The History Book Club discussion

Samanta, here is your new thread in 2015. Happy reading in the new year.

Our Required Format:

JANUARY

1. by Winston S. Churchill
Finish date: January 2015
Genre: (whatever genre the book happens to be)
Rating: A
Review: You can add text from a review you have written but no links to any review elsewhere even goodreads. And that is about it. Just make sure to number consecutively and just add the months.

Thank you!

You are welcome and Happy New Year.

JANUARY

Title in English (for this purpose only): Death of Vronski

1. by Nedjeljko Fabrio
Finish date: 4th January 2015
Genre: History, Fantasy
Rating: B
Review: Tortured with guilt over Ana Karenina's death, Vronski decides to travel to Serbia as a volunteer in Serbian expansion war in the area of ex Yugoslavia. As he becomes aware of Serbian true agenda and seeing all the horrors of war there, he rapidly starts to loose the enthusiasm and motivation and he is also ashamed of the decisions he made in life. Because of that he starts to deteriorate emotionaly and physicaly . He is constantly plagued by the memory od Ana whom he can not forget or get over but it is not clear if he cannot get over her death because of love or because of guilt.
The story is at first a bit confusing because you can't figure out which Yugoslavia is Vronski traveling to since the backstory is that od the 90's. But, as you move forward it becomes completely „normal“ and logical that an officer from the 19th Century Imperial Russia travels by train to Serbia and Croatia of the 20th Century 90's and fights in the Homeland war but on the Serbian side.
The detailed descriptions of war destructions and killings were hard for me to read as a Croatian even though I have barely felt it being born in the capital. I presume this was the reason for all the controversy said to have surrounded the book upon publishing.
I do not know if an English translation of the book exists, but there is nothing here on Goodreads.

Good start, Samanta. Nice job with the format.

Super Samanta

2. by Arthur Conan Doyle
Finish date: 11th January 2015
Genre: Crime, Mystery
Rating: B+
Review: First I have to say: FINALLY!!!! I have been reading this book for more than a year now and it's only Volume 1. I read it slowly for the past year but before Christmas made it my personal challenge to read the 400 odd pages left. I am so proud of myself because it was no easy task.
Sherlock is a fascinating character but his conduct can at times be trying for nerves. Poor Watson! Most of the stories were very interesting from the criminal and investigation aspect but were also very well written and by that I mean full of subtle (read: British) humor and sarcasm (my favorite).
I have a few compalaints though: Watson's writing can at times be overly sensationalist, which is what Sherlock said to him once. Also, whatever happend to Mary Watson between Holmes's supposed death along with Moriarty and his return three years later? All of a sudden Watson is living again in 221B Baker Street. I guess Sir Arthur Conan Doyle forgot about that part when he brought Sherlock back to life.

I have always wanted to do this. Great progress. Good for you.

Thank you! :)

3. by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Finish date: 11th January 2015
Genre: Fantasy?, Short story
Rating: C
Review: While the idea of the whole thing is very interesting, the execution is lacking in my opinion. It is a fast-paces short story but it feels like it was written in a rush. The reaction of superficial society, while understandable in a way, is overly dramatic and unreasonable and well stupid. It's not like he is getting younger on purpose. And everybody is worried about what others will say. Ugh! Anyway, I watched the movie a few years back and that is why I decided to read the book but the movie is better (which is a rare occurence).

Samanta wrote: "2. by Arthur Conan Doyle

Finish date: 11th January 2015
Genre: Crime,..."

Glad you have finally finished the Holmes book. that was a great challenge. I have read most of those stories and frankly, they began to wear on me after a while. I think they are better read in spurts....which is what you did. Good for you!!!

I still have 500+ pages of Volume 2 to go through but I will wait a bit for that. Too much Sherlock Holmes at the moment.

I understand (smile)

4. by Tad Williams
Finish date: 12th January 2015
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: B
Review: The Burning man is a short story that plays the part of a (sort of a) prequel to Tad Williams' famous trilogy Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn. It is written from the POV of Breda, the stepdaughter of the duke Sulis and this was the first time Williams used a female character as a narrator.
I really don't know what to think of the story since it neither impressed me nor did I dislike it. I have never read the Trilogy but maybe if I embark on that journey things would make more sense.

Good luck on the journey

5. by Laurell K. Hamilton
Finish date: 14th January 2015
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: B-
Review: I've always loved everything supernatural and mysterious so I decided to start reading this series. It's funny, witty and action-packed. But nothing, IMHO, can come even close to my beloved Anne Rice. Everything, no matter how good, looks superficial compared to her work.

6. by Laurell K. Hamilton
Finish date: 15th January 2015
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: B+
Review: I liked this one more than the first one even though there were more gory details.

Great, looks like a graphic novel. Cool.

