downtheTBRhole – Page 16 – What Cathy Read Next…

Down the TBR Hole #9

November 17, 2017November 16, 2017 whatcathyreadnext13 Comments

This meme was created by Lia at Lost in a Story as a way to tackle the gargantuan To-Read shelves a lot of us have on Goodreads. Like other people, I’ve long ago forgotten what prompted me to add some of the books I have shelved. This meme is the perfect excuse to start taking back control…

The rules are simple:

Go to your Goodreads To-Read shelf.
Order on ascending date added.
Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books
Read the synopses of the books
Decide: keep it or should it go?
Repeat every week until the entire list has been filtered (hmm, quite a few weeks then!)

This week’s ten who need to demonstrate their worth are:

The Town House (House #1) by Norah Lofts (added 17^th August 2013)

Martin Reed is the serf born in 1381 who starts Norah Lofts’ epic ‘House’ trilogy. He resents the feudal system that undermines him. When circumstances change, he begins a new life as a free man, builds the house and founds a family. From the perspectives of five characters who live in the house, Lofts evokes fourteenth- and fifteenth-century life with the storytelling ability that has made her so popular.

Verdict: Keep – This one is one my Classics Club list so it’s got to stay.

Catalina’s Riddle (Roma Sub Rosa #3) by Steven Saylor (added 31^st August 2013)

With the consular election drawing near, Rome is fiercely divided between the conservative Cicero and the tempestuous Catilina, whose followers are rumored to be plotting a blood-thirsty siege for power if their leader fails to win office. Gordianus the Finder, retired to his Etruscan farm, is happy to be free of the intrigue and danger of the capital, but when his old friend Cicero enlists the Finder in an elaborate plot to control Catilina, Gordianus is drawn back into a familiar world. Now caught in a cloak-and-dagger political struggle for the fate of the Republic, Gordianus finds himself strangely drawn to the controversial candidate. Is Catilina really a subversive renegade, or are Cicero suspicions part of an even greater conspiracy? When a headless corpse ominously appears on his farm, Gordianus knows he must unlock the secret of Catilina’s Riddle before Rome tears herself apart.

Verdict: Keep – This is a good historical mystery series set in Ancient Rome that I’ve really enjoyed. I’ve read the first two and this is the third.

I’m going to take a shortcut and group the next seven together…

The Venus Throw (Roma Sub Rosa #4) by Steven Saylor (added 31^st August 2013)

On a chill January evening in 56 B.C., two strange visitors to Rome—an Egyptian ambassador and a eunuch priest—seek out Gordianus the Finder whose specialty is solving murders, but the ambassador, a philosopher named Dio, has come to ask for something Gordianus cannot give—help in staying alive. Before the night is out, he will be murdered. Now Gordianus begins his most dangerous case. Hired to investigate Dio’s death by a beautiful woman with a scandalous reputation, he will follow a trail of political intrigue into the highest circles of power and the city’s most hidden arenas of debauchery. There Gordianus will learn nothing is as it seems—not the damning evidence he uncovers, not the suspect he sends to trial, not even the real truth behind Dio’s death which lies in secrets—not of state, but of the heart.

A Murder on the Appian Way (Roma Sub Rosa #5) by Steven Saylor (added 31^st August 2013

This time the powerful politician Publius Clodius is murdered (53 BCE) on the Appian Way (a major road leading south from Rome), and as riots break out in Rome at the news of his death, the fate of the Republic is in doubt. All of the major political figures of the time are involved: Pompey (the great), Julius Caesar, Milo, and Cicero, plus any number of lesser figures. Surrounded by intrigue and beset with problems, Gordianus seeks out the unpalatable truth behind this death, and uncovers a complex and dangerous sequence of events.

Rubicon (Roma Sub Rosa #7) by Steven Saylor (added 31^st August 2013)

As Caesar marches on Rome and panic erupts in the city, Gordianus the Finder discovers, in his own home, the body of Pompey’s favorite cousin. Before fleeing the city, Pompey exacts a terrible bargain from the finder of secrets-to unearth the killer, or sacrifice his own son-in-law to service in Pompey’s legions, and certain death. Amid the city’s sordid underbelly, Gordianus learns that the murdered man was a dangerous spy. Now, as he follows a trail of intrigue, betrayal, and ferocious battles on land and sea, the Finder is caught between the chaos of war and the terrible truth he must finally reveal.

Last Seen in Massilia (Roma Sub Rosa #8) by Steven Saylor (added 31^st August 2013)

In this mystery set in Marseilles in 49 B.C., master detective Gordianus the Finder is on a personal quest to learn the truth about his missing son, Meto. Plunged into the midst of the bloody Roman civil war, the well-connected Gordianus and his son-in-law Davus survive adventure after adventure as they penetrate the Gaulic city Massilia, which is walled against Roman invasion.

