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Susan's 2013 Books

Use this section to record the books you read in 2013. One thread per member, please.
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Susan
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Susan's 2013 Books

Post by Susan » Thu January 10th, 2013, 1:17 am

1) The Hangman's Daughter by Oliver Pötzsch; finished 1/4/13

2) The Dark Monk by Oliver Pötzsch; finished 1/8/13
~Susan~
~Unofficial Royalty~
Royal news updated daily, information and discussion about royalty past and present
http://www.unofficialroyalty.com/

tsjmom
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Post by tsjmom » Fri January 11th, 2013, 7:04 pm

The Hangman's Daughter is on my TBR list. What did you think of it?

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Susan
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Post by Susan » Fri January 11th, 2013, 11:46 pm

[quote=""tsjmom""]The Hangman's Daughter is on my TBR list. What did you think of it?[/quote]

I found it interesting. That may be colored by the fact that I was in Bavaria this past summer. The author is a descendant of the hangman which makes it even more intriguing. I am currently reading the third book in the series (published in English this week) and I plan to write something about all three books when I finish.
~Susan~
~Unofficial Royalty~
Royal news updated daily, information and discussion about royalty past and present
http://www.unofficialroyalty.com/

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Susan
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Post by Susan » Wed January 16th, 2013, 11:36 pm

3) The Beggar King by Oliver Pötzsch; finished 1/15/13.
~Susan~
~Unofficial Royalty~
Royal news updated daily, information and discussion about royalty past and present
http://www.unofficialroyalty.com/

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Susan
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Post by Susan » Mon January 21st, 2013, 1:23 pm

4) Dearest Affie by John van der Kiste; finished 1/21/13

"Dearest Affie" is a biography of Queen Victoria's second son and third child Alfred. This 2012 e-book is a revised edition of the book first published in 1984. The book is difficult to find and expensive. I had biographies of six of Victoria's nine children, so when I saw this e-book, I snapped it up. There are many typographical errors which is just unacceptable to me. Whoever edited this e-book did not do his/her job. While there is much information on Affie, as he was called in the family, for me the naval information was not that interesting and I did skim most of those parts. I found it somewhat of a pedestrian read.
~Susan~
~Unofficial Royalty~
Royal news updated daily, information and discussion about royalty past and present
http://www.unofficialroyalty.com/

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Susan
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Post by Susan » Sat February 2nd, 2013, 2:11 am

5) Abdication by Juliet Nicolson; finished 1/31/13; reviews are mixed but I liked it. It took place during 1936, the year King George V died and was succeeded by his eldest son King Edward VIII who abdicated the same year and was succeeded by his brother King George VI. Edward VIII (known as David in his family) and Wallis Simpson were characters, but the plot revolved around other characters who I found diverse and interesting. The author is the granddaughter of Harold Nicholson and Vita Sackville-West. Nicholson wrote, among other books, a biography of King George V. Sackville-West, also a writer, was the lover of Virginia Woolf.
~Susan~
~Unofficial Royalty~
Royal news updated daily, information and discussion about royalty past and present
http://www.unofficialroyalty.com/

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Susan
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Post by Susan » Mon February 4th, 2013, 2:16 am

6) Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan; got to keep up with these books because my students read them!
~Susan~
~Unofficial Royalty~
Royal news updated daily, information and discussion about royalty past and present
http://www.unofficialroyalty.com/

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Susan
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Post by Susan » Sun February 24th, 2013, 1:30 pm

7) The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart; finished 2/23/13. I did not read this series when it first came out and I did not find this book as positive as so many others did. I am a fan of the Arthurian legend from Tennyson's Idylls of the King (have vivid memories of my 10th grade English teacher reading this aloud) to The Mists of Avalon (one of the few books I have read twice) to even Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I just don't know why this book did not grab me, but I will continue reading the series.
Last edited by Susan on Sun February 24th, 2013, 1:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.
~Susan~
~Unofficial Royalty~
Royal news updated daily, information and discussion about royalty past and present
http://www.unofficialroyalty.com/

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Susan
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Post by Susan » Sun February 24th, 2013, 1:36 pm

I forgot to add the book I finished before The Crystal Cave!

8) The Wedding Shroud by Elizabeth Storrs; finished on February 11; I first saw reference to this one in a review here and I was intrigued. The cover says it is a book of ancient Rome, but the setting for most of the novel is the Etruscan city of Veii where the culture is quite different. The end leaves the door open for a sequel which is forthcoming from the author which I will definitely read.
~Susan~
~Unofficial Royalty~
Royal news updated daily, information and discussion about royalty past and present
http://www.unofficialroyalty.com/

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Susan
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Post by Susan » Sun March 17th, 2013, 10:54 pm

9) The Falcons of Fire and Ice by Karen Maitland; finished 3/9/13; The exposition was too long for me, but there were a few Maitland surprises sprinkled in the latter part of the novel. I think this is my least favorite Maitland novel, but I enjoyed the Iceland part of the book. I had to change planes in Reykjavik going to and from Europe in 2011. Despite having only been in the airport, the plane ride over Iceland gave a breathtaking view of the volcanic landscape, so it was easy to picture the setting.

10) The Novice's Tale by Margaret Frazer; finished 3/16/13; Yes, I will read more about Dame Frevisse! Why are there so many mysteries that involve nuns and monks?
~Susan~
~Unofficial Royalty~
Royal news updated daily, information and discussion about royalty past and present
http://www.unofficialroyalty.com/

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