Dawn Paley's Blog: Foreign Correspondence
April 26, 2019
Henry VIII
Hi everyone,
So I finally read the novel Q, which I quite enjoyed. When I finished it I looked over my shelf and I had an unread hard copy of Mantel's Wolf Hall. Turned out to be a lovely coincidence.
It was a treat to read Wolf Hall after Q, with the broader perspective on the Lutherans and Anabaptists sorta illuminating some of what went down with Henry VIII. I had tried to crack Wolf Hall a few times in the past but this time it was like instant - oh yeah!
Wolf Hall and the sequel Bring up the Bodies are truly fantastic, I devoured both of them. Can't wait for the third and final instalment in the Cromwell trilogy (out hopefully this year).
Then I went on to the massive and super addictive Autobiography of Henry VIII, which was less engrossing than Mantel's books, but then that's to be expected (not every novel can be a Booker prize winner, after all).
Am now reading the Six Wives of Henry VIII, which I am finding a bit annoying (lots of super moralistic and finicky comments about women's appearances, this by a woman author is just ugh) but I can't get enough of this time period and am generally enjoying this book. It's not a novel though, so that might be part of my dissatisfaction...
Not sure what I'll read next, or whether I'll stay in 16th Century or move on out, but it's been a great year for historical fiction (and non-fiction) thus far!
So I finally read the novel Q, which I quite enjoyed. When I finished it I looked over my shelf and I had an unread hard copy of Mantel's Wolf Hall. Turned out to be a lovely coincidence.
It was a treat to read Wolf Hall after Q, with the broader perspective on the Lutherans and Anabaptists sorta illuminating some of what went down with Henry VIII. I had tried to crack Wolf Hall a few times in the past but this time it was like instant - oh yeah!
Wolf Hall and the sequel Bring up the Bodies are truly fantastic, I devoured both of them. Can't wait for the third and final instalment in the Cromwell trilogy (out hopefully this year).
Then I went on to the massive and super addictive Autobiography of Henry VIII, which was less engrossing than Mantel's books, but then that's to be expected (not every novel can be a Booker prize winner, after all).
Am now reading the Six Wives of Henry VIII, which I am finding a bit annoying (lots of super moralistic and finicky comments about women's appearances, this by a woman author is just ugh) but I can't get enough of this time period and am generally enjoying this book. It's not a novel though, so that might be part of my dissatisfaction...
Not sure what I'll read next, or whether I'll stay in 16th Century or move on out, but it's been a great year for historical fiction (and non-fiction) thus far!
January 19, 2019
Now reading...
Thought I'd share what I'm currently reading, since I mostly use the goodreads bookshelves to track novels. I'm part way through Aviña's Specters of Revolution, which is a very well researched contribution to the history of the dirty war in Guerrero in the 1960s and 1970s, and part way through Laura Castellanos' fantastic new book Crónicas de un país embozado.
I'm also slowly reading Pollan's How to Change Your Mind, and... (scanning bedside table) Ok I have Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet open, I'll read one every now and then, and beside me I've got Gutiérrez's Rhythms of the Pachakuti, from which I'm drawing material in preparation for an interview with the author towards a new project. Pleasure-reading wise, I just started Mastretta's Arráncame la Vida last night.
I probably read for work somewhere between 1-2 hours a day, and for pleasure, if possible, around the same.
I'm also slowly reading Pollan's How to Change Your Mind, and... (scanning bedside table) Ok I have Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet open, I'll read one every now and then, and beside me I've got Gutiérrez's Rhythms of the Pachakuti, from which I'm drawing material in preparation for an interview with the author towards a new project. Pleasure-reading wise, I just started Mastretta's Arráncame la Vida last night.
I probably read for work somewhere between 1-2 hours a day, and for pleasure, if possible, around the same.
