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Marie Antoinette: The Journey: Antonia Fraser. Sophia Coppola's movie was based on it and while I have no intention of seeing that movie until it's out on video I was at least interested in the book itself. I'd read another version of Antoinette's life, To the Scaffold, by Carolly Erickson and wanted to see how it measured up. Both seem pretty good though I prefer Fraser's work. I'm into historical stuff and am looking around for a book about Josephine Beauharnais next.
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Nov 16, 2006 02:12
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I finished Krakauer's Into Thin Air, about his 1996 trek to Everest. I feel kind of sheepish because everyone but me had read it and I kept putting it off for some reason but I absolutely loved it and read it in a day because I couldn't put it down. He's capable of stronger writing but perhaps the subject matter is what compelled me the most--- I picked it up because my sister and I were having a long discussion about the David Sharpe incident on Everest that was touched on by the Discovery Channel special about Everest. If anything reading Into Thin Air made me even more angry about what happened with Sharpe but that's a whole 'nother story. I would honestly put this in my top 15 books just because it was fascinating to read. I'm about to start Devil in the White City. I was on a Tudor kick and read some books about Henry VIII, his wives, and Elizabeth I recently and figured I'd move on to some other stuff. Devil in the White City is about the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago and, specifically, H. H. Holmes the serial killer. Should be fun, I hope. 
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Dec 28, 2006 23:58
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flowersinherhair posted:This probably doesn't belong in here but.... PrincessKate posted:Anything you'd recommend from your 'Tudor kick'? Because I'm really interested in the period now. I realize it's also a little bit on the fluffy side and it's historical fiction but I still enjoyed reading Jean Plaidy's "Tudor Queens" (told from the POV of Elizabeth). It omitted some things I believe and toyed with other details but was still entertaining enough, though certainly not scholarly. And again, if historical fiction is your bag (providing you really keep in mind the "fiction" part) I remember reading Margaret George's books about Henry VIII and Mary, Queen of Scots ages ago and liking them though I think there's some really creepy stuff in the Mary book when they get to the part about Darnley disliking her musician (Rizzio? Can't remember the name) and eventually having him killed at her feet. Hope those are some halfway decent suggestions. :/ Also, I realize this is not a book and don't know how interested you in in Elizabeth I but this old BBC series is pretty good: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066652/ If you can find it at a local rental place or your local library I'd suggest watching it though it is long. The first part where she's pretending to be a younger Elizabeth is kind of funny but it gets quite good in my opinion. But Elizabeth is one of my favorite people despite her mercurial temperament so I'm always up for watching something about her. Twelfth Nightstalker posted:Just started that today! So far it seems interesting, even if architecture isn't my thing. I've now finished Devil in the White City and I'm not sure if I like it a lot yet or not. It was an enjoyable and quick read for me so I suppose I'd still suggest it but I wasn't completely sold on the writing itself. I felt like the guy had a great idea in terms of combining the architecture/bringing together of the fair itself with Holmes but couldn't shake the sense that he had originally meant to just cover one aspect and needed to fill space. Then I felt like there was just a lot of filler in general. There was a TON of really neat stuff in there and lots of historical tidbits that I'll store away and trot out later since I use it in my poetry but it just wasn't as well crafted as I was hoping it would be. I guess I'd still rate it 8/10 just because it's an interesting subject. Make sure you post about it once you're done so I can see if I was way off base.
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Jan 4, 2007 22:27
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Mack the Knife posted:the killer seems theorized and unbelievable to me Very, very true. Though it's probably incredibly hard to do much with it since your source material is limited to sensationalistic news stories and his obviously untrue autobiography along with some personal accounts that probably don't fill a ton of space. The part about the woman's footprint on the inside of the vault is really macabre, though. I don't know how you could possibly make much of a movie out of what's there, though. The Holmes/Mudgett story is pretty sparse and the Burnham stuff is compelling but a movie? Hm...
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Jan 4, 2007 23:40
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goatasaur posted:Now I'm slogging through Lisey's Story, the new Stephen King book. Maybe I'm becoming accustomed to his writing style or something after reading countless pages, but it's drat tiresome to read. I'm barely interested in what's going on, but I assume it's going to pick up. If every one of his other novels are any indication there will be some crazy paranormal bullshit from left field. I have not read it but my mom recently finished it and had the same feeling you did while reading and finished it and really just thought it was bleh. It's not horrible but you never care too much if she's correct. I'll read it eventually.
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Jan 24, 2007 23:27
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I just finished Johnstown Flood by David McCullough. I think it's absolutely must-read for people who can stick through nonfiction. It's a bit dry at the beginning but it's such an amazing story that you really can't miss it. I finished it very quickly because it was so engrossing. It's also interesting that I was able to get through it quickly when I've really been struggling through 1776. It's a good book too but I feel sometimes like he's just not moving along anywhere or I just can't stick with his writing. I'll get back to it. Unfortunately a great deal of my reading time is on the bus so that sometimes makes it hard to concentrate. I also read Devil Loves Prada last Saturday because I was bored and finally wanted to know what "chick lit" was all about. Well, I wish I didn't know what chick lit was all about. My god. I'll see the movie if only because the boss is such a horrible person but the book was an absolute snooze anytime she was out of the office. I imagine that the problem she had at first was that she assumed (or publishers assumed) no one would be interested solely in the Runway magazine crap and had to include some other stuff as well. So there's some half-baked poo poo about romance and about an alcoholic friend that seemed just shoved in for padding or in a lame attempt at characterization. Talk about sloppy writing! I know you guys will probably never read that book so I've just done you the favor of telling you all about how vile it was. I'm working on Lisey's Story now by Stephen Kingn despite being warned not to touch it by those who know I'm a huge King fan. All I can say about it so far is that I wish he could write a book with a couple that doesn't have a zillion in-jokes that we're subjected to. The "smucking" instead of "loving" thing is driving me nuts. Including a couple's in-jokes and catchphrases seems to be a forced way of getting the reader to sense intimacy or get the sense of how long they've been together or how well they get along. It works, but in moderation. Thus far I'm just not getting much of a sense of how the relationship between husband and wife worked because it's so one-sided from her POV with just spotty characterizations of her husband thrown in. He doesn't seem like he could have been a real person from the way they're putting it together.
