|
|
 Many of the most famous love poems were inspired by a real life love story. This is certainly the case with John Donne, whose romance with Lady Ann More led to some of the most beautiful, and sometimes risque, poetry in the English language. Though living in relatively stringent Elizabethan England, where societal rules and status were carefully enforced, the relatively high-born Ann falls deeply in love with John, a man who could not properly support a wife at the time. Free-spirited, devoted Ann isn’t willing to let that stand in the way; this is a story of courtship, of frustration, and of literary genius.
I can’t remember where I got this book; I think it got sent to me for review a while ago, and ultimately that was the reason I finally gave in and picked it up. I haven’t been properly in the mood for historical fiction for some time now, but The Lady and the Poet is such a beautiful, deep, provoking book that it held and indeed rewarded my attention once I finally began reading it.
First of all, let me say that this particular book truly feels historic. It doesn’t just throw relatively modern characters into a setting with fancy dresses, but instead has characters who fit seamlessly into their environment and give us a thorough idea of what an Elizabethan couple might have had to deal with. Ann and John’s love story is actually documented, and the sacrifices they made for one another are firmly rooted in history, which makes this book all the more enchanting, at least for someone like me. I loved the re-imagining of the lives of these two people. The Lady and the Poet reminded me why I enjoy historical fiction so much in the first place.
Secondly, the literary appeal can’t be overstated. Donne wrote a lot of poetry; I even managed to study some of it during my English major days. Haran doesn’t let all that richness fall to the wayside, instead incorporating Donne’s work into the plot, into the love story, and strengthening the story as a whole by using what probably was inspired by Ann in the first place within the book. Much of his work rings true, and knowing that it was written by the man himself adds that extra layer of authenticity and emotion to the book which just doesn’t exist otherwise.
Finally, the book is both gorgeously written and seamlessly plotted, stringing the reader’s attention along the years and the struggles, providing details and descriptions enough but never overwhelming the reader with useless historical detail (although I’ll be the first to admit that I would be happy with more than most). We feel as though we’re in Tudor England, but we’re in the expert hands of a guide we can trust.
The Lady and the Poet is a quiet book, a love story, but one that will worm its way into your mind and heart and refuse to leave. An exceptional choice for those who love historical fiction.
Another year, more bookish statistics to share!
2011 has been busy! It was my first calendar year of full-time work. This means it was also the first year in which I could buy a lot of books, and unsurprisingly, I did just that, ending the year with 509 unread books. I read a lot of books, too; I also (finally) got back into gaming, and resurrected my writing ambitions, mostly towards the end of the year. I travelled to three new countries, with notable stops in Bruges, Amsterdam, and finally Rome for my second wedding anniversary. We moved into our first (rented) house of our own, and I am thrilled to not be living in a flat with noisy neighbors any longer.
In the midst of all of this, how was my reading?
Fiction Favorites
I could easily talk, this year, in terms of series for favorites. I’ve delved deeply into them this year, falling back in love with fantasy and science fiction, and even some romance.
But, let’s start with the stand-alones.
  
I can’t believe I didn’t read The Color Purple until this year. Simply a brilliant book; not much more needs to be said. Ready Player One satisfied the gamer in me completely, with an amazing adventure, questions about character and assumptions, and geeky trivia galore. As for The Perks of Being a Wallflower, I can’t believe I never reviewed it, but I adored it and actually had to stop reading for a while after I’d finished just to process the story.
 
I haven’t reviewed The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri yet either, mostly because I’m trying to actually write something remotely intelligent, but this too was a brilliant book that I waited far too long to read. Such an insightful look at family, at immigration, at feeling foreign versus feeling at home – I loved it intensely. And The Buddha in the Attic was short, but an amazingly moving look at the lives of “mail-order” Japanese brides.
Series and Authors Discovered
 I had what felt like a massive year for amazing series. My first science fiction obsession was kicked off by Lois McMaster Bujold with the Miles Vorkosigan series. I tore through these books on my Kindle; I wasn’t at all put off by their length or the time invested in them. I’ve only stopped because I don’t want to run out – I’m sure I’ll read the rest in 2012, though. I just won’t be able to resist. I started with Young Miles, but Cordelia’s Honor is the actual chronological beginning for the omnibus editions I read.
 Another series I discovered these year was Seanan McGuire’s October Daye books. Urban fantasy set in an utterly fantastic world, these books have incredible storylines, characters that haunt you when you put the books down, and a truly epic feel that will keep me coming back over and over again. McGuire is an author to watch, and I’m already counting the days until the next book. I already posted about my love for the series earlier this year, and reviewed the first book, Rosemary and Rue.
