Can NOT say the same (see Kate Morton entry, below) for the latest Tasha Alexander "Lady Emily" mystery, Dangerous to Know. I think I picked up the first book in the series, And Only to Deceive) used or something, cheap paperback for sure, maybe before a trip? And I enjoyed it; not the most original or brilliant book, but I liked it, and it was fun, in that "independent before her (Victorian) time" genre. I know I read the second and third ones, but I don't really remember them; I guess they were fine enough, though, because as I recall (and as I could check in this blog, I think - go, online record keeping!) I was kind of itching to get the fourth in the series, Tears of Pearl, when it came out. Also don't remember much about what I thought of it, except that I knew the next book would be demoted to a lower-anticipation-level. And now I'm done. This most recent book was a fine, if workman-like affair, but I'm over it. Neither the characters nor the plot really held me at all, and while I wouldn't say I will never read another book starring Lady Emily and Colin, I have no desire to seek the next one out.
The other book I got at the same time, and another entry in a series I've enjoyed in the past, fared better - A Stranger in Mayfair, by Charles Finch. I liked the other three books in the series; again, nothing super new here, I am sure there is a massive library of Victorian gentleman / amateur detective books, but there are several nicely delineated characters, in addition to the hero, and I appreciated that they were all developed over the course of the series. My issue with this book is that it was just so f***ing obvious from very early on who the killer was, so it was a little boring as far as the mystery. And while there were some momentous (and gratifying) events in the main characters' lives, no significant character development. But it was a fun read - I started it a little before 5:00 a.m. this moring, before going to bed, and then read it on and off (mostly on) throughout the rest of the day, finishing around 4:00 p.m. (it's a slim volume, obviously). Good for a not hungover, but sleepy, kinda cold, under the covers sort of day. And no gratuitous sex, thank God, so I may recommend it to my dad - I gave him the first two books to read when I finished them (I had bought them; this one and the last I got from the library.)
And....that's it. That's what I've been reading the last week and a half or so. I think - can't think of anything else I might have missed, anyhow. I've been super busy with work, both jobs, so I imagine that's all of them.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
More books, Pt. 1
Tired today (went to bed at 5:00 a.m., woke up at 10:30), so just the basics, so I can get rid of the pile of books under my desk...
Last Wednesday (Wed. before last? 1/12/11) I finished Valerio Massimo Manfredi's The Ides of March
. Enjoyed it, but definitely wasn't blown away. As I recall, I read about this book, or possibly another one by the same author, in one of the Harvard Bookstore monthly newsletters, and was captivated by the awesomeness of the the name "Valerio Massimo Manfredi." The book is interesting, a run down of the last day's before Ceasar's assasination, but I wasn't so impressed with the plot or writing (granted, it's a translation) that I would read another of Valerio Massimo Manfredi's other books.
Then I picked back up a novel by Fiona Mountain (another great name) that I had abandoned weeks, if not longer, before and forgotten about - Lady of the Butterflies
, a historical romance - I guess - inspired by the real Eleanor Glanville who was a Restoration-era entomologist. I don't remember what made me request the book from deposit, but I do remember being totally embarassed when I checked it out, the cover of this particular edition being so freaking cheesy. I read a couple chapters (in December, maybe?) and then put it aside until I stumbled across it after finishing The Ides of March and needing something else to read because I couldn't sleep. Overall, I was really not a fan, and don't think I will read one of Ms. Mountain's books again. I will say, I think she did a nice job of describing life in rural England, and London, from 1662 to 1695 - all the mud and muck and filth, the anxious neighbors of dawning reason and science with slow-to-die superstitions. Even the politics, ever-present but frequently serving only as backdrop, or catalyst, for local and personal turmoil, was somewhat realistic. But the story was just ridiculous. Overwrought drama and romance and danger, with what seemed to me like clumsily interlaced sex scenes. Mostly I think my issue was just that I kept wanting to shake all the characters and make them talk to each other. I realize some of that is the time the book is set in, but Mountain goes out of her way to create a heroine, and some other characters, who are open-minded, advanced, and like to taaaaaaaalk, so it was frustrating when they just didn't talk to one another honestly and get on with their lives, without all the soap opera nonsense kicking in. I didn't realize until the end of the book, when I reached the historical note, that Eleanor Glanville was a real person, and that some of the drama was real, so I suppose I should cut Mountain a little slack, but mostly it just makes me want to go read the actual biographies of the woman. I did notice that Mountain referred to some very decent historical works (including David Cressy) in her acknowledgements, which also makes me feel a little more kindly towards her, if not towards the story.
