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Aug. 9th, 2006 11:36 pma much belated book entry, seeing as how it covers books read from May through July
May
The Ghost Orchid by Carol Goodman - Another modern gothic by Goodman. I liked this one as well, although I thought the denouement was impossibly tidy. Still, it concerned 19th century spiritulism, which I'm always fascinated with. It even referenced the spiritualist commune of Lily Dale, which I read about back in April.
The Courts of Love by Jean Plaidy - Eleanor of Aquitaine's life told from her point of view. Even more scandalous than I assumed from watching The Lion in Winter. You have to admire Eleanor for being such an independant woman for her time period, but she's also easier to admire from a distance of say, several centuries. You can tell how she drove her family members crazy. In fact, the latter half of the book suffers from the fact that Eleanor relates the events second-hand, because her husband Henry II has her locked up as she's too dangerous to roam free.
Also, it is kind of annoying how Eleanor constantly mentions how being brought up in her grandfather's troubador "Courts of Love" is why she's not as repressed as everybody else. Plaidy overkills on that a bit.
(Only two books in May, such slack!)
June
The Painter Knight by Fiona Patton - A fantasy novel that![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
mythicalgryphon lent me. Good. Me likey. Too much fantasy kingdom politics though.
Biting the Sun by Tanith Lee - Still awesome after the nth reread. Lee's prose is just so lush. I don't tire of it.
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro- I dunno. I just don't have a lot to say about this one. It did depress though.
Killing Yourself to Live by Chuck Klosterman - Hipster music critic goes on the road to visit sites of famous rock start deaths. Kind of iffy on this one; Klosterman is often funny and makes a lot of insightful comments, but he does often come across as a hipster doofus. It feels less like he's really moved by music and more like it's just because his frame of reference is determined by his huge cd collection.I also find it funny that he does a lot of moaning about his love life and how his relationships don't work out and then at the end of the book, he dedicates it to the three women he was in love with just during the course of his road trip. Is it just me or is that a little wanky?
(Okay, moving along...)
July
Zorro by Isabelle Allende - Good, but another one I don't have much to say about.
Sex With Kings by Eleanor Herman - A dishy history book about royal mistresses. Lots of gossipy fun.
The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler - Love Austen, but this was kind of... twee? Dull? I don't know. It's an interesting idea to look at modern life with an Austenian perspective, but Fowler doesn't pull off the same level of cleverness or humor so it can't compare.
Kamikaze Girls by Novala Takemoto - reread. Love this book.
Montmorency: Thief, Liar, Gentleman? by Eleanor Updale - a Victorian-set historical about a thief who, after recovering from some grievous injuries sustained during a police chase, figures out a brilliant plan to rob the rich using London's sewer system. After he gets out of prison, he assumes a double identity: that of a lowlife servant who has easy access to the sewer system and that of an idle gentleman who lives off the ill-gotten gains. Good premise. And it's a kids' novel! Which seems kind of odd, because while the anti-hero is sort of sympathetic, his motives are (to be expected) generally selfish and there's really no moral to be had. That's fine with me though; I'm all for morality free children's stories. ^_^ I didn't feel there was that much character growth, but since this is just the first part in a series, I'm still interested in reading the other installments.
March by Geraldine Brooks - This one recently won the Pulitzer Prize. (See, I read about other things besides royal whores and YA fiction!) It's about the father from Little Women and his experiences during the Civil Wars, largely influenced by the life of Bronson Alcott (father of Louisa May). Good, but hella depressing.
That's pretty much everything up to the end of July. Currently reading a bio about Madame de Montespan, so um... yes, back to reading about royal whores.
May
The Ghost Orchid by Carol Goodman - Another modern gothic by Goodman. I liked this one as well, although I thought the denouement was impossibly tidy. Still, it concerned 19th century spiritulism, which I'm always fascinated with. It even referenced the spiritualist commune of Lily Dale, which I read about back in April.
The Courts of Love by Jean Plaidy - Eleanor of Aquitaine's life told from her point of view. Even more scandalous than I assumed from watching The Lion in Winter. You have to admire Eleanor for being such an independant woman for her time period, but she's also easier to admire from a distance of say, several centuries. You can tell how she drove her family members crazy. In fact, the latter half of the book suffers from the fact that Eleanor relates the events second-hand, because her husband Henry II has her locked up as she's too dangerous to roam free.
Also, it is kind of annoying how Eleanor constantly mentions how being brought up in her grandfather's troubador "Courts of Love" is why she's not as repressed as everybody else. Plaidy overkills on that a bit.
(Only two books in May, such slack!)
June
The Painter Knight by Fiona Patton - A fantasy novel that
mythicalgryphon lent me. Good. Me likey. Too much fantasy kingdom politics though.Biting the Sun by Tanith Lee - Still awesome after the nth reread. Lee's prose is just so lush. I don't tire of it.
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro- I dunno. I just don't have a lot to say about this one. It did depress though.
Killing Yourself to Live by Chuck Klosterman - Hipster music critic goes on the road to visit sites of famous rock start deaths. Kind of iffy on this one; Klosterman is often funny and makes a lot of insightful comments, but he does often come across as a hipster doofus. It feels less like he's really moved by music and more like it's just because his frame of reference is determined by his huge cd collection.I also find it funny that he does a lot of moaning about his love life and how his relationships don't work out and then at the end of the book, he dedicates it to the three women he was in love with just during the course of his road trip. Is it just me or is that a little wanky?
(Okay, moving along...)
July
Zorro by Isabelle Allende - Good, but another one I don't have much to say about.
Sex With Kings by Eleanor Herman - A dishy history book about royal mistresses. Lots of gossipy fun.
The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler - Love Austen, but this was kind of... twee? Dull? I don't know. It's an interesting idea to look at modern life with an Austenian perspective, but Fowler doesn't pull off the same level of cleverness or humor so it can't compare.
Kamikaze Girls by Novala Takemoto - reread. Love this book.
Montmorency: Thief, Liar, Gentleman? by Eleanor Updale - a Victorian-set historical about a thief who, after recovering from some grievous injuries sustained during a police chase, figures out a brilliant plan to rob the rich using London's sewer system. After he gets out of prison, he assumes a double identity: that of a lowlife servant who has easy access to the sewer system and that of an idle gentleman who lives off the ill-gotten gains. Good premise. And it's a kids' novel! Which seems kind of odd, because while the anti-hero is sort of sympathetic, his motives are (to be expected) generally selfish and there's really no moral to be had. That's fine with me though; I'm all for morality free children's stories. ^_^ I didn't feel there was that much character growth, but since this is just the first part in a series, I'm still interested in reading the other installments.
March by Geraldine Brooks - This one recently won the Pulitzer Prize. (See, I read about other things besides royal whores and YA fiction!) It's about the father from Little Women and his experiences during the Civil Wars, largely influenced by the life of Bronson Alcott (father of Louisa May). Good, but hella depressing.
That's pretty much everything up to the end of July. Currently reading a bio about Madame de Montespan, so um... yes, back to reading about royal whores.
