(no subject)
I kind of love the ability to make private forward dated posts on LJ, makes it so much easier to keep track of stuff like books read (or theatre attended *coughs*) as you go along and then just c&p a whole post with very little effort!
May's books
More details...
The Devil and Miss Prym- Paulo Coelho According to Paulo Coelho's introduction this is the third part of a loose trilogy but a thematic one rather than by plot so this stands up alone. I started reading it in the queue for Macbeth which was rather apt as it was a Macbeth very much based on images of hell and this book is all about Good and Evil and which is more truly human nature. I do like Paulo Coelho's writing very much, it's atmospheric and thoughtful and I really want to read the first two in this "trilogy" now.
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl- Harriet Jacobs I picked this up at the British Museum months ago and finally it came to the top of my pile. It was written in 1861 and Harriet used the pseudonym Linda Brent. Maybe it's well known in the States? I don't know but really my knowledge of slavery is quite apalling based on fiction (movies and books) so it was interesting reading an actual account. And by interesting I mean both chilling (that people behave like that) and also quite uplifting (that there were people who helped and protected her).
The Woman's Book: Everything But The Kitchen Sink- Francesca Beauman Slight cheat because this is like one of those almanac books and I've been reading it on and off since Christmas. Some useful bits (dealing with animal/insect bites, a quick Debretts style guide to addressing people with titles, how to use a compass, and some interesting statistics about population/literacy/AIDS infection rates etc) but the author has a bit of a tendency to preach and whilst I generall agree with her (everyone should VOTE given the chance, don't drive SUVs in the city, flying is a thing we should learn to do without (but probably won't)) it was kind of jarring in amongst the facts. Still I shall keep it for it's useful list of the uses of vinegar if nothing else!
Hatter M Volume 1: The Looking Glass Wars- Ben Templesmith (Artist), Frank Beddor (Author) and Liz Cavalier (Author) I LOVE the Looking Glass War series (it's actually one of the reasons I didn't make more of an effort to see the latest Wonderland film because how could its retelling live up to this retelling) so I figured I'd give the graphic novel telling the storry of Hatter Maddigan's travels in our world a go. Because I don't really read comics or graphic novels a lot I found it a bit strange at first but I love the story and the art is beautiful (if a little overly dark in places) and I want to read the next one now *g* One of the nicest touches was a little girl with very strong imagination whose speech bubbles were all rainbow coloured <3 I hope my speech bubbles would be similar but I suspect not *g*
The Time-traveller's Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century- Ian Mortimer I couldn't decide if the concept behind this (a history book written a bit like a travel book) was awesome or awful. Having read it I'm tending more towards the good side. It's certainly interesting and it made me think about a few things I "know" about the 14th century and everyday life during it. Mind you I'm always fascinated with the little details of life (yay social history!)
Pretties- Scott Westerfield This is the second in the Uglies trilogy (well trilogy plus at least one extra book I've heard of *g*) and it does suffer a little from middle book syndrome, I mean you know it's not going to end happily. That said I found I didn't want to put it down, I was rading it in the HIGNFY queue and was almost sad when it was time to go in! I likle Tally as a main character and found, for once, that I genuinely wasn't sure which of the guys in her love triangle I want her to end up with. I also like the way she has very special qualities but also a tendency to accidentally cause a lot of trouble. I'm really looking forward to read the third one now! (Also I have an irresistible urge to start using the word bubbly instead of shiny or gleeful or awesome or any of the other words I over use)
Brunetti's Venice: Walks Through the Novels- Toni Sepeda I love the Brunetti detective stories by Donna Leon, they're interesting stories and she describes Venice with such obvious knowledge and affection so I was really interested to see how this book would work. Toni Sepeda has written a series of walks around Venice that Brunetti takes and they've got really very good maps (much more accurate than most Venetian maps!) and directions but it was also really fun reading them without doing the walks. Lots of Donna Leon quotes and interesting pieces of information. Plus I could imagine large swathes of the walks having already been along those routes/similar routes. Now I just want to go back *sighs* (yes I know I was there for New Years :P)
Whitethorn Woods- Maeve Binchy Quick read for a cold Bank Holiday Monday *G* This doesn't live up to the best of Maeve Binchy's books but it was still lovely to read. Curling up with a familiar and safe story you know is going to end well is sometimes very necessary <3
May's books
- The Devil and Miss Prym- Paulo Coelho
- Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl- Harriet Jacobs
- The Woman's Book: Everything But The Kitchen Sink- Francesca Beauman
- Hatter M Volume 1: The Looking Glass Wars- Ben Templesmith (Artist), Frank Beddor (Author) and Liz Cavalier (Author)
- The Time-traveller's Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century- Ian Mortimer
- Pretties- Scott Westerfield
- Brunetti's Venice: Walks Through the Novels- Toni Sepeda
- Whitethorn Woods- Maeve Binchy
More details...
