A selection of quotes and pictures to represent July’s reading:

commonplace book
noun
a book into which notable extracts from other works are copied for personal use.

~

Nobody likes to feel a fool. We believe what we want to believe, which is whatever serves us best.

The Art of a Lie by Laura Shepherd-Robinson (2025)

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Man’s immortality is not to live forever; for that wish is born of fear. Each moment free from fear makes a man immortal.

Fire From Heaven by Mary Renault (1969)

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I learned later that this wasn’t quite the truth. I came eventually to see that what goes on between two people behind closed doors is hard to prove, that there is one law for the rich and another for the poor. There is an age at which one comes to an understanding of hypocrisy, and I hadn’t reached it then.

Sinners by Elizabeth Fremantle (2025)

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Power, without the consent of those over whom it is exercised, is a fraud that cannot long endure, a delicate balance between fear and rebellion, which may suddenly be overset when enough men become aware that they all think alike.

The Lily and the Lion by Maurice Druon (1959)

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One thing can safely be said about an archaeological packing. It consists mainly of books. What books to take, what books can be taken, what books there are room for, what books can (with agony!) be left behind. I am firmly convinced that all archaeologists pack in the following manner: They decide on the maximum number of suitcases that a long-suffering Wagon Lit Company will permit them to take. They then fill these suitcases to the brim with books. They then, reluctantly, take out a few books, and fill in the space thus obtained with shirt, pyjamas, socks, etc.

Come, Tell Me How You Live by Agatha Christie (1946)

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A long hump rose from the ground, which Jess knew to be one of numerous barrows that dotted the slopes and heights of these stark uplands. But while she had no fear of the stone circle where she lived, these particular stones formed the entrance to a mysterious long barrow which had a demonic reputation, and although the chamber behind them would provide essential shelter from the approaching storm, the whole structure filled her with deep apprehension.

The House of Seymour by Joanna Hickson (2025)

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Lydia shook her head to think of it. For far from Love at First Sight, for her, it had been Dislike at First Conversation.

How to Lose a Lord in Ten Days by Sophie Irwin (2025)

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Not all people were the same. Life was like the river. How you perceived it depended upon you viewpoint. And what you saw, like the automaton wren, was not always the truth, because truth was not always absolute; it had its own nuances.

The Emerald Shawl by Louise Douglas (2025)

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History is rich and interesting exactly because humans are, and while our modern life loves a binary, especially between good and evil, the reality is we all have the capacity for exciting and mundane, moral and immoral, smart and stupid.

Masquerade Balls in Regency England by Anne Glover (2025)

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Perhaps all detectives were mildly unsettling. Perhaps they needed to be, to get the job done.

No Life for a Lady by Hannah Dolby (2023)

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I have never been able to describe even my fictitious characters except by their actions. It has always seemed to me that in a novel the reader should be allowed to imagine a character in any way he chooses: I do not want to supply him with ready-made illustrations.

The End of the Affair by Graham Greene (1951)

~

Favourite books read in July:

Sinners, The Art of a Lie, Come, Tell Me How You Live, The Emerald Shawl, No Life for a Lady (yes, I found it difficult to choose this month!)

Authors read for the first time in July:

Anne Glover, Graham Greene, Hannah Dolby

Places visited in my July reading:

Italy, England, Macedonia, Greece, France, Syria

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Reading notes: Most of my reading in July was for the 20 Books of Summer challenge. I have now read 17 books for the challenge, which means I only have to read 3 more in August. I just need to find time to catch up with posting my reviews! I was pleased that I also managed to incorporate a French novel (The Lily and the Lion) into my July reading for Emma’s Paris in July event!

I have no plans for August other than finishing 20 Books of Summer. It’s Women in Translation month, which I do usually try to take part in, but I’m not sure if I have anything suitable on the TBR at the moment. I’ll see what happens!

What did you read in July? Do you have any plans for August?

A selection of quotes and pictures to represent June’s reading:

commonplace book
noun
a book into which notable extracts from other works are copied for personal use.

~

He’d be better off reading detective stories than going to Miss Covey’s English Grammar class. After all, there are worse places to find an education than crime fiction.

