European Royalty discussion

I noticed a few of you happened to have read the same book recently, and I'm sure there are many of us who have read the same books in the past, so I thought you might like to make discussion threads on those books independent from the books we read as a group every month. If there are books you generally would like to discuss (like The Queen of Subtleties which a lot of you are reading), feel free to create a thread here. Just use the book title as the topic, and discuss to your heart's content! No voting, no nominating, no discussion start dates - if you're reading it and want to discuss it, start your thread here!

Cool!

I've starting reading The Flight of the Romanovs, which is a non-fictional account of the Romanov family starting with the assassination of Alexander II.

Sara, haven't you read this book? Has anyone else read it?

So far I am loving it. It is written in a straight-forward manner, and I find the historical and familial details to be fascinating.

I keep waiting for this book (THE FLIGHT OF THE ROMANOV'S)to show up at my local library or Borders. So far no show.

The Romanov's seem so interesting to me. I suppose because there are SO MANY family photographs of them. I find it really interesting that they lived in an era when the taking of snap shots was becoming popular. Hence, the huge quanitiy of un-posed pictures taken by the family.

Judging from the photographs, you might think they were a typical middle class English family.
Yes there are lots of pictures of them in crowns and robes, but the majority of the pictures seem to be of family life on picnics and enjoying each other's company. I also find it interesting how the girls are almost always dressed alike in EVERY photograph. (from infants until their deaths)

I suppose the fact that a lot of their family corespondence was done in English, gives us a chance to know them a lot better than even British royals. Hence the feeling of incredible loss at the way they died.

I think the Flight of the Romanovs might be a slightly older book because I know I bought it at a used book store a couple of years ago. You might want to see if your library can get it through Interlibrary Loan, or you could always try half.com or Amazon's marketplace to pick it up used (or maybe Amazon even has it new, I'm not sure). It's a great book, so it's worth hunting for, and it has a good amount of photos like you described Manuel.

I just Finished Nefertiti by M. Moran very good read set in 1335-ish BCE Egypt. I wish here had been more info about the area and some of the people but overall a good read.

Manuel, I was able to find Flight of the Romanovs at Barnes & Noble. IF it's available in-store, it should also be available on the web. I agree with Sara that Amazon is always a good choice. It's an awesome book if you can find it.

I recently read The Thirteenth Tale, which is classified as Historical Fiction, though obviously not the type we read here! Loved it, and would love to discuss it if anyone else has read it...

Welcome to the group Mandy, I read Thirteenth Tale some few months ago, and I also loved it.

I am a huge fan of Thirteenth Tale. As a side note, I recently finished The Seamstress and fell in love with that one- it is also historical fiction but is not European Royalty.

I love The Thirteenth Tale! It had such a wonderful literary-mystery element, and the writing was beautiful. The passage where the protaganist describes sitting down to write the author's story was one of my favorite - so elegantly written.

:)Alisa

Just read The Thirteenth Tale and I loved it! I liked that the author tied up all loose ends (well, most of them anyway)as many a time I've so many unanswered questions at the end of the book! Any recommendations for me on what to read next?

I'm so glad so many of you liked the Thirteenth Tale, also! I thought it was wonderful - such an impressive first novel!

Jill,
Which The Seamstress did you read? I did a search and found a couple that fall under historical fiction...
I'm assuming it was by Bernstein?
The Seamstress
Was it a tear-jerker? I don't read many Holocust books, because I tend to become hysterical...

TIA!
Mandy

As a sidenote on Holocaust books, you all MUST read The Book Thief. It is so beautiful and amazing. Don't be fooled by the Young Adult designation, it's one of the best books I've ever read.

Mandy-
The Seamstress is a relatively new release by Frances De Pontes Peebles. It is about two sisters in early 20th century Brazil. It was not a tear jerker but it is a fabulous read. Regarding The Book Thief (suggested by Emily)- it is incredible and that one has tearful moments. Also I highly recommend Skeletons at the Feast by Chris Bohjalian. It is amazing.

Emily, I totally agree with you, The Book Thief is a very nice book, unforgetable!!

Feel free to make threads for any of these books in this section if you want to discuss them at length! It doesn't necessarily need to be European royalty - I labelled the section "other book discussions", so you can stretch that to its limit if you want.

The Book Theif looks great - thanks for the suggestion. The Seamstress that I found (which was the wrong seamstress book) also looks good.
I looked up your Seamstress book, Jill - looks good!
I put it and the Book Thief on my to read shelf :)

What other genres do you all read?

