Perfect for Halloween

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah E. Harkness, an American historian, has been described as "Twilight for grown ups", and that is quite an apt description, although I would also say that there are similarities to the Harry Potter series too. I am a fan of all of them, and I did really enjoy reading this book, although I hadn't realised that it is the first in a trilogy, and I now have to wait until next June for the next installment! The story starts off in Oxford, and there are wonderful descriptions of the Bodleian Library. It focuses around a reluctant witch who is studying alchemy, and is desperately trying to avoid using her magic. However, she retrieves a book from the stacks, which is desired by daemons, vampires, and witches, and there the adventure begins. She gains a mysterious vampire protector, and as her magic struggles to reveal itself, other creatures come out of the woodwork. The story bounces from Oxford to France, from where the mysterious vampire hails, to America, where Diana, the witch comes from and where her Aunt and partner live in a wonderful house which has a personality of its own. This is a great story, really well told, and nicely researched. I think it is more of a cross between Twilight and Labyrinth, taking the illicit romance between creatures from other worlds, and linking it with the history of old France. There is a lot to enjoy in this story, and while I am disappointed that I have to wait for the next book, I am also glad that the author didn't try to cram all the adventure into the one book.

Frustrated reading

I have just finished two books. I had started one and was near the end when I started the other one because I was going away for a long weekend. Anyway, I am frustrated with both. I did enjoy them, but there were issues.

Laura's Handmade Life, by Amanda Addison had such potential. It was about a married woman with two children who had to move from London to Norfolk because her husband's company had moved there. She had a part-time job teaching art and design in a local college, but she was not happy. She actually had no reason to be unhappy, but all she did was moan in the first part of the book, and embark on some dodgy flirting with an old boyfriend. The good bits of the book were when she joined a sewing class and learned how to sew, and made things out of old fabrics. She had loads of wonderful ideas, and I can't help wondering if that was what the author wanted to do, just write about the things she makes and the sewing class she belongs to. That would have been great. She created a marvellous character called Hannelore, who had escaped from East Germany in the most creative way, the description of which was crammed into a letter at the end of the book, and it would have been wonderful to hear more about her life. But the author focused on a non-existent affair, possibly to make it a summer romance. Actually it would have been nice if she just talked to her husband, who seemed really nice. Anyway, I did finish the book, and there was lots that I really enjoyed, and at the back of the book she has patterns to make things, and also a list of further sources of information.

So, onto the second frustrating book. I really love the Twilight saga, and I really like Carol Goodman's books, so when I saw that her new book was for fans of Twilight and True Blood, I jumped at it. I haven't read the True Blood series, so I don't know what they are about, but I like Twilight because it is romantic, and is more about feelings other than lust. So, I got a bit of a shock when I read Incubus, and maybe I should have researched what an incubus is. Anyway, the book is very erotic, and I think a bit too much. It was odd, because it felt as though it was written by two people. It was an interesting story, about a young woman accepting a job as a professor in a college specialising in folklore in a remote town. I did like all the descriptions of brownies, fairies, and witches, and the college sounded gorgeous and very interesting, but there was a lot of distraction in the form of her relationships. She did seem quite fickle. Anyway, I think that I will take care when looking at the publisher's blurb on the covers. Quite often, I have noticed that they are referring to a previous book written by the author, which might be quite different, and with this Incubus, well, the only thing to compare it to Twilight are that there are three vampires who play only a minor role in the story, so the publisher description was misleading. Also, while I would read Twilight over and over again, I think, with Incubus, once was more than enough, and it certainly won't be one I share with my young relatives.

Witch trials!

Seemingly appropriate for Halloween, but this was no treat for those involved. I have just finished reading Kathleen Kent's The Heretic's Daughter. I was in two minds when I bought it, because there have been so many stories about the Salem witch. However, this one has been written by a direct descendent of one of the accused. It was brilliantly written; so hard to read in places, because of the treatment of the accused women and men. The bravery of the children - their horrific treatment was so vividly described, I felt in awe of their survival skills. They never gave up, they plead their innocence. You just cannot fathom how human beings can treat each other so cruelly. It was a harsh, but excellent read, and has inspired me to find out more about this tragic event.

