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Reading report for July 2010

Depending on how you look at it - i.e. I read yet another Edward Gorey anthology - I read either 17 or 32 books in July. Counting the Gorey books was tougher than usual, because this one contained both previously published and unpublished material, some of it single drawings rather than books. I finally decided to count the 15 previously published pieces as separate books and the unpublished stuff as one book.

I didn‘t read a single straight mystery this month, which is very unusual for me, although one of the romances and one of the paranormal novellas did have mystery elements. I read a number of paranormal romantic thrillers, some romances and three memoirs. Of the books I read, 2 were Bibliophilic Book Challenge books and 5 were TBR challenge books. One was a reread (the Harry Potter book) and 3 volumes (including all the Gorey books) were un-justified non-challenge books. One was an online graphic novel.

The rest were gloms (for an explanation of this term, please see the Terminology glossary). I finally got round to checking out the collection of short stories and novellas author Lynn Viehl has published for free on the Web as supplements to her published books. I stuck to the two series I have been reading, the Darkyn and Kyndred books, plus I read one unrelated short story that I decided to include in the short story challenge.

The Books:
John Baxter: A Pound of Paper: Confessions of a Book Addict (review upcoming)
Jenny Carroll (Meg Cabot):Shadowland
Michael Chabon:Maps & Legends: Reading and Writing along the Borderlands
Rene Engström: Anders Loves Maria
Jane Feather:The Hostage Bride and The Accidental Bride (will add a review of the whole trilogy when I finish The Least Likey Bride)
Patrick Leigh Fermor:Between the Woods and the Water
Edward Gorey: Amphigorey Again (15 previously published short books plus 13 previously unpublished material in one volume)
Jayne Ann Krentz:Trust Me
Laurie Lee: Cider with Rosie (review upcoming)
J.K. Rowling:Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Lynn Viehl: Dreamveil, If Angels Burn, Private Demon, Rain Lashed, Worthy, Willing and Wanted (three short stories forming one novella) and Incarnatio

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