Kath's 29-31
I didn't get much reading done when I was in England as, per usual, I spent most of my time reading trashy British magazines (I am obsessed when there!). I did buy a few books though, and did actually read one, mostly while in Paris when I was in solitude.
#29 - The Haunting of James Hastings by Christopher Ransom
I picked this one up in Winchester when I was with mockingbird39, as I had been eyeing it in other bookstores for several days. I think it's one of the best love stories I've read from a male perspective. It was very readable, even though I had no clue what was really going on half the time - was James truly being haunted by his dead wife or not? Ransom did a good job pulling all the pieces together at the end.
#30 - The Poet Prince by Kathleen McGowan
This is the third in McGowan's Magdalen line series (originally a trilogy, she now plans several more books - the next one is about the "great love" between Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII - can't wait to see how she twists history in that one...the past three books have been mostly history I don't know much about. I don't think anyone can beat me on the Tudors, so we shall see...). I read some reviews online of this series, and while I have to agree that the characters are thin (Maureen in particular is annoying beyond all belief - she is Mary Sue incarnate, rather than Mary Magdalene, and you just KNOW that she is McGowan's own stand-in), the story jumps around and is basically "tell not show", and the history is highly suspect, I find myself inhaling these books nonetheless. I cannot even begin to explain why.
#31 - The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
I have, of course, been reading glowing reviews of this book since it came out two years ago. And it sure delivers. I inhaled it in one day. I will definitely be sharing it with my students. Highly, highly recommended.
#29 - The Haunting of James Hastings by Christopher Ransom
I picked this one up in Winchester when I was with mockingbird39, as I had been eyeing it in other bookstores for several days. I think it's one of the best love stories I've read from a male perspective. It was very readable, even though I had no clue what was really going on half the time - was James truly being haunted by his dead wife or not? Ransom did a good job pulling all the pieces together at the end.
#30 - The Poet Prince by Kathleen McGowan
This is the third in McGowan's Magdalen line series (originally a trilogy, she now plans several more books - the next one is about the "great love" between Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII - can't wait to see how she twists history in that one...the past three books have been mostly history I don't know much about. I don't think anyone can beat me on the Tudors, so we shall see...). I read some reviews online of this series, and while I have to agree that the characters are thin (Maureen in particular is annoying beyond all belief - she is Mary Sue incarnate, rather than Mary Magdalene, and you just KNOW that she is McGowan's own stand-in), the story jumps around and is basically "tell not show", and the history is highly suspect, I find myself inhaling these books nonetheless. I cannot even begin to explain why.
#31 - The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
I have, of course, been reading glowing reviews of this book since it came out two years ago. And it sure delivers. I inhaled it in one day. I will definitely be sharing it with my students. Highly, highly recommended.