Shelf Share Thursday

Welcome to Shelf Share Thursday, the place to give those books that have been chilling on your shelf for awhile while patiently waiting for their turn a little love. Each week I will post a letter of the alphabet and three books that correspond to that letter. Maybe you've got one on there that you'll be kicking yourself eternally for not having read it sooner, or maybe there is a book or two on there that you can pawn off on that meddlesome old lady down the block who smells like mothballs and whom you secretly don't like ;-) There is only one way to find out and that is to share your shelf! Feel free to link up via Mr. Linky at the bottom of the post.

This week's letter is I. (I know, how many books can one possible have that start with the letter I unless it is I, insert name here). I did mange to find a few though.

is for....

The Italian Woman by Jean Plaidy

From the Book Depository:

"When Catherine de Medici was forced to marry Henry of Orleans, hers was not the only heart broken. Jeanne of Navarre once dreamed of marrying this same prince. And so both Catherine and Jeanne’s lives are set on unwanted paths, destined to cross in affairs of state, love and faith, driving them to become deadly political rivals. Years later, Jeanne is happily married to the dashing but politically inept Antoine de Bourbon, whilst the widowed Catherine continues to be loved by few and feared by many-including her children. But she is now the powerful mother of kings, who will do anything to see her beloved second son, Henry, rule France. As civil war ravages the country and Jeanne fights for the Huguenot cause, Catherine advances along her unholy road, making enemies at every turn."

My interest in Catherine de Medici has been peaked since I read the Dark Queen series by Susan Carroll in which she was a supporting character. It has increased since I viewed the awesome book trailer for C.W. Gortner's The Confessions of Catherine de Medici and have been following the fun and insightful posts by the ladies at the Historical Fiction Bloggers Round Table who are hosting an event for the book. I got Italian Woman from a generous PBSer who saw one of the books in the trilogy and offered to send me this one as well. I'm tempted to go on a Catherine binge and read them all in one sitting.

I is also for....

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

From Amazon:

"Invisible Man is a milestone in American Literature, a book that has continued to engage readers since its appearance in 1952. A first novel by an unknown writer, it remained on the bestseller list for 16 weeks, won the National Book Award for fiction, and established Ralph Ellison as one of the key writers of the century. The nameless narrator of the novel describes growing up in a black community in the South, attending a Negro college from which he is expelled, moving to New York and becoming the chief spokesperson for the Harlem branch of “the Brotherhood”, and retreating amid violence and confusion to the basement lair of the Invisible Man he imagines himself to be."

I admit I never actually meant to purchase this book. Somehow in one of my addle-brained moments, I picked this up from a local UBS thinking it was the book of the same name by H.G. Wells. Yes, I am having trouble figure out how I got them confused also. Since it appears the book has received many accolades I decided to keep it anyway and give it a try at some point. Strangely enough this mix up happened more than a year ago and I still haven't managed to read the H.G. Wells one either.....

and finally I is for....

An Inconvenient Wife by Megan Chance

From Amazon:

"In this wholly absorbing historical novel, Mrs. Lucy Carleton, who comes from one of the wealthiest and most prominent families in 1880’s New York City, has been completely undone by her nerves. Her ambitious husband, a nouveau riche stockbroker, drags her from one doctor to another in search of a cure that will allow her to fulfill her many social obligations without giving in to hysteria. They think they have found the solution in charismatic neurologist Victor Seth, a champion of a relatively new procedure called hypnotism. Seth sets about freeing Lucy from the social constraints that have made her so unhappy, encouraging her to pursue her artistic talents and explore her sexuality. Seth convinces himself that his techniques, including his handy way with an electrotherapy wand, are all in the name of science, but even he is unprepared for the new Lucy who emerges-a passionate, calculating, amoral creature of large appetites."

I got this one in a swap for a game on PBS. I know a few people have told me its pretty good, and I've picked it up at least once since I've owned it but for some long ago reason that I can't remember I put it down and haven't picked it up since. Since one of my goals this year is to finally finish all the books I've read a portion of but never actually completed, maybe this book will get its day this year.

And that's it for me. What's on your shelf?