Welcome to Shelf Share Thursday. This is the place to give the books that have been on your shelf for awhile a little love. Every week I will post a letter and three books that start with that letter. Maybe you'll find the perfect summer read or maybe you'll find ones that could be better used to stoke a bonfire and roast marshmallows on. There is only one way to find out. Share your shelf. Feel free to use Mr. Linky at the bottom of this post.
This week's letter is L.
is for....The Little Book by Selden Edwards
From Barnes & Noble:"Wheeler Burden-banking heir, philosopher, student of history, legend's son, rock idol, writer, lover, recluse, half-Jew, and Harvard baseball hero-one day finds himself wandering not in his hometown of San Francisco in 1988 but in a city and time he knows mysteriously well: Vienna, 1897. Before long, Wheeler acquires a mentor in Sigmund Freud, a bitter rival, a powerful crush on a luminous young woman, and encounters everyone from an eight-year-old Adolf Hitler to Mark Twain as well as the young members of his own family. Solving the riddle of Wheeler's dislocation in time will ultimately reveal nothing short of one eccentric family's unrivaled impact upon the course of human history."
It was the cover of this book that first intrigued me so I picked it up and read the back cover. Normally I am not drawn to time travel novels but this one sounded interesting enough. I have had it on my shelf for about 10 months now and just haven't been in the mood to read it. Sometimes I can pick up anything and read it and then there are some books where I just have to want to read it and this one I haven't been ready to read since I got it. Hopefully sometime though. It still sounds like an interesting idea.
L is also for....
The Linnet Bird by Linda Holeman
From Amazon:"'For you, I will write of it all -- part truth, part memory, part nightmare -- my life, the one that started so long ago, in a place so far from here...' India, 1839: Linny Gow, a respectable young wife and mother, settles down to write her life story. To outside appearances Linny is the perfect Colonial wife: beautiful, gracious, subservient. But appearances can be very deceptive ...An unforgettable book, richly descriptive and mesmerising from the start, The Linnet Bird is the spellbinding story of the journey of Linny Gow -- child prostitute turned social climber turned colonial wife turned adventuress. Frequently disturbing, often moving and always enthralling, it is that rare thing: a once-in-a-lifetime read."
This one I got from PBS and it has been on my shelf since fall of 2008! It has decent reviews on Amazon. I think the problem here was when I ordered it the one I was looking at had a different cover that I liked much better because the one I got was a cheesy romance type cover which made me not want to read it. I know, don't judge a book by it's cover and all that. I have since gotten over my aversion to cheesy covers but have not picked this one up for some reason.
This one I got from PBS and it has been on my shelf since fall of 2008! It has decent reviews on Amazon. I think the problem here was when I ordered it the one I was looking at had a different cover that I liked much better because the one I got was a cheesy romance type cover which made me not want to read it. I know, don't judge a book by it's cover and all that. I have since gotten over my aversion to cheesy covers but have not picked this one up for some reason.
and finally L is for...
The Last Boleyn by Karen Harper
From Amazon:"She Survived Her Own Innocence, and the Treachery of Europe s Royal CourtsGreed, lust for power, sex, lies, secret marriages, religious posturing, adultery, beheadings, international intrigue, jealousy, treachery, love, loyalty, and betrayal. The Last Boleyn tells the story of the rise and fall of the Boleyns, one of England s most powerful families, through the eyes of the eldest daughter, Mary. Although her sister, Anne, the queen; her brother, George, executed alongside Anne; and her father, Thomas, are most remembered by history, Mary was the Boleyn who set into motion the chain of events that brought about the family s meteoric rise to power, as well as the one who managed to escape their equally remarkable fall."
This one has been on my shelf for awhile too because the edition I got has pretty small writing in it or I probably would have read it by now. I like that this one is told from Mary's point of view. I have always felt sorry for Anne because of her unjust fate but I have always liked the often overlooked Mary too. Maybe I'll tackle it for one of the Tudor challenges I'm doing this year.
This one has been on my shelf for awhile too because the edition I got has pretty small writing in it or I probably would have read it by now. I like that this one is told from Mary's point of view. I have always felt sorry for Anne because of her unjust fate but I have always liked the often overlooked Mary too. Maybe I'll tackle it for one of the Tudor challenges I'm doing this year.
And that is it for me this week. What's on your shelf?
I read Karen Harper's book and thought it was pretty good.
ReplyDeleteThe Last Boleyn sounds like a great read. I saw the film, The Other Bolyn Girl, and loved it. Right now I am reading a fantastic thriller called, "The Eighth Scroll." It's edgy, fast paced, and not predictable. I am really enjoying this one and I hope you can check it out!
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