A Mist of Prophecies (Roma Sub Rosa #9) by Steven Saylor (added 31^st August 2013)

In the year 48 B.C., Rome is in the midst of civil war. As Pompey the Great and Julius Caesar fight for control of the Republic, Rome itself becomes a hotbed of intrigue, riven by espionage, greedy profiteering, and bitter betrayals…Against this background a beautiful young seeress staggers across the Roman marketplace and dies in the arms of Gordianus the Finder. Possibly mad and claiming no memory of her past, Cassandra—like her Trojan namesake—was reputed to possess the gift of prophecy. For such a gift there are many in Rome who would pay handsomely—or resort to murder.Obsessed with Cassandra and her mystery, Gordianus begins to investigate her murder. As he gradually peels away the veils of secrecy that surround Cassandra’s life and death, he discovers a web of conspiracy linking many of the city’s most ruthless and powerful women. Now Gordianus’s pursuit of the truth not only endangers his own life, but could change the future of Rome itself.

The Judgment of Caesar (Roma Sub Rosa #10) by Steven Saylor (added 31^st August 2013)

In 48 B.C. the Roman generals Caesar and Pompey are engaged in a battle to rule the world. Now, as Pompey plots a reckless stand on the banks of the Nile, Gordianus the Finder—who has brought his dying wife Bethesda to the Nile seeking a cure from its sacred waters—finds himself suddenly at the heart of a series of treacherous and history-altering events. While Caesar and Cleopatra embark on a legendary romance, Egypt remains ravaged by the brutal contest between the Queen and her brother King Ptolemy. Worst of all for Gordianus, Meto, his once disowned son and Caesar’s right-hand man, stands falsely accused of murder. Caesar’s judgment will decide his son’s fate, and it is up to Gordianus to somehow overcome malevolent forces to reveal the carefully obscured truth in order to save his son’s life.

The Triumph of Caesar (Roma Sub Rosa #12) by Steven Saylor (added 31^st August 2013)

Gordianus, recently returned from Egypt with his wife Bethesda, is essentially retired from his previous profession of ‘Finder’, but even he cannot refuse the call of Calpurnia, Caesar’s wife. Troubled by dreams foretelling disaster and fearing a conspiracy against the life of Caesar, she had hired someone to investigate the rumors. but that person, a close friend of Gordianus, has just turned up dead—murdered on her doorstep. With four successive Triumphs for Caesar’s military victories scheduled for the coming days, and Caesar more exposed to danger than ever before, Calpurnia wants Gordianus to uncover the truth behind the rumored conspiracies—to protect Caesar’s life, before it is too late. No fan of Caesar, Gordianus agrees to help, but only to find the murderer of his friend. Yet, once an investigation is begun, there’s no controlling what it will turn up, who it will put in danger, and where it will end

Verdict: Go x 7 – Although some of these sound like they have great plots, I’m applying my rule not to keep subsequent books in a series if I’ve not yet read the first or next book. So that’s seven books removed in one fell swoop!

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield (added 31^st August 2013)

All children mythologize their birth…So begins the prologue of reclusive author Vida Winter’s collection of stories, which are as famous for the mystery of the missing thirteenth tale as they are for the delight and enchantment of the twelve that do exist.

The enigmatic Winter has spent six decades creating various outlandish life histories for herself – all of them inventions that have brought her fame and fortune but have kept her violent and tragic past a secret. Now old and ailing, she at last wants to tell the truth about her extraordinary life. She summons biographer Margaret Lea, a young woman for whom the secret of her own birth, hidden by those who loved her most, remains an ever-present pain. Struck by a curious parallel between Miss Winter’s story and her own, Margaret takes on the commission.

As Vida disinters the life she meant to bury for good, Margaret is mesmerized. It is a tale of gothic strangeness featuring the Angelfield family, including the beautiful and willful Isabelle, the feral twins Adeline and Emmeline, a ghost, a governess, a topiary garden and a devastating fire. Margaret succumbs to the power of Vida’s storytelling but remains suspicious of the author’s sincerity. She demands the truth from Vida, and together they confront the ghosts that have haunted them while becoming, finally, transformed by the truth themselves.

The Thirteenth Tale is a love letter to reading, a book for the feral reader in all of us, a return to that rich vein of storytelling that our parents loved and that we loved as children. Diane Setterfield will keep you guessing, make you wonder, move you to tears and laughter and, in the end, deposit you breathless yet satisfied back upon the shore of your everyday life.

Verdict: Keep – A book described as ‘a love letter to reading’ – how can I not keep that? It seems to be a book where opinion is divided but I think I’ll give it a chance.