Too many books to remember!

Well, this is going to be a long post, because all I have done this Summer is read, walk, take photos, and embroider patterns. I have had a lovely time after devising a timetable to improve my work-life balance.

Now, I thought I had blogged about the House of Riverton, a book by Kate Morton, that I read before The Forgotten Garden. They are similar styles, flitting between eras, 1920s and the 1990s, tracing the history of a house and the characters that live inside. Absolutely, lovely story, with colourful characters, mystery, and love.

I had five books for my Summer reading, and only one failed. Unfortunately, the sequel to the Friday Night Knitting Club, Knit Two, by Kate Jacobs, was a disappointment, to the extent that I have disposed of it. I loved the first one and also Comfort Food, but this one just did not engage me. I didn't feel anything for the characters and it just felt rushed. Such a shame!

So, after that one, I read the American Wife, by Curtis Sittenfeld. I had read Prep and thoroughly enjoyed it, but when I read the back cover of this one, it just seemed completely different. Prep was about teenagers and based in a school, where as this is loosely based on the life of Laura Bush. It is a really interesting read, a love story about a couple who cope with life's ups and downs, and support each other right the way to the top! At the start of the book, you really cannot imagine how they might get there. Again, great characters, and a really interesting story about America, and the political system there.

Next I read, The Lost Book of Salem (known as The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane, as of April 2010) by Katherine Howe. I thought it would be in the style of Da Vinci Code, eg a typical holiday read, but it was better. It was full of facts about the witch trials in Salem, with links to further information, and there was lots of reference to herbalism, which I found interesting. This book also travelled between time periods, and it was clever the way the author changed the dialects.

Finally, I read The Villa in Italy, by Elizabeth Edmondson, which was fabulous. It is about a group of four strangers who are sent to a beautiful villa in Italy as recipients of a will belonging to someone none of them seem to know. The story unravels as they face their demons, and learn more about themselves, and each other, aswell as the gorgeous location where they are staying. I really enjoyed this book. Such interesting characters, with unexpected sides to them. I am looking forward to reading more of this author.

In between books, I rediscovered a childhood favourite of mine, which unfortunately is no longer available in print - Little Grey Rabbit's Storybook by Alison Uttley. It is such a magical storybook. I love the pictures by Margaret Tempest, and the simplicity of the stories.

So that's it for now...time for another trip to the book shop. Although, with my new timetable, I am trying to do some writing of my own, although a non-fiction book, rather than fiction. I just don't have the imagination as these authors do.

Final Twilight for now

I have just finished the fourth book in the Twilight saga, Breaking Dawn. This was quite a bit darker towards the start, to the extent that I did worry about younger teenagers reading it. I won't say what it was about because I don't want to spoil the plot. It was entirely compelling, and I really enjoyed it. The end was perfect, and the ideas, and the complexities in the story were fantastic. The author, Stephenie Meyer has started writing another book with the Cullen household, Midnight Sun, which tells the story from Edward's point of view. Unfortunately, it was leaked onto the Internet, and so the author has stopped writing this for now, which is sad. She has however, made Chapter 1 and a partial draft of Midnight Sun officially available on her website. (This material is copyrighted by Stephenie Meyer.)

I did see the film Twilight, and I really enjoyed it. I know it was different to the book, but I think it was really well done. It was quite raw and slow, in a good way. I hope that now they have greater investment, it won't lose those qualities. The effects and the shots were superb. I am disappointed that they are changing directors, but shall wait for New Moon with an open mind.

Okay, while I am still obsessed with the Twilight saga, I am going to read other books now. I started reading The Tales of Beedle the Bard last night, but JK Rowling. She really is incredible the way she comes up with these ideas.