The Devil and Miss Prym- Paulo Coelho According to Paulo Coelho's introduction this is the third part of a loose trilogy but a thematic one rather than by plot so this stands up alone. I started reading it in the queue for Macbeth which was rather apt as it was a Macbeth very much based on images of hell and this book is all about Good and Evil and which is more truly human nature. I do like Paulo Coelho's writing very much, it's atmospheric and thoughtful and I really want to read the first two in this "trilogy" now.
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl- Harriet Jacobs I picked this up at the British Museum months ago and finally it came to the top of my pile. It was written in 1861 and Harriet used the pseudonym Linda Brent. Maybe it's well known in the States? I don't know but really my knowledge of slavery is quite apalling based on fiction (movies and books) so it was interesting reading an actual account. And by interesting I mean both chilling (that people behave like that) and also quite uplifting (that there were people who helped and protected her).
The Woman's Book: Everything But The Kitchen Sink- Francesca Beauman Slight cheat because this is like one of those almanac books and I've been reading it on and off since Christmas. Some useful bits (dealing with animal/insect bites, a quick Debretts style guide to addressing people with titles, how to use a compass, and some interesting statistics about population/literacy/AIDS infection rates etc) but the author has a bit of a tendency to preach and whilst I generall agree with her (everyone should VOTE given the chance, don't drive SUVs in the city, flying is a thing we should learn to do without (but probably won't)) it was kind of jarring in amongst the facts. Still I shall keep it for it's useful list of the uses of vinegar if nothing else!
Hatter M Volume 1: The Looking Glass Wars- Ben Templesmith (Artist), Frank Beddor (Author) and Liz Cavalier (Author) I LOVE the Looking Glass War series (it's actually one of the reasons I didn't make more of an effort to see the latest Wonderland film because how could its retelling live up to this retelling) so I figured I'd give the graphic novel telling the storry of Hatter Maddigan's travels in our world a go. Because I don't really read comics or graphic novels a lot I found it a bit strange at first but I love the story and the art is beautiful (if a little overly dark in places) and I want to read the next one now *g* One of the nicest touches was a little girl with very strong imagination whose speech bubbles were all rainbow coloured <3 I hope my speech bubbles would be similar but I suspect not *g*
The Time-traveller's Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century- Ian Mortimer I couldn't decide if the concept behind this (a history book written a bit like a travel book) was awesome or awful. Having read it I'm tending more towards the good side. It's certainly interesting and it made me think about a few things I "know" about the 14th century and everyday life during it. Mind you I'm always fascinated with the little details of life (yay social history!)
Pretties- Scott Westerfield This is the second in the Uglies trilogy (well trilogy plus at least one extra book I've heard of *g*) and it does suffer a little from middle book syndrome, I mean you know it's not going to end happily. That said I found I didn't want to put it down, I was rading it in the HIGNFY queue and was almost sad when it was time to go in! I likle Tally as a main character and found, for once, that I genuinely wasn't sure which of the guys in her love triangle I want her to end up with. I also like the way she has very special qualities but also a tendency to accidentally cause a lot of trouble. I'm really looking forward to read the third one now! (Also I have an irresistible urge to start using the word bubbly instead of shiny or gleeful or awesome or any of the other words I over use)
Brunetti's Venice: Walks Through the Novels- Toni Sepeda I love the Brunetti detective stories by Donna Leon, they're interesting stories and she describes Venice with such obvious knowledge and affection so I was really interested to see how this book would work. Toni Sepeda has written a series of walks around Venice that Brunetti takes and they've got really very good maps (much more accurate than most Venetian maps!) and directions but it was also really fun reading them without doing the walks. Lots of Donna Leon quotes and interesting pieces of information. Plus I could imagine large swathes of the walks having already been along those routes/similar routes. Now I just want to go back *sighs* (yes I know I was there for New Years :P)
Whitethorn Woods- Maeve Binchy Quick read for a cold Bank Holiday Monday *G* This doesn't live up to the best of Maeve Binchy's books but it was still lovely to read. Curling up with a familiar and safe story you know is going to end well is sometimes very necessary <3