THE LAST WIFE OF HENRY VIII

by Carolly Erickson



The Last Wife of Henry VIII is the story of Catherine Parr, from girlhood to her death. There is a lot of time covered, but the book is just a bit more than 300 pages and goes quickly as only the "highlights" are told in any detail, and fairly large chunks of time are skipped over between them.

This book had the bad, bad luck of being read right on the heels of Innocent Traitor. There are some of the same characters and events, but they are not as deeply or convincingly explored in Erickson's book. After Innocent Traitor, this was like "Tudor Cliff Notes". You get the general idea, but you know there's more to the story. I had the same feeling when I read The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette. I liked the book, but I had a lot of questions about parts of the story that were skimmed over or not told at all. All in all, The Last Wife of Henry VIII is a good, light read, but if you're looking for something meatier, I'd stick with Philippa Gregory or Alison Weir.

The covers of Erickson's books are gorgeous though, aren't they? I'd almost buy them just for that! :-)

Lezlie


Other fiction by Carolly Erickson:



The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette
The Secret Life of Josephine: Napoleon's Bird of Paradise

Books Awards II Challenge

This challenge looked fabulous last year, but I was late to the blogging world, so I didn't sign up. Now's my chance! Michelle at 1 More Chapter is hosting Book Awards II! I have no clue what I'm going to read yet, but I have plenty of time to think about it, since it doesn't officially start until August. I'll be posting my choices and links to the reviews here, so stay tuned! Until then, here are the rules:

1. Read 10 award winners from August 1, 2008 through June 1, 2009.

2. You must have at least FIVE different awards in your ten titles.

3. Overlaps with other challenges are permitted.

4. You don't have to post your choices right away, and your list can change at any time.

5. 'Award winners' is loosely defined; make the challenge fit your needs, keeping in mind Rule #2.

6. Have fun reading!

Now to think about what to read. . . (This is my favorite part!!) :-)

Lezlie

If you'd like to join in, click here to go to the Official Site.

INNOCENT TRAITOR

by Alison Weir



If you are a fan of Philippa Gregory, don't even bother with this review. Seriously. Just head out to your local library or bookstore (or click the "Buy from Amazon" link above), get your hands on Innocent Traitor: A Novel of Lady Jane Grey, and settle in for royal scheming, amibition and betrayal as only Tudor England can so consistently provide.

I loved this book! It was so reminiscent of The Boleyn Inheritance with its various narrators that I felt like I was reading it again, but without the benefit of being positive how it ended. While I had my suspicions, I was blissfully ignorant of the fate of Lady Jane Grey until the end of the book. And I thought Jane was portrayed magnificently. Though she is painfully young upon her brief ascension to the throne, the story of her upbringing allows you to believe her amazing maturity and intelligence in dealing with her unwanted and unwelcome circumstances. My heart ached for her.

Lezlie

Other fiction by Alison Weir:

Library Love!

I did it again. I went nuts at the library. Apparently I am under the impression that I don't have enough at home to read. Whatever. I'm going to go with it. As J. Kaye told me, I'm on a roll! I'm having delusions of reading 150 books this year. I've never even come close to that before. Hmmmm. . .

While I mull that over, here is what I brought home from my local library:

The Romanov Bride by Robert Alexander
The Swallows of Kabul by Yasmina Khadra
The Attack by Yasmina Khadra
The Sirens of Baghdad by Yasmina Khadra
Time's Arrow by Martin Amis
The Nature of Monsters by Clare Clark
A History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters by Julian Barnes
The Rossetti Letter by Christi Phillips

I may not actually get to them all, but since I've been coveting them for weeks at the bookstore, it made me feel better to get them to my house where I can make less expensive decisions about them. :-) I don't think I'll do the "First Chapters" project on them this time, because I can probably read half of these in the time it would take me to do that. If you're curious about any of the books listed, let me know! I'll put them closer to the top of the pile.

Happy Reading!
Lezlie

AFTER DARK

by Haruki Murakami



In Haruki Murakami's After Dark, the lives of a number of seemingly unconnected people cross in strange ways over the course of one night.

This was my first book by this author, and I enjoyed reading it. It was quick and engrossing, but I have to admit that the aspects of magical-realism bounced off me with little more than, "Huh. That's kind of cool," and any deep messages went right by without so much as a tip of the hat. Maybe I was distracted by the nice weather we were having. A review in Bookmarks Magazine said After Dark was a good introduction to the author's style, and if that is true, I think I will like his other work also. I will definitely be reading more of it. And maybe I will actually have something intelligent to report next time. :-)

Lezlie

PS Here is an essay by Haruki Murakami written around the time of publication of After Dark in which he talks about his writing style. Terri at Tip of the Iceberg pointed me to it. Thanks, Terri!


Other reviews of After Dark:
Everyday Reads