ReadingAdventures

Saw this over at Flamingo House Happenings!


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I would be interested in knowing what their definition of a cuss word is!

I got a great deal today! A while ago I got an unexpected bonus and there were four items that I was thinking about getting - one of which was a bike.

I went to the shops today and noticed that there was 20% off on bikes, and so thought that I might as well pick a bike and get it today. After trying to decide which one to get for a while I finally picked a mid ranged price one and took it to the registers.

When I got there, the helmet and the bike came to a grand total of $46, and I was so shocked I said to the girl that that couldn't possibly be right. She scanned again, and the bike came up at $20, so she called a manager, who called another manager, and in the end I ended up getting it for $16. In effect the helmet that I bought with it cost me twice as much as the bike did!

Of course, buying a bike is the first step. The second step is putting it together, and the third step is actually using it!

Now, I can more easily afford one of the other items which was a barbecue to sit on my back deck!

Samson the hero; a brave warrior, leader of men and Nazarite of God? Or a misfit given to whoring and lust, who failed to fulfil his destiny? In Lion's Honey, award-winning writer David Grossman takes on one of the most vivid and controversial characters in the Bible. Revisiting Samson's famous battle with the lion, his many women and his betrayal by them all - including the only one he ever loved - Grossman gives us a provocative new take on the story and its climax, Samson's final act of death, bringing down a temple on himself and 3000 Philistines.

In exhilarating and lucid prose, Grossman reveals the journey of a single, lonely, tortured soul who never found a true home in the world, who was uncomfortable in his very body and who, some might say, was the precursor of today's suicide bombers.

I originally added this book to my TBR list because it is part of the Myths series published by Canongate. Other books that I have read from this series are Dream Angus by Alexander McCall Smith (about the Celtic god of dreams and love) and Weight by Jeanette Winterson which is a retelling of the story of Atlas and Hercules. Given that those were both retellings, albeit with a bit of modern day storytelling added in Dream Angus, I was expecting another retelling when I read this book. That is not what I got.

If I was to be the person cataloguing this book I am not sure that I would have even called it fiction. The first few pages of the book are the story of Samson, taken directly from the King James Version of the Bible. I guess I was a little surprised to see that, but then again, it isn't terribly long so I though 'okay that's probably as good a place as any to start'.

What followed was more of a long essay dissecting the Bible story trying to ascertain motive for some of Samson's actions including but not limited to dissecting his relationship with his parents, why he lived amongst the Philistines, and the women that he was associated with. A couple of examples - Why did he feel the need to use 300 pairs of foxes to burn the Philistines fields and why did he not tell his parents that he had killed a lion with his bare hands, and most importantly, why was it that he told Delilah the secret of his strength.

In saying that it was not what I expected, I am not saying that I didn't enjoy it because for the most part I did. It was very interesting to read through the text and then refer to the footnotes at the back which may have been referencing the Torah, or some other studies of Samson done by a variety of scholars over the years.

Would I have picked it up if it had not been part of this series - probably not. Do I feel compelled to pick up any other work from this author - not really. It was a quick read, and different from most other things I read.

And besides...it was the first completed read in the Once Upon a Time II challenge...so that has to be a good thing!


Other Blogger's Thoughts:

Rhinoa's Ramblings

Things Mean A Lot

I'm going to start this post with a bit of a rant. I read City of Glory before I read Shadowbrook. The first reason for doing so is that there was no indication at all that Shadowbrook was connected to the earlier book, City of Dreams, whereas just the title of the third book tells you that there is a connection! I really dislike reading a series out of order but it's done now. I will review the second book in the series first, even though it was the third book I read. Does that last sentence make any sense?

1754. In a peaceful glen in the Ohio Country, the firing of a musket ball signals beginning of the infamous seven-year that paved the way for the American Revolution.

In Shadowbrook a cast of unforgettable characters brings to life the bloody conflict between the French and the English that ignited the 18th century and sparked a nation's battle for independence. Characters like Quentin Hale, the fearless gentleman-turned-scout the Indians call 'Red Bear'; Cormac Shea, the part-Irish, part-Indian woodsman scarred in battle by his own kin, sworn to drive white man from his land; Nicole Crane, the beautiful young half-French woman whose struggle to reconcile her love for Hale with her vow to become a nun causes her to become a pawn in the quest for territory.

