Do you have a book you read in school that you swore was the worst book ever? Have you ever thought that maybe your teachers weren't out to torture you, and there may have been a method to their madness after all? Then the July Challenge is for you!

Details on the challenge can be found here...check it out, and join us!

Book 101: The Aviary Gate - A Novel.
Author: Katie Hickman, 2008.
Genre: Historical Romance. Historical Fiction - 16th Century
Other Details: Hardback, 340 pages.

In Style magazine said about this book: "Forbidden love, sailors and secrets - fasten your seat-belt for Hickman's period tome. Celia, a prisoner in the Sultan's harem, is romanced by Paul Pindar, a dashing merchant with a dangerous secret. Think Jane Austen meets the Pirates of the Caribbean."

Well no, not really. Did they read a different copy to mine? True, Celia is an odalisque within the Sultan's harem but this short review makes the book sound like a light-hearted romantic romp rather than the more serious work that it turned out to be. Still this wasn't a disappointment as I much preferred the author's approach and the star-crossed nature of the central love affair.

It is one of those novels in which a modern story serves as a framework for a historical mystery. While doing research at the Bodleian Library graduate student Elizabeth Staveley finds a fragment of paper dating from the late 16th century that tells of an English sea captain's daughter held captive in the harem of the Sultan. She is intrigued by this find and eventually travels to Istanbul to see what evidence she can find there. The main story takes place in 1599 when Paul Pindar and other members of the Levant Merchant Company come to Constantinople to present a gift from Elizabeth I to the Sultan Mehmed_III and to secure trading rights. Two years previously Paul's fiancé Celia had been lost at sea. However, while her father's ship had been attacked by pirates and sunk, Celia had been taken captive and sold into slavery. When Paul hears rumours of a pale-skinned, blonde slave in the harem he begins to wonder if this might be Celia. The strict laws that govern the harem mean that any contact between them is impossible. Likewise, Celia learns of the presence of the English merchants in the city even as she is being groomed by the Valide Sultan to become the Sultan's new concubine. Will she risk her life for one glimpse of the man she loves?

Hickman skilfully recreates the luxurious yet claustrophobic atmosphere of the harem so that you can feel almost the touch of silks, taste the sweetmeats and hear the whispers of intrigue that echo through the labyrinthine palace. I was quite intrigued to read that while Celia Lamprey and her family are fictional characters, Paul Pindar, the Valide Safiye Sultan and many others in the story are historical figures. The author did extensive research on the period and on the life within the harem including undertaking a number of visits to Istanbul. That attention to detail is very evident.

While I did appreciate that the contemporary story was useful to provide exposition about life in the harem from a modern perspective, the sub-plot about Elizabeth's dysfunctional relationship with her boyfriend felt a distraction. There was also the hint of a metaphysical link between Celia and Elizabeth that Hickman didn't seem to have the confidence to pursue. I felt these two factors detracted from this powerful and haunting tale rendering it a novel that held the promise of greatness but somewhat missed the mark. Despite these flaws I enjoyed it very much and will look out for Hickman's future works.

67. The Highlander's Touch by Karen Marie Moning - Time Travel Scottish highlander romance and I loved it! I think this one was much better than the two previous KMM books I've read before. At time it was touching and had me close to tears, and other times very hot and sexy. 4/5 Review

68. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. I really enjoyed it and thought it was an excellent book. At times I was really moved by it and got teary-eyed. Such a unique perspective of a broken family, life's lessons and coping and dealing with it. A short read, but very well done and original. 4.5/5 Full review

69. Devil's Bride by Stephanie Laurens Quite a sexy regency romance. I'd heard so much about these Cynster books - now I've read one and plan on reading the others. A romantic and suspenseful regency with lots of sex thrown in for good measure - almost too much - if that's possible! 3.5/5 Full review

70. The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood I really liked it! Dry wit and a satirical look at The Odyssey from Penelope's view - Helen (as usual) stole the show! Very short novella, I read it in less than a few hours. 4/5 Full Review

70 / 100 books. 70% done!

1001 Books:

21. Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, Douglas Adams. Audiobook.
I liked this a lot. A decent mystery with Adams' signature wacky humour.

