly conceived of a Viking vamp as glorious as Alexander Skarsgard…. so I marvel at your powers of imagination! I’m sure I could have improved on Vampire Bill, however.

        Happy editing!

        Liked by 1 person

  4. Wow, what a list! I’ve been meaning to take a leaf out of your book (ha!) and start putting on audiobooks while I work… I’d probably get much more done than I do now with my favourite crime shows going in the background! I’ll definitely be seeing if my local library has any of your favourite reads from the past year. As for my list…I used to meticulously record my readings, but I’ve become somewhat sporadic in that department these last few years! I have definitely chomped my way through a good bit of classic crime this year – at least one Agatha Christie (Sad Cypress, Ross Macdonald’s “The Underground Man” and a whole raft of Maigrets that Boyfriend picked up for me at his work. I also re-read “Those Barren Leaves” by Aldous Huxley, and Murakami’s “A Wild Sheep Chase” and “Dance Dance Dance” after reading his first two novels, which were published in English for the first time sometime last year. Oh, and I finished Steinbeck’s “The Pearl” last night! And OF COURSE I read “The Trials of Hercules” by Tammie Painter. Have you ever heard of her? She’s really very good!

    Like

    1. Bah! That Tammie Painter is a hack! :)) I just looked up Maigret and it sounds like something right up my reading alley. I read a few of the Montalbano books in 2016, so Maigret might be a nice addition to my European detectives. As far as the list making, I have no idea when I started doing this, but the book nerd in me loves seeing what I’ve read over the past year…and it helps remind me of which authors I enjoyed most. Also, I have to keep track (and devour as many books as possible) during my library’s summer reading program in the hope of winning prizes!!

      If only I could listen to audiobooks (or podcasts) while I work, but I’m afraid I would end up transcribing and suddenly my Greek heroes would get tied up in some Tudor plot or in a Scandinavian police investigation…which could be quite the new genre. Thanks for popping by!

      Like

      1. Oh. I really like her stuff, but whatever you think… 😀 This has been a worthwhile exercise, because I’ve never read the Montalbano books, so now I can go looking for those! Hurrah!

        And am I the only one who’s a little intrigued by the idea of a crossover Greco-Tudor-Scandi noir series? Don’t write it off before you’ve tried it… 😂

        Like

      2. I’m imagining a love triangle springing up between Hercules, Henry VIII, and Lizbeth Salander as they journey from Mount Olympus to Stockholm to Hampton Court trying to solve the mystery of who really killed Jane Seymour. The truth is darker than anyone ever suspected!

        Like

      5. Hahaha! Yes, if I’d known I could make millions as a writer by just including a couple of sparkly vampires in my work, I’d have sent my primary school creative writing assignments directly to a publisher! 😂

        Liked by 1 person

Comments are closed.