What Are You Reading (Jan 2009 edition)?

Misfit · Post by **Misfit** » Tue January 20th, 2009, 6:33 pm

[quote=""Ludmilla""]Currently in the middle of Daphne du Maurier's The King's General and loving it so far. I know 1st person narratives aren't everyone's cup of tea, but I think D. du M had a special talent for it, and this one is another great example. I slide so easily into this kind of story, I feel right at home.[/quote]

Ooh, I looked that one up at Amazon and I'm intrigued. Put a hold on it at the library. Thanks for mentioning it.

I just started Women of Ashdon by Valerie Anand.

michellemoran · Post by **michellemoran** » Tue January 20th, 2009, 7:24 pm

The Boleyn Inheritance. I had started many moons ago and now I'm finally finishing it!

cw gortner · Post by **cw gortner** » Tue January 20th, 2009, 8:42 pm

[quote=""Vanessa""]I love Daphne du Maurier's books. I think she's a fabulous author.[/quote]

Me, too! She's one of my all-time favorites. When I was a teenager, I must have read My Cousin Rachel six times. It was my ideal Gothic novel. I wasn't a huge fan of Rebecca, her big bestseller, but I loved The Glass Blowers, set in pre-and post-revolutionary France, and she wrote a marvelous non-fiction account of Elizabeth I's boys called Golden Lads. I've never read The King's General, though. Time to go book shopping!

Kasthu · Post by **Kasthu** » Tue January 20th, 2009, 10:04 pm

Another Daphne fan here as well! I enjoyed Rebecca and Jamaica Inn, sort of liked Mary Anne (about one of Daphne Du Maurier's 19th century ancestors), and really loved My Cousin Rachel and The House on the Strand--a MUST read. I'm trying to get a hold of a copy of The Scapegoat, but alas, her novels, apart from Rebecca and Jamaica Inn, are really hard to find in bookstores.

Misfit · Post by **Misfit** » Tue January 20th, 2009, 10:36 pm

D du M is so good, My Cousin Rachel (wow) what an ending. I've got Scapegoat and House on the Strand on the list as well. Lucky me, the library system has five pages of her books to chose from

Divia · Post by **Divia** » Wed January 21st, 2009, 12:26 am

[quote=""Misfit""]I thought that name hit a bell. There was some publisher that was sending out Amazon friend invites last year and offering e versions of this for review. She also posted some odd one/two sentence reviewsof other books and then suggested this book.[/quote]

Yeah she tried to be on my friend list and said she wanted me to review a copy. I send send one in the mail. I dont read pdfs of books and she did, but it wasnt that grand and I"m glad I didnt buy it.

Misfit · Post by **Misfit** » Wed January 21st, 2009, 12:37 am

[quote=""Divia""]Yeah she tried to be on my friend list and said she wanted me to review a copy. I send send one in the mail. I dont read pdfs of books and she did, but it wasnt that grand and I"m glad I didnt buy it.[/quote]

Yeah, she sent me an invite and offered the ebook as well. I accepted the invite but declined the book offer. After I saw what she was doing with her reviews I dropped that friend. Really really odd reviews.

Ash · Post by **Ash** » Wed January 21st, 2009, 12:38 am

[quote=""Kasthu""]The House on the Strand--a MUST read.[/quote]

Oh I so agree; I read Rebecca ages ago; when someone told me she wrote a time travel book, well I just had to try it. Wow!

Just finished the bio of Mary Todd Lincoln, Mrs. Lincoln. Didn't get much more than I got from reading Emancipator's Wife, except that the biographer does get a little more down and dirty with the civil war stuff. Ultimately liked it, but I'd read the HF first.

Now moving on to The First Man of Rome, for our March group. Its so huge I figure it might take me that long....Hopefully its heft is misleading, and its a much faster read than I might think!

cesco · Post by **cesco** » Wed January 21st, 2009, 5:48 am

[quote=""Ash""]
Now moving on to The First Man of Rome, for our March group. Its so huge I figure it might take me that long....Hopefully its heft is misleading, and its a much faster read than I might think![/quote]

One of my favorite novels, it was really my introduction to Historical Fiction. I was nineteen, on a road-trip, and listened to David Ogden Stiers read an abridged version. Eventually I got home and bought a copy. Marius and Sulla - wow. Just go with the flow of names, and trust McCullough. It's dense but it's truly excellent.

sweetpotatoboy · Post by **sweetpotatoboy** » Wed January 21st, 2009, 10:38 am

[quote=""Ash""]Now moving on to The First Man of Rome, for our March group. Its so huge I figure it might take me that long....Hopefully its heft is misleading, and its a much faster read than I might think![/quote]

Enjoy. It's a bit of a biggie for a group read. I try to choose slimmer novels for our group selections. But a wonderful book -- as the rest of the series are. In fact, the first three or four are probably the most readable.