22. The Red Queen, Margaret Drabble. 325 pages.
This was an interesting book. The first half was a retelling of the biography of an 18th-century Korean princess, and the second half is about a middle-aged British woman who goes to Korea for a conference and falls in love with the biography when she reads it on the plane. They are linked by their mentally ill husbands and their love of red clothing. The first half of the book is definitely more interesting and better-written than the second half. There's a nice conclusion at the end of the second part, though.

Other Books:

29. The Deception of the Emerald Ring, Lauren Willig. 464 pages.
The latest (I think) book in the Pink Carnation series. Cute chicklit that covers the modern and historical time periods.

30. A Day with a Perfect Stranger, David Gregory. 112 pages.
A novella about a woman who meets Jesus on an airplane. Interesting, incredibly quick but forgettable read. If you're a Christian who has ever done outreach work, you may want to check it out. If not, then skip it.

31. Financial Peace Revisited, Dave Ramsey. 283 pages.
A lot of good, solid advice, but I felt like I was being talked down to.

32. After Dark, Haruki Murakami. 248 pages.
A surprisingly quick read. Short on plot, but long on character development. It's about the interconnected stories of three people going about their business one night in Tokyo.

1001 Books:
22/25 - 88%

Total Books:
54/75 - 72%

Total Pages:
22,851/22,500 - 102%

Days Passed:
251/365 - 68.7%

I think I'm going to have to up my goal.

1001 Books:
18. Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy. 492 pages.
This was a depressing book. Really depressing. That being said, once you got past the flowery late-nineteenth century language, it was really well-written and rather enjoyable. Hardy did a wonderful job of creating characters that seemed real, and Tess was incredibly sympathetic. However, the way Tess was treated was horrendous, and the only thing that made her treatment somewhat palatable was that it was clear that Hardy didn't feel that way. This book wasn't an easy read, but it's definitely worth reading.

19. North and South, Elizabeth Gaskell. 496 pages.
I was surprised at how much I like this book. Gaskell writes like the love child of Jane Austen and Charles Dickens, and it works.

20. The Razor's Edge, W. Somerset Maugham. 314 pages.
I liked this book, but I didn't think it was as good as I had heard it was. It's a story about a young man who travels around the world trying to find himself, and it's related by the author, who is a character in the novel.

Other Books:
26. Fluke, Christopher Moore. 321 pages.
Ah, Christopher Moore. I love Christopher Moore. This wasn't one of his best novels, but that doesn't mean much. It's still bizarrely hilarious.

27. Sorcery and Cecelia, Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer. 320 pages.
A very cute YA novel. There are definite Austen influences, and the magic is reminiscent of the Harry Potter books, but this was written before Rowling started to write them. A really quick read.

28. Breaking Dawn, Stephanie Meyer. 756 pages.
I won't say anything spoilerish, but I wasn't expecting much after really disliking the first three books. I liked this one a lot better. Almost all of the issues I had previously were resolved.

1001 Books:
20/25 - 80%

Total Books:
48/75 - 64%

Total Pages:
21,419/22,500 - 95.2%

Days Passed:
226/366 - 61.7%

57. Hornblower During the Crisis by C.S. Forester Very short book, unfinished and published after Forester's death. He did not write in chronological order of his Hornblower series, but this book would be the 4th in chronological order. I thought it was pretty good, and was disappointed that it ended unfinished as it was just starting to get good and the plot had taken a very interesting turn. There are also two short stories at the end of the book, one that takes place when Hornblower is still under Captain Sawyer and the other is towards the end of his career, which I didn't read, as I want to read all his stuff in chronological order, so I'll come back to this story when I get there in the books (if that makes any sense.) 4/5 Review

58. Highlander Unchained by Monica McCarty This was a really good highlander romance! One of the best I've read. 3rd and last in the series by this author, and the best by far. Well thought out, good plot, steamy sex - what more could you want - even a great ending! I highly recommend it! 4.5/5 Review

59. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro My 2nd novel of his. An excellent, fascinating read of an alternate world in England in the later 1990's. I'm in awe of how eloquent his writing is, it's such a pleasure to settle in with one of his novels and meet these new faces he writes about. This one will stay with me for a long time - I know it. 4/5 Review

60. The Duke Next Door by Celeste Bradley 2nd in a series, I think I liked this one even more than the first - which wasn't bad either. A regency romance with a marriage between the hero and heroine who we meet in the first book, even though they barely know each other - or like each other. Fun quick read with humor and sex. Review

60 / 100 books. 60% done!

