October 2010: What Are You Reading?

Susan · Post by **Susan** » Mon October 18th, 2010, 10:49 pm

[quote=""EC2""]I loved that one. It shows what you can do tongue in cheek when you know your history. One of my hall of fame novels![/quote]

There's a quote from you on the cover!

EC2 · Post by **EC2** » Tue October 19th, 2010, 12:39 am

[quote=""Susan""]There's a quote from you on the cover![/quote]

Yes, one of my rare appearances as an endorser!

Michy · Post by **Michy** » Tue October 19th, 2010, 2:33 am

[quote=""LoobyG""]Just finished 'Ever After' by Elswyth Thane. It seems like it's taken me forever to read it, but I've been hooked on the second season of True Blood. Enjoyed it a little less than the previous two novels in the series, they had more charm than this one, and when it got to the war in Cuba I felt lost to begin with. However I did like the twist with Bracken's wife near the end, and did ultimately like the introduction of the younger generation of characters, especially the dishy Bracken

[/quote]

I agree -- the love stories in Ever After were pretty bland to me. And the "climactic" scene in Ever After with Dinah and Bracken at Scotland Yard wasn't as good as the climactic scenes in the first two. I thought the character of Gwen had great potential, but Thane just didn't make her story as interesting as it could have been. And of course you know because I've already said it, I did not at all like what she did with Susannah. I couldn't care about the war in Cuba, either. Although the descriptions of the land crabs waiting to feast on dying soldiers was pretty creepy. I had to look them up in Wikipedia, and the photos gave me the heebie geebies!!

I thought The Light Heart was better, although still not quite as good as the first two.

Am now reading Zemindar by Valerie Fitzgerald. It's a total doorstop -- almost 800 pages!

Telynor · Post by **Telynor** » Tue October 19th, 2010, 6:00 am

[quote=""SonjaMarie""]I've finished "The Courtiers: Splendor and Intrigue in the Georgian Court at Kensington Palace" by Lucy Worsley (351pgs, 2010)~.

A very interesting and fascinating look at the lives of George I and George II while they inhabited Kensington Palace. Extremely well written and enjoyable.

SM[/quote]

Wasn't it though? I was absolutely fascinated by it, especially as George I and II were monarchs that I knew nothing at all about beyond the very basics. And Queen Caroline -- now there's a woman who deserves to have a good HF written about her! And i felt so badly for Henrietta Howard throughout it all, what torture court life must have been for her.

Finished the Ann Rule NF -- brrr! I do hope that some closure can be made in the case.

Now onto The Countess and the King, and liking it very much. One thing that I've noticed is that Susan Holloway Scott improves as she goes, she seems to be learning from each novel. That's always a good sign.

SonjaMarie · Post by **SonjaMarie** » Tue October 19th, 2010, 8:19 am

I'm reading a book about world history put out by mental floss, a supposedly uber smart group, but when I read things like Maryland being named for Mary of Scots it kind of makes me doubt that! It was Henrietta Maria that it was named for, she was Charles I's wife.

SM

Freda · Post by **Freda** » Tue October 19th, 2010, 10:53 am

[quote=""Brenna""]Speaking of Stuarts (although I mean England Stuarts, not Egypt)- does anyone have some good recommendations for books written about that time period or about the House of Stuarts?[/quote]
Wife to Charles II by Hilda Lewis is a good one. Pub back in 1965 but well written and enjoyable, this is the story of Catherine of Braganza.

LoobyG · Post by **LoobyG** » Tue October 19th, 2010, 1:27 pm

[QUOTE=Michy;71996]I agree -- the love stories in Ever After were pretty bland to me. And the "climactic" scene in Ever After with Dinah and Bracken at Scotland Yard wasn't as good as the climactic scenes in the first two. I thought the character of Gwen had great potential, but Thane just didn't make her story as interesting as it could have been. And of course you know because I've already said it, I did not at all like what she did with Susannah. I couldn't care about the war in Cuba, either. Although the descriptions of the land crabs waiting to feast on dying soldiers was pretty creepy. I had to look them up in Wikipedia, and the photos gave me the heebie geebies!!

I thought The Light Heart was better, although still not quite as good as the first two.

I loved the romances in the first two books, especially in Yankee Stranger. It would have been quite hard to beat that, and I think Bracken and Fitz had it pretty easy in comparison to their ancestors! The crabs were very creepy, I'll have to have a gander on Wiki to see the pictures. You can just imagine them lurking, waiting to feast on festering wounds...
Glad to hear 'The Light Heart' is better, I'll have to order it soon

sweetpotatoboy · Post by **sweetpotatoboy** » Tue October 19th, 2010, 3:01 pm

[quote=""Telynor""]And Queen Caroline -- now there's a woman who deserves to have a good HF written about her! [/quote]

Well, there are two in Jean Plaidy's Georgian saga - The Queen in Waiting and Caroline, The Queen.
It's years, decades rather, since I read them but I still have a vivid view of her from them.

Vanessa · Post by **Vanessa** » Tue October 19th, 2010, 3:02 pm

I'm just about to start Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey.

SonjaMarie · Post by **SonjaMarie** » Tue October 19th, 2010, 5:27 pm

[quote=""Telynor""]Wasn't it though? I was absolutely fascinated by it, especially as George I and II were monarchs that I knew nothing at all about beyond the very basics. And Queen Caroline -- now there's a woman who deserves to have a good HF written about her! And i felt so badly for Henrietta Howard throughout it all, what torture court life must have been for her.
[/quote]

I felt more badly for Caroline! Her death was shocking! I don't think I could have lived through those last days with the fortitude that she had! I tried to see if there was a good biography of her but couldn't find one just about her.

SM