Tag: downtheTBRhole

Down the TBR Hole #3

whatcathyreadnext2 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:

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

This week’s ten potential sacrificial victims:

InvitationtotheWaltzInvitation to the Waltz by Rosamond Lehmann (added 28th Feb 2013)

On her seventeenth birthday, Olivia Curtis receives: a diary for her innermost thoughts, a china ornament, a ten-shilling note and a roll of flame-coloured silk for her first ball dress. She anticipates the dance, the greatest and most terrifying event of her life so far, with uncertainty and excitement. For her pretty sister Kate, it is sure to be a triumph, but what will it be for shy, awkward Olivia?

Verdict: Keep – This is on my Classics Club Challenge list so it has to stay and seeing it will hopefully prompt me to make a bit more progress on the list. I freely admit the progress has been woeful lately.

TheScentofDeathThe Scent of Death by Andrew Taylor (added 24th Mar 2013)

Manhattan, 1778. A city of secrets, profiteers, loyalists and double agents. As the last part of America under British rule, New York is home to a swelling tide of refugees seeking justice from the British crown. Edward Savill is sent from London to investigate the claims of dispossessed loyalists. No sooner does he land than he becomes embroiled in the case of a gentleman murdered in the city’s notorious Canvas Town. An escaped slave hangs for the crime, but Savill is convinced they have executed the wrong man. Lodging with the respected Wintour family, Savill senses the mystery deepening. Judge Wintour’s beautiful daughter-in-law, Arabella, hides a tragedy in her past, while his son plans a dangerous mission into enemy territory. And what of Mr Noak, the enigmatic clerk seemingly bent on a dubious course of his own? One thing is clear – the killing in Canvas Town was just the start of a trail of murder, and it’s leading directly to Savill…

Verdict: Go – I read The American Boy by Andrew Taylor although I can’t remember much about it other than I gave it a rather unenthusiastic 3* on Goodreads. It also sounds rather similar to Golden Hill by Francis Spufford that I read recently.

TheRavensSealThe Raven’s Seal by Andrei Baltakmens (added 1st Apr 2013)

When the body of Thaddeus Grainger’s rival turns up stabbed to death in an alley just hours after their inconclusive duel, only one suspect comes to mind. Charged with murder, Grainger’s fate is sealed before his trial even begins. A young gentleman of means but of meaningless pursuits, Grainger is cast into the notorious Bellstrom Gaol, where he must quickly learn to survive in the filthy, ramshackle prison. The “Bells” – where debtors, gaolers, whores, thieves, and murderers all mix freely and where every privilege comes at a price – will be the young man’s home for the rest of his life unless he can prove his innocence. Despite his downfall, his friends, the journalist William Quillby and Cassie Redruth, the poor young girl who owes Grainger a debt of gratitude, refuse to abandon him. But before they can win his freedom, they must contend with forces both inside and outside the prison determined to keep Grainger behind bars and, at the same time, decode the meaning behind the crude wax seal that inspires terror in those who know its portent.

Verdict: Go – Look at the date added. Perhaps this was my own private joke. Anyway, I have no recollection of what particularly appealed to me about this one.

GuernicaGuernica by Dave Boling (added 3rd Apr 2013)

In 1935, Miguel Navarro finds himself in conflict with the Spanish Civil Guard, and flees the Basque fishing village of Lekeitio to make a new start in Guernica, the center of Basque culture and tradition. In the midst of this isolated bastion of democratic values, Miguel finds more than a new life— he finds someone to live for. Miren Ansotegui is a charismatic and graceful dancer who has her pick of the bachelors in Guernica, but focuses only on the charming and mysterious Miguel. The two discover a love that war and tragedy cannot destroy.

Verdict: Go – Comparisons to other more famous novels can be misleading – this is compared to Captain Corelli’s Mandolin and The English Patient. It’s got quite a lot of 4* and 5* reviews but I’m not in the mood for a gamble.

JulianJulian by Gore Vidal (added 3rd April 2013)

Julian the Apostate, nephew of Constantine the Great, was one of the brightest yet briefest lights in the history of the Roman Empire. A military genius on the level of Julius Caesar and Alexander the Great, a graceful and persuasive essayist, and a philosopher devoted to worshiping the gods of Hellenism, he became embroiled in a fierce intellectual war with Christianity that provoked his murder at the age of thirty-two, only four years into his brilliantly humane and compassionate reign. A marvelously imaginative and insightful novel of classical antiquity, Julian captures the religious and political ferment of a desperate age and restores with blazing wit and vigor the legacy of an impassioned ruler.