Centred around the coveted Shadowbrook, a prosperous plantation in the northern wilderness, and peopled with such historical figures, including a young George Washington, this richly textured novel vividly captures the conflict that opened the eighteenth century and ignited our nation's quest for independence. A classic in the making, Shadowbrook is a page-turning tale of ambition, war, and the transforming power of both love and duty.

When I read City of Dreams, one of the things that I found most surprising was that the author chose to tell the story of several generations in one book, and therefore covered quite a significant period of history (from 1661 to 1798). Whilst it didn't detract from the novel too much, I do much prefer to read a book that concentrates more fully on just one set of characters.

There is nothing in the blurb to easily connect Shadowbrook to the first book. It is only as you start to read that you find out that Quentin Hale's mother is a Devrey of New York and therefore connected to the characters from the first book. With a time frame from 1754-1760 this book sits within the scope of the first book, but I guess the story was just so much bigger than just being a section of the earlier book.

The two main characters are Quentin Hale and Cormac Shea - they are not physically brothers, but they are in all other ways, including by the fact that they have the same Indian 'adult' father, with Quentin having been adopted by the Potawatomi tribe. Cormac is half Irish and half Indian, and had been bought to Shadowbrook as a young teenager when Quent's father made Cormac's mother his mistress. To the Indians these two young men are Bridge people - men who can provide a way for the Indians to understand what is happening in the very different world of the white man. For Cormac and Quent, quite often it means internal strife as they must try to balance the two worlds of which they are part.

The story that Swerling attempts to tell is huge - not only is there the Indian vs white man issues to deal with, there is also the simmering tensions between the British and the French who are fighting to win control of the land stretching from what is now the northern US up to and including Quebec in Canada. Add in the machinations of the Church, and you have a complicated and diverse cast of characters. There are also episodes of Indian mysticism, as well as Catholic religious experience.

As if that is not enough, when Cormac and Quentin meet after a long time apart, Cormac is accompanying a young lady north to Quebec. Her name is Nicole Crane, and she is half British-half French, and she is travelling north to become a member of a the Sisters of the Poor Clares - a convent. Whilst Quentin is a man of honour and wouldn't dare to touch Nicole whilst he believes that she has chosen Cormac to be her man, he finds himself falling in love with her, and when his mother seems to sanction her as the perfect wife to be mistress of Shadowbrook, he knows that she should be his. The only problem is that Quent will never be master at Shadowbrook. As the younger son, he has to watch his sadistic older brother (a completely one dimensional character - evil in just about every way - particularly in comparison to the perfect Quent!) make decisions that will cause trouble for all those who live there, including the slaves and the Quakers who live in a township on the Hale patent.

There are several historical characters woven into the narrative - in particular during the sections dealing with the battles between the British and the French. Possibly the most interesting inclusions were a young man by the name of George Washington who was leading a force of Virginian soldiers and fighting on the side of the British against the French, influential Indian chief, Chief Pontiac, and several generals on either side of the battles over land.

On many levels this story did work for me, but at the end of the day, there was too much left unexplained for me to really love this book.

As an example, one of the major story lines was the wheeling and dealing that was being driven by a one-eyed Scottish man, Hamish Stewart, who fought at Culloden. Hamish wants the Hale patent...badly...and will do almost anything to get his hands on it. He manipulates and bribes, even at one stage trying to destroy the Hales, just so that he can be the owner. What I never did get is what his motivation was. He had been coveting the land for over twenty years, but why THAT land. Why was he so determined that Shadowbrook was the only land that he wanted. This is just one example.

Before finishing up I should mention that this is not a book for the faint of heart. There are battles galore, blood everywhere, and plenty of scalpings. For the most part, it is a fascinating read, although it is a long way from being a perfect read. I would class it as mostly enjoyable.

I should also mention that this book was one of the ones that I had listed for reading as part of the Chunkster Challenge, so it is now two down, two to go to complete the challenge!

Set against the dramatic backdrop of America's second war for independence, Beverly Swerling's gripping and intricately plotted sequel to the much-loved City of Dreams plunges deep into the crowded streets of old New York.

Poised between the Manhattan woods and the sea that is her gateway to the world, the city of 1812 is vibrant but raw, a cauldron where the French accents of Creole pirates mingle with the brogues of Irish seamen, and shipments of rare teas and silks from Canton are sold at raucous Pearl Street auctions. Allegiances are more changeable than the tides, love and lust often indistinguishable, the bonds of country weak compared to the temptation of fabulous riches from the East, and only a few farseeing patriots recognize the need not only to protect the city from the redcoats, but to preserve the fragile Constitutional union forged in 1787.