 Finally, my top historical romance author this year has been Courtney Milan. Her books are almost unbelievably addictive, with fantastic characters, emotionally wrought plots, and romances to warm your heart. If you enjoy romance and you haven’t read her yet, I don’t know what you’re waiting for. I took a chance with her self-published novella, Unlocked, and I haven’t looked back since – any author that can pull off such a spectacular romance in novella form (notoriously unbelievable due to the short format, for me) is an author well worth reading again, and again, and again. In terms of series, the Turner series is her most recent, and comes highly recommended by me.
Non-fiction favorites
I can’t close out a year without mentioning a few of the extraordinary histories I read this year.
   
I’ve already recommended She-Wolves in my gift guide for 2011, but it’s well worth another mention here. I loved how this book looked at female rulers of England in the Middle Ages. It’s well matched with a book I read later in the year, and just reviewed yesterday, Matilda: Queen of the Conqueror. The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson is an older book, with a few rough edges at the end, but altogether a brilliant look into the history of illness, sanitation, and London. Finally, Heretics by Jonathan Wright was a book designed just for me – and for anyone else who loves poking around in the history of religion. I found every page fascinating.
As for books that weren’t just pure history:
 
The Statistics
Note that the percentages here don’t usually add up to 100%; I only picked out the most interesting of them.
Total Read: 197
Non-fiction: 41 (20.8%) – a percentage I really want to be higher next year. I aimed for 25% this year and failed.
Fiction: 156 (79.2%)
- Historical Fiction: 45 (29%) – nice to see this actually still is top
- Fantasy: 29 (18.6%)
- Historical Romance: 28 (18%) – higher than expected
- Science Fiction: 8 (5%)
- Contemporary / Literary Fiction: 14 (8%)
158 different authors read
- 46 books by male authors (23.3%)
- 151 books by female authors (76.7%)
Top 5 most-read authors
- Ilona Andrews (5 books – I reread the Kate Daniels series this year)
- Seanan McGuire (5 books)
- Lois McMaster Bujold (5 books)
- Courtney Milan (4 books)
- Jim Butcher (4 books)
Ebooks read: 49 (24.8%)
Pages read: 72,664
Own books: 97 (49.3%)
Review books: 93 (47.2%)
Library / borrowed books: 7 (3.5%)
A few notes on these; I read about 60 books less than last year, but I’m happy with what I did in the rest of my time, and I’m fully aware that 197 is still a lot of books. I essentially stopped going to the library this year. I felt more comfortable buying books I was after, and I got frustrated because I started getting fines. I’d like to start going to the library again, but I don’t think it’s going to happen. The ebook statistic is way up thanks to Netgalley, but still about right at a quarter of all books read. I don’t think that will change much – I very rarely buy ebooks.
I’m actually a bit shocked by how many more female authors I read than male authors this year. I had no idea – and that’s far off from last year, although women were still in the majority then. I’m curious to see what happens to this in 2012; I know I actually used to read far more male authors. I wonder what happened?
Overall, though, I’m happy with these. I feel like I’ve reached a balance in terms of how I’ve been spending my free time. Mostly, I’d like to read more books I’ve had for a while, and read more non-fiction. I’m looking forward to see if I actually achieve those goals, but I’d like my reading to remain as stress-free and enjoyable as possible.
How was your reading year in 2011?
William the Conqueror is one of the most well-known figures in English history, and for good reason; with a single battle, he ended the Anglo-Saxon rule of England and changed many aspects of governance, aristocracy, and even language. That’s simplifying things just a bit, but the impact of the Norman invasion on England can’t be overstated. Left behind in the traditional story of great-men-doing-great-things is Queen Matilda, William’s wife and a power in her own right. What influence did she have on William? On the conquest of England? On her children, who went on to rule the country themselves? That is the story Borman aspires to tell in this biography.
I’m not unfamiliar with Matilda; not only have I read about her in fiction, I learned quite a bit about the actual history of her life, too. This book regardless had a lot new to offer and a lot of fodder for thought, especially when it comes to the role of the woman in the medieval world. Borman posits that Matilda’s strong leadership role was preceded and followed by women who expected the same, and that truly there was more of a step backwards after her reign.
For instance, one of Matilda’s namesakes, “Empress” Matilda or Maude, is the prime example. Henry I made her his heir and asked his people to swear loyalty to her – so while he clearly had worries about it, he didn’t pass over her to choose a male heir. Was this the influence of his mother? It’s a fascinating question, and makes the social dynamics that followed Henry I’s death even more intriguing.
