Review: The White Queen by Philippa Gregory

A beautiful widow stands on the side of the road to gain the attention of King Edward, and plead her case to regain her property rights for herself and her two sons, even though her first husband fought on losing side of the battle. So begins Philippa Gregory’s telling of The War of the Roses (or Cousin’s War) through the voice of Elizabeth Woodville in The White Queen.

As Elizabeth attracts the attention of young Edward she will not fully give herself to the King without a ring on her finger. Her refusal, and possibly a little witchcraft, brings Edward back to secretly wed her before he goes off to battle to secure his possession of the throne (at least for a time). When Edward comes back victorious, he eventually calls his bride to take her place as his Queen.

This story, narrated mostly by Elizabeth, chronicles many years, births, deaths, court intrigue, plots, war and murder. It kept me turning the page, especially as I realized I was not really familiar with this history. I did have a vague remembrance of the Princes in the Tower, but did not know the story of their mother. So I couldn’t wait to get to the end to see what happened.

This book captured me right from the beginning. Gregory builds Elizabeth into such a strong, fascinating character. She has a genuine love of her husband, as the Queen she (mostly) understands that she will not be the only woman in his life, but knows that she is the one he will always come back home to, and he does. She is also relentless when it comes to all her children (from her first husband and Edward) and spends her days securing the power of Edward’s children bestowed upon them by their birthright, and also that of her first husband’s sons which was bestowed by Edward. Of course there is a little of her own thirst for power in her as well, and a desire for vengeance too.

In addition to this strong portrait of Elizabeth, this book also portrays other strong women such as Elizabeth’s mother, Jacquetta, an accused witch and a former friend of the previous Queen, Margaret of Anjou. Jacquetta helps steer Elizabeth into becoming a Queen and building her own court, through her own experiences and maybe some magic. Then later, there is Elizabeth’s oldest daughter with Edward, also named Elizabeth. As the book ends, it appears that she too will become a portrait of strength, inheriting some of the traits of her mother and grandmother, as she begins to come in to her own – in thought and deed.

One issue that I did have with the book is that since there is just so much happening in the time that is covered (1464 – 1485) there were parts of the book that felt more like an overview narration. I did not feel as connected with the court, or have as much of a visual sense as I seem to remember from other books (but this might also be that while it has been awhile since I have read these books, I have certainly seen many movies and TV shows to supplement the picture). But while I felt like I knew these characters, especially Elizabeth, and their development, I did not always “see” them in their surroundings.

But overall, I was fascinated with the historical story, and enjoyed the journey Gregory took me on. I found myself so interested in this time period that I went out and purchased The War of the Roses by Alison Weir so I could get a historical background and get a glimpse into the whole story from a nonfiction perspective. Of course I also find myself anxiously waiting for the next books in this series, The Red Queen, which will look at Margaret Beauford, and definitely The White Princess which will focus on the Princess Elizabeth (Elizabeth’s daughter) – there is a little info on this on Gregory’s Web site.

I won this book from a Twitter contest (@WhiteQueen_book) by the publisher.

The White Queen
Author: Philippa Gregory
ISBN: 978-1416563686
Published: August 18, 2009 (Hardcover)
Publisher: Touchstone
Pages: 432

Review: Dancing with Ana by Nicole Barker

High school BFFs Beth, Jenny, Melanie and Rachel share everything with each other. So one day while dishing about one of the high school’s most popular girls, who they think is so skinny, they decide to all go on diets together to lose a few pounds. For Beth and Rachel, especially Beth, they start taking it to an extreme.

This is the basic story in Nicole Barker’s young adult book Dancing with Ana.

While it has been awhile since I was a teen, when these girls were just being high school girls experiencing budding romances, high school parties and stuff, I thought they were well written teenagers. I enjoyed Beth discovering that the boy next door was more to her than a friend, and came to like each of the girls. But this book addresses very heavy and sensitive topics and it seemed to me that the resolutions were too easy, glossed over, and mostly achieved through the help of their new boyfriends.

So, ultimately, I really did not connect with this book at all.

Thanks to the author for sending me a copy of this book to read/review.