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Feb 13, 2007 21:35
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I've been forgetting to come here after finishing so now I can't remember where I left off. The very last book I read was Augusten Burroughs’ Running with Scissors. I actually saw the movie first and thought the movie was very blah and assumed the book would be better. I actually wasn't all that impressed, to be honest. It's all interesting and crazy but somehow it just wasn't very enjoyable for me. It is a quick read at least; I finished it in a day.
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Apr 10, 2007 22:29
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uggy posted:The other day, I finished The Known World by Edward P. Jones. It was a fantastic read and wonderfully written. The story follows the exploits of the citizens and slaves of Manchester County, Virginia, and is a mix of fiction and fact. Each character has a colorful history and the way those stories are told is amazing. I'm so glad you read it and liked it! I recommend this book to anyone I know because I think it's absolutely loving AMAZING. It is so incredibly well done---- if I could write like that I'd die happy. Ages ago someone talked with me really briefly about their displeasure with Guns, Germs and Steel. I'm actually thinking I'm not going to be able to finish it, and I'm not very far in. My problem is that it seems to me like I'm getting really conflicting information about a couple of things and if I don't feel like I can trust a writer on a couple details, I'm not willing to stick it out. Mainly what concerned me was his interpretation of South America vs Spain; I read (and truly enjoyed) 1492, which outlined a lot of reasons why the Spanish were able to conquer so many civilizations despite the fact that numbers weren't in their favor. Of course I'm going to find authors who quibble over details, but the one thing that got me was this: I THINK (correct me if I read hastily), GG&S makes a big deal out of a couple things: disease (a given, no disputing that), horses/weapons, and "naive" cultures. I admit that I'm pretty PC so the latter bugs me and perhaps it shouldn't, but the horses and weapons thing: 1492 put forth a pretty convincing argument that these generally WEREN'T the incredible blessing that they seemed to be if only because horses really weren't great on the terrain and weaponry at that time just wasn't advanced enough to be particularly frightening unless it was at close range. Can someone who is a little more enlightened on this issue talk it over with me? I just feel like GG&S is kinda full of poo poo if this is the case. Isn't it crazy to get hung up on a tiny detail like this?
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Feb 19, 2008 22:34
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I gave my one and only copy to my sister, who is a book black hole. You give her books and she never reads them.  I have to politely ask for it back one of these days.What I tell people that I suggest it to is that you've really got to strap yourself in- I didn't personally struggle with it but read it with a class full of grad students who DID find it daunting for the first 50 or so pages. A couple didn't stick with it (fools!) but most who did said it was well worth it. perceptual_set posted:I'm about 2/3 through the book and he gives several examples to back up statements he makes early in the book which should answer some of the questions you are having. I'm thoroughly enjoying it so far, though it is a little dry reading it some places. I can only read about farming for so long I'll stick with it then. I just had difficulty buying his initial argument that the weaponry really made a difference, but if he can back it up then I'm all ears. The agricultural stuff won't bug me- 1492 went off in that direction for a while and I thought it was interesting.
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Feb 20, 2008 02:02
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Don Oot posted:
This sounds really fascinating, actually. I'll add this to my list.
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Apr 7, 2008 20:34
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perceptual_set posted:How's Guns, Germs & Steel? Put it down? AUGH I gave up on it for a while. I'll get back to it eventually but between that temporary frustration I related here and the fact that I've been sick so much lately that I can hardly even focus my attention on anything beyond pop fiction, I haven't the nerve to get back into it. I imagine I'm going to have to start from the beginning. I did put a book about native american history in South Dakota in my handbag today but I think that was wishful thinking.
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Apr 7, 2008 20:42
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reactor9 posted:What book? Oh, just one I grabbed from a "local" section of a bookstore in Spearfish, SD. "The Black Hills and the Indians." Know nothing about it and am a little concerned as, given the info on the back, it seems to be damned with faint praise. Since it's a local yokel book it doesn't even register on Amazon. I find something kind of appealing about local writers over glossier history books you can find elsewhere- not because I imagine it's more well researched but because it's a little more rough around the edges. A lot of my poetry these days is centering around the black hills so I like the background. So basically I'm justifying my purchase of what may be a very bad book!
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Apr 7, 2008 21:56
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I just finished Memoirs of a Geisha. Hadn't read it before and it was on my list of books I probably SHOULD have read. Now I'm not 100% sure why; it's not horrible by any means but it's not particularly impressive. Mainly I spent a lot of time squirming because the author hosed up the mizuage ceremony. I sound lame for saying it but if even I don't know a ton about that sort of thing but still know he's distorted the meaning, it's trouble.
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May 4, 2008 18:43
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