Booksie's Shelves, July 29, 2025

 

It's the end of July and we're in a sweltering summer haze here in NC!  Only two more months of this horrid heat and humidity and fall will be here.  I've read 179 books so far this year so I'm hoping I can make my goal of 300 before the end of the year.  Today was the release of the 2025 Booker Prize nominees and I have eight of the thirteen and will wait on a couple of the rest until they go to paperback or on sale in the United States.  I've just returned from Georgia to visit my family and wonderful grandkids which is always fun.  We're also slowly but surely trying to turn one of our feral cat visitors into an inside cat.  He has been with us for over a year and lately has spent a couple of nights inside.  We're also moving his feeding inside to stop attracting wildlife to the back porch.  We've had raccoons, possums, foxes and a groundhog come in through the cat door.  Here's what's come through the front door and mail:

1. Paradise, Abdulrazak Gurnah, literary fiction, purchased (Nobel Prize winner)
2. Fatal Flowers, Rosemary Daniell, literary fiction, purchased (recommended by Pat Conroy)
3. The Gentleman From Peru, Andre Aciman, literary fiction, purchased
4. The Confession, Jessie Burton, literary fiction, purchased
5. Birding, Rose Ruane, literary fiction, purchased (Women's Prize listed 2025)
6. Reservoir Bitches, Dahlia de la Cerda, literary fiction, purchased (Women's Prize listed 2025)
7. By The Sea, Abdulrazak Gurnah, literary fiction, purchased (Nobel Prize 2021)
8. A Country You Can Leave, Asale Angel-Ajami, literary fiction, purchased
9. Girl Dinner, Olivie Black, horror, sent by publisher
10. The Oyster Thief, Sonia Faruqi, fantasy, purchased
11. One Of Us, Dan Chaon, literary fiction, sent by publisher
12. Enlightenment, Sarah Perry, literary fiction, purchased
13. The Book Of Lost Hours, Hayley Gelfuso, fantasy, sent by publisher
14. Big Girl, Mecca Jamilah Sullivan, women's fiction, purchased
15. The River Swimmer, Jim Harrison, literary fiction, purchased
16. The Evening Of The Holiday, Shirley Hazzard, literary fiction, purchased
17. The Hounding, Kenobe Purvis, fantasy, sent by pubisher
18. The Trial, Rob Rinder, mystery, purchased
19. Mr. Peanut, Adam Ross, mystery, purchased (New York Times Notable Book)
20. The End We Start From, Megan Hunter, literary fiction, purchased
21. The Elements, John Boyne, literary fiction, sent by publisher
22. The Killer Question, Janice Hallett, mystery, sent by publisher
23. Sirens, Joseph Knox, mystery, purchased
24. The Confessions, Paul Bradley Carr, thriller, sent by publisher
25. Joseph, Julian Rathbone, history, purchased
26. Sleeping With Soldiers, Rosemary Daniell, literary fiction, purchased
27. The Dust That Falls From Dreams, Louis De Bernieres, literary fiction, purchased
28. A Year With The Seals, Alix Morris, nonfiction, sent by publisher
29. A Dog In Georgia, Lauren Grodstein, literary fiction, sent by publisher

Here's What I'm Reading:

1. Red Queen, Juan Gomez-Jurado, mystery, hardcover
2. The Sewing Girl's Tale, John Wood Swift, historical fiction/true crime, audiobook
3. Spook Street, Mick Herron, mystery, audiobook
4. Cry Baby, Mark Billingham, mystery, Kindle
5. Neuromancer, William Gibson, science fiction, Kindle
6. The Outside Boy, Jeanne Cummins, literary fiction, paperback
7. The Space Between Us, Thirty Umigar, literary fiction, paperback
8. Nights At The Circus, Angela Carter, literary fiction, paperback
9. What Remains Of Her, Eric Rickstad, mystery, audiobook
10. Audition, Katie Kitamura, literary fiction, hardback

Happy Reading!