Book Shopping Today (2010 edition)

[boswellbaxter]

The old thread's getting so long, I think it's time to start a new one!

[Nefret]

Ordered Beloved Emma by Flora Fraser.

[Misfit]

The Alan Savage novel about Joanna of Naples finally dropped low enough to pace my pocketbook tolerance level so I ordered it today. Queen of the Night I think it's called. Also ordered Civil Blood by Meredith Stephure. Set during the conflicts between James II and William of Orange.

[annis]

Just blew half the year's book budget on a second-hand copy of David Wishart's "Horse Coin" (http://www.reviewers-choice.com/the_horse_coin.htm) in a moment of madness :) i've wanted my own copy for years (originally read as a library interloan), but for some reason it's always been rare and priced at astronomical levels. This one was only reasonable in relation to other copies, but still ridiculously expensive.

[Kasthu]

Today I bought a copy of Noah Gordon's The Physician, the first in a trilogy about doctors/ medicine men and women. This book is set in 11th century Europe.

[Vanessa]

As Meat Loves Salt by Maria McCann
The Winter House by Nicci Gerrard
The Bay at Midnight by Diane Chamberlain
The Other Hand by Chris Cleave
The Winter Ghosts by Kate Mosse

[Kasthu]

I'm now the proud owner of:

Avalon, by Anya Seton
Twilight of Avalon, by Anna Elliott
The Lute Player, by Norah Lofts

I had a couple of gift cards burning a hole in my pocket...

[Ash]

Today I bought a copy of Noah Gordon's The Physician, the first in a trilogy about doctors/ medicine men and women. This book is set in 11th century Europe.


Oh, I loved that book, and the other two as well. He's an excellent writer in general, but has a real touch when it comes to historical writing. He has another called Jerusalem Diamond that is quite wonderful as well

Had lunch with a friend and she passed on a new author (to me) that I had to read: Judith Healy. Went to a used bookstore and found her Cantebury Papers, which I already like quite a bit, as well as Cecelia Holland's Jerusalem and Pillar of the Sky. Looking forward to those, have heard much about them.

[Anna Elliott]

I'm now the proud owner of:

Avalon, by Anya Seton
Twilight of Avalon, by Anna Elliott
The Lute Player, by Norah Lofts

I had a couple of gift cards burning a hole in my pocket...

Hope you enjoy it, Kasthu! :)

[MLE]

Used the B&N gift card I got in the goodie swap to buy Byzantium, by Stephen Lawhead. Thanks, Divia! (I'm half-way through a Northern Light, and enjoying it more than Outlander, I confess.)

[Chatterbox]

I'm earning Amazon gift certificates for tutoring a future anchor person about how Wall Street works. Really!
Preordered Weir's The Lady in the Tower; ordered the Tomalin bio of Pepys.
In non-HF land, ordered Memento Mori by Muriel Sparks and The Master by Colm Toibin.

[Kasthu]

Hope you enjoy it, Kasthu! :)

Thanks, I'm looking forward to it (have to finish a couple of ARCs first, though)!

[Divia]

In non-HF land, ordered Memento Mori by Muriel Sparks and The Master by Colm Toibin.

are you sure thats nonfiction. I just looked and it appears to be a fiction novel. :confused:

[boswellbaxter]

I'm earning Amazon gift certificates for tutoring a future anchor person about how Wall Street works. Really!
Preordered Weir's The Lady in the Tower; ordered the Tomalin bio of Pepys.
In non-HF land, ordered Memento Mori by Muriel Sparks and The Master by Colm Toibin.

"Will work for Amazon gift certificates." I like that concept.

[Kasthu]

are you sure thats nonfiction. I just looked and it appears to be a fiction novel. :confused:

I think non-HF = not-historical fiction, not necessarily that it's not fiction...

[SonjaMarie]

I always call non-HF, miscellaneous fiction.

SM

[Divia]

I think non-HF = not-historical fiction, not necessarily that it's not fiction...

Ahh. Such books don't exist in my world. ;)

[Nefret]

Ahh. Such books don't exist in my world. ;)

No general fiction for you? I read that sometimes. But I prefer the historical stuff.

Ordered a copy of The Rose of Martinique by Andrea Stuart a few days ago. It looked interesting.

[Kasthu]

Online shopping is dangerous. I just bought Penmarric, by Susan Howatch.

[Misfit]

Online shopping is dangerous. I just bought Penmarric, by Susan Howatch.

Well if you're looking for something for your chunkster challenge I think you've found it. Cashelmara and Wheel of Fortune should be right behind.

[Nefret]

Online shopping is dangerous. Yes, it is. But I enjoy getting mail. And it is easy to find something I like. :o

[Kasthu]

Well if you're looking for something for your chunkster challenge I think you've found it. Cashelmara and Wheel of Fortune should be right behind.

I have a number of options for the challenge--I think maybe too many! Yes, Pendorric is very much a chunkster--the book description says it's roughly 700-ish pages. I've never been afraid of a good, thick book, though :).

[SonjaMarie]

Well it doesn't actually come out til mid Feb, but I pre-ordered the following "Fantasy in Death - J.D. Robb.

SM

[Miss Moppet]

Well if you're looking for something for your chunkster challenge I think you've found it. Cashelmara and Wheel of Fortune should be right behind.

I think Penmarric is the shortest of the three but that's not saying much - they are all chunksters and Wheel of Fortune is a major, major chunkster. I liked them all, Penmarric the most, Wheel of Fortune close behind, Cashelmara the least - irritatingly, that was the one I bought because I loved Penmarric and didn't want to wait for the library to get it in. But they're all fabulous reads.

I will probably end up joining the Chunkster Challenge myself as some of the books I have in mind for this year are, as per usual, fairly porky.

Can't wait for the Queen of the Night review, Misfit.

[Misfit]

Can't wait for the Queen of the Night review, Misfit.

:p:o:)

Soooo, you are assuming that it's going to be a critical review? Hmmmm.

[robinbird79]

I picked up Kate Emerson's new one "Between Two Queens" and Norah Lofts' "The Lute Player" today. I wanted Leslie Carroll's new book but the store I was at didn't have it. :(

[Chatterbox]

are you sure thats nonfiction. I just looked and it appears to be a fiction novel. :confused:

Yes, it's non-HF (non-historical fiction) not NF (non-fiction)...:D

[boswellbaxter]

I wanted Leslie Carroll's new book but the store I was at didn't have it. :(

I meant to look for this one today but didn't remember to. I was fixated on getting the new Anne Tyler. Got my quarry and left before I got tempted to buy more.

[Chatterbox]

"Will work for Amazon gift certificates." I like that concept.

It's definitely working for me. No pun intended.
The Lady in the Tower arrived today, as did Master of Bruges.

the books are piling up, but my own MS will come boomeranging back to me Friday, with 120k words of copy-edited prose to be carefully perused... Ergo not much time for fun reading for the next 10 days. Blech.

[SonjaMarie]

I had gotten Leslie's book about Royal affairs awhile ago but it was so full of errors that I never got around to finishing it. One that really stuck out was that she gave the Queen Mother the WRONG name, Mary Bowes-Lyon I think it was, considering she had the same first name as the current Queen it was a rather stupid mistake. I'm going to avoid her new one.

SM

[SonjaMarie]

I had gotten Leslie's book about Royal affairs awhile ago but it was so full of errors that I never got around to finishing it. One that really stuck out was that she gave the Queen Mother the WRONG name, Mary Bowes-Lyon I think it was, considering she had the same first name as the current Queen it was a rather stupid mistake. I'm going to avoid her new one.

SM

I did a Google Book search for the mistake and here is the line from the book "Mary Boleyn's twentieth-century descendants include Winston Churchill; Mary
Bowes-Lyon (the mother of Elizabeth II)...."

Geez that was news to me, I thought her name was ELIZABETH ;)

http://books.google.com/books?id=IaSvllcW1QAC&pg=PA79&dq=%22Mary+Bowes-Lyon%22+Leslie+Carroll&ei=qPpDS_HpOJuglQTvlfHOBw&cd=1#v=onepage&q=&f=false

SM

[boswellbaxter]

I did a Google Book search for the mistake and here is the line from the book "Mary Boleyn's twentieth-century descendants include Winston Churchill; Mary
Bowes-Lyon (the mother of Elizabeth II)...."

Geez that was news to me, I thought her name was ELIZABETH ;)

http://books.google.com/books?id=IaSvllcW1QAC&pg=PA79&dq=%22Mary+Bowes-Lyon%22+Leslie+Carroll&ei=qPpDS_HpOJuglQTvlfHOBw&cd=1#v=onepage&q=&f=false

SM

That's not encouraging! I'd have to look at the new one to see if it got the rulers I'm familiar with right before I'd consider buying it.

[SonjaMarie]

That's not encouraging! I'd have to look at the new one to see if it got the rulers I'm familiar with right before I'd consider buying it.

There were other errors but I didn't make a note of them (dang!), but I was willing to overlook them until I got to that error, that was a little too much for me.

SM

[Kasthu]

I had gotten Leslie's book about Royal affairs awhile ago but it was so full of errors that I never got around to finishing it. One that really stuck out was that she gave the Queen Mother the WRONG name, Mary Bowes-Lyon I think it was, considering she had the same first name as the current Queen it was a rather stupid mistake. I'm going to avoid her new one.

SM

I read that one as well, and the errors really grated; she mentioned in one sentence that Robert Dudley died before the Spanish Armada; then on the next page she said he died afterwards! OK... which is it???

Plus, there was that whole authors behaving badly thing, which sort of rubbed me the wrong way.

[Chatterbox]

Just received via PBS, Passion by Jude Morgan. OK, I'm happy! since I've been reading a lot about this era. Though I'm still going to finish Weir's Anne Boleyn bio first, and The Postmistress, an Amazon Vine book set in the early days of ww2.