Verdict: Go – I’m tempted by this because of the author’s reputation and my interest in Roman history. However, it’s over 500 pages (I’m really a 350 pages kind of girl) and it’s not currently available in ebook format on Amazon, so it goes.

AugustusAugustus by John Williams (added 3rd Apr 2013)

After the brutal murder of his great-uncle, Julius Caesar, Octavian, a shy and scholarly youth of nineteen, suddenly finds himself heir to the vast power of Rome. He is destined, despite vicious power struggles, bloody wars and family strife, to transform his realm and become the greatest ruler the western world had ever seen: Augustus Caesar, the first Roman Emperor.

Verdict: Keep – I’m sure I added this after finishing Stoner, a book I absolutely loved. If this is even half as good as that it will be a winner. And it’s a sort of quid pro quo for dumping the Gore Vidal above.

HeatandDustHeat and Dust by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (added 7th Apr 2013)

Set in colonial India during the 1920s, Heat and Dust tells the story of Olivia, a beautiful woman suffocated by the propriety and social constraints of her position as the wife of an important English civil servant. Longing for passion and independence, Olivia is drawn into the spell of the Nawab, a minor Indian prince deeply involved in gang raids and criminal plots. She is intrigued by the Nawab’s charm and aggressive courtship, and soon begins to spend most of her days in his company. But then she becomes pregnant, and unsure of the child’s paternity, she is faced with a wrenching dilemma. Her reaction to the crisis humiliates her husband and outrages the British community, breeding a scandal that lives in collective memory long after her death.

Verdict: Keep – Another one from my Classics Club Challenge list plus it won The Booker Prize and it sounds brilliant.

BlackLambandGreyFalconBlack Lamb and Grey Falcon by Rebecca West (added 7th Apr 2013)

Written on the brink of World War II, Rebecca West’s classic examination of the history, people, and politics of Yugoslavia illuminates a region that is still a focus of international concern.  A magnificent blend of travel journal, cultural commentary, and historical insight, Black Lamb and Grey Falcon probes the troubled history of the Balkans and the uneasy relationships among its ethnic groups. The landscape and the people of Yugoslavia are brilliantly observed as West untangles the tensions that rule the country’s history as well as its daily life.

Verdict: Keep – I read West’s The Return of the Soldier recently as part of my Classics Club Challenge and was rather disappointed. However, this one sounds interesting and I did enjoy one of her other works of non-fiction, The Meaning of Treason, so I think it stays for now.  Plus I don’t read enough non-fiction.

PlagueChildPlague Child by Peter Ransley (added 8th Apr 2013)

September 1625. Plague cart driver, Matthew Kneave, is sent to pick up the corpse of a baby. Yet, on the way to the plague pit, he hears a cry – the baby is alive. A plague child himself, and now immune from the disease, Matthew decides to raise it as his own. Fifteen years on, Matthew’s son Tom is apprenticed to a printer in the City. Somebody is interested in him and is keen to turn him into a gentleman. He is even given an education. But Tom is unaware that he has a benefactor and soon he discovers that someone else is determined to kill him. The civil war divides families, yet Tom is divided in himself. Devil or saint? Royalist or radicalist? He is at the bottom of the social ladder, yet soon finds himself within reach of a great estate – one which he must give up to be with the girl he loves.

Verdict: Go – It sounds kind of interesting (and I do like the cover) but it doesn’t have great reviews and I’ve probably got more promising books of its type elsewhere on my list.

TheMidwife'sTaleThe Midwife’s Tale by Sam Thomas (added 8th Apr 2013)

It is 1644, and Parliament’s armies have risen against the King and laid siege to the city of York. Even as the city suffers at the rebels’ hands, midwife Bridget Hodgson becomes embroiled in a different sort of rebellion. One of Bridget’s friends, Esther Cooper, has been convicted of murdering her husband and sentenced to be burnt alive. Convinced that her friend is innocent, Bridget sets out to find the real killer with the help of Martha Hawkins, a servant who’s far more skilled with a knife than any respectable woman ought to be…

Verdict: Go – I read a lot of historical mysteries so they have to work hard to stand out from the crowd and, although I like the idea of two female protagonists, I don’t think this one does.

The Result: 4 kept, 6 dumped. Better than last week but at this rate, I’ll still have over 300 books on my wishlist at the end of the process. Hmm…

Anyway, do you agree with my choices? Have I dumped any books you would have kept or vice versa?