Dancing with Ana
Author: Nicole Barker
ISBN: 978-0-615-28852-9
Published: 2009
Publisher: The Golden Road Press
Pages: 170

Tuesday Teaser, 3 November – Benny and Shrimp

It’s that time of week again for Should Be Reading’s fun meme Teaser Tuesdays.

So how does this work:

• Grab your current book
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

I am happy to report that I finished up Club Dead by Charlaine Harris this morning at the gym, but only got a few pages in to today’s tease book, Benny and Shrimp by Katarina Mazetti.

“I used to sit on the bench for a little while after I’d done the grave, and finish thinking all my interrupted thoughts, hoping to find a loose end to grab onto, to keep me plodding on through the next day or two. If I don’t keep my mind on the job, there’s inevitably some little disaster and I have to spend an extra day sorting it out.” Pg. 5

Thanks to FSB Associates for sending me this book to read/review.

QUESTION OF THE DAY
What’s your tease for this Tuesday?

October in Review

Wow, it’s November already. I feel like it was only the other day that I was out getting some Christmas shopping done this summer, feeling so proud of myself for getting a jump on things. Now, here we are, November 2 and I’m not much further on the shopping, or on much else. Where is this time going?

I felt like I was in a bit of a book blogging slump this October, but intend to get back to a more active status. I did get some reviews done, including my review for Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout, which I called out in my September wrap as something that must get done.

Below are my stats for the month. My goals this month are to read and review faster (especially the reviewing – I really don’t want books sitting waiting to be reviewed more than a few days past reading, but I think this is more a resolution for 2010, which isn’t far away anymore).

How about you? How was your October?

My Look Back:

Books Read
1. The Postmistress by Sarah Blake
2. Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
3. Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
4. Dancing with Ana by Nicole Barker
5. The White Queen by Phillipa Gregory

Reviews
Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

Challenges
R.I.P. IV Challenge (which stands for Readers Imbibing Peril) hosted by Stainless Steel Droppings
Challenge Time: September 1 – October 31, 2009
Books Completed: 3 (of 4) Wrap-up Post

Back to School Challenge hosted by Five Borough Book Review
Challenge Time: September 1 – December 31, 2009
Books Completed: 0 (of 4)

Everything Austen hosted by Stephanie’s Written Word
Challenge Time: July 1, 2009 – January 1, 2010
Books Completed: 3 (of 6)

Harry Potter Reading Challenge hosted by Galleysmith
Challenge Time: August 1, 2009 – June 30, 2010
Books Completed: 2 (of 8 )

Sookie Stackhouse Challenge hosted by Beth Fish Reads
Challenge Time: July 1, 2009 – June 30, 2010
Books Completed: 2 (of 9)

Awards
Jennifer at Reading with Tequila gave me the One Lovely Blog award.

What Are You Reading Monday, 2 November

Thanks to J Kaye’s Book Blog for hosting this weekly meme.

Wow – November. How did this happen? I’ll be getting to my “month that was” post soon – so today I’ll forgo the summary of my week, other than to say I didn’t finish any books. I have two that I plan to finish up this week (including one I hope to start tomorrow) and hope to still chip away at Dracula.

Have a great reading week! What will you be reading?

BOOKS I COMPLETED
None

BOOK TO COMPLETE
1. Club Dead by Charlaine Harris

BOOKS TO BEGIN/CONTINUE
1. Benny and Shrimp by Katarina Mazetti
2. The Private Papers of Eastern Jewel by Maureen Lindley
3. Dracula by Bram Stoker

One Lovely Award

What a way to end the month, Jennifer at Reading with Tequila gave me the One Lovely Blog award. If you haven’t been over to her site, definitely go check it out. Thank you so much, Jennifer, I really appreciate this award.

Now, of course in blog award fashion, I am to pass the love around. For this award, the rules are to award it to 15 other bloggers I have newly discovered. Here is my list of 15 (although I am being a little liberal on “newly discovered”) that are all in my Google Reader, so give them all a little visit.

