Reading Update #28
Jan. 20th, 2007 09:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
desertvixenIt's been a long time, and quite a few books, so I'm only posting the gems. There's also been a lot of reading for school. I have a huge to be read stack.
Women Warriors: A History by David E. Jones is a small overview of women warriors around the globe.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
tepintzin, you might enjoy this one, and I bought it at clothing sales for $6.95.
Venetia by Georgette Heyer - I loved, loved, loved this one! I adore Venetia (the character) and was applauding her. I would have liked to see more of the storyline with the older brother and the wife and her mother, but sigh. Have they stopped doing the reprints? Am I going to have to check out Amazon.ca ? (Probably)
Born in Death by JD Robb. Yes, they're like popcorn. Or a bag of potato chips, and I tried not to read this one all in one setting. I had to wait a few days on it, actually, because I had so much school reading. The next one is due out on February 20. This one was pretty good - not the best, but good. You know where it's going, generally, but it's the getting there that's the good part. This one had an uplifting ending, which I appreciate. I also admire Roberts/Robb's ability to characterize, especially with such a diverse cast of characters. She also doesn't fall into the trap of "everyone gets a walk-on", unlike some other authors I (and others on the f-list) could mention.
Georgette Heyer's Regency World by Jennifer Kloester is a gorgeous reference book to the Regency period. It's not the most inclusive, but all the examples are taken from Heyer books, and it's just pretty. And nice. Definitely recommend this one for the other Regency nuts on my list.
I replaced my hardcover How to Cook Everything with a softcover version, works a little better.
Harold II: The Doomed Saxon King by Peter Rex was another offering from Tempus Publishers. It's a little dense, but good reading, and deals with the reign of Harold Godwineson, right up until the Conqueror came to pay a visit. Recommended to the other British history nuts out there.
The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Willig is definitely worth reading. The mix of Regency with a little modern-day chick lit, not to mention a neat little mystery. It's mostly Regency, and well-worth the read, especially when you pick up the hardcover on the bargain table at Barnes and Noble.
I read two Nancy Drew mysteries, The Haunted Showboat and The Clue of the Black Keys. Both go on the keeper list. I was waay too entertained by all the uses of the word "gay" in Showboat (yes, in the meaning of "happy"), because my brain kept casting it in the MODERN sense of the word "gay", with lines such as, "Oh, Nancy, but we've planned such a gay excursion!". They do, at times, lend themselves nicely to the MST3K treatment.
Elizabeth Wydeville: The Slandered Queen by Arlene Okerlund was very good, nicely researched. Tempus Publishing is doing a set of books devoted to England's queens who haven't gotten a lot of play historically, so I'll keep my eyes out for more of them.
Love and Louis XIV: The Women in the Life of the Sun King by Antonia Fraser was quite good. Her stuff generally is, but she did an excellent job in this book of having Louis onstage, but not at center stage. The women include Anne of Austria (mother), his wife Marie-Therese of Spain, a few other ladies and wives of the blood, as well as his primary mistresses. Enjoyable, but not too heavy.
Mistral's Kiss by Laurell K. Hamilton - another entry in the Merry Gentry series, and there was actually SOME plot movement. Not too too much - I'm still waiting to see how she can get rid of her cousin, and I have some ideas on that one - as well as hinting at the problems with the Seelie Court. The ending is very good, with just the right touch of pithy humor the Anita books used to have.
Speaking of LKH, has anyone read the Strange Candy collection? Good, bad, indifferent?
Pleasure for Pleasure by Eloisa James is a solid Regency, the end of her latest quartet. I liked it, as I do most of her stuff, because I like the continuity of characters. However, I must ask what book the person who wrote the blurb read, because it really didn't feel all that similar. Totally not what I was expecting.
The Rise and Fall of Anne Boleyn by Retha M. Warnicke was an excellent history read, focusing on Anne Boleyn and her relationship with the king. I do like the theory she puts forth, that the last child she miscarried may have been deformed, and that it may have led to her execution, rather than just the king tiring of her. Definitely worth adding to the bookshelf. It didn't seem too dense, and her writing is pretty engaging, if not overly emotional.
A Royal Affair by Stella Tillyard focuses on George III of England and his troublesome siblings. It's a good read, with nice art details and an engaging pace, even if you aren't a history nut. Definitely one of the the "truth is better than fiction" picks.
The Queen of Subtleties by Suzannah Dunn is the bad historical novel referenced a post ago. I picked it up off the bargain table at Barnes and Noble, and am definitely glad of that. It's remaining on my shelf mainly as an example of how NOT to do historical fiction, especially with real people as your central cast. The book is split between two POVs, Anne Boleyn and the king's confectioner, Lucy Cornwallis. In the beginning, Anne states that she wants to leave something of herself for Elizabeth, but her sections of the book are not exactly memoirs. The voice this author gives Anne is too modern, in her language, and she basically comes off as a bad stereotype of the Other Woman - bitchy, vindictive, and upset that her "rightful" place is being taken. It seemed pretty amusing at first, but grew thin rapidly. There were a few glimmers of humanity, but not much.