A Schooling in Murder by Andrew Taylor (2025)

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“Yes, I learned to hate, Peter, and that is worse than being sick, or starved, or thirsty, or in pain.”

Jennie by Paul Gallico (1950)

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I was a child of the outdoors, a wild thing, made more of mud and scrapes than manners and poise. My father did not try to change that. He knew, because he was the same, that trying to make me something I was not would be like trying to alter the flow of a river by standing in the water and shouting.

The Rush by Beth Lewis (2025)

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“The amount of time you spent together probably matters, but less time doesn’t mean less love. Whether it’s a day or year, human or cat, and even if we may never see them again, there are those who are irreplaceable in our lives.”

We’ll Prescribe you a Cat by Syou Ishida (2023)

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If you feel that you have been humiliated, you have got to learn to dare to yell and scream that you feel that way. Women have become paralysed. It’s the culture. It’s the culture that has made us all lose the courage to be ourselves when we are hurt – to really yell and scream.

The Stepdaughter by Caroline Blackwood (1976)

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‘The world?‘ Cassandra gave a small laugh, as if at the follies of youth. ‘I regret to inform you that the world does not think of any of us as much as we all like to think.’ It was at least true that at her own time of life, it did not give a jot. ‘As for the minuscule circles in which we both live…It may be true that you have created a minor diversion. But for what do we live but to create sport for our neighbours?’

The Elopement by Gill Hornby (2025)

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He knows very well that this is what it is to be an artist. Success is built upon the backs of many failures. You must turn the page; you must try again.

These Wicked Devices by Matthew Plampin (2025)

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“Do you think a murderer ought to be a happy man?”

Miss Marple coughed. “Well, they usually have been in my experience.”

“I don’t suppose your experience has gone very far,” said Mr Rafiel.

In this assumption, as Miss Marple could have told him, he was wrong. But she forebore to contest his statement. Gentlemen, she knew, did not like to be put right in their facts.

A Caribbean Mystery by Agatha Christie (1964)

~

His living room, about eight tatami mats in size, was littered with books, as usual. While many were architecture-related, the vast majority were mystery novels. More than seemed reasonable, actually.

AUTHOR: So many books. As always.

KURIHARA: That does seem to be where most of my money goes.

Strange Houses by Uketsu (2021)

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It is a world of confidence, even amongst those who lack the good looks or wisdom or godliness to have earned it. It is not a world I am comfortable in, but I have had to find a way through. Theirs is a black-and-white world of certainties: of good and bad, and right and wrong. To them, I am wicked. So they strung me up in front of a baying crowd. But none of them had ever been in my shoes.

The Mourning Necklace by Kate Foster (2025)

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‘But I think that everyone should do all the things they shouldn’t do – and then, they won’t.’

Dr. Parry laughed as he rose reluctantly from the old creaking basket-chair. ‘It takes a doctor to disentangle that,’ he said. ‘But I imagine you refer to moral inoculation.’

‘Yes,’ nodded Helen. ‘Like being vaccinated against small-pox.’

The Spiral Staircase by Ethel Lina White (1933)

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His words were meant to chill me, and they did. But I wouldn’t tell him what ghosts there were waiting in the night for me, sometimes even in the day. ‘Which of us isn’t haunted by our past?’ I said, at last. ‘We each have one, after all. You can’t live and not have a past.’

Love and Other Poisons by Lesley McDowell (2025)

~

Favourite books read in June:

The Rush, The Mourning Necklace and The Spiral Staircase

Authors read for the first time this month:

Beth Lewis, Syou Ishida, Caroline Blackwood

Places visited in my June reading:

England, Scotland, Wales, USA, Japan, Canada, Italy, a fictional Caribbean island

~

Reading notes: June was another good month of reading for me, helped by having a week off work at the beginning of the month, and my 20 Books of Summer also got off to a great start. I’ve read nine books from my list so far, which gives me hope that I’ll be able to complete the challenge this year! I’m also pleased that I was able to contribute two cat-related posts to Mallika’s Reading the Meow event.