Of course, I didn't enjoy the story so much that I didn't happily put it down when Kate Morton's The Distant Hours came into my hot little hands! The two readers of this blog will know that I was a huge fan of her earlier books, The Forgotten Garden
and The Shifting Fog (which I read when it was called The House at Riverton
). While in the end I don't think I liked this one as much as those two, I still really, really enjoyed it. A whopping 497 pages (and hardcover!), I just poured myself into it. It seems clear that Morton is stuck on the idea of two stories unfolding side by side, as the characters in the present seek to unravel the secrets of the past, but then device works for her, so I have no problem with her staying with it (God, that sounds pretentious!). In this case a daughter in present(ish) day London sttumbles across her mother's hither-to secret time spent during World War II in a country house filled with loving (more or less) but strange characters - including the reclusive and mysterious author of a massively popular and influential horror story for children, which the protagonist fell in love with as a child. From then on, the two stories circle around and through each other, with all the different plots and secrets tangling and untangling. So - not my favorite of Morton's books, but still a great book, and I am just as eager as ever for her next one to come out.
Last Wednesday (Wed. before last? 1/12/11) I finished Valerio Massimo Manfredi's The Ides of March
. Enjoyed it, but definitely wasn't blown away. As I recall, I read about this book, or possibly another one by the same author, in one of the Harvard Bookstore monthly newsletters, and was captivated by the awesomeness of the the name "Valerio Massimo Manfredi." The book is interesting, a run down of the last day's before Ceasar's assasination, but I wasn't so impressed with the plot or writing (granted, it's a translation) that I would read another of Valerio Massimo Manfredi's other books. Then I picked back up a novel by Fiona Mountain (another great name) that I had abandoned weeks, if not longer, before and forgotten about - Lady of the Butterflies
, a historical romance - I guess - inspired by the real Eleanor Glanville who was a Restoration-era entomologist. I don't remember what made me request the book from deposit, but I do remember being totally embarassed when I checked it out, the cover of this particular edition being so freaking cheesy. I read a couple chapters (in December, maybe?) and then put it aside until I stumbled across it after finishing The Ides of March and needing something else to read because I couldn't sleep. Overall, I was really not a fan, and don't think I will read one of Ms. Mountain's books again. I will say, I think she did a nice job of describing life in rural England, and London, from 1662 to 1695 - all the mud and muck and filth, the anxious neighbors of dawning reason and science with slow-to-die superstitions. Even the politics, ever-present but frequently serving only as backdrop, or catalyst, for local and personal turmoil, was somewhat realistic. But the story was just ridiculous. Overwrought drama and romance and danger, with what seemed to me like clumsily interlaced sex scenes. Mostly I think my issue was just that I kept wanting to shake all the characters and make them talk to each other. I realize some of that is the time the book is set in, but Mountain goes out of her way to create a heroine, and some other characters, who are open-minded, advanced, and like to taaaaaaaalk, so it was frustrating when they just didn't talk to one another honestly and get on with their lives, without all the soap opera nonsense kicking in. I didn't realize until the end of the book, when I reached the historical note, that Eleanor Glanville was a real person, and that some of the drama was real, so I suppose I should cut Mountain a little slack, but mostly it just makes me want to go read the actual biographies of the woman. I did notice that Mountain referred to some very decent historical works (including David Cressy) in her acknowledgements, which also makes me feel a little more kindly towards her, if not towards the story.Of course, I didn't enjoy the story so much that I didn't happily put it down when Kate Morton's The Distant Hours came into my hot little hands! The two readers of this blog will know that I was a huge fan of her earlier books, The Forgotten Garden