I haven't had as much time as I'd like to read lately. I really need to change that.

Book 13: Georgette Heyer - A Civil Contract

Genre: Historical Romance/Regency Romance

Plot: When the new Viscount Linton inherits his father's title, he inherits a lot of debts and not much else, causing him to break his engagement and consider how he can manage to turn his finances alive. Then, his first love's father has a suggestion to make...

My Thoughts: Probably a slightly more realistic look at arranged marriages (or marriages in general, for Heyer), yet Heyer still manages to find plenty to make you laugh about, especially in the "romantic" Julia and her airs and graces.

Rating:3 stars (out of 5)

Book 14: Phillipa Gregory - The Queen's Fool

Genre: Historical Fiction

Plot: It has become increasingly obvious to the court of Edward (the son of Henry VIII) that the boy-king is dying and a new Queen will soon be ruling in his place. But who will it be? Will it be Henry's first child, Mary, who unlike her brother is devoutly Catholic? Or will it be Elizabeth, the daughter of Anne Boleyn, Henry's disgraced (and beheaded) second wife? In the midst of the scheming and plotting a Jewish bookseller's daughter, Hannah Green, is begged for a fool by the Dudleys and placed first at Edward's court and later with Mary.

My Thoughts: For a complete work of fiction, it is an interesting look at loyalties and the spying within the tudor courts. I felt incredibly sorry for "Bloody Mary"...and I didn't expect that. Generally, authors are far more sympathetic writing about "poor Princess Mary" than "Bloody Mary".

Rating: 4.5 Stars (out of 5) (Excellent)

Book 15: Katharine Kerr - The Spirit Stone (4th book in The Dragon Mage Series)

Genre: Fantasy

Plot: (Continuing on from Katharine Kerr's Epic Devery and Westlands Cycle Series) Time has passed since the battle at Cengarn with the Horsekin. Also Nevyn and Jill have been reborn. But the threat has not been completely finished with. Furthermore the past actions (and schemes) of a known Dark Dweomermaster have come back/continued to come to fruition.

My Thoughts: These books are becoming more confusing than a celtic knot. I had to refer to the chart of incarnations at the back. Still, it's awesome to see plot lines coming back to haunt. I can't wait for the next one to come out as a little paperback so I can purchase (and read it)

Rating: 4.5 stars (out of 5)

( The Read So Far )

Book 83: Silent in the Grave.
Author: Deanna Raybourn, 2006.
Genre: Historical Fiction. Mystery.
Other Details: 534 pages.

"To say that I met Nicholas Brisbane over my husband's dead body is not entirely accurate. Edward, it should be noted, was still twitching upon the floor."

So begins this delightful and very readable début novel by Deanna Raybourn. Set in London, 1886 it is narrated by Lady Julia Grey, who has been recently widowed after her husband collapsed and died at a party held at their London home. Lady Julia is the daughter of Lord March and part of an upper class family known for their eccentricities and some rather notorious ancestors. However, Julia had sought a quieter life marrying her childhood friend, Sir Edward Grey. He was known to suffer from a weakness of the heart and so no one questioned his death was from anything other than natural causes. No one except Nicholas Brisbane, a private inquiry agent who reveals to Lady Julia that he had been retained by Sir Edward to look into a series of threatening letters he had received. He suspects that Sir Edward was murdered. However, Lady Julia is outraged by this suggestion and dismisses Brisbane from her presence.

Almost a year later she comes across one of the letters and realises there may have been something to Brisbane's claim after all. She contacts Brisbane with a request that he look into her husband's death. Naturally she also involves herself in the investigation and there are plenty of 'penny dreadful' aspects such as gypsy curses, secret societies and deeds of a nefarious nature to entertain the reader.