The Result: 3 kept, 7 dumped. Of course, it did help that I was able to get rid of most of the books I added on what must henceforth be known as “Steven Saylor Day”. Do you agree with my choices? Have I dumped any books you would have kept or vice versa?

Down the TBR Hole #8

October 28, 2017 whatcathyreadnext11 Comments

The rules are simple:

Go to your Goodreads To-Read shelf.
Order on ascending date added.
Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books
Read the synopses of the books
Decide: keep it or should it go?
Repeat every week until the entire list has been filtered (hmm, quite a few weeks then!)

This week’s ten who need to demonstrate their worth are:

The Thread by Victoria Hislop (added 2^nd August 2013)

A beautiful and epic novel that spans nearly a hundred years, The Thread is a magnificent story of a friendship and a love that endures through the catastrophes and upheavals of the twentieth century – both natural and man-made – in the turbulent city of Thessaloniki, Greece. Victoria Hislop, internationally bestselling author of The Island and The Return, has written a wonderfully evocative and enthralling saga enriched by deep emotion and sweeping historical events, from fire to civil war to Nazi brutality and economic collapse. The Thread is historical fiction at its finest, colorful and captivating with truly unforgettable characters – a novel that brilliant captures the energy and life of this singular Greek city.

Verdict: Keep – I’ve enjoyed previous novels by Victoria Hislop that I’ve read and the setting is one I’m always drawn to having enjoyed many holidays in Greece.

Here Be Dragons (Welsh Princes #1) by Sharon Kay Penman (added 7^th August 2013)

Thirteenth-century Wales is a divided country, ever at the mercy of England’s ruthless, power-hungry King John. Then Llewelyn, Prince of North Wales, secures an uneasy truce with England by marrying the English king’s beloved, illegitimate daughter, Joanna. Reluctant to wed her father’s bitter enemy, Joanna slowly grows to love her charismatic and courageous husband who dreams of uniting Wales. But as John’s attentions turn again and again to subduing Wales – and Llewelyn – Joanna must decide to which of these powerful men she owes her loyalty and love.

Verdict: Keep – I’ve really enjoyed previous novels by Sharon Kay Penman and this isn’t a period I’ve read much about.

Falls The Shadow (Welsh Princes #2) by Sharon Kay Penman (added 7^th August 2013)

This is Simon de Montfort’s story – and the story of King Henry III, as weak and changeable as Montfort was brash and unbending. It is a saga of two opposing wills that would later clash in a storm of violence and betrayal, a story straight from the pages of history that brings the world of the thirteenth century completely, provocatively, and magnificently alive. Above all, this is a story of conflict and treachery, of human frailty and broken legends, a tale of pageantry and grandeur that is as unforgettable as it is real….

The Reckoning (Welsh Princes #3) by Sharon Kay Penman (added 7^th August 2013)

Here, alive from the pages of history, is the compelling tale of a Celtic society ruled by Llewelyn, Prince of Wales, on a collison course with a feudal realm of Edward I. WIth this last book in the extraordinary trilogy that began with HERE BE DRAGONS and continued in FALLS THE SHADOW, Sharon Kay Penman has written a beautiful and moving conclusion to her medieval saga. For everyone who has read the earlier books in this incomparable series or ever wanted to experience the rich tapestry of British history and lore, this bold and romantic adventure must be read.

Verdict: Go – I’m taking these two together and applying my rule not to keep subsequent books in a series if I’ve not yet read the first book.

Time and Chance (Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine #2) by Sharon Kay Penman (added 7^th August 2013)

It was medieval England’s immortal marriage – Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II, bound by passion and ambition, certain to leave a legacy of greatness. But while lust would divide them, it was friendship–and ultimately faith–that brought bloodshed into their midst. It began with Thomas Becket, Henry’s closest confidant, and his elevation to be Archbishop of Canterbury. It ended with a perceived betrayal that made a royal murder seem inevitable. Along the way were enough scheming, seductions, and scandals to topple any kingdom but their own. . . .

Devil’s Brood (Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine #2) by Sharon Kay Penman (added 7^th August 2013)

Where the second novel in the trilogy, Time And Chance, dealt with the extraordinary politics of the twelfth century, climaxing with the murder of Thomas Becket and Henry’s confrontation with the Church and self-imposed exile to Ireland, Devil’s Brood centers on the implosion of a family. And because it is a royal family whose domains span the English Channel and whose alliances encompass the Christian world, that collapse will have dire consequences. This is a story of betrayal as Henry’s three eldest sons and his wife enter into a rebellion against him, aligning themselves with his bitterest enemy, King Louis of France. But it is also the story of a great king whose brilliance forged an empire but whose personal blind spots led him into the most serious mistake of his life.

