How is it December tomorrow? I really can’t believe how quickly November has gone or in fact how quickly the year has gone. I hope everyone has had a good reading month. I wish I could have read a few more books in November but I am pleased I managed the amount that I did.
The rules are answer the questions below and share a link to your blog in the comments section of Sam’s blog.
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you will read next?
Hello!
I hope everyone has had a good week so far. I have had a lovely evening reading today and it has been lovely. Just sitting in front of a fire with a big mug of tea and a good book is simply the best.
What I am Currently Reading
I visited Sudeley Castle in half term and loved it and this book does not disappoint. The pictures are superb and the book is packed full of info.
What I have Recently Finished Reading
I’m still not sure about this book. Some parts I loved and some parts were very disappointing.
What I Think I will Read Next
I usually start thinking about Christmas reads around about now but to be honest I just don’t seem to be in the mood yet. I still want nonfiction!
Please drop me a comment with your WWW Wednesday and I will head over for a visit.
Cats in Medieval Manuscripts by Kathleen Walker-Meikle
Blurb
Cats were illustrated in medieval manuscripts throughout the Middle Ages, often in exquisite detail and frequently accompanied by their natural prey, mice. Medieval cats were viewed as treasured pets, as fearsome mousers, as canny characters in fables, as associates of the Devil, and as magical creatures. Featuring an array of fascinating illustrations from the British Library’s rich medieval collection, Cats in Medieval Manuscripts includes anecdotes about cats—both real and imaginary—to provide a fascinating picture of the life of the cat and its relationship with humans during the Medieval period. A great gift for all cat-lovers.
Review
I have been after this book for so long ever since I read Dogs in Medieval Manuscripts a few years ago. However, I couldn’t seem to get a copy but my wonderful husband managed to find me a copy for my birthday.
Just like the dog version of this book I was not disappointed. Each two page spread in the book contains beautiful examples and fascinating facts. I couldn’t believe some of the facts about cats living or trying to survive in medieval times. Cats in Medieval times were not safe and life was definitely not easy for them unless they found a loving home and were kept safe.
I loved the variety of images in this book and the fact that you can just dip in and out of this book and not have to read it from cover to cover. You aren’t bombarded with information and the information you do get is told simply and succinctly.
This little book is a perfect gift for cat lovers and will also look fab on your coffee table. I give this book a big 5 out of 5 Dragons.
Kathleen Walker-Meikle completed her PhD at University College, London on late-medieval pet keeping. She researches and writes on medieval and early modern animals and medicine.
Goodreads Monday is now hosted by Budget Tales Book Club. All you have to do is show off a book from your TBR that you’re looking forward to reading.
Hello!
I hope everyone has had a good start to the week. I’m on my last full week of teaching and I must admit I am looking forward to more free time to read once I have finished.
I’m still enjoying my Tudor history books and my TBR list is growing with Tudor related books. This one is currently at the top of the pile and I really hope to get reading it soon.
Henry VIII is best known in history for his tempestuous marriages and the fates of his six wives. However, as acclaimed historian Tracy Borman makes clear in her illuminating new chronicle of Henry’s life, his reign and reputation were hugely influenced by the men who surrounded and interacted with him as companions and confidants, servants and ministers, and occasionally as rivals–many of whom have been underplayed in previous biographies. These relationships offer a fresh, often surprising perspective on the legendary king, revealing the contradictions in his beliefs, behavior, and character in a nuanced light. They show him capable of fierce but seldom abiding loyalty, of raising men up only to destroy them later. He loved to be attended by boisterous young men, the likes of his intimate friend Charles Brandon, who shared his passion for sport, but could also be diverted by men of intellect, culture, and wit, as his longstanding interplay with Cardinal Wolsey and his reluctant abandonment of Thomas More attest. Eager to escape the shadow of his father, Henry VII, he was often trusting and easily led by male attendants and advisors early in his reign (his coronation was just shy of his 18th birthday in 1509); in time, though, he matured into a profoundly suspicious and paranoid king whose ruthlessness would be ever more apparent, as Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk and uncle to two of Henry’s wives, discovered to his great discomfort, and as Eustace Chapuys, the ambassador of Charles V of Spain, often reported.