My mistake. I'll fix it. I'm reading a normal novel. :)

7. by Laurell K. Hamilton
Finish date: 16th January 2015
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: B
Review: My light read series. I like it so far, it reads fast and is funny and gory at the same time. Great for public transport moments and when I want to take a break from learning about Magna Carta or reading about Arabic-Islamic impact on European Renaissance.

Good for you - format pitch perfect

8. by Laurell K. Hamilton
Finish date: 18th January 2015
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: B-
Review: Not on of my favorites but the world just keeps expanding.

9. by Laurell K. Hamilton
Finish date: 18th January 2015
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: A-
Review: This one was full of action and suspense with emphasis on the main character's dealing with her mother's death (which I can totaly relate to). One of my favorites so far.

Good Samanta - you like fantasy (smile)

Very much so. All kinds of it. I'm just stuck with Anita Blake for the moment. :)

10. by Laurell K. Hamilton
Finish date: 20th January 2015
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: C+
Review: I had a harder time reading this one, mainly because I have it on computer instead of paperback (and I hate reading on a computer). Also because alot of things grated my nerves in this book, the story seemed to be draging and the main character was so indecisive I really wanted to slap her at times. :D

Oh dear but the format is great.

Doing my best....I kind of feel proud of myself when I manage it right. :D

You should feel proud and we are proud of you too.

Indeed, Samanta, great job!

11. by Laurell K. Hamilton
Finish date: 24th January 2015
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: A
Review: After the last book that wasn't so satisfying, it took me a few days to decide to continue with the series and I took some other books to read (currently reading three at the same time). This one remineded me why I keep reading the series. It was very gripping and I read it in under 24 hours. Aside from the obvious supernatural theme which I like, the book(s) also show human nature at its best as well as at its worst. This one in particular because it's full of sex, lust, love, violence, rape....I came to a conclusion that human beings are fascinated with the idea of rape, not in the way that they love it and condone it but they love writing about it. Not sure how I feel about that but I'm also not overly squeamish when I have to read about it. Anyway, definitely not a book for everyone.

Good progress

12. by Laurell K. Hamilton
Finish date: 27th January 2015
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: B-
Review: Each book in this series has pretty much the same action plot but the one thing that is different is the protagonist. Anita Blake is changing with each book, learning about her powers and how to embrace them but she is also becoming less naive and emotional and more hardcore to the point that she kills monsters and humans alike without remorse when she has to. The plot has some parts that get on my nerves, like the (for me) going on destructive relationship between Anita and her love interests (yes, plural!!! :( ), but because I want to see what happens to her I keep reading even though I have been forewarned that the series turns into something totally different(not positive) in future books.

Hi Samanta--great to meet up with you on my favorite History Book thread

Hi! Likewise! :) Wish we could get more of our ladies here. I love this thread and this group. :)

Glad you guys reconnected; all are welcome at the HBC.

You are moving along Samanta.

13. by George R.R. Martin
Finish date: 30th January 2015
Genre: Fantasy, Short-story
Rating: A-
Review: Haviland Tuf is an unsuccessful but honest trader who accidentally becomes a sole owner and crew of an ancient and gigantic seedship from Old Earth that was designed for ecological warfare. Throughout his voyage he finds himself helping different nations in their plights (happening mostly because of human stupidity or greed or both) for a fee although he claims he is an altruist. Being in charge of such a ship changes him and his moral conceptions become at best dubious because it is a truth universally acknowledged that "power corrupts, but absolute power corrupts absolutely".

I really liked this book even though it started off very slowly. Tuf is unemotional, arogant and extremely sarcastic which I liked about him at first because he was surrounded by really stupid people so I did not feel sorry for them. But by the end of the book my affection wavered because I began to notice the God complex he started to develop. Nevertheless, he is an extremely intelligent person and I do believe his solutions were the correct ones for the problems the nations he helped had.

This is a collection of short stories that are connected only by the protagonist and the time frame but can very well stand alone, except the ones about S'uthlam because he always ends up going back there (and the last story involves S'uthlam).

Thank you good job

FEBRUARY

14. by Lisa Kleypas
Finish date: 6th February 2015
Genre: Contemporary romance
Rating: A
Review: I have never been much of a fan of contemporary romance (although that is starting to change) but I go back to Lisa Kleypas' Travis trilogy at least once every year. I've read the whole trilogy multiple times because the writing is very beautiful; it has everything: romance, heartache, fun, even some danger and always a serious note. Even though I like all three books this one is my favorite. Smooth talking stranger, with everything else, talks about psychological bruises growing up with a neglecting and/or self-absorbed parent can leave on an adult person. This one gets me in particular because I am a firm believer that not everyone is fit to be a parent and you shouldn't procreate just because you are physicaly able to.

