Burton Book Review - Leafing through history: Book Thursday

Showing posts with label Book Thursday. Show all posts

Dec 24, 2009

Booking Through Thursday: HISTORY!!!!!

BurtonReview Thursday, December 24, 2009

Booking Through Thursday is hosted by Deb:

Given the choice, which do you prefer? Real history? Or historical fiction? (Assume, for the purposes of this discussion that they are equally well-written and engaging.)

OH MY!! My favorite topic. History is my favorite genre to read about, both fiction and non-fiction alike!! I have read much more historical fiction over non-fiction, but it is simply because that is what has been available to me to review this year.

I have read and reviewed some wonderful non-fiction this year, such as Anne Frank Remembered: The Story of the Woman who Helped Hide the Frank Family by Miep Gies, Elizabeth's Women by Tracy Borman and The Lady in the Tower: The Fall of Anne Boleyn by Alison Weir. And given the choice.. at this point I would really like to read a lot more NON-FICTION! I love the Tudor and Stuart eras in England, and I would really like to branch out this year to include more of Europe and ultimately the United States.

I have some biographies on my shelf such as Harry S. Truman and Mary Todd Lincoln that I would like to read, and I would like to read more on Louisa May Alcott.

I have read a lot of historical fiction this year (see all my reviews listed here) and in 2010 there are some more promising historical fiction works being published. So, I predict I will still be reading a lot more historical fiction rather than non-fiction in 2010 because of the abundance of new releases.

Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates it!!!

Dec 10, 2009

Booking Through Thursday~ Mark The Spot

BurtonReview Thursday, December 10, 2009

Booking Through Thursday is hosted by Deb:
What items have you ever used as a bookmark? What is the most unusual item you’ve ever used or seen used?

I use a regular bookmark 98% of the time, which is typical of the one seen here.

My current favorite since my birthday in July is a bookmark with the image of Ophelia by John William Waterhouse, which I received from fellow HF Fanatic Arleigh. I have made some bookmarks, and I gave one to my mom, but that's as far as they have gotten as far as being productively used.

If said typical bookmark of mine is somehow lost (such as when I fall asleep in bed), then I find a temporary placeholder such as a tissue, napkin, iPhone..
I cannot think of any strange-out-of-this-world type of bookmark that I have used or seen.

Dec 3, 2009

Booking Through Thursday~ But, What About Me?

BurtonReview Thursday, December 03, 2009

Booking Through Thursday is hosted by Deb:

But enough about you, what about ME?
Today’s question?
What’s your favorite part of Booking Through Thursday? Why do you participate (or not)?

My favorite part of BTT is the 'getting to know you' aspect of it. There are many new-to-me bloggers who do stop by this blog just because I have participated in the BTT meme (Hello out there! said in my best Blue's Clues imitation), and I love learning about others. This meme is one of the most thought-provoking memes I participate in, and I love thinking about some of these questions that it asks me every Thursday morning.

It's fun, and I love hearing about other people's opinions; sometimes I am surprised in a good way about how others feel about books. You would think it would be cut and dry, but there are so many varying tastes and different views on some subjects that we would have otherwise thought of as simple. It is an eye-opening experience sometimes!

The best part is learning about fellow book bloggers and feeling a part of the community.

Nov 19, 2009

Booking Through Thursday~ Posterity's Sake

BurtonReview Thursday, November 19, 2009

Booking Through Thursday is hosted by Deb:

Today’s question was suggested by Barbara:
Do you think any current author is of the same caliber as Dickens, Austen, Bronte, or any of the classic authors? If so, who, and why do you think so? If not, why not? What books from this era might be read 100 years from now?

Some disagree as to the caliber of the above authors, and some will disagree on whatever authors we say could be a classic 100 years from now. I am of the opinion that the above authors are indeed fantastic authors, as well as ..wait for it.. Louisa May Alcott, Jean Plaidy, and Georgette Heyer.

Out of today's authors, those that I think will still be popular 100 years from now would include children's authors such as Beverly Cleary, Judy Blume and Sidney Sheldon.

