Hello!
The quote I have chosen this week is by one of my favourite authors Alexandre Dumas.
“All human wisdom is summed up in two words; wait and hope.”
Alexandre Dumas
Mid Week Quote: Dumas
WWW Wednesday: 5/08/2020
WWW Wednesday is a meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words.
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?
Welcome to my first WWW Wednesday of August!
What I am Currently Reading
The Postscript Murders is my first Elly Griffiths that isn’t from the Dr Ruth Galloway series and I must admit I am struggling to get into it. I am still plodding on with The Odyssey.
What I have Recently Finished Reading
This is my favourite read of 2020 so far! I absolutely loved it. Click the picture for my review.
What I Plan to Read Next
It will definitely be one of these.
Please drop me a link with your WWW Wednesday and I will head over for a visit.
Top Ten Tuesday: Books with Colours in the Title
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and now hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl. For more info please check out Jana’s blog.
Hello Readers!
I can’t believe we are in August and it is already Tuesday! I had a great weekend reading which was wonderful.
The theme today is Books with Colours in the Title which has really made me rack my brains trying to think of all the books I have read with colours in the title.
The Black House by Peter May
The White Princess by Philippa Gregory
The Priory of the Orange Tree by Sammantha Shannon
Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte
The Colour Purple by Alice Walker
Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
Goldfinger by Ian Fleming
Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
Please drop me a link with your Top Ten Tuesday and I will head over for a visit.
Jane Seymour: The Haunted Queen by Alison Weir (Review)
Jane Seymour: The Haunted Queen by Alison Weir
About the author
Alison Weir was born in 1951 and is a British writer of history books, and latterly historical novels, mostly in the form of biographies about British Royalty.
Blurb
The woman haunted by the fate of her predecessor.
Eleven days after the death of Anne Boleyn, Jane is dressing for her wedding to the King. She has witnessed at first hand how courtly play can quickly turn to danger and knows she must bear a son … or face ruin.
This new Queen must therefore step out from the shadows cast by Katherine and Anne. In doing so, can she expose a gentler side to the brutal King?
Jane Seymour. The third of Henry’s Queens. Her story.
Review
I will be honest straight away this is my favourite book so far from the Six Tudor Queens series by Weir and possibly the best book I have read so far this year. I could not put this book down and absolutely loved it!
The first thing I love about this book and the previous two is how the books entwine and you get to see the same scene but from different Queens’ perspectives. I love the different perspectives seen and the different feelings expressed about the same situation. This also shows the back stabbing nature of the court and how lethal it can be just dabbling in idle gossip.
Weir shows Jane Seymour as a wonderful character in this book and the way I always like to think of Jane Seymour. Jane is a timid, good natured creature, who has a deep faith and worries for her soul. Some people think Jane is the boring queen but I think she was a wonderful breath of fresh air after Anne Boleyn. Jane is a complete opposite of Anne Boleyn and that is what attracts Henry to her and although she doesn’t argue with him she has a deep inner strength. She gets the Princess Mary back to court and always tries to get Henry to do the right thing.
The description of Jane’s family home and family life before she goes to court is wonderfully detailed and a joy to read. I also really liked the characters of Jane’s brothers and her mother.
However, in this book poor Jane is haunted by a shadowy figure and every time she sees this figure tragedy follows. Is it a vision of Jane’s creating or real? We do not know but it is clear that Jane feels a deep sense of guilt over the death of Anne Boleyn.
I absolutely loved this book and I thoroughly enjoyed reading the author’s notes at the end. I always enjoy reading about how Weir created the book. I highly recommend this book and the series so far. They contain love, intrigue, religion, drama, history and much more. I give this book 5 out of 5 Dragons.
Purchase Links
Reviews of previous books
Katherine of Aragon: The True Queen
Anne Boleyn: A King’s Obsession
The Weekly Brief
Welcome to the second Weekly Brief!
Here is my weekly summary!
Posts this Week
- Review The Iliad by Homer
- Top Ten Tuesday
- Mid Week Quote: Dolly Parton
- WWW Wednesday
- This and That Thursday
- Friday Poetry: Ogden Nash
- First Lines Friday
- July 2020: Wrap Up
Currently Reading
So far I’m still reading the introduction by Emily Wilson but it is proving very interesting.
Books Acquired
I love getting preordered books in the post! This was a very nice surprise in the post as I had forgotten I had ordered it.
