Keith
wants
to read:
I'm looking for historical novels with main characters who are servants rather than aristocrats, royalty or otherwise wealthy/powerful. Books in other genres with historical settings (e.g. romance, fantasy, mystery etc.) would be fine as well, as lonI'm looking for historical novels with main characters who are servants rather than aristocrats, royalty or otherwise wealthy/powerful. Books in other genres with historical settings (e.g. romance, fantasy, mystery etc.) would be fine as well, as long as they have servants as most or all of the main characters. (A historical romance between a master/mistress and servant would not qualify if it centres mainly on the master/mistress' point of view, for example.)...more
About:
I'm a scientist and aspiring author with a wide range of reading interests. I acquire a lot of free and second-hand books, which is useful for securinI'm a scientist and aspiring author with a wide range of reading interests. I acquire a lot of free and second-hand books, which is useful for securing little-known and/or out-of-print genre fiction and also for finding some of the worst published writing in the Universe.
Though I try to follow it to avoid confusion, I find Goodreads' five-star rating system insufficiently precise to categorize different books, particularly ones that I disliked to different degrees. I've therefore instituted a set of shelves to give half-star ratings (1.5, 2.5, 3.5 and 4.5) in between the official ones. Books shelved as 1.5 and 2.5 stars are given 2 stars as their official rating, leaving 1 star for "the worst of the worst". 3.5-star books get 3 stars and 4.5-star ones get 4, again leaving 5 stars as the "best of the best".
My (large number of) shelves are mostly self-explanatory, but to clarify the significance of a few of them:
Rated Much Higher Than Average: My star rating (including half stars) is at least 0.5 stars higher than the average over all those who rated the book. Rated Much Lower Than Average: My star rating (including half stars) is at least 1.0 stars lower than the average over all those who rated the book....more
he
said:
"
Although, technically, the narrator is Alatriste's apprentice and, if I recall correctly (possibly not), nephew. Although, technically, the narrator is Alatriste's apprentice and, if I recall correctly (possibly not), nephew. ...more
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