September 2010: What Are You Reading?

Mello · Post by **Mello** » Thu September 23rd, 2010, 7:14 am

[QUOTE=fljustice;70020]Poldark holds a sentimental spot in my heart. On my first date with my (to be) husband, I offhandedly remarked that I was having trouble locating the first book in the series. On our second date, he presented me with a copy. We celebrate our 30th anniversary next month!

[/QUOTE

No wonder he was a keeper! We're 30 years too next April, but my other half wouldn't have a clue where to source the books I'm interested in!

Really enjoying Poldark, it's a favourite time period of mine.

Carine · Post by **Carine** » Thu September 23rd, 2010, 1:11 pm

I'm reading The Winter Mantle by Elizabeth Chadwick.

LoobyG · Post by **LoobyG** » Thu September 23rd, 2010, 3:52 pm

Finished 'Catherine - One Love is Enough' by Juliette Benzoni finally after it dried out from the diet coke spillage, and now more than half way through 'Forgotten Voices from the Holocaust' by Lyn Smith, which I picked up in Poland two days ago. Love, love love Catherine! I've got the next one waiting but I'm going to pace myself with them to maximise the enjoyment, not quite sure what will be next.

EC2 · Post by **EC2** » Thu September 23rd, 2010, 4:44 pm

My Last Duchess by Daisy Goodwin for Amazon Vine and Ralph Turner biography of Eleanor of Aquitaine - meh to the latter. There have been several historical bloopers and it's all 'May have' and 'Probably' and 'Doubtless' which means he is just best guessing and sometimes making a crappy mess of doing it by choosing the least best guess IMO. He also massively relies on secondary sources, same as he did in his bio of King John. So I'm a tad irritated.

cw gortner · Post by **cw gortner** » Thu September 23rd, 2010, 5:52 pm

[quote=""annis""]Just been reading a review of The Astronomer in which the reviewer grizzles about a mention of potatoes in Germany. The anachronistic potato is a frequent complaint, but the first potatoes were planted in Germany in the mid 1500's,-grown and eaten mostly by peasants- so depending on the book's timeframe I wonder if the reviewer might in fact be wrong in this case?[/quote]

I think I read that same review somewhere, too. The book takes place in 1534 /35, so maybe potatoes were in Germany already, though I'd always understood the earliest mention of a potato was in Spain in 1536 and it took several years after that before the crop spread into the rest of Europe, so perhaps the complaint is justified.

Even so, the book is a fun read, and quite intelligently written, so that minor anarchronism will hardly detract from one's enjoyment of it. If it were a novel centered on Renaissance culinary delights, perhaps, but not in this case.

The anarchronistic potato: I think that's actually rather funny

Amazing what some reviewers will focus on.

Brenna · Post by **Brenna** » Thu September 23rd, 2010, 7:41 pm

[quote=""Carine""]I'm reading The Winter Mantle by Elizabeth Chadwick.[/quote]

Carine-

I just finished it. It was pretty good! Hope you enjoy. I just started EC's "The Marsh King's Daughter." Pretty excited about it

Miss Moppet · Post by **Miss Moppet** » Thu September 23rd, 2010, 8:03 pm

[quote=""LoobyG""]Finished 'Catherine - One Love is Enough' by Juliette Benzoni finally after it dried out from the diet coke spillage[/quote]

Oh, that is so great. Love the wedding night scene in particular. But there's lots more fun to come in the rest of the series.

EC2 wrote:Ralph Turner biography of Eleanor of Aquitaine - meh to the latter. There have been several historical bloopers and it's all 'May have' and 'Probably' and 'Doubtless' which means he is just best guessing and sometimes making a crappy mess of doing it by choosing the least best guess IMO. He also massively relies on secondary sources, same as he did in his bio of King John. So I'm a tad irritated.

Turner wrote one of the essays in the John and Magna Carta book I haven't started yet and I noticed one apparent mistake just dipping into it. After what you've just said I will be reading it cautiously.

I've been in another slump after finishing Hound of the Baskervilles, which was great. I picked up Jane Eyre only to put it down again once Mr Rochester came on the scene because I just wasn't in the mood to wade through all the 'oh, my pixie' stuff.

I have piles of stuff from the library on hand but feel like trying another classic so I'm going to have another go at Pamela by Samuel Richardson.

TLee · Post by **TLee** » Thu September 23rd, 2010, 9:05 pm

Just started The Gentleman Poet by Kathryn Johnson. The beginning starts with a very vivid description of experiencing a hurricane on a sailing ship in 1611. Made me seasick just reading about it - a very promising start.

Nefret · Post by **Nefret** » Fri September 24th, 2010, 2:10 pm

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne

Vanessa · Post by **Vanessa** » Fri September 24th, 2010, 5:19 pm

I shall be starting A Quiet Belief in Angels by R J Ellory tonight.