VICKI'S 50 BOOKS READ IN 2013

[Vicki, Assisting Moderator - Ancient Roman History]

67. by Ian Stewart

Finish date: August 4, 2013
Genre: Math
Rating: C-

Review: I was only able to get about halfway into this book. While the history of the math was interesting, I couldn't get into the physics applications. I think I would have appreciated it more if I'd read it when I was studying math and physics (50 years ago). Much of what I learned then has evaporated.

[Jill H.]

You are a brave soul, Vicki. That would be a tough book to tackle.

[Vicki, Assisting Moderator - Ancient Roman History]

68. by Ross Macdonald

Finish date: August 4, 2013
Genre: Other mysteries
Rating: B-

Review: This is an early Lew Archer novel and it was interesting to read it so soon after finishing a late one. The case starts when a woman wants Archer to find out who sent her husband a letter accusing her of "amorous activities." She intercepted this one, but doesn't want any more to come. Early in his investigation, the woman's mother-in-law is found floating in the family pool, dead. As is usual with this series, there are psychologically damaged young people and years-old secrets. Archer is more of a wise guy, and gets beat up more, in this book than in later ones, and the plot is a little less convoluted. But still pretty intricate.

[Vicki, Assisting Moderator - Ancient Roman History]

69. by Ross Macdonald

Finish date: August 8, 2013
Genre: Other mysteries
Rating: B-

Review: This is the last Lew Archer mystery. Having recently read an early one, it's clear that Lew has matured and doesn't get into fights as much. He does still wind up in cases where something bad happened years ago that has poisoned lives, mostly of young people not involved in the original events. A painting by a famous local artist who disappeared many years ago has gone missing and Archer is hired to find it. This leads him to people who sell paintings down by the beach at Santa Teresa, and to Arizona, where many of the characters, including the missing artist, came from years ago. When I read one of these books, I'm tempted to make a flowchart to keep track of the links between the characters, the connections are so many and so intricate.

[Vicki, Assisting Moderator - Ancient Roman History]

70. by Sarah Dunant

Finish date: August 27, 2013
Genre: Historical fiction
Rating: B+

Review: This was a very interesting look at the infamous Borgias - Pope Alexander VI and his children Cesare Borgia, Lucrezia Borgia and their other two siblings. It was not in any way a sensationalization of their lives, but there was plenty going on. The incredible corruption within the Vatican, and the attempted power grabs within Italy by various major and minor kings and other rulers was enough to make my head spin. You needed to be really wily to survive in those days. And the use of daughters to cement alliances, then the machinations to dissolve the marriages when the alliance was no longer useful, makes you feel sorry for the women. Altogether a fascinating look at a bygone world.

[Donna]

Vicki wrote: "70. by Sarah Dunant

Finish date: August 27, 2013
Genre: Historical fiction
Rating: B+

Review: This was a very interestin..."

This book looks very interesting, Vicki. Glad to here it was not sensationalized as I think some other Borgia novels have been.

[Vicki, Assisting Moderator - Ancient Roman History]

SEPTEMBER

71. by John Mortimer

Finish date: September 2, 2013
Genre: Fiction
Rating: B+

Review: Another bunch of stories about that inimitable barrister, Horace Rumpole. In "Rumpole and the Official Secret" he defends a middle-aged eccentric clerical worker from charges that she leaked official secrets, to wit, the budget in her department for "biscuits" aka cookies. And in "Rumpole's Last Case" he's about to tell off Judge Bullingham because he's about to come into a fortune after betting on the horse races. I'll leave it to you to guess whether he actually quits.

[Jill H.]

Love that series, Vicki.

[Vicki, Assisting Moderator - Ancient Roman History]

I was surprised at how many Rumpole books there are. I've gone through all the ones I own, and now will have to get the rest from the library (too cheap to buy many books these days).

[Jill H.]

That's why I love library sales....good books at low prices. Have you read this set of books....letters from the London Times.....I think there are four. This is the first:

by Kenneth Gregory (no photo)

They are a lot of fun and so typically British.

