August 2010, what are you reading

Misfit · Post by **Misfit** » Mon August 9th, 2010, 3:46 pm

[quote=""JoshuaKaitlyn""]Finished "Katherine Swynford: The History of a Medieval Mistress" by Jeannette Lucraft

(Please EC2 remove this from my memory by writing a novel based on Katherine

). Starting Jack D. Hunter's "The Blue Max"[/quote]

Lol, wouldn't we all like that. I'm taking one for the team and reading Bound by Honor: An erotic novel of Maid Marian by Colette Gale. Not really really bad but the sex feels more clinical than erotic. Plentiful use of a slang word that the dictionary says came about in the 1700's

EC2 · Post by **EC2** » Mon August 9th, 2010, 3:53 pm

Talking of Katherine Swynford, I have just come across her in The People's Queen by Vanora Bennet. I'm only 25 pages in, but I really like what I've read so far i.e. I am wanting to turn the pages.

Gads, if I moved into the 14thC I'd have to do tons of research. Might be interesting though to see a new novel on her by someone. The Lucraft is factual isn't it? What's wrong with it?

JoshuaKaitlyn · Post by **JoshuaKaitlyn** » Mon August 9th, 2010, 4:24 pm

For me it was dry! Filled with 'he said that about her or they said that about her'. Not so much a bio/history of her more a case of trying to explain why she wore the wheel emblem, why her tomb is basic, what she may have been like by using 'contemporary' examples such as Margery Kempe. Plus a fair bit of 'ye olde english!' Perhaps a companion book is needed entitled 'Olde English into modern day speech'! as I said

Brenna · Post by **Brenna** » Mon August 9th, 2010, 5:48 pm

[QUOTE=EC2;66856]Talking of Katherine Swynford, I have just come across her in The People's Queen by Vanora Bennet. I'm only 25 pages in, but I really like what I've read so far i.e. I am wanting to turn the pages.

EC-do you know if that has a different title in the states or if it has been released here yet? I tried looking for it on amazon.com, but all they had was the Kindle edition and even that you couldn't buy. I don't know if it was through this forum or not, but I thought I had read that it may be coming out later here or something...

EC2 · Post by **EC2** » Mon August 9th, 2010, 5:58 pm

Brenna, no I don't. Perhaps one of our other USA readers can help out. I am reading mine courtesy of Amazon Vine UK. I haven't read any of her other novels.

Tanzanite · Post by **Tanzanite** » Mon August 9th, 2010, 6:03 pm

[quote=""Brenna""]

EC2;66856 wrote:Talking of Katherine Swynford, I have just come across her in The People's Queen by Vanora Bennet. I'm only 25 pages in, but I really like what I've read so far i.e. I am wanting to turn the pages.

EC-do you know if that has a different title in the states or if it has been released here yet? I tried looking for it on amazon.com, but all they had was the Kindle edition and even that you couldn't buy. I don't know if it was through this forum or not, but I thought I had read that it may be coming out later here or something...

So far I haven't seen any mention of it being released in the US. Her previous book was released in the US about a year after the UK.

annis · Post by **annis** » Mon August 9th, 2010, 6:05 pm

The People's Queen is another take on Alice Perrers, isn't it? Funny how she's suddenly become of interest- it's not long since Emma Campion's The King's Mistress came out to mixed reviews.

Misfit · Post by **Misfit** » Mon August 9th, 2010, 6:26 pm

[quote=""Tanzanite""]

Brenna;66875 wrote:
So far I haven't seen any mention of it being released in the US. Her previous book was released in the US about a year after the UK.

I think Bennet's books usually come out in the UK first.

SonjaMarie · Post by **SonjaMarie** » Mon August 9th, 2010, 7:24 pm

I've finished "The Queen's Necklace" by Antal Szerb, translated by Len Rix (305pgs, orig 1942, new 2009). An interesting look at the infamous Affair of the Necklace.

Some comments though:
Even though the events in the book are supposed to be outdated because they're history, when the author starts talking about his time period (early 40s), the book becomes even more so, because the author assumes the reader of that time of the book's printing and in the original language (Hungarian), understands what he is talking about, but anyone of 2010 may find themselves a tad lost.

There's also a chapter in the book "Intermezzo" that really has nothing to do with the book's subject and after going through the trouble of reading it, I can truly say that anyone just wanting to read about the "Necklace" case can skip it.

SM

SonjaMarie · Post by **SonjaMarie** » Mon August 9th, 2010, 7:33 pm

I've been reading, or trying to at least, "Royal Poxes and Potions: The Lives of Court Physicians, Surgeons and Apothecaries" by Raymond Lamont-Brown, and it was going fine until I got to page 31 where the author says that Henri II of France died 11 days after being hit by a lance while hunting on June 29, 1559 - the problem being is that Henri died after being hit by a lance while jousting on June 30, 1559. Despite my misgivings I'll continue with the book, but if I come across another stupid mistake it's going to be a wall banger and I can only hope that the new release of it in June has the mistake(s) fixed!

SM