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Thursday, March 7, 2013
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Book Challenge 2013: March
March, 2013
Genre: Romantic Suspense
The Lady of the Rivers by Philippa Gregory
February: Historical Mystery Review
Dear Reader,
I can proudly say that I actually finished my novel for this month (even though I was shorted several days)! And I'm not going to lie; it was a rough start. I decided, by suggestion, to read The Malice of Fortune, by Michael Ennis.
If you know me at all, you know that my favorite genre is historical fiction...salivate...especially anything to do with the Tudors and that time period. So naturally I liked the sound of this book since it was about the Borgias in Italy during the turn of the 16th century. That being said, I know absolutely NO Italian (but hopefully I will soon thanks to Rosetta Stone!). Obviously the people were all Italian and the author was nice enough to put a "name glossary" in the front of the book, but there were also Italian terms in the book that I had to look up on the internet (i.e. conditorri). But Mr. Ennis was also nice enough to at least italicize (sorry, no pun intended) these terms for my benefit.
Okay, so I'll give you a little background history. The Borgias are a prominent Italian family during the Renaissance and produced two popes; Rodrigo Borgia as Pope Alexander IV along with his illegitimate children is who the novel focuses on. And apparently the whole family is just full of corruption, and have been suspected of adultery, theft, rape, bribery, incest, and murder which made them many, many enemies like the Medici. On another note, they were patrons of the arts. Bonus points, right?
So the novel starts out with the Pope's favorite son, Juan de Borgia mysteriously murdered and his "girlfriend" at the time, Damiata, who is also a famous whore in Italy becomes a prime suspect. We are not sure, but her son is thought to be Juan's child. Damiata goes on the run after the murder but after several years, the Pope finds her and takes her son (his grandson) hostage. He tells her that a woman was found murdered and quartered with Juan's personal amulet on her person. If Damiata wants her son back, she is to go to the city of Imola and uncover the mystery of this murder.
Damiata travels to Imola and meets Niccola something-or-other-Italian who was sent by the city of Florence as ambassador to record and send back information on the Pope's other son, Valentino, who is the head general (pretty much). Valentino, put in this position by the Pope, is trying to come to an agreement with the condetorri who are also power driven.
Interestingly, Ennis also incorporates Leonardo de Vinci who is employed by Valentino to use his experimenta to investigate the murders. The murdered are only women whores who just happen to be quartered and pasted with some concoction. And there is a designo to the murders--it isn't random. So Damiata, Niccola, and occasionally Leonardo and his team work together to uncover the mystery.
I will have to say that even with all the mystery and characters, I totally guessed the murderer...and I didn't check Wikipedia either! Although we'll never know exactly what was said and who was involved and what happened, Ennis did a fair job creating this murder mystery that is pretty accurate to what the historical records are. And, if anything, this novel certainly gave me insight to the Borgia family which I will now be watching on Showtime. :)
Randi
I can proudly say that I actually finished my novel for this month (even though I was shorted several days)! And I'm not going to lie; it was a rough start. I decided, by suggestion, to read The Malice of Fortune, by Michael Ennis.
If you know me at all, you know that my favorite genre is historical fiction...salivate...especially anything to do with the Tudors and that time period. So naturally I liked the sound of this book since it was about the Borgias in Italy during the turn of the 16th century. That being said, I know absolutely NO Italian (but hopefully I will soon thanks to Rosetta Stone!). Obviously the people were all Italian and the author was nice enough to put a "name glossary" in the front of the book, but there were also Italian terms in the book that I had to look up on the internet (i.e. conditorri). But Mr. Ennis was also nice enough to at least italicize (sorry, no pun intended) these terms for my benefit.
Okay, so I'll give you a little background history. The Borgias are a prominent Italian family during the Renaissance and produced two popes; Rodrigo Borgia as Pope Alexander IV along with his illegitimate children is who the novel focuses on. And apparently the whole family is just full of corruption, and have been suspected of adultery, theft, rape, bribery, incest, and murder which made them many, many enemies like the Medici. On another note, they were patrons of the arts. Bonus points, right?
So the novel starts out with the Pope's favorite son, Juan de Borgia mysteriously murdered and his "girlfriend" at the time, Damiata, who is also a famous whore in Italy becomes a prime suspect. We are not sure, but her son is thought to be Juan's child. Damiata goes on the run after the murder but after several years, the Pope finds her and takes her son (his grandson) hostage. He tells her that a woman was found murdered and quartered with Juan's personal amulet on her person. If Damiata wants her son back, she is to go to the city of Imola and uncover the mystery of this murder.