In the adult areas I believe the likes of Stephen King, Michael Connelly, Ted Dekker and Dan Simmons would be those in the running to be around 100 years from now. My personal favorite authors who I hope would still be readily available would be Anna Elliott, Michelle Moran, and Sharon Kay Penman. I definitely believe Penman's work will go far (author of several historical fiction series such as The Welsh and Henry II and Eleanor).

Nov 12, 2009

Booking Through Thursday~Life is too Short to read Bad Books

BurtonReview Thursday, November 12, 2009

Booking Through Thursday is hosted by Deb:
Suggested by JM:

“Life is too short to read bad books.” I’d always heard that, but I still read books through until the end no matter how bad they were because I had this sense of obligation.

That is, until this week when I tried (really tried) to read a book that is utterly boring and unrealistic. I had to stop reading.

Do you read everything all the way through or do you feel life really is too short to read bad books?

I try very very hard to finish a book. There is one book that I did not finish this year, and I really tried. I wanted to like "The Wish Maker" by Ali Sethi, and it had a lot of promise. But I just could not fathom spending any more time on it as it was completely dull and I knew I would not get a thing out of it except disappointment and mild disgust.

As suggested, it is through this sense of obligation that we have as a reviewer that prods me to follow through. Luckily I have not read a bad book since, I have learned to not accept review books that have not already garnered attention, or I make sure it is of a subject I am very interested in, such as the Tudor era. Out of 58 books reviewed this year, I had that one "did-not-finish" book. Which seems like a great record to me.

Have you had to "put down books" before? Does your reading habit change due to expectations for reviews? I am not referring to the topic of writing an honest, and even a negative review, I believe mostly every one writes honest reviews; I am wondering if you had not had a certain DULL book for review, if it was just a random read, would you be more or less hesitant to put it down? I know if it was a read-for-leisure book, I would be more likely to give it up quicker. I read somewhere that is was suggested that you take your age, multiply by 3, and read that many pages of a book before you put it down.

I also would agree pretty much with the “Life is too short to read bad books", but if you did read a bad book it makes the next one SO MUCH BETTER!!!

Nov 5, 2009

Booking Through Thursday~It’s All About Me (sorta)

BurtonReview Thursday, November 05, 2009

Booking Through Thursday is hosted by Deb:

Which do you prefer: Biographies written about someone? Or Autobiographies written by the actual person (and/or ghost-writer)?

We had a BTT question once about biographies and memoirs, if we were interested in them in the first place, and I wrote that there were only specific ones I would be interested in.
So if I were indeed actually interested in them, I think it could go both ways as to who the author is of a biography. When written by someone else, you have the illusion of someone objective writing the other person's story, as opposed to an opinionated view written by that person being written about, and I would assume that the whole story to something controversial would not be given. Yet, if written by someone else, I would also assume that they would not be commissioned to write an "authorized" biography of someone that would paint them in a negative light. So, in reality, do we ever really get the whole story?

I have the late Patrick Swayze's autobiographical book to read soon, and I am glad it is written before his death and in his own words. Yet, since I haven't the read the book yet, I hope deep down that it doesn't make him sound silly or unintelligent. In this case, or in any case, what if the writing itself is so poor? What if the author expresses opinions that are so adverse to my own opinion, that would make me dislike this same person I otherwise would have admired? So we'll see, I haven't gone down the autobiography road in a long time, and Patrick Swayze's book will be the first for me. I hope that it is written well and that I finish the book still having the same sense of respect for him, if not more. I will always remember watching Dirty Dancing over and over and over, and absolutely loving that sense of adoration I hold for him as he was dancing with 'Baby' on that stage.

Oct 29, 2009

Booking Through Thursday~ Blurbs

BurtonReview Thursday, October 29, 2009

Booking Through Thursday is hosted by Deb:
Suggested by Jennysbooks:

Something I’ve been thinking about lately: “What words/phrases in a blurb make a book irresistible? What words/phrases will make you put the book back down immediately?”