Verdict: Go – OK, OK, so I was clearly having a Sharon Kay Penman moment. I have the first book in the trilogy further up my To-Read shelf. Again, I’m going to take these two together and apply my rule not to keep subsequent books in a series if I’ve not yet read the first book.

HHhH by Laurent Binet (added 10 August 2013)

Two men have been enlisted to kill the head of the Gestapo. This is Operation Anthropoid, Prague, 1942: two Czechoslovakian parachutists sent on a daring mission by London to assassinate Reinhard Heydrich, chief of the Nazi secret services, ‘the hangman of Prague’, ‘the blond beast’, ‘the most dangerous man in the Third Reich’. His boss is Heinrich Himmler but everyone in the SS says ‘Himmler’s brain is called Heydrich’, which in German spells HHhH. All the characters in HHhH are real. All the events depicted are true. But alongside the nerve-shredding preparations for the attack runs another story: when you are a novelist writing about real people, how do you resist the temptation to make things up? HHhH is a panorama of the Third Reich told through the life of one outstandingly brutal man, a story of unbearable heroism and loyalty, revenge and betrayal. It is improbably entertaining and electrifyingly modern, a moving and shattering work of fiction.

Verdict: Keep – I’ve heard so much about this novel and I actually have a copy on my Kindle so it stays.

Lady of the English by Elizabeth Chadwick (added 17^th August 2013)

Two very different women are linked by destiny and the struggle for the English crown. Matilda, daughter of Henry I, is determined to win back her crown from Stephen, the usurper king. Adeliza, Henry’s widowed queen and Matilda’s stepmother, is now married to William D’Albini, a warrior of the opposition. Both women are strong and prepared to stand firm for what they know is right. But in a world where a man’s word is law, how can Adeliza obey her husband while supporting Matilda, the rightful queen? And for Matilda pride comes before a fall …What price for a crown? What does it cost to be ‘Lady of the English’?

Verdict: Keep – I’ll be honest and say I’ve had mixed feelings about previous novels I’ve read by Elizabeth Chadwick but I’m intrigued by the characters in this one so I’ll give it a chance. (By the way, why is it the models on these covers always look so modern, not convincingly of the period?)

Shadows and Strongholds (FitzWarin #1) by Elizabeth Chadwick (added 17^th August 2013)

England, 1148. Ten-year-old Brunin FitzWarin is an awkward misfit in his own family. A quiet child, he is tormented by his brothers and loathed by his powerful and autocratic grandmother. In an attempt to encourage Brunin’s development, his father sends him to be fostered in the household of Joscelin de Dinan, Lord of Ludlow. Here Brunin will learn knightly arts, but before he can succeed, he must overcome the deep-seated doubts that hold him back.

Hawise, the youngest daughter of Lord Joscelin, soon forms a strong friendship with Brunin. Family loyalties mean that her father, with the young Brunin as his squire, must aid Prince Henry of Anjou in his battle with King Stephen for the English crown. Meanwhile, Ludlow itself comes under threat from Joscelin’s rival, Gilbert de Lacy. As the war for the crown rages, and de Lacy becomes more assertive in his claims for Ludlow, Brunin and Hawise are drawn into each other’s arms. Now Brunin must defeat the shadows of his childhood and put to use all that he has learned. As the pressure on Ludlow intensifies and a new Welsh threat emerges against his own family’s lands, Brunin must confront the future head on, or fail on all counts….

Verdict: Go – Bearing in mind my comments on the previous book, this one has to really pique my interest to retain its place. It sounds like the romance element may be uppermost so I’ll pass on this one.

The Forever Queen (Saxon #2) by Helen Hollick (added 17^th August 2013)

Saxon England, 1002. Not only is Æthelred a failure as King, but his young bride, Emma of Normandy, soon discovers he is even worse as a husband. When the Danish Vikings, led by Swein Forkbeard and his son, Cnut, cause a maelstrom of chaos, Emma, as Queen, must take control if the Kingdom-and her crown-are to be salvaged. Smarter than history remembers, and stronger than the foreign invaders who threaten England’s shores, Emma risks everything on a gamble that could either fulfill her ambitions and dreams or destroy her completely. Emma, the Queen of Saxon England, comes to life through the exquisite writing of Helen Hollick, who shows in this epic tale how one of the most compelling and vivid heroines in English history stood tall through a turbulent fifty-year reign of proud determination, tragic despair, and triumph over treachery.

Verdict: Go – You’ll have gathered by now that I’m attracted to historical fiction featuring prominent female characters. But it’s the second in a series and I haven’t read the first – I haven’t even got it on my To Read shelf – so it goes.

The Result: 4 kept, 6 dumped. I have been positively ruthless! Do you agree with my choices? Have I dumped any books you would have kept or vice versa?

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