[SonjaMarie]

Though I'm still going to finish Weir's Anne Boleyn bio first

I want to read that, but will probably wait till it's in paperback and BF gets it. I'm getting her book on Katherine Swynford as my next "ship next" through them. I wish it didn't take so long for them to come out in paperback, sigh!

SM

[Chatterbox]

Put in some pre-orders today, with the proceeds of my "work for Amazon credit" program!

CW's Catherine de Medici book
Rebels & Traitors by Lindsey Davis
Heresy by S.J. Parris
Shadow Princess by Indu Sundaresan

And I still have $ to use on more. Yum.

[Madeleine]

From Green Metropolis I've ordered:

The Merchant's House by Kate Ellis - not HF but has a historical element as it involves a murder from 400 years ago, alongside a modern-day murder.

The Princeling by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles - 3rd in the Morland Dynasty series.

[Chatterbox]

Madeleine, I've read all of Kate Ellis's mysteries. They do a great job of weaving the history (and historical events/mysteries) into a contemporary mystery, and always link them through archaelogy. She does a good job on even the mediocre books in the series.

[Kasthu]

With a Borders giftcard, I bought a copy of Flapper, by Joshua Zeitz.

[Nefret]

Got a copy of The Rose of Martinique- A Life of Napoleon's Josephine by Andrea Stuart in the mail.

[SonjaMarie]

"London As It Might Have Been" by Felix Barker, Ralph Hyde.
This book presents a picture of London as it might have been, in architectural terms. For example, there could have been a 68-foot pineapple on top of St Paul's, Robert Peel rising from the Thames, and an Eiffel Tower at Wembley, instead of the more familiar edifices and places we know.

SM

[Telynor]

Today's frivolities:

Good Evening Mrs Craven by Mollie Panter-Downes
The Making of a Marchioness by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Lark Rise to Candleford: A Trilogy by Flora Thompson

[Kasthu]

Today's frivolities:

Good Evening Mrs Craven by Mollie Panter-Downes
The Making of a Marchioness by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Lark Rise to Candleford: A Trilogy by Flora Thompson

The Making of a Marchioness is excellent! Lark Rise to Candleford is on my TBR mountain, which is growing and growing, because today I bought:

The Mitfords: Letters Between Six Sisters, by Charlotte Mosley
Island of Ghosts, by Gillian Bradford.

[Nefret]

Just ordered Bess of Hardwick by Mary Lovell online.

[Misfit]

Landed in the mail today,

Gilding the Lily by Rita Bradshaw (an on the run to New York via the Titanic story of some sort)
Civil Blood by Meredith Stephure (the Glorious Revolution)
A loan only thanks to my very generous friend Claire at Goodreads, The Black Madonna by Stella Riley (I SWEAR I'll return it).

[boswellbaxter]

Got A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel via PaperbackSwap today. Maybe that means I'll get off my duff and read Wolf Hall first. (At least my hubby read Wolf Hall.)

[Chatterbox]

BB, A Place of Greater Safety can be a warmup to Wolf Hall! It's not quite as much of a doorstop, and a bit more straightforward in style, but just as good, IMO, at least!

[Divia]

I shouldnt have, but I did.


The Concubine
How Young Ladies Became Girls: The Victorian Origins of American Girlhood


How exciting. I'm bad!

[annis]

Posted by Nefret
Just ordered Bess of Hardwick by Mary Lovell online.

This is such a good book. The inexhaustible Bess lived through most of the Tudor period and moved in the highest circles, so it's an excellent picture of the times as well as her life. And what a dramatic life it was!

I recently discovered that Jan Westcott wrote a biographical novel about Bess of H called "The Tower and the Dream", though i haven't tracked down a copy yet.

Just pre-ordered the second book in Giles Kristian's "Raven" series of Viking adventures. I hear that when he has finished the "Raven" series, GK has a contract to write a series set during the English Civil War, a period which seems to be having a renaissance in HF.

[Nefret]

Posted by Nefret


This is such a good book. The inexhaustible Bess lived through most of the Tudor period and moved in the highest circles, so it's an excellent picture of the times as well as her life. And what a dramatic life it was!

I recently discovered that Jan Westcott wrote a biographical novel about Bess of H called "The Tower and the Dream", though i haven't tracked down a copy yet.


It looked interesting and was eight bucks. So, I ordered.

And thanks for the other book. Will try to track it down.

[Madeleine]

Just discovered there's a new Joliffe book, so have ordered it from Amazon, it's called "A Play of Treachery".

[Chatterbox]

Just arrived: Men on White Horses by Annette Motley. It took so long to get here that I had forgotten I had ordered it... :rolleyes:

[Chatterbox]

And also just arrived via UPS! Margaret Irwin's three books about Elizabeth I. Found all three in an omnibus edition on Amazon that is actually a UK edition being resold here. Good price -- think I paid about $15 for the three-in-one book. It is a doorstopper, however...

[Divia]

Just arrived: Men on White Horses by Annette Motley. It took so long to get here that I had forgotten I had ordered it... :rolleyes:

I wonder if you'll like it. I found it dull.

[Misfit]

Just arrived: Men on White Horses by Annette Motley. It took so long to get here that I had forgotten I had ordered it... :rolleyes:

Mine just landed too but I've got other priorities at the moment. I still want to try it.

[Chatterbox]

and I just ordered A.C. Grayling's biography of Hazlitt; I finished the Duncan Wu one, which was excellent (a Christmas prez). Found a relatively inexpensive one on offer and decided to celebrate the arrival of the second part of my advance (well, it's arrived chez the agent, which means I'll be solvent again next week...)

[Nefret]

Just ordered....

MARIE ANTOINETTE: The Last Queen of Franceby Evelyne Lever

MISTRESS OF THE VATICAN: The True Story of Olimpia Maidalchini--The Secret Female Pope by Eleanor Herman.

[SonjaMarie]

Just ordered....



[/I][FONT=times roman, times new roman][SIZE=3]MISTRESS OF THE VATICAN: The True Story of Olimpia Maidalchini--The Secret Female Pope by Eleanor Herman.

That's one of the many books I'm reading right now, there are some really laugh out loud moments (intentional, not because of bad writing or mistakes).

SM

[Nefret]

That's one of the many books I'm reading right now, there are some really laugh out loud moments (intentional, not because of bad writing or mistakes).

SM

Saw it in the library. Then found it online. How is it so far?

(Since will own it... might wait until next month to start it.)

[SonjaMarie]

Saw it in the library. Then found it online. How is it so far?

(Since will own it... might wait until next month to start it.)

I'm enjoying it. I've read her other 2 books "Sex With the Queen" and "Sex With Kings" and haven't read a bad book by her yet.

SM

[Nefret]

I'm enjoying it. I've read her other 2 books "Sex With Queens" and "Sex With Kings" and haven't read a bad book by her yet.

SM

Oh, I have those books too. Which is where I knew the name from. Have only read parts of them so far. Think they got lost in Mount TBR someplace. Will have to find and add to the list for next month.

[Madeleine]

Blood in the Cotswolds by Rebecca Tope - non HF crime.
Martyr by Rory Clements - first in new HF series, been compared to C J Sansom's books.
The Outlander by Gill Adamson

[nona]

the Wise Woman by PG, hopefully it's good.

does anyone know if a person can preorder To Defy a King by EC? I've looked at amazon and BD and so far you cannot preoreder it yet.

[diamondlil]

I read that one as well, and the errors really grated; she mentioned in one sentence that Robert Dudley died before the Spanish Armada; then on the next page she said he died afterwards! OK... which is it???

Plus, there was that whole authors behaving badly thing, which sort of rubbed me the wrong way.

This is very interesting given that she recently blogged about authors making mistakes. In that case I am sure she was talking about something to do with the Romanovs.

[diamondlil]

I just received Within the Hollow Crown by Margaret Campbell Barnes. Don't really like the cover.

[Nefret]

I just received Within the Hollow Crown by Margaret Campbell Barnes. Don't really like the cover.

Is that her new reissue? Didn't think it was out yet.

[diamondlil]

Yes, I was sent a review copy.

[annis]

Posted by Nona
does anyone know if a person can preorder To Defy a King by EC? I've looked at amazon and BD and so far you cannot preoreder it yet.

It's up on the Amazon UK website as a pre-order listing. I imagine that if it follows the usual pattern it will be released in the UK ahead of the States.


http://www.amazon.co.uk/Defy-King-Elizabeth-Chadwick/dp/1847442366/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=12636131

[Nefret]

Yes, I was sent a review copy.

Oh, cool. If you don't like it, I will be glad to take it off your hands. ;)

[Misfit]

I just received Within the Hollow Crown by Margaret Campbell Barnes. Don't really like the cover.

I read that a couple of years ago. Pretty good, although not great. An interesting period and one where there aren't many novels to be found.

[Kasthu]

Yes, I was sent a review copy.

I was also sent a review copy--Amazon US doesn't have the new version up yet.

[Misfit]

I was also sent a review copy--Amazon US doesn't have the new version up yet.

There's a listing (http://www.amazon.com/Within-Hollow-Crown-Valiant-Struggle/dp/1402239211/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1263661631&sr=1-1) but no cover up yet.

[Kasthu]

There's a listing (http://www.amazon.com/Within-Hollow-Crown-Valiant-Struggle/dp/1402239211/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1263661631&sr=1-1) but no cover up yet.

Ooops, yes, now I see it.

[diamondlil]

You can see an image of the cover here (http://www.passagestothepast.com/2009/12/few-re-issues-coming-your-way-in-2010.html) - last one in the post.

[Nefret]

Just ordered... Mary Queen of Scots by Antonia Fraser

[SonjaMarie]

Just ordered... Mary Queen of Scots by Antonia Fraser

That was the book that made me realized that Mary wasn't an innocent victim of another Tudor Queen in the way that Jane was (though her innocence or lack of is being debated right now it seems).

