Weekly Reading Round-Up
With the weather suddenly reverting to winter, it seemed like a good time for comfort reads. Here’s what I’ve been reading this past week:
— Writing Jane Austen, Elizabeth Aston
A reluctant American writer in modern London undertakes the task of finishing a lost Austen manuscript. The lengths she went to avoid writing struck close enough to home to make me squirm guiltily, but I enjoyed the book immensely (squirming and all).
— Such a Pretty Fat, Jen Lancaster
Who knew a weight loss memoir could be so much fun? I blame Jessica for reminding me how much I enjoyed this book! Since I have re-read all my Jen Lancasters within the past month, I’ll have to go cold turkey for a bit. Unless, of course, I can justifying buying the new one…. Hmm.
— Envoy to the Terror: Gouverneur Morris and the French Revolution, Melanie Randolph Miller
Okay, this one was for work, since the heroine of Pink VIII is cousin to Morris on her father’s side and arrives in Paris right after he leaves. Also, I’ll admit, I’ve had a bit of a crush on Gouverneur Morris ever since my Making of the Constitution class in law school.
— Nobody’s Baby But Mine, Susan Elizabeth Phillips
One of those plots you’d never think would work, but somehow SEP makes it happen. That woman is magic.
Okay, all, I need something to read next! What have you been reading?
I’ve been reading a lot of Susan Higginbotham lately. I started with The Stolen Crown, and am now working on The Traitor’s Wife. Very dense, well-researched historical fiction of 14th-15th Century Britain. I was quite impressed with her treatment of the Wars of the Roses in The Stolen Crown.
Also, thumbing through Elizabeth Gilbert’s Committed. And hoping to pick up a copy of Jen Lancaster’s My Fair Lazy over the weekend.
Oh, Lauren, you’re welcome, and we’re even, because you got me hooked on Jen Lancaster 🙂
My piles (yes, piles) of library books are by three authors:
Jen Lancaster
Sophie Kinsella
Adriana Trigiani (Since she’s the only one I imagine you haven’t heard of, I say give her a chance. Start with the “Big Stone Gap” trilogy. I just read the first one, _Big Stone Gap_. It’s about a woman of Italian descent, born and raised in a tiny town in Virginia and…well, I’ll let you discover the plot on your own…)
And I have more coming from the library. I also have Steve Martin’s _Shogirl_; I saw the movie and thought it was worth a read.
Finished the Scarlet Pimpernel, Shadow Souls and right now I’m trying to focus on reading King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table.
I just love that freaking mythology so much I’ve started to write a litte something because of it. King Arthur shall always be my love, but I’m working on Lancelot and see what I can make of him.
Will keep on the look for more books and I’ll take your favorite inot considertaion into my Must Read During Summer List which is growing in an alarmingly rate.
-D
I just finished reading Julie and Julia. It was excellent. It didn’t make me as hungry as I expected it would.
And before that, I read Spitfire Women of World War II, by Giles Whittell. It was fantastic- a history that read like a novel.
I have to admit I haven’t been reading too much lately. Usually, I’ve always got a book in my hand. I’m in the middle though of Angelology by Danielle Trussoni. A co-worker gave it to me to read. I wasn’t sure what to expect so it’s been pretty good so far. The same co-worker suggested I read the City books by Cassandra Clare so I have the 3rd one sitting next to me to read. Hopefully since I’m off this week I can get some more reading in.
I have A LOT of stuff going on right now, so my “reading” is almost all “listening” right now. (Thank god for Audible & my mp3 player). In the last few days, I have listened to Steve Hockensmith’s “Dawn of the Dreadfuls” which was wicked-funny, and at times touching – I highly recommend it. I also tracked down “Love and Freindship” (thanks very much to those who listed it as their favorite Jane Austen book – I had totally missed it until then). Audible has it listed as “abridged” – which it is not. It only takes 65 (unabridged) minutes to get the major life lesson for this week: “running mad” is much better for long-term health than swooning.
Small Wars by Sadie Jones, about a woman whose husband is part of the British forces occupying Cyprus in 1956. I’m only about 50 pages in but so far it’s really good.
I second the Cassandra Clare recommendation, but I have also been heavy on the teen fantasy lit thing lately as an escape from all my American Literature course reading. Now that I am officially done with school, I have a stack of library books to read, plus a couple I purchased, including but not limited to The Heretic’s Daughter by Kathleen Kent, The White Queen by Philippa Gregory, and Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner.
I LOVE Nobody’s Baby But Mine. The plot seems so implausible until you actually read the book. The emotional quality to SEP’s stories are hard to beat.
I’ve just be plodding along with my Sookie books. Though I am loving them it’s hard to get time to read during finals. I also read the most recent US release of Tottering-by-Gently.
I’ve been reading Sarah Maclean’s Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake. It’s good.
I read Blackout by Connie Willis. I adore her time travel stories. And since I have to wait until September to read All Clear (the second half of the story started in Blackout), I’m going to have to re-read To Say Nothing of the Dog. 🙂
I got sucked into “Jane Slayre” by Charlotte Bronte and Sherri Browning Erwin (but only after finishing your latest-which was great!). I feel almost guilty about it…like Charlotte Bronte is rolling in her grave about how it’s been turned into a vampire novel.
Next up is either “The Shack” or Michael J. Fox’s book or Mitch Albom’s latest…I can’t decide.
This week I read ‘The captive Queen’ -Alison Weirs latest historical novel on Eleanor of Aquitane. Fantastic as always. Alison Weir is an amazing historian and I would heartily recommend any of her biographies OR novels! I haven’t read my favorite book of hers ‘The Lady Elizabeth’ this week, but it’s so good it deserves a mention. 🙂
Not much has changed from last week. I’ve been busy with my last two weeks of school:
1. Much Ado About Nothing by Billy Shakespeare
2. Wuthering Heights by Bronte
3. Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie
Beth brought up a topic that I wanted to talk about (no new reading for me…still finishing up the entire Julia Quinn collection)…
Okay, so first the onslaught of Austen “sequals”…which has become it’s own genre if you walk through any bookstore lately. But now P&P & Zombies has created a “monster” of a new genre as well. I can’t believe the number zombie/monster/murderous books out there taking from Austen/Bronte sisters, etc. It’s truly amazing. Not sure it’s a good amazing…but still amazing
“The House on Tradd Street” by Karen White and the 3rd, 4th and 5th Elm Creek Quilt books by Jennifer Chiaverini – I got the 15th book for Mother’s Day, but don’t want to read it out of order!
The Lady and the Poet, by Maeve Haran. I really thought I had read all I ever wanted to about the Tudors, but this was something very different. It is an account of the romance of John Donne and his wife Ann. Nicely written, and it sent me off to do some research about Donne, What funne.