Joan Szechtman (Author of This Time)

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And now for something completely different--a recipe!I no longer consider dandelions a weed and find the greens add a delicious tang to a salad. On... Read more of this blog post »

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Joan Szechtman rated a book 5 of 5 stars

The Last Days of Richard III and the fate of his DNA by John Ashdown-Hill

The Last Days of Richard III and the fate of his DNA: The Book that Inspired the Dig
by John Ashdown-Hill

recommended for: Ricardians and those interested in late 15th-century English History

read in March, 2013

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I have just started reading the Kindle edition of The Last Days of Richard III and the fate of his DNA by John Ashdown-Hill. I don't often recommend a book until I finish it--but this is a must read. John has a lovely sense of humor and a dry style,...more I have just started reading the Kindle edition of The Last Days of Richard III and the fate of his DNA by John Ashdown-Hill. I don't often recommend a book until I finish it--but this is a must read. John has a lovely sense of humor and a dry style, but I'm finding this book a page turner, nonetheless.

In the case of books published by The History Press (THP), I find the ebooks preferable to the print if for no other reason than THP uses really small type face, especially in their paperbacks. Another advantage is that I can copy bits from the text (through the Kindle app on my PC) and paste it into the email as I did here. It even gives me the citation info that I'd need for a paper.

In August of 2012 a team of archaeologists from the University of Leicester went digging in a social services parking lot with the idea of hopefully finding evidence of the Grey Friars Friary. Not only did they locate the friary, they found Richard III’s remains.

In 2003, before the dig was ever considered, John Ashdown-Hill started his investigation of finding a living descendent from the female line of Richard’s mother, Cecily Neville. The female line of descent is necessary because children inherit an exact copy of their mother’s mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), but only the female passes this copy to the next generation. The author describes the process of finding a living descendent of one of Richard’s sisters and of the mtDNA analysis. The mtDNA was now available for comparison to the remains’ mtDNA. As exciting as this information is (for me), this is the present day science. This book is so much more.

Ashdown-Hill paints a fresh picture of a man, who despite terrible personal tragedies—his only legitimate son had died suddenly in April of 1484 and less than a year later, his wife died after a long illness (probably tuberculosis)—looking forward to remarrying and producing an heir and to a long reign as England’s king. Although there can be no doubt that Richard genuinely grieved for his son and wife, he nevertheless was planning for the future. This refreshing image is different from what most historians and novelists have portrayed.

The reader also gets a sense of what daily life was like for Richard, what some of his duties were, and how he would execute them.

I found this book to be rich in detail and informative about Richard III’s last 150 or so days and about the role of DNA in confirming the remains. Not only is “Last Days” a significant historical reference, I found it a delight to read. John Ashdown-Hill achieved what is rarely seen in such a scholarly work—a reference that can be read from beginning to end without compromising the facts. I can’t recommend this book enough.

This is a shortened version of the review first published 3/14/2013 on my blog, Random Thoughts of an Accidental Author. © 2013 Joan Szechtman(less)

Joan Szechtman rated a book 4 of 5 stars

To Kill a Mocking Dog
by Angela Cowan

recommended to Joan Szechtman by: Time Travel group on Shelfari
recommended for: readers of speculative fiction, humor, fantasy

read in January, 2013

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To Kill a Mocking Dog by Angela Cowan
209 pages
Kindle Edition

Redemption?

I have to admit, I was both intrigued and turned off by the premise of turning Marty, a serial killer into a serial saver, but Angela Cowan’s skillful writing made me identify wit...more

Joan Szechtman rated a book 4 of 5 stars

Bridgebuilders (Time Travel Journals, #2)
by Marlene Dotterer (Goodreads Author)

recommended for: People who like SciFi and speculative fiction

read in December, 2012

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The Time Travel Journals: Bridgebuilders
Marlene Dotterer
244 pages
Nook Edition

In the second book of The Time Travel Journals, we meet Sarah Andrews, Casey Wilson’s granddaughter, and the Sam Altair of the second universe are working to find a way to b...more The Time Travel Journals: Bridgebuilders
Marlene Dotterer
244 pages
Nook Edition

In the second book of The Time Travel Journals, we meet Sarah Andrews, Casey Wilson’s granddaughter, and the Sam Altair of the second universe are working to find a way to bridge to the first universe. Before she died, Casey made Sam promise to return to the first universe and then go back in time to visit her parents so that they should know what happened to their daughter. However, when Sam and Sarah bridge to the first universe, they find a dystopian Earth where climate change has devastated large parts of the planet, causing extensive flooding, drought, and famine.

In the first universe on dystopian Earth, we meet Andy and Moira, who are for me the main characters of the book. Andy is a graduate student who is teaching physics in an exclusive school for girls. Moira is a brilliant student on scholarship who is assigned to Andy. We learn that Moira is from a fundamentalist enclave and is desperate to escape. I found myself really caring about Andy and Moira—they came alive for me. Dotterer cleverly weaves the characters from both universes together for a gripping conclusion. To avoid spoilers, I won’t go into the details. Suffice it to say, I had a hard time putting the book down, even when good sense told me that it would be there the next day and that I should get some sleep.

Although the book starts with Sarah and Sam as major characters, the larger part of the book focuses on Andy and Moira. This, for me, was an issue. Because the book started with Sarah and Sam, I fully expected to become invested in them and follow them for most of the book. However, for a fair part of the book, Sarah and Sam were supporting roles for Andy and Moira, and once I met Andy and Moira, I didn’t want to leave them.

