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I missed last week, so I’m excited to come back and answer this question from Wendi:
 Have you ever used the Swap This Book function which can be found on the main page of any book (here is an example of Flirting With Forty by Jane Porter: link shown on book page, what it looks like if you click on the link)? If so, what do you think about it? If not, are there any other swap sites you utilize to exchange books once you are done? What do you do with your books if you no longer want them anymore?
Nope, never! I don’t swap books. I am very reluctant to part with them, even ones I mildly disliked. I always think that I might want to consider it again later on in life and I’ve had random urges to reread books in the past. I also feel that in a sense, I’m building a collection that perhaps my children won’t want (although I hope they will!), but that I will certainly want to draw from for the rest of my life. Besides that, I normally buy used books that are cheaper than the cost of postage, so I’m not even spending more money, just taking up a ton of space. I do look forward to the day when I can afford to buy more new, though.
Now, if I really hate a book, so much so that I don’t want to keep it, I will give it away. I usually give them to charity shops that I buy from frequently; there is one supporting a hospital near my parents’ where the large majority of my used books come from and another children’s charity near my fiance’s house. I donate them there so that perhaps someone else can hate them less, and even if they don’t, at least the money is going to a good cause!
As a young girl, Annette Vallon is a free spirit. She reads novels, rides horses, and hunts with her father. She is far from ordinary, particularly set against the backdrop of the French revolution. When young, Annette meets and falls in love with William Wordsworth, an English poet who has just found his muse. This book follows Annette in her journey to persevere during the French Revolution, as a woman who is strong, faithful, and brave.
I found it a bit difficult to engage with this book. I’m not sure why. It is well-written and well-told, particularly the love between Annette and William, and by the end I found myself overwhelmed by the story I’d read and a bit sad that I’d felt so distracted through the rest of the novel. I think I would have had a better time with it if I had a little more patience around this time of year. It’s unquestionably very good. Annette is a wonderful character, surrounded by loveable sidekicks and a few despicable enemies. The plot is always lively. I felt as though the author slipped into Annette’s narrative voice more easily as the story went along, and he did a very good job portraying a woman’s mind. It would have been easy to make Annette weak, considering all that happens in her life, but instead she is brave and daring. I wish there was more history written about her so that I could know more – and that, as Tipton says in his author’s note, Wordsworth’s nephew hadn’t destroyed all evidence of their correspondence.
It isn’t the best historical fiction I’ve read, but Annette Vallon is worth a look, particularly for those who like to really sink into a book and stay there.
Buy Annette Vallon on Amazon.
Thanks to Jeremy at Harper Collins for my copy!
Even though I’ve had my reviews posted as scheduled, I haven’t done any blogging at all this week. Worse, I haven’t even done any reading. I managed to complete Twilight on Tuesday (I’ll have a lot to say about that one), but I haven’t picked up a book since then. To be honest, I needed a break. I pressured myself to read constantly the first week and a half of the year in order to get a lot in before I got back to York. I think I burned out on it as a result and I haven’t even missed reading very much. I know, it’s horrible!
This morning, however, I finally felt like I wanted to pick up a book again. That’s lucky, because I stopped halfway through A Pale View of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro on my flight last Saturday and I should probably pick it up again before I forget it all. Unfortunately, it’s very obvious that this is his first book and he so clearly hasn’t honed the craft that he excels in with The Remains of the Day. I’ve vowed to read all of his works, though, and this is the second-to-last.
Even more unfortunately, my term officially starts tomorrow and I have a load of art history reading to do, plus all the rest of my work for the week. That’s not to mention that I really need to start my PhD application if I want to have any hope of funding next year – I can’t afford it without funding – and I haven’t written a review in a week. There isn’t much reading time ahead for me!
Back to the grind I go, and I hope you all have a lovely week. I am now officially back and must go read the 700 posts waiting in my google reader! If you posted something fantastic in the past week, please let me know here and I’ll get there much sooner.
 This multi-generational saga starts out with Henna, who is perfectly happy to spin a complex network of lies if it means she can get out of school and make a brilliant marriage at 14. Even though her in-laws find out and she is forgiven, the lying is compulsive and carries on throughout the family, until Henna’s daughter, Shona, living in London years later, is confronted with the many lies and truths that her life has been built upon and takes strides to rescue her family from the webs they have woven.
Bitter Sweets did not start out very promising. I found it hard to relate to Henna, who was so glib and dispassionate about everything in her family and found lying so easy. When, eventually, Shona became the center of the book, I liked it much better, and around the halfway point I fell in love. Each of the characters is so sympathetic, so human, and has their own struggles and passionate feelings. It was easy to relate to these people and watch their characters develop. I particularly enjoyed the literary parts revolving around Shona. I was compelled to keep reading and I wanted them all to be happy. And I enjoyed the ending, too.