SM

[Vanessa]

Recently:

Martyr by Rory Clements
Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
The Queen's Dollmaker by Christine Trent
Secrets of the Tudor Court: Between Two Queens by Kate Emerson
Galway Bay by Mary Pat Kelly
The Silent Governess by Julie Klassen

I blame this site!:rolleyes::D

[nona]

The Queen's Dollmaker by Christine Trent
Secrets of the Tudor Court: Between Two Queens by Kate Emerson

let me know what you think of these two, I keep picking them up and reading the covers then putting them down because I'm not sure about them.

[princess garnet]

I'll do a pitch for The Queen's Dollmaker. I finished it last week and enjoyed it. Although the focus is on Christine, Marie Antoinette appears throughout the novel. I didn't know M-A was fond of dolls before reading this novel.

[Loveday]

Just bought The Greatest Knight by Elizabeth Chadwick :D , and Peter Ackroyd's Thames, The Biography.

[Nefret]

That was the book that made me realized that Mary wasn't an innocent victim of another Tudor Queen in the way that Jane was (though her innocence or lack of is being debated right now it seems).

SM

Heard that one was pretty good, so I wanted to check it out.

(I have two other biographies of Mary, Queen of Scots as well.)

[Chatterbox]

How did you enjoy Martyr, Vanessa? (I remember being very enthusiastic about that one...)

Just landed on my doorstep today (with a giant thud, all 700 plus pages!) -- Lindsey Davis, Rebels and Traitors. Just finishing Jude Morgan's King's Touch, so I can keep the Stuart/Civil War theme going!

[Ariadne]

I'll be curious what you think of Rebels and Traitors as opinions are so divided! (I wrote a formal review of it in October and it still isn't out... maybe in February it'll be published?)

My latest Amazon purchases:

Victoire: My Mother's Mother by Maryse Conde
Cleopatra's Daughter by Michelle Moran

I also have a cart in B&N that's waiting for me - a Christmas gift certificate I haven't spent yet. I keep going back and forth on it.

[Misfit]

I am going to read Rebels and Traitors, the county just ordered 10+ copies and I'm #3 on the hold list. Just waiting for it to come in.

[Nefret]

In the mail today...

BESS OF HARDWICK: Empire Builder by Mary S. Lovell.

[Vanessa]

How did you enjoy Martyr, Vanessa? (I remember being very enthusiastic about that one...)

Just landed on my doorstep today (with a giant thud, all 700 plus pages!) -- Lindsey Davis, Rebels and Traitors. Just finishing Jude Morgan's King's Touch, so I can keep the Stuart/Civil War theme going!

I haven't read Martyr yet, but will let you know what I think when I do.

I got Rebels and Traitors for Christmas - it is rather large, isn't it!:eek: Let me know how you get on with it.

[annis]

Just ordered Neil Munro's "John Splendid", an older novel which features James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose. I've just recently discovered Neil Munro (http://www.neilmunro.co.uk/bibliog.htm), a Scottish author who wrote some interesting fiction back in the day.

"Martyr" has just arrived at the library for me- looking forward to that- it might fill the gap while I hang out for the next book in Sansom's "Shardlake" series.

[nona]

Duchess of Aquitaine by Margaret Ball & A Time of Witches by Anna Meyer a story of Salem Village.

A couple days back I won a copy of the Kings Rose by Alisa Libby a YA about Catherine Howard, heard good things about it so looking forward to reading it as I think I feel the most sorry for her, it's not like she had a chioce.

[Chatterbox]

Since I had nothing to read, and the second chunk of my book advance burning a hole in my wallet (hurrah, can pay bills, get work on teeth done and maybe travel...) I ordered: 4 EC books from Amazon UK (nope, not read them yet!); and a whole passel of other stuff, including The Kingmaker's Sisters (from Amazon here), as well as the mystery novel featuring du Maurier as sleuth (which I think someone here had reviewed?) I already have pre-orders in for CW's Catherine & BoswellBaxter's Katherine W., so I probably won't have to visit Amazon again for months...

Oh, my orders included the new William Boyd novel. Out next week! How exciting. I've read two of his now and they are brilliant.

[Misfit]

so I probably won't have to visit Amazon again for months...

Yeah, right. I'm a believer ;):o

[emr]

The longest I can be out of amazon is six hours... and only cause I'm sleeping...

This week's additions to my tbr mountain:
The Road to Avalon by Joan Wolf
Murder at the Feast of Rejoicing by Lynda S. Robinson
The Legate's Daughter by Wallace Breem

[Ash]

Has anybody read The Warden of the Smoke and Bells by RIchard Llywellen? His How Green Was My Valley is one of my all time lifelong favorite books, and I happened across this in other forum. The cover makes it look like a HF book, but I can't find a synopsis. Anyone know anything about it?

[Madeleine]

Not exactly shopping, but I've just entered a draw to receive a review copy of a new book "Heresy" by S J Parrish, a historical thriller in the vein of C J Sansom, set in the time of Elizabeth I.

[emr]

Has anybody read The Warden of the Smoke and Bells by RIchard Llywellen? His How Green Was My Valley is one of my all time lifelong favorite books, and I happened across this in other forum. The cover makes it look like a HF book, but I can't find a synopsis. Anyone know anything about it?

Two cryptic sinopsis from two sellers:

By the author of How Green Was My Valley this historical novel is set in the 13th century and revolves aroung the hero Franc Marco Polo a daughter of the Great Khan Assisi and the painter Giotto et al.

Marco Polo returns from Cathay through
thirteenth century Assisi.

Not much I know...

[nona]

so with my pending lay off I have stopped buying books :( yes it's very hard since I'm a impulsive buyer when it come to my books. However I'm getting really close to my library again.

I got three paranormal books, three ancient Roman/Greek books, Illustrated Book of Myths being one and two ILL requests put in, for EC Leopard Unleashed and Alisa Libby's Blood Countess.

[annis]

Posted by Ash
Has anybody read The Warden of the Smoke and Bells by RIchard Llywellen?

I haven't read this one, though I believe that it's set in 13th century Peruga as Marco Polo's caravan passes through on its return from Cathay.

I think Llewelleyn wrote a few HF novels. I remember reading one years ago called "The Flame of Hercules", which was an entertaining historical adventure about a Gallic nobleman, captured by Romans and sentenced to be a galley slave, who escapes and becomes a gladiator.

[Chatterbox]

There is some good HF on Amazon Vine this month. I actually *gasp* didn't pick Heresy (hoping to get it on leftovers week); went for Anne Perry's new book, set in the Byzantine empire. Also on various lists were the new Vanora Bennett novel, Anchee Min's upcoming book about Pearl Buck and a couple of others.

There were actually five different books that I wanted, but had to restrain myself to 2! It's like psychology -- pick the ones that you think will go fastest and then wait to get the others the following week.

[Kasthu]

There is some good HF on Amazon Vine this month. I actually *gasp* didn't pick Heresy (hoping to get it on leftovers week); went for Anne Perry's new book, set in the Byzantine empire. Also on various lists were the new Vanora Bennett novel, Anchee Min's upcoming book about Pearl Buck and a couple of others.

There were actually five different books that I wanted, but had to restrain myself to 2! It's like psychology -- pick the ones that you think will go fastest and then wait to get the others the following week.

I went for Heresy, and I also got the Anne Perry. I made a resolution this revis a vis Vine that I wouldn't request anything that wasn't on my TBR list, and that.... sort of fell apart this week!

[Misfit]

I got the Anne Perry book as well and something called The Botticelli Secret. That was pretty much all the HF that was on my newsletter.

[Kasthu]

I got the Anne Perry book as well and something called The Botticelli Secret. That was pretty much all the HF that was on my newsletter.

Oooh, I won the Botticelli Secret through LTER--still waiting for it to arrive, though! I enjoyed her first novel.

[Misfit]

Oh and for those who aren't following the goodie swap thread I also received Inside Robin's Too Tight Tight's from Diamondlil. Oh boy am I gonna have fun with that :p:D;)

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Zb0fPALbL._SX100_.jpg

[Chatterbox]

Hmm, I didn't see the Botticelli Secret. But I think that's coming out as a PB and will be cheaper to buy. We'll see. I'm going to go for the Gayle Lynds thriller and then either Heresy or the Anchee Min book next week -- fingers crossed!

[Misfit]

Hmm, I didn't see the Botticelli Secret. But I think that's coming out as a PB and will be cheaper to buy. We'll see. I'm going to go for the Gayle Lynds thriller and then either Heresy or the Anchee Min book next week -- fingers crossed!

The vine choices are a mystery as to how they target. You, Divia, Kasthu and another friend at GR all get different choices - we don't all get the same thing.

[Chatterbox]

Well, Heresy is now no longer available any more... Hopefully the Anchee Min book will still be there! This is the first month in a long time that I've been confident of getting something I really want in the 'leftover' round!

[Nefret]

Just got...

Marie Antoinette- The Last Queen of France by Evelyne Lever

(Came in the mail today.)

[Vanessa]

Oh and for those who aren't following the goodie swap thread I also received Inside Robin's Too Tight Tight's from Diamondlil. Oh boy am I gonna have fun with that :p:D;)

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Zb0fPALbL._SX100_.jpg

Ha ha, Misfit! Is it Russell Crowe or Kevin Costner??:D Nice bod, though!

I've recently acquired:

Testament by Alis Hawkins
White Nights by Ann Cleeves
Once Upon a Day by Lisa Tucker

[Kasthu]

The vine choices are a mystery as to how they target. You, Divia, Kasthu and another friend at GR all get different choices - we don't all get the same thing.

Yeah, it's weird considering we have similar tastes...