Amazon recommended this to me as I've been buying a number of Victorian mysteries recently. I also read a glowing review on a blog about the same time. So I was quite keen to get hold of a copy. I found it a very engaging read with interesting characters, a satisfying plot and a well-observed period setting. It is full of sparklingly wit mainly via the internal dialogue of Lady Julia Grey. She is very modest and proper as befits a Victorian lady though allows herself some rather immodest thoughts about Nicholas Brisbane. Not that I blame her because Raybourn has created a perfect foil for Lady Julia in Brisbane, who is everything a romantic hero should be - tall, dark, handsome, honourable, intelligent and of course brooding with a mysterious past thrown in for good measure. The romance aspect was present but kept quite low key and teasing rather than overt. This is to be the first in a series of novels and I already have the second Silent in the Sanctuary lined up for later in the year.

Opening chapter of Silent in the Grave can be read here.

54. Ransom by Julie Garwood This wasn't bad, another medieval romance by Julie Garwood that has adventure, humor, sex and a good plot. Not my favorite of her books, but it had by far the best plot and the longest I've read to date of her books - over 500 pages (long for a romance novel.) 3.5/5 Review

55. Wonderful Tonight by Pattie Boyd about her life with George Harrison and Eric Clapton. Interesting since I'm fascinated in both musicians and their lives. No huge revelations, more of an account of who she knew and where she traveled to. Considering the amazing love songs written for her, she didn't come across as all that remarkable (as she admits herself). 3/5 Full Review

56. The Wild Rose of Kilgannon by Kathleen Givens A frustrating sequel to her previous historical romance, Kilgannon. I'm realizing that I'm just not all that crazy about this author. The book was exciting in parts with some action towards the end, but mostly it was just a lot of hand wringing, it just didn't grab me, it dragged. I think it would have been best if she'd just combined these two books into one big book, since in this second one, the hero and heroine were almost never together! I don't even think I'm going to bother reading any more of her books after this one. 3/5 Review

56 / 100 words. 56% done!

37) Wildflower Brides: Four Romances Blossom Along the Oregon Trail by Andrea Boeshaar, Cathy Marie Hake, Sally Laity, & Pamela Kaye Tracy
This is a fluffy Christian historical romance I was given for free. I used to love reading pioneer stories but I probably would have found this too light for my tastes even when I was 12. The book has four stories about four young women all on the same wagon train going to Oregon. The historical research is nice, especially in the first story when it talks about what they needed to pack and what books they used as resources. As far as the women... meh. To paraphrase one of the romantic conversations from one of the better stories:

Woman: I'd love to be a doctor but there are so few women doctors. And all the good schools are back east, and we're going to Oregon!
Man: Maybe that's not God's will.
Woman: What is His will?
Man: Marry me.
Woman: Okay.

One of the stories involved a Pinkerton agent, and that was the worst one of the lot. It had so much potential, too. The names and situations were confusing and the romance was totally unbelievable.

I would never have read this if it hadn't been given to me. Mind you, I liked this more than some of the other romances I've forced myself through this year, mainly because I love the historical aspect. It sure made me wince at times (see above conversation), but maybe that's a reflection of my own fallout with faith.

Wow, I haven't posted in a long time. Here's my (rather long) list.

1001 Books:

15. Cryptonomicon, Neal Stephenson. 1168 pages.
This book blew my mind, in a good way. Of all the books I've actually enjoyed reading, I think this was the most difficult to get through. It also seemed to take forever, and not just because of the length. There's so much going on that it's hard to wrap your mind around it. Plus, I was a math major in college, and even though all the cryptography stuff was way over my head, I still tried to figure out what they were doing, which made the going even slower.

16. The Shining, Stephen King. 683 pages.
This was the first book by King that I've ever read. Honestly, I only read it because it was on the 1001 Books list; I'm not a huge fan of the horror genre. I liked it more than I thought I would, but I still don't think I'll read any more books by him. I can see his talent; but, really, the genre's just not for me.

17. The Thin Man, Dashiell Hammett. 223 pages.
Ah, the legendary Nick and Nora Charles. Honestly, they weren't as great as I've heard them built up to be. I am curious to see the movie, though, to see if they come off better on screen. Still an enjoyable, quick read, though.

Other Books

20. Drums of Autumn, Diana Gabaldon. 1088 pages.
Not as good as the first three, but still a good read. I hear that the fifth book is the worst in the series, but it picks up again with the sixth. Now that I'm back in the United States with access to a library with a large selection of English-language books, I'm hoping that I can finish the series this summer. Well, the books that have been published already, that is.