DV
Women Warriors: A History by David E. Jones is a small overview of women warriors around the globe.
tepintzin, you might enjoy this one, and I bought it at clothing sales for $6.95.Venetia by Georgette Heyer - I loved, loved, loved this one! I adore Venetia (the character) and was applauding her. I would have liked to see more of the storyline with the older brother and the wife and her mother, but sigh. Have they stopped doing the reprints? Am I going to have to check out Amazon.ca ? (Probably)
Born in Death by JD Robb. Yes, they're like popcorn. Or a bag of potato chips, and I tried not to read this one all in one setting. I had to wait a few days on it, actually, because I had so much school reading. The next one is due out on February 20. This one was pretty good - not the best, but good. You know where it's going, generally, but it's the getting there that's the good part. This one had an uplifting ending, which I appreciate. I also admire Roberts/Robb's ability to characterize, especially with such a diverse cast of characters. She also doesn't fall into the trap of "everyone gets a walk-on", unlike some other authors I (and others on the f-list) could mention.
Georgette Heyer's Regency World by Jennifer Kloester is a gorgeous reference book to the Regency period. It's not the most inclusive, but all the examples are taken from Heyer books, and it's just pretty. And nice. Definitely recommend this one for the other Regency nuts on my list.
I replaced my hardcover How to Cook Everything with a softcover version, works a little better.
Harold II: The Doomed Saxon King by Peter Rex was another offering from Tempus Publishers. It's a little dense, but good reading, and deals with the reign of Harold Godwineson, right up until the Conqueror came to pay a visit. Recommended to the other British history nuts out there.
The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Willig is definitely worth reading. The mix of Regency with a little modern-day chick lit, not to mention a neat little mystery. It's mostly Regency, and well-worth the read, especially when you pick up the hardcover on the bargain table at Barnes and Noble.
I read two Nancy Drew mysteries, The Haunted Showboat and The Clue of the Black Keys. Both go on the keeper list. I was waay too entertained by all the uses of the word "gay" in Showboat (yes, in the meaning of "happy"), because my brain kept casting it in the MODERN sense of the word "gay", with lines such as, "Oh, Nancy, but we've planned such a gay excursion!". They do, at times, lend themselves nicely to the MST3K treatment.
Elizabeth Wydeville: The Slandered Queen by Arlene Okerlund was very good, nicely researched. Tempus Publishing is doing a set of books devoted to England's queens who haven't gotten a lot of play historically, so I'll keep my eyes out for more of them.
Love and Louis XIV: The Women in the Life of the Sun King by Antonia Fraser was quite good. Her stuff generally is, but she did an excellent job in this book of having Louis onstage, but not at center stage. The women include Anne of Austria (mother), his wife Marie-Therese of Spain, a few other ladies and wives of the blood, as well as his primary mistresses. Enjoyable, but not too heavy.
Mistral's Kiss by Laurell K. Hamilton - another entry in the Merry Gentry series, and there was actually SOME plot movement. Not too too much - I'm still waiting to see how she can get rid of her cousin, and I have some ideas on that one - as well as hinting at the problems with the Seelie Court. The ending is very good, with just the right touch of pithy humor the Anita books used to have.
Speaking of LKH, has anyone read the Strange Candy collection? Good, bad, indifferent?
Pleasure for Pleasure by Eloisa James is a solid Regency, the end of her latest quartet. I liked it, as I do most of her stuff, because I like the continuity of characters. However, I must ask what book the person who wrote the blurb read, because it really didn't feel all that similar. Totally not what I was expecting.
The Rise and Fall of Anne Boleyn by Retha M. Warnicke was an excellent history read, focusing on Anne Boleyn and her relationship with the king. I do like the theory she puts forth, that the last child she miscarried may have been deformed, and that it may have led to her execution, rather than just the king tiring of her. Definitely worth adding to the bookshelf. It didn't seem too dense, and her writing is pretty engaging, if not overly emotional.
A Royal Affair by Stella Tillyard focuses on George III of England and his troublesome siblings. It's a good read, with nice art details and an engaging pace, even if you aren't a history nut. Definitely one of the the "truth is better than fiction" picks.
The Queen of Subtleties by Suzannah Dunn is the bad historical novel referenced a post ago. I picked it up off the bargain table at Barnes and Noble, and am definitely glad of that. It's remaining on my shelf mainly as an example of how NOT to do historical fiction, especially with real people as your central cast. The book is split between two POVs, Anne Boleyn and the king's confectioner, Lucy Cornwallis. In the beginning, Anne states that she wants to leave something of herself for Elizabeth, but her sections of the book are not exactly memoirs. The voice this author gives Anne is too modern, in her language, and she basically comes off as a bad stereotype of the Other Woman - bitchy, vindictive, and upset that her "rightful" place is being taken. It seemed pretty amusing at first, but grew thin rapidly. There were a few glimmers of humanity, but not much.
DV
