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What Are You Reading? September 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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princess garnet
Bibliophile
Posts: 1797
Joined: August 2008
Location: Maryland

Post by princess garnet » Fri September 14th, 2012, 8:07 pm

Mary Boleyn by Alison Weir (NF)

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Ludmilla
Bibliophile
Posts: 1346
Joined: September 2008
Location: Georgia USA

Post by Ludmilla » Fri September 14th, 2012, 8:22 pm

[quote=""annis""]Posted by Ludmilla


This has just been shortlisted for this year's Man Booker Award. I was keen to read it and peeved to discover that the library hasn't even got it on order. In fact, we only have one of the six finalists in the library- Bring Up the Bodies.

[/quote]

That sucks, Annis. I liked it a lot, but didn’t love it. It’s well worth reading just for the depiction of Malaysia during the Japanese Occupation and the following Communist Emergency years. I felt a little too emotionally distanced from the narrator to fully appreciate the overall emotional impact of her story, but was quite moved by the story of a secondary character -- a kamikaze pilot and his relationship with his instructor. As you would expect from a book on the Booker shortlist, this is a multi-layered novel driven more by its themes than by plot. As such, it moves rather slowly at times. I don’t think I could review it and do it justice.

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emr
Compulsive Reader
Posts: 840
Joined: January 2009
Location: Castilla

Post by emr » Fri September 14th, 2012, 9:47 pm

Interrupted Aria by Beverle Graves Myers
"So many books, so little time."
— Frank Zappa

rebecca
Compulsive Reader
Posts: 798
Joined: July 2011

Post by rebecca » Sat September 15th, 2012, 5:21 am

Finished 'Daughter of Time' by Josephine Tey. A very, very interesting book.

Have now started 'The Crown' by Nancy Bilyeau. So far so good :D

Bec :)

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Vanessa
Bibliomaniac
Posts: 4378
Joined: August 2008
Currently reading: The Farm at the Edge of the World by Sarah Vaughan
Interest in HF: The first historical novel I read was Katherine by Anya Seton and this sparked off my interest in this genre.
Favourite HF book: Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell!
Preferred HF: Any
Location: North Yorkshire, UK

Post by Vanessa » Sat September 15th, 2012, 10:54 am

I'm about 100 pages into Friends & Rivals by Tilly Bagshawe. It's very much chick lit and is quite shallow so far - loads of perfect people jumping in and out of bed with each other. It's a freebie I received to review. It came beautifully wrapped in black tissue paper in a cream box tied up with black ribbon. I thought it was my birthday!! LOL. Hopefully, it won't take me long to read it.
currently reading: My Books on Goodreads

Books are mirrors, you only see in them what you already have inside you ~ The Shadow of the Wind

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Berengaria
Avid Reader
Posts: 307
Joined: July 2010
Location: northern Vancouver Island, BC Canada

Post by Berengaria » Sat September 15th, 2012, 5:34 pm

[quote=""rebecca""]Finished 'Daughter of Time' by Josephine Tey. A very, very interesting book.

Have now started 'The Crown' by Nancy Bilyeau. So far so good :D

Bec :) [/quote]
I bought copies of this novel for my grade 12's and we became quite involved in the argument over Richard's culpability in the death of his nephews. It also opened up the discussion on bias! The kids and I thoroughly enjoyed the study, and I started to become more interested this time period. Great book!

J.D. Oswald
Reader
Posts: 84
Joined: May 2012

Post by J.D. Oswald » Sat September 15th, 2012, 6:46 pm

Half way through The Various Haunts of Men by Susan Hill. Picked up a copy of Gallows Thief by Bernard Cornwell in a second hand bookshop on the Isle of Wight this morning - good reading for the ferry back.

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fljustice
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Posts: 1995
Joined: March 2010
Location: Brooklyn, NY
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Post by fljustice » Sun September 16th, 2012, 5:54 pm

[quote=""rebecca""]Finished 'Daughter of Time' by Josephine Tey. A very, very interesting book.
Bec :) [/quote]

Darn, passed it up in a box of free books on the street this morning (nice thing about our neighborhood, people regularly put stuff on the curb for anyone to take if they wish.) Should have checked my forums before running errands.
Faith L. Justice, Author Website
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Misfit
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Posts: 9581
Joined: August 2008
Location: Seattle, WA

Post by Misfit » Sun September 16th, 2012, 6:41 pm

Ride with Me by Thomas Costain.
At home with a good book and the cat...
...is the only place I want to be

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EC2
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Location: Nottingham UK
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Post by EC2 » Sun September 16th, 2012, 7:44 pm

Finished a re-read of Lady of Hay ahead of the HNS conference. Now reading a modern thriller - forgotten the name by Peter James, so non historical at the moment.
Les proz e les vassals
Souvent entre piez de chevals
Kar ja li coard n’I chasront

'The Brave and the valiant
Are always to be found between the hooves of horses
For never will cowards fall down there.'

Histoire de Guillaume le Mareschal

www.elizabethchadwick.com

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