AAAH, Blurbage. Also known as garbage. All I know is the blurb on Palace Circle by Rebecca Dean was such a turn off for me. Palace Circle was a historical fiction novel, set in the WWII days, and the blurb was a look-like a tacky purple star sticker (on my cover) on an otherwise pretty cover: "IF YOU LIKE PHILIPPA GREGORY YOU WILL LOVE THIS BOOK" ~ NORA ROBERTS
Not really the best recommendation, because there are actually tons of people who despise P. Gregory. And Nora Roberts? Well I can't say anything about her, I haven't the faintest.
Then the descriptive blurb on the cover that oversold it was WWII and glamour etc. which it didn't really fit the bill for it so I was disappointed with it. Misleading it was.
And I would prefer the cover to be free of blurbs just for the sake of the beauty of the cover. I am definitely a judge-a-book-by-its-cover girl, and not a blurb girl. Some of the blurbs seem to have a WTF?!! factor as well and that would anger me if I read a book because of a blurb that in fact was misleading.

I also don't enjoy reading blurbs/praise for previous works printed on an author's newest book (save it for the first few pages perhaps); it's kind of a turn-off for me, as I think the new book should stand on its own spine by itself.

As far as irresistible blurbs, I don't know of one yet. If its "epic" or "saga", that genre interests me so perhaps that would make me look twice.

Do you have a blurbage opinion?

P.S. The hockey game last night was awesome! A rocky start, but my Dallas Stars beat Toronto Maple Leafs in Overtime, 4-3
I was so glad to actually get out and enjoy life outside of either work and cartoons. And my hubby was pretty nice to me too. But now it's back to work, and have to work on Payroll today.

Oct 22, 2009

Booking Through Thursday~ One Question

BurtonReview Thursday, October 22, 2009

Booking Through Thursday is hosted by Deb:

If you could ask your favorite author (alive or dead) one question … who would you ask, and what would the question be?

So many favorite authors, so little time! I would love to sit and talk with Jean Plaidy, née Eleanor Hibbert; her wealth of knowledge was so great due to the research she conducted for her historical fiction novels. She wrote roughly 87 historical novels as Jean Plaidy and many more under other pseudonyms such as Victoria Holt.

Pondering the one question that I would ask her.. (Just ONE?!)..I would make sure to ask her many more but the first would be:
Who were her favorite authors that she relied on for her historical information?

Oct 15, 2009

Booking Through Thursday~ Books Like Weeds!

BurtonReview Thursday, October 15, 2009

Booking Through Thursday is hosted by Deb.
When’s the last time you weeded out your library? Do you regularly keep it pared down to your reading essentials? Or does it blossom into something out of control the minute you turn your back, like a garden after a Spring rain?

Or do you simply not get rid of books? At all? (This would have described me for most of my life, by the way.)

And–when you DO weed out books from your collection (assuming that you do) …what do you do with them? Throw them away (gasp)? Donate them to a charity or used bookstore? SELL them to a used bookstore? Trade them on Paperback Book Swap or some other exchange program?

Before the whole book blogging biz, I did collect books, but actually started to weed through them the year before I started blogging. I turned them in at the little used book store in town. But I kept the favorite ones. My mom had always given me the miscellaneous hand-me-downs and that is what spurred on weeding them out.

Now with the review copies landing on my doorstep, my 'library' has quadrupled. My mom has now read some of the books that I haven't even gotten a chance to yet! She is a quick reader, and doesn't have family obligations anymore 24/7, as it's my turn to raise a family. She's so much faster that I am contemplating getting her into the review biz too!

I keep most of my books now, in the beginning when I didn't know what I was asking for I got some genres of books I don't prefer, so those are the ones that tend to go away via the used book store or paperbackswap. But many of the books from publishers are ARC's and so they have accumulated some. If it is one that I know will just collect dust, then I do a giveaway on the blog for it, since those are not for sale.

I do have some books from my high school days. My brother is holding a bunch more hostage till doomsday I suppose, but I do hope to get those back, even if just for my daughter's sake.

