Hi everyone and welcome to halfway through June!

Hope everyone is having a good month so far.  My month has been great although very busy so haven’t had the chance to read as much as I’d like.

The weather has been nice though and I was able to sit down outside and write this on my laptop while sipping on a latte.  Working on my laptop as opposed to my desktop isn’t as productive – but it certainly makes it feel less like work!

I mentioned last month that I had read the first book in the Victor the Assassin series by Tom Wood.  It was pretty cool as all I did was mention it and many of you also read it just because I was reading it.

I read the second one in the series which is called The Enemy.  I loved this one as well.  Just a great spy thriller series and each book is just action-packed.

Sometimes I feel there can be a bit too much action – but not in this series.  Tom treads that fine line well where the story is linear, goes at a good progression, and doesn’t just jump ahead to the next action scene skipping everything in between.

In between each of those novels I am trying to mix it up with what I read.  I read They All Fall Down by Rachel Howzell Hall.  This is a thriller about 7 people who get invited to an island under false pretenses.  The female protagonist was brought there thinking that she had been invited to participate in a reality show, for example.

When you take a bunch of people, trap them in a locked room or on an island, then get into whodunnit territory?  It’s hard for me to dislike that sort of book!

I enjoyed this one for the most part.  It resulted in one of those late-night marathon reading sessions.  It’s not one I would rush out to recommend though.  None of the characters in the book are likeable.  They are all really horrible people.  While I get what the author was going for – I always prefer to have someone to root for.

The funny thing about this book is that I initially tried to listen to it but couldn’t get past the first 20 minutes.  The writing style with the protagonist also having inner thoughts written in italics in the book just came off weird listening to it.  A friend had recently read it so I decided to give it a go on my Kindle and I’m glad I did as I much preferred it that way.

Speaking of audiobooks – I had been listening to Ishmael by Daniel Quinn, on the recommendation of a friend.  I had been enjoying it and it gave me a lot to think about.  But there was a part with about 3 hours left in it that just lost me.

if you’ve read it – It was all about Adam and the tree of intelligence and the gods and I just zoned right out.  Just one of those things where I lost complete interest.   I was ready to stop listening.  Then I messaged him and he said that made him very sad as that was the “big mind shift part” for him.

So now I feel bad ha.  I’m going to go back and re-listen to that part and try and pay more attention.  Only a few hours left anyway so I may as well finish it up.

With that hanging over me, I haven’t started any new audiobooks yet.  I have a bit of a commute on Friday attending a celebration of life so maybe I’ll listen to it on the way there and back.  Get it wrapped up then I can move on to something new.

I’ve started reading Local Gone Missing, the newest book by Fiona Barton.  I enjoyed her Kate Water series so looking forward to this new series.  Very solid writer.

Each month we give away 5 prizes to 5 random subscribers of $25 each in the form of Amazon gift certificates.   To win all you have to do is be a subscriber. Nothing more! When I go to hit “Publish” I take a list of all of our subscribers, throw them into a random draw and those are the winners.

Our winners this month are:

Anne K. from Evanston, IL
Marilynca from Trenton, NJ
Hoss from La Puente, CA
Andy from USA (e-mail starts with awmj)
Cheryl M. from Mandurah, WA, Australia

All of you have been e-mailed.  If you don’t see anything, check your junk folder or contact me.

Graeme
OrderOfBooks.com

Quote of the Mid-Month

Something a bit different this time around – this was written by our reader Elsa after her writer’s group chose “Flower” as the subject matter.

The Cover
by
Elsa Harrold

It is said that we should never choose a book by its cover
yet that is exactly what I did.
My eyes blur as I stare at said cover
a book that was so good I dare not put it down in case I lose it’s flavour
the taste of it fills my senses
the bitter the sweet but not overly salty
I cry and fear I’ll never read another that moves me so.

The cover is shiny black with a single flower
I close my eyes and let my fingers trace the embossed photo
I follow the stem of the dandelion up to its perfectly circular flower
I follow the threads that lead to the seeds
which waits for lips to part and blow
sending hundreds of them soaring
children each one safe with its own parachute.

I wonder if the author meant for us to see
the black background and pristine white flower
as the creator of those brown seeds
did she want us to believe that each one landed safely
It’s said that a dandelion is a weed
but is not a weed in the eye of the beholder
and the beholder in this case chose the perfect flower
to grace the cover
of a book I should never have chosen
Simply because of its cover.