Joyful Patrick Turner, dashing war hero and brilliant surgeon, loses his hand to a British shell, retreats to private life, and hopes to make his fortune in the China trade. To succeed he must run the British blockade; if he fails, he will lose not only a livelihood, but the beautiful Manon, daughter of a Huguenot jeweler who will not accept a pauper as a son-in-law. When stories of a lost treasure and a mysterious diamond draw him into a treacherous maze of deceit and double-cross, and the British set Washington ablaze, Joyful realizes that more than his personal future is at stake. His adversary, Gornt Blakeman, has a lust for power that will not be sated until he claims Joyful's fiancée as his wife and half a nation as his personal fiefdom. Like the Turners before him, Joyful must choose: his dreams or his country.

Swerling's vividly drawn characters illuminate every aspect of the teeming metropolis: John Jacob Astor, the wealthiest man in America, brings the city's first Chinese to staff his palatial Broadway mansion; Lucretia Carter, wife of a respectable craftsman, makes ends meet as an abortionist serving New York's brothels; Thumbless Wu, a mysterious Cantonese stowaway, slinks about on a secret mission; and the bewitching Delight Higgins, proprietress of the town's finest gambling club, lives in terror of the blackbirding gangs who prey on runaway slaves. They are all here, the butchers and shipwrights, the doctors and scriveners, the slum dwellers of Five Points and the money men of the infant stock exchange...conspiring by day and carousing by night, while the women must hide their loyalties and ambitions, their very wills, behind pretty sighs and silken skirts.

Bearing in mind that I read this, the third book in the series, second, I can't tell you how pleased I was that the author didn't try to fit another 100 years of history into one book. In fact, in this book the time frame of the novel is tightened down yet again, and instead of covering a period of over 100 years (as we were in City of Dreams) or even a handful of years (Shadowbrook), we are treated to the stories of what happened to a group of characters, some imagined and some real, over the period of 10 days or so (with a few flashbacks here and there). And what a tumultuous ten days they were in 1814. The British were advancing on Washington, and everywhere there was fear, distrust and temptation.

The main character of this book is Joyful Patrick Turner. He is a surgeon until he is forced to look for a new line of work due to the fact that his hand is blown off by a British cannon ball during the blockade. Joyful as a character has an intriguing past, having spent many years in China as a young man, and his ability to understand the Chinese way of business as well as to speak the language are very handy skills to have, as he tried to work his way up to being one of the most influential people in the world of New York trade, and if that influence comes to the detriment of his estranged cousins, then so be it.

Along the way Joyful rubs shoulders with many real life characters including the Astors, and some significant events such as the meeting of businessmen in Wall Street (the basis of the Stock Exchange) and the burning of Washington amongst others events.

If I was asked to provide a summary of the events in this books there is no way that you could think that such a variety of plot lines could possibly work, and yet it does. There is opium trading, pirates, love, lust, prostitution, bribery, kidnapping, betrayal, magnificent jewels, talk of secession, battles, blackbirders (people who capture blacks, who may or may not have the necessary documentation, and sell them off to slavers). Whew...there's a lot going on, but Swerling does manage to keep hold of all the various threads of storyline and bring it all to a surprising, if a little fantastical, conclusion.

I have really enjoyed each of the Swerling books that I have read. If I had to pick a favourite though, it would definitely be a toss up between City of Glory and this one.

Now, I need to wait for the next book in the series to come out. According to her website, Beverly Swerling is working on it now. I am looking forward to seeing what period of American history the author wants to show us next.



Cross posted at Historical Tapestry

I saw this mentioned over at Bookgirl's Nightstand and just knew that I had to have it!



It was made by Mrs S from the 50 Book Challenge blog which is a new blog to me!

13

Here are reviews of the two Lady Emily Ashton mysteries by Tasha Alexander. Please note that in the review of the second book there will inevitably be at least one major spoiler for the first book.

For Emily, accepting the proposal of Philip, the Viscount Ashton, was an easy way to escape her overbearing mother, who was set on a grand society match. So when Emily's dashing husband died on safari soon after their wedding, she felt little grief. After all, she barely knew him. Now, nearly two years later, she discovers that Philip was a far different man from the one she had married so cavalierly. His journals reveal him to have been a gentleman scholar and antiquities collector who, to her surprise, was deeply in love with his wife. Emily becomes fascinated with this new image of her dead husband and she immerses herself in all things ancient and begins to study Greek.