In July, I will be continuing with 20 Books of Summer and I have a book lined up for the Read Christie 2025 challenge as well. I’m also hoping I can catch up with posting my outstanding reviews!

What did you read in June? Do you have any plans for July?

A selection of quotes and pictures to represent May’s reading:

commonplace book
noun
a book into which notable extracts from other works are copied for personal use.

~

‘One must accept the fact that we have only one companion in this world, a companion who accompanies us from the cradle to the grave – our own self. Get on good terms with that companion – learn to live with yourself.’

A Daughter’s a Daughter by Mary Westmacott (1952)

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We regard our own memories as truths, when they are often just the stories we have told ourselves over time. They become the truth we live by, or with. They become our lives.

Written on the Dark by Guy Gavriel Kay (2025)

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Language, legend, music, dress, ways of making tools and of building, all belong together; if one goes, it means that the life pattern is broken, and the rest will follow.

The Crying of the Wind: Ireland by Ithell Colquhoun (1955)

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‘One of their company, a boy of fifteen, has been arrested for the girl’s murder. None of us believe he did it.’

Frances looks interested. ‘Why not?’

‘Because he loved her.’

‘Love does not preclude violence. Ask Master Shakespeare.’

Traitor’s Legacy by SJ Parris (2025)

~

“But still, a tragedy without a tune is like a sun that doesn’t give off heat; dead and nothing will grow from it. When men go to war, they do it to music. When they set sail for better shores and row into the vast blue, they do it to music. Even our hearts beat to some rhythm. And the director who neglects it neglects what makes us men.”

Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon (2024)

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Father knew the value of getting on in life. ‘Education is the way to advancement,’ he often said, and while he was not rich, he had somehow found the fees of 8d a quarter to send Tom to the grammar school in Ipswich.

The Cardinal by Alison Weir (2025)

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Nothing was ever what you expected. That was the beauty and the terror of life.

White Corridor by Christopher Fowler (2007)

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Yet she had a story, I knew it, and I knew that telling it would help. The girls were encouraged to talk openly about their past lives in order to understand and emphasise with one another. Giving them words made life easier to bear and allowed them to move on.

The Surgeon’s House by Jody Cooksley (2025)

~

Favourite books read in May:

A Daughter’s a Daughter and Written on the Dark

Authors read for the first time in May:

Ferdia Lennon, Ithell Colquhoun, Jody Cooksley

Places visited in my May reading:

England, the fictional kingdom of Ferrieres, Sicily, Ireland, France

~

Reading notes: May was a better reading month for me than last month and I enjoyed everything I read. I’m still behind with reviews, but will try to post the outstanding ones in June. 20 Books of Summer begins tomorrow and the first book I’ll be reading is Jennie by Paul Gallico for Mallika’s upcoming cat-themed Reading the Meow event. I’m looking forward to working through the rest of my list – and in particular, seeing which books will fill the empty spaces I’ve left for reading at whim!

What did you read in May? Do you have any plans for June?

A selection of quotes and pictures to represent April’s reading:

commonplace book
noun
a book into which notable extracts from other works are copied for personal use.

~

“What on earth made you bring all those books with you?” said Edmund, looking up from his model, with a note of impatience in his voice. “They’re far more than you can possibly read in the time we’re going to be here.”

“I know,” said Richard, “but I like to choose the book I’m going to read from a lot of other books. That’s half the fun of reading.”

Linden Rise by Richmal Crompton (1952)

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“Lying wastes more time than anything else in the modern world.”

The Tiger in the Smoke by Margery Allingham (1952)

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‘But that leaves us with a bit of a problem,’ Dr Sarah said. ‘We can’t sit idly by and let such a thing happen. No matter the rights and wrongs of it. Do you see?’

The Edinburgh Murders by Catriona McPherson (2025)

~

Each day had its own page, which Olive Branson had used not only for her appointments, in themselves scarce, but also to record books she wanted to read and observations about the weather. Here and there, the diary turned into a commonplace book, with short passages in French that had caught her eye.