21. Twilight, Stephanie Meyer. 544 pages.
22. New Moon, Stephanie Meyer. 608 pages.
23. Eclipse, Stephanie Meyer. 640 pages.
I finally broke down and read this series, partially because my cousin was begging me, and partially to see what all the hype was about. I'll give her credit, Meyer has a knack for coming up with engaging plots. Unfortunately, her writing and characterization skills don't live up to her plotting skill. The book, especially the dialogue, was poorly written. And the characters were not very fleshed out, and when they were, they were disturbing - and not in a good way. Bella seems to exist just to get into trouble and have the men in her life tell her what to do. Her main ambition in life is to die. Edward is possessive, controlling, and borderline abusive, if not crossing the line into being actually abusive. (Girls: if your boyfriend kidnaps you to ensure that you don't see one of your friends, get out of the relationship ASAP. That is NOT a good thing.) I liked Jacob more, but he really wasn't much better. In my opinion, Bella should drop both of them, go to college, find a normal boyfriend, and try to live a normal life. It truly pains me that there are so many young girls out there who want to be like Bella and who want a boyfriend like Edward. Bella's no role model, and she and Edward do not have a healthy relationship.

24. Coraline, Neil Gaiman. 194 pages.
Wow, Gaiman's kids' books really are a lot creepier than his adult books. A really quick, but thoroughly enjoyable read.

25. The 158-Pound Marriage, John Irving. 255 pages.
This book is about wrestling and swingers. There's not really a whole lot else to say about it. I didn't particularly like or dislike it.

1001 Books:
17/25 - 68%

Total Books:
42/75 - 56%

Total Pages:
18,720/22,500 - 83.2%

Days Passed:
191/366 - 52.2%

The Virgin and the Gipsy by D.H. Lawrence

From the back of the book:

The Virgin and the Gipsy affirms the powers of instinct and intuition in their struggle against the constraints of civilisation and anticipates Lady Chatterley's Lover in its theme. In it Lawrence tells the reverent tale of a young girl's emotional awakening in the elemental presence of a gipsy.

My thoughts:

I found this an interesting read. It is a window into another world, a bygone age. I felt as if I were listening to an aged relative telling me a tale of their life when they were young, a tale of the strictures of society, of one young woman who yearns for more than the life she sees before her. It has a rather fairytale-ish quality. There is a downtrodden daughter, a wicked aunt and granny, a disconnected and troubled father, a home that becomes a prison and, of course, a handsome prince who sets the heroine's heart aflutter. It's not a story for children though; it's not that there's any adult content as such, it's that Lawrence does not pull his punches when it comes to his characters' dark sides. I found I had little sympathy with any of the characters as they were all portrayed rather negatively, even the heroine. That made a refreshing change though, to find characters with 'real' flaws such as selfishness, intolerance and prejudice.

There is not much in the way of action until the very end of the story, but when it arrives it is gripping and thrilling. Lawrence uses some wonderful metaphors and similes throughout the book that I felt compelled to jot down for future reference. He also uses an omniscient narrator, which is probably my least favourite way of narrating a story, but after I pushed on through the first two chapters (which seemed rambling) I became used to it and rather enjoyed it. I am left wondering who this narrator is though. Is it Lawrence himself, or is it another character of his creation?

This is a short story (90 pages), so it's worth a read just to get a taste of D. H. Lawrence. It's tale is by no means unique, but it's a little bit of history. I shall probably read it again if only to look in more detail at his style.

Fiction list

3 / 50 books. 6% done!

Next book: Serenity: Those They Left Behind by Joss Whedon, Brett Matthews, Will Conrad

Now that I've made it to 50 books - I'm pushing on to 100!

48. Master of Desire by Kinley MacGregor - My first by this author, an English medievel romance - I liked it! 4/5 Full Review

49. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield Very thoughtful and clever mystery - had me convinced I knew what was going on, and then over and over I was surprised how wrong I was - sort of a slow beginning, but the second half was hard to put down. Memorable. 4/5 Full review.

50. The Duke and I by Julia Quinn A fun frothy regency romance with some more serious undercurrents. First of the Bridgerton series, I really liked it! 4/5 Full review.