[Vicki, Assisting Moderator - Ancient Roman History]

Thanks for the recommendation, Jill. It looks really interesting.

[Vicki, Assisting Moderator - Ancient Roman History]

72. by Ellis Peters

Finish date: September 8, 2013
Genre: Historical mystery
Rating: B+

Review: A young itinerant entertainer seeks sanctuary at the monastery after having been accused of robbing and murdering the rich merchant where he had been performing. Fortunately, the merchant wasn't really dead, but everyone still believes he did rob and attack him. Of course someone else was the culprit. Even though this must be the third time I've read this book, I surprised myself by correctly guessing whodunit and why. Usually my forgettery works to obscure such recall. This is not my favorite Cadfael mystery, but it's still good. Almost makes me want to be a medieval monk.

[Vicki, Assisting Moderator - Ancient Roman History]

73. by Isaac Asimov

Finish date: September 14, 2013
Genre: Science fiction
Rating: A

Review: This is a very old (1953) sci-fi book about life in the far future on Earth. Everyone lives in huge enclosed mega-cities and virtually never ventures outside. Electricity generation is fueled by coal and nuclear, no wind or solar - seems really quaint. Many hundreds of years ago some humans settled on other planets and developed advanced technology, including human-like robots, while robots on Earth are very primitive and generally resented. When a visiting off-world scientist is killed, detective Bailey is paired with an android detective to solve the case. Naturally there's lots of conflict and it makes for interesting conversations between the two.

[Jill H.]

I really like Asimov......one of his short stories is my favorite, Nightfall.

by Isaac Asimov

[Vicki, Assisting Moderator - Ancient Roman History]

74. by Ross Macdonald

Finish date: September 19, 2013
Genre: Mystery
Rating: B

Review: Another early Lew Archer book. A middle-aged woman hires Lew to find her missing daughter. Along the way he runs across a lot of interesting characters who are connected in strange ways, as usual.

[Vicki, Assisting Moderator - Ancient Roman History]

75. by Ellis Peters

Finish date: September 30, 2013
Genre: Historical mystery
Rating: B+

Review: A young man, Meriet Aspley, comes to the abbey requesting to be a novice. He is obedient and zealous, but has terrible nightmares, so that the other novices think he's possessed. Naturally, a body turns up, that of an envoy from a powerful bishop, who happened to disappear just after leaving Meriet's home. Of course, Cadfael solves the mystery, with the help of under-sheriff and friend Hugh Beringar.

[Vicki, Assisting Moderator - Ancient Roman History]

OCTOBER

76. by Greg Woolf (no photo)

Finish date: October 2, 2013
Genre: Ancient history
Rating: A-

Review: This book tells the story of Rome from its founding in the 700s BC through the end of the Western empire in 476 AD and the shrinkage of the Eastern empire down to a small area around Constantinople in the late seventh century. The chapters dealing with historical events alternate with chapters about cultural and economic issues that have a bearing on the events. It's a very interesting way to read history - you get to absorb what happened and think about the overall impact of the events. Each historical chapter starts with a list of pertinent events with their dates, and all the chapters end with a section describing other books that might be of interest relating to the topic. I would love to read more history presented in this way.

[Vicki, Assisting Moderator - Ancient Roman History]

77. by Steven Saylor

Finish date: October 12, 2013
Genre: Roman mystery
Rating: A

Review: All the books in the Roma Sub Rosa series are based on events in Roman history. This one is about the murder of Publius Clodius Pulcher, a popularis politician and gang leader, supposedly by his mortal enemy Titus Annius Milo, another politician and gang leader, but on the side of the optimates. Clodius' death occurred just after the two men and their entourages encountered each other on the Appian Way, about 15 miles south of Rome. Everyone assumes that Milo or one of his men did in Clodius, but Cicero, Milo's friend, hires Gordianus to prove otherwise. This is one of my favorites in the series.

