Weekly Reading Round-Up

On the fiction side, I was on a bit of a Susan Elizabeth Phillips kick this week. From Natural Born Charmer, it was an easy move to Match Me If You Can, and from there to This Heart of Mine. I know, I know. I was reading through the series backwards. What can I say? It just happened that way.

On the non-fiction side, I read Juliet Nicolson’s amazing micro-history of the summer of 1911, The Perfect Summer, as well as Sarah Wheeler’s lyrical biography of Denys Finch-Hatton, Too Close to the Sun.

What have you been reading this week?

15 Comments

  1. Sharon on August 19, 2011 at 7:11 pm

    Next to Love by Ellen Feldman. I am enjoying it so much, I am looking forward to reading Lucy by her soon!

  2. Ashley on August 19, 2011 at 8:29 pm

    Cousin Kate and The Masqueraders by Georgette Heyer. I made out like a bandit at the Borders liquidation sale so I have been reading A LOT of Heyer lately and totally loving it!

  3. Amy N. on August 19, 2011 at 9:03 pm

    Halfway through “Katherine” by Anya Seton. My daughter wants me to read “The Help” since she just saw the movie. How different she must see that age and time from those 35+ yrs.old.

  4. Lisa on August 19, 2011 at 9:15 pm

    I just read the absolutely enthralling A Countess Below Stairs by Eva Ibbotson which far surpassed my expectations. The whole haircutting scene… Big dreamy sigh. Also read A Dangerous Affair by Caro Peacock which was fairly good too!

  5. Allison on August 20, 2011 at 5:17 am

    I read two books by UK author Sarra Manning this past week and LOVED them both. I’ll be raving about them for weeks. The titles are Unsticky (a play on the movie Pretty Woman…sorta) and You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me (which reminded me a little of Bridget Jones and a little of another favorite of mine, Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie).

    Not published in the US, but easy to find used online and HIGHLY recommended.

  6. Joann on August 20, 2011 at 7:44 am

    Finished Pamela Clare’s I-team series (loved all five books!!). Looking forward to reading her historical novels next.

    Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase.

    Just started Something Wonderful by Judith McNaught (really enjoying it; thanks to the WWRU contributor who suggested it!).

  7. Sheila on August 20, 2011 at 2:31 pm

    I am working my way through An Echo in the Bone. I used to adore this series, but Gabaldon has created so many characters and story lines that I am a bit daunted. I am readin g it because there are several characters I am very interested in. But am I the only one a bit tired of Clare just being perfect?

  8. Céline on August 20, 2011 at 6:00 pm

    This week, I read The Lady Most Likely, by the fabulous Julia Quinn, Connie Brockway and Eloisa James!
    I went on with Gemma Bovery by Posy Simmonds, but sadly I did not enjoy this graphic novel as much as I enjoyed Tamarra Drewe… I highly recommand Tamarra Drewe though!
    And now I’m in the middle of the fourth instalment of the Drakon series by Shana Abé, The Treasure keeper. This series is a fav of mine… 🙂

  9. Elizabeth aka Miss Eliza on August 20, 2011 at 10:30 pm

    Finished up A Clash of Kings and am on a respite till Strom of Swords re-read. I feel something British and periody coming on…

  10. Gina on August 21, 2011 at 1:11 pm

    I haven’t been reading much, but I was wondering if anyone on here could assure me that at least a few of the books I have to read for class are good.
    My list includes things like Bleak House by Dickens, North and South by Gaskell, Life and Times of Tristam Shandy, Gentleman, by Sterne, Middlemarch by Eliot…I’m worried I’m going to be miserably bogged down all semester. Can anyone offer me some hope?

  11. Elizabeth aka Miss Eliza on August 21, 2011 at 3:15 pm

    Great books! Long, but great.

  12. Pam on August 21, 2011 at 8:22 pm

    Elizabeth Gaskell is always wonderful. I haven’t read Middlemarch but I saw and loved the BBC adaptation of quite a few years ago.

    I’m reading Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John Le Carre. I like the prose but he’s certainly taking his own sweet time with the plot. I want some intrigue!

  13. Céline on August 22, 2011 at 1:03 pm

    Hi Gina!!! I read North and South and I love it very very much!!! It’s an amazingly good book!! You could watch the BBC series too, it’s really good and Richard Armitage is sooo yummy! 🙂

  14. Gina on August 22, 2011 at 3:56 pm

    Yay! Thanks, guys, I’m glad to know these books are worth the read. They all look a bit daunting sitting next to each other.

  15. Farin on August 22, 2011 at 4:19 pm

    I just finished Rules of Civility by Amor Towles. Really incredible book, possibly in my top five of this year. I loved the way he captured the atmosphere of 1930s New York and the desperation and aimlessness of the characters.

    I also read Madame Bovary’s Daughter by Linda Urbach, which I really enjoyed, even though I couldn’t get through Madame Bovary.

    On tap: Becoming Marie Antoinette by Juliette Grey, Two For Sorrow by Nicola Upson, The Twelfth Enchantment by David Liss, and In the Woods by Tana French.

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