50 / 50 books. 100% done!

( List of My 50 )

45. Losing It: and Gaining My Life Back One Pound at a Time by Valerie Bertinelli - Suprisingly good rock autobiography. Nothing too outlandish or gossipy. Bertinelli, actress, married Eddie Van Halen and gained a lot of weight. She comes across as suprisingly normal considering the life she's led. This was a book that motivated me to finally do something myself about dieting - I devoured it in a day, quick, candid read. 3.5/5 Full Review

46. Again the Magic by Lisa Kleypas I loved it! I've found new author to love! 5/5 Full review.

47. The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman Not bad, not great. Non-fiction account of a couple in Warsaw that owned a zoo and helped spirit Jews to safety from the Warsaw Ghetto during the German occupation. 3.5/5 Full review.

47 / 50 books. 94% done!

42. Desperately Seeking a Duke by Celeste Bradley - my first Regency Romance in a long, long time, spicy and delightful, just what I needed after the depressing book I read before it - great fun and I'm looking forward to reading the next in the series. 3.5/5 Full Review

43. Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips A delicious entertaining satire, I enjoyed it immensely, read it in one day! 4/5 Full review.

44. My Shadow Warrior by Jen Holling Third in a romance trilogy about three sisters who are witches in the Scottish Highlands in the 16th century. This was the best of them, and better than I expected. 3.5/5 Full review.

44 / 50 books. 88% done!

15) The Luxe by Anna Godbersen

When I first saw this book I immediately thought "oh no another gossip girl type book." But after the pleading of my best friend to give it a try I did and I have to say that I did enjoy it. I prefer historical fiction to the more modern day settings so I guess this would a historic girls gossip girl. I'd give it a try. You know what they say, you can't judge a book by it's cover... well most of the time anyway.

39. Lord John and the Hand of Devils by Diana Gabaldon. I was really disappointed in this collection - the weakest of all her Lord John books.
See review 3/5

40. Highland Fling by Tess Mallory This book just hurt my head reading it! Some sexy hero - he's throwing up everywhere in the book everytime he kissed the heroine! It was laughable. Full review. 2/5

41. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini Very, very depressing book about the hardships and friendship between two women in war-torn Afghanistan. I liked his first one much more. For some reason I was not as emotionally involved in this one as I was with The Kite Runner. Time for something light and frothy now! Full review. 3.5/5

41 / 50 books. 82% done!

Over 75% done!

36. A Rogue in a Kilt by Sandy Blair: I was disappointed in this one, it wasn't nearly as good as her 1st in this Kilt series. I hear the 3rd is better. This was a highlander romance that seemed very dull to me. See review 2/5

37. Tatiana and Alexander by Paullina Simons. Not as good as The Bronze Horseman, but I still loved it and devoured it in two days. Very exciting when she's in Germany. The book was not what I expected, I did not realize they would be separated for almost the entire book, which kept me reading and reading until I finished it. I'm very intrigued about what the third, The Summer Garden will be like. Full review. 4/5

38. The Secret by Julie Garwood I love her Scottish medievals. This one did not disappoint. Full review. 4/5

38 / 50 books. 76% done!

This is part one of the books I read in May. I'm t rying to group them by genre so I don't have a very random and bizarre collection of tags.

Books 21 and 22 were both by Jane Auel and were Clan of the Cave Bear and Valley of the Horses. I love this series of books and I've read most of them already, but I'm going through and re-reading them all. Jane Auel developped a really rich setting with some very interesting (if not the most complex) characters. Clan of the Cave Bear follows Ayla, who is taken in and raised by the "Clan" (Neanderthals) and follows her through her time with them. I'm a sucker for this one becaue I LOVE prehistory. I took a class on it in college even though it had NOTHING to do with my major. While there are some things not based on archaelogy at all, I still like the books because it's clear the author did her research. And after all, I was reading fiction, not a book ABOUT prehistory.