Strangely enough, he two genres that I read most are Historical Fiction and Science Fiction. So different! But I feel like I LEARN from both genres - I come away smarter than I went in, kwim? I think that's the connection between the two for me.
Anyone else into sci-fi?
My husband got me into it. He's a total geek - but he's handsome, so it all evens out. ;)

Book Thief is quite possibly the best book I have ever read... really...

I have to agree that The Book Thief is absolutely outstanding. I have never read any science fiction...if you could pick just one book from that genre, what would it be?

Mandy, I completely agree. I seem to switch between sci-fi and historical fiction myself. As for your question, Jill, it's so hard to pick just one because there are many sub-genres within science fiction/fantasy. I tend to blur the lines between the two perhaps more than I should, mostly due to ignorance. I loved Jonathan Strange Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke which might be a good entry point because it sort of reads like a historical fiction of the Napoleonic wars, only with the added benefit of magic. That one definitely leans more toward the fantasy side of things. Another good sort-of historical fiction type of fantasy/sci-fi novel is Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. It's a time travel historical romance set in Scotland. Don't let the romance part scare you off if you're not generally into them - I don't generally read a lot of romance-type books, but I loved this one. Again, they are likely more fantasy than sci-fi, but at least for me, a more casual reader, the lines blur a bit.

I have read Outlander and I enjoyed it. I did not, however continue with the series. I own a copy of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell (I have a problem with buying far more books than I can actually read) so I will have to get it off the shelf and jump in. Maybe then I could add The Prestige by Christopher Priest to the category? I loved that one.

I recently finished Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell - so far it is the best book I've read this year. The only real competition it's had is a non-fiction - David McCullough's The Great Bridge, which is about building the Brooklyn Bridge, and I believe won a Pulitzer back in the day.

I also like both historical fiction and science fiction/fantasy. I really like Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars series - the first two, Red Mars and Green Mars, are really first rate. Didn't like Blue Mars quite so much, but it was still very good. Some day I will really have to read his Years of Rice and Salt, which is an alternate history - what if the Black Death did not kill a third of Europe in the 14th Century, but 99% of it?

The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell is great too. It is not historical- it is actually futuristic but really amazing.

Susanna, I completely agree. I think JS & MR is SUCH an amazing book. I was loving it, even though I could only get the hard cover at my library and I had to lug that thing on the subway. It weighed about 10 pounds! But it was worth every massage I forced my husband to give me... Wait a minute, I should start reading heavy books more often... :)

Jill, I didn't continue with the series yet, either, though I have the second book on my shelf for a time when I'm desperate for some romance in my life.

Susanna, great suggestion! I'm adding them all to my list. I love alterna-history books, but haven't read enough of them!

I blur the line between sci-fi and fantasy, too. Who doesn't?! LOL
I haven't read Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, but I will! I'm off to look it up when I leave here :)

I don't know if I could choose just one book from the genre - mostly because I have a terribly short memory.
I recently read Infected by Scott Sigler and loved it.
And Darwin's Radio is one of the best I've ever read.
Some all time favorites would have to be Jurassic Park, Prey and Next, all byMichael Crichton
And one that I don't really consider to be scifi, but that's where it's at in the bookstore, Lucifer's Hammer

It's exciting to hear that so many of you read scifi/fantasy! I don't have any girlfriends irl that do, so sometimes I feel like a freak, lol

I'm another who loves both science fiction and history/historical fiction.

Jill, for sci-fi you might like Connie Willis, particularly her time travel books: Doomsday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog.

Thanks for the suggestions, Eleanor. Those sound great. They are officially added to the list!

I wrote this in a different thread, but I figured I would get it in here too:

People could also try to put together their own buddy reads under this topic as well if they have a specific book they would like to read with others. They could post a thread saying, "Hey, I'm interested in reading ____, anyone else want to read it with me to discuss it here?" or something like that. Or, if a person already read a book but would like to discuss it, that person could just post a thread for the book under this topic (a few of these threads already exist here). These informal discussions could be about any book (royalty, history, mystery, fantasy, etc. etc.).

OMG! I have been gone for so long! I can not believe it. I used to be on here everyday and in October I went back to work and I have literally fallen of the face of the earth. Now that the holidays are over...I am going to get reading again! Several months ago I remember we were asked to read the kitchen boy by the author.... and now here we are...reading his book. I am going out tomorrow to pick up my copy. I have it on reserve. Hope everyone is well.

Welcome back Kim!!! It's great to hear from you again! I know, it's kind of crazy that we're finally getting to Robert's book. I wonder if he still pops into this group. I should scan through the member list to see if he's still on it. How have you been? What type of job did you get?

