December reading
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4 years ago
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skibby (zone 4 Vermont)
4 years agomsmeow
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December reading part 2
Comments (17)Drat and double drat. My library is closed today and tomorrow to celebrate the New Year. I was there just last night and had a lovely chat with a librarian friend. But I NEED to get my hands on the Will Thomas books that cece and Siobhan mentioned. Now I have to wait all...the...way...until...Friday. In the meantime, I am reading: The Tales of Beedle the Bard - J.K. Rowling Gone with the Wind - Margaret Mitchell Jane and Prudence - Barbara Pym Hyacinth Bucket's Hectic Social Diary - TOTAL and COMPLETE brain potato chip to use cece's phrase. But what fun. Finished it this morning. The first three books I am reading simultaneously as the mood strikes. First one, then the other, then the third. All are good. I am only on page 26 of the Pym so cannot form a strong opinion yet, but I am expecting to enjoy it. PAM...See MoreDecember: Reading During Short Days and Dark Nights
Comments (93)Last night I finally finished Paul Murray Kendall's famous biography Richard the Third. It was a fascinating, sympathetic biography of a controversial figure. I found myself agreeing with Kendall's hypothesis that Richard was defeated at Bosworth, not as the result of some sort of poetic justice, but rather due to the betrayal of self-serving nobles, who in turn found just as much to grumble about during the reign of Henry VII. I found it poignant how hard Richard III worked to cultivate and favor the very people who meant him the most harm. Fundamentally, Richard seemed to have an inability to maneuver and pirouette through the politics of court life. Kendall finds countless examples of traitors whose were left off easy by Richard, only to redouble their efforts to conspire against the King. Kendall raises many interesting points, but often lacks the objectivity needed in the biography of such a complex subject. In an afterword regarding whether Richard was responsible for the murder of the "Princes in the Tower", Kendall argues that the boys may have met death at the behest of other figures at court, most likely the Duke of Buckingham. Though ultimately unsolvable (mostly due to the Tudor historians who apparently destroyed countless records portraying Richard in a positive light), I still feel that he had the most to gain from the murder of his nephews....See MoreDECEMBER reading
Comments (106)I finished Second Acts, and really liked it. The author obviously has his own opinions about different issues that each president faced, but what I liked the most is how much he concentrated on how the president dealt with life afterwards, and how even the president beset with major scandals or low popularity was treated with kindness and humanity in his writing. He also showed how the ex president saw his time in office, and how he saw the next office holders administration. This is an excellent book for anyone who wants a glimpse of American politics in the last 60 years, and a glimpse of the people who led us in those times. Its certainly a reminder of how our past can't help but influence our future, and a reminder that the more things change, the more things stay the same. BTW - I was esp taken by Herbert Hoovers story. I can still remember my parent's degrading comments about him (they were Depression Era children), and so all I knew were Hoovervilles. But he was an engineer who led the American effort to get food and shelter to the battered countries after WWI (this was before he was president). Truman asked him to help again with the Marshall Plan after WWII. In between that time he was basically ignored. Truman and Hoover ended up being friends, and Hoovers legacy certainly became a more complex and positive one than the one that he is usually known for. Now reading John Connely's Book of Lost Things. Loving it so far....See MoreDecember Reading--Last Books Read in 2016
Comments (111)Carolyn, I read a couple some years ago. I must check and see if my library has reprints. I am reading my books slowly at present, there seems to be so many other things to do, like dropping off to sleep! My D gave me a small CD player for Xmas with handy top buttons. Just right for listening to recorded favourite books. I have been accumulating some in case of being confined to bed or having the eye operation for cataracts. I am doing a Scarlett O'Hara on that!...See Morekathy_t
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