Damiata travels to Imola and meets Niccola something-or-other-Italian who was sent by the city of Florence as ambassador to record and send back information on the Pope's other son, Valentino, who is the head general (pretty much). Valentino, put in this position by the Pope, is trying to come to an agreement with the condetorri who are also power driven.
Interestingly, Ennis also incorporates Leonardo de Vinci who is employed by Valentino to use his experimenta to investigate the murders. The murdered are only women whores who just happen to be quartered and pasted with some concoction. And there is a designo to the murders--it isn't random. So Damiata, Niccola, and occasionally Leonardo and his team work together to uncover the mystery.
I will have to say that even with all the mystery and characters, I totally guessed the murderer...and I didn't check Wikipedia either! Although we'll never know exactly what was said and who was involved and what happened, Ennis did a fair job creating this murder mystery that is pretty accurate to what the historical records are. And, if anything, this novel certainly gave me insight to the Borgia family which I will now be watching on Showtime. :)
Randi
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Things I need on Etsy...
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| http://www.etsy.com/listing/117874325/yarn-bowl-knitting-bowl-in-pale-grey?ref=usr_faveitems Yes, I need this yarn bowl. |
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| http://www.etsy.com/listing/90811320/gold-monogram-stud-earrings?ref=usr_faveitems Because B is for Baldwin. |
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| http://www.etsy.com/listing/107163969/cat-bed-cat-cave-cat-house-felted-grey?ref=usr_faveitems Well, I don't need this as much as Crookshanks does. |
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| http://www.etsy.com/listing/61326825/wooden-bud-vase-flower-stand-flower?ref=usr_faveitems Because I am a scientist and I like flowers. |
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| http://www.etsy.com/listing/99462573/fold-over-vegan-clutch-in-mint?ref=usr_faveitems I don't have a reason why I need this, I just love it. |
Saturday, February 2, 2013
January: Translated Fiction Review
**I just want to say that I am no literary critic, but here is my "review" sort-of-speak...so no judging!**
Dear reader,
My goal for this year was to read 12 books from 12 very different genres. CLICK HERE to see the literary details.
So, my first month genre was a translated fiction and I decided that since I just saw the movie Anna Kerinina, it would only be appropriate to read the novel. HA. Let me just tell you that Leo Tolstoy is probably not the best author to jump into mid-month. I was honestly not trying to skim any of the book either, and that got me to about page 600 before February 1st. Out of 1200.
**Also, don't try to read anything when you own a young cat. Crookshanks found nothing more enjoyable than creeping up and sneakily lying over my book while I was reading it. Every time.**
Leo Tolstoy is Russian. And like most Russians, they have long, complicated (but beautiful when correctly pronounced) names that I can never remember. Oh, and there are several of them. For instance, one of the main characters is Prince Stepan Arkadyevich, also known as Stiva Oblonsky (aka Stiva Arkadyevich, Stepan Oblonsky, or Stepan Aradyevich Oblonsky--blah). But you soon figure that out...or in my case, you go back to the beginning of the chapter and try to find where you missed a character. And just so it doesn't get too confusing, both of the main male characters in the novel have the same name: Alexei (one is Vronsky and the other is Karenin). That took me quite a bit of rehashing during the movie.
After I spent the first few days straightening (and judiciously writing) character names and their relationships out, then I got into the actual story.
What I found was that I really connected with some characters and others I was just sick of hearing about, and at every opportunity I was subconsciously judging them and wishing the chapter would end quickly. An example: Levin, Nikolai Dmitrievich Levin, just got on my nerves. I couldn't help it!! I know he was struggling with some inner resentment, embarrassment and political and socioeconomic problems, but dear God! And there were just chapters of this. And again, if I had loads of time and no kitties, I probably could've read this and discovered "new hidden meanings" or whatever. But I didn't and I no longer like Levin.
Not to mention that I'm 600 pages in the novel, Anna Kerinina, and I feel that the majority has been about everybody but her. And I actually like her, and relate to her on my feminist side. But if you've ever read the unabridged version of Les Miserables, then you fully understand why there is an abridged version out too. Now, I'm not saying that I didn't like the novel, but it's quite possible that the second half has more Anna in it, aaaannnnddd the movie showed an awful lot of Keira Knightly and her good looking lover who played Vronsky, and I built up my expectations from that. (One should NEVER watch the movie before the book--this was a very rare instance for me).
And it seemed that every character had an inner demon (or demons in some cases). This is where I really connected with them. Their demons were no different than mine, or yours. There was financial difficulty, adultery (I'm going to go ahead and say that I did not relate to this one...), deception, jealousy, women being women...and men being men for that matter...hurting for those whose conditions were worse off, and self-deprecation, not to mention many, many others. And even though Levin really got on my nerves, I could see where he was coming from, the battles he was fighting, the pride and vanity.