Another recommendation from me. This is a good read. Probably forgettable, but worth the time I spent reading it. Check it out on Amazon.
 In 1942, a small French girl locks her little brother in a hidden cabinet, promising she’ll return for him soon. The French police have come for her family and she doesn’t know how else to keep him safe; she is too naive to suspect where they are really going. In the modern day, Julia’s life in France is eroding around her but she has one thing to cling to: what happened to the men, women, and children who were whisked away in July 1942? Did any survive? More intriguingly, what does it have to do with her?
I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect with this book, either – I feel like I’ve been saying that a lot lately. As you probably know, I try to avoid spoilers of any kind and go into a book knowing virtually nothing of what it’s about, aside from a cursory glance at the back cover. I read reviews, but by the time I read the book in question I’ve usually forgotten any plot details. In this case, I’m pleased with my avoidance, because I just loved the way this book came together and I wouldn’t have wanted it spoiled. In the beginning I had no idea what Julia was doing in the story, but the dual narrators fit together beautifully and I was very pleased with the end and how it all wrapped up. I also thought the author did a great job keeping the strands separate until they were intertwined; each section was written to fit its period. Yes, the story was extremely sad and haunting, but that only makes it even more important considering its content.
I’d definitely recommend this book. I’m not sure what category to place it in, but it’s a beautiful work of literature that shouldn’t be missed.
Buy Sarah’s Key on Amazon today.
 When Steven Rinella won a lottery to hunt for a buffalo in Alaska, he couldn’t believe his luck. This book chronicles not only his hunt for his buffalo but the American obsession with buffalo and the way his own life is wrapped up with these massive creatures.
There are definitely three parts to this book, although they’re woven together. Of them, I most enjoyed the bits about American history involving the buffalo. It’s not something I know much about and not something I’m massively interested in, but for the short time it took me to read this 250 page book, the buffalo held my attention. I knew that buffalo had been hunted to a very small percentage of their previous numbers, but never so much detail, and of course these are only the fun, interesting bits, like what happened to the bones that used to be everywhere on the prairies. Second, I think, was just how Steven got to the point of hunting a buffalo in Alaska. His discovery of a buffalo skull sent him on a journey to learn more about them and his eventual role as a hunter starts to make sense.
I did not, however, like the parts where Steven was hunting and butchering the buffalo. I don’t think I realized it would be so graphic when I requested this one. I’m one of those squeamish people who eats meat but I don’t really like to think about killing animals, hypocritical as that is. So I mostly skimmed the bits about the interior of the buffalo and I wasn’t too happy about them. If you’re okay with this, then there certainly isn’t a concern, but it does prevent me from recommending it completely.
To sum up, I liked the pop history, didn’t like the hunting. That should tell you whether or not it’s worth a shot!
Buy American Buffalo on Amazon.
 After realizing that all of his clothes were made in different locations, Kelsey Timmerman began to wonder about who made them and what their working conditions were like. Unlike many of us who consider such things, Kelsey took out a second mortgage on his house to travel to Honduras, Cambodia, Bangladesh, and China, while his girlfriend/fiancee waited patiently for his return. He met workers and in some cases observed their factories, and in this book he details their struggles for gainful employment and their lives.
I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect with this book, but I liked and was interested by what I got. Though he’s apparently not a professional journalist, Kelsey Timmerman can write very well and evokes sympathy for these people. We’re right along with him when he sits in their apartments eating questionable food, taking kids on rollercoaster rides they would never otherwise afford, or walking through the factories where the workers do the exact same thing for 16 hours a day. Kelsey realizes that although he doesn’t have any common ground, he can still feel for these people and their predicament; he also realizes what these jobs mean to them and the harm we do by boycotting certain factories and workers. Conditions could be much, much better, though, and through his stories, Timmerman shows us how to be enlightened consumers, how to buy from companies that promote the fairest working conditions and factories that are moderated by a third party. All so that these workers, several of whom become real people to us in this book, can remain working but in safer conditions and with a fairer wage.
I definitely recommend this. A book with a global conscience that should apply to all people who purchase clothes and who can feel sympathy for their fellow people.
Buy Where am I Wearing: A Global Tour to the Countries, Factories, and People that Make Our Clothes on Amazon today.
Many thanks to Kim at John Wiley & Sons for my copy!