Borman also takes a relatively in-depth look at the myths surrounding Matilda and the motivations behind what other people said about her. This is always fascinating stuff for me – I love thinking about how various chroniclers and historians have twisted and portrayed things in ways that suit them best. Matilda suffers this quite a bit and it’s interesting to see Borman’s perspective on which bits are more or less correct. She puts to bed some of the more outlandish tales, like William beating Matilda to a pulp for her to agree to marry him – the world was different then, but probably not THAT different, and Borman’s logic is reasonable.
I also loved that Borman asserted Matilda’s power and influence as both duchess and queen. She witnessed a large number of charters and was personally responsible for ruling in her husband’s absence, something most of us don’t really associate with the Middle Ages. For a piece of chattel, she made and helped with many decisions, and it’s a mark of her influence that she was deeply mourned upon her death. Borman does the usual speculation, pondering what effects Matilda’s “softening” influence may have had while she was alive, as she vividly contrasts William’s rule after her death with those years before.
Overall, Matilda: Queen of the Conqueror is a truly fascinating book for anyone who is interested in female power just before the High Middle Ages. Matilda presents a thoughtful contrast to those who came after; this book would actually fit in wonderfully with Helen Castor’s She-Wolves. Highly recommended.
 Annabel simply cannot wait to marry her fiance, even though she doesn’t really love him. Why? Because he’s an earl and he can finally confer upon her family the respectability she knows they deserve. Growing up in a Mississippi backwater and learning that love doesn’t lead to anything other than heartbreak has taught her that status and contentment matter above all else. But that’s not enough for Annabel’s family, none of whom likes her fiance, and in act of desperation, her uncle pays Christian du Quesne, the duke of Scarborough, to persuade her to call off the wedding.
Christian can’t turn down an offer like that, not with his estate in ruins and his refusal to marry an heiress himself. He needs the cash to start investing and making money back. So he agrees, but finds himself longing for more than the money once he meets Annabel and realizes that she really belongs with someone better than Rumsford – himself.
I can’t believe I only discovered Laura Lee Guhrke with this series. How could such an awesome author have been writing books for longer than I’ve been reading romance without me noticing? It doesn’t matter anyway; I’ve discovered her now, and I’m quickly learning that I am going to simply inhale anything she writes. As with the first two in this trilogy of books about being abandoned (or doing the abandoning) at the altar, I just loved the emotional journey of this book and I’m thrilled I had a chance to read it.
On a shallow note, just look how gorgeous that cover is. I’m so pleased that yellow seems to have taken over historical romance covers temporarily, as it’s my favorite color and it suits them well.
Anyway, this book ticked all the right boxes for a wonderful romance. Annabel is a heroine who has been hurt before, suffering from a man who took serious advantage of her and then left her to fend for herself. With a little sister to look after, Annabel’s mission ever since has been to ensure that nothing like that ever happens again. A fortunate endowment from her long-absent and now-dead father means that she can buy her way into the nobility, and so she settles for a man who will provide her with the firm position in society that all poor girls dream of.
Enter Christian, a man who is hell-bent against marrying after the disaster that happened to his first wife. He falls head over heels with Annabel almost at first glimpse; he’s then fixed on helping her avoid her no-good fiance at all costs. But Rumsford, the fiance, isn’t really a villain, just a fairly typical aristocrat with a bit on the side; he’s a foil to get Christian and Annabel together. Once he does so, the book simply sparkles, and had me riveted to the Kindle’s screen as these two come together with, in the end, everything they have.
Trouble at the Wedding is a wonderful, emotional, sometimes funny book that will win the heart of any romance reader. Highly recommended.
All external links are affiliate links. I received this book for free for review from the publisher through Netgalley.
 Carrying on with her series inspired by fairy tales, The Duke Is Mine puts a twist on the tale of the Princess and the Pea with this historical romance. Tarquin, the Duke of Sconce, is seeking the perfect bride – or at least his mother is on his behalf. Miss Olivia Lytton – not even a lady – is hardly the perfect choice, particularly as she’s been betrothed to another duke since her birth. While Olivia’s sister Georgiana fits the bill, Tarquin can’t take his eyes from curvy, funny Olivia – but how can they surmount her betrothal and his mother’s expectations in order to be together?
I liked the concept behind this book a lot, but it was one of those where too many obstacles fell away from the couple’s feet almost effortlessly so they could be together. In fact, I think it may be the first romance by Eloisa James I’ve had problems with, because I ordinarily love her books.