[red805]

I broke down & bought Wolf Hall in hardcover. I was going to wait & go the paperback or library route, but I remembered I had a Barnes & Noble gift card. Can't wait to start it!

[SonjaMarie]

Not actually a buy but a surprise gift from a forum friend that came out of the blue: "The Lady in the Tower: The Fall of Anne Boleyn" by Alison Weir, thanks friend!

SM

[Divia]

Not actually a buy but a surprise gift from a forum friend that came out of the blue: "The Lady in the Tower: The Fall of Anne Boleyn" by Alison Weir, thanks friend!

SM

lucky gal! I'm jealous.

[Kasthu]

Oooh, I'm baaaad. I just pre-ordered To Defy a King. I just couldn't resist, could I? :).

[Nefret]

Oooh, I'm baaaad. I just pre-ordered To Defy a King. I just couldn't resist, could I? :).

And which king are you defying, then?

[nona]

I've been a bad bad girl. I sold my '92 Rally Sport Camaro today and well I thought some deserved book shopping was good therapy and it has ben awhile since i actually bought a book (this does not include PBS) so I bought....

Dear John, Nicholas Sparks~romance/fiction
Lover Enshrined, J R Ward~paranormal romance
Vampire Storie from the South, Lawrence Schimel & Martin Greenberg
The French Mistress, Susan Halloway Scott, HF
Brief Gaudy Hour, Margret Campbell Barnes

of course tomorrow I am going to order a few online, B&N didn't have any so next best thing is amazon or BD

[Chatterbox]

Sell car, buy books... that works for me. Or would, if I had a car to sell...

[nona]

lol, no we're trying to down size since I'm going back to school in Aug (cause I'll be laid off and getting unemployment at the time and the state helps if you go to school) and we didn't want to have to rush and hurry last minute so we're getting rid of a few things now. The Camaro was a pleasure car only, very low miles and only got driven in nice weather and otherwise kept in the garage so being an extra 'toy' it had to go.

[Ash]

Picked up Game Change for my sister's birthday (funny, I couldn't find it on the shelves so I asked the info desk when it was coming in. He reached down behind the counter and gave me a copy. Said it was easier that way than having to tell people where to find it in the store! Plus its going like hotcakes. Might have to read it before I give it, tho I will have a very large shaker of salt nearby.

Also bought DH the new Cornwell book for Valentines (and may just give it beforehand, before he buys it himself!)

[Misfit]

Oooh, I'm baaaad. I just pre-ordered To Defy a King. I just couldn't resist, could I? :).

I have never had to wait so long for a new Chadwick. Is. It. May. Yet?

[Divia]

I have never had to wait so long for a new Chadwick. Is. It. May. Yet?

Stop wishing my life away! GOD. :p April can come though. THats when the LMA book is out. :o

[SonjaMarie]

Picked up Game Change for my sister's birthday (funny, I couldn't find it on the shelves so I asked the info desk when it was coming in. He reached down behind the counter and gave me a copy. Said it was easier that way than having to tell people where to find it in the store! Plus its going like hotcakes. Might have to read it before I give it, tho I will have a very large shaker of salt nearby.


On Amazon it's getting a 2star rating with 257 votes.

SM

[Nefret]

Just ordered...

Mistress of the Revolution by Catherine Delors
Abundance, a Novel of Marie Antoinette by Sena Jeter Naslund

[Madeleine]

Bought today:

Blacklands by Belinda Bauer - modern day thriller set on Exmoor.

and ordered from Amazon marketplace:

Testament by Alis Hawkins - timeslip novel.

[Divia]

From the lib I got The Queen's Mistake and the Anne B. one by Weir. But first I have to finish reading Sisters who woudl be queen.

[SonjaMarie]

From the lib I got The Queen's Mistake and the Anne B. one by Weir. But first I have to finish reading Sisters who woudl be queen.

I'd like to know what you think about "The Queen's Mistake", my HF reading has been small lately (only 7 last year!), because of bad reviews from the people on here.

SM

[ejays17]

My SLOC* came home yesterday & told me that the local 2nd-hand bookshop had a bunch of Jean Plaidys in the window, so this morning I was off to see what I could find. (Stupidly I'd left my list at home, or I'd've bought more :D )

So I got:

Caroline, the Queen
Queen in Waiting
Evergreen Gallant
Lament for a Lost Lover (Phillipa Carr)

And also
Under the Lilacs by Louisa M Alcott


And I can just see myself going back next weekend & buying more.


(Solid Lump Of Comfort - from the Chalet School books by EBD)

[Vanessa]

We had a trip into York yesterday afternoon. I nipped into the discount book shop and came away with Empire of Ivory by Naomi Novik, Victory of Eagles by Naomi Novik (I have the first two of these on my TBR pile so they were a lucky find!) and My Sister, My Love by Joyce Carol Oates which is based on the real-life murder of American beauty queen JonBennet Ramsey. They were 3 for £5.

And I only went shopping for hockey socks, too!:o

[Miss Moppet]

(Solid Lump Of Comfort - from the Chalet School books by EBD)

I'm a Chalet fan too and that phrase always makes me chuckle! :)

[Julianne Douglas]

Just started HER FEARFUL SYMMETRY by Audrey Niffenberger and like it a lot so far. Still trying to finish PORTRAIT OF AN UNKNOWN WOMAN by Vanora Bennett which I got sidetracked from several months ago.

[princess]

This weekend I bought:

"The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England" - Ian Mortimer
"The Secret Scripture" - Sebastian Barry
"Remarkable Creatures" - Tracy Chevalier

And I've just ordered:

"The Adventures of Alianore Audley" - Brian Wainwright
"The Name of the Rose" - Umberto Eco

[Susan]

These books should keep me busy! Now I have to figure out where to put them when they arrive!

Ordered the following with an Amazon gift certificate I got for my work at the royalty forum I help out with:

"The Black Tower: A Novel" by Louis Bayard

"The Lost King of France: How DNA Solved the Mystery of the Murdered Son of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette" by Deborah Cadbury

"The Sisters Who Would Be Queen: Mary, Katherine, and Lady Jane Grey: A Tudor Tragedy" by Leanda de Lisle

"We Two: Victoria and Albert: Rulers, Partners, Rivals" by Gillian Gill

"The Owl Killers: A Novel" by Karen Maitland

"Alice I Have Been: A Novel" by Melanie Benjamin

"Assassination Vacation" by Sarah Vowell

"Within The Fetterlock" by Brian Wainwright

"Marie-Therese: The Fate of Marie Antoinette's Daughter" by Susan Nagel

"The Adventures Of Alianore Audley" by Brian Wainwright

"Grave Goods" by Ariana Franklin

And with some Christmas money, I ordered the following from the Book Depository:

"A Hollow Crown" by Helen Hollick

"Sunflowers" by Sheramy Bundrick

"The Master of Bruges" by Terence Morgan

[Loveday]

Went to an antiquarian bookshop in Williamsburg VA today, and found Lambeth Palace: A History of the Archbishops of Canterbury and Their Houses by Tim Tatton-Brown, and The English Mediaeval House by Margaret Wood. I have a hard time resisting any book about English architecture.:o

[nona]

I ordered Roxanna, or the Fortunate Mistress by Daniel Defoe late last night. I couldn't sleep so browsed books till I stumbled across this and remembered I had meant to order it a while back.

[Vanessa]

The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova arrived today.

[nona]

let us know how you like the book Vanessa, I almost bought it at B&N the other night up my arms were full. I might yet order it if the reviews are good.

[nona]

wow, I'm getting spoiled the last three days or so. Ronnie just pre~ordered To Defy a King by our own Elizabeth Chadwick, I didn't realize it was released on my birthday and we were looking at it and he laughed and said "order it, it's fate." he didn't have to tell me twice!

[Nefret]

Just came in the mail...

The French Mistress: A Novel of the Duchess of Portsmouth and King Charles II by Susan Holloway Scott
The King's Favorite: A Novel of Nell Gwyn and King Charles II by Susan Holloway Scott
Royal Harlot: A Novel of the Countess of Castlemaine and King Charles II by Susan Holloway Scott
Duchess: A Novel of Sarah Churchill by Susan Holloway Scott

[SonjaMarie]

Just came in the mail...

The French Mistress: A Novel of the Duchess of Portsmouth and King Charles II by Susan Holloway Scott
The King's Favorite: A Novel of Nell Gwyn and King Charles II by Susan Holloway Scott
Royal Harlot: A Novel of the Countess of Castlemaine and King Charles II by Susan Holloway Scott
Duchess: A Novel of Sarah Churchill by Susan Holloway Scott

I've read all those except the "French" one and it'll be coming from BF in a few days.

SM

[Nefret]

I've read all those except the "French" one and it'll be coming from BF in a few days.

SM

I've read The King's Favourite from the library a while ago. And decided I needed to read the others too.

[nona]

Just came in the mail...

The French Mistress: A Novel of the Duchess of Portsmouth and King Charles II by Susan Holloway Scott
The King's Favorite: A Novel of Nell Gwyn and King Charles II by Susan Holloway Scott
Royal Harlot: A Novel of the Countess of Castlemaine and King Charles II by Susan Holloway Scott
Duchess: A Novel of Sarah Churchill by Susan Holloway Scott

those are all good books I think, I've read them as they came out. I loved Royal Harlot and Duchess, both are very entertaining and informative. I don't know alot of the people or places in that time so I really enjoyed reading them.

[Chatterbox]

I liked Duchess -- that was particularly good; the others weren't as compelling to me.

I'm a bit worried about my (now overdue) package from Amazon.france... Waiting on my EC books from Amazon.co.uk and a bunch of other stuff... And my Vine Selections, which include Anne Perry's The Sheen on the Silk, set in the Byzantine empire.

[SonjaMarie]

I liked Duchess -- that was particularly good; the others weren't as compelling to me.

"Favorite" is my fave, followed by "Duchess" though I don't like Sarah Churchill as a person.

SM

[Amanda]

I liked Duchess. I had never read anything set in the latter Stuart's period before so I quite enjoyed the "new" characters.

I have just now bought online a reasonably priced copy of Fitzempress Law by Diana Norman! I am hoping that it isn't going to be one of the things that is mistakenly shown, and not really in stock. Fingers crossed....

[Vanessa]

let us know how you like the book Vanessa, I almost bought it at B&N the other night up my arms were full. I might yet order it if the reviews are good.

Will do! I loved The Historian so I'm hoping it's as good.

[Kasthu]

Just bought four more books in the Morland Dynasty series, though I can't remember which ones at present (bought them through Amazon's 4 for 3 thing).

[Nefret]

Just came in the mail...

The Many Lives & Secret Sorrows of Josephine B. by Sandra Gulland
Tales of Passion, Tales of Woe by Sandra Gulland
The Last Great Dance on Earth by Sandra Gulland
Mistress of the Sun by Sandra Gulland

[Chatterbox]

Wow, big day on Amazon Vine.
Up for grabs, loads of HF: Marina Fiorato, Vanora Bennett, Lynn Cullen's new book (which I'm hoping to get via LibraryThing tomorrow...), the new Anne Perry book, and Anchee Min's book about Pearl Buck (which I opted for, along with a thriller.)
In the mail: Daughters of Spain by Jean Plaidy. and Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde.

[Divia]

I was so mad that
A. The vine newsletter took so flippin long
B. That I could only get 2 books since the past newsletter I got 0

But From Amazon Vine I got

Brigid
The Birth of Venus


I was leaning towards Vanora Bennett,'s book but her last one was dreadful and I decided to pass.

I did want the diet book though. But I put it on hold at the lib.

[Chatterbox]

I liked the last Vanora Bennett, but she seems to be one of those authors that is unpredictable in terms of which of her books people like/dislike and which people dislike them, so I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, just for that reason! I'll be earning some more Amazon GC $ this weekend, so can use that for the Lynn Cullen book, the Marina Fiorato one and the David Grann book of NF essays... But there was just so much good stuff on there, even the new Henning Mankell book.

[Nefret]

Ordered last night...

Nightingales- The Extraordinary Upbringing and Curious Life of Miss Florence Nightingale by Gillian Gill

[Misfit]

I got the Vanora Bennet as well but didn't see anything else still left once I got there that was of interest.

[Kasthu]

I got the Vanora Bennet as well but didn't see anything else still left once I got there that was of interest.

After Figures in Silk, I'm a little wary of Vanora Bennett. This time around, I ordered Brigid of Kildare.

Chatterbox, I believe you've got one more chance to win the Lynn Cullen book--I took my name out after I heard I'd be receiving a copy from the publisher!

Meanwhile, The Sheen on the Silk and Heresy arrived last night. Not technically shopping, but who cares?

[Misfit]

After Figures in Silk, I'm a little wary of Vanora Bennett. This time around, I ordered Brigid of Kildare.

Chatterbox, I believe you've got one more chance to win the Lynn Cullen book--I took my name out after I heard I'd be receiving a copy from the publisher!

Meanwhile, The Sheen on the Silk and Heresy arrived last night. Not technically shopping, but who cares?

I know, but I think that's the book Kasthu and Tanzanite read and enjoyed so I was willing to give her a second shot.

As for The Sheen on the Silk, did you like that bizarre cover it came with?

[Divia]

After Figures in Silk, I'm a little wary of Vanora Bennett. This time around, I ordered Brigid of Kildare.



I'll be interested to see what you think of Brigid of Kildare. I'm looking forward to it.

No one snagged birth of Venus, huh?

[Misfit]

I'll be interested to see what you think of Brigid of Kildare. I'm looking forward to it.

No one snagged birth of Venus, huh?

I can't find Birth of Venus but if it's the Sarah Dunant one I don't want to snag it. I see now why I passed on Brigid. It's tagged as American historical fiction. Every time I've got one of those they turned out to be inspirational.

[Divia]

I'm dumb. Its The Creation of Eve By: Lynn Cullen.

I had the Brigid book on my wishlist since I knew it was coming out. I hope its good. *fingers crossed*

EDIT
Aww crap. I saw that this was a modern day/ historical book. I hate those. This might be one of those books where I read the historcal parts and skip the modern ones. Crap

[Misfit]

I'm dumb. Its The Creation of Eve By: Lynn Cullen.

I had the Brigid book on my wishlist since I knew it was coming out. I hope its good. *fingers crossed*

EDIT
Aww crap. I saw that this was a modern day/ historical book. I hate those. This might be one of those books where I read the historcal parts and skip the modern ones. Crap

Whew, I thought I was loosing it. I thought about that one but the last thing I need is another artsy book right now.

Thanks to Tanzanite's recent post at her covers blog I've ordered Shadow of the Crown by Susan Bowden. A Wars of the Roses book of some sort. I never let a cheesy romance cover scare me away from a book.

[Chatterbox]

I also liked this Vanora Bennett -- still, will be interested in your view, Misfit, as that last book was one of the rare ones on which we had v.v. different reactions. (I thought it was sophomore slump; you loathed it!)

Divia -- which is the modern day book -- the Brigid one, or Lynn Cullen?
I'm still hoping to get the Lynn Cullen from LTER... *fingers crossed*

Unless next month is extraordinary, I'm just going to bypass the targeted list and go straight back to pick up whatever I can from this one. At last count there were at least seven or eight novels that I would be very happy to read, and otherwise may well end up buying myself. Can't believe the new Henning Mankell is still available (we'll see if that lasts for three weeks!), also a Frank Tallis historical mystery. Alas, there's only one copy of the Marina Fiorato book, The Botticelli Secret, left, so I'll be buying that. The Glassblower of Murano was quite good -- very much a genre, light romance mixed with historical fiction mixed with light suspense. Still worth reading. That one lingered on Vine forever; this one is going fast!

And I do consider Vine to be book shopping, because if I didn't get these via Vine, I would be buying them!! Meanwhile, still waiting for my targeted picks to arrive... grr. they are coming SmartPost, aka camel train.

[Vanessa]

No one snagged birth of Venus, huh?

I very much enjoyed Birth of Venus. It's has an unusual beginning but once past that bit, it's a good story.

[Divia]

Divia -- which is the modern day book -- the Brigid one, or Lynn Cullen?
I'm still hoping to get the Lynn Cullen from LTER... *fingers crossed*


The Brigid one. :(

[Misfit]

I very much enjoyed Birth of Venus. It's has an unusual beginning but once past that bit, it's a good story.

I never made it past the unusual beginning. The book hit the wall with a resounding thud :o:):(

(I thought it was sophomore slump; you loathed it!)

Yeah, well the typos in the ARC I had certainly didn't help. I hope this one is an improvement.

[Kasthu]

I know, but I think that's the book Kasthu and Tanzanite read and enjoyed so I was willing to give her a second shot.

As for The Sheen on the Silk, did you like that bizarre cover it came with?

RE: Sheen: did you get a (more) finished copy? Mine's literally a galley, with the publishing company's logo all over it (I actually have a couple of these types of galleys; my ARCs of Alison Weir's books are the same).

Dang it on Brigid; it looked to be interesting. Well, I'll have to see...

[Tanzanite]

Whew, I thought I was loosing it. I thought about that one but the last thing I need is another artsy book right now.

Thanks to Tanzanite's recent post at her covers blog I've ordered Shadow of the Crown by Susan Bowden. A Wars of the Roses book of some sort. I never let a cheesy romance cover scare me away from a book.

You know I'm always more than willing to add to everyones TBR pile!! I have the Bowden book but won't get to it for awhile

[Madeleine]

Today got:

Awakening by S J Bolton
Just Take my Heart by Mary Higgins Clark

and The Lace Reader arrived from a book mag.

[Misfit]

RE: Sheen: did you get a (more) finished copy? Mine's literally a galley, with the publishing company's logo all over it (I actually have a couple of these types of galleys; my ARCs of Alison Weir's books are the same).

Dang it on Brigid; it looked to be interesting. Well, I'll have to see...

Yep, that's what I got as well. I'd never seen a galley copy before.

I just picked up Book of Fires at the Library today. I'm really starting to bite my nails, I have nine holds and they are all pending purchase requests and I'm afraid they're all going to land at once :o

[Nefret]

I'm really starting to bite my nails, I have nine holds and they are all pending purchase requests and I'm afraid they're all going to land at once :o

That happened to me just last week. Well, eight books at once. I've got a few more to finish before I pick up again tomorrow.


Just came in the mail....


Mistress of the Revolution by Catherine Delors

[Divia]

I just picked up Book of Fires at the Library today. I'm really starting to bite my nails, I have nine holds and they are all pending purchase requests and I'm afraid they're all going to land at once :o

That sucks. You better read fast. :o
Today while weeding the library I found a book about upstate NY activites in the 1880s. I took it home to read. And it has a ton of pics.

[Misfit]

That sucks. You better read fast. :o
Today while weeding the library I found a book about upstate NY activites in the 1880s. I took it home to read. And it has a ton of pics.

Yeah and one of them is that huge door-stopper Rebels and Traitors. Speaking of NY 1880's take a look at The Gilded Cage by Edith Layton. It might be too romancy for you but then again its hard to find many novels set in post civil war NY. I got it at PBS but don't know when I'll get to it.

[4ever Queen]

From Friends of the Library book store I just got:

Agingcourt by Bernard Cornwell
Vagabond by Bernard Cornwell
Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles by Margaret George
The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory
Tales of Passions, Tales of Woes by Sandra Gulland
The Queen's Sorrow by Suzannah Dunn
The Kings is a Witch by Evelyn Eaton

Anyone knows Evelyn Eaton? I've never heard of her but her novel of King Edward III seemed interesting.

[boswellbaxter]

From Friends of the Library book store I just got:

Agingcourt by Bernard Cornwell
Vagabond by Bernard Cornwell
Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles by Margaret George
The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory
Tales of Passions, Tales of Woes by Sandra Gulland
The Queen's Sorrow by Suzannah Dunn
The Kings is a Witch by Evelyn Eaton

Anyone knows Evelyn Eaton? I've never heard of her but her novel of King Edward III seemed interesting.

I have The King is a Witch. It's--different.

[Chatterbox]

Yup, I have the galley ARCs for Sheen on the Silk as well (arrived today).

Now, I will read pretty much anything, including books that end up as wallbangers. Rebels and Traitors is not a wallbanger, but wow, it is a major slog. I keep waiting for it to get compelling. Hasn't happened yet (300 pages into it...)

Just arrived: Jude Morgan's The Taste of Sorrow, about the Brontes. Got major paper cuts from the packaging! Also: new Nicci French thriller. Still missing: order from Amazon France that shipped 3 weeks ago...

[Misfit]

Now, I will read pretty much anything, including books that end up as wallbangers. Rebels and Traitors is not a wallbanger, but wow, it is a major slog. I keep waiting for it to get compelling. Hasn't happened yet (300 pages into it...)

Just arrived: Jude Morgan's The Taste of Sorrow, about the Brontes. Got major paper cuts from the packaging! Also: new Nicci French thriller. Still missing: order from Amazon France that shipped 3 weeks ago...

Makes you wonder how Harriet got through it so easily, especially when she's used to all those chick-lit-paranormal-police-procedural-vampire-urban fantasy-noirs that she *reads* :D

[Kasthu]

Makes you wonder how Harriet got through it so easily, especially when she's used to all those chick-lit-paranormal-police-procedural-vampire-urban fantasy-noirs that she *reads* :D

I wonder how she'd review a book with all of that for a description!

[Misfit]

I wonder how she'd review a book with all of that for a description!

*snort*

Wish I'd saved it but once some of the Harriet watchers were running a *genre contest* to see who could go the longest. They were pretty clever.

[Madeleine]

Ordered "Finding Home" by Roisin McAuley from CD Wow (£1 voucher swung it for me!)

[Nefret]

Recently ordered...

Perdita: The Literary, Theatrical, Scandalous Life of Mary Robinson by Paula Byrne

A Venetian Affair: A True Tale of Forbidden Love in the 18th Century by Andrea Di Robilant

Privilege and Scandal: The Remarkable Life of Harriet Spencer, Sister of Georgiana by Janet Gleeson

[Susanna Kearsley]

Went out to buy milk this morning and came home with Ursula K. Le Guin's Lavinia -- a total impulse buy spurred by this beautiful cover (http://www.amazon.ca/Lavinia-Novel-Ursula-K-Guin/dp/0156033682/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1265037001&sr=8-11).

[Anna Elliott]

Went out to buy milk this morning and came home with Ursula K. Le Guin's Lavinia -- a total impulse buy spurred by this beautiful cover (http://www.amazon.ca/Lavinia-Novel-Ursula-K-Guin/dp/0156033682/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1265037001&sr=8-11).

I absolutely loved Lavinia! Le Guin's writing is so amazing. Just a beautiful book.

[nona]

not HF but bought today online Nicholas sparks' True Beleiver,A Bend in the Road, The Rescue and the Lucky One. Also bought the girls The Unicorn Chronicles by Bruce Coville the other day.

[Vanessa]

Awakening by S J Bolton
The Wilding by Maria McCann
O Juliet by Robin Maxwell
Season of the Storms by Susanna Kearsley

[diamondlil]

I recently bought Wolf Hall and also Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde. I was intending to borrow both of them from the library but I was concerned about not being able to savour or finish Wolf Hall during the allocated time, and I have long been a Fforde fan so ended up buying that one too.

[Kasthu]

Not book shopping by me per se, but today I received in the mail a copy of The Expendable Man, by Dorothy Huges. It's a crime novel set in Arizona in the 1960s (when it was written). I think it might be the perfect thing to bring with me on vacation when I got to Arizona in March.

[Chatterbox]

Shades of Grey is very very good -- now I can't wait for the next one in the series, and I'm going back to read the Thursday next books... Such a fab imagination.

Just arrived: multiple packages of books, as befits a birthday.

From Amazon.co.uk, four EC books:
The Scarlet Lion
The Time of Singing
Lords of the White Castle
The Greatest Knight
(hope that's a good royalty boost -- you can at least have a cup of coffee on me late this year, EC!)
From book Depostiroy, a prez:
Death of a Wine Merchant, by David Dickinson.
From Paperback Swap:
Tales of Passion, Tales of Woe by Sandra Gulland
Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde
From Amazon.france, the package that has taken 3.5 weeks to get here!
Les passions intellectuelles tome 1, desirs de gloire by Elisabeth Badinter
L'echappee by Valentine Goby
Marius Granet et le tresor du Palais Comtal by Jean d'Aillon
L'archipretre et la cite de Tours by Jean d'Aillon

(Sorry, I can't for the life of me figure out how to tackle French accents on this keyboard...)

And all but one of these is HF or history...

[Nefret]

Just came in the mail...

Mistress of the Elgin Marbles by Susan Nagel

[Chatterbox]

Grrr -- didn't snag a copy of the Lynn Cullen book on LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program. Hopefully it will still be left when February's Vine offerings come up. *sulk, sulk*

[Misfit]

Grrr -- didn't snag a copy of the Lynn Cullen book on LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program. Hopefully it will still be left when February's Vine offerings come up. *sulk, sulk*

:D Shall we start you a pity party?

[emr]

Chatterbox's local builder/seller of shelves must be a happy man ;)
Got Some Danger Involved (Will Thomas) in the mail..

[Anna Elliott]

Chatterbox's local builder/seller of shelves must be a happy man ;)
Got Some Danger Involved (Will Thomas) in the mail..

I just read Some Danger Involved. It's quite good--wonderful detail! Let me know what you think!

[Chatterbox]

:D Shall we start you a pity party?

Yes, please. It's that kind of day. I can't think straight; have three articles due and my brain is a mass of fuzz.

[Chatterbox]

Chatterbox's local builder/seller of shelves must be a happy man ;)


Unbelievably, Workbench went bankrupt a few years ago, leaving me shelfless... I have book stalagmites instead of new shelves...

[emr]

I just read Some Danger Involved. It's quite good--wonderful detail! Let me know what you think!

Sure I will :) Now I'm half way through The Legate's Daughter by Wallace Breem and a bit confused by all the unsaid things although I'm liking it so far.

Unbelievably, Workbench went bankrupt a few years ago, leaving me shelfless... I have book stalagmites instead of new shelves...

Oh my :D

[Chatterbox]

The icing on the cake? Received what should have been my next book order from Amazon.co.uk. In fact, it was an empty container, with the invoice but without the two books it should have contained. Someone had raided it.

[SonjaMarie]

The icing on the cake? Received what should have been my next book order from Amazon.co.uk. In fact, it was an empty container, with the invoice but without the two books it should have contained. Someone had raided it.

Oh good grief! I hope you're complaining to them and the Post Office!

SM

[Misfit]

Yes, please. It's that kind of day. I can't think straight; have three articles due and my brain is a mass of fuzz.

Here ya go, this is what I found when I googled pics for pity party :o:rolleyes:

http://riverdaughter.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/boohoo.jpg

All kidding aside, I hope you get your books replace and ASAP. And I hope your day has improved as well (although time taken into consideration it's almost over with).

[nona]

What a bummer! I would ranting and raving with steam out my ears. Will Amazon fix the problem since you didn't recieve them?

[Nefret]

Nightingales by Gillian Gill. (It just came in the mail.)

[Chatterbox]

Yup, that's me, Misfit! Well, about four decades, with dark hair, etc. etc.

Amazon has told me they will replace the books. But the additional book depository problem was just the icing on the cake. I'm afraid that anything I write today will be jinxed, so I'm just going to go to bed. Too bad I can't have a 'do-over'!

[annis]

What a bummer, CB.

Just pre-ordered Richard Blake's "Blood of Alexandria", third in the "Aelric" series- great stuff (just cross-posted a review of his "Terror of Constantinople" from Amazon the other day)

Also excited because I found a second-hand copy of Valerie Anand's "Norman Pretender" which won't leave me bankrupt. I already have "Gildenford" and would eventually like to own all three of her trilogy based around the Norman Conquest.

[Kasthu]

What a bummer, CB.

Just pre-ordered Richard Blake's "Blood of Alexandria", third in the "Aelric" series- great stuff (just cross-posted a review of his "Terror of Constantinople" from Amazon the other day)

Also excited because I found a second-hand copy of Valerie Anand's "Norman Pretender" which won't leave me bankrupt. I already have "Gildenford" and would eventually like to own all three of her trilogy based around the Norman Conquest.

Lucky you re: the Valerie Anand! Somebody needs to reprint some of her books.

[Misfit]

Lucky you re: the Valerie Anand! Somebody needs to reprint some of her books.

I did enjoy that series, and especially the bit where she put in Waltheoff and Judith. It was fun to compare Anand's take on them to EC's in The Winter Mantle.

[annis]

Juliet Dymoke's "Of The Ring of Earls" is worth a read as well for yet another take on Waltheof.

[Misfit]

Juliet Dymoke's "Of The Ring of Earls" is worth a read as well for yet another take on Waltheof.

Great.....just what I need, another book for the pile ;)

Thanks Annis.

[Kasthu]

I made a goal for myself for February: not to buy anothing. See how well that turned out: I just bought a copy of The Royal Griffin, by Juliet Dymoke.

[Chatterbox]

Kasthu -- well, that was three, almost four days? In March, maybe you can shoot for four, almost five?? :D

Just requested, via PBS, a copy of The Dumas Club. Figured it was about time that I read some of Perez-Reverte's stuff...

I did buy the rest of the Beynon Rees Palestinian mystery series, as well as the author's NF book about the region, all for my Kindle.

I'm teetering on the edge of ordering a copy of John Cleland's Itinerary of his Tudor-era journeys through England. There's one on Abebooks that has caught my eye -- pricey, but good value. Someone stop me before I do it...

[Kasthu]

[QUOTE=Chatterbox;51817]Kasthu -- well, that was three, almost four days? In March, maybe you can shoot for four, almost five?? :D=QUOTE]

LOL. I promise I'll be better next time...

[SonjaMarie]

I haven't bought a book in almost a month, I have a listing for Amazon for Jan 8th. What with all the books I got for Christmas, a few I got myself late Dec/Early Jan, a gift from a friend, a loaner from a friend and all my books from BF I haven't had the need for more books, eek!

SM

[Chatterbox]

Kasthu -- heavens, please don't set a precedent that the rest of us will have to live up to!

SM -- who said anything about 'need'????? :):):)

[SonjaMarie]

SM -- who said anything about 'need'????? :):):)

*Smile* well I need to reduce my TBR list or I feel overwhelmed and running out of space!

SM

[Madeleine]

*Smile* well I need to reduce my TBR list or I feel overwhelmed and running out of space!
SM

Don't worry, that feeling will pass:)

[Telynor]

Lessee, just a few books this month (so far!) :rolleyes:

Two NF books on Tango,
In Destiny's Hands: Five tragic rulers, Children of Maria Theresa by Justin Vovk
The Calligrapher's Daughter by Eugenia Kim (fiction)
Bombay Anna -- NF about Anna Leonowens

Conspirata by Robert Harris finally arrived and is currently screaming from my Mt. TBR "Me next! Me next!"

And finally two Korean Historical series on DVD, just the first volumes of each:

Yi San
The Great Queen Seondeok

[Chatterbox]

Aha, I detect a Korean theme at work??

But I would listen to your Robert Harris book, really, I would!!

[Madeleine]

Bought today:

Midnight Fugue by Reginald Hill
The Lieutenant by Kate Greville.

[emr]

The Middle Window by Elizabeth Goudge. I went for an old edition cause it seems that the new editions have been badly OCR'ed from the original and they are a nightmare to read.

Slayer of Gods by Lynda S. Robinson. I'm enjoying this series.

Season of Storms by Susanna Kearsley

And not historial, the hardcover of The Vor Game by L M Bujold (at last! Now where is my Barrayar hardcover?)

Oh yah I forgot. The new Matilde Asensi fell somehow in my bag this morning. Venganza en Sevilla (1607, Sevilla and some pirates...)
I wish I could read faster :D

[Chatterbox]

The new Asensi not yet available in English or French, I assume? I liked her China book, have been eying the Last Cato, although it's been panned. (Anything like the Da Vinci Code and I will run a mile...)

Just ordered Helen Hollick's Hollow Crown after hearing everyone talk about it. Well, what's one 800-page book, more or less??? ;)

[diamondlil]

I was going to get the book through the library, but in the end I bought The Endless Forest by Sara Donati. Seeing as I was in the bookstore anyway I also bought Going Bovine by Libba Bray

[emr]

The new Asensi not yet available in English or French, I assume? I liked her China book, have been eying the Last Cato, although it's been panned. (Anything like the Da Vinci Code and I will run a mile...)

Just ordered Helen Hollick's Hollow Crown after hearing everyone talk about it. Well, what's one 800-page book, more or less??? ;)

From her website I see that only a couple books are available in English and 3 in French. None of her newest books.
http://www.matildeasensi.net/internacional.php
I didnt like The DaVinci code but I did enjoy The Last Cato. Basically the idea behind both books is the same: some clues leading to a voyage seeking the answer to a mystery buried in the antiquity. In the last Cato they are looking for a secret organization that they believe its going on since the crusades and that requires to save a series of mazes with Dante's books as a traveler guide. In my opinion the mafia part was superfluous and I had to skip some long explanations about Dantes clues, but its a fast paced book, well structured, and I enjoyed it.
Having read Iacobus, which I do recommend, the end has a parallelism since in both books you learn that not everything was as you were led to believe it was. And both are learning journeys. Have I said too much? :D sorry
What didnt I like about DaVinci's? Dunno, the way its writen made me nervous, as if there was no place to stop reading for a while. I havent read more books of Dan Brown.

About the Hollick, the +800 pages took me back and its been on my TBR for ages. I'll get to it some day... :o

[Misfit]

Just ordered Helen Hollick's Hollow Crown after hearing everyone talk about it. Well, what's one 800-page book, more or less??? ;)

Of course now you'll have to get Harold The King to complete the story :D

[Leyland]

Ha ha. I haven't bought anything in 2010 because I've still got at least 75 HF purchases yet to read that I bought from 2007-09! Just throwing that in ....

[nona]

well I haven't bought any HF in the last twoo weeks but have bought about 8 Nicholas Sparks books...I have no idea wy I have not yet read his work but just one paragraph and bought half of his published books, the other half coming soon.

[Amanda]

On saturday after doing some extra hours at work, I took myself off for a treasure hunt in an eccentric jumble of a bookshop in Newtown. It is not a very organised shop, but that adds to the fun of it.

Found an image that shows an example of just how chaotic it is! The aisle with British history on one side and French on the other, both with piles of books in front of them is particularly daunting. I always think of that scene in The Mummy when the bookshelves fall over.....or I think of the fire hazard.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://farm1.static.flickr.com/192/449777121_37774c45d6.jpg&imgrefurl=http://flickr.com/photos/14457842%40N00/449777121/&usg=__KyQd3XuRIE37Oev_EHaczxP5sfo=&h=500&w=375&sz=174&hl=en&start=17&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=NUPD9fj4w-rMtM:&tbnh=130&tbnw=98&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dgould%27s%2Bbookshop%26hl%3Den%26sa%3 DN%26um%3D1

No matter how long I am there, I feel like there are undiscovered treasures hiding somewhere!

Here is what come home with me:

The Divided Rose by Jean Evans (Elizabeth Woodville)
The Cloisterman by Juliet Dymoke (monk in Henry VIII's time)
Of the Ring of Earls by Juliet Dymoke (William the conqueror)
Lady of the Garter by Juliet Dymoke (Joan of Kent)
God and My Right by Alfred Duggan (Becket and Henry II)
Joanne by Roberta Gellis
Heirs to the Kingdom by Zoe Oldenbourg (crusades)
Some Touch of Pity by Rhoda Edwards (Richard III)
Ann of Cambray by Mary Lide (medieval wales)
The Heron's Catch by Susan Curran (hundred years war)
The Woodville Wench by Maureen Peters (Elizabeth Woodville)

[SonjaMarie]

I always think of that scene in The Mummy when the bookshelves fall over.....or I think of the fire hazard.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://farm1.static.flickr.com/192/449777121_37774c45d6.jpg&imgrefurl=http://flickr.com/photos/14457842%40N00/449777121/&usg=__KyQd3XuRIE37Oev_EHaczxP5sfo=&h=500&w=375&sz=174&hl=en&start=17&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=NUPD9fj4w-rMtM:&tbnh=130&tbnw=98&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dgould%27s%2Bbookshop%26hl%3Den%26sa%3 DN%26um%3D1


Wow! That's dangerous!

SM

[Amanda]

Wow! That's dangerous!

SM

Yep...there is no way I would take my kids in there!!!

[ejays17]

Yep...there is no way I would take my kids in there!!!


Looks like my local 2nd-hand bookshop too! I'm always a bit scared to walk down the aisles in case I knock the wole shop over!
And even though (to the untrained eye :D ) there's no order, the owner knows exacly where everything is.

[Chatterbox]

Of course now you'll have to get Harold The King to complete the story :D

Yes, I just figured that out... :D:rolleyes:

[emr]

On saturday after doing some extra hours at work, I took myself off for a treasure hunt in an eccentric jumble of a bookshop in Newtown. It is not a very organised shop, but that adds to the fun of it.

Found an image that shows an example of just how chaotic it is! The aisle with British history on one side and French on the other, both with piles of books in front of them is particularly daunting. I always think of that scene in The Mummy when the bookshelves fall over.....or I think of the fire hazard.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://farm1.static.flickr.com/192/449777121_37774c45d6.jpg&imgrefurl=http://flickr.com/photos/14457842%40N00/449777121/&usg=__KyQd3XuRIE37Oev_EHaczxP5sfo=&h=500&w=375&sz=174&hl=en&start=17&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=NUPD9fj4w-rMtM:&tbnh=130&tbnw=98&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dgould%27s%2Bbookshop%26hl%3Den%26sa%3 DN%26um%3D1

No matter how long I am there, I feel like there are undiscovered treasures hiding somewhere!


Oooooooh paradise :cool:

[Kasthu]

On saturday after doing some extra hours at work, I took myself off for a treasure hunt in an eccentric jumble of a bookshop in Newtown. It is not a very organised shop, but that adds to the fun of it.

Found an image that shows an example of just how chaotic it is! The aisle with British history on one side and French on the other, both with piles of books in front of them is particularly daunting. I always think of that scene in The Mummy when the bookshelves fall over.....or I think of the fire hazard.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://farm1.static.flickr.com/192/449777121_37774c45d6.jpg&imgrefurl=http://flickr.com/photos/14457842%40N00/449777121/&usg=__KyQd3XuRIE37Oev_EHaczxP5sfo=&h=500&w=375&sz=174&hl=en&start=17&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=NUPD9fj4w-rMtM:&tbnh=130&tbnw=98&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dgould%27s%2Bbookshop%26hl%3Den%26sa%3 DN%26um%3D1

No matter how long I am there, I feel like there are undiscovered treasures hiding somewhere!

Here is what come home with me:

The Divided Rose by Jean Evans (Elizabeth Woodville)
The Cloisterman by Juliet Dymoke (monk in Henry VIII's time)
Of the Ring of Earls by Juliet Dymoke (William the conqueror)
Lady of the Garter by Juliet Dymoke (Joan of Kent)
God and My Right by Alfred Duggan (Becket and Henry II)
Joanne by Roberta Gellis
Heirs to the Kingdom by Zoe Oldenbourg (crusades)
Some Touch of Pity by Rhoda Edwards (Richard III)
Ann of Cambray by Mary Lide (medieval wales)
The Heron's Catch by Susan Curran (hundred years war)
The Woodville Wench by Maureen Peters (Elizabeth Woodville)

Wow, that's messy! Even worse than the bookstore I used to frequent in my old neighborhood of Brooklyn.

Funny, because recently I too purchased a copy of Of the Ring of Earls...

[Chatterbox]

that's a lot of vintage HF to find in one place!!

And in my nightmares, that's how I envisage my apartment looking like by the time I hit 60...

[Ash]

I used to love places like that; now tho they just try my patience. I like a little structure - books in sort of alphabetiocal order, or books arranged so you know where non fiction is versus fiction at least. That hodgepodge makes me want to run screaming (I suspect that being able to find books easily online has changed my desire to enter those kinds of stores)

[Chatterbox]

Another big book day chez Chatter:

From PBS:
The first Lauren Willig book -- I've been prodded into giving the Pink Carnation another try.

From the UK:
The Serpent Pool by Martin Edwards
Poppyland by Raffaella Barker
Ashes to Ashes by Barbara Nadel

My Vine books arrived today!
Pearl of China by Anchee Min
Book of Spies by Gayle Lynds

From Barnes & Noble:
The Club Dumas (I had to succumb...)
The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar
Austerlitz by W.G. Sebald
The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde (I loved the new series debut, so I'm going to go read all of these.)
The Blackwater Lightship by Colm Toibin (to check out a suspicion I have re his style in 'The Master")

Chatter needs new bookshelves, pronto.

[Madeleine]

Just bought:

Alexandria by Lindsey Davis (latest Falco)
Red Bones by Ann Cleeves (latest Shetland novel)
Angels with Two Faces by Nicola Upson (Josephine Tey mystery no. 2)

and I'm just about to order Sara Donati's Fire in the Sky and Queen of Swords.

[Anna Elliott]

Another big book day chez Chatter:

From PBS:
The first Lauren Willig book -- I've been prodded into giving the Pink Carnation another try.

From the UK:
The Serpent Pool by Martin Edwards
Poppyland by Raffaella Barker
Ashes to Ashes by Barbara Nadel

My Vine books arrived today!
Pearl of China by Anchee Min
Book of Spies by Gayle Lynds

From Barnes & Noble:
The Club Dumas (I had to succumb...)
The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar
Austerlitz by W.G. Sebald
The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde (I loved the new series debut, so I'm going to go read all of these.)
The Blackwater Lightship by Colm Toibin (to check out a suspicion I have re his style in 'The Master")

Chatter needs new bookshelves, pronto.

The Eyre Affair is fantastic, CB. Loved it. Which new series debut is it you read?

[Vanessa]

I enjoy the Thursday Next series, too. I think Chatterbox must mean Shades of Grey (http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/f/jasper-fforde/shades-of-grey.htm) about a world dictated by colour. I'm awaiting the paperback to be published later in the year.

[Chatterbox]

Yes, Vanessa, that's the one -- people's lives and status are determined by which parts of the color spectrum they can see and to what extent. There's a suggestion throughout of some kind of apocalyptic event in the distant past, and the world is one in which technology is being removed, not added, in 'leapbacks'.

Today's arrivals:

NF: The Roads to Modernity: The British, French and American Englightenments by Gertrude Himmelfarb.

Some French fiction and HF:
Moka by Tatiana de Rosnay
Avicenne ou La route d'Ispahan by Gilbert Sinoue
La reine crucifiee by Gilbert Sinoue (14thc Portugal)

[Misfit]

CB, I think you have officially sped by Kasthu and Nona for top spot on this thread :rolleyes::p

[Miss Moppet]

Moka by Tatiana de Rosnay


Be interested to know what you think of Moka, it's the other Tatiana de Rosnay (apart from Sarah's Key which I've read) which appealed to me.

[Jemidar]

Received a box of books in the mail today from a friend who owns a books shop :D.

I got:


The Virgin Queen's Daughter by Ella March Chase (pretty much fictional but I couldn't resist)
Between Two Queens: Secrets of the Tudor Court by Kate Emmerson (which I hope is better than the Jane Popincourt one)
The Queen's Governess by Karen Harper (lovely cover even if it is a headless woman)
Hugh & Bess by Susan Higginbotham (can't wait to start this one!)
The Boleyn Wife by Brandy Purdy (what were they thinking with the cover?!)
Katherine by Anya Seton (the one with the pouty cover)
The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey (think I might've read this years ago...not sure though)


I'm pretty pleased with my haul even though it is a little lopsided towards the Tudors :p.

[nona]

I really shouldn't be buying more books since our new house is smaller then our current and there is no room for more book shelves but I did anyway here they are:

Too Great a Lady: a novel of the Notorious Emma Hamilton by Amanda Eloyt
The Divided Heart by Susan Bowden (I ordered it a few days back but the order never went through)
Message in a Bottle by Nicholas Sparks
Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire by Amanda Foreman
Doomed Queens: Royal Women who met bad ends by Kris Walderr
and preordered The Dead Travel Fast by Deanna Raybourn

also bought a movie: Vanity Fair a favorite of mine, I love Brynes and Witherspoon in this story.

[Misfit]

The Divided Heart by Susan Bowden

You do realize that is the middle book in a trilogy don't you?

[Divia]

Received a box of books in the mail today from a friend who owns a books shop :D.

I got:


The Virgin Queen's Daughter by Ella March Chase (pretty much fictional but I couldn't resist)
Between Two Queens: Secrets of the Tudor Court by Kate Emmerson (which I hope is better than the Jane Popincourt one)
The Queen's Governess by Karen Harper (lovely cover even if it is a headless woman)
Hugh & Bess by Susan Higginbotham (can't wait to start this one!)
The Boleyn Wife by Brandy Purdy (what were they thinking with the cover?!)
Katherine by Anya Seton (the one with the pouty cover)
The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey (think I might've read this years ago...not sure though)


I'm pretty pleased with my haul even though it is a little lopsided towards the Tudors :p.

That's a haul! I am currently reading the Queen's Governess and am enjoying it alot. Its a different take on the tired Tudor trend.

[nona]

Oh yeah! I get to order two more books, and no I didn't I impulsivly bought it after seeing your comments on it....what are the other two titles if you don't mind?

[Nefret]

Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire by Amanda Foreman


That is a good book. :)

[boswellbaxter]

Been on what seems to have been a long book-buying drought, which I broke by buying The Stuart Princesses (NF) by Alison Plowden.

[Divia]

I feel your pain. I am trying not to buy books. I am trying to thin out the collection I have.

However i did get two books from the library Hungry Girl 200 cal meals and something else.

[Texas]

Re trying not to buy books: I'm sure everybody here knows it, but it never hurts to spread the word to others about whatever your library calls its local inter-library loan program. It really is an amazing thing--you can get books from so far away. Thank you, Benjamin Franklin! And support your local library's sales fair, if it has one.

[SonjaMarie]

Re trying not to buy books: I'm sure everybody here knows it, but it never hurts to spread the word to others about whatever your library calls its local inter-library loan program. It really is an amazing thing--you can get books from so far away. Thank you, Benjamin Franklin! And support your local library's sales fair, if it has one.

Our Misfit has been touting inter-library loans for awhile and loves it.

SM

[Divia]

Yes however not everyones inter library loan is good. Mine is rather blah, I will confess.

[Chris Little]

Knowing the effort they have made, I don't tell the interlibrary loan staff that the book they obtained for me was not worth it, but I've been keeping track in recent month and about 45% of the ILL's I'm requested haven't met my hopes, which is about triple the rate of my blah purchases. And I enthusiastically let the librarians know they obtained a great book for me, especially when they have been turned down by potential lending libraries and had to send out multiple requests.

[Jemidar]

I am currently reading the Queen's Governess and am enjoying it alot. Its a different take on the tired Tudor trend.

Good to know Divia. I'm really looking forward to reading this one :).

[Jemidar]

Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire by Amanda Foreman


That is a good book. :)

Oh yeah, I loved that book too :).

I also recently bought the DVD with Keira Knightly but I don't hold out much hope for it as the reviewers seem to have universally panned it :(.

[Chatterbox]

Jenny, I quite liked the film, but you have to forget about the book and focus on what it is rather than what it could have been. (Meanwhile I'm still wondering whatever happened to her second book...)

Today's book batch was mostly for work, though I got a shipment notice for BoswellBaxter's latest offering! I'm hoping it will arrive Saturday, tho I expect Monday is more reasonable. (And Monday would allow me to get some of the work done that I need to complete over the weekend -- two articles due Monday and my column due Tues -- eeeek.

[Jemidar]

Jenny, I quite liked the film, but you have to forget about the book and focus on what it is rather than what it could have been. (Meanwhile I'm still wondering whatever happened to her second book...)

I was afraid of that :(.

I will just have to wait a good long while before I watch it because the book is still pretty fresh in my mind and that I don't think I could objectively separate the two at this point. And you're right, the movie *could* have been something wonderful as the potential is certainly there.

Do you know who the subject of her second book is?