15. by Stephen Chbosky
Finish date: 7th February 2015
Genre: Coming-of-age fiction
Rating: A
Review: This is a beautiful story of a boy with psychological issues going through all the perks of transition from a child to a young adult. Charlie was always "special", a beautiful person from the inside, very caring and intuitive and older than his actual years but also very insecure and introvert. The death of his best friend and subsequent (almost constant) visits with the pyschologist push to surface problems that turn out to have a horrible source (avoiding spoilers here). As he starts high school, meets new friends, falls in love and tries different things (drugs, alcohol and cigarettes) his inner strength gets out, but also some supressed bad memories and he learns about himself, which helps him to deal better with his past, present and future.

That sounds good, Samanta. Nice review.

Thank you

16. by Lisa Kleypas
Finish date: 7th February 2015
Genre: Contemporary romance
Rating: A
Review: Just like the whole Travis trilogy, with all the romance, love and the inevitable and really well-written juicy stuff, there is a serious theme going on in the story. This one addresses the issues of narcissistic personality disorder and abusive relationships. It is obvious that Ms. Kleypas did an extensive research on the subject (both sides - the abuser and the victim) and her writing is so gripping that I felt anxious reading the scenes with abuse. But the romance part manages to lighten up the atmosphere of the story and you find yourself believing in a possiblity of a happy ending for people who went through some kind of hardship.
There is a quote in the book that sums up the whole situation perfectly: "I have come to realize you can never be truly happy unless you've known some sorrow.".
I do believe this to be entirely true. :)

17. by Gary Gibson
Finish date: 21st February 2015
Genre: SF, Fantasy
Rating: B+
Review: Dakota Merrick is an ex-military pilot with mechanic implant in her head called Ghost which gives her instant access to all the information (un)known to humans. Her kind, born and bred for this role, is derogatory called machine-heads. She is also an illegal because, after a huge massacre on Port Gabriel, done by machine-heads whose Ghosts were inflitrated by enemy side, all Ghosts were removed from their owners' heads and Dakota acquired new ones illegally. In present time, Dakota will find herself running away from an enemy that is trying to kill her by joining the same people whose comrades she helped kill at Port Gabriel, realising very late that she is, unknowingly, playing a role of a scapegoat in a political game of massive consequnces.

Overall I liked this story very much but since I read it with a lot of breaks I didn't get into it as I should have. There are alot of things going on in the 500+ pages of the book, present and past intermingling,slow pace and fast pace too, that it gets confusing at times. Since I really liked the plot and the idea of the story I think it is good that this is a series since all the introduction was done in the first book and the rest can focus on the main story. The reviews seem positive for the other books so I'm looking forward to getting my hands on them too.

Done! :)

Awesome

18. by Đuro Sudeta
Finish date: 27th February 2015
Genre: Classic Croatian literature, Avant-garde fiction, fantasy
Rating: B+
Review: Mor is a young man who lives with his father, the property manager, at the property of the wealthy nobleman. He is handsome and very attuned to the nature that surrounds him. He doesn't say much so people sometimes consider him stupid (especially the rich people). The village people also say he is a werewolf. He is in love with the nobleman's beautiful daughter Šu, who loves him back but doesn't admit it. The nobleman understands the situation and tries to keep them apart by encouraging Arno, a seemingly well-bred young man, but actually a fortune-hunter, to woe Šu.

This is a story of two star-crossed lovers with elements of fantasy. A long time ago it was a book that made me an incorrigible bookworm so I decided to read it again and see what all the fuss is about. I must say that I am not dissapointed because the writing is truly beautiful, although the story is very sad. Their love story gets to you and you feel with them and for them. The metaphor is also very evident. Mor represents the nature and simple but deep love, while Arno represents the ugly modernization and the wish for profit that will eventually destroy all that is beautiful. The destinies of all the characters are the metaphor for all the bad consequences of the said modernization.

This story is a classic of Croatian literature and belongs to the period of avant-garde.

Fun fact: the two main protagonists are called Šu and Mor. When you connect their names to one word you get a Croatian word "šumor" (read like: shumor) which in English is close to "murmur" but as in the murmur of the wind in the trees. Ah, the beauty of different languages!

Very much so - thank you Samanta for the lesson.

MARCH

19. by Ana Ivelja - Dalmatin [responsible editor] (no photo)
Finish date: 3rd March 2015
Genre: Non - fiction, Tourist monograph
Rating: A+++
Review: This booklet published by "Turistička naklada" from Zagreb, Croatia is a thorough guide through one of Zagreb's most beautiful and most know edifices as well as a tourist attractions - the Cathedral. Inside these 80 pages you will find a short history of the Diocese (and later Archdiocese) of Zagreb and a detailed history of the construction of the cathedral. There is also a layout of the interior of the cathedral with descriptions of every inscription, decoration, altar, statue etc. This booklet is perfect for visitors who would like to learn about the cathedral in detail. It has everything.....well...except maybe measures. :D

20. by Melissa Foster
Finish date: 5th March 2015
Genre: Contemporary romance
Rating: A-
Review: A fun and light story that I started to read to take a break from all of that learning about the history and heritage of Zagreb. I was reading it on Wattpad and didn't even know it was published.