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My To Be Read Pile Autumn 2024 Edition

As I sit writing to yoiu, we have enjoyed the most blissful Autumn day. This morning was full of mist, I could barely see over the road and when I stood outside there was a delicate dampness left on my hair. The green grass was velvety with dew and there is a cool scent that makes the nose twitch slightly in anticipation of nipped toes and woolly hats. I love Autumn and there is a feeling of preparation all around both in nature and in our homes, to get ready for Christmas, winter and darker nights.

Read my Review of Wintering by Katherine May

Nature is getting ready 'to winter'. Leaves are turning golden hues, flowers dying away. The swifts have left for warmer shores, and suddenly animals are madly foraging for enough food to keep them fed over the winter. For me, I am 'spring cleaning'. Getting the house ready for Christmas, we start our panto rehearsals on Thursday, the joy of socialising in the village keeping us going over the ever-darker evenings.

Today I learnt a wonderful Japanese word called Tsundoku. Tsun means to pile up and doku means to leave for a while. So collectively, it refers to piling up and leaving for a while, in this case books. And what better way to kick off Autumn on the blog then by providing you with a list of books on my To Be Read pile. I do this usually twice each year, although I do not know what happened in 2023, when only one post got published!

So let's get started shall we with my to be read pile as of Autumn 2024. I'm going to split them into a couple of categories....and in no way have I purchased 2 further books today.

The Oldest Book on my To Be Read Pile (1 Book)

  • The Secrets of Hartwood Hall by Katie Lumsden - Well technically this is on my kindle if we wish to split hairs. This has all of the autumnal feels.

Crime (13 Books)

  • We Solve Murders by Richard Osman - Now if we are being all technical here, I haven't actually got this book. But I will be getting it when it is released on 12 September 2024
  • The Trial by Rob Rinder - lent to me and my husband by my incredibly well-read father-in-law
  • Angel by L.J.Ross - Number 4 in the excellent series written by L.J. Ross set in the North East.
  • High Force by L.J. Ross - and here's number 5 in the excellent series written by L.J. Ross set in the North East.
  • The Raging Storm by Ann Cleeves - Another series, this time the Two Rivers series featuring DI Matthew Venn)
  • Tour de Force by Christianna Brand - The Tour de Force is currently taking place at the moment around Yorkshire. This is nothing to do with that....I was bringing you some local colour.
  • The Wheel Spins by Ethel Lina White - The Lady Vanishes is based on this book.
  • My Name is Jensen by Heidi Amsinck - I bought this in probably the worst laid out Waterstone's I had ever been to. I believe I was looking for a children's book, instead I found this...Scandi crime and it looks wintery dark. Cannot wait!
  • Unnatural Death by Patricia Cornwell - Treated myself to a newish Scarpetta.
  • Give Unto Others by Donna Leon - This was one of the books I treated myself to today, sometimes we all need Guido Brunetti in our lives.
  • The Railway Detective's Christmas Case by Edward Marston - And so it begins, like a magpie I am drawn to a good Christmas book and this is a new to me author.
  • The ABC Murders by Agatha Christie - Definitely NOT a new to me author, this is the next in the Hercule Poirot books.
  • Murder in Mesopotamia by Agatha Christie - and this is the one after that.

And that is it for crime. On my visit to the local (and well-laid out Waterstone's), I saw new releases from Sara Paretsky and Rob Rinder. My husband then mentioned the dreaded Christmas book embargo when I am not allowed to buy any new books. It seems a tad early and a bit harsh for this, but both books will go onto my wants list (and may be purchased!)

Children's (1 Book)

Just one book here and it is a Christmas one!

  • Greenglass House by Kate Milford - I saw this on a Books to Read at Christmas and it looks intriguing.

Fiction (7 Books)

  • Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers - This was September's choice in my Year of Books present from my friends and was featured on the BBC's Between the Covers programme.
  • Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt - This has the most beautiful, fun cover and features an Octopus called Marcellus. This could be a genius book
  • The Holiday Escape by Heidi Swain - We have a sunny holiday coming up in October and this will be coming with me.
  • Bring me Sunshine by Alex Brown - This will probably be also coming with me and features a gorgeous cover that looks slightly Karen Swan like
  • Weekend in Paris by Robin Sisman - I re-purchased this book, as I fell in love with it years ago and had to google 'a woman runs round Paris in a Cleopatra wig'. Sometimes I think I have a lot of books about Paris.
  • The Cinnamon Book Store by Laurie Gilmore - Author of last year's sleeper hit The Pumpkin Spice Cafe and perfect for all things Gilmore Girls and Stars Hollow.
  • Weyward by Emilia Hart - Another book from my incredibly well-read father. He passed it to us with the moniker 'I would like one of you to read this'. This is spooky and perfect for Autumn.

Non-Fiction (4 Books)

  • The Wild Remedy by Emma Mitchell - I am hoping this will be this year's Wintering. It looks beautiful and is all about immersing oneself in nature. This was a gift from my birthday year in books.
  • I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou - I have a yearning to read this again.
  • Jupiter's Travels by Ted Simon - Also known as the book I lose the most. I have lost count of the number of times I have bought this book. It's wonderful and deserves a re-read.
  • I Left my Tent in San Francisco by Emma Kennedy - True story, my friend Catherine is an absolute legend at recommending and finding the best travel books. A lot of the travel books on this blog have come from her. This looks like a hoot and is about a disastrous attempt to travel the USA.

And that is your lot - 26 books. I will say Miss Read will of course also be read and reviewed. I've loved sharing these with you today and have used it to give my bookshelves a jolly good dust. There was only one altercation with a leggy spider. I honestly think we are on some kind of spider Trip Advisor with a 5 star rating we get so many spiders at this time of year. I hope wherever you are, you have a wonderful weekend (reading full, and spider light) and I'll be back next week with a review of the one of the books from the list.