Let me explain; it’s not that I didn’t have a good time with this book. In fact, I flat out loved the first two thirds. It’s impossible not to feel for Olivia, a girl who describes herself as fat and loud and who tries to suck in her stomach so she doesn’t offend anyone, simply because she doesn’t fit the willow-thin, mouth-shut society-dictated stereotype. To make things worse, she’s not particularly fond of her future husband, but she considers herself resigned to her fate. In Tarquin’s eyes, she is curvy, hilarious, and immediately attractive. She’s a breath of fresh air amidst a crowd of stick-thin debutantes, one of the only romance heroines I’ve read about who does actually have a healthy amount on her bones and is decidedly not a wallflower.
After the couple do fall in love and all secrets are revealed, though, I really started to get frustrated with it. I felt as though all the romantic layers had fallen away so the couple could be together with an incredibly contrived situation to remove any problems. Obviously, many romance novels do this, but good ones shouldn’t make it so obvious. It’s the case of a perfectly good romance spoiled by the addition of a subplot that does incorporate the fairy tale but otherwise seems far, far too convenient. I wanted the couple to face what they’d done and come out stronger, not just escape without anyone ever actually realizing what had happened.
Anyway, if that’s what you go in expecting, I know you’ll enjoy this book; and for what it’s worth, it may have been my mood that made this so irritating to me at the time. But for a book that started out so well, I ended up disappointed. I’d recommend the other two fairy tale books instead, or at least to start, before you venture into reading The Duke Is Mine. Eloisa James really is a fantastic author, and it would be a shame to miss out on the rest of her work.
All book links to external sites are affiliate links. I received this book for free for review from Netgalley.
Our tiny, living Christmas tree for 2011!
Wishing you all a wonderful day today spent with family and friends, full of many bookish gifts and happy memories. Merry Christmas!
Last Saturday, a pleasant surprise was delivered to me through the postman – my Secret Santa gift!
In case you haven’t been around for very long, you should know I haven’t had too much luck with Secret Santa gifts. The first year I participated, I didn’t receive anything at all, but the lovely Ana sent me a book herself anyway, for which I was incredibly grateful. Last year, I did get a couple of nice books, but I still haven’t read them, so I guess I wasn’t as enamored with them as I thought. I wondered what I’d get, but I hadn’t really thought much about it.
This year? I was completely blown away by my Secret Santa gift.
I was thrilled to open the box and discover more and more goodies spilling out. Here are the gifts all wrapped up:
Two large, book-shaped silver packages, plus a couple of mystery items, a lovely card, and bookish swag!
 And there they are unwrapped! Darker Still by Leanna Renee Hieber, an author I’ve not read but have had my eye on for a couple of years, Wither by Lauren DeStefano which I’ve been picking up longingly in the bookstore, plus a cute bookmark and some chocolate. The card is absolutely adorable, too.
Even better? I opened the books …
 
I think my mouth dropped open! What a wonderful gift. I only wish I knew who my Secret Santa was so I could thank them – but the card didn’t have a name. So thanks, Secret Santa – you honestly made that day for me (and that entire week!). I know what I’ll be doing with my free time over the Christmas holidays!
 The tiny town of Walls of Water, North Carolina, has been home to logging wealth for generations. But Willa Jackson, the only remaining member of one of the most prominent families, now makes a living for herself running a sporting goods store, and has no desire to be associated with her past. Meanwhile, Paxton Osgood, another scion of the famous families, buries herself in family and town lore, ignoring her personal problems to become an image of a perfect society daughter. Their grandmothers were – and in some ways are – best friends, but these two women couldn’t be further apart. Enter the restoration of the Blue Ridge Madam, Willa’s family’s hereditary house, and Paxton’s pet project. When a skeleton is dug up underneath the peach tree, the women can no longer avoid each other in their mutual quest for their family’s histories.
I’ve made a point of reading all of Sarah Addison Allen’s books since her first one, Garden Spells, captivated me many moons ago. Unfortunately, either I’m changing or her books are – I just wasn’t really feeling the magic on this one. Her prose is still delicious and the touches of fantasy she adds to every day life as charming as always, but the characters in this particular book didn’t strike a chord with me. While the story’s plot is made to sound somewhat exciting, I actually found most of it rather predictable bar one small bit at the end, and the way the characters would end up from the start is obvious.
That isn’t something that normally bothers me; you are hearing from a girl who regularly enjoys romance novels right now, after all. I’m perfectly fine with a generally predictable ending. I suppose what bugged me here is that the entire book is that way, from the plot to the friendships to the romances. And those romances, I had a hard time believing in; they happen too quickly, and one is especially absurd, at least from my perspective. I didn’t find the heartwarming book I was seeking here.