Valley of the Horses is where the series takes a decided turn towards the romance (but that's OK, nothing can be cooler than historical fiction mixed with trashy romance, right? RIGHT?). Basically, due to reasons that I won't go into because it would ruin the first book, Ayla is out looking for her own people and ends up living in a Valley. That...has horses. While the title isn't that creative, the story itself is very well constructed and again, put in a beautifully rich setting. With again, interesting characters. Its not that they characters aren't complex, per se. They aren't flat. It's just that the main characters seem to be almost Mary Sues. Not in the sense that the author projects herself into them, they just seem to be almost too perfect, with pasts that are bordering on the almost too tragic. It's not really blatantly obvious or bad, just something I picked up on during this second read through.

Book 23 was The Bolyen Inheritance by Phillipa Gregory. I've wanted to get my hands on these books since I read I, Elizabeth last year. Again, I love historical fiction. LOVE IT. And I've always found Elizabethan (and right around that time period i.e. right before it) interesting. I've realized that I've started the series backwards by starting with Henry's two last wives, but since I know the basic history of Henry VIII and his wives, it didn't hurt my understanding. The best part of the book is that Gregory follows Jane Rocheford (Jane Boleyn), Anne of Cleves, and Katherine Howard and their fates through the book, all told in first person. And even if each chapter didn't start off saying whose perspective it was told from, after a few chapters, I could've figured it out because of how well Gregory can write in different voices
I loved this book and can't wait to read The Other Boleyn Girl. 

Now I just have to learn to spell that last name...

1001 Books:

12. Crome Yellow, Aldous Huxley. 172 pages.
A bit boring, and not much of a plot. A quick read, though.

13. Everything is Illuminated, Jonathan Safran Foer. 288 pages.
I loved this book. It was incredibly moving. It made me laugh and cry in turns. Foer is a brilliant word smith, and the whole book was a delight to read. It was just spectacular.

14. At Swim, Two Boys, Jamie O'Neill. 562 pages.
I wanted to like this book, I really did. I liked the two main characters and I liked most of the plot. But I hated one of the secondary characters a lot. I really despise story lines where an adult takes on a minor as a sort of sexual apprentice. And one of the characters did that to both of the main characters. But the big problem I had was that the book was written in stream-of-consciousness style, which, despite growing up in the south eastern US and reading a lot of Faulkner in high school (or perhaps because of) I really despise. This made it really hard to get through the book, and frankly, I only finished it because it was on the 1001 books list.

Other Books:

17. My Century, Gunter Grass. 288 pages.
A book of short stories, one for each year of the twentieth century. (Though, technically, the first story was about the last year of the nineteenth century, and the last year of the twentieth century wasn't included.) I liked the idea, and I liked all of the stories individually, but I would have liked it more if I was better at reading short stories. But I had trouble separating what was happening in the story I was reading with what happened in the previous story, especially since there was a different narrator for each story, and they were all told in the first person. But it was interesting to see the major events of the twentieth century unfold, especially from a German perspective. And the stories are all very well-written.

18. Voyager, Diana Gabaldon. 880 pages.
The third book in the Outlander series. Just as good as the first two.

19. The Book of Lost Things, John Connolly. 502 pages.
Just as good as all the hype, if not better. It reminded me a bit of Pan's Labyrinth. I really liked all of the re-worked fairy tales. I had trouble putting this down. And my copy had some author's notes at the end that included all the original versions of the fairy tales, which was interesting.

1001 Books:
14/25 - 56%

Total Books:
33/75 - 44%

Total Pages:
13,317/22,500 - 59.2%

Days Passed:
145/366 - 39.6%

Title: Mistress of the Sun
Author: Sandra Gulland
Genre: Historical fiction
# of pages: 352
My rating of the book, F- [worst] to A [best]: A-

Description of the book: A novel of Louise de la Vallière, mistress of the Sun King. As a girl, she won the trust of the wildest of horses; as a woman, she would win the love of the most charismatic of kings.

Review: Thought that the book was really good. The reason that I say this is that not only where the descriptions wonderful, but the author had a way of keeping the reader interested in the material to the point where I had a couple of nights where I could have lost track of time, had it not been for ESPN Radio blaring next to me as I read the book. If you are looking for something that will keep you entertained for a few days, highly recommend it. Also if you happen to like historical fiction and anything surrounding the court of the Sun King.

Next up: Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella

12 / 50 books. 24% done!

3549 / 15000 pages. 24% done!