Down the TBR Hole #2

whatcathyreadnext5 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, to coin a phrase…

The rules are simple:

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

First of all a postscript from last week – I’ve been prevailed upon by the lovely Beth at Bibliobeth to reconsider my decision to dump The Time Traveller’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. Far be it from anyone to accuse What Cathy Read Next of not being responsive to its readers! To maintain the same number of disposals (six from ten) I’ve decided instead to relegate A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth to the great book dustbin in the sky. It’s 1,474 pages long, right? I mean that’s about four “normal” size books!

So, on to this week’s ten potential sacrificial victims:

TheAngel'sGameThe Angel’s Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (added 1st Nov 2012)

In this powerful, labyrinthian thriller, David Martín is a pulp fiction writer struggling to stay afloat. Holed up in a haunting abandoned mansion in the heart of Barcelona, he furiously taps out story after story, becoming increasingly desperate and frustrated; thus, when he is approached by a mysterious publisher offering a book deal that seems almost too good to be real, David leaps at the chance. But as he begins the work, and after a visit to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, he realizes there is a connection between his book and the shadows that surround his dilapidated home and that the publisher may be hiding a few troubling secrets of his own. Once again, Ruiz Zafón ventures into a dark, gothic Barcelona and creates a breathtaking tale of intrigue, romance, and tragedy.

Verdict: Keep – I loved The Shadow of the Wind and I know a lot of reviewers weren’t as crazy about this but it’s about books so it’s staying.

TheBaker'sDaughterThe Baker’s Daughter by Sarah McCoy (added 1st Nov 2012)

In 1945, Elsie Schmidt is a naive teenager, as eager for her first sip of champagne as she is for her first kiss. She and her family have been protected from the worst of the terror and desperation overtaking her country by a high-ranking Nazi who wishes to marry her. So when an escaped Jewish boy arrives on Elsie’s doorstep in the dead of night on Christmas Eve, Elsie understands that opening the door would put all she loves in danger. Sixty years later, in El Paso, Texas, Reba Adams is trying to file a feel-good Christmas piece for the local magazine. Reba’s latest assignment has brought her to the shop of an elderly baker across town. The interview should take a few hours at most, but the owner of Elsie’s German Bakery is no easy subject. Reba finds herself returning to the bakery again and again, anxious to find the heart of the story. For Elsie, Reba’s questions are a stinging reminder of darker times: her life in Germany during that last bleak year of WWII.

Verdict: Go – I’m drawn to stories set in WW2 and if it stayed in the past I’d probably keep it but I invariably find the present day story less engaging.

TheLostWifeThe Lost Wife by Alyson Richman (added 1st Nov 2012)

In pre-war Prague, the dreams of two young lovers are shattered when they are separated by the Nazi invasion. Then, decades later, thousands of miles away in New York, there’s an inescapable glance of recognition between two strangers… Providence is giving Lenka and Josef one more chance. From the glamorous ease of life in Prague before the Occupation, to the horrors of Nazi Europe, The Lost Wife explores the power of first love, the resilience of the human spirit- and the strength of memory.

Verdict: Keep – Having said I usually find the present day element of dual time narratives disappointing, I think I’ll take a chance on this one – plus it’s had great reviews.

VeilofLiesVeil of Lies by Jeri Westerson (added 8th Dec 2012)

Crispin Guest is a disgraced knight, stripped of his rank and his honor – but left with his life – for plotting against Richard II. Having lost his bethrothed, his friends, his patrons and his position in society, with no trade to support him and no family willing to acknowledge him, Crispin has turned to the one thing he still has – his wits – to scrape a living together on the mean streets of London. In 1383, Guest is called to the compound of a merchant – a reclusive mercer who suspects that his wife is being unfaithful and wants Guest to look into the matter. Not wishing to sully himself in such disgraceful, dishonorable business but in dire need of money, Guest agrees and discovers that the wife is indeed up to something, presumably nothing good. But when he comes to inform his client, he is found dead – murdered in a sealed room, locked from the inside. Now Guest has come to the unwanted attention of the Lord Sheriff of London and most recent client was murdered while he was working for him. And everything seems to turn on a religious relic – a veil reported to have wiped the brow of Christ – that is now missing.

Verdict: Go – It’s billed as “Medieval Noir” (the reference to the ‘mean streets of London” should give it away) but I’m not convinced about Raymond Chandler transported to 14th century London (although I do like the cover).

AConspiracyofPaperA Conspiracy of Paper by David Liss (added 8th Dec 2012)

Benjamin Weaver, a Jew and an ex-boxer, is an outsider in eighteenth-century London, tracking down debtors and felons for aristocratic clients. The son of a wealthy stock trader, he lives estranged from his family—until he is asked to investigate his father’s sudden death. Thus Weaver descends into the deceptive world of the English stock jobbