Claire said

Bill1978 said

I remembered being very disappointed in the lack of time dedicated to Hedwig’s death in the movie.

Yes, me too!

Good grief — me too, and so were my friends.

I remember thinking when I read the book that some of the deaths came and went so quickly, you barely had time to absorb what had happened, particularly when it was someone you had enjoyed as a character. I’m not saying it had to be a long, drawn-out scene, but at least give them a bit of acknowledgement other than to leave me going “Wait. Huh? Who’s dead?” which usually had me going back to double-check what I’d read.

Patrick O’Brien did it too in one of his last books in the Jack Aubrey series. He killed off one fairly important supporting character in a sentence — but I guess that’s okay, because I’m pretty sure the fellow was resurrected in a later book! (Must have only been a flesh wound as they’d say in Monty Python and the Holy Grail ).

Right now I’m finishing “Firearm and Firearm Tool Mark Terminology, Idenification and Examination”.

It’s work-related. I’m completing an online course in Medicolegal Death Investigation and thankfully, I only have to read two chapters for my post-course examination. But you know what, I’ve been a crime scene technician for 23 years, and I never cease wanting to learn because there is always something to review or something more to absorb — the science and the routines are constantly changing.

I haven’t had much time to do “side” reading. I was in the Tampa, Florida area a couple of weeks ago to complete the onsite portion of an online class I took last year in Intermediate Crime Scene Investigation — good class all the way round with lots of hands-on experience…and because we were in class 9 hours a day for 3 days, we only saw the beach ONCE (our hotel was in an industrial/business area not far from the forensic school, which is part of the US Department of Justice). Even on the plane I was doing reading for this Medicolegal Death Investigation course…or catching up on my forensic magazines.

I’m hoping to take a break after all this studying and do some enjoyable reading. I want to read Sandra Byrd’s novel on Katherine Parr — I just downloaded it; and because Amazon had a special, I downloaded 2 mystery novels — I don’t have them in front of me right now, but they’re set in 17th century Germany and involve a…I’m pretty sure he’s a crime solving monk. I also downloaded Shirer’s classic ‘The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich’ because I wanted a tablet version to complement the hard copy I’ve owned for years; I’m a WWII buff. And thanks to the Amazon freebie, I have the Henry VIII spoof Claire told us about. I’ll probably read that on the plane when I go on my vacation in a couple of weeks! I figure I’d better get some “light” reading out of the way because I’m seriously thinking about taking an online class in Crime Scene Investigation which will involve taking 3 required and 1 elective but I’ll have a year to complete it all. And if I do that, I won’t have much time for anything else.

the Worsley’s book sounds good.

Louise said

although I may just try something light and fluffy.

There’s always fat-free oven chips.

Neil Kemp said

Louise said

although I may just try something light and fluffy.

There’s always fat-free oven chips.

Olga, you’ll love the Lisle Letters. They are my favourite primary source. The problem sometimes with Letters and Papers is that they give a summary of some of the correspondence. Therefore it’s not complete. The thing is that sometimes it makes it tricky to understand exactly what is being said because chunks are cut out. It’s really frustrating. The Lisle Letters are far more complete and easy to follow. They are also written, quite often, between friends and therefore are more informal. You get more of a feel of the person writing the letters.
Besides which there are a number of George’s letters contained in them, which I love reading.

I tried to read, and could not finish, “The Lost Constitution” by William Martin. The premise sounded exciting, but the book was dull.

I liked Priya Parmar’s “Exit the Actress” about the life of Nell Gwynn, who I find utterly fascinating. The book has a different format (diary and letter entries), so it is not to everyone’s tastes. But I found Parmer to be an effective writer, and I flew through the book.

Today I finised Kate Alcott’s “The Dressmaker.” It was okay. It looks at the fallout of the sinking of Titanic, especially the treatment of Lord and Lady Duff Gordon, the US senate hearings, etc. The story is seen, in most part, through a fictional character, who apprentices as Lady Duff Gordon’s dressmaker. I wished for more, since I love all things Titanic, but I was slightly disappointed with this book.

I’m re-reading all of the Diana Gabaldon books again. I just finished Outlander. I’ve forgotten so much and I’m hoping that I’ll have re-read them all by the time the next one is published. I’m finding that I’m using words like “wee” and “dinna” a lot now.

Sabrina said

Ok.. Honestly I’m reading textbooks for school (History of Ancient Greece). But I’m also reading on the side The Collected Works of Elizabeth I (it’s a good read, with LOTS of her letters and such), and I’m going to read Eclipse again, as the movie is coming out and I want to refresh my memory.

I’m also reading alot of mythology anthologies, as I want to add the information to my big brain. LOL Between Photoshop projects and remembering which philosopher said what, I’m trying..

http://www.goodreads.com/autho…..hopenhauer Hey Sabrina, I seem to have the same problem remembering who said what and when. That’s why I like some of the sites which quote “the more important stuff” writers say. I’m presently reading from this site some of what Schopenhauer wrote, it cuts to the meat of the ideas, without waiding through all the (to me) unimportant stuff Sometimes it’s amazing to learn some of the quotes even after reading the “long” version! I’m like: Did he write THAT! Good luck.

Olga said

Well I finished the Queen’s Promise by Lyn Andrews. It’s not awesome. Not much Queen in there either quite frankly, but there was a fictional character named Will Chatton who I enjoyed and I did like reading about Henry Percy. Jane Parker was a traditional snitch, Anne was the traditional social-climber/schemer although not overly unpleasant, but not well-developed. Mary Boleyn was vapid. George’s brief appearances were positive.
I have a couple of books on the Percys to read now. I found the book interesting because so far I haven’t really read anything on all of those border wars and brigands in the North, I’ve seen them referred to of course but it was interesting to see the real difficulties protecting the villages up there.
Some of it is pretty fictional but the author seems to think she’s got most of it right, I think she concentrated a lot on researching Harry (which is fair) and not so much on Anne.
I did like the detailed descriptions of men’s clothing, you don’t usually get that, they mainly concentrate on women.

Olga, “The Queen’s Promise” was a book I was curious about. Thanks for the insight. I shall quickly remove from my wish list and move on to better things!
I’ve read another great Elizabeth Chadwick “The Champion.” I cannot get enough of her books. I read my first Bernard Cromwell. I like “Gallow’s Thief” so I may give his “Agincourt” a go.
Sarah Morris’s debut novel “Le Temps Viendra” arrived the other day. I read it in record time. I loved it. I know it may not be to everyone’s taste, but I did love her Anne Boleyn.
I also decided to read “The Great Gatsby.” It’s a masterpiece!

DuchessofBrittany said

Olga said

Olga, “The Queen’s Promise” was a book I was curious about. Thanks for the insight. I shall quickly remove from my wish list and move on to better things!
I’ve read another great Elizabeth Chadwick “The Champion.” I cannot get enough of her books. I read my first Bernard Cromwell. I like “Gallow’s Thief” so I may give his “Agincourt” a go.
Sarah Morris’s debut novel “Le Temps Viendra” arrived the other day. I read it in record time. I loved it. I know it may not be to everyone’s taste, but I did love her Anne Boleyn.
I also decided to read “The Great Gatsby.” It’s a masterpiece!

Duchess, I love all of Bernard Cornwell’s books. I first got into his works through his Sharpe series and haven’t been able to get enough of any of his books since.
‘Gallows Thief’ is good, but not one of his best. I prefer the Sharpe series, although his three books on The Grail Quest are also very good, starting with ‘Harlequin’, which culminates with the battle of Crecy. ‘Azincourt’, which details the lead up to and the battle of Agincourt is also very good. Cornwell is a wonderful writer of historical fiction, he is meticulous in his research of actual events and blends his fictional characters into real events and timelines brilliantly. I hope you get to read many more of his works, you will not be disappointed.