Emily's intellectual pursuits and her desire to learn more about Philip take her to the quiet corridors of the British Museum, one of her husband's favorite places. There, amid priceless ancient statues, she uncovers a dark, dangerous secret involving stolen artifacts from the Greco-Roman galleries. And to complicate matters, she's juggling two very prominent and wealthy suitors, one of whose intentions may go beyond the marrying kind. As she sets out to solve the crime, her search leads to more surprises about Philip and causes her to question the role in Victorian society to which she, as a woman, is relegated.

In my review of Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn, I mentioned that just lately it has seemed as though I have been reading a lot of mysteries that seem to have similar settings and characters (i.e young women who become amateur sleuths (two of whom are recent widows) and all set in Victorian times). This was actually the first of those mysteries that I read, and yet strangely enough is the last review written. How odd!

Lady Emily Ashton had the misfortune to be married and then widowed very shortly thereafter. Her husband, Sir Philip appeared to have not formed any great emotional bond with his wife, and to be fair, the feeling was pretty much mutual as far as Lady Ashton was concerned. She barely knew her husband, other than the fact that he loved to go hunting in Africa, which is where he died. For her part, marriage meant a chance to escape from an overbearing society mother and having done her familial duty. As the daughter of an Earl, it was her responsibility to attract a suitably titled husband.

With her husband dead, Emily has been forced to basically withdraw from society whilst she undertakes her period of mourning. Inspired by the discovery of some journals belonging to her husband, instead of feeling constrained by her period of mourning, it is a period of freedom for her as she begins to learn some Greek, to know more about her dead husband and his interests, and as she begins to wonder if perhaps he had lived there would have been a chance to actually learn to love her husband.

It is this romantic hopelessness that causes Emily to become more interested in many of the beautiful antique objects that her husband surrounded himself with and for her to become a regular visitor to the British Museum. She stumbles onto a forgery plot, and soon finds herself with more excitement than she knows what to do with. As her period of mourning comes to an end and she prepares to reenter society as a widow of beauty and financial independence, Emily finds herself with not one but two admirers, both of whom were connected with her husband. It is however difficult to deal with suitors when one seems to be falling in love with your own dead husband.

This novel is a charming read about a woman who is trying to once more find her sense of self in the world of her time - a time when the social restrictions for a young woman were very strict - whilst also having to reevaluate the things that she knows about her own history. It was interesting to take a side trip or two to France where the rules were not quite so extreme.

It was also interesting to get a comparison to Emily's life by looking at the lives of her friends Ivy and Margaret, and to a lesser extent her French friend Cecile. Ivy is a newly married young woman, subject to the restrictions placed on her by her somewhat conservative husband (his shock at discovering his young wife had a taste for Emily's port collection was very amusing). Margaret is an American heiress, something of a blue stocking who doesn't really want to be part of society and therefore seen as eccentric, and then the freedom allowed to Cecile within French society.

The historical details about the life and times of a young Victorian, from customs to fashion to language were beautifully integrated into the storyline and yet Alexander still managed to provide us with a very intriguing mystery about a compelling female amateur sleuth.

London's social season is in full swing, and the Victorian aristocracy can't stop whispering about a certain gentleman who claims to be the direct descendant of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. But he's not the only topic of wagging tongues. Drawing rooms, boudoirs, and ballrooms are abuzz with the latest news of an audacious cat burglar who has been making off with precious items that once belonged to the ill-fated queen.

Light gossip turns serious when the owner of one of the pilfered treasures is found murdered, and the mysterious thief develops a twisted obsession with Emily. But the strong-minded and fiercely independent Emily will not be shaken. It will take all of her considerable wit and perseverance to unmask her stalker and ferret out the murderer, even as a brewing scandal threatens both her reputation and her romance with her late husband's best friend, the dashing Colin Hargreaves.

A Poisoned Season is a delicious blend of sparkling romance, heart-pounding suspense, and rich historical detail that only Tasha Alexander could create.

Normally I try to say a little bit about the novel before I start talking about my reactions to it, but I am going to do the opposite this time, and start with saying what a great premise this novel has!