and The Shifting Fog (which I read when it was called The House at Riverton). While in the end I don't think I liked this one as much as those two, I still really, really enjoyed it. A whopping 497 pages (and hardcover!), I just poured myself into it. It seems clear that Morton is stuck on the idea of two stories unfolding side by side, as the characters in the present seek to unravel the secrets of the past, but then device works for her, so I have no problem with her staying with it (God, that sounds pretentious!). In this case a daughter in present(ish) day London sttumbles across her mother's hither-to secret time spent during World War II in a country house filled with loving (more or less) but strange characters - including the reclusive and mysterious author of a massively popular and influential horror story for children, which the protagonist fell in love with as a child. From then on, the two stories circle around and through each other, with all the different plots and secrets tangling and untangling. So - not my favorite of Morton's books, but still a great book, and I am just as eager as ever for her next one to come out.
Friday, January 14, 2011
January 7, 2011 post
Normally I love a good snowstorm - so peaceful and pretty! Plus, I don't drive/park, and Boston's d**m good at keeping up with snow removal, which helps. Tonight, however, since NY and CT apparently can NOT handle snow, my dear friend S has been stuck on a bus from NYC for hours (I think we're approaching 7, as I type this), and may never make it to Boston - last update, they were still in CT, and the bus driver has taken to walking up and down the aisle of the bus, cursing the CT governor...because why sit behind the wheel when you're at a dead stop, I suppose...
So, to kill some time, and kill the pile of books by my bed, here's what I've been plowing through (no pun intended) recently:
Emma Brown
by Clare Boylan, based on an unfinished (20 pages, I think?) manuscript by Charlotte Bronte {how do I do accents in this thing?}. Entertaining, but nothing super special. It was a little hard to really sink into the story because it seemed so anachronistic - I'm using that word wrong, but I can't think of a better way to say it at the moment; basically, there are a lot of references to sex, prostitution, child exploitation, etc. They're handled well, and more or less subtly, but they're still more present than they would have been if the book were really written in Bronte's time. Boylan's handle on the language - words, structure - is nice, though. I had read this before (it's one of the ones I took from home to try and sell), but I didn't remember it at all, so it was like reading it for the first time, so that was good! Forget now exactly when I read it (this time), but I think it was the day before and day of New Year's Eve, and maybe after.
Definitely read What Remains of Heaven
, the 5th (?) Sebastian St. Cyr mystery by C. S. Harris on the second of January. Was out until 10 a.m. on the first, then came home and pretty much passed out for the rest of the day, so I can't remember if I started the book on the first or not. But I definitely read it when I was recuperating on the second, and it was perfect for that! The new heroine is really growing on me; I like her, and the hero with her, SO much better than the last one. I think I might be all caught up with the series now, which is actually making me kind of sad; considering at first I would only read the books if I could get them from the library or used & cheap, and if I were really bored, that's saying something. AH - the next is due out March 1, 2011, apparently. Good to know.
Next came yet another Tracy Chevalier book (I have GOT to be caught up on these by now - but d*mn, that woman is prolific!) - this one, The Lady and the Unicorn
, like Girl with a Pearl Earring
, is inspired by a piece of art, in this case the Lady and the Unicorn tapestries. I really liked this book - totally different from the last Chevalier I read (I picked it up at the same time, because I liked the cover [the tapestries], but had no idea what it was about, although I kind of guessed from the title), about the fossil hunter, but it was engaging and interesting. It made me want to go learn more about the time and skills, as well as the people, described in the book, which is always a good thing. The chapters switching back and forth between several different character points of view could have been distracting, or interrupt the flow of the narrative, but it didn't. One issue I did have, though, and it's one I have with a lot of books set in the Middle Ages (late 1400s is the Middle Ages, right?): I hate when the liturgical season is used instead of normal dates. I mean, maybe I should just learn it, to be a more generally well-educated and -read person or something, but while Easter is a useful reference point for me, or Lent, "Septuagesima" means nothing to me...
