What are you reading? July 2011

SonjaMarie · Post by **SonjaMarie** » Sat July 9th, 2011, 5:53 pm

[quote=""Vanessa""]I'm just about to start Tides of War by Stella Tillyard, a story set during the Peninsular War.[/quote]

I hope you find it more enjoyable then I did her book on George III and his siblings, it was a bit of yawn fest for me.

SM

SonjaMarie · Post by **SonjaMarie** » Sat July 9th, 2011, 5:59 pm

I finished two books in the last few days:
"Behind the Palace Doors: Five Centuries of Sex, Adventure, Vice, Treachery, & Folly From Royal Britain" by Michael Farquhar (299pgs, 2011). A quick, easy read, learned a few things of the later royals (after the Tudors).

"California Demon: Adventures of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom #2" by Julie Kenner (342pgs, 2007). A good book, but I did have a few problems with the series. She's supposed to be intelligent at least about demons and such, and yet she does makes some really stupid mistakes. Her 14 year old daughter and 2 year old son and husband all annoy me. I'll still give the series a chance, cause this book brought in some interesting questions about her late husband....

SM

princess garnet · Post by **princess garnet** » Sat July 9th, 2011, 6:55 pm

Courting Her Highness by Plaidy (formerly titled The Queen's Favorites)
This is the last of the Stuart novels and my 1st time reading it. Since Anne was Queen in her own right, I wish Plaidy had written about her for the "Queens of England" series so we could read Anne's take on things. Guess this one is as close as it gets!

Vanessa · Post by **Vanessa** » Sat July 9th, 2011, 6:58 pm

[quote=""SonjaMarie""]I hope you find it more enjoyable then I did her book on George III and his siblings, it was a bit of yawn fest for me.

SM[/quote]

I think it's the author's first fictional novel, so hopefully will be perhaps a little more entertaining than a biography.

annis · Post by **annis** » Sat July 9th, 2011, 7:55 pm

Just finished Christan Cameron's Tyrant: King of the Bosporus. I really enjoy Cameron's work - plenty of action and sympathetic characters. The fact that he can be ruthless in killing off characters you've become attached to adds suspense to his stories! And the Scythians are back in this story- love those Scythians

There's not a lot of fiction around about the vicious Wars of Succession following the death of Alexander the Great, so Cameron's work fills a gap, though H. N. Turteltaub's entertaining and informative Hellenic Traders quartet about a couple of Rhodian sea-going merchant cousins is well worth tracking down for anyone interested in this period.

Misfit · Post by **Misfit** » Sun July 10th, 2011, 3:05 am

The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington. Kindle freebie.

javagirl · Post by **javagirl** » Sun July 10th, 2011, 3:45 am

Finished Pompeii. For me, it wasn't the kind of book I "loved" because I didn't relate to the characters much but I did enjoy it because I learned a lot and it was interesting most of the time.

I've finally started The Help which I've had on Mount TBR for a while. I figured I better get it read before the movie comes out, in case any one in my family wants me to go to the movie with them. Enjoying it so far.

Amanda · Post by **Amanda** » Sun July 10th, 2011, 11:37 am

[quote=""javagirl""]Finished Pompeii. For me, it wasn't the kind of book I "loved" because I didn't relate to the characters much but I did enjoy it because I learned a lot and it was interesting most of the time.[/quote]

I just finished listening to the audiobook today. I agree with you-

LoobyG · Post by **LoobyG** » Sun July 10th, 2011, 3:58 pm

[quote=""Ludmilla""]Haven't read On the Beach yet, but Shute has long been on my list of authors to try, and I plan on reading more by him. Alice was great... the first half during the war was riveting and the 2nd half made me smile many times. I did wonder whether younger readers would appreciate it. You can definitely tell it's a product of the 50s. My parents were in their 20-something years in the 50s, so that decade definitely shaped their values and ideals, which isn't foreign to me. I would imagine younger readers having a hard time relating to the attitudes about women, their roles & marriage, etc., though. Requiem was good, too, but a much sadder book overall.[/quote]

Ludmilla, you must, must read 'On the Beach' if you're enjoying Shute's work. It's a marvellous book, and one I think we could all relate to. I'm in my twenties but I really enjoy the old fashioned style of Shute and Plaidy for example, even though I don't think many of my contemporaries would, hardly any of my friends read more than women's magazines and Twilight books

I tried to get into 'Requiem' a few months ago, but I wasn't in the right frame of mind and I plan to revisit. 'A town like Alice' and 'The Far Country' I also loved

Now reading 'Lion of Alnwick' by Carol Wensby-Scott and trying to pick through all the Nevilles, Percys, Plantagenets! Definitely enjoying though.

Brenna · Post by **Brenna** » Sun July 10th, 2011, 6:27 pm

[quote=""javagirl""]Finished Pompeii. For me, it wasn't the kind of book I "loved" because I didn't relate to the characters much but I did enjoy it because I learned a lot and it was interesting most of the time.

I've finally started The Help which I've had on Mount TBR for a while. I figured I better get it read before the movie comes out, in case any one in my family wants me to go to the movie with them. Enjoying it so far.[/quote]

I started reading this on my Kindle as a free preview but couldn't finish it as the house we were staying at on vacation didn't have wireless. Needless to say, I drove 30 minutes to the nearest Barnes and Noble to pick it up. Very well done and poignant. I laughed and cried outloud throughout. Enjoy!

I finished "The Wild Hunt" by Elizabeth Chadwick before I went on vacation and am now reading "The Running Vixen." Pretty good so far but I keep finding myself looking at "The Help" wishing I could read another one just like it!