"I've a feeling you're one of those people who finishes every book she starts."
"You're not?"
"If you know how a book is going to end, why keep on with it?"
- Kimberley Tait, Fake Plastic Love
Loved:
1984, George Orwell: I have absolutely read this before, so don't judge me for putting it in a "new read" category. The issue was, I read it for the first time in third grade (I was highly precocious) and the second time in a seventh-grade gifted course centered around the themes of utopia and dystopia...so I didn't really have the context either time of reading this with an adult lens. Additionally, how can you not read this during the current political/media climate and think really long and hard about our world? A timely, incisive, necessary read for just about anyone right now, I would say.
Enjoyed:
Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows, Balli Kaur Jaswal: This was such a funny, heartwarming, charming summer read. Centered around the culture clash between generations of British Indians in London, I laughed out loud several times reading. Caveat: there are sex scenes, but they're written from the perspective of elderly Indian women, so I found them entertaining rather than super-smutty.
Tolerated:
The Last Tudor, Philippa Gregory: Her newest release left me significantly underwhelmed. I've always enjoyed Ms. Gregory's writing for its (very, very) relative historical adherence and the good balance of politics, sex, and feminism (yes, feminism!). This, however, felt one-note, kind of whiny, and repetitive. Eh.
Re-reads:
I got the bright idea midway through the month to re-read all of Philippa Gregory's Plantagenet and Tudor novels in chronological historical order, instead of in the haphazard order in which they were published. Given I had a crazy work month and also that they average 500+ pages, I'm only about halfway through the re-read...but here you go!
The Lady of the Rivers, Philippa Gregory: perspective of Jacquetta of Luxembourg, the mother of Elizabeth Woodville.
The White Queen, Philippa Gregory: perspective of Elizabeth Woodville, wife of King Edward IV and mother of the Princes in the Tower.
The Red Queen, Philippa Gregory: perspective of Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII.
The Kingmaker's Daughter, Philippa Gregory: perspective of Anne Neville, wife of Richard III.
The White Princess, Philippa Gregory: perspective of Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV, wife of Henry VII, and mother of Henry VIII.
The Constant Princess, Philippa Gregory: perspective of Katherine of Aragon, first wife of Henry VIII.
Three Sisters, Three Queens, Philippa Gregory: perspective of Margaret Tudor, sister of Henry VIII and Queen of Scotland.
The Other Boleyn Girl, Philippa Gregory: perspective of Mary Boleyn, sister of Anne Boleyn (wife #2 of Henry VIII duh).
So that's like...halfway through the re-read and, frankly, I'm crapping out a little bit on it because I really want to read something light and frothy and fun during close...eek! We'll see if I make it all the way.