Recounting the great Tudor’s life and signal moments through the lens of his male relationships, Tracy Borman’s new biography reveals Henry’s personality in all its multi-faceted, contradictory glory, and sheds fresh light on his reign for anyone fascinated by the Tudor era and its legacy.
Please drop me a link with your Goodreads Monday and I will head over for a visit.
I hope everyone has had a good week so far. Apologies for not blogging much this week, tiredness has been hampering things.
I chose the poem for this week because I live very close to Wenlock Edge and love walking there.
On Wenlock Edge
On Wenlock Edge the wood's in trouble;
His forest fleece the Wrekin heaves;
The gale, it plies the saplings double,
And thick on Severn snow the leaves.
'Twould blow like this through holt and hanger
When Uricon the city stood:
'Tis the old wind in the old anger,
But then it threshed another wood.
Then, 'twas before my time, the Roman
At yonder heaving hill would stare:
The blood that warms an English Yeoman,
The thoughts that hurt him, they were there.
There, like the wind through woods in riot,
Through him the gale of life blew high;
The tree of man was never quiet:
Then 'twas the Roman, now 'tis I.
The gale, it plies the saplings double,
It blows so hard, 'twill soon be gone:
To-day the Roman and his trouble
Are ashes under Uricon.
A. E. Housmann
The rules are answer the questions below and share a link to your blog in the comments section of Sam’s blog.
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you will read next?
Hello!
I hope everyone is having a good week so far. I must admit this week is getting a little bit on top of me work wise but I’m hoping I can get through it ok. Next week is my last full week at all my different schools so I am looking forward to having a little bit more free time from then on.
What I am Currently Reading
I’m still going with Mary Beard and I’m still really enjoying it but it is rather a detailed read which I really can’t read when tired. The Lost Bookshop is a kindle book I downloaded for my holidays but never got around to reading. However, finding myself on a train journey I got the kindle app on my phone and started reading it and I’ve been hooked ever since.
What I have Recently Finished Reading
I will be honest I was not impressed with this read but I will elaborate more when I review it.
What I Think I will Read Next
I really want to continue with my nonfiction reading but I’m not sure whether I will manage it as when I’m tired I always want easy reads.
Please drop me a comment with your WWW Wednesday and I will head over for a visit.
Goodreads Monday is now hosted by Budget Tales Book Club. All you have to do is show off a book from your TBR that you’re looking forward to reading.
Happy Monday!
I hope you have all had a good start to the week. I’ve had rather a busy day with teaching but I managed to get some reading done today.
My chosen book today is by an author who is fast becoming one of my favourites. I have added every single book of Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s that I haven’t read to my Goodreads TBR.
The Mayan god of death sends a young woman on a harrowing, life-changing journey in this one-of-a-kind fairy tale inspired by Mexican folklore.
The Jazz Age is in full swing, but Casiopea Tun is too busy cleaning the floors of her wealthy grandfather’s house to listen to any fast tunes. Nevertheless, she dreams of a life far from her dusty small town in southern Mexico. A life she can call her own.
Yet this new life seems as distant as the stars, until the day she finds a curious wooden box in her grandfather’s room. She opens it—and accidentally frees the spirit of the Mayan god of death, who requests her help in recovering his throne from his treacherous brother. Failure will mean Casiopea’s demise, but success could make her dreams come true.
In the company of the strangely alluring god and armed with her wits, Casiopea begins an adventure that will take her on a cross-country odyssey from the jungles of Yucatán to the bright lights of Mexico City—and deep into the darkness of the Mayan underworld.
Please drop me a link with your Goodreads Monday and I will head over for a visit.
Lady Book Dragon 