Tag / Richard Osman

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Book 4 (of 52) – The Impossible Fortune

Richard Osman – The Impossible Fortune

After a quiet year as Elizabeth mourns the loss of her husband, the Thursday Murder Club reconvenes when the best man from Joyce’s daughter’s wedding goes missing.  With over a quarter of a billion pounds at stake, can the crew of pensioners find out who is trying to kill him before the money disappears?

Richard Osman returns with The Impossible Fortune, the latest entry in his Thursday Murder Club series and a nominee for Favorite Mystery & Thriller in last year’s Goodreads Choice Awards.  It has been two years since I read the previous entry, but it felt like no time had passed at all and that I was meeting up with old friends.  I’m not sure what is next from him, but I look forward to whatever it is.

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Prolific Authors – Five Books

It is time once again to take a look at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school.  This year, I’m once again on pace to set a new record for books read in a year, so I thought it would be nice to take a deeper dive into those books I’ve read through August of this year. Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 114 books, so there should be some movement over the past two years.  Without further ado, it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much over the years.  We continue today with the ten authors I’ve read two times, an increase of three from two years ago.

Serpent’s Storm – Amber Benson

Amber Benson

The former Buffy the Vampire Slayer star checks in with the five entries in her Calliope Reaper-Jones fantasy series.

Dan Brown

Brown, who became a publishing superstar with the release of The DaVinci Code in 2003, has a new Robert Langdon book due out later this year.

Diane Carey

First read in 1991, she was a stalwart of the Star Trek: The Next Generation novel line, which accounted for four of her five entries.

The Night Shift – Alex Finlay

Alex Finlay

Five books in four years, including Parents Weekend from earlier this year, have pushed Finlay up this list.

Jeff Mariotte

The former WildStorm VP and DC editor stands pat with his entries from the Buffy and Angel series of novels.

Kimberly McCreight

A New York Times bestselling author thanks to her debut novel, Reconstructing Amelia, she has been a steady presence since 2013.

Yvonne Navarro

All five of the Chicago native’s works that I’ve read revisit the Buffy the Vampire Slayer universe.

We Solve Murders – Richard Osman

Richard Osman

An English television presenter, Osman turned his efforts to fiction in 2020 with The Thursday Murder Club, which I came across in 2022.

Tom Perrotta

A nice two-book jump for the American novelist and screenwriter, whose works have a tendency to wind up on screen.

William Shatner

The actor best known for his role as Captain Kirk in Star Trek checks in with his efforts, whatever they may have been, both with his TekWar series and on two Star Trek novels.

 

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Book 10 (of 52) – We Solve Murders

We Solve Murders – Richard Osman

When three low-level influencers, all with ties to a security firm in London, are killed in a very public fashion, bodyguard Amy Wheeler, alongside her father-in-law Steve and world-famous novelist Rosie D’Antonio go on a global journey to find out who is behind the murders and why.

Richard Osman returns with We Solve Murders, the first entry in what is primed to be another series.  To be honest, I had assumed this was a new book in his Thursday Murder Club series and was well into it before noticing it was not.  Nominated for the Best Mystery & Thriller category in the 2024 Goodreads Choice Awards, this looks to be another lighthearted, yet engaging series. I’ll be waiting for what comes next.

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Book 1 (of 52) – The Last Devil To Die

The Last Devil To Die – Richard Osman

The Thursday Murder Club returns for their latest adventure.  When Stephen’s friend is murdered over some missing heroin, the gang starts investigating, trying to stay one step ahead of the police and the smugglers looking for their lost drugs.  When Stephen’s declining health keeps Elizabeth occupied, Joyce picks up the slack.  As the investigation proceeds, bodies start piling up, too many bodies for a simple shipment of heroin, which helps lead the gang to figure out who’s responsible.

Richard Osman returns with The Last Devil to Die, the fourth entry in his Thursday Murder Club series.  Nominated for the Best Mystery & Thriller category in the 2023 Goodreads Choice Awards, this continues to be a lighthearted, yet engaging series.  With this entry just released in September, we probably have a while until the next entry, but when it comes out, I’ll be waiting.

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52 Books in 52 Weeks – 2024 Edition

A new year is upon us, and it is time to once again set a goal of reading a book a week for the entire year, totaling 52 books in 52 weeks.

Last year, for the third straight year, I completed my goal, finishing the year with 59 books read.  Prior to that, I’d had a low point of 8 books back in 2010 and a high point of 55 books.

Since I have nothing but time again this year and am still a remote worker, I’m going to give it another go.  I’ve got plenty of new books stocked up, both in the Kindle app on my iPad and actual physical books, not to mention my handy dandy library card, so I’ve got a good pile to start with.  As a reminder, the rules I am using are:

  • You can count a book as read as long as you have completed the book in 2024 and at least 50% of that reading takes place in 2024.
  • Any book counts as long as you’re not embarrassed to count it.
  • Poetry collections do indeed count.
  • Re-reading a book is okay as long as it isn’t done this year. (Reading Twilight twice in 2024 only counts as 1 read).
  • Audiobooks also count.

My first book of the year looks like it will be The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman, the latest entry in his Thursday Murder Club series.  Here’s hoping 2024 is another good year when it comes to books.

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Prolific Authors Wrap Up

Way back in December of 2011 (and again every other December since), we’ve taken a look at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school.  This year, since I’ve far surpassed my reading output of any year on record, I thought it would be nice to take a deeper dive into those books I’ve read through October. Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 118 books, so there could be some movement over the past two years, but it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much in that time span.  Today, we wrap things up with a look back at the 97 authors I’ve read more than once.