Elsa also added “If you are wanting the name of the book, I’m sorry to say, there is no book. This is just how I feel after reading a really good one.”

Feel free to submit your own quotes to site@orderofbooks.com or just hit reply. It can be just general quotes about books, author quotes within a novel or even character quotes.

Book / Series Recommendations

In this section I give book or series recommendations. They can be old books, they can be new. But either way – I recommend you read them if the type of genre they are in appeals to you. Feel free to e-mail suggestions to site@orderofbooks.com as many of the suggestions each month are from our readers. If you wish to add a description for the book around the same size as the ones below that’d be great too!

Quinn & Costa Thriller Series by Allison Brennan

Allison has written many series and the highly acclaimed author is most well known for her Lucy Kincaid series. I’ve been hearing a lot about this new series by her though, which she started back in 2020.

There are three books in it so far. Star Marie stumbled upon the third one in the series, and wrote: ” Am making my way through the library and found a new author, YAY!!! Allison Brennan, “The Wrong Victim” okay it’s around 440 pages and read it in 2 days, loved the twists and turns. Am off to find another book written by her. It’s a great page turner on a hot day or stormy day.”

If you are looking to start this series however, start with the first one The Third To Die.

It’s the story of an ambitious FBI special agent, and an edgy female police detective who are on the hunt for a notorious serial killer. The Triple Killer. Every three years he kills. Three victims. Three days between each kill. And they’ve just discovered the first victim.

I actually stopped writing at this point just to check the audiobook availability in the library. Got it! If you use cloudlibrary – sorry, you’re going to have to wait!

DI Ruth Hunter Series by Simon McCleave

Joanne wrote in to recommend this series. “I have thoroughly enjoyed your newsletters. I’d like to recommend The DI Ruth Hunter Crime Thrillers by Simon MCleave. Ruth Hunter was a London detective who moved to Wales for a quieter life. Clearly, quiet was not what she got. Very good character development and mystery. ”

The Snowdonia Killings is the first book in the DI Ruth Hunter series. The book begins as Hunter is dealing with the pain or her partner’s mysterious disappearance. She is about to turn fifty and decides to leave her life in London for a more quiet life in North Wales. Ruth barely settles into her position when the body of a woman is discovered with symbols carved into her skin. Her investigation doesn’t start well as she struggles to eliminate anyone from her list of suspects. When another victim is dead, she’s forced to re-think the investigation and solve this case before they strike again.

Undying Mercenaries by B.V. Larson

One of the most popular series on our site at the moment. This is a series of military sci-fi novels, with 17 in it so far. Here’s the synopsis:

Steel World is the first book in the Undying Mercenaries series by B.V. Larson. In the twentieth century Earth sent probes, transmissions and welcoming messages to the stars. Unfortunately, someone noticed. The Galactics arrived with their battle fleet in 2052.

Rather than being exterminated under a barrage of hell-burners, Earth joined their vast Empire. But humans didn’t just have to swear allegiance to alien overlords to survive; there had to be something of value to trade, something that neighbouring planets would pay their hard-earned credits to buy.

As most of the local worlds were too civilized to have a proper army, the only valuable service Earth could provide came in the form of soldiers… someone had to do their dirty work for them, their fighting and dying.

James McGill was born in 2099 on the fringe of the galaxy. When Hegemony Financial denied his loan applications, McGill was kicked out of the university and turned to the stars. His first campaign involved the invasion of a mineral-rich planet called Cancri-9, better known as Steel World. The attack was not a success, and now Earth has entered a grim struggle for survival.

June Charities

While I appreciate all offers of donations to show your appreciation for the site and newsletter, I’d much rather you do that by supporting some great causes.  Each month I pick a few select charities broken down by our most popular countries or topics that you can support instead.   Thanks!

Books: United Through Reading
Veterans: The Fisher House Foundation
Dementia: Dementia UK (via a friends Justgiving page)
Domestic Violence: Safehouse Denver

Facebook Question of the Month

Each month I ask readers on our Facebook page a question, then list the responses here.

This month I asked readers their favourite book to movie / TV adaptations.  Here were the responses:

June 2022 Book Of The Month (15th-30th)

In the Shadow of Lightning by Brian McClellan

If you are a fantasy fan, then it is likely you have read the Powder Mage series by Brian McClellan.

His newest series debuts later this month. It’s the Glass Immortals series, and the first book in the series is In the Shadow of Lightning.

Demir is an outcast who is living out his days as a grifter when he has to return to the city to claim his throne at the head of the family, and find out who murdered his mother.

