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What Are You Reading? November 2011

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TiciaRoma
Reader
Posts: 149
Joined: October 2011
Location: Alexandria, VA

Post by TiciaRoma » Sat November 5th, 2011, 5:12 pm

I've been culling the Top Ten Favorites thread to find new titles.

I finished Legacy, by Kay last night. This is a five star book; it really made me much more sympathetic to Elizabeth than I've ever been. It meshed nicely with my recent viewing of The Six Wives of Henry VIII.

Another find is Parke Godwin's Beloved Exile, which I plan to begin tonight! I'm always interested in "the rest of the story."

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Alisha Marie Klapheke
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Posts: 376
Joined: November 2010
Location: Franklin, TN
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Post by Alisha Marie Klapheke » Sat November 5th, 2011, 7:52 pm

[quote=""fljustice""]I found her writing very conservative, which is a good thing in history. She stuck very close to describing the archaeology/artifacts/place names, giving less credence to the primary sources (all Roman and some not contemporary), and even less to the Irish and Welsh folklore. She doesn't extrapolate much beyond the data and refuses to speculate on ritual. The tone of the writing is dense and dull, but the information solid.[/quote]

Thanks, FLJustice. Sounds like what I need.

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Brenna
Bibliophile
Posts: 1358
Joined: June 2010
Location: Delaware

Post by Brenna » Sat November 5th, 2011, 8:30 pm

I have returned! Boy oh boy to say we were in the boonies of West Virginia would be an understatement, but we had an amazing time! For this thread-
While in WV, I read and finished The Falcon of Palermo and The Kitchen House.
The Falcon of Palermo was ok. I think the author gave it her best shot, but she really didn't capture the essence of Frederick II. It felt like something was missing.

The Kitchen House on the other hand was amazing. I read it in one day (I was absorbed and it was smaller than my normal reads). The characters come to life and you feel every heartache right along with them. A must read for those interested in slavery pre Civil War.

I also started Becoming Marie Antoinette. Pretty good so far. I'll have to balance this with SKP's The Reckoning.
Brenna

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

Post by Misfit » Sat November 5th, 2011, 9:38 pm

Just finished The Prince of Eden by Marilyn Harris. What an emotional finish, I'm still bawling. Starting on book #3 The Eden Passion.
At home with a good book and the cat...
...is the only place I want to be

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cw gortner
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Posts: 1288
Joined: September 2008
Location: San Francisco,CA
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Post by cw gortner » Sun November 6th, 2011, 1:06 am

I'm reading The Time In Between by Maria Duenas, about a young seamstress trapped in Morocco during the Spanish Civil War, who reinvents herself a master couturier and becomes an allied spy.

I had a great October reading month, too: Becoming Marie Antoinette by Juliet Grey (review here); The Book of Lost Fragrances by M.J. Rose (advance ARC, not to be missed); and Island Beneath the Sea by Isabel Allende.

On a personal note, sorry I've been so absent. I'm doing copyedits to THE QUEEN'S VOW, my novel on Isabella of Castile, out June 12, 2012; turned in Spymaster 2, tentatively titled THE TUDOR DECEPTION; and am elbow-deep in research for BORGIA'S DAUGHTER. But I'll try to visit more frequently :)
THE QUEEN'S VOW available on June 12, 2012!
THE TUDOR SECRET, Book I in the Elizabeth I Spymaster Chronicles
THE CONFESSIONS OF CATHERINE DE MEDICI
THE LAST QUEEN


www.cwgortner.com

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emr
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Posts: 840
Joined: January 2009
Location: Castilla

Post by emr » Sun November 6th, 2011, 10:10 am

Hm I have Entre costuras (The Time In Between) languishing in my tbr...

Lately I've read the new Alatriste adventure, El puente de los asesinos, as good as usual, nobody can write 17th centuty style like Reverte and I love those we-are-too-macho-to-go-around-hugging-each-other-so-dont-fu***g-think-about-it moments :D
And I've read La flor del norte by Espido Freire about Cristina of Noruega, really well written full of poetic images, very sad, recommended if you can read Spanish. Her other novels are contemporary and arent calling to me so I hope she goes on with the historical line.

Reading now Rhetoric of Death by Judith Rock and The Affinity Bridge by Goerge Mann (steampunk)
Last edited by emr on Sun November 6th, 2011, 10:17 am, edited 1 time in total.
"So many books, so little time."
— Frank Zappa

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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 » Sun November 6th, 2011, 11:50 am

I've just started The Story Sisters by Alice Hoffman.
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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MLE (Emily Cotton)
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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

Post by MLE (Emily Cotton) » Sun November 6th, 2011, 3:28 pm

I'm re-reading the Second Duchess by Elizabeth Loupas. My book group is doing it next Tuesday. Catching small details I missed the first round.

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Madeleine
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Posts: 5860
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Currently reading: "Mania" by L J Ross
Preferred HF: Plantagenets, Victorian, crime, dual time-frame
Location: Essex/London

Post by Madeleine » Sun November 6th, 2011, 8:22 pm

Still ploughing through "The Anatomy of Ghosts" - I wish something would happen already! (halfway through) - and about to start the next Sookie "All Together Dead", after which I'll probably give them a rest for a while.
Currently reading "Mania" by L J Ross

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cw gortner
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Joined: September 2008
Location: San Francisco,CA
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Post by cw gortner » Sun November 6th, 2011, 8:22 pm

[quote=""emr""]Hm I have Entre costuras (The Time In Between) languishing in my tbr...

Lately I've read the new Alatriste adventure, El puente de los asesinos, as good as usual, nobody can write 17th centuty style like Reverte and I love those we-are-too-macho-to-go-around-hugging-each-other-so-dont-fu***g-think-about-it moments :D

[/quote]

I want to read the new Alatriste adventure! Hoping they import it here to the US soon. I love the series.
THE QUEEN'S VOW available on June 12, 2012!
THE TUDOR SECRET, Book I in the Elizabeth I Spymaster Chronicles
THE CONFESSIONS OF CATHERINE DE MEDICI
THE LAST QUEEN


www.cwgortner.com

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