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Well, now I have both the time and inclination to return to reading and blogging more regularly, but I have come down with the beginnings of a cold this weekend, so I don’t think today is going to start that trend yet. I managed to finish Dissolution by C.J. Sansom today, a mystery set in the Tudor period that started off slow but really picked up and I enjoyed it in the end. I’ll be reading Harpy’s Flight by Megan Lindholm next, but I haven’t started just yet. For now, I’m off to relax and kick this cold before it gets anywhere, and I’ll be catching up on the posts I missed this weekend over the week.
Hope everyone had a great weekend!
I haven’t finished a book this week. Not even one. I’m working my way slowly through The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny in one big omnibus from the library. I believe this is actually only the first five books of ten, but I read somewhere that the second five aren’t as good, so I decided just reading these was good enough.
That’s not really the source of my distraction, though; it’s really because I’m obsessed with Final Fantasy IV. I’ve been writing an essay this week and every time I give myself a break, I don’t want to deal with more words, even fun ones. I want to kill endless rounds of monsters instead. Yes, the game has a story, but I can also run around leveling up and collecting items, so I am hardly engaged mentally yet still accomplishing something.
This just reminds me of the phases I went through in high school. I used to alternate between being really interested in video games and really interested in books. I would always do both, but one seemed to take prominence over the other and every so often they’d switch. I don’t think I’ve had a video game phase since high school, so perhaps I am overdue by a number of years. Or I’m just reacting to all my required reading and taking a much-needed break.
Do you ever experience these phases away from reading? What do you do?
 As I mentioned last week, I haven’t been great at getting reviews up, and this week it’s been fairly obvious. I’m happy to say that I already have two scheduled to post next week, though. They are The Principessa by Christie Dickason and The Rose of Sebastopol by Katherine McMahon. So it looks like I might be getting back on my reviewing feet!
I’ve still read a ton this week; I guess rather than composing reviews I have been pouring all my energy into reading. Since last Sunday, I’ve read Natural Talent by Sheelagh White, March by Geraldine Brooks, The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham, The Duke and I by Julia Quinn, The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson, and Immortal Warrior by Lisa Hendrix. A few nights of unexplained insomnia helped a lot; I read the last one from beginning to end after I went to bed. I didn’t intend to, and to be honest it was a romance novel and thus not really “gripping”, so I doubt it was the book keeping me up. I liked it but I could have put it off until today as my review isn’t to be posted until the 24th.
I expect this week to be a bit busier. I’ve done nearly all of my assignments, but that just means I have to start on my essay. I still have no idea what to write about, but I do have a vague general direction. I’ll start research and see if anything comes to me.
This week, I’ll be finishing Lady of Quality by Georgette Heyer and I hope to get through The Lady Elizabeth by Alison Weir and The Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushdie as well. If I finish those three, I think it might finally be time to read Bel Canto by Ann Patchett. We shall see.
First things first, the giveaway winners! I had 24 entries and two win the prize. Random.org provided me with numbers 15 and 24, who are Cheryl Free and Bookish Ruth! Please email me (it’s in “about me”) with your addresses and I’ll get them to Michelle so you can have your books ASAP. =)
Secondly, I have not been the best book blogger lately. I feel a bit like I’m falling off the wagon with too much to do. Not only have my meme posts been late and my commenting has fallen off (I’m still reading blog posts, though), but I have three reviews to write – The Principessa by Christie Dickason, His Wicked Kiss by Gaelen Foley, and The Rose of Sebastopol by Katharine McMahon. I’ll be posting those this week. I liked all three books, so they shouldn’t be hard reviews at all, I just think I’m a bit burnt out on writing them. I’m also nearly finished with Natural Talent by Sheelagh White, a YA novel about kids preventing sabotage of the film that could make them all stars. It’s a nice change of pace from all those historical novels and I expect I’ll be reviewing that this week as well.
Wishing everyone a good week; thanks for visiting!