I am loving the Grand Prix being on at the moment because whilst the husband watches it I read and I’m flying through books because of this!
Happy reading!
July 2020: Wrap Up
Hello Everyone!
I hope everyone has had a good July. I didn’t read as much as I was planning to but still got a few books read. As usual click the book to go to the review.
Books I Read in July
All the Lonely People by Mike Gayle
Pages: 320
Format Read: Kindle
Dragon Rating: 4/5
The Lantern Men by Elly Griffiths
Pages: 368
Format Read: Hardback
Dragon Rating: 5/5
The Tower is Full of Ghosts Today by Alison Weir
Pages: 70
Format Read: Kindle
Dragon Rating: 3/5
The Chateau of Briis: A Lesson in Love by Alison Weir
Pages: 79
Format Read: Kindle
Dragon Rating: 4/5
Dear NHS: 100 Stories to Say Thank You edited by Adam Kay
Pages: 408
Format Read: Hardback
Dragon Rating: 3/5
The Iliad by Homer
Pages: 260
Format Read: Kindle
Dragon Rating: 5/5
Total Books Read: 4
Total E-Shorts Read: 2
Total Pages Read: 1505
So there it is another month done. Please drop me a comment if you want to have a chat!
First Line Friday: 31/07/2020
First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?
- Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
- Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
- Finally… reveal the book!
It is time for another guessing game! Here we go…
“Tell me about a complicated man.”
As usual the answer is below the cats.
The answer is…
The Odyssey by Homer (translated by Emily Wilson)
Composed at the rosy-fingered dawn of world literature almost three millennia ago, The Odyssey is a poem about violence and the aftermath of war; about wealth, poverty and power; about marriage and family; about travelers, hospitality, and the yearning for home.
This fresh, authoritative translation captures the beauty of this ancient poem as well as the drama of its narrative. Its characters are unforgettable, none more so than the “complicated” hero himself, a man of many disguises, many tricks, and many moods, who emerges in this version as a more fully rounded human being than ever before.
Written in iambic pentameter verse and a vivid, contemporary idiom, Emily Wilson’s Odyssey sings with a voice that echoes Homer’s music; matching the number of lines in the Greek original, the poem sails along at Homer’s swift, smooth pace.
A fascinating, informative introduction explores the Bronze Age milieu that produced the epic, the poem’s major themes, the controversies about its origins, and the unparalleled scope of its impact and influence. Maps drawn especially for this volume, a pronunciation glossary, and extensive notes and summaries of each book make this is an Odyssey that will be treasured by a new generation of readers.
Did you guess it? Please drop me a link with your First Lines Friday and I will go over for a visit and see if I can guess the answer.
Friday Poetry: Ogden Nash
Happy Friday!
This week’s poem is a short one that made me laugh. It is by the American poet Ogden Nash and is based on homophones.
A Flea and a Fly
A flea and a fly in a flue
Were imprisoned, so what could they do?
Said the fly, ‘Let us flee!’
‘Let us fly!’ said the flea
So they flew through a flaw in the flue.
Ogden Nash
This and That Thursday
Hello!
This week has been a little different to other weeks. We have been planning some house and garden improvements and I hope that in August we can get loads done. I’m still teaching and studying and obviously reading.
Cryptic Crosswords
This week I have been attempting cryptic crosswords with the help and guidance of my husband who has done loads. It is very fun but really makes you think in a different way. I will need a lot of practice before I can get any good.
Cross Stitch
I have spent more time on the cross stitch this week. It is still a very slow process but it is getting there slowly. I doubt I will get it finished this year sadly.
Belly Dancing
This week I also started attending Belly Dancing classes again. The instructor is teaching through Zoom but it is really good fun. I haven’t done Belly Dancing for about 3 years so it was good to get back into it. Might ache a bit tomorrow though.
Films
We have finished watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy and also watched Ghostbusters.
So that is my week! I hope everyone is also having a good week.
WWW Wednesday: 29/07/2020
WWW Wednesday is a meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words.
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!
It is that time again! The weekly reading update is here. I hope everyone is having a good week so far.
What I am Currently Reading
I started The Odyssey yesterday so far so good.
What I have Recently Finished
I finished this yesterday and throughly enjoyed it. Click the picture for the review.
What I think I will Read Next
It will definitely be one of these but not sure which one yet.
There is my WWW Wednesday. Drop me a comment with the link to your WWW Wednesday and I will head over for a visit.
Lady Book Dragon 