Hi thanks! I am working for a small company that sells mobile wheelchairs. We sell them nationwide. I am not a salesperson...I am the office person. But it is very interesting because our patients are all over the U.S. and the technicians we use to help set up the chairs and teach the patients are nationwide. So it is fun to talk to so many diverse people and places. It took 4 months to find a job! I had not worked in 12 years...so many were afraid to take a chance on a 40 something woman that had not worked in so long...but it is all good now!

I am reading two whoppers right now, When Christ and his Saints Slept for this group, and From Dawn To Decadence (same huge size) for another group. I do want to read both of these but just bought Duchess on dvd and cried myself into a quite a state watching it last night. I have the book with the same lovely cover as the movie and sooo want to read it now. I thought the book would by like the latest Marie Antoinette film but it was very sad, depressing really. Of course I loved it. It reminded of Anna Karenina. Anyone read this book and see the movie? How do they compare?

Since I have the "Guide to the Group" on top now, I think I'm going to take the "*" off of this thread and let it float around with the others here. That way we can get 5 recent threads to pop up in this area.

Can anyone recommend a good historical fiction book about Napolean? I have the Josephine Bonaparte trilogy, but are there any other recommendations?? Gracias!

I also loved The Thirteenth Tale. Excellent read and I would love to discuss it. I assumed at the end that she saved the wrong sister.

Another very good read with some historical background is The Eight. The author has a new book out but I couldn't get interested. Part of the appeal in The Eight is the mystery of the story and once it is revealed in the end, it's over.

I'm reading The Eight right now, Cathie! Interesting read.

The Thirteenth Tale was great!

Susanna - Let me know if you'd like to discuss it when you're done. I absolutely loved it. Interesting read, indeed.

Tisha wrote: "Can anyone recommend a good historical fiction book about Napolean? I have the Josephine Bonaparte trilogy, but are there any other recommendations?? Gracias!"

Here are two good possibilities (other than my own Jo B.!):

Désirée by Selinko.

The Death of Napoleon by Simon Leys. A "what-if" senario, beautifully-written, poetic, spare. This award-winning novel is now a wonderful movie.

Sandra Gulland
www.sandragulland.com

Finished it early this morning. The ending, I thought, was kind of "eh" after the body.

Still, a fun read.

Sandra wrote: "Tisha wrote: "Can anyone recommend a good historical fiction book about Napolean? I have the Josephine Bonaparte trilogy, but are there any other recommendations?? Gracias!"

Here are two good poss..."

Thank you! I shall check out Desiree. :)

I'm looking around here for a topic where we can discuss other royalty reads that aren't part of a group read, and this seems to be it.....

Picked up Days of Splendor, Days of Sorrow yesterday to read on my phone in line at Universal Studios, and am about 1/3 through it. I like Grey's writing. Been awhile since I picked up a European historical royalty read. I was afraid I'd still be burned out on Marie Antoinette but this one is engaging so far. Hadn't realized when I read her last one that she was going to make a series of it.

Jennifer wrote: "I'm looking around here for a topic where we can discuss other royalty reads that aren't part of a group read, and this seems to be it.....

Picked up Days of Splendor, Days of Sorrow [bookcover:Da..."

This is a perfectly fine place to discuss other books. Please feel free to create a separate thread for the book under this "Other Discussions" topic if you want (you can use the book title as the thread title). If you'd like to do this but aren't sure how, just let me know.

"I imagined I heard a slow, steady drumbeat wherever I went." -- the character of Marie Antoinette in Days of Splendor, Days of Sorrow as things begin to deteriorate. What. A fabulous. Line.

Finished two today: A Stab in the Dark as part of my rare-for-me reread of Block's Scudder series, and Days of Splendor, Days of Sorrow , the second in Grey's Marie Antoinette trilogy, wherein Marie starts wending her tragic, hapless way toward doom.

I'm almost done with The Reckoning by Sharon Kay Penman and I need a good recommendation on where to go from here. I feel sad that I'm almost done with this series! Any suggestions?

I was wondering if anyone could recommend a book about fashion from 1400-1600. Often I read about the fashion of the day and I just can't picture some things. Thanks!

Denise wrote: "I was wondering if anyone could recommend a book about fashion from 1400-1600. Often I read about the fashion of the day and I just can't picture some things. Thanks!"

Hmmm, I've seen some books on amazon that seem to be pictorial references for fashion from that era.... I'll look in a minute.

Just started The Queens Vow . Been awhile since I picked up a royalty read-- last two were The Sister Queens which I really liked, and Four Sisters, All Queens which for some reason didn't grab me as much.

Denise wrote: "I was wondering if anyone could recommend a book about fashion from 1400-1600. Often I read about the fashion of the day and I just can't picture some things. Thanks!"

http://www.amazon.com/Fashion-Definit...

Looks pretty good and it's a DK book-- I have their travel series and its lush and gorgeous...