January 2011: What Are You Reading?

SonjaMarie · Post by **SonjaMarie** » Sat January 8th, 2011, 9:08 pm

I've finished "Warm & Snug: The History of the Bed" by Lawrence Wright (343pgs, orig. 1962, 2004ed)*. A very interesting book, though the author throws in to many foreign, mainly French phrases that he doesn't translate for my taste and a lot of Old English that I can't make heads or tails of!

The book also has tons of black and white lines images of various beds and stuff relating to the bed or bedroom.

SM

Amanda · Post by **Amanda** » Sat January 8th, 2011, 9:57 pm

[quote=""SonjaMarie""]I've finished "Warm & Snug: The History of the Bed" by Lawrence Wright (343pgs, orig. 1962, 2004ed)*. A very interesting book, though the author throws in to many foreign, mainly French phrases that he doesn't translate for my taste and a lot of Old English that I can't make heads or tails of!

The book also has tons of black and white lines images of various beds and stuff relating to the bed or bedroom.

SM[/quote]

He did another book about toilets and bathrooms called "Clean and Decent".

SonjaMarie · Post by **SonjaMarie** » Sun January 9th, 2011, 2:36 am

[quote=""Amanda""]He did another book about toilets and bathrooms called "Clean and Decent".[/quote]

Yes, it's on my Amazon WL queue, I did like "Warm & Snug" and thank goodness for my Ipod Touch, so I could google translate the French phrases while I was reading and didn't have my computer on!

SM

cw gortner · Post by **cw gortner** » Sun January 9th, 2011, 3:21 am

Needed a break from all serious fiction while I write, so I started Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea by Chelsea Handler. She's very funny - and very vulgar. I'm loving it.

SCW · Post by **SCW** » Sun January 9th, 2011, 4:07 am

Just finished Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky.

Vanessa · Post by **Vanessa** » Sun January 9th, 2011, 11:35 am

I've just started The Poison Tree by Erin Kelly, a book which I had reserved at the library a few months ago! I had better get it read as there's a waiting list for it.

chuck · Post by **chuck** » Sun January 9th, 2011, 5:54 pm

Enjoying the continued sea going sagas of Capt. Thomas Kydd...."Victory" Julian Stockwin, author.......

annis · Post by **annis** » Sun January 9th, 2011, 6:16 pm

Hi Chuck

I really enjoyred Stockin's series (I did a review for Margaret of the first one, Kydd, a while back. I thought Victory one of his best, and will definitely be nabbing his forthcoming Conquest when it comes out later this year.

I've been going through a Napoleonic phase lately and reading quite a bit of both non-fiction and fiction around the period. Last read, C S Forester's Peninsular War novel, Rifleman Dodd aka Death to the French. Very interesting book, not a glorification of war at all, but full of ironies about the pointlessness of war and resources wasted on military campaigns which would be better spent on making a happier and more equal society. The direct comparison to WWi is quite striking.

Currently reading: Mary Hooper's nicely gothic Victorian YA tale, Fallen Grace, involving two orphaned girls, an inheritance which villains plan to steal from them and the funeral industry.

SonjaMarie · Post by **SonjaMarie** » Sun January 9th, 2011, 9:16 pm

I've finished "Murder on the Caronia: A George Porter Dillman & Genevieve Masefield Mystery #4" by Conrad Allen (290pgs, 2003)*. Another good book in the series.

SM

LoobyG · Post by **LoobyG** » Sun January 9th, 2011, 10:12 pm

Finally finished 'Marie Therese - the fate of Marie Antoinette's daughter' by Susan Nagel this morning and thoroughly enjoyed it, in the end I could hardly put it down. Such an interesting life and a really readable biography. Still pondering what to read next...