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What are you reading June 2012?

For discussions of historical fiction. Threads that do not relate to historical fiction should be started in the Chat forum or elsewhere on the forum, depending on the topic.
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fljustice
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Post by fljustice » Sat June 30th, 2012, 2:53 pm

Finished Empress Orchid by Anchee Min. Wonderful details, but something about the story bothered me. I got impatient with the court restrictions in the Forbidden City, the whininess of the last Emperor, and the constant intrigue of the eunuchs. From what I know it's all accurate, but I guess I wasn't in the mood. Change of pace, starting Lincoln by Gore Vidal.
Faith L. Justice, Author Website
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Nefret
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Post by Nefret » Sat June 30th, 2012, 7:18 pm

There is also The Last Empress, if you want to read that.
Into battle we ride with Gods by our side
We are strong and not afraid to die
We have an urge to kill and our lust for blood has to be fulfilled
WE´LL FIGHT TILL THE END! And send our enemies straight to Hell!
- "Into Battle"
{Ensiferum}

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fljustice
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Post by fljustice » Sun July 1st, 2012, 3:33 pm

[quote=""Nefret""]There is also The Last Empress, if you want to read that.[/quote]

Also my Anchee Min? I kept waiting for the ruling part and was disappointed when the book stopped at the point of her taking power.
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sweetpotatoboy
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Post by sweetpotatoboy » Sun July 1st, 2012, 3:37 pm

[quote=""fljustice""]Also my Anchee Min? I kept waiting for the ruling part and was disappointed when the book stopped at the point of her taking power.[/quote]

Yes, The Last Empress is the sequel to Empress Orchid. They work as a pair. I've read both. The first (Empress Orchid) was definitely the better of the two, in my opinion, so if you weren't thrilled about it, I doubt you'd like The Last Empress any better.
I think her downfall is the level of faithfulness to the material. She's clearly so respectful of the history and every little detail of the politicals ins-and-outs, especially once she takes power, that it can read like a comprehensive biography. The second book never really comes to life as fiction. I felt the first book did that better, but still wasn't fantastic.

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SonjaMarie
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Post by SonjaMarie » Mon July 2nd, 2012, 3:07 am

My best month ever for the amount of books I finished:
June 2012 21
"Cemetery Walk: A Journey Into the Art, History and Society of the Cemetery and Beyond" by Minda Powers-Douglas (401pgs, 2005) (6/3)* (K)
"Magpies, Squirrels & Thieves: How the Victorians Collected the World" by Jacqueline Yallop (526pgs, 2011) (6/3)* (K)
"City of Dreadful Delight: Narratives of Sexual Danger in Late-Victorian London" by Judith R. Walkowitz (259pgs, 1992) (6/4)*
"Incubus: Fairwick Chronicles #1" by Carol Goodman (466pgs, 2011) (6/5)* - Very good, looking forward to the 2nd book.
"Mary Boleyn: The Mistress of Kings" by Alison Weir (314pgs, 2011) (6/5)*
"Fortune's Children: The Fall of the House of Vanderbilt" by Arthur T. Vanderbilt II (456pgs, 1989) (6/6)*
"Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife" by Mary Roach (295pgs, 2005) (6/7)* - Funny and irreverent.
"The Courtesan's Lover" by Gabrielle Kimm (515pgs, 2012) (6/12) - A good follow up with a character from her "His Last Duchess".
"Fanny Burney" by Claire Harman (390pgs, 2000) (6/14)*
"Time Traveller: In Search of Dinosaurs and Ancient Mammals From Montana to Mongolia" by Michael Novacek (323pgs, 2002) (6/15)*
"The Axman Came From Hell and Other Southern True Crime Stories" by Keven McQueen (214pgs, 2011) (6/15)
"Britons: Forging the Nation 1707 - 1837" by Linda Colley (384pgs, 1992) (6/17)*
"The Strange Case of the Broad Street Pump: John Snow and the Mystery of Cholera" by Sandra Hempel (295pgs, 2007) (6/18)*
"The Last Days of Cleveland and More True Tales of Crime and Disaster From Cleveland's Past" by John Stark Bellamy II (246pgs, 2010) (6/18)
"Killer on a Hot Tin Roof: Literary Tour Mystery #3" by Livia J. Washburn (250pgs, 2010) (6/18)
"At Home: A Short History of Private Life" by Bill Bryson (452pgs, 2010) (6/23)* - Really good, interesting look at bunch of different things.
"Her Highness, the Traitor" by Susan Higginbotham (318pgs, 2012) (6/24)* - Very different take on the story of the follow up and after math of the short reign of Lady Jane Grey. Good book.
"Murder on the Oceanic: A George Porter Dillman & Genevieve Masefield Mystery #7" by Conrad Allen (281pgs, 2006) (6/25)*
"At Day's Close: Night in Times Past" by A. Roger Ekirch (357pgs, 2005) (6/27)* (K)
"Up and Down Stairs: The History of the Country House Servent" by Jeremy Musson (317pgs, 2010) (6/30)*
Pages: 7391 - 351pgs aver. (5 BF, 16 Own (3 Kindle))

SM
Last edited by SonjaMarie on Mon July 2nd, 2012, 3:53 am, edited 1 time in total.
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