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What are you reading June 2017?

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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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

Re: What are you reading June 2017?

Post by Vanessa » Sat June 17th, 2017, 9:43 pm

I've just started Anne Boleyn, A King's Obsession by Alison Weir.
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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princess garnet
Bibliophile
Posts: 1797
Joined: August 2008
Location: Maryland

Re: What are you reading June 2017?

Post by princess garnet » Tue June 20th, 2017, 2:49 pm

The Gates of Europe by Serhii Plokhy (NF)
History of Ukraine

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Susan
Bibliomaniac
Posts: 3746
Joined: August 2008
Location: New Jersey, USA

Re: What are you reading June 2017?

Post by Susan » Thu June 22nd, 2017, 11:56 pm

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
~Susan~
~Unofficial Royalty~
Royal news updated daily, information and discussion about royalty past and present
http://www.unofficialroyalty.com/

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Susan
Bibliomaniac
Posts: 3746
Joined: August 2008
Location: New Jersey, USA

Re: What are you reading June 2017?

Post by Susan » Fri June 23rd, 2017, 1:03 am

Susan wrote:Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
67 minutes after posting the above. Did not finish. The format of this book is just too weird for me. Glad I borrowed it from eLibraryNJ instead of buying it.
~Susan~
~Unofficial Royalty~
Royal news updated daily, information and discussion about royalty past and present
http://www.unofficialroyalty.com/

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MLE (Emily Cotton)
Bibliomaniac
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

Re: What are you reading June 2017?

Post by MLE (Emily Cotton) » Fri June 23rd, 2017, 1:42 am

Susan wrote:
Susan wrote:Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
67 minutes after posting the above. Did not finish. The format of this book is just too weird for me. Glad I borrowed it from eLibraryNJ instead of buying it.
Curious. What about it was weird?

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Susan
Bibliomaniac
Posts: 3746
Joined: August 2008
Location: New Jersey, USA

Re: What are you reading June 2017?

Post by Susan » Fri June 23rd, 2017, 12:21 pm

MLE (Emily Cotton) wrote:
Susan wrote:
Susan wrote:Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
67 minutes after posting the above. Did not finish. The format of this book is just too weird for me. Glad I borrowed it from eLibraryNJ instead of buying it.
Curious. What about it was weird?
It was not really written in narrative form. In the beginning, the Lincolns are hosting a reception at the White House while their son is very ill upstairs. Instead of describing the scene or describing the Lincolns' emotions, the author has mostly one-liners from primary sources and other non-fiction. It's like reading footnotes. There's a whole page of these one-liners about the weather the night of the reception with some saying it rained and others saying it didn't. Whenever there is a dialogue scene, it's written like a play, but not in a play format. Instead of Character Name: followed by the dialogue, a character says something and then several lines are skipped and the character's name is in a smaller font in center justification. Yes, there are some parts written in narrative form (by that I mean paragraphs), but they are few and far between. There is no hint of a plot and no character development. There are good reviews of this book and I expected more. Interestingly, on Amazon, 48% are five-star reviews, but there are 19% one-star reviews. I have the same sentiments as the one-star reviews.
~Susan~
~Unofficial Royalty~
Royal news updated daily, information and discussion about royalty past and present
http://www.unofficialroyalty.com/

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Susan
Bibliomaniac
Posts: 3746
Joined: August 2008
Location: New Jersey, USA

Re: What are you reading June 2017?

Post by Susan » Fri June 23rd, 2017, 9:21 pm

Another reserved ebook from eLibraryNJ became available today: Prince Charles: The Passions and Paradoxes of an Improbable Life by Sally Bedell Smith. I usually like my royals long-dead, but this one should keep my interest as opposed to Lincoln in the Bardo which I borrowed for 67 minutes (unless I find some inaccurate, preposterous, or exaggerated things, which is entirely possible). If I could have, I would have thrown Lincoln in the Bardo against the wall!.
~Susan~
~Unofficial Royalty~
Royal news updated daily, information and discussion about royalty past and present
http://www.unofficialroyalty.com/

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Misfit
Bibliomaniac
Posts: 9581
Joined: August 2008
Location: Seattle, WA

Re: What are you reading June 2017?

Post by Misfit » Sun June 25th, 2017, 5:24 pm

Gilded Deceit by Tracy Grant.
At home with a good book and the cat...
...is the only place I want to be

SCW
Avid Reader
Posts: 286
Joined: October 2010
Preferred HF: Lately World Two or the time immediately before and after this period
Location: Australia

Re: What are you reading June 2017?

Post by SCW » Wed June 28th, 2017, 11:58 am

Have just finished My Theodosia by Anya Seton. Novel about Vice President Aaron Burr's daughter.


Am now a third of the way through Orwell's 1984...

after that I might read something very cheerful (Carebears go to Disneyland perhaps...it that a book?

User avatar
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

Re: What are you reading June 2017?

Post by Vanessa » Wed June 28th, 2017, 1:49 pm

I'm having to put down Alison Weir's Anne Boleyn, A King's Obsession, for the time being as I have a book to review by 2 July. So, I'm now reading Under an Amber Sky by Rose Alexander which is a contemporary story set in Montenegro.
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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