This weekend has been a good example of my blog rolling right along without me. For those who were wondering why I didn’t leave any comments anywhere, why I didn’t announce a winner for my Paul of Dune giveaway, or why no Sunday Salon post appeared, it’s because I was at my fiance’s. We were busy Saturday and I intended to get back on Sunday in time to do my giveaway post and report on what I’d been reading on the train. Well, I got on the very crowded standing room only train Sunday evening, but it had gone about half an hour out of the station when it stopped. And stood. For an hour. Then we heard the news; the train in front of us had struck and killed a person, so we would not be continuing on our route. We went back to our originating station, which took another 45 minutes, and I decided that it wasn’t worth it to continue on to York. I didn’t know how late the buses ran, nor what route I’d take to get there, and my ticket was still valid for the next day (today). The train was still packed and I couldn’t imagine the new route taking any less than the four hours it was going to take in the first place, so now that we were two hours behind, I chose to head back to my fiance’s for the night. I’m back in York now; today’s journey only took me three hours (not counting bus rides), although I have missed a class and my volunteering slot. I think I’m forgiven after that, though.
Anyway, I am now a couple of days overdue for announcing the winner of the Paul of Dune contest. The winner is lucky number one, Amanda at Life and Times of a “New” New Yorker! I’ll be sending you an email shortly to get your address. Congratulations!
On the train today I finally finished The Principessa by Christie Dickason. Quite an exciting read; I’m glad Francis met his match, just like Christie promised in her interview! Expect a review soon; in the meantime, I liked it.
The rest of today will be spent preparing for the rest of the week rather than reading; hopefully I can get enough done to accomplish some goals this week and catch up on all the blog posts I missed. I failed miserably last week, so at this point it will be all I can do just to keep the reviews coming. Have a good week, everyone!
Not surprisingly, I haven’t had any time to read today. Well, read for pleasure that is – I have completed school reading for about half the coming week instead. Yesterday I attended a conference on medieval stone monuments, specifically effigies, though the most interesting presentation was on the tomb testers of Edward the Black Prince and Henry IV and his wife Joan of Navarre. A tomb tester is a rectangular, flat cover, usually made of wood and highly decorated, suspended above the tomb. Click here to see a black and white photo of the Black Prince’s tomb; the tester is at the top below the decorations. It was very interesting to see how the paintings on and the construction of the testers demonstrated the ruling family’s wealth and piety as well as medieval methods of construction. A collective gasp went up when the speaker revealed medieval chalk marks on the Black Prince’s tester. Of course, that likely doesn’t interest all of you reading a book blog, but I felt compelled to share. It was just too exciting!
 So what have I been reading this week? Well, I consumed The Heretic Queen in record speed for someone in graduate school, losing sleep and actually crying at one point. This is I believe book number 4 to bring me to tears this year, out of 152 total read. Yes, it was good. Come back tomorrow for a guest post by Michelle and come again for my review and giveaway on Tuesday! I also read Life after Genius by M. Ann Jacoby, which has a blog tour stop here on the 29th, Her Only Desire by Gaelen Foley, a disappointing foray back into my romance-reading past, and Victory of Eagles by Naomi Novik, the fifth book in an AU Napoleonic wars fantasy series. Reviews of the last two will be posted soon, either this week or early next week.
I probably won’t be reading at all today in favor of getting my school reading done and doing an archaeological report on a castle/hunting lodge. I will be bringing books along the rest of this week though! Up next on my library list are The Greatest Knight by Elizabeth Chadwick, The Rose of Sebastopol by Katharine McMahon, and The Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushdie. I also hope to finish off Passions and Tempers this week (sorry for taking so long to read and review it, Jennifer!) and get to a review book, Natural Talent by Sheelagh White. I do have to say, though, that if one of my copies of Brandon Sanderson’s The Hero of Ages arrives, I will drop everything and read that next.
Have a good week!
