What Are You Reading Right Now? ( Hwæt béon ðu bocrædung?) Showing 9,551-9,600 of 10,105

[Allison]

Ahahahahahahaha!

Dude....the first two are #5 and #6 of series! That’s an epic fail on the library’s part. Why can’t you pick your own books?!?!

[Jerry]

I thought I would look up “The Grasmere Grudge” as Grasmere is just down the road from where I live. I can’t say it appeals to me much either to judge by the blurb, but I might give the ebook version a try, just to see for myself.

[Andy]

@Allie that's a great question.... they have suspended the reservation system but could have resurrected it with a provision that you could only order from your local library . but they came up with this system which is an epic fail as they ignored 3 of the 5 categories I ticked and deluged me with mostly chick fic lols or summit I've already read plus yes 3 of the 5 were deep into a series....... guess I had the 70 yo spinster picking for me. :)

Luckily..... in the far recess of my book shelf Ive come across Bending the Boyne: A Novel of Ancient Ireland

[Allison]

Andy wrote: "@Allie that's a great question.... they have suspended the reservation system but could have resurrected it with a provision that you could only order from your local library . but they came up wit..."

It really is dumb....creating more havoc by these librarians running around picking books (most) people aren’t even going to read so they’ll be utilizing the library MORE frequently, trying to get books they’ll actually do something with it 🙄

If you weren’t across the pond, I’d mail you some. Sorry, mate!

[Bob]

Fire in the East by Harry Sidebottom, Building projects for Backyard a farmers and Home Gardeners by Chris Gleason and The Jesus Dynasty by James Tabor. I shouldn’t tell how many old library cards I have active. Hmmmmm

[David]

A Warlord's Bargain Book 2 of an excellent series based on the actual historical figures Hengest and Horsa. If you like Bernard Cornwell or Matthew Harffy, and who doesn't, you'll love this series.

[Sean]

David wrote: "A Warlord's Bargain Book 2 of an excellent series based on the actual historical figures Hengest and Horsa. If you like Bernard Cornwell or Matthew Harffy, and who doesn't, you'll l..."

I wonder- does Thorndycroft incorporate the idea that Hengist was the same Hengist from the Beowulf related "Finnsburg Fragment" (as suggested by Tolkien)? I found that to be a fascinating theory that fits well and provides a fantastic story opener (it's how I've incorporated Hengist into my Arthurian historical fiction.)
I'll have to pick this series up.

[David]

I don't recall that being in the books so far. Hengest and Horsa were actual historical figures. I'm sure the author took his share of artistic license in writing these books but he did give me a flavor of the time - mid Fifth Century Britain.

[Sean]

David wrote: "I don't recall that being in the books so far. Hengest and Horsa were actual historical figures. I'm sure the author took his share of artistic license in writing these books but he did give me a f..."

That was Tolkien's argument - that Beowulf and the Finnsburg Fragment were based on historical people (embellished, of course), and that the Finnsburg incident is what drove Hengist to Britain. Which is a fascinating thought!

[happy]

My library finally got Tombland in, do I am reading that. I also got the latest Crispin Guest Historical Mystery, Sword of Shadows for my nook that I'm reading. As usual, nook books go much slower than dead tree ones :)



I'm really enjoying Tombland. In this one, Shardlake and co get caught up in a peasants revolt in 1549 Norwich, that I had personally never heard of. There are also a couple of murders to solve.

Sword and shadows has Crispin on the quest to find King Arthur's sword Excalibur. All the novels in the series involve some kind of magical (or not) relic. This is the first one that where the relic is not overtly Christian,

[May]

We loved TOMBLAND! Hope you do, also!!

[happy]

I'm about 300 pages into it and it lives up the Shardlake standards. the mystery is pretty good and the history solid

[May]

True that!! Any clue as to the next novel?

[happy]

Unfortunately - no :(

[Marilyn]

How interesting! I’ve never heard of her before. Will check her out. Thanks guys.

[Marilyn]

Ok I got confused there. The first author I was referring to was Jeri Westerson. TOMBLAND that you are talking about is by C.J. Samson who I’ve read before and yes, he is a good author. I’m currently reading GRANT by Ron Chernow. This book is a brick but really delves into Grant’s history. What a fascinating character he was and with the passage of time and diligent inspection of his whole life he’s emerging as the respective hero he should have been hailed for. I was always taught that he was a failure. He wasn’t. That we still have a country today is all due to him.

