Tag: Shakespeare

Updates

August, September and October Recap 2018

Geoff W

I’ve put off posting this since August 1. I actually had a draft scheduled for September 3, and again for both October 1 and November 2. And yet here we are almost two full weeks into November and It’s just now being posted.

When I started this post the first line was: Good Bye Summer/not really damn weather. Now it’s more like holy hell the cold has arrived (not really, but it was below freezing the morning I wrote this). I’m going to keep it pretty simple so I can just get this thing posted. I do have the last two books queued up but am spreading them out over the next two weeks so I at least get a post a week. Continue reading “August, September and October Recap 2018” →

Books

Book 557: The Brontë Plot – Katherine Reay

Geoff W

The Brontë Plot cover artThe downside with reading so many romance novels by the same author back-to-back is you quickly discover their strengths and weaknesses. As I read each of Reay’s works, they became less and less memorable even as I was reading them.

If I have to tie it down to the most basic its character development closely followed by pacing. I’m not one to need a “two months later” directional at every instance, but in Reay’s case it would’ve helped a lot. Toward the beginning of the novel the meet cute and the timing was so off I found myself having to re-read multiple sections to see if I’d missed the introduction or some major indicator of time having passed. (I hadn’t.)

Continue reading “Book 557: The Brontë Plot – Katherine Reay” →

ARC, Books

Book 462: The Courtesan – Alexandra Curry

Geoff W

curry-alexandra-the-courtesanWhen Dutton reached out to me about a copy* of this book for its new paperback release I jumped at it because of my trip to China this summer! What I didn’t realize was that it was predominantly set in two of the cities I visited: Suzhou and Beijing! It was really neat to read through the fictionalized life of Sai Jinhua and actually feel like I know what and where she was talking about for the post part!

This is a debut novel that I probably would not have read just because I don’t read too many, but with my trip to China, the cover and having someone reach out to me about it, I figured I would give it a chance and I’m glad I did. Add in that the book also featured a subplot line about the one non-English classic from Asia I chose for my Classics Club list: Dream of the Red Chamber and it was well worth the read.

Continue reading “Book 462: The Courtesan – Alexandra Curry” →

Books, The Classics Club

Book 460: Ulysses – James Joyce

Geoff W

joyce-james-ulyssesIt’s been three weeks since my last post, but obviously it was worth it. At the end of the month I’ll have a two month recap, but for now you just have to bask in the glory of knowing someone who has completed the infamous Ulysses!

It only took a little over four months, but if you remember I started way back in June with the Serial Reader (app website). Serial delivers 10-15 minute sections of the book daily to you and you make your way through the book. I had concerns about reading the book this way especially with remembering details from previous issues, but overall I had a pretty good experience. This one had 109 sections based on my preference and the first half was great to read by serial, but the last two sections weren’t quite as easily read.

Continue reading “Book 460: Ulysses – James Joyce” →

Books

Book 453: Shadow of Night (All Souls Trilogy #2) – Deborah Harkness

Geoff W

Harkness, Deborah - Shadow of Night (All Souls Trilogy #2)Picking up where A Discovery of Witches leaves off we are right back in the story of Diana and Matthew! It’s hard to hide spoilers, especially the one at the end of the first book because it sets up the entire second book, so if you plan on reading the series skip my response!

I shouldn’t be as surprised as I am, but I am a little surprised at how much I enjoyed book two of the All Souls Trilogy. For everything that was missing in book one, Harkness made a great effort to bring it back to this book. She reined in the over descriptions, she brought a little more sass to her characters, and she wrote 16th century Europe wonderfully. Continue reading “Book 453: Shadow of Night (All Souls Trilogy #2) – Deborah Harkness” →