This week I was not supposed to read fiction at all - that's the end of the term at my university. I mean Mssrs Pathoanatomy, Pharmacology with a number of junior partners were trying hard to suck life out of me. I was supposed to be buried under textbooks and prints. But the decision was to rebel and to read something not very intelligent, nice and making me relax. By chance I found several 'romantic' e-books and a program to convert them into java. So...

#2 Максимилиана Моррель "Код любви"
(supposedly Maximilienne (or Maximiliana, can't found the Latin variant of her name) Morrel 'The Love code'
Genre: romance (with vampires)
Rating: 7/10
I read this one, as well as the others, in Russian translation. But I couldn't find any trace of this one in the English-language net. However, the book was doubtlessly originally written in English and by an American. I know that the editors often strikingly change the titles when a translation of mediocre romance is published, probably they also change the author's name?
( My thoughts with possible spoilers )

#3 'Secret Vampire' by Lisa Jane Smith
(read actually as Лиза Джейн Смит, "Тайный вампир" ;-)
Genre: romance, vampires
Rating: 3/10
( My angry thoughts )

#4 'Dark Angel' by Lisa Jane Smith
(again read actually as Лиза Джейн Смит, "Темный ангел";)
Genre: romance, supernatural
Rating: 7/10
Yes, I am really happy that after being that disappointed by the previous one, I still took another from Night World series.
( My thoughts with as few spoilers as I tried )

#5 'Phantom in Time' by Eugenia Riley
(or Юджиния Райли, "Позови меня, любовь" - 'Call me, my Love', if we translate it back;)
Genre: romance, historical romance
Rating: 9/10
Annotation at the author's site:
He is the ghostly tenor who haunts an old opera house. She is a modern soprano who hears his glorious voice. His passion draws her back in time to meet him as a real man. But will she be able to share his love and save him from a murderer? Or will he forever become her phantom in time?
( My enthusiastic thoughts and several spoilers )

#6 'Mistress of Mellyn' by Victoria Holt
(or Виктория Холт, "Госпожа замка Меллин")
Genre: historical romance
Rating: 8/10
Plot summaries (spoilerless) from http://www.allreaders.com:
"Martha Leigh falls on hard times and is forced to get a job. She gets a position as a governess for the spoiled daughter of Connan TreMellyn. She hears all sorts of gossip about the family and determines to discover whether or not it's true. A very intriguing story."
Laura J. Miller, Resident Scholar

"A young Victorian woman in England finds a job as a governess for a young girl in Cornwall, England. She enters service in a castle near the sea and within those walls, she finds mysteries she ends up solving and finds love at the end, too!"
Debbie, Resident Scholar

What do I think myself? Really nice. A good example of contemporary historical romance. I can advise it.

#7 Надежда Первухина, "Имя для ведьмы"
(Nadezhda Pervukhina, 'A Name for a Witch')
Genre: urban fantasy, humorous fantasy
Rating: 7/10
I picked this book at my favourite library (the one offering the largest collection of newest published popular books, as well as the old ones, surely) quite recently and read it in one sitting. A bit too 'witchy' for the Christian in me, but written nicely and with a great sense of humour (for example, the heroine's lover is a parody of a well-known Russian author of humorous fantasy... And her mother, possessing not a drop of magic, has much power against the bad guys because she is a lieutenant colonel in tax police). If you read in Russian, this e-book can be got in the net. Still, if you read in Russian, there many other books I'd advise you.

#8 Сергей и Марина Дяченко, "Алена и Аспирин"
(Marina and Sergey Dyachenko, 'Alena and Aspirin')
Genre: urban fantasy, supernatural
Rating: 8/10
I fortunately discovered a wiki article about this couple (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marina_and_Sergey_Dyachenko ). That made me very glad: I don't need to write this myself! So I'd just say a couple of words. They are spouses and the story of their life (up to today) could make a romance novel. They are among my favourite authors. Their books aren't primitive fantasy, but are deeply symbolic, make the reader think a lot. There are also very touching romances in their books (however, not in all of them, and not in this one).
As for the book itself... Not their best one, I think. I've described it's genre it as urban fantasy, but it's rather psychological - and magical realism. Anyway, I liked 'The Ritual', 'Witch's Age', 'The Cave' and 'Magicians can do anything' MUCH more.

8 / 100 books. 8% done!