The picture was taken when out walking last weekend in The Breiddons just over the Welsh border – I was kept company on the coach there and back by The Age of Innocence.
Only 9 books read this month (half way through the 10th) – but some really good ones among them. I actually managed 3 non-fiction books -I haven’t been very good with non-fiction this year – not that I read that many really any year. I also have to admit that one book that was on my June pile – didn’t get read – infact after reading a couple of pages I dropped it from mount TBR completely – and read a Persephone book instead.
58 The Sleeping Beauty (1953) Elizabeth Taylor (F)
59 The Magnificent Spilsbury & the case of the brides in the bath Jane Robins (NF)
60 Manja (1938) Anna Gmeyner (F)
61 The New Moon &the Old (1963) Dodie Smith (F)
62 Nella Last in the 1950’s (2010) P & R Malcomson (ed) (NF)
63 Illyrian Spring ( 1935) Ann Bridge (F)
64 The Bottle Factory Outing (1974) Beryl Bainbridge (F)
65 The Age of Innocence (1920) Edith Wharton (F)
66 The World that was Ours (1967) Hilda Bernstein (N F)
So my special mentions this month are:
1. Manja – a nice thick Persephone book about the lives of 5 children in a small German town between 1920 and 1933.
2. Illyrian Spring – a beautiful new edition of a Virago favourite from daunt books – a lovely story about a middle age woman who runs away from home.
3. The Age of Innocence – the third Edith Wharton I’ve read in 2012 – a wonderful novel about New York society.
July of course will be all about re-reading some old favourites for me – and I am looking forward to each of them enormously.
heavenali 
As ever I enjoyed this post. I’m struck though by your phrase “only read 9 this month” – if I ever get through 9 in a month I’ll throw a party to celebrate!!!!!!!
LOL – ok maybe I shouldn’t have said only. Actually I generally read between 9 and 11 in a month – so 9 is still average for me. I think I said only because I feel as if I have read a lot the last few weeks – due to so much football on TV : ( – and yet I haven’t clocked up more books completed. Probaby because of the non-fiction – they seem to take longer to read.
June was a quiet month for me, too, and I didn’t even make it to the Taylor novel yet…but I will…sometimes it takes a quiet reading month to really get the pages turning! I haven’t read any of your special mentions, but they’re all already on my TBR list, so I’m pleased to hear you’ve enjoyed them so much.
Excellent – hope you enjoy them all : )