[happy]

Marilyn wrote: "Ok I got confused there. The first author I was referring to was Jeri Westerson. TOMBLAND that you are talking about is by C.J. Samson who I’ve read before and yes, he is a good author. I’m current..."

I knew who you were talking about - I discovered her about 3 or 4 volumes into the series. For those who don't know - it is set in the reign of Richard II. Guest is a disgraced Knight who has his lands and title taken away from him in punishment for his participation in a rebellion against Richard. To make a living he has found that he has a nack for solving mysteries. Both Richard II and Henry Bolingbroke (the future Henry IV) are major minor characters in the novels.

Grant is just fantastic, I rated it 5 stars - I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Chernow's take really upped my opinion of Grant. He will never be in the ranks of the greatest presidents, but Chernow takes him out of the bottom 5 to somewhere in the middle - In My Not So Humble Opinion

[May]

We saw an IN DEPTH interview about Grant & have been discussing whether or not to read Chernow’s book. Chernow’s research is always PhD worthy, but that also makes it daunting!!

[Marilyn]

Still, it’s well worth it. The reviews are spot on.

[May]

Thanks, Marilyn! Good to know.

[Marilyn]

Chernow states that the Cause of the Civil War was the slavery issue but what really tipped the scales in favor of War was the threat of Dissolution of the Union. A lot of Yankees still retained memories of their older kin folks and what they went thru fighting the British to form our new Union. So, it was tragic but Grant held it together.

[Bobby]

The White Queen of Middleham

[Adrian]

We have a friend whose grandfather fought in the Civil War and whose great grandfather was born in 1805. The result of four men in a row who had children in their 50s or 60s. She is now 58.

I'm guessing this is a most unusual situation and potentially even a record.

[happy]

I finished Tombland - Good read, but a bit overly long. I think at least 100 pages could have been trimmed with out losing anything.

That said it is a fascinating look at class distinctions and the attitudes of both the nobility and merchant class towards both the poor and farmers.
(view spoiler)[
The basic plot has Shardlake heading for Norfolk and Norwich to look into the murder case against a distant relative of the Lady Elizabeth. While in Norwich a peasant revolt breaks out - Shardlake is captured by the rebels. His sympathies are conficted to say the least and he ends up assisting in the trials of both "Gentlemen" and common criminals. While the rebellion is going on a couple of more murders occur related to the first one and Shardlake can't help himself, but try and solve those also.

(hide spoiler)]
This is not only a good murder mystery, but a decent history lesson. In fact Mr. Sansom includes a lengthy history essay on Kett's rebellion after the novel concludes. I'll admit I read that first :)

In spite my gripe about length this is still a 4+ star read

Also posted in the Tudor thread

[Adrian]

The enclosure movement was possibly the first major class war after the population had been decimated by the plague in the C14. Obviously there'd been the Wat Tyler Revolt at the end of the C14 but I don't know that that can really be called a class conflict as Ketts was - throwing the economic interests of land owners and tenants against each other.

It'd certainly be a great backdrop for a novel.

[happy]

I finished Jeri Westerson's Sword of Shadows. It is #13 of the Crispin Guest series set in late 1300s England. In this on Crispin is hired by a relic/treasure hunter to accompany him to Cornwall to find King Arthur's legendary sword "Excalibur". While there Crispin stumbles on a couple of murders and can't leave well enough alone and has to solve them. Along the way he may or maybe not find "Excalibur"

I thought this was a solid 4 star read.

I also read Ken Follett's short essay on the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.



Very short - only 62 pages (hey it counts as a book for the reading challenge :)), I found it interesting. Mr. Follett was asked to write this after the terrible fire last year. In this essay, the author recounts a bit of the history of the Cathedral, from it's beginnings in the 1160s, the effect the Victor Hugo's novel had on the "Care and Feeding" of the building, it's restoration in the mid 19th century and finally the effects of the fire. Again a solid 4 star read, mainly because it is way, way too short.

I am currently reading our own Adrian's

[Terri, Wyrd bið ful aræd]

Just finished A Long Way Home (set in Australia in 1956.


Started the crime thriller Eden by Candace Fox.

[Adrian]

What did you think of A Long Way Home? I've tried to get into it a couple of times and can't get beyond about p 20. Which is odd because I usually love Peter Carey - especially his earlier work.

[Terri, Wyrd bið ful aræd]

I gave it three stars. just left it a review. I quite like the bucolic subruban feel of the early stages of the book. Then I liked the Redex part of it, but then it went off all over the place and I was wtf? How did this get longlisted for the MIles Franklin?