I haven’t opened a book since Friday; since I thought I was participating in the Read-a-Thon, I gave it a rest that evening and did some schoolwork instead. I didn’t get it all done, so after this post I will be doing yet more work. It’s interesting, but I would rather start The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran. It arrived on Friday with my fiance and I really can’t wait to read it. Come back later on this week for a guest post by Michelle, my review, and a giveaway of a signed copy!
I’m also hoping that The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson makes it across to me this week. It missed me in the US, so I’ve had to wait for my parents to send it over here. I feel like I’ve been waiting forever, on the edge of my seat, for both of these books, so I’m glad that I can start them very soon.
As far as the Read-a-Thon is concerned, I’m amazed by how much people read and even more so how much has been donated for charity. You are all awesome! I don’t want to single anyone out because there may be people not on my Google Reader that also did such terrific things, so I really want to offer up congratulations to everyone who participated. I will definitely be joining you next April, and I will arrange seeing everyone I know around that day.
Some exciting things have been going on this week; I acquired a York Card, which not only gives me access to the libraries but gets me into three museums for free just because I live here. Isn’t that awesome? I’ve never lived in a place which so encouraged its citizens to embrace their heritage, and in York, people have a fantastic history to celebrate. I’ll be using this card to get into the museums with one of my classes; the tutor will be taking us through at least twice to show us various things that we’re studying.
I’ve also volunteered to join an archaeological dig going on this year in the city. I’m not sure yet if they have any spots for the remainder of 2008, but hopefully I’ll be first on in the spring if not. That’s not to mention my volunteer slot at the York Minster Library, a medieval palace converted into a space to hold thousands of really old books. When I went in on Thursday, I actually got to page through a book from the 16th century that was bound in an even older manuscript. It’s a fantastic place! Have a look at the photos below:
  
I’m off to catch up on my reading and get an early night in preparation for morning class; here’s hoping everyone has a fantastic week!
I am currently in my new room at the University of York. Well, it could be better; it feels just like a freshman dorm and I was hoping that graduate students would get a bit nicer housing. I’m just slightly off campus, so I’m not sure I feel safe walking about at night yet. Let’s not even mention the kitchen and the fact that there are one shower and one toilet for at least 10 people. And my fiance left an hour ago, which is not making me happy as I have yet to officially meet a single other student. I have said hello to a few people in the halls, but no one seems to be gathering in the common room or kitchen, so I feel a bit awkward introducing myself to someone randomly walking by. Tomorrow I am spending the entire day at an induction ceremony for my program, so I expect to meet some other medievalist types there and hopefully make some acquaintances that will turn into friends. In the meantime I have fifty pages of introductory reading before bed tonight.
I was intending to prepare a post full of photos for you all about York, since I do love it so much here and it’s full of history, but there were too many things that we needed to get for me that we didn’t expect, like a fan, a bunch of lightbulbs, and a power extension cable. As a result, we spent a ton of time running around the city and its outskirts the past day or so and I didn’t have a chance to wander with my camera. I hope to do that this week, so expect some pictures next Sunday.
As far as reading goes, I’m not doing much of that either. I’d like to finish Azincourt by Bernard Cornwell tonight and move on to Descartes’ Bones by Russell Shorto and/or The Fire by Katherine Neville, which are next on my review list. I did manage to acquire a couple of books this week; rather, today. They are Rebel by Bernard Cornwell and Quicksilver by Christie Dickason. Christie also wrote The Firemaster’s Mistress, which I reviewed here, and I’ll be interviewing her tomorrow right here on this blog, so drop by again and check it out. This week I’m hoping that The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran arrives so I can get to it right away. I’m waiting for a couple of other review books as well from generous authors who don’t mind sending to the UK.
My plan for this week: getting back into the school groove, opening a bank account, acquiring a student card so I can enjoy super cheap bus fares, meeting people, and figuring out where the laundry machines are around here. I hope you all have great weeks and I’d like to see you back here soon!
