Books I Finished Reading in 2013
I never posted my final list of books that I finished reading in 2013. I kept on meaning to and then dropped the ball and it's now half way through 2014, haha. Anywhere, here it is!
Books that I have finished this year, will come after a number.
BOOKS 2013
21.5. A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 3)
By George R. R. Martin.
20.5. A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 2)
By George R. R. Martin.
19.5. Royal Babylon: The Alarming History of European Royalty
By Karl Shaw.
18.5. 1808: The Flight of the Emperor: How a Weak Prince, a Mad Queen, and the British Navy Tricked Napoleon and Changed the New World
By Laurentino Gomes.
17.5. The Assassination of the Archduke: Sarajevo 1914 and the Romance That Changed the World
By Greg King and Sue Woolmans. This was another great read. The Archduke's last words to his wife as they were dying is really heartbreaking. I'm tearing up just remembering them. Whatever your opinion is of the Archduke and his wife, their love for their children was undeniable.
16.5. In Destiny's Hands: Five Tragic Rulers, Children of Maria Theresa
By Justin C. Vovk. This was a great book. Another review coming! Sorry for all of the missing reviews.
15.5 The Story of My Assassins: A Novel
By Tarun J. Tejpal.
14.5. Sex with Kings: 500 Years of Adultery, Power, Rivalry, and Revenge
By Eleanor Herman. Another book I wrote a review for that I have to find and type up. I highly recommend this book.
13.5. Napoleon's Privates: 2,500 Years of History Unzipped
By Tony Perrottet. It was a bit too smug for my tastes, but it was informative.
12.5. The Crusader States
By Malcolm Barber. I wrote a review of this somewhere, I have to find it. Hopefully i'll type it up when I do and I'll post it.
11.5. The Man Who Shot the Man Who Shot Lincoln: And 44 Other Forgotten Figures from History
By Graeme Donald.
10.5. Polar Wives: The Remarkable Women behind the World's Most Daring Explorers
By Kari Herbert. A surprisingly quick read, I learned a lot. The book was well written and researched, albeit a bit cloying and too sentimental at times, especially when the author was talking about her own parents.
9.5. Lost London: An A-Z of Forgotten Landmarks and Lost Traditions
By Richard Guard. It was an extremely quick, light and fun read. I've never been to London, but have always wanted to visit. This made me want to visit even more, even though most of the things mentioned in this book don't exist anymore. I didn't realize quite how 'new' a lot of London is. I always pictured it as a city with lots of extremely old buildings. That part made me a little sad.
8.5. A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 1)
By George R. R. Martin.
7.5. The Empress of Farewells: The Story of Charlotte, Empress of Mexico
By Prince Michael of Greece. I did write a review (of sorts) of this while I was reading it. It is handwritten though. Hopefully I'll type it up and post it. This was a very interesting book, not just in subject matter but also in how it was written.
6.5. Rest in Pieces: The Curious Fates of Famous Corpses
By Bess Lovejoy. This was a fun book to read.
5.5. Midnight in Peking: How the Murder of a Young Englishwoman Haunted the Last Days of Old China
by Paul French. Not for the faint of heart. I really enjoyed it. 5 Stars. Review to come later, I hope.
4.5. April Blood: Florence and the Plot against the Medici
By Lauro Martines. Review to come later, I hope.
3.5. The Tigress of Forli: Renaissance Italy's Most Courageous and Notorious Countess, Caterina Riario Sforza de' Medici
by Elizabeth Lev. I am surprised I had never heard of the Countess before. Now I definitely want to learn more about her. Very interesting woman! I'd love to see her armor which they say they have in a museum. I wonder if they have her sword too? (Review to come later I hope)
2.5. Sister Queens: The Noble, Tragic Lives of Katherine of Aragon and Juana, Queen of Castile
by Julia Fox (Review to come later, I hope.)
1.5. Blood Sisters: The Women Behind the Wars of the Roses
by Sarah Gristwood. (Review to come later, I hope.)
0.5. Margaret Beaufort: Mother of the Tudor Dynasty
(I started this book in 2012, hence the half a point) by Elizabeth Norton. Margaret Beaufort is a very interesting person and it was nice to read a book where she was the main subject. The writing was decent and at times it felt like I got a glimpse of Margaret's personality. For such a short book, there were way too many quotes and passages and paragraphs and pages from original source material. I understand that it is important, even nice, to see someone's thoughts in their own words, but it shouldn't take up half of the pages in someone else's book. I couldn't tell if it made the author and/or editor come off as lazy, too zealous, rushed or all of the above and possibly more. It also made it confusing as to what type of book this is supposed to be. I don't know what the intended audience is supposed to be.