It is set in a universe that relies on a magic powered by godglass – a magic that is running out.

Early reviews cite an incredible prologue, and the type of excellent worldbuilding you would expect from McClellan.

Pre-order now.

10 More Notable Books Releasing June 15-30

 

  1. The Lies I tell by Julie Clark
  2. Hatchet Island by Paul Doiron
  3. Red on the River by Christine Feehan
  4. Lethal Game by John Gilstrap
  5. Smolder by Helen Hardt
  6. The Girl Who Survived by Lisa Jackson
  7. Escape by David Ellis
  8. The House Across The Lake by Riley Sager
  9. Suspects by Danielle Steele
  10. The Key to Deceit by Ashley Weaver

Random Book Series of the Month

 
Something different I am going to start doing as opposed to the “Random Top 10”, is click the “Feeling Lucky?” button for a series on the website, then list a few random book series that we have listed with a quick description.  I’ll do a few different genres each month.

Thorn PI by James W. Hall:  Thorn P.I. is a series of suspense thrillers by American novelist James W. Hall. Thorn is not a real private investigator, but rather an avenger.

Palmer-Jones by Ann Cleeves: Palmer-Jones is a series of mystery novels by British novelist Ann Cleeves. The series follows George and Molly Palmer-Jones, two elderly bird watchers who travel along the English countryside.

Magic Kingdom of Landover by Terry Brooks: The Magic Kingdom of Landover series is a series of fantasy novels by American author Terry Brooks. The series follows an ex-trial lawyer from Chicago (Ben Holiday) who buys a magical kingdom in a land known as Landover. In this land, there are several different types of creatures besides humans, including sylphs, kobolds, gnomes, witches, dragons, fairies, and more.

Your Thoughts

This month’s reader mailbag question is:

Where do you primarily read?

I don’t mean what country or “in my house” or anything like that.  But more specifically – do you read in bed?  Have a favourite armchair to sit in?  Out in the garden?

I do the majority of reading in the hot tub.  I’ll usually go in for 2-3 hours at a time and read.  Often I end up in there for over 4 hours as I just can’t put down the book I am reading.  We also have a fire table out back and I enjoy reading there.

If I am eating alone, I will usually always read while at the dinner table.

I used to read in bed but I’ve had to put a stop to that as I was having too many late nights!

When it comes to listening to audiobooks – I mostly do them on long walks or when I am running.  However I’ve taken to going out to a coffee shop on weekend mornings, and sitting there listening via my headphones while sipping on a latte or flat white, and eating a tasty treat.  Really starting to enjoy that routine.

E-mail us your feedback to site@OrderOfBooks.com  or just reply to this e-mail, and we’ll pick the best comments and feature it in next months newsletter.  Five people will also randomly win a $25 gift certificate to Amazon.

Book Notification
Order of Books » Newsletter » June 2022 Mid-Month Newsletter

4 Responses to “June 2022 Mid-Month Newsletter”

  1. Jill Astin: 2 years ago

    In answer to the question about where I read the most. Where don’t I read. I read of the sofa in my living room, on the patio if weather is nice, in bed at night and yes, I read in the bathroom. I listen to audiobooks when I am cleaning house or working in the garden. My favorite place to listen is while I am driving. I got a puppy during 2020 and he always got carsick. Since we have a cabin that is a 2 hour drive away we had to find a cure. So I started taking him on short drives around the neighborhood. Now he loves it and I love to listen while we drive. He understands the words “car ride”.

    Jill in Salt Lake City, Utah

    Reply

    • Graeme: 2 years ago

      Thanks for the feedback, much appreciated.

      All responses will be listed in the July 2022 newsletter or on the website. Five random contributors will win a $25 gift certificate for Amazon as well – good luck! They’ll be e-mailed just before the newsletter is released and mentioned in the newsletter.

      That is so great about the dog. Love that story 🙂

      Reply

  2. Larry Warbritton: 2 years ago

    I love to read in my old recliner, which fits my body contours. With my cat Abbie curled up in my lap snoring.

    Reply

    • Graeme: 2 years ago

      Thanks for the feedback, much appreciated.

      All responses will be listed in the July 2022 newsletter or on the website. Five random contributors will win a $25 gift certificate for Amazon as well – good luck! They’ll be e-mailed just before the newsletter is released and mentioned in the newsletter.

      Love picturing the cat. I have one cat that if it sees me with my Kindle out just repeatedly attempts to push it out of my hands 🙂

      Reply

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