That Dark Spring by Susannah Stapleton (2025)

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When Clara had proved right about the drifting back, George blamed her. Blaming inwardly is annoying when the one blamed is ignorant that blaming is taking place.

Aunt Clara by Noel Streatfeild (1952)

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People are complicated; most people do some good things and some bad things.

The Six Murders of Daphne St Clair by MacKenzie Common

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Favourite book read this month:

The Tiger in the Smoke

Authors read for the first time this month:

Susannah Stapleton, MacKenzie Common

Countries visited in my April reading:

England, France, Scotland, US, Canada

~

Reading notes: April was a slower reading month for me, compared to the first three months of the year, and it was mainly devoted to reading books for the 1952 Club. Reading less means I’ve had time to start catching up with my backlog of reviews, although I still have some left to post.

I somehow have seven books from NetGalley all with publication dates in May and have so far only read one of them, so that’s what I’ll have to concentrate on for the next few weeks. Otherwise, I don’t have any other reading plans for May and will just see where my mood takes me.

What did you read in April? Do you have any plans for May?

A selection of quotes and pictures to represent March’s reading:

commonplace book
noun
a book into which notable extracts from other works are copied for personal use.

~

You never knew in advance if a decision was the right one. All you could do was try to imagine the future and use that to help you make up your mind in a difficult situation, and if you couldn’t imagine the future, well, you had to make up your mind anyway.

Clear by Carys Davies (2024)

~

Fiction, if it is worth anything at all, is about life but it is not life.

The Game is Murder by Hazell Ward (2025)

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Grief marks a person as fire marks a house. You can paint over the soot and repair the boards, but the rooms will be haunted always by the scent of ashes.

Love, Sex & Frankenstein by Caroline Lea (2025)

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The last winter days went by like weary brokedown soldiers at the end of a war.

The Heart in Winter by Kevin Barry (2024)

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One does not have to leave the old world to find a new one. A new one can be built by changing the old one for the better, one act of love at a time, seeding new memories among the old, so that both can bloom together.

The Darkening Globe by Naomi Kelsey (2025)

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Women who adore chocolate to the same degree enjoy a friendship that can’t be shaken.

The Versailles Formula by Nancy Bilyeau (2025)

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What survives our mortal death is our ideas, transcribed in art and words and stone, they are the piece of us that remains. But if that can disappear in a single night, consumed by flame? What then for immortality?

Cleopatra by Natasha Solomons (2025)

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As in life, so in a game of hazard, skill will make something of the worst of throws.

Moonfleet by John Meade Falkner (1898)

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The lesson, said he, be this – we tell tales of what lurks out in the dark so that we need not acknowledge the truth within.

What truth?

That, oftentymes, the fiend be our fault. Do you understand?

Mother Naked by Glen James Brown (2024)

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Finally, Annie looked at Emily. ‘You’re right. We must all follow our hearts, even when it scares us, because the most frightening thing of all is to not do the thing we are meant to.’

Before Dorothy by Hazel Gaynor (2025)

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Trials, like life, always go on to some sort of ultimate conclusion, however shockingly they unfold along the way.

A Case of Life and Limb by Sally Smith (2025)

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As individuals, none of us matters much. Our joint effort matters, though, when we work together.

Secrets of the Bees by Jane Johnson (2025)

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Favourite books read in March:

A Case of Life and Limb, Love, Sex & Frankenstein, Mother Naked and The Versailles Formula

Authors read for the first time in March:

Carys Davies, Hazell Ward, Kevin Barry, Naomi Kelsey, John Meade Falkner, Glen James Brown

Countries visited in my March reading:

Scotland, England, USA, Egypt, Switzerland, France

~

Reading notes: I was pleased to be able to take part in both the Reading Ireland and Reading Wales events this month (and read new-to-me authors for both – Kevin Barry and Carys Davies respectively). I also made some progress with my Classics Club list and the Walter Scott Prize longlist, as well as reading some of my upcoming releases from NetGalley. I’ve only posted reviews for a few of these books so far, but the rest will follow, I promise!

In April, I’m looking forward to 1952 Club, which will be hosted by Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings and Stuck in a Book. I’m already halfway through my first book for that and have some others I’m also hoping to get to. 21-27 April, if you want to join in.