A couple hundred years later a band of misfit, enraging and endearing players were wandering Italy and France in Francine Prose' The Glorious Ones
. A quick, easy read with familiar nods to lots of classics, Dante most prominently, I had fun with it, but it didn't make much of an impression. I think I am just not really a short story kind of person, and I thought the links between these stories/chapters were too tenuous for my tastes, but there is no denying Prose does a masterful job with the writing here. The voices were distinct and evocative, and she suggests a vital setting without painting it in too much detail.
So, to kill some time, and kill the pile of books by my bed, here's what I've been plowing through (no pun intended) recently:
Emma Brown
by Clare Boylan, based on an unfinished (20 pages, I think?) manuscript by Charlotte Bronte {how do I do accents in this thing?}. Entertaining, but nothing super special. It was a little hard to really sink into the story because it seemed so anachronistic - I'm using that word wrong, but I can't think of a better way to say it at the moment; basically, there are a lot of references to sex, prostitution, child exploitation, etc. They're handled well, and more or less subtly, but they're still more present than they would have been if the book were really written in Bronte's time. Boylan's handle on the language - words, structure - is nice, though. I had read this before (it's one of the ones I took from home to try and sell), but I didn't remember it at all, so it was like reading it for the first time, so that was good! Forget now exactly when I read it (this time), but I think it was the day before and day of New Year's Eve, and maybe after. Definitely read What Remains of Heaven
, the 5th (?) Sebastian St. Cyr mystery by C. S. Harris on the second of January. Was out until 10 a.m. on the first, then came home and pretty much passed out for the rest of the day, so I can't remember if I started the book on the first or not. But I definitely read it when I was recuperating on the second, and it was perfect for that! The new heroine is really growing on me; I like her, and the hero with her, SO much better than the last one. I think I might be all caught up with the series now, which is actually making me kind of sad; considering at first I would only read the books if I could get them from the library or used & cheap, and if I were really bored, that's saying something. AH - the next is due out March 1, 2011, apparently. Good to know.Next came yet another Tracy Chevalier book (I have GOT to be caught up on these by now - but d*mn, that woman is prolific!) - this one, The Lady and the Unicorn
, like Girl with a Pearl Earring, is inspired by a piece of art, in this case the Lady and the Unicorn tapestries. I really liked this book - totally different from the last Chevalier I read (I picked it up at the same time, because I liked the cover [the tapestries], but had no idea what it was about, although I kind of guessed from the title), about the fossil hunter, but it was engaging and interesting. It made me want to go learn more about the time and skills, as well as the people, described in the book, which is always a good thing. The chapters switching back and forth between several different character points of view could have been distracting, or interrupt the flow of the narrative, but it didn't. One issue I did have, though, and it's one I have with a lot of books set in the Middle Ages (late 1400s is the Middle Ages, right?): I hate when the liturgical season is used instead of normal dates. I mean, maybe I should just learn it, to be a more generally well-educated and -read person or something, but while Easter is a useful reference point for me, or Lent, "Septuagesima" means nothing to me...A couple hundred years later a band of misfit, enraging and endearing players were wandering Italy and France in Francine Prose' The Glorious Ones
. A quick, easy read with familiar nods to lots of classics, Dante most prominently, I had fun with it, but it didn't make much of an impression. I think I am just not really a short story kind of person, and I thought the links between these stories/chapters were too tenuous for my tastes, but there is no denying Prose does a masterful job with the writing here. The voices were distinct and evocative, and she suggests a vital setting without painting it in too much detail.
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