Largest Increase (since 2021)

The Silent Wife – Karin Slaughter

Karin Slaughter – 6
Erle Stanley Gardner – 5
Jeffrey Deaver – 4
Grady Hendrix – 4
Richard Osman – 3
Alex Finlay – 3
Taylor Jenkins Reid – 3

Largest Increase (since 2011)

The Skin Collector – Jeffery Deaver

Jeffrey Deaver – 14
Erle Stanley Gardner – 14
Richard Castle – 13
Karin Slaughter – 12
Mary Kubica – 8

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Prolific Authors – 3 Books

Way back in December of 2011 (and again every other December since), we’ve taken a look at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school.  Since I’ve far surpassed my “normal” reading output the last three yeas, I thought it would be nice to once again take a deeper dive into those books I’ve read through the start of October. Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 118 books, so there could be some movement over the past two years, but it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much in that time span.  We continue today with the 20 authors I’ve read thrice, an increase of eight over the past two years.

Kevin J. Anderson

Last read in the 20th century, he’s responsible for three of the X-Files books on my shelf.

A Man Called Ove – Fredrik Backman

Fredrik Backman

This Swedish author has become a recent favorite, showing up once a year over the past three years, with more to come, I’m sure.

Adam Carolla

The former comedian and current right-wing nutjob managed to get me to read three of his podcast regurgitations.

Bill Carter

The former media reporter for the New York Times delivered three behind the scenes looks at the television industry, including the transition from Johnny Carson to Jay Leno and from Jay Leno to Conan O’Brien and back again.

Executive Order – Max Allan Collins

Max Allan Collins

Author of all entries of the Reeder and Rogers trilogy.

Suzanne Collins

The woman behind a little trilogy about a young woman named Katniss who upends her entire world.

Keith R.A. DeCandido

Two Buffy the Vampire Slayer novels and a Spider-Man novel make up his works.

Alex Finlay

A DC lawyer writing under a penname, Finlay has placed three books in my hands over the past two years.

The Guest List – Lucy Foley

Lucy Foley

Another recent fave, Foley, a New York Times best seller, has shown up annually since 2021.

Megan Goldin

The former Reuters correspondent first appeared on my radar in 2021 with her debut, The Escape Room.

Paula Hawkins

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Book 7 (of 52) – The Bullet That Missed

Richard Osman – The Bullet That Missed

In the latest installment of the Thursday Murder Club series, that gang starts investigating the ten-year old murder of a television presenter.  At the same time, a money-laundering Swede tries to use Elizabeth to take out a competitor, but instead draws them both into the club.  As the investigation proceeds, bodies start piling up and the gang tries to figure out who’s responsible.

Richard Osman returns with The Bullet That Missed, the third entry in his Thursday Murder Club series.  I am not all caught up, so after three books in less than five months, we won’t be seeing his name for quite a while.  But, when that fourth book does ger released, I’ll be in line at the web-based library waiting for my turn.

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2022: The Year In Books

As we wrap up 2022, my second full year of remote working, I managed to surpass my previous records by completing a whopping 55 books, an increase of one book over last year and my second consecutive year completing the 52 books in 52 weeks challenge.  I surpassed last year’s total with a mere three days remaining in 2022.  I read (or listened) to 19,328 pages, by far my highest total of all time and only the third time I’ve passed 10,000.

Of those books, fifteen were non-fiction and, of the remaining 40 novels, only two were tied to a TV show, either as the source material or as a tie-in.  None of the books came out of my dwindling “to-read” drawer, with 44 e-books and three audiobooks.  I continued to take advantage of my library card, which helped me procure 37 of the books I consumed throughout the year.

A little more than half of the books I read this year were by authors I had read before. The 31 authors that I read for the first this year were:

Adam Nedeff Kelsey McKinney Simone St. James Laura Dave
Jeff Warren Carlye Adler Matt Paxton Jordan Michael Smith
Alyssa Milano Alex Finlay Taylor Jenkins Reid Emily Ratajkowski
Samantha Downing Dave Grohl Mary Lynn Rajskub Stephanie Perkins
Michael Schur Joseph Henrich V.E. Schwab Brianna Madia
Jimmy Piersall Richard Whittingham Richard Osman Colleen Hoover
Jenette McCurdy Sally Rooney Josh Malerman Alice Sebold
Katie Mack Penn Jillette Elin Hilderbrand Nita Prose

Alex Finlay, Simone St. James, Karin Slaughter, Megan Goldin, Jeffery Deaver, and Richard Osman were the only authors that I read multiple titles from during 2022.

16 of the books I read were released this year, while only two of them were released last century, with the oldest first published in 1953.

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Book 53 (of 52) – The Man Who Died Twice

The Man Who Died Twice – Richard Osman

The Thursday Murder Club reunites for a new mystery.  When Elizabeth’s ex shows up needing a place to hide out after stealing some diamonds, the retirement community seems like as good a place as any.  An attempt on his life sends him and his handler off to a proper halfway house, where they both turn up dead, and the gang tries to figure out who’s responsible while trying to find the now-missing diamonds.

Richard Osman returns with The Man Who Died Twice, the second entry in his Thursday Murder Club series.  It actually took me a while to get through this one, since my loan from the library ended mid-read and then I had to wait at the end of the line again.  And, if you’re wondering if checking it out again retains where you left off, the answer is no, so I spent some time skipping ahead once I realized I had already read a portion.  Anyway. I’ve got the third, and most recent, entry in his series on hold at the library, which should come in early next year.