I have also bought a lot of books in the last year or received from Paperbackswap, and those are for my permanent collection. They are the ones you see on my Mailbox Monday posts, that are mostly historical fiction. I know have an additional 4 full bookcases that I didn't have at this time last year. I don't buy or order a book if I don't intend it for my permanent collection. I have a dream. But this is for when we move, or the kids move, whichever comes first. That dream is to have a room that I can call a library, and more importantly, mine.

What about you?

Oct 1, 2009

Booking Through Thursday~ Tell the TRUTH!

BurtonReview Thursday, October 01, 2009

Booking Through Thursday is hosted by Deb.

Deb asks:
Suggested by Monibo:
Saw this article (from March) and thought it would make a good BTT confessional question:
Two-thirds of Brits have lied about reading books they haven’t. Have you? Why? What book?

Wow, I was astounded to learn about lying Brits, that's pretty strange and I would love to know why, and the reasoning behind that. I can't think of any book I would have lied about reading, and can't think of why I would in the first place; certainly not as an adult.

Even in school I can't imagine why I would come across the need to say I've read something when I really had not. I'd be interested in the circumstances for why someone would feel the need to lie about something mundane as this.

From the article:

"According to the survey, 65 percent of people have pretended to have read books, and of those, 42 percent singled out "1984." Next on the list came "War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy and in third place was James Joyce's "Ulysses."
The Bible was in fourth position, and newly elected U.S. President Barack Obama's autobiography "Dreams from My Father" came ninth."

Ok I've never read any of those books listed. Snippets from the Bible in my earlier days but nothing in the last 15 years, and I doubt I'll ever be able to say I've completed it. I think that would be good to do when I'm done reading some of the biblical fiction I have now, so that I would be able to discern the many different characters better. And of course there is the whole faith thing, I need to be in the right mind for that as well and be ready to put on my thinking cap for that one. My heart is open but I know I'll need a 'philosophical' aspect for that important read.

I also believe I was forced to read Ulysses in high school but I may not even be right about that, so I wouldn't put that on my have-read list along with most of those I was forced to read in high school. We read The Odyssey, I do remember, but the ones that I enjoyed were Shakespeare and To Kill A Mockingbird, Cheaper by The Dozen (AWESOME!).. and those were the ones I can recall. We read an Agatha Christie in ninth grade which was great also. I've never read Tolstoy, Chekov, etc. I think I did study James Joyce in college but couldn't tell you what, I just remember the professor really really loved him. My mind was on other things.

But back to question.. NO is the short answer =)

Sep 24, 2009

Winners & Booking Through Thursday~ Recent Saddest Book

BurtonReview Thursday, September 24, 2009

Booking Through Thursday is hosted by Deb.

Deb asks:
What’s the saddest book you’ve read recently?

I've read some books that have "sad" themes, and some disturbing ones.. but today I'm thinking of the one that made me cry more than once and was my most recent. Those who haven't read it, will be surprised. Those who have read it, won't be. It is Cleopatra's Daughter, by Michelle Moran.
See my review here if you would like.

I am a little late this AM posting, since I've drawn two winners from two different giveaways from the Historical Fiction Bloggers Round Table event, which is time consuming!! See sidebar for other giveaways.

THE WINNERS ARE:
The winner for Kathy Lynn Emerson's Historical Mystery, Face Down in The Marrow-Bone Pie is
Susie from All Things Royal.

The winner for Martin Dugard & James Patterson's The Murder of King Tut, the new non-fiction thriller, is Deidre from Gothic Asylum Reviews
Emails going out after I do payroll..

Sep 17, 2009

Booking Through Thursday~ Recent Enjoyable Reads

BurtonReview Thursday, September 17, 2009

Booking Through Thursday is hosted by Deb.

Deb asks:

What’s the most enjoyable, most fun, most just-darn-entertaining book you’ve read recently?
(Mind you, this doesn’t necessarily mean funny, since we covered that already. Just … GOOD.)

I've read lots of GOOD books lately, luck of the draw I guess. I've enjoyed most of my recent reads actually. (Click titles to read my reviews)

The White Queen by Philippa Gregory was very entertaining.
Valeria's Last Stand by Marc Fitten was a book that was really weird, funny, interesting, thought provoking all rolled into one.
And The Twilight of Avalon by Anna Elliott was a fabulous story that I cannot wait to continue, that one surprised me very much with her eloquent writing; it was a treat to behold.