Marie Antoinette may have died during the French Revolution roughly a hundred years on, but her influence lives on. There have been a spate of robberies in London, targeting only those items that were previously owned by the late French queen - whether they be letters, jewels or other items. Surely it can be no coincidence that society is also buzzing about the arrival in their midst of Mr Charles Berry, who claims to be a direct descendant of the Dauphin, and therefore legitimately entitled to be the King of France. With the French republic a little shaky, Mr Berry is garnering as much support as he can from the highest echelons of British society, including to find a suitable bride before returning to France to claim his rightful place on the throne.

Lady Emily Ashton becomes involved in the case when her house guest has her earrings stolen, and yet nothing else of value in her home was taken during the robbery. When another robbery victim is encouraged to go the police, and then not long after is found dead, Lady Ashton can't bear to think that she may have hurried his death along by involving him. It turns out that the dead man has secrets that are waiting to be told after his death, and Emily is the one to try and uncover those secrets.

Along the way, some letters that were written by Marie Antoinette come into her possession, and she must try to decipher the code to find out exactly what did happen a hundred years before, and how that is affecting the current case that she is working on.

What I did love in this story was the relationship between Emily and Colin. There is no condescension towards Emily on Colin's part. He has belief in her abilities, and encourages her to be self sufficient, and yet is available if she needs him...and she does!

If you are looking for a hot and heavy romance between the two of these characters, then you will be disappointed, as the book is filled only with glances, the briefest of touches, and kisses on gloved hands. Colin Hargreaves wishes for Emily to marry him but he understands that Emily is an independent woman now, and that he therefore wishes for her to want to marry him on her own, not just because society dictates that she must marry again and soon. When even the Queen gets involved in her romantic affairs, that is a lot of pressure! The fact that Colin is determined to have a very proper courtship with Emily and therefore there are only the briefest moments between them is paramount in building up a palpable emotional tension within the novel.

What I wasn't so keen on was the number of other suitors that are drawn to Emily. We have a gentleman with an improper offer and a secret admirer who may or may not be dangerous to her and whose motives are somewhat twisted throughout the novel. In addition, society is all aghast that not only does Emily seem to have Colin Hargreaves courting her, she also seems to be having an affair with one of her childhood friends who is supposed to have an attachment to Emily's friend Margaret.

It is Emily's somewhat unusual intellectual habits as well as her romantic entanglements that see her on the very edge of ruination in the eyes of society. Between trying to stop her reputation from being irrevocably damaged, convincing several members of the gentry to hand over some invaluable ancient treasures to the British Museum, discover who the perpetrator(s) of several crimes were and to determine who her secret admirer really is, Emily is a very busy lady!

This was another very enjoyable novel by this author. The next novel, A Fatal Waltz comes out in June and I will definitely be trying to get hold of it as close to release date as possible.

As I said a couple of posts ago, the footy started this weekend and with my favourite team, the Adelaide Crows, playing in Melbourne, it would have been remiss of me not to go and support the boys. Having said that, I did really, really think about not going. Even once I had decided grudgingly that we would go, mainly because Adelaide only plays in Melbourne about 5 times a year, we very nearly missed the first half an hour of the game because I didn't realise that it was an early kick-off.

I was having a very leisurely morning when the thought crossed my mind that I should check the train timetables for getting to the game. So having checked both game time and the train times it transpired that we only had 15 minutes to get ready. We made it in time, but with a little more preparation time I might have remembered the sunscreen. There are a couple of patches on my arms and face that are a little pink!

As for the game itself, it was a thriller. The game was lost on the last kick of the game, and the result didn't go our way unfortunately. The stadium was only half full, but the good thing about that meant that we got to sit in the more expensive section of the ground for the same price (four rows from the front - close enough to see muscles rippling!).

Today was the 300th game for Western Bulldogs player Brad Johnson (the happy looking bloke in the picture to the right). After a lacklustre first half, Johnson showed why he is such a superstar and in the end, he got a fairy tale result for his showcase game. He was inspirational in the last few minutes and scored three good goals to help his team to a win.

So to sum it all up, I am a little sunburnt, my throat is sore from yelling so much, but it was a nail biting end to the game...very exciting! Pity the result didn't go our way!

I had never seen this site before but if you want to laugh (and I guess cringe occasionally) then it is worth a visit.

PassiveAggressiveNotes.com

It's dark in the morning when I get up now, and it's getting dark earlier and earlier. Our time change is next weekend I think.

After having temperatures of 40C last weekend we are back to a far more reasonable 20C, but having said that my feet are cold!