On Thursday, my fiance and I headed down to the more southern parts of England to visit Stonehenge and two medieval cities, Winchester and Salisbury, with a bit of camping in between. Stonehenge was first as it was on our way. I can’t tell you how impressive it is in person. Making the turn off the highway, it appears suddenly on a hill and is simply awe-inspiring. It’s even more so up close. You can’t touch the stones, but they do let you get closer to them than I’d expected.
 
Afterwards, we were off to the camp site, to set up our new tent. We had a lot of trouble with our tent and ended up with four people helping us put it up. The poles that came were a bit too long and for some reason the straps were not adjustable. Keith knew it was too good to be true, as he got it on sale. We made it work in the end and we have better ideas on what to do next time.
The next day, it was out to Winchester. Jane Austen’s house was fairly near Winchester, but not close enough for us to do everything we could in the city and go out there, so we didn’t. We did visit Winchester Cathedral, where she is buried, and the house in which she died.
 
Winchester was the Anglo-Saxon capital of England, so there were many memorials to Alfred the Great scattered about, including this Victorian statue, and the place where his bones may rest. No one knows what actually happened to Alfred’s bones, or those of his wife and son, which were moved at least three times. His grave was looted after Henry VIII’s break with the Catholic church and his bones were either scattered or re-discovered in the 18th century. The bones that were discovered by an amateur archaeologist were buried here, in St. Bartholomew’s Church, in a simple grave marked with a cross.
 
Yesterday, we went to Old Sarum and Salisbury. I’m not sure if any of you have read Sarum by Edward Rutherfurd, but these are the places that he mentioned. The castle is unfortunately in ruins now; in the 18th century, again, the king gave permission for it to be demolished and its stones used as building materials. All that remains is an outline and the rubble that occupied the interior of the walls. And in Salisbury, the best part was definitely the cathedral. It’s a miracle this cathedral is still standing; it has only four feet of foundation, the pillars have bent over from the weight of the tower, and the whole thing sits on a bed of wet gravel. They assume the wet gravel is holding the cathedral and check every day to make sure there’s still enough water beneath it. I’m not sure what they’d do if there wasn’t.
 
While there, I continued reading The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. It’s taking me forever to read this book thanks to being away, but I’m completely loving it. I’m looking forward to sitting down with it and finishing it tomorrow – only to wait until next year for the sequel, and probably 2010 for the third installment! I can tell I’ll be revisiting this book before the rest of the series is out.
Of course, I managed to acquire a few books in Winchester and Salisbury; the camp site had a small shelf of books for 50p each, where I acquired The End of Mr. Y . There was also a sale on in Winchester to support the Deanery associated with the cathedral, so I picked up three more books there, and my fiance bought me Azincourt , Bernard Cornwell’s newest book, as a gift.
How was your weekend?
This is cheating, but I’m writing this entry on Friday night. I’m flying to England with a connection in France tomorrow evening and I’m not sure I’ll have the mental capacity or the energy to post what I’m reading on Sunday. I have posts lined up for all the other days, but in case I get off track and can’t post something exciting, here’s what I’m looking forward to getting to on the two days my fiance has to go to work:
Believe it or not, I crammed A LOT of books into my two suitcases and backpack, so I won’t be adrift without books in a foreign land. I’ll let you all know the final count after I’ve unpacked – I’ve continued sneaking in books until my bags are about to burst! I hope I don’t realize I’ve forgotten anything, because I don’t have space for anything else.
I’ve made my presence almost unnecessary on this blog for the next week and a half, since I’m going to be spending time with my fiance and going camping (in October in England, we’re crazy, I know) and then moving me in to my room at York, so if you’re new around here and I haven’t gone to visit your blog yet, I’m sorry! I’ll get to you soon, I promise.
In the meantime, I hope everyone has a fantastic week!
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by Toni Morrison, in honor of Banned Books Week
by Joseph Teller
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