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Bookworm Rrriot

~ Thoughts on Books, Reading and Writing

Bookworm Rrriot

Tag Archives: historical fiction

The Joys of Reading in Winter

02 Monday Feb 2015

Posted by mcasale2014 in books, reading

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Celia THaxter, Dorothy Dunnett, historical fiction, historical novels, Katherine White, novels, Tana French, Zenna Henderson

Every season holds special delights for readers, and here are some favorites for snowy days or long, dark nights.  Make a cup of tea, (or the Bookworm snow day fave, hot chocolate) grab something fleecy and your woolliest, silliest socks, and try one of these.

The Lymond Chronicles: Six volumes of Renaissance wit, intrigue, swashbuckling, poetry, magic and romance with chess-themed titles. A marvelously complex hero and a huge cast of fascinating characters including the toddler Mary Queen of Scots. Volume one is good. By two chapters into volume two, I was laughing out loud at the best trick an author has ever played on me, and irrevocably hooked.  There’s enough here to savor until spring (if Phil is right).

Zenna Henderson: I have the big Zenna Henderson omnibus reader, as well as those of my paperbacks that have survived the years, moves and lending. Henderson wrote wonderful interrelated stories of good aliens, called The People, who leave their dying planet and come in small lifecraft to the American Southwest. Their stories of reunion, survival and coming of age are completely unique and deserve to be more widely known.  Many of Henderson’s stories take place in old mining towns and schoolteachers are often the narrators. One unrelated story is the creepiest tale of OCD ever. Check her out.

Tana French’ s tales of the Dublin murder squad are again loosely interrelated, with a different detective narrating each one, so you can start anywhere. I’m planning to read them in order again, very slowly, and hope that by the time I get to the end there’s a new one!

Garden books: There is a special happiness to be found in reading and dreaming of gardens at a time when no one can possibly expect you to go out and, well, actually work in one.  Curl up with a pile of your favorite catalogues. I especially like to pick out all the old roses and peonies that will never make it in my shady yard–in my winter dream graden they thrive! Check out Onward and Upward in the Garden, by Katherine White. Besides being an editor at the New Yorker for many years, and marrying E.B. White, White wrote about gardening and about her garden in Maine. If you can find a copy, Celia Thaxter’s An Island Garden with Childe Hassam’s color illustrations is a wonderful way to pass a winter afternoon.

Happy reading!

 

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Historical Fiction vs. History, True Crime vs. Mystery

04 Monday Aug 2014

Posted by mcasale2014 in books

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Tags

book recommendations, Dorothy Dunnett, Hild, historical fiction, historical novels, Lymond, Nicola Griffith, Sharon Kay Penman, Wales

Some people love to read history–they want to know what really happened.  I prefer historical fiction because it tells me why it happened.  It doesn’t bother me that historical novelists often juggle dates and places to make things work better–if the story hangs together and makes sense in terms of the characters’ feelings and thoughts, that’s good enough for me.  The same issue comes up in true crime–what the criminal did and how it was discovered are very interesting, but without knowing the answer to the perennial question What were the  thinking? I’m left feeling that a major, and the most interesting, part of the story is missing.  Particularly since people convicted of the kinds of crimes that get written about either maintain their innocence to the end, or may not be noted for truth-telling (to put it nicely).  The best historical novels present people much like ourselves in terms of complexity, intelligence, ambition, etc., operating in a very different set of circumstances.

Here are some historical novels I’ve enjoyed, in case you’re looking for something new to read:

Sharon Kay Penman, The Welsh Princes Trilogy:  Here Be Dragons, Falls The Shadow and The Reckoning  http://www.amazon.com/Here-Dragons-Sharon-Kay-Penman/dp/0312382456/ref=wp_bs_1_B00CKDIJDK_paperback

Dorothy Dunnett, The Lymond Chronicles (These are some of my favorite books anywhere, ever.  And there are six of them!)  Less history and more fiction, although Mary, Queen of Scots, Elizabeth I and others make appearances.   http://www.amazon.com/Game-Kings-Lymond-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B003XT60GI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407185184&sr=8-1&keywords=the+lymond

Nicola Griffith, Hild  http://www.amazon.com/Hild-Novel-Nicola-Griffith-ebook/dp/B00DA734SA/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1407179370&sr=1-1&keywords=Hild

I’ve provided the Amazon links, not because I’m pushing Amazon, but because I find the customer reviews helpful and Amazon usually has parts of the Publisher’s Weekly review as well.

Happy Reading!

Maria

 

 

Introducing Bookworm Rrriot, a Blog Dedicated to Reading, Writing, and Books

31 Thursday Jul 2014

Posted by mcasale2014 in books, reading, Uncategorized, writing

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Tags

book recommendations, books, fiction, historical fiction, mysteries, novelists, novels, reading, Women's fiction, writing prompts

Bookworm Rrriot is a blog dedicated to reading, writing and books.  It favors the small and quirky, or sometimes just the quirky.  BR is not a sunflower but a narcissus, inviting a slower step, a closer look.  Not a birthday cake, all sugar, air, flames and frosting, but a coffee cake–maybe a little plain and lumpy on the outside, but inside, full of nuts and spices.  Not a…. well, you get the idea.

Come here for ideas on what to read, what not to read, overlooked or forgotten books, overrated books, interviews with writers and readers.  Thoughts on writing, writing prompts, writing pet peeves.  Grammar maven sniping.  Persnickety views on literature, occasional rants, inexplicable enthusiasms explained at length.  Some of my own work, for your persnickety views (or perfectly understandable enthusiasm).

Nutty.  Spicy.  Consider yourself warned.

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