Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders, read by him, David Sedaris, Nick Offerman, and 163 others - historical fantasy, audiobook, award. I can see why this was named the 2018 Audie Audiobook of the Year, and was a finalist for Excellence in Production and Multi-Voiced Performance! It was incredible. At first, I wasn't quite sure what was going on, so I checked out a print copy from the library, and then it made more sense - and I actually preferred the audiobook format. The confusing parts are the sections that take quotes from real historical sources (and make up quotes from fake ones, according to this NPR article, a practice I did NOT like), and cites them as one would in a formal research paper, to the point of using "ibid." and "op. cit." Besides the fake citations, I was also bothered by the extensive profanity and references to sex - it felt historically inaccurate, just like it did in the TV show Deadwood.
The Weaker Vessel by Antonia Fraser - nonfiction. A dear book club friend gave me this book because she thought I would like it - and she was right. A well-researched documentation of the lives of women in 17th-century England, from the end of the reign of Elizabeth I in 1603 to the beginning of the reign of Anne in 1702 - in other words, most of the tumultuous Stuart period. Antonia Fraser used many contemporary sources - letters, diaries, etc. - to document the lives of - as it says on the cover - "heiresses and dairymaids, holy women and prostitutes, criminals and educators, widows and witches, midwives and mothers, heroines, courtesans, prophetesses, businesswomen, ladies of the court, and...the actress." She includes a helpful chronology at the beginning of the book, 470 pages of very-readable text, 24 pages of black-and-illustrations (mostly portraits of some of the book's subjects), 30 pages of end notes, 18 pages of the references cited, and a 26-page index.
The Billionaire's Vinegar by Benjamin Wallace - nonfiction about a 1787 bottle of wine that supposedly belonged to Thomas Jefferson, and wine collecting. 31 pages of end notes. More interesting than it sounds.
Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty - realistic? fiction. Disappointing. The premise of the story was too unbelievable. Didn't really like any of the characters.
Michaelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling by Ross King - very interesting nonfiction about the painting of the Sistine Chapel, but also about the activities of Raphael and Pope Julius II during the same period. Includes diagrams and illustrations, some of which are color plates in the center of the book (that I wish had been larger). 28 pages of end notes, 10-page bibliography, and 17-page index (would have been more if font was larger).
Love and Ruin by Paula McLain, read by January Lavoy - biographical novel, historical fiction, audiobook, about journalist Martha Gellhorn, the third wife of Ernest Hemingway.
Galileo's Daughter by Dava Sobel - fascinating biography of the scientist told partly through letters his illegitimate daughter, a nun, wrote to him. black-and-white illustrations, six-page chronology, seven-page bibliography, eleven pages of endnotes, 2.5 pages of art credits, 22 page index, explanation of florentine weights and measures, all in small font.
© Amanda Pape - 2018
Monday, December 31, 2018
Tuesday, December 25, 2018
866 (2018 #79). Cowboy It's Cold Outside
Cowboy, It's Cold Outside is the 2017 addition to Lori Wilde's romance series set in Twilight, Texas (aka Granbury, my current home town), at Christmastime once again.
Romance tropes in the story are italicized: billionaire playboy cowboy performer [country musician] Cash Colton, jilted nearly a year ago and losing his inspiration, comes to Twilight to perform in a benefit for longtime friend Emma (subject of an earlier novel), who runs the local playhouse where ugly duckling tortured heroine Paige MacGregor deals with her psychological scars and works as an usher, one of the three jobs she holds down to make ends meet after her previous boyfriend stole her identity and spent all her savings. There's immediate sparks and they decide to have a fling. But of course there's more than that.
Musical terms and their definitions begin each chapter, and provide a clue as to what will happen next. However, musical similes and metaphors describe the sex, and get to be a little over the top. I do like the cover of this book, though. Snowy Christmas scenes aren't realistic for this part of Texas, but I've seen a lot of wreaths in this area similar to the one pictured.
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