Don't forget to enter the myriad of giveaways I have going on this week, see my left sidebar for links to the current giveaways here.

Sep 10, 2009

Booking Through Thursday~ Recent Informative

BurtonReview Thursday, September 10, 2009

Booking Through Thursday is hosted by Deb

Deb asks:

What’s the most informative book you’ve read recently?

I do have to go back aways to find something truly only about Facts.. just the facts, ma'am.. most of my books teach me something otherwise I'd be bored.
Back in March I read
"After Elizabeth: The Rise of James of Scotland" by Leanda De Lisle (my review) which dealt with the transition from Queen Elizabeth I of England to the reign of James I of England.

That was a good read, not stellar, but definitely informative.

Sep 2, 2009

Booking Through Thursday~ Big Reads

BurtonReview Wednesday, September 02, 2009

Booking Through Thursday is hosted by Deb

Deb says: What’s the biggest book you’ve read recently?
(Feel free to think “big” as size, or as popularity, or in any other way you care to interpret.)
When Christ and His Saints Slept by Sharon Kay Penman was 768 pages

Devil's Brood by Sharon Kay Penman was 752 pages, a close second
(both part of the Henry II & Eleanor of Aquitaine series & highly recommended!)

I have the Wildest Heart by Rosemary Rogers on my shelf to read which scares the bejesus outta me because it is a romance that is 768 pages, which of course I had no idea when I agreed to review it. This is also a reissue from 1974, and I don't think Sourcebooks would be reissuing it if it weren't good. *Crosses fingers.*
"Heroine Rowena Dangerfield is sensual, headstrong, and scandalously independent, the granddaughter of the governor of an Indian province under the British empire. After his death, she travels to England and then to New Mexico, where she arrives in grand style to lay claim to her inheritance.
There she discovers an affinity with the wild and untamed frontier and meets Lucas Cord, a devastatingly handsome half-Apache renegade, whose reputation as a feared outlaw both attracts and repels her. When he encounters the beautiful stranger, unlike any woman he's ever met before, he knows instantly that he'll have to win her for his own, and not even the treachery of desperate enemies is going to stop him."

And as far as BIG in Popularity, well of course you've seen Cleopatra's Daughter making the rounds in the blogosphere and I am no exception! I am reading it now, thoroughly enjoying it, and of course I will be hosting a giveaway for it on the 14th. So everyone who didn't win the giveaways that they have seen for the past week or so will have a chance then to enter it when BBAW Week starts.

You've got a book that is really big? With the case of Penman's books those were so engrossing that I didn't want them to end. Sometimes you notice when a book is really long, other times you don't. I love it when I find a book that is really big like Penman's that I can totally get absorbed into.

Aug 26, 2009

Booking Through Thursday~ Light and Fluffy

BurtonReview Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Booking Through Thursday is hosted by Deb

Deb says: What’s the lightest, most “fluff” kind of book you’ve read recently?

This is a difficult question, it depends on the connotation of fluff. Off the top of my head I would think indignantly, I don't read Fluff!! But yes indeed, I have come across some, so therefore I have read fluff.

The lightest but not completely fluffy most RECENT read would be the Darcy & Anne novel by Judith Brocklehurst(click for review). That was a quick and easy, light read.

I think the Fluffiest book read most recently would be Lauren Lipton's Mating Rituals of The North American WASP (click for review). That was pretty fluffy.

How about you? Do you think you have read a fluffy book recently? Or a light read recently?

Aug 20, 2009

Booking through Thursday ~ Recent BEST Read

BurtonReview Thursday, August 20, 2009

Booking Through Thursday is hosted by Deb
Deb asked: "What’s the best book you’ve read recently?"
The most recent one for me is The Day The Falls Stood Still by Cathy Marie Buchanan.

The emotional family drama that drove that book was wonderfully captivating, and the story of the Niagara that was intertwined within it was memorable. My review posts on the 31st, a guest post and a giveaway on September 1st.
What was your most RECENT Best Read?