[Vicki, Assisting Moderator - Ancient Roman History]

78. by Steven Saylor

Finish date: October 22, 2013
Genre: Roman mystery
Rating: B

Review: A relative of Pompey's is killed in Gordianus' garden when he comes to consult him. Naturally Pompey is upset and charges Gordianus with finding out who did it, and takes Gordianus' son-in-law Davus as a sort of hostage while on his way out of Italy to regroup in Greece and fight against Caesar, who has just crossed the Rubicon in defiance of Rome's laws. Not one of my favorites, but the solution is unusual and all of the books in the series are very interesting.

[Peter]

Vicki wrote: "78. by Steven Saylor

Finish date: October 22, 2013
Genre: Roman mystery
Rating: B

Review: A relative of Pompey's is kill..."

I like this series. And there is a great quote from Pompey: "Stop quoting laws to us. We have swords"

[Vicki, Assisting Moderator - Ancient Roman History]

79. by Steven Saylor

Finish date: October 30, 2013
Genre: Roman mystery
Rating: A

Review: Gordianus has come to Massilia looking for his younger son Meto. He's received word that Meto is dead, having betrayed Julius Caesar, his general. Gordianus is sure this isn't true, and is determined to find out what happened. He is invited to stay with Hieronymous, the scapegoat, who will be sacrificed soon to expiate the city's sins. Lots of strange goings-on, naturally, with a satisfying ending. This is one of my favorites of the series.

[Vicki, Assisting Moderator - Ancient Roman History]

NOVEMBER

80. by Paul Scott

Finish date: November 19, 2013
Genre: Historical fiction
Rating: B

Review: This is set in India during WWII and the agitation for independence from Britain. We are told in the third paragraph that it's the story of a rape, but it takes quite a while to get to there. We are told parts of the story by three women of different backgrounds, and we learn about the victim of the rape from letters she wrote her aunt. Later in the book we get the viewpoints of some men and find the resolution of the tragedy. I liked the long narrative, and learning about the different characters. This is the first of four connected novels and I look forward to reading the next ones.

[Vicki, Assisting Moderator - Ancient Roman History]

81. by Barry S. Strauss (no photo)

Finish date: November 19, 2013
Genre: Ancient history
Rating: B+

Review: Strauss compares the careers of three famous generals of ancient history: Alexander, Hannibal and Julius Caesar. He lists ten qualities of successful commanders, like ambition, judgment, audacity, etc. And for the five stages of war, he examines how each man performed. The five stages are Attack, Resistance, Clash, Closing the Net and Knowing When to Stop. Each of these has its own chapter where he goes over particulars of each man's campaigns. This was a very interesting way to look at these commanders whose battles, strategies and tactics are still taught in military academies today.

[Vicki, Assisting Moderator - Ancient Roman History]

82. by Gary Corby

Finish date: November 27, 2013
Genre: Historical mystery
Rating: B+

Review: Nico and his family go to Olympia for the Sacred Games, aka the Olympics. A friend of Nico's, an expert pankration athlete, is accused of murder and Nico must find out the truth. A very interesting look at the Olympics, with lots of detail, also proposing a clever way to cheat. I really like how the author immerses you in ancient Greek life.

[Vicki, Assisting Moderator - Ancient Roman History]

83. by Colleen McCullough

Finish date: November 29, 2013
Genre: Roman fiction
Rating: B-

Review: This final book in McCullough's Masters of Rome series was disappointing, considering how good the previous books were. Part of the problem is that there's not really anyone to root for. Antony in particular seems totally incompetent, either being drunk or feeling sorry for himself, not planning ahead for his battles, choosing bad advisors. Cleopatra is more focused, her sole purpose being to get Caesarion to rule the world from Rome and/or Alexandria. Octavian is the winner, of course, but he's a rather cold fish, except with regard to Livia, whom he adores. I do love the series and am glad to have read this one, but it was a let-down.

