What are you reading?

diamondlil · Post by **diamondlil** » Wed September 3rd, 2008, 9:44 am

I am reading Figures in Silk by Vanora Bennett.

Big Pratchett fan here. Certainly deserves his own thread!

boswellbaxter · Post by **boswellbaxter** » Wed September 3rd, 2008, 11:57 am

"diamondlil" wrote:I am reading Figures in Silk by Vanora Bennett.

I'm eager to hear what you think of that one! I think it's due out in the US in 2009.

TerriPray · Post by **TerriPray** » Wed September 3rd, 2008, 12:59 pm

I gave Caesar's Women 150 pages and had to restrain from throwing it against the wall in disgust.

The title is very misleading, it's not really about Caesar's Women, which is what I wanted to read. There are so many novels about Caesar that I truly did want to read about the women in his life.

On top of that, there is a strong belief that Caesar fathered Brutus, the author has Caesar and Servilla meeting when Brutus is 15 - I nearly stopped right there, my jaw clenched.

The author sets Caesar up as this great lover, and most fans of the time period know that the relationship between Caesar and Servilla was a long and powerful one, yet he falls for Servilla because - wait for it - she has a hairy back? twitch

I'm very glad that was a library book, it would have been a waste of my money.

So, I'm onto The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory.

Ash · Post by **Ash** » Wed September 3rd, 2008, 1:33 pm

"diamondlil" wrote:I am reading Figures in Silk by Vanora Bennett.

Big Pratchett fan here. Certainly deserves his own thread!

Hee - I am not sure how you could stretch the HF over his work tho

I do love him and am looking forward to his next book, Nation.

I am well into Guernsey Literary (etc) Society, and am liking the story enough - again reminds me of Helen Hanff which is ok. But more than that I am eating up the history here. I didn't even know the Nazis occupied the Channel Islands (at the apparent bequest of the Brit government; they decided they didn't have the resources to help and just let them out in the wind) The stories told about this occupation, when they were all starving and the Brits finally allowed the Red Cross to deliver food, was eye opening and really got me angry. I want to learn more about this, and suspect there is another side here (or two or three). Does anyone have any good sources (links or non fiction books) that cover this subject?

Anyway glad to be reading it, thanks for the encouragement

Ludmilla · Post by **Ludmilla** » Wed September 3rd, 2008, 1:52 pm

"Virgulina" wrote:I'm one of the very few people that didn't really enjoy this book! Death annoyed me to no end with all the obvious foreshadowing and the humour seemed too forced. Maybe I'm just not sensitive enough but none of the characters moved me and I couldn't wait for the book to end!

Ana

You're not alone! Death as narrator annoyed me, too. I found the structure & style of that novel too disruptive to the flow of the story. In the end, though, I did find it emotionally powerful. Overall, my reaction to it was mixed.

On topic:
Read some good books in the last week, which included Michael Shaara's novelization of the Battle of Gettysburg, The Killer Angels. Loved it so much, I've ordered the other two books in this trilogy which were written by his son. Next, I read E. L. Doctorow's The March, which follows a motley crew of individuals caught up in Sherman's March through Georgia and the Carolinas. It's good, but somehow not satisfying, if that makes sense at all. I think because it follows so many characters that it lacks a certain intimacy you get in other books. I've just started a historical fantasy this morning -- Guy Gavriel Kay's A Song for Arbonne. I've read and enjoyed several of GGK's other novels, so I'm expecting to enjoy this one as well.

sweetpotatoboy · Post by **sweetpotatoboy** » Wed September 3rd, 2008, 2:32 pm

"TerriPray" wrote:I gave Caesar's Women 150 pages and had to restrain from throwing it against the wall in disgust.

The title is very misleading, it's not really about Caesar's Women, which is what I wanted to read. There are so many novels about Caesar that I truly did want to read about the women in his life.

On top of that, there is a strong belief that Caesar fathered Brutus, the author has Caesar and Servilla meeting when Brutus is 15 - I nearly stopped right there, my jaw clenched.

The author sets Caesar up as this great lover, and most fans of the time period know that the relationship between Caesar and Servilla was a long and powerful one, yet he falls for Servilla because - wait for it - she has a hairy back? twitch

I'm very glad that was a library book, it would have been a waste of my money.

I'm sorry to hear that. I've absolutely loved this whole series. And, indeed, I'm not sure that they work best as standalones. To understand her view of Caesar and his relationships, you may need to have been with him from the beginning. I certainly never got the impression from these books that he fell for Servilia because of her hairy back, and McCullough has also seemed to me too intelligent a writer for something like that. I guess we just read it differently...

I do know that she had many tussles with her publishers on some of the titles for her books. And it may be that they were the ones pressing for 'Caesar's Women' when McCullough never intended the book's focus to be that. She certainly has gone on record as saying that she didn't want the following book in the series to be boringly called 'Caesar' (can't remember offhand what her proposed title for it was). Though she obviously got her way with 'The October Horse', which I doubt would have been the publisher's first choice.

sweetpotatoboy · Post by **sweetpotatoboy** » Wed September 3rd, 2008, 2:34 pm

"Ludmilla" wrote:I've just started a historical fantasy this morning -- Guy Gavriel Kay's A Song for Arbonne. I've read and enjoyed several of GGK's other novels, so I'm expecting to enjoy this one as well.

I remember enjoying that one, though maybe not as much as some of his other books, but definitely v. readable.

TerriPray · Post by **TerriPray** » Wed September 3rd, 2008, 2:48 pm

Publishers do, indeed, as a general rule of thumb, have the final say on the title of a novel. More so with NY press than small press. If there'd been a write up on the book, a blurb, that would have helped. However, the copy in the library lacked even that.

I understand about reading things differently, but the whole thing with Caesar and Servilla, she actually has Caesar stating that the hair on the back is the reason he's interested in her. There's this scene with him licking and kissing it.

I'm spoiled when it comes to seduction scenes, and romance threads, I know that, so when I see an author blow it on something like that, it truly does set my teeth on edge. If she'd not given a reason for his attraction to her, then the scene would have had a better chance at working in my personal point of view.

Oh well, different strokes for different folks.

Spitfire · Post by **Spitfire** » Wed September 3rd, 2008, 4:10 pm

I just picked up The Greatest Night - William Marshal by E. Chadwick. I can hardly wait. I loved her novel First Knight (a new twist on Lancelot/Arthur/Guenevere) so I know this one is going to be a great read!

LCW · Post by **LCW** » Wed September 3rd, 2008, 4:26 pm

I got sidetracked from The Book Thief and yesterday, during the tiny bit of time I've had to read lately, I picked up Born Free about a couple living in Africa who raised a lioness and then released her back into the wild. It's NF and as a child I was obsessed with the story. I watched the movie over and over again! What a great book! I want a lion as a pet!