Aug 13, 2009

Booking Through Thursday ~ Recent Worst

BurtonReview Thursday, August 13, 2009

Booking Through Thursday is hosted by Deb
Deb says: What’s the worst book you’ve read recently?(I figure it’s easier than asking your all-time worst, because, well, it’s recent!)

First thing that comes to mind is The Wish Maker by Ali Sethi.
Although it had alot of promise for a debut novel, it was just a bit crude and did not have a beginning, middle, end.. I had to give up after 300 pages. 'Review' here. And it's always nice to know when you are not alone in your opinions as there were several others who felt the same way.

The Three Part Publishing series is complete on the blog, in case you wanted to share your thoughts regarding communication and promotion between bloggers and authors, please go do so!
And since it looks like internet issues are fixed, I am going to go add that picture to my Waiting on Wednesday post from yesterday!!

Aug 6, 2009

Booking Through Thursday ~ Serious Book

BurtonReview Thursday, August 06, 2009

Booking Through Thursday is hosted by Deb
Deb says:

"What’s the most serious book you’ve read recently?(I figure it’s easier than asking your most serious book ever, because, well, it’s recent!)"

This is an easy one because I just read this one lately. See my review here.
The most recent book is by far The Blue Notebook by James Levine.

It is a disturbing tale of a young girl who was sold by her father to the life of prostitution in India. Being told through her eyes, via her blue notebook, it is shocking and sad to think of what happens to the children in the world when there is no one that loves them. And yet, by all accounts, in this particular story, the family of the young girl seemed to really love her; she was a favorite of her father and she was still sold off into sexual slavery. Harrowing to the bone.

Jul 29, 2009

Booking Through Thursday ~ Funny Reads

BurtonReview Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Booking Through Thursday is hosted by Deb
Deb says:

What’s the funniest book you’ve read recently?

The Georgette Heyer novels come to mind immediately.
I read The Unfinished Clue, The Nonesuch, and The Convenient Marriage and each of them were quite funny, if we were splitting hairs I would say probably The Convenient Marriage was more giggly for me.
Delightful is the proper word.

Heyer's romances and mysteries are a delightful read.
See my Review for The Convenient Marriage
See my Review for The Unfinished Clue
See my Review for The Nonesuch

Sourcebooks Landmark has been reissuing Heyer's novels and there are many more for me to read which I hope to get a chance to someday. What about your funniest read lately?

Jul 23, 2009

Booking Through Thursday ~ Reading Preferences

BurtonReview Thursday, July 23, 2009

Booking Through Thursday is hosted by Deb; Deb says:
Which do you prefer? (Quick answers–we’ll do more detail at some later date)
Reading something frivolous? Or something serious? SERIOUS
Paperbacks? Or hardcovers? EITHER
Fiction? Or Nonfiction? FICTION
Poetry? Or Prose? PROSE
Biographies? Or Autobiographies? BIOGRAPHIES of Rulers
History? Or Historical Fiction? EITHER!
Series? Or Stand-alones? STAND-ALONES most often
Classics? Or best-sellers? CLASSICS
Lurid, fruity prose? Or straight-forward, basic prose? BASIC
Plots? Or Stream-of-Consciousness? PLOTS
Long books? Or Short? MEDIUM :) 450 pages is good
Illustrated? Or Non-illustrated? Love pics in the middle of my non-fiction books
Borrowed? Or Owned? OWNED
New? Or Used? NEW OR USED; whichever is cheapest at the moment

Those that know me and my blog, will know that my preference is Historical Fiction. Bur right up there with Historical Fiction is also Historical Non-Fiction. I am still reading England Tudor Era books, and have expanded my library to include Napolean and Louis XIV but still have not read them yet.

I love books that have a fluid style of prose to it, lyrical.. something that keeps me entertained without being fruity. I always notice when sentences seem short or stunted and that takes me longer to get used to as I read. I read a stream-of-consciousness book recently (Follow Me by Joanna Scott) and it bothered me slightly as it started to sound a bit more like insanity was knocking.

How about you?