Books that I have finished this year, will come after a number.
BOOKS 2013
21.5. A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 3)
By George R. R. Martin.
20.5. A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 2)
By George R. R. Martin.
19.5. Royal Babylon: The Alarming History of European Royalty
By Karl Shaw.
18.5. 1808: The Flight of the Emperor: How a Weak Prince, a Mad Queen, and the British Navy Tricked Napoleon and Changed the New World
By Laurentino Gomes.
17.5. The Assassination of the Archduke: Sarajevo 1914 and the Romance That Changed the World
By Greg King and Sue Woolmans. This was another great read. The Archduke's last words to his wife as they were dying is really heartbreaking. I'm tearing up just remembering them. Whatever your opinion is of the Archduke and his wife, their love for their children was undeniable.
16.5. In Destiny's Hands: Five Tragic Rulers, Children of Maria Theresa
By Justin C. Vovk. This was a great book. Another review coming! Sorry for all of the missing reviews.
15.5 The Story of My Assassins: A Novel
By Tarun J. Tejpal.
14.5. Sex with Kings: 500 Years of Adultery, Power, Rivalry, and Revenge
By Eleanor Herman. Another book I wrote a review for that I have to find and type up. I highly recommend this book.
13.5. Napoleon's Privates: 2,500 Years of History Unzipped
By Tony Perrottet. It was a bit too smug for my tastes, but it was informative.
12.5. The Crusader States
By Malcolm Barber. I wrote a review of this somewhere, I have to find it. Hopefully i'll type it up when I do and I'll post it.
11.5. The Man Who Shot the Man Who Shot Lincoln: And 44 Other Forgotten Figures from History
By Graeme Donald.
10.5. Polar Wives: The Remarkable Women behind the World's Most Daring Explorers
By Kari Herbert. A surprisingly quick read, I learned a lot. The book was well written and researched, albeit a bit cloying and too sentimental at times, especially when the author was talking about her own parents.
9.5. Lost London: An A-Z of Forgotten Landmarks and Lost Traditions
By Richard Guard. It was an extremely quick, light and fun read. I've never been to London, but have always wanted to visit. This made me want to visit even more, even though most of the things mentioned in this book don't exist anymore. I didn't realize quite how 'new' a lot of London is. I always pictured it as a city with lots of extremely old buildings. That part made me a little sad.
8.5. A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 1)
By George R. R. Martin.
7.5. The Empress of Farewells: The Story of Charlotte, Empress of Mexico
By Prince Michael of Greece. I did write a review (of sorts) of this while I was reading it. It is handwritten though. Hopefully I'll type it up and post it. This was a very interesting book, not just in subject matter but also in how it was written.
6.5. Rest in Pieces: The Curious Fates of Famous Corpses
By Bess Lovejoy. This was a fun book to read.
5.5. Midnight in Peking: How the Murder of a Young Englishwoman Haunted the Last Days of Old China
by Paul French. Not for the faint of heart. I really enjoyed it. 5 Stars. Review to come later, I hope.
4.5. April Blood: Florence and the Plot against the Medici
By Lauro Martines. Review to come later, I hope.
3.5. The Tigress of Forli: Renaissance Italy's Most Courageous and Notorious Countess, Caterina Riario Sforza de' Medici
by Elizabeth Lev. I am surprised I had never heard of the Countess before. Now I definitely want to learn more about her. Very interesting woman! I'd love to see her armor which they say they have in a museum. I wonder if they have her sword too? (Review to come later I hope)
2.5. Sister Queens: The Noble, Tragic Lives of Katherine of Aragon and Juana, Queen of Castile
by Julia Fox (Review to come later, I hope.)
1.5. Blood Sisters: The Women Behind the Wars of the Roses
by Sarah Gristwood. (Review to come later, I hope.)
0.5. Margaret Beaufort: Mother of the Tudor Dynasty
(I started this book in 2012, hence the half a point) by Elizabeth Norton. Margaret Beaufort is a very interesting person and it was nice to read a book where she was the main subject. The writing was decent and at times it felt like I got a glimpse of Margaret's personality. For such a short book, there were way too many quotes and passages and paragraphs and pages from original source material. I understand that it is important, even nice, to see someone's thoughts in their own words, but it shouldn't take up half of the pages in someone else's book. I couldn't tell if it made the author and/or editor come off as lazy, too zealous, rushed or all of the above and possibly more. It also made it confusing as to what type of book this is supposed to be. I don't know what the intended audience is supposed to be.