[Terri, Wyrd bið ful aræd]

Oh ... and having associated Peter Carey with former works of which I read this year, True History of the Kelly Gang, Jack Maggs, Parrot and Olivier in America and Oscar and Lucinda, it was as if written by a different author.

I do wonder if he wrote this long beofre he wrote his first published novel. Perhaps it is something he dug up and dusted off and rewrote.

[Adrian]

I'd suspect not - or at least, I'll bet he didn't write it before Bliss.

I would say Peter Carey is the best writer of short stories I've ever read - by some distance - but to my mind he's never quite translated that genius to the long form. I really enjoyed Bliss, Oscar & Lucinda, True History and Jack Maggs, but there are quite a few duds in there.

[Sherry]

Terri wrote: "Just finished A Long Way Home (set in Australia in 1956.


Started the crime thriller Eden by Candace Fox. "
Ooh, just read Eden. I'll be interested to know what you think, Terri.

[Terri, Wyrd bið ful aræd]

So far I'm liking it, Sherry ... but I am only 80 pages in. Anything could happen from here! :-D

[Adrian]

I've just re-read the entire Sharpe series but am only rating/reviewing Waterloo. Sharpe's Waterloo

BC is the greatest.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Arthur]

Mostly finished with

[Bobby]

[Tamara]

I read Pavilion of Women by Pearl S. Buck. It depicts life in an upper class family in 1940s China. It focuses on Madame Wu, the overtly calm and sophisticated head of the large family household and the momentous decision she makes on her 40th birthday.
I enjoyed it, especially the first half of the novel because of Pearl Buck's detailed description of the traditions and customs of upper class Chinese families.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[May]

Reading A YEAR OF WONDERS by Geraldine Brooks

[happy]

I finished Adrian's - The Fighting Man

I really enjoyed it. I liked his take on Harold and the struggle between Christianity and Druidism/Paganism for the soul of Britain.

I'm currently reading Ben Kane's look at Richard the Lionheart

[Adrian]

Thanks Happy, very kind of you. In all honesty I've never understood how Harold could possibly have lost the Battle of Hastings - he had everything in his favour. All he had to do was NOT fight and he had to win, so the book gave me a chance to explore his motivations, fears and foibles, while also interpreting the Bayeux Tapestry in interesting and amusing ways.

Glad you enjoyed it.

[Terri, Wyrd bið ful aræd]

I finished Eden by Candice Fox and really liked it. I have decided to keep going on this crime trilogy and read the final one, Fall.

Eden
Fall

[Abhineet]

India's Biggest Cover-up

[Anita]

I'm reading "The Evening and the Morning" by Ken Follett (prequel to Pillars of the Earth series). In one word: superb !

[Tamara]

The Lambs of London by Peter Ackroyd.
Historical fiction set in late 18th/early 19thC London. A little disappointing because I had hoped it would be about Charles and Mary Lamb. Instead the focus was on William Ireland, the man who claimed to have discovered some never-before-seen manuscripts by Shakespeare.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

(Also posted in the Modern Age thread)

[May]

I am reading CASTE by Isabel Wilkerson. Powerful, daunting book. I have had to put it down more than once to just breathe. I have been so clueless.

[C.P.]

Just finishing The Woman in the Moonlight by Patricia Morrisroe, which I like, for the most part. And just starting War Lord, by Bernard Cornwell—with somewhat mixed feelings, since this is apparently Uhtred's swan song, but so far it seems pretty classic Uhtred, so enjoyable.

[Michael]

Reading "5000 Days Like This One" for recreation and "Genoese Shipping in the 12th and 13th Centuries" for research to write my next novel.

[Adrian]

A very challenging read these days, but still pretty good...

Flash for Freedom

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Shell]

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

[happy]

I've been absent lately - retired life doesn't leave much time for computers :)

Anyway - I finished Ben Kane's Lionheart

Thoroughly enjoyed it, This obviously the first book in a series, Dr Kane tells Richard story through to the death of his father, Henry II. ; As usual with Ben's book, very well research and the story in entertainingly told - though not through Richard's POV. The two main narrators are a you Irish hostage, nicknamed Rufus (naturally) who rises to become a knight in Richard's retinue and William Marshall, an actual historical figure.

As I said, this ends with Henry II's death, so the story mainly covers Richard's Dukeship (is that a word?) of Aquataine and his attempts to bring it under control along with the machinations of King Philip of France to split Henry from his sons.

It's a 4+ star read for me.

Currently reading Michael Jecks book on the 1st or Peasants Crusade