[Vicki, Assisting Moderator - Ancient Roman History]

DECEMBER

84. by Philippa Gregory

Finish date: December 7, 2013
Genre: Historical fiction
Rating: B+

Review: I wanted to read this book series because I enjoyed the TV series The White Queen and I wanted to know more about the history. All I can remember about the War of the Roses is from Shakespeare's Richard III, and that very fuzzily. This was a very interesting book, about Jacquetta, supposedly descended from the water goddess Melusina. She also sometimes has visions of the future, and is married by the Duke of Bedford, King Henry VI's uncle, because he believes he can use her visions for the good of the realm. There's a lot of intrigue, as everyone wants to be the favorite of the king. To tell the truth, it was hard keeping track of all the Lords. Jacquetta becomes the best friend of Queen Margaret and does what she can to help her and the king, but there is just too much enmity between the House of Lancaster and the House of York. There are five books in the series so far, with a sixth planned, so I have a lot of history to absorb.

[Vicki, Assisting Moderator - Ancient Roman History]

85. by Philippa Gregory

Finish date: December 14, 2013
Genre: Historical fiction
Rating: B+

Review: This is the story of Margaret Beaufort, the mother of the future King Henry VII. Since she was a child, she believed she had an important destiny. She would have preferred to go into holy orders and be a learned abbess and serve God, but as the daughter of the Duke of Somerset, she is married at 12 years old to Edmund Tudor, the half-brother of King Henry VI. She has a son a couple of years later, then her husband dies and her son is raised by his uncle Jasper, while she's married (after a suitable mourning period) to Sir Henry Stafford, a kindly but unmartial man. She's not very likeable, but her story is very interesting, happening during a time of upheaval in England. She's obsessed with her own importance and what she believes is her son's destiny to be king, and thus, her destiny to be Queen Mother. It's hard to say which is more important to her. Having just finished the first (chronologically) in the series, The Lady of the Rivers, it's fun to see many of the same events from a different POV.

Addendum: Apparently I should have read this as the third book in the series, but since there's lots of overlap, I don't think it hurt my understanding of the events much. But I do think it would have been better to read this after The White Queen.

by Philippa Gregory

[Vicki, Assisting Moderator - Ancient Roman History]

86. by Philippa Gregory

Finish date: December 19, 2013
Genre: Historical fiction
Rating: B+

Review: Elizabeth Woodville was a young widow who married King Edward IV of England, and bore him many children, including the famous "princes in the tower," supposedly killed at the instigation of Richard III, Edward's brother and successor. This book has a slightly different take on that and even has a happy ending of sorts. This was a fascinating and dangerous time in English history and I like reading a woman's viewpoint of events. Apparently I've read this one out of order, as it should have come between The Lady of the Rivers and The Red Queen. I do think it makes a bit more sense that way, but I still could tell what was going on. There's lots of overlap between the books, as you are seeing the same events, more or less, from different women's POV.

by Philippa Gregory

[Vicki, Assisting Moderator - Ancient Roman History]

87. by Charles Dickens

Finish date: December 22, 2013
Genre: Fiction
Rating: A

Review: I love this edition. Ronald Searle's illustrations are just perfect. I bought this book 50 years ago, not long before I met my future husband. On an early date, I tried to read part of it to him, but he just wanted to make out. He's not really a Dickens fan. But I am, and I try to read this every Christmas.

[Vicki, Assisting Moderator - Ancient Roman History]

88. by Steven Saylor

Finish date: December 29, 2013
Genre: Historical fiction
Rating: B

Review: This is a continuation of stories about the Pinarius family, whose lives have intersected with famous Romans before, in Roma: The Novel of Ancient Rome. This time they meet with the emperors, from Augustus through Marcus Aurelius (although before he became emperor). The stories are interesting and it's fun to see other sides of the emperors, although I don't enjoy these stories as much as the Gordianus series, because there's not much of an emotional connection to any one of the Pinarii.

by Steven Saylor
by Steven Saylor

[Jill H.]

Great reading year for you, Vicki. How about 100 in 2014?

[Vicki, Assisting Moderator - Ancient Roman History]

Jill wrote: "Great reading year for you, Vicki. How about 100 in 2014?"

We'll see. I'll have to look for shorter books than I've been reading lately, though. ;-)