It was a fast read, with a nice atmosphere, as I would expect from one of her books, and I had a fine time reading it, but I was ultimately disappointed in The Peach Keeper. I hope Allen’s next book will be a bigger hit with me.
All external links are affiliate links. I received this book for free for review from Amazon Vine.
Who doesn’t love bookish statistics?
I’ve been cataloguing my library over on LibraryThing since 2006, well before I started blogging. I have a lifetime membership there and that $25 is among the best I’ve ever spent. Not only does it help me keep track of books across two continents, it also helps me keep track of what I’ve read and tells me all sorts of fascinating statistics about my own reading.
My preferred view uses my tags and my dates read and acquired to help me sort my unread piles and my “read in whatever year” database. Since we’re almost at the close of 2011, I was poking around to see what my general trends look like, and I hit on a startling realisation; more than 4/5 of the books I read this year were also acquired by me this year. Since only 80 or so books acquired in 2011 are left in the “unread” tag, that means that I have over 400 books which I basically haven’t touched this year at all.
Am I alone in this? Do books lose their charm that quickly after I buy them? It seems that if I don’t read them in the few months after their acquisition, I simply never read them at all. Time just slips by – and that book which was so fascinating in July 2008 seems to hold little appeal in December 2011. In fact, it seems none of the books I bought in 2009 hold any appeal as I haven’t read even one this year!
For me, I think this is partly because of the lure of the new book, the more exciting, shinier one that has just arrived on the shelf. It’s also partly because I get, still, quite a few books for review, and they tend to supercede books that are sitting on the shelves. I do have a couple of excuses, though; for one thing, many of my oldest TBRs still live in my parents’ house in New Jersey, so I can’t get to them very often, and for another, I have one TBR bookcase and the older ones just naturally fall behind the newer ones.
This discovery has me wondering what sort of goal I should set for myself in order to turn the trend around. How can I start to read more books that I’ve had for years? There is the theory of the book buying ban, of course, but I don’t really want to inflict that on myself. Seeing the unread numbers go down is always nice, but I like buying books and I’m going to enjoy doing so while I can. I think, instead, I should make an effort to prioritise.
So, for every month next year, before I buy a new book, I need to read two books that I bought in the same month in a previous year. In January, that means I’ll need to read two I bought in January 2011, 2010, 2009, or earlier. Only then will I be allowed to acquire more. That’s only 24 older ones over the course of the year, but perhaps discovering older gems will remind me to continue reading more, and lessen my constant need to buy new.
Do you find that the newer books get read before the older ones in your house, too?
 Most of us, especially those of us who are literary, have a cozy image of a typical English village in our minds. Mine has definitely been imparted through reading, but has only been strengthened over the time I’ve lived in England. Uneven rows of thatched roof cottages, wide expanses of farmland, the rectory, and maybe even the manor house on the hill – it depends what historical period your mind works best in. Our ideal of the English village is more myth than any kind of reality, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still love them, and that is the contradiction that Wainwright explores in The English Village.
It’s clear from the start that Wainwright loves the ideal of England as much as the rest of us do. The book is broken down into chapters concerning different aspects of the village, from those cottages I mentioned to the festivals that the villagers used to celebrate. The book concludes with a chapter on the potential future of the English village and the changes that have happened recently, namely a revival in village life and a determination to conserve the bits we have left for the future. Each chapter also contains black and white drawings of, usually, buildings mentioned in the text to give us a good idea of what we’re reading about.
At the core this was really a delightful book. I loved the way that Wainwright pulled history into the idyllic vision that so many of us cherish – not to remove the dream, but to add a layer of realism to it. One of my favorite parts was when he mentioned that some cottages which are now valued at over one million pounds used to be houses for the poor. It’s this dichotomy which sums up that contradiction; the now pretty villages had an underside which has mostly moved to the cities, leaving much of the countryside for the wealthy.
The English Village naturally also covers the history of the village and how it has evolved through time, starting with the Norman Conquest and ending with the people who are keeping the dream alive, either through pubs or restoration. The industrial revolution effectively ended the need to live in cottages scattered across the countryside, but that way of life was common throughout our history until that point. The shift was monumental, although also incremental, and given that I am always a person who is fascinated with those fundamental changes, I was hooked by this in particular.
For anyone who has ever imagined having a little house in the countryside – perhaps a timber-framed, plastered house with a thatch roof, as I’ve wished – The English Village is truly the perfect read. And it would make a great Christmas gift, too; if you’re in poking around the shops this weekend looking for last minute presents, look no further.
All external book links are affiliate links. I received this book for free for review from Amazon Vine.
|
|
Recent Comments