So before I divulge important details, I'll just say that, with some time, this really is an excellent read and an important literary classic that delves into various levels of relationships and political, economic, and social turmoil in Russia during the mid-1800's. And I will finish the novel, but now is the time for Month Two: Historical Mystery. Stay tuned!
Randi
Dear reader,
My goal for this year was to read 12 books from 12 very different genres. CLICK HERE to see the literary details.
So, my first month genre was a translated fiction and I decided that since I just saw the movie Anna Kerinina, it would only be appropriate to read the novel. HA. Let me just tell you that Leo Tolstoy is probably not the best author to jump into mid-month. I was honestly not trying to skim any of the book either, and that got me to about page 600 before February 1st. Out of 1200.
**Also, don't try to read anything when you own a young cat. Crookshanks found nothing more enjoyable than creeping up and sneakily lying over my book while I was reading it. Every time.**
 |
| Yes, this is Crookshanks hogging both my lap and the computer while I was trying to write this blog post. |
Leo Tolstoy is Russian. And like most Russians, they have long, complicated (but beautiful when correctly pronounced) names that I can never remember. Oh, and there are several of them. For instance, one of the main characters is Prince Stepan Arkadyevich, also known as Stiva Oblonsky (aka Stiva Arkadyevich, Stepan Oblonsky, or Stepan Aradyevich Oblonsky--blah). But you soon figure that out...or in my case, you go back to the beginning of the chapter and try to find where you missed a character. And just so it doesn't get too confusing, both of the main male characters in the novel have the same name: Alexei (one is Vronsky and the other is Karenin). That took me quite a bit of rehashing during the movie.
After I spent the first few days straightening (and judiciously writing) character names and their relationships out, then I got into the actual story.
What I found was that I really connected with some characters and others I was just sick of hearing about, and at every opportunity I was subconsciously judging them and wishing the chapter would end quickly. An example: Levin, Nikolai Dmitrievich Levin, just got on my nerves. I couldn't help it!! I know he was struggling with some inner resentment, embarrassment and political and socioeconomic problems, but dear God! And there were just chapters of this. And again, if I had loads of time and no kitties, I probably could've read this and discovered "new hidden meanings" or whatever. But I didn't and I no longer like Levin.
Not to mention that I'm 600 pages in the novel, Anna Kerinina, and I feel that the majority has been about everybody but her. And I actually like her, and relate to her on my feminist side. But if you've ever read the unabridged version of Les Miserables, then you fully understand why there is an abridged version out too. Now, I'm not saying that I didn't like the novel, but it's quite possible that the second half has more Anna in it, aaaannnnddd the movie showed an awful lot of Keira Knightly and her good looking lover who played Vronsky, and I built up my expectations from that. (One should NEVER watch the movie before the book--this was a very rare instance for me).
And it seemed that every character had an inner demon (or demons in some cases). This is where I really connected with them. Their demons were no different than mine, or yours. There was financial difficulty, adultery (I'm going to go ahead and say that I did not relate to this one...), deception, jealousy, women being women...and men being men for that matter...hurting for those whose conditions were worse off, and self-deprecation, not to mention many, many others. And even though Levin really got on my nerves, I could see where he was coming from, the battles he was fighting, the pride and vanity.
So before I divulge important details, I'll just say that, with some time, this really is an excellent read and an important literary classic that delves into various levels of relationships and political, economic, and social turmoil in Russia during the mid-1800's. And I will finish the novel, but now is the time for Month Two: Historical Mystery. Stay tuned!
Randi
Book Challenge 2013: February
February, 2013
Genre: Historical Mystery
The Malice of Fortune by Michael Ennis
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Welcome to the jungle
Apparently I live in the rainforest. Why, you ask? I'll tell you. My yard has become a raging river, that's why. I can't even walk out to get my mail because my goulashes aren't high enough for the water. So I'm stranded in my house. Not a bad place to be actually since I had off today and filled the hours watching GIRLS and Bill Maher and looking at everything I can't afford from Anthropologie. (I totally should have been reading Anna Karenina since I'm still 600 pages short of finishing, but a girl can only take so much russian literature!).
So, during my hours of peaceful television bliss, my yard is slowly saturating, to the point of looking like a bloated sponge. In fact, we have a nice little swimming hole where our septic tank lies. I won't be walking back there anytime soon.
I took this video for you.
So, during my hours of peaceful television bliss, my yard is slowly saturating, to the point of looking like a bloated sponge. In fact, we have a nice little swimming hole where our septic tank lies. I won't be walking back there anytime soon.
I took this video for you.
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