January 2025 Reading

I read 14 books in January: all fiction but one, including three audiobooks and two rereads. The God of the Woods and Frozen River are historical novels which were much hyped, with long waiting lists at the library. I was disappointed in the first and found its ending completely unbelievable. I liked Frozen River and its themes of justice and male dominance provided lots of material for my book group discussion. I also enjoyed the newest Michael Connelly and my reread of False Colours.

Six Degrees of Separation – from Dangerous Liaisons to Mrs. Plansky's Revenge

It’s time for #6degrees, inspired by Kate at Books Are My Favourite and Best. We all start at the same place as other readers, add six books, and see where it ends up. This month, Kate started with a classic, Dangerous Liaisons by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, which is about seduction and revenge.

False Colours by Georgette Heyer

Kit Fancot is a rising young diplomat, stationed in Vienna, when he senses something is wrong with his identical twin brother back in London. It’s 1817 so he can’t call or text – he uses the recent death of his godfather as an excuse to make the long journey home. 

Historical Fiction Round-up Post for 2023

Look how much historical fiction I read last year!  Thank you to Marg from The Intrepid Reader for her Historical Fiction Reading Challenge.  Historical fiction is one of my favorite things to read and, as you can see, it comes in various subgenres.  There is a link if I reviewed the book in 2023, with those I liked best in red. 

My October 2023 Reads

October was a busy month with a business trip to Tulsa (no direct flights, so lots of reading time), some reading for the 1962 Club, and hosting my book group’s discussion of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow (not everyone finished it). My favorites this month were Just Another Missing Person, The Serpent Pool, Witch of the Glens, and two from D.E. Stevenson, along with several rereads.  Three reads this month were audiobooks.

The Nonesuch by Georgette Heyer, for the #1962Club

Title: The Nonesuch
Author: Georgette Heyer
Publication: E.P. Dutton & Co., hardcover, 1962
Genre: Historical Romance
Setting: 19th century England

Description: Local society in the village of Oversett, North Yorkshire, is excited to hear that Sir Waldo Hawkridge, a dashing and wealthy member of the ton, has inherited Broom Hall and has come to see it with his amiable young cousin, Lord Lindeth. Tiffany Wield, a lovely heiress of 17 longing to enter London society, is determined to captivate them both.

Looking forward to the 1962 Club

Twice each year, Simon from Stuck in a Book and Karen from Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings host a readalong celebration of books published in a carefully chosen year and it starts on Monday. At first, I didn’t think 1962 was such a great year, although I have quite a few friends born that year. What about books? Here are a few I have already reviewed:

Five Things

There are five things I want to share with you today:

A fun Georgette Heyer quiz was provided by Regency historical writer Anne Gracie. I was annoyed to get one wrong! Can you do better?

Georgette Heyer

My July 2023 Reads

Summer days drifting away . . . even if you can’t take time off to sit on the beach in July, it seems appropriate to read lighter fiction, which I needed after I finished Middlemarch (despite enjoying it).

The Unknown Ajax by Georgette Heyer - one of her most amusing

Title: The Unknown Ajax
Author: Georgette Heyer
Publication: Ace paperback, originally published in 1959
Genre: Historical Romance/Regency
Setting: England, 1817

Description: The Darracott family is astonished to learn that cantankerous Lord Darracott’s heir is not his third son Matthew, but a grandson they never knew existed, Hugo.

The Corinthian by Georgette Heyer – for the #1940Club

Title: The Corinthian
Author: Georgette Heyer
Publication: Bantam, paperback, originally published in 1940
Genre: Historical Romance
Setting: 19th century England

It’s time for the #1940 Club, hosted by Simon from Stuck in a Book and Karen from Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings, featuring books published in a particular year.

My October 2022 Reads

I read several entertaining books for the 1929 Club but the novel that most captured my interest last month was Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. It is a mesmerizing story of friendship and collaboration spanning three decades, starting when the two protagonists meet in a hospital as teenagers, then reconnect when attending college in Cambridge and starting a venture together. As I was listening to the audio, I found myself telling everyone I encountered about this book, which I picked up because of Nancy Pearl’s recommendation.

Beauvallet by Georgette Heyer for the #1929Club

Title: Beauvallet
Author: Georgette Heyer
Publication: Dutton hardcover, originally published in 1929
Genre: Historical Fiction
Setting: 16th-century

This week, Simon from Stuck in a Book and Karen from Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings are hosting the 1929 Club, where bloggers read and write about books published in a chosen year.

Description: Sir Nicholas Beauvallet is the most dashing of Queen Elizabeth’s sea captains. Known as the Sea Dogs, a group of English privateers was authorized to carry out raids on England's enemies, whether they were formally at with war with them or not.

Six Degrees of Separation – from Notes on a Scandal to Lady's Maid

It’s time for #6degrees, inspired by Kate at Books Are My Favourite and Best. We all start at the same place, add six books, and see where we end up. This month’s starting point is Notes on a Scandal by Zoë Heller (2003) which my book group read back when I lived in NYC. It’s about two teachers who are friendly until one of them begins a relationship with a student. It was compelling but depressing as the friendship was flawed, the seduction repellent, and the scandal inevitable.

Spell the Month in Books – July

Can you #SpelltheMonthinBooks? What books would you use?

Spell the Month in Books is hosted by Reviews From the Stacks and occurs on the second Saturday of each month or maybe a few days later! Here are books from several authors I admire for July:

Day 25 – Apsley House and Pub Quiz

It was hard to know what to savor on my last day in London. We were asked to do an evaluation of the British Studies program on computers in an underground classroom which took until after 10:00, and then I unexpectedly had to put together a PowerPoint, one of my least favorite things to do. Once that was done, I set off to visit the London Review Bookshop and, just as importantly, its cake shop next door, as I was craving Victoria sponge cake.

Day 13 – Visiting Green Knowe

It was my friend Kathy Baxter who told me she had visited the house upon which The Children of Green Knowe is based and if I had fully grasped how close it is to Cambridge, my mother and I could have gone there four years ago. After rereading the book in August, I was determined to make the Manor at Hemingford Grey part of this trip. I felt shy about writing to Diana Boston, who is the daughter-in-law of author L.M. Boston (1892-1990) and has lived in the house since she moved in to help Lucy after a stroke, but she responded to my email quickly and invited me to come on Saturday, June 18th when she had two tours already scheduled.

Day 9 – Rotherhithe and The London Library

The Rotherhithe Picture Research Library is part of an extraordinary operation located in a former granary in the Southwark neighborhood of London. Established in 1975 as a nonprofit, the Library is available to anyone wishing to do picture research (see website).

Costume hats

My Year in Books – 2021

These memes were popular last year so I am recycling one I liked. Links go to my reviews.

Rules: Using only books you have read during the year (2021), answer these questions. Try not to repeat a book title. Let me know, below, if you did a version of this too.

Describe yourself:

How do you feel:  Yours Cheerfully or Do Not Disturb, depending on my mood

Describe where you currently live: A Place to Hang the Moon

Daphne du Maurier's Mary Anne: Rewriting the Regency Romance as Feminist History #DDMreadingweek

I came across an interesting article, Daphne du Maurier’s Mary Anne: Rewriting the Regency Romance as Feminist History, by Katherine Turner, and decided it was perfect for Daphne du Maurier Reading Week despite my not having time to read Mary Anne (1954). 

Coincidentally, the du Maurier books live next to the Heyer paperbacks

Turner describes how du Maurier based this novel on her great-great grandmother (c. 1776–1852), who was the mistress of the Duke of York and involved in a huge scandal for selling army commissions, promotions, and transfers.