BRIDGEBUILDERS is a worthy sequel to SHIPBUILDER. If you enjoyed SHIPBUILDER, I think you’ll like the sequel. It’s not necessary to have read first book to understand the sequel, but it is worth reading in or out of sequence.

Review was first published on my blog, Random Thoughts of an Accidental Author, December 27, 2012(less)

Joan Szechtman is now following Susan's reviews

Joan Szechtman rated a book 5 of 5 stars

Blood Lance: A Medieval Noir
by Jeri Westerson (Goodreads Author)

read in September, 2012

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BLOOD LANCE
Jeri Westerson
Minotaur Books
334 pages
In BLOOD LANCE, Jeri Westerson delivers the fifth fast-paced medieval noir mystery featuring Crispin Guest, a degraded knight reduced to earning a meager living in the mean streets of late 14th-century...more

Joan Szechtman made a comment on Using Createspace to publish print editions

"Makes sense. I didn't include a ToC probably because I only numbered my chapters and when I read fiction I use bookmarks for where I stop reading. I'l...more "

Joan Szechtman and 2 other people liked Diane Rapp's blog post: Using Createspace to publish print editions

"During September, I learned how to convert my e-books into print using Createspace. The process was fairly easy once I got the hang of converting an MSWord document into the proper format. However, reformatting, and changing Headers and Footers ..." Read more of this blog post »

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Richard III: What could have happened to Dickon? READ THIS.	109	88	May 25, 2013 11:21am
The Seasonal Read...: Spring Challenge 2013 Completed Tasks - DO NOT DELETE ANY POSTS IN THIS TOPIC!	2841	463	May 31, 2013 09:02pm

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	This Time (Richard III, #1) 3.08 of 5 stars 3.08 avg rating — 63 ratings — published 2009 — 3 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Loyalty Binds Me (Richard III, #2) 3.5 of 5 stars 3.50 avg rating — 40 ratings — published 2011 — 3 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Joan Szechtman wrote a new blog post Dandelion and Tomato Pizza And now for something completely different--a recipe!I no longer consider dandelions a weed and find the greens add a delicious tang to a salad. On... Read more of this blog post »
Jun 06, 2013 02:27am · like
Joan Szechtman voted for 1 books on the list Best YA Science Fiction Vote on this list »
May 14, 2013 08:48am · like
Joan Szechtman is now a fan of Goodreads Author Maureen Fisher
Mar 25, 2013 11:10pm · like · see all of Joan's favorite authors
Joan Szechtman rated a book 5 of 5 stars The Last Days of Richard III and the fate of his DNA: The Book that Inspired the Dig by John Ashdown-Hill recommended for: Ricardians and those interested in late 15th-century English History read in March, 2013	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I have just started reading the Kindle edition of The Last Days of Richard III and the fate of his DNA by John Ashdown-Hill. I don't often recommend a book until I finish it--but this is a must read. John has a lovely sense of humor and a dry style,...more
Mar 24, 2013 05:45pm · see review
Joan Szechtman rated a book 4 of 5 stars To Kill a Mocking Dog by Angela Cowan recommended to Joan Szechtman by: Time Travel group on Shelfari recommended for: readers of speculative fiction, humor, fantasy read in January, 2013	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
To Kill a Mocking Dog by Angela Cowan 209 pages Kindle Edition Redemption? I have to admit, I was both intrigued and turned off by the premise of turning Marty, a serial killer into a serial saver, but Angela Cowan’s skillful writing made me identify wit...more
Jan 18, 2013 12:00pm · see review
Joan Szechtman rated a book 4 of 5 stars Bridgebuilders (Time Travel Journals, #2) by Marlene Dotterer (Goodreads Author) recommended for: People who like SciFi and speculative fiction read in December, 2012	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
The Time Travel Journals: Bridgebuilders Marlene Dotterer 244 pages Nook Edition In the second book of The Time Travel Journals, we meet Sarah Andrews, Casey Wilson’s granddaughter, and the Sam Altair of the second universe are working to find a way to b...more
Jan 18, 2013 07:19am · see review
Joan Szechtman is now following Susan's reviews
Jan 05, 2013 11:12pm · like
Joan Szechtman rated a book 5 of 5 stars Blood Lance: A Medieval Noir by Jeri Westerson (Goodreads Author) read in September, 2012	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
BLOOD LANCE Jeri Westerson Minotaur Books 334 pages In BLOOD LANCE, Jeri Westerson delivers the fifth fast-paced medieval noir mystery featuring Crispin Guest, a degraded knight reduced to earning a meager living in the mean streets of late 14th-century...more
Dec 26, 2012 09:15pm · see review
Joan Szechtman made a comment on Using Createspace to publish print editions "Makes sense. I didn't include a ToC probably because I only numbered my chapters and when I read fiction I use bookmarks for where I stop reading. I'l...more "
Oct 19, 2012 08:36pm · see blog post
Joan Szechtman and 2 other people liked Diane Rapp's blog post: Using Createspace to publish print editions "During September, I learned how to convert my e-books into print using Createspace. The process was fairly easy once I got the hang of converting an MSWord document into the proper format. However, reformatting, and changing Headers and Footers ..." Read more of this blog post »
Oct 19, 2012 08:07pm

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