 The first child of King Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville, Elizabeth of York seems destined for greatness. She is the apple of her father’s eye, betrothed to the heir to the French throne, and loved by the people. When her father dies too young and Richard III takes the throne over her brother Edward, Elizabeth’s mother rushes the family into sanctuary. Increasingly, the family hears horrible things about Richard and fears for the worst. One night, however, Richard himself visits the sanctuary and everything changes. As history inexorably moves forward, changing lives all over England, Elizabeth well earns her reputation as selfless, generous, and noble.
I’m not sure how to review this book. Let me say first that I really enjoyed it and give you my historian’s opinion. Sandra Worth never goes outside of the facts; she fills in between the lines. With Elizabeth of York, there is quite a bit to fill in; she is so little known. In some ways, I’d call this a very romantic interpretation of the history, but I think that’s why many of us read historical fiction. I simply know too much about Richard III. Worth has definitely done her research, and I really appreciated her selected bibliography at the end, but I’m wondering why she didn’t include more of the modern histories on Edward IV and Richard III. Personally, I loved the idea that Perkin Warbeck was actually the younger of the two princes in the tower. So little has been done on that possibility and it’s an exciting question, if one we’ll never know the answer to. I too wonder why the bones found in the Tower haven’t been exhumed and analyzed in recent years. If they are the princes, then these questions would be conclusively answered.
Okay, now, as a book, how did it hold up? Well, I really liked it. I loved Elizabeth. She’s a great, strong, sympathetic character throughout. I knew what was going to happen, so I didn’t get caught up in the plot, but I think if I didn’t know the history I would have been. In any case, the book is well-written and easy to lose yourself in for a while. Something else I really liked was how well the author depicted the changes between the Plantagenet kings and the Tudors and the shift into the early modern period, which for me is marked by the growth in the king’s power and the lessening of the nobles’ power.
Overall, this is solid, entertaining historical fiction and I definitely recommend it.
Buy The King’s Daughter on Amazon.
First off, let me thank Meghan for hosting the second stop on my virtual book tour of The Textile Planet. The Textile Planet is a serialized novel published at BookViewCafe.com with one new episode going up every other Sunday. So far three episodes are available (http://tinyurl.com/5lbtqv).
BookViewCafe (BVC) itself is an interesting website in that it’s a cooperative run by twenty print published authors. We all have previously published novels, novellas, and short stories in the traditional book industry. BVC represents a way for each of us to try out Internet publishing models. The group includes such writers as Ursula K. Le Guin, Vonda N. Mcintyre, and Sarah Zettel. Needless to say, I feel quite honored to be a member.
Most of the work offered through BVC consists of out-of-print books, as-yet-unpublished stories, or work that is experimental in nature and unavailable elsewhere. That’s one of the draws of the site: you can’t get this stuff anywhere else. Another draw is that so far all of the stories are free. There are plans to provide some of the work for sale in ebook format and/or actual hardcopy printing, but there will always be free fiction available. We update the website daily with new content right on the first page. It’s been a very busy and exciting launch due to the great response we’ve received from the online community.
My own offering, The Textile Planet, is speculative fiction with 32 episodes in all. Like most of my writing it’s social satire. This somewhat surrealistic story follows the hapless Marla Gershe as she muddles through a day at the textile factory where she works. On the particular day in question, things go terribly wrong for her and she has to make a drastic change in her life. And it’s not for the better. It’s a darkly humorous tale that will resonate with anyone who has ever had a bad day, a bad boss, or made a bad career move.
I’m hoping readers will try out the interactive content that goes with the episodes: links to back story, sound files, Youtube video, that sort of thing. Skipping the links won’t hinder an understanding of the plot, but the added content is fun. There’s a form for feedback too. Love that feedback, good or bad. I did a trial run with about 50 beta readers and received a great response from that effort. I’m confident about it now that it’s out there in the wild world ready for service, but you never know. With a piece like mine that is experimental in nature, it’s hard to know how it will come off. Who’s going to be stopping by and what are they expecting? Will it seem surprising, or silly? Will they get it? Who knows?
I invite the Medieval Bookworm readers to stop by and see what they think. No charge. And send that feedback!
BookViewCafe.com: http://www.bookviewcafe.com
The Textile Planet: http://tinyurl.com/5lbtqv
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Thanks, Sue, for stopping by! I’ve had a look myself at Sue’s novel and the website and I find both very worthy of your time. This is an exciting venture in our changing book world, so please check it out!
 It’s a week or two later than you’d expect, and it may be almost a trite question, but … what were your favorite books from 2008?
Well, I already compiled a list! With packing and getting ready to fly tomorrow, I don’t have time to make a new one. So, here it is again in case you missed it the first time:
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