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Leyland's Log

What have you read in 2009? Post your list here and update it as you go along! (One thread per member, please.)
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Leyland
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Leyland's Log

Post by Leyland » Thu January 1st, 2009, 3:35 pm

I never got a 2008 thread started, so I'm sure if I get this one going on January 1 that I'll be diligent about maintaining it throughout the year.

Right now I'm nearly halfway through Dan Simmon's The Terror, so let's call that the RIP (Read in Process) right now.

#1 on the Log - it was a great adventure and I really enjoyed. Loved the detail regarding the British Navy's abilities to provision for and survive icebound in the Arctic for years at a time, but sometimes the detail went on a bit too much and slowed the pace somewhat. I also enjoyed the mythological aspects of the story as the supernatural is a part of the two ships crews' danger and terror.
Last edited by Leyland on Wed January 14th, 2009, 3:50 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Reason: Thanks for correcting the title spelling, Susan!
We are the music makers, And we are the dreamers of dreams ~ Arthur O'Shaughnessy, Ode

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Leyland
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Post by Leyland » Sun January 4th, 2009, 2:46 am

Cormac McCarthy's The Road is now a done deal. McCarthy's stripped down storytelling style didn't interest me much and I've never read a book in which sentences constantly started with the word 'he'. Although I understand the subtleties and horrors of the post-apocalyptic story, I was never enthralled with this novel at all.
We are the music makers, And we are the dreamers of dreams ~ Arthur O'Shaughnessy, Ode

LoisAnn
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Post by LoisAnn » Tue January 13th, 2009, 3:39 am

[quote=""Leyland""]Cormac McCarthy's The Road is now a done deal. McCarthy's stripped down storytelling style didn't interest me much and I've never read a book in which sentences constantly started with the word 'he'. Although I understand the subtleties and horrors of the post-apocalyptic story, I was never enthralled with this novel at all.[/quote]

I really appreciate your remarks on The Road. I'm very particular about what McCarthy books I read - he tends to get a little too weird for me.

I loved All the Pretty Horses and enjoyed (was morbidly fascinated) by No Country for Old Men; but my reading of the reviews and synopses of The Road indicated a Pass. Nice to see that my concerns are validated.
I've never known any trouble that an hour's reading didn't assuage. ~ Charles de Secondat

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Leyland
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Post by Leyland » Wed January 14th, 2009, 3:40 pm

#3 A Woman of the World by Genie Chipps Henderson. The novel tells the story of Margaret Bourke White's life in the fictionalized guise of Kate Goodfellow as she works her way into photojournalism fame in the 20's through war journalism as an Army officer in the 40's. Kate Goodfellow is a 'modern' 20's woman in terms of fashion and a different moral code than most domestic-centric women of the time. Adventures and danger don't deter her as she confronts a dust bowl blizzard and being torpedoed in the Mediterranean.

It was a fun read.
We are the music makers, And we are the dreamers of dreams ~ Arthur O'Shaughnessy, Ode

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Leyland
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Post by Leyland » Mon January 26th, 2009, 1:27 am

#4 The Jaguar Mask by Irish author Daniel Easterman. I bought it for the Mayan archaeologist adventure aspect but didn't expect quite all the criminal drama. I loved Easterman's descriptions of the Mayan pyramids and culture as well as Conquistadoran history revealed in letters written by explorers in the jungle terrain of Central America. The novel is actually a thriller taking place mostly in France, Mexico and Guatemala with lots of violence and conspiracies and secret society/cult stuff.

http://www.amazon.com/Jaguar-Mask-Danie ... 344&sr=1-1
We are the music makers, And we are the dreamers of dreams ~ Arthur O'Shaughnessy, Ode

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Leyland
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Post by Leyland » Wed January 28th, 2009, 11:09 pm

#5 One Foot in Eden by Ron Rash. Absolute superior storytelling, is all I can say. Most of the story is set around Seneca SC and the nearby mountains circa the Korean War. The ending is set eighteen years later. This novel is likely going to be very close to the best of anything else I read this year.

I particulary like the Los Angeles Times blurb on the front cover:

"Equal parts vintage crime novel and Southern Gothic full of aching ambivalence and hard compromises, and rounded off by bad faith and bad choices, One Foot in Eden is veritable garden of unearthly disquiet."
We are the music makers, And we are the dreamers of dreams ~ Arthur O'Shaughnessy, Ode

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Telynor
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Post by Telynor » Sun February 1st, 2009, 9:07 am

[quote=""Leyland""]#4 The Jaguar Mask by Irish author Daniel Easterman. I bought it for the Mayan archaeologist adventure aspect but didn't expect quite all the criminal drama. I loved Easterman's descriptions of the Mayan pyramids and culture as well as Conquistadoran history revealed in letters written by explorers in the jungle terrain of Central America. The novel is actually a thriller taking place mostly in France, Mexico and Guatemala with lots of violence and conspiracies and secret society/cult stuff.

http://www.amazon.com/Jaguar-Mask-Danie ... 344&sr=1-1[/quote]

Hmm. I just tried the link, and I can't find the review. Phooey.

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Leyland
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Post by Leyland » Sun February 1st, 2009, 2:22 pm

Try this one, Telynor. It has a synopsis and some reviews that contain spoilers (especially the first one).

http://www.jaguar-enthusiasts.org.uk/bo ... -mask.html
We are the music makers, And we are the dreamers of dreams ~ Arthur O'Shaughnessy, Ode

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Leyland
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Post by Leyland » Tue February 3rd, 2009, 4:36 am

#6 Shadow Patriots by Lucia St.Clair Robson. Reviewed by me here - http://www.historicalfictiononline.com/ ... php?t=1316

I started this novel last year and got less than a dozen pages in before being distracted by who knows what else! I'm so glad I picked it back up.
We are the music makers, And we are the dreamers of dreams ~ Arthur O'Shaughnessy, Ode

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Leyland
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Post by Leyland » Mon February 9th, 2009, 1:26 am

#7 Light and Dark by Margaret Thomson Davis - a dramatic story of a woman married to wealthy mill owner in West Lothian, Scotland at the end of the Victorian era and her romance with her husband's estate's homefarm manager in the first part of the book. The remaining parts of the book tell the story of her free spirited daughter who fails to conform to Edwardian era standards of proper ladylike behavior and becomes intensely involved in the suffragette movement.

It's a heartwrenching drama with tragedy, perversity, heady romance and social upheaval. Intense happiness and deep grief define the light and dark for this upper class family.
We are the music makers, And we are the dreamers of dreams ~ Arthur O'Shaughnessy, Ode

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