It’s been a while since I updated everyone on my book purchases, probably because I’m hugely embarrassed that my self-imposed embargo on new books has imploded in a manner rarely seen these days. So as confession is good for the soul, these are the items bought since my last post at the end of May:

  • Team Cul de Sac, edited by Chris Sparks – a tribute volume to the cartoonist Richard Thompson, with proceeds going to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research; i read this as soon as it arrived being a huge fan of the comic strip and it is just sublime;
  • The Addams Family: An Evilution by Charles Addams – um, it’s the Addams Family, why wouldn’t I buy it? Yay Morticia!;
The next three were the result of a trip to Salisbury on a wet Sunday which of course meant we had to shelter in the local Waterstones.
  • Oscar’s Books by Thomas Wright – tells the story of Oscar Wilde through his reading;
  • Hot Flushes, Cold Science by Louise Foxcroft – a history of the modern menopause (because I am a woman of a certain age and it looked fascinating);
  • Cosmopolis by Don DeLillo – haven’t read any DeLillo for a while, and the film version looks interesting so thought I would give it a go – nothing to do with R-Patz on the cover.

Other bits and bobs:

  • Blue Nights by Joan Didion – because I hugely admired The Year of Magical Thinking (as both a book and a play);
  • Maps & Legends by Michael Chabon – a series of linked essays in praise of reading and writing according to the blurb, part of my love affair with books about books and reading;
  • Vox by Nicholson Baker – about time for a re-read I thought, then realised I didn’t have a copy of my own;
  • Talulla Rising by Glen Duncan – so impressed by The Last Werewolf I went and bought the sequel.

From my first trip to Daunts bookshop on Cheapside, courtesy of Silvery Dude:

  • The Horror of Love by Lisa Hilton – the story of Nancy Mitford’s relationship with Gaston Palewski, part of my ever-growing Mitford library;

From a trip to Waterstones Piccadilly to hear Ben Aaronovitch speak (more of that in a second):

  • When Nights Were Cold by Susanna Jones – came in under my radar, sole survivor of an all-woman expedition to the Alps, an unsettling historical thrillery sort of book as I understand it

So you can see why I might be embarrassed.

I have managed to finish a few books in this time (though as always not as many as I would like): Team Cul de Sac as mentioned above, Kings of Eternity and The Last Werewolf  – reviews of the latter two will follow, and I’m currently enjoying Whispers Underground.

Which brings me to an evening with Ben Aaronovitch at the end of June, where I was able to hear him speak about his writing and got my book signed and also one for Silvery Dude who couldn’t come along because of a family emergency. Very enjoyable, funny and engaging evening which just proves that I need to make time for this sort of event more than I do currently.

Have a good reading week!