What did you read in March? Do you have any plans for April?

A selection of quotes and pictures to represent February’s reading:

commonplace book
noun
a book into which notable extracts from other works are copied for personal use.

~

Maybe we just have to react the way we want to. Maybe what we feel and how we feel is the right way to feel about losing someone, irrespective of whether it’s sadness or whatever. It’s just us and how we respond to our own feelings. It’s how we are and we can’t help how we are.

The Other People by C.B. Everett (2025)

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Ah, blogs. The concept now almost seemed quaint. Everyone had a different take on theirs. The blogs came in all sorts of styles: some simple diaries, some hobby sites, others outlets for political rants…

Strange Pictures by Uketsu tr. Jim Rion (2022)

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Knights obey, and if they don’t, they’re not real knights, and they don’t have honour, and the only thing in the world that’s ever really yours is your honour.

The Hymn to Dionysus by Natasha Pulley (2025)

~

Hannah was taken aback by her stepmother’s vehemence. ‘All of history is interpretation to one degree or another,’ she said as mildly as she could, ‘and often there is truth at the heart of these myths.’

The Secrets of the Rose by Nicola Cornick (2025)

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Truth is merely an abstract concept after all, she muses. Everyone has a different version of it.

The Eights by Joanna Miller (2025)

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‘If there is one thing which stands out more than another in this world – and of course,’ said Derek, ‘one thing always does stand out more than another – it is that there are some things which you cannot explain to a policeman.’

Four Days’ Wonder by A.A. Milne (1933)

~

Nothing has done more damage to modern detective fiction than the invention of the internet. Forget Sherlock Holmes and his ratiocination or Hercule Poirot’s little grey cells. We have all the information in the world at our fingertips and there’s no longer any need for deduction.

Marble Hall Murders by Anthony Horowitz (2025)

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Perhaps life is like that, Maisie thinks, perhaps life is like a carousel – it has ups and downs but it eventually comes full circle.

The Midnight Carousel by Fiza Saeed McLynn (2025)

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‘Aunt Jane,’ said Raymond, looking at her curiously, ‘how do you do it? You have lived such a peaceful life and yet nothing seems to surprise you.’

‘I always find one thing very like another in this world,’ said Miss Marple.

The Thirteen Problems by Agatha Christie (1932)

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There is no perfect ending. There are an infinite number of endings.

The Queen and the Countess by Anne O’Brien (2025)

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From the doomed dying world man had ruined, I seemed to catch sight of this other one, new, infinitely alive, and of boundless potential.

Ice by Anna Kavan (1967)

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Corfu light was ineffable, full of shivery tricks that made you see what could not be there, made you unable to see what was there, with an enchantment that meant you heard things too.

The Greek House by Dinah Jefferies (2025)

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‘The truth is like a water creature,’ he continued. ‘Too large for any single man to catch. He can take hold of one tentacle, or a silver tail, or a fin, but he’ll never catch the whole creature, not on his own.’

The Hounding by Xenobe Purvis (2025)

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His answer was to create the bicycling detective. This was a two-fold publicity tactic: he had something other agencies did not – not just a lady detective, but a mobile one; and he was creating the impression of a technologically advanced agency using relatively new forms of transport rather than going out on foot. It was novel, but subject to hyperbole, as Slater referred to an ‘army’ of cycling lady detectives in his adverts, which is unlikely.

Britain’s Greatest Private Detective by Nell Darby (2025)

~

Favourite books read in February:

The Midnight Carousel, Marble Hall Murders, Strange Pictures and Four Days’ Wonder

Places visited in my February reading:

England, Japan, Greece, France, USA, Canary Islands

Authors read for the first time in February:

C.B. Everett, Uketsu, Fiza Saeed McLynn, Anna Kavan, Nell Darby, Xenobe Purvis

~

Reading notes: February seems to have been a very quick month, but it has also been a productive one for me in terms of reading. I managed to contribute three reviews to #ReadIndies month, joined in with the Read Christie challenge and read most of my NetGalley books for March and April. I haven’t posted many reviews, but do have most of them written and scheduled.