1. A Booklover’s Diary
2. Bellas Novella
3. Book Nut
4. Book Rat
5. Booktumbling
6. Farm Lane Books
7. Find Your Next Book Here
8. Life and Times of a “New” New Yorker
9. Mis(h)takes
10. She Reads and Reads
11. That’s a Novel Idea
12. The Ladybug Reads
13. The Printed Page
14. The Sweet Bookshelf
15. Today’s Adventure

R.I.P. Challenge Wrap-up

All that angst on changing up a book to finish the R.I.P. IV Challenge (which stands for Readers Imbibing Peril) hosted by Stainless Steel Droppings, and still, I didn’t reach my four book goal. It’s funny, challenges are great because, well as the name implies, they challenge us and our reading, so not finishing this challenge was a good reminder about enjoying the journey on the way to the destination (even if I did stress a little about not actually hitting my goal).

I did start reading Club Dead by Charlaine Harris, and will finish it up in the next day or two. I’m glad I switched to have a fun, light book to read while making the final preparations for one of my favorite holidays. Friday night I found myself spending more time carving pumpkins, baking pumpkin seeds and also baking up some gingerbread ghosts instead of reading. But Sookie was the prefect book to read in between jumping up off the coach to hand out candy.

So at the end of the day I finished up three of four books, and am already counting the days until R.I.P. V!

Books I Completed:
1. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith     MY REVIEW
2. Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick     MY REVIEW
3. Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger     MY REVIEW

Finish a Book, or Finish a Challenge

Finish a book, or finish a challenge … This is the question I am asking myself as I look at my progress on Dracula, my fourth and final book for Stainless Steel Droppings’ R.I.P. IV Challenge .

Don’t get me wrong, I am enjoying The Count, and I’m not thinking of never finishing, it’s just not a fast read, and with three of four books complete, and a challenge deadline of October 31st, I also want to finish this fun challenge.

That leaves me looking at another set of Vampires sitting on my shelf that I could potentially finish up by Saturday night (but even that might be a little too ambitious). Of course I mean Vampire Bill and Vampire Eric in the third book from the Sookie Stackhouse series Club Dead (which would also put me one more book in on another challenge I am in, the Sookie Stackhouse Reading Challenge hosted by Beth Fish Reads).

So, I won’t be leaving Transylvania and that castle on the precipice for good. I just need to spend a chunk of quiet time with The Count, and with pumpkin carving, scary movies and trick-or-treating on the horizon – I don’t see that happening in the next few days. So it looks like the Halloween season will be extending into November for me. And who doesn’t love an extended holiday?!

QUESTION OF THE DAY:
Have you ever changed up your last book at the last minute to better meet a challenge goal?

Review: Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

Olive Kitteridge is not just the name of Elizabeth Strout’s Pulitzer Prize winning book, Olive is the heart of this collection of short stories. She is neither warm nor fuzzy. She speaks her mind. In fact she really doesn’t seem to have much of a filter on her thoughts, and she has thoughts about everything: her husband, her son’s new wife, everyone in town.

Even as each chapter is a story, they build one off of the other, in layers, to create a character study of Olive. And whether she is the central character or just passing through – all the stories belong to her. I learned about Olive as a younger woman and the pain that may have made her the hardened woman she was. I felt empathy for Henry, Olive’s long suffering husband. I cringed for Christopher, Olive’s son, as Olive comes to visit him and his new family in New York City.

I found this book enjoyable because it had so much to offer. I didn’t need to love Olive to want to know more about her and the residents of Cosby, Maine. Strout’s storytelling kept me turning the page so that I could learn all of Olive’s facets and try to understand her a little better.

Olive Kitteridge
Author: Elizabeth Strout
ISBN: 978-0812971835
Published: September 30, 2008 (Paperback; Reprint edition)
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Pages: 304

Tuesday Teaser, 27 October 2009 – Dracula

It’s that time of week again for Should Be Reading’s fun meme Teaser Tuesdays.

So how does this work:

• Grab your current book
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

With only a few days until Halloween, today I am teasing you with Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

“As they sank into the darkness I felt a strange chill, and a lonely feeling came over me; but a cloak was thrown over my shoulders, and a rug across my knees, and the driver said in excellent German: – ‘The night is chill, mein Herr, and my master the Count bade me take all care of you. There is a flask of slivovitz [the plum brandy of the country] underneath the seat, if you require it.’” Pg. 15

QUESTION OF THE DAY
What’s your tease for this Tuesday?