Here are
The top 9 books
I plan to read in July 2020
Click on the covers to know more
CURRENTLY READING
I know, reading 6 books at the same time, plus 1 audiobook, that’s getting excessive. But four of these books are read-alongs, so I only read a few chapters of each every week, and I need more to satisfy my book hunger!
📚 A Wild Sheep Chase (1982), by Haruki Murakami
Reading with the Murakami online book club
“His life was like a recurring nightmare: a train to nowhere. But an ordinary life has a way of taking an extraordinary turn. Add a girl whose ears are so exquisite that, when uncovered, they improve sex a thousand-fold, a runaway friend, a right-wing politico, an ovine-obsessed professor and a manic-depressive in a sheep outfit, implicate them in a hunt for a sheep, that may or may not be running the world, and the upshot is another singular masterpiece from Japan’s finest novelist.”
We have read already half of the book, and I have absolutely NO idea how all these things are going to connect, IF they ever do! We are totally in Murakami’s universe!
📚 Celle qui pleurait sous l’eau (2020), by Niko Tackian
Reading with one of my French students.
A young woman was found dead in a public swimming pool. The main inspector thinks it’s a suicide, but his wife, also working in the police, thinks there has to be more to it.
We both love this author, who always comes up with original ideas. We have read a quarter of it, and things start slowly to emerge.
📚 Le Livre de Perle (2014), by Timothée de Tombelle
Reading with another of my French students.
I rarely read YA and fantasy, but I’ll do almost anything to adjust to the interest of my students, so here I am in a new adventure.
This author is very well know in France for these genres.
We have only read the first six chapters so far, its very beautifully written.So far, it’s a fairy who renounces her magical powers to be able to be with the boy she loves. Well, it’s more complicated than that!
📚 Complètement cramé (2012), by Gilles Legardinier
Reading with another blogger, Lory @ The Emerald City.
Lory and I read Don Quijote together last year. She wanted to read something in French this time, so we chose this one. He’s a very popular author, but I haven’t read anything by him yet. Several readers put it under “humor”, another genre I rarely read, so more of outside-my-comfort-zone!
We use Discord. If you are interested in reading and discussing this book in French, let’s know.
📚 Psalm 118: A Commentary by Theophan the Recluse (1815-1894)
Psalm 118 is my favorite of all psalms, with its fascinating structure. This commentary is so rich! I only read a bit every day.
READING NEXT
📚 No Woods So Dark as These, by Randall Silvis (Ryan DeMarco Mystery #4)
To be published on August 4th 2020 by Poisoned Pen Press
Received for review for Criminal Element
I really enjoy a lot this author. See for instance his previous book I reviewed last year.
“Former Sergeant Ryan DeMarco’s life has been spent in defiance–he’s defied death, loneliness, and betrayal all while fighting the worst parts of humanity. He’s earned a break, and following the devastation of their last case, DeMarco and his girlfriend Jayme want nothing more than to live quietly in each other’s company. To forget the horrors they’ve experienced and work on making each other whole again.
But dreams of a peaceful life together are shattered when two bodies are discovered in a smoldering car in the woods, and another is found brutally mutilated nearby. Much as he’d like to leave the case to his former colleagues, dark forces are at play and DeMarco cannot escape the vortex of lies, betrayal, and desperation. He and Jayme are dragged back into the fray, where they must confront the shady dealings of a close-knit rural community.”
📚 Marie Antoinette’s World: Intrigue, Infidelity, And Adultery In Versailles, by Will BashorToe be published on July 30 at Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Received for review. This is a book tour I organize, and we still have free review copies! Click on the cover to get it.
“This riveting book explores the little-known intimate life of Marie Antoinette and her milieu in a world filled with intrigue, infidelity, adultery, and sexually transmitted diseases.
Will Bashor reveals the intrigue and debauchery of the Bourbon kings from Louis XIII to Louis XV, which were closely intertwined with the expansion of Versailles from a simple hunting lodge to a luxurious and intricately ordered palace. It soon became a retreat for scandalous conspiracies and rendezvous—all hidden from the public eye.
When Marie Antoinette arrived, she was quickly drawn into a true viper’s nest, encouraged by her imprudent entourage. Bashor shows that her often thoughtless, fantasy-driven, and notorious antics were inevitable given her family history and the alluring influences that surrounded her. Marie Antoinette’s frivolous and flamboyant lifestyle prompted a torrent of scathing pamphlets, and Bashor scrutinizes the queen’s world to discover what was false, what was possible, and what, although shocking, was most probably true.
Readers will be fascinated by this glimpse behind the decorative screens to learn the secret language of the queen’s fan and explore the dark passageways and staircases of endless intrigue at Versailles.”
CURRENT AND NEXT AUDIOBOOKS
📚 The Murder on the Links, by Agatha Christie (1923) Hercule Poirot #2
My project is to listen to all of Hercule Poirot’s novels and stories, in chronological order, to honor the 100th anniversary of his first appearance.
“Belgian detective Hercule Poirot is summoned to France after receiving a distressing letter with a urgent cry for help. Upon his arrival in Merlinville-sur-Mer, the investigator finds the man who penned the letter, the South American millionaire Monsieur Renauld, stabbed to death and his body flung into a freshly dug open grave on the golf course adjoining the property. Meanwhile the millionaire’s wife is found bound and gagged in her room. Apparently, it seems that Renauld and his wife were victims of a failed break-in, resulting in Renauld’s kidnapping and death.”
📚 Poirot Investigates, by Agatha Christie (1923) Hercule Poirot #3
This the very first collection of short stories featuring Hercule Poirot and Captain Hastings. The book contains 11 stories.
CURRENT GIVEAWAYS
List of books I can swap with yours
Review copies available at France Book Tours
PLANS FOR JULY
📚 20 Books of Summer 2020
I have already read 9/20
📚 Posts in connection with Paris in July?
📚 Review several books received through The Callisto Publisher’s Club. I still have several books behind
📚 I have a few reviews to catch up with, and mostly, I’d like to post more notes from the last theological book I read, and from the one I am currently reading.
📚 Do more Tweeter/Periscope short videos for my daily reading journal
📚 Update my Links page!
HAVE YOU READ
OR ARE YOU PLANNING TO READ
ANY OF THESE?
WHAT ARE YOUR READING PLANS FOR JULY?