And lastly....footy's back! Below is a promotional video that someone did for Aussie Rules Football. Last night there were two games played - the opening games of the season. I managed to watch one all the way through and then fell asleep during the second one because it was late! Of course, footy season means footy tipping, and so far it's not going all that well. Of the two games played I picked neither winner so am 0/2 so far.

Watching (kind of) those two games last night meant that I didn't spend any time on the computer (very unusual) and that I didn't do any reading either (also very unusual) so today (on Good Friday) I have spent the whole morning trying to catch up!





C'mon the Crows!!

This week's Booking Through Thursday question:

You’ve just reached the end of a book . . . what do you do now? Savor and muse over the book? Dive right into the next one? Go take the dog for a walk, the kids to the park, before even thinking about the next book you’re going to read? What?

(Obviously, there can be more than one answer, here–a book with a cliff-hanger is going to engender different reactions than a serene, stand-alone, but you get the idea!)

I notice a lot of people have said that their answer depends on the book, but for me the answer depends less on the book than on where it is that I am when I finish the book.

Every morning I have a look at how much I have left in my book, and decide whether or not I think I am going to finish the book I am currently reading or not, and if I think that I will I put my next book in my bag as well. Then, if I do finish it on the train, I immediately pick up the next book and start reading.

If the book that I finish is my at home book, that usually means that I am reading in bed late at night and so I won't start reading a new book that night.

Either way, as soon as I am able, I come onto the computer and start my review post by finding the blurb, finding the cover picture and then update my lists that I keep of books that I have read, want to read etc etc. It doesn't actually feel like my reading experience for that book is over until I do these things.

Whilst I didn't participate in last year's Once Upon a Time Challenge, I am definitely going to be this year. The details are all up here.

The Journey

This is really as simple as the name implies and is to Once Upon a Time as the experience was to The Sci~Fi Experience. It means you are participating but not committing yourself to any specific number of books. All reading is a journey, perhaps none more so than reading fantastical fiction. By signing up for The Journey you are agreeing to at least read one book within the four categories during March 21st to June 20th period. Just one book. It has always been of utmost importance to me that the challenges that I host be all about experiencing enjoyable literature and sharing it with others. I want you to participate. Hence, The Journey.

Quest the First

Read at least 5 books that fit somewhere within the Once Upon a Time II criteria. They might all be fantasy, or folklore, or fairy tales, or mythology…or your five books might be a combination from the four genres.

Quest the Second

Read at least one book from each of the four categories. In this quest you will be reading 4 books total: one fantasy, one folklore, one fairy tale, and one mythology. This proved to be one of the more difficult quests last year merely because of the need to classify each read and determine which books fit into which category. I am not a stickler, fear not, but I was fascinated watching how folks worked to find books for each category.

Quest the Third

Fulfill the requirements for Quest the First or Quest the Second AND top it off with a June reading of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Love the story, love the films, love the idea of that magical night of the year and so this is my chance to promote the reading of this farcical love story.

I am not 100 percent sure of which quest it is that I am going to undertake. These are the fantasy books that I currently have out from the library, divided into the relevant categories (I hope I have them in the correct categories anyway).

So basically what I am saying is that I have enough books to fit into Quest the First, but if I am going to do Quest the Second then I will need some book recs for Folklore. Any suggestions? Edited to add In the Night Garden by Catherynne Valente. Happy to read other suggestions still though.

The again I do own a copy of A Midsummer Night's Dream. I'll decide later if I can fit it in or not.

Fantasy

Belladonna by Anne Bishop (review here)
Onion Girl by Charles de Lint (review here)
Drowned Wednesday by Garth Nix (review here)

Mythology:

Lions Honey by David Grossman (review here)

Fairy Tale

Stardust by Neil Gaiman (review here)

Folklore

In the Night Garden by Catherynne Valente (review here)

Annie from Reading, Writing and Ranting is hosting a new challenge called the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge. The challenge runs from 1 April to 1 October and basically the only rule is that you need to read 6 historical fiction books during that period.

Before I could decide on which books I am going to read, I need to decide which button to use:



Anyway....the books that I am going to list for this challenge are:

Rose of Sebastopol by Katherine McMahon
Rhett Butler's People by Donald McCaig
Aztec by Gary Jennings
Dreaming the Serpent Spear by Manda Scott
Counting the Stars by Helen Dunmore
The Witches Trinity by Erika Mailman

and as spare/alternate choices

Everyman's Rules for Scientific Thinking by Carrie Tiffany
Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian