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Faith's 2015 Reads

What have you read in 2015? Post your list here and update it as you go along! (One thread per member, please.)
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fljustice
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Faith's 2015 Reads

Post by fljustice » Sun February 1st, 2015, 6:06 pm

I'm sticking with my goal of a book a week, which I've managed to meet or exceed for the past five years. January worked out well, but I was doing a lot of travelling which means lots of reading times in airports!

January:

1. The Rise of Female Kings in Europe, 1300-1800 by William Monter (ARC, NF, good survey of the topic)
2. Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James (trade pb, not as good as I hoped)
3. 1492: The Year the World Began by Felipe Fernández-Armesto (ebook, NF, intersting concept adequately executed)
4. A Day of Fire: a novel of Pompeii by Stephanie Dray, Ben Kane, E. Knight, Sophie Perinot, Kate Quinn, Vicky Alvear Shecter, Michelle Moran (ebook, anthology, most enjoyable collection)
5. Longbourn by Jo Baker (trade pb, 5-star story)
Faith L. Justice, Author Website
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fljustice
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February

Post by fljustice » Sun March 1st, 2015, 4:47 pm

6. Meridian by Alice Walker (bookcrossing paperback, excellent)
7. Heirs of Alexandria (Alexandrian Saga #2) by Thomas K. Carpenter (ebook, solid alt-hist story)
8. Headstrong: 52 Women Who Changed Science-and the World by Rachel Swaby (ARC, good survey book)
9. Legacy of Alexandria (Alexandrian Saga #3) by Thomas K. Carpenter (ebook, solid alt-hist story)
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fljustice
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March

Post by fljustice » Wed April 1st, 2015, 3:49 pm

10. The Dream Lover: A Novel of George Sand by Elizabeth Berg (ARC, paper back, enjoyable fictional autobiography)
11. Letters from Skye by Jessica Brockmole (trade paperback, loved the writing, less enamored of the characters)
12. Galla Placidia Augusta by Stewart Irvin Oost (hardback research book, reread)
13. The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb by Melanie Benjamin (ebook, lovely!)
14. After Abel and Other Stories by Michal Lemberger (ARC, paperback, imaginative Bible stories)
15. Katherine by Anya Seton (ebook, will read more by Seton)
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MLE (Emily Cotton)
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Posts: 3566
Joined: August 2008
Interest in HF: started in childhood with the classics, which, IMHO are HF even if they were contemporary when written.
Favourite HF book: Prince of Foxes, by Samuel Shellabarger
Preferred HF: Currently prefer 1600 and earlier, but I'll read anything that keeps me turning the page.
Location: California Bay Area

Post by MLE (Emily Cotton) » Wed April 1st, 2015, 6:28 pm

Really like it when member's lists include commentary, Faith. It helps me figure out what my next reads will be. (I trust HFO reviews much more than Amazon ones.)

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fljustice
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Post by fljustice » Sat April 4th, 2015, 10:21 pm

Glad to help, MLE! I usually use a shortened version of whatever I've written in the "What are you reading" thread. I realize that not everyone does a mini-critique on that thread, but I like it when folks do, so do it myself. And, yes, we're much better than Amazon!
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fljustice
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April

Post by fljustice » Sat May 2nd, 2015, 3:49 pm

16. City of Women by David R. Gillham (trade paperback, last half made up for the slow first half)
17. Divergent (Divergent #1) by Veronica Roth (ebook, enjoyed but not enough to continue the series)

Busy writing/slow reading month!
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fljustice
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May

Post by fljustice » Tue June 2nd, 2015, 4:54 pm

18. The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran (ebook, quite good look at another neglected woman in history: Nefertari, first wife to Rameses II--I have to ID her through her husband!)
19. The Truth According to Us by Annie Barrows (ARC, trade paperback, well-written, partial epistolary novel of the Depression)
20. Life After Life by Jill McCorkle (ebook, literary novel with some strong points, but didn't grab me)
21. Otherwise Fables by Oscar Mandel (ARC, trade paperback, amusing modern fables, but I still like the ancient ones better)
Last edited by fljustice on Sun October 4th, 2015, 4:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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fljustice
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June

Post by fljustice » Wed July 1st, 2015, 5:14 pm

22. Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth: Her Stories and Hymns from Sumer by Diane Wolkstein, Samuel Noah Kramer (trade PB, a delightful addition to my research, religion, folklore, and fairy tale collection)
23. A Morbid Taste for Bones (Chronicles of Brother Cadfael #1) by Ellis Peters (ebook, fun read, I'll pick up the next one)
24. The Tapestry (Joanna Stafford #3) by Nancy Bilyeau (ARC audio book, a fun listen, but wished it was a read)
25. Tyrannosaur Canyon (Wyman Ford #1) by Douglas Preston (mass market PB, TBR shelf, fun thriller with some good female protagonists)
26. The Giver (The Giver Quartet #1) by Lois Lowry (mass market PB, TBR shelf, dark children's book)
27. Gathering Blue (The Giver Quartet #2) by Lois Lowry (mass market PB, TBR shelf, liked this one better than the first)
Last edited by fljustice on Sun January 10th, 2016, 9:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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fljustice
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July

Post by fljustice » Tue August 4th, 2015, 9:54 pm

28. The Crown in the Heather (The Bruce Trilogy #1) by N. Gemini Sasson (ebook, interesting read)
29. Tibetan Peach Pie: A True Account of an Imaginative Life by Tom Robbins (ebook, fascinating memoir)
30. Streets of Laredo (Lonesome Dove #2) by Larry McMurtry (mass market pb, worthy successor to Lonesome Dove)
31. Day of Atonement: A Novel of the Maccabean Revolt by David A. Desilva (ARC, trade pb, flawed novel, but interesting history)
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August

Post by fljustice » Sun September 6th, 2015, 3:19 pm

32. Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation by Cokie Roberts (ebook, interesting, well-researched history)
33. NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and The Future of Neurodiversity by Steve Silberman (ARC, trade PB, best non-fiction of the year so far)
34. The Confessions of Catherine de Medici by C.W. Gortner (ebook, very good)
35. Snow Moon Rising by Lori L. Lake (ebook, good WWII story with a twist)
36. Virgin Widows by Gu Hua (TBR, trade PB, interesting two parallel stories set in China)
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