5 πππππππ πππππππ! πΎππ'π ππππ ππππππππ? β
Just a quick poll!
Greetings!
Since itβs July and with it comes the flag-waving holiday, I decided to feature the good olβ USA in this issue of Behind and Ahead!
Starting with some U.S.-book-related numbers for you!
64,000 β the number of bookstores
2,400 β are independent bookstores and that number is growing
3,000,000 β new books are published each year, of those:
Twice as many are self-published β 1,000,000/2,000,000!
More than likely, we all became avid readers because we read books we think of as classics, like To Kill a Mockingbird, The Great Gatsby, and/or The Catcher in the Rye.
So, hereβs a quick poll. Please vote below! (Iβll share the results in my next Substack where youβll be able to vote on your favorite contemporary author!)
Quirky Me
Back on the subject of numbers, did you know only 28% of American adults are readers? Most readers are women who consume 10 books annually!
Iβm often asked how many books I read each year. Since I formally retired nine years ago, Iβve tracked my goals on Goodreads. It appears that I consistently consumeΒ between 36 and 40 books annually. For me, thatβs a lot, since before I retired, I was one of those women who read about 10 books each year.
Besides having more time to read now (I donβt have to iron my suits and shirts for the week any longer), Iβve developed the habit of reading two or three books at a time. I just finished Stephen Kingβs newest, Never Flinch, in hardcover, and Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall on Audible. Next up is The Housemaid by Freida McFadden in paperback and The House in the Cerulean Sea by T. J. Klune on Spotify. Yes, my taste in books is wide-ranging. Is yours?
Yet, if you love cozy mysteries β¦
If Hallmark can do it, nearly 30 cozy mystery authors can do Christmas in July! Check out this BookFunnel promo and be sure to scroll to Switched at Death for cats, cookies & chaos!
Speaking of cozy mysteries β¦
If you havenβt read the Venus Bixby Mysteries yet, now would be a great time to start because itβs the perfect summer read!
A Whale of a Murder is set in a fictional whaling town on the Massachusetts coast in July and βdelivers classic cozy mystery vibes with summery sea-breezes, quirky small-town characters, and nostalgic musical references.β Venus Bixby emerges as a bubbly protagonist who grows on readers over time. Her twin sister and her cats (Sonny and Cher) appear to be fan favorites.
Readers tend to agree that the second installment in the series, Switched at Death, is a fun read, enjoyable any time of year! Check this out:
π A Christmas tree lighting gone horribly wrong.
π₯ An exploding tree. A dead mayor.
πΎ And a kitty daycare owner caught in the middle...
One Switched at Death reader said, βTaylor leaves plenty of clues, but itβs unlikely you will piece everything together until the killer is revealed.β
So, I invite you to visit Chatham Crossing, where summertime and the Christmas holidays come with a side of mystery, a sprinkling of romance, a playlist, and cookie recipes! Grab A Whale of a Murder and Switched at Death, these charming small-town whodunnits and start sleuthing today!
Both books are now available in paperback, Kindle, and Kindle Unlimited!
Thank you so much for being here! Have a fabulous summer!
Best,
Valerie
Wonβt you follow me on social media:
Facebook.com/valerietaylorauthor
X/Twitter: @valerieemtaylor
Instagram: @valerieetaylor
Being a Brit, my favorite classic authors are British, probably because they're what I grew up with. So Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, P.G. Wodehouse, and Gerald Durrell. Of the Americans, I love Thornton Wilder and Sinclair Lewis more than Fitzgerald or Hemingway. They seem more relatable to me...
I *used* to read (on average, spanning roughly 40 years of adulthood) 30 to 60 books a year easily. More back in high school & college -- one summer reading program I believe I pegged just shy of 120 (mid-May through late August) back in middle school. ... and those figures mostly don't include re-reads. NOW: I'm legally blind, and even with e-books [easier to magnify] and audiobooks, I'm lucky to squeeze in 15 to 20 -- and many of those are really not much more than glorified short stories. [LeSigh] It's allowed me to catch up on bits and pieces available in video format -- movies, TV episodes, direct-to-video, vlogs, blogs, podcasts, and music.
I *will* survive. Thriving is a bit more of a stretch at this point ...