The Lady in the Tower

This was my audio pick for the week. The Fall of Anne Boleyn by Allison Weir. Its the first time that I have read/listened to her work.

The imprisonment and execution of Queen Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII's second wife, in May 1536 was unprecedented in the annals of English history. It was sensational in its day, and has exerted endless fascination over the minds of historians, novelists, dramatists, poets, artists and film-makers ever since. Anne was imprisoned in the Tower of London on 2 May 1536, and tried and found guilty of high treason on 15 May. Her supposed crimes included adultery with five men, one her own brother, and plotting the King's death. She was executed on 19 May 1536. Mystery surrounds the circumstances leading up to her arrest.

When I purchased this I didn't realize that it was nonfiction, but I am really glad that I listened to it instead of reading. I just loved it, i found it interesting, it grabbed my attention and so much history in there that I found intriguing. The only thing that I found disappointing was that it only covered the last few months of Anne's life, I would have liked to read more about her.

Merry Christmas

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas. May your stockings be filled with books and you find time throughout the day to curl up and relax with a good read :)

I tried, I really did...

Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood

I have had this book on my shelf for so long (years). I purchased it during my 'quilt fiction' phase. Once I joined the Off The Shelf Challenge this was the first book that came to mind. I figured that I would start to read this book now and would be finished it in 2011 (is that legal in the challenge world?). Well I gave it 100 pages, I tried, I really wanted to enjoy this book...but there is no way that I can continue for another 500 or 600 hundred pages.

Mademoiselle Boleyn and The Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn

Both of these books are by Robin Maxwell. With The Secret Diary being her debut novel.

Mademoiselle Boleyn is about Anne's life in France before coming back to England. I was looking forward to reading this book, I know about Anne in England but to read about what her life might have been like before was very interesting. If I thought the lifestyle of England was bad, France was really no different, that is in the way women are treated. I found in that book a different side to Anne that I didn't see before. A little girl growing up without the love of her father and to see how her relationship with her brother developed even though living across the Channel. I guess that I should stop before I spoil this for anyone.

Part of me wishes that The Secret Diary was written after Mademoiselle Boleyn, just for connections sake. I haven't read anything about Queen Elizabeth before, so this was new for me. I am anxious now to read more about what happened between her and Queen Mary. I felt this book really made me sensitive to what Anne went through with Henry, and being a mother and having her child taken away must have been awful.

I really enjoyed both these books and hope to read more of Robin Maxwell, which I will be doing next month since I found To The Tower Born in a used book store. (I love used books stores, you never know what treasure you will find).

Weekly Roundup

I saw this post on Baffled Books and thought that it was a really good idea. In an effort to be more organized and up to date with my reviews and whatever else I want to chat about I am about to do my first Weekly Roundup post.

Reviews last week:
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver (review)

Still to review:

Hold Still by Nina Lacour
Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldonl
The Mother Daughter Book Club by Heather Vogel Frederick
The Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn by Robin Maxwell
Madesoille Boleyn by Robin Maxwell (I think that I will review both these books at the same time).

There are other books that I have read this past year and missed reviewing.

Plans for the week:

start and finish - Much Ado About Anne by Heather Vogel Frederick
finish - Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Vern
continue reading - Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood - this is part of my 2011 Off the Shelf Challenge, so hoping to finish in January, might be a problem though because I am only suppose to read a chapter a day, however I am really enjoying it and I might be finished before January.

Library loot:

I have another week for these 2 books and not sure if I have reached my max renewal or not. So I might be reading them or not.
What The Dead Know by Laura Lippman
Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

I have read so many reviews on this book, all of them good. I waited until it came out in paperback, which I received last summer. Finally this week as I am getting geared up and ready for some challenges next year I figured that I had better read this one.

What can I say? It took me all of 2 days to finish it. I don't know if this is Lauren Oliver's first book, but I will definitely read more of her work. I loved the writing style, the flow of words, the twists and turns and how like a jigsaw puzzle everything fit together nicely at the end.

The book did remind me of 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher, and I had the same reaction, in that I wanted the ending to be different. Was it different? Did I get the ending that I wanted? Well I will never tell...