In March, I’m hoping to read at least one book each for Reading Ireland Month and Reading Wales Month. I would also like to make some progress with the Walter Scott Prize longlist which was announced a few weeks ago (some of the books on the list are by Welsh or Irish authors, which is perfect).

What did you read in February? Do you have any plans for March?

A selection of quotes and pictures to represent January’s reading:

commonplace book
noun
a book into which notable extracts from other works are copied for personal use.

~

When freedoms are forbidden, their enjoyment becomes an especially delicious pleasure.

The Ghosts of Rome by Joseph O’Connor (2025)

~

‘It’s a terrible thing you’ve lived through,’ she said. ‘And you won’t forget it easily. Perhaps you won’t forget it ever. But we have a saying in Swedish: you cannot prevent the birds of sadness from flying over your head, but you can stop them from nesting in your hair.’

The Lost Passenger by Frances Quinn (2025)

~

It is a quiet painting – no bells ring. It is quiet not just because the young woman is reading, but quiet in its colours. There are no shouting bright orange carpets or loud lemon-yellow bodices or flaming red dresses that scream. Everything is muted.

Woman in Blue by Douglas Bruton (2025)

~

Biography and good novels were his favourite reading, a discovery of his own as he grew up since he came from a family who only read if they were ill in bed. But for him such books helped to satisfy the acute curiosity about what people did and why they did it that made him a notable detective.

Tea on Sunday by Lettice Cooper (1973)

~

Most people just want an easy life. It’s unsettling when someone starts pulling apart the stories we’ve stitched together, the things we tell ourselves for comfort.

The Sirens by Emilia Hart (2025)

~

“I’m not saying he was a bad man, but when you withdraw from the world like that, you end up closing in on yourself. Take, for example, the stories that everybody talks about, only then to forget them the very next day. Well, he held on to them, you see, deep inside himself.”

The Little Sparrow Murders by Seishi Yokomizo (1959)

~

She wonders when it became so difficult to find answers. Or has the truth always come hard won? People rarely say what they mean, relationships are fraught with misunderstandings, who can really be objective? How can she even hope to pinpoint motives and actions, drives and desires when they are all so muddled and slippery, even in the best of us? Who among us really knows our own heart, let alone someone else’s?

Murder at Gulls Nest by Jess Kidd (2025)

~

‘No, no,’ says Lou, and her top hat shakes in the moonlight. ‘Tastes can develop, certainly, but at any given time, one’s opinion on art is certainly valid. ‘Tis the point of art to stir us whether we have studied paintings for fifty years or are looking upon our first painting. Be confident in your tastes, Alice. But do be open to the notion that they are wilful and unpredictable and will almost certainly change.’

The Portrait Artist by Dani Heywood-Lonsdale (2025)

~

I asked him later if he wanted to know how and when he would die. He laughed and said, ‘Sure, stories don’t die.’ But they do. They die and they are forgotten and new stories take their place, just as kings follow kings.

The Morrigan by Kim Curran (2025)

~

To think of anything else except the way things are is just to live in a world of the imagination – fine for some things but not for real life. Don’t you agree?

This Sweet Sickness by Patricia Highsmith (1960)

~

Favourite books read in January:

This Sweet Sickness, Woman in Blue and The Lost Passenger

Authors read for the first time in January:

Lettice Cooper, Dani Heywood-Lonsdale, Kim Curran

Places visited in my January reading:

Italy, Vatican City, England, Australia, Netherlands, Japan, Ireland, USA

~

January reading notes: This was a good start to the year for me, reading-wise. Most of the books I’ve read are NetGalley books being released over the next few months, so I’ll be posting my reviews around the publication dates. I also managed to read a book for the Japanese Literature Challenge and may even have time to fit in another one in February! Another event I’m hoping to join in with in February is #ReadIndies hosted by Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings and Lizzy’s Literary Life. I’m also planning to participate in #ReadChristie2025, as next month’s book, The Thirteen Problems, is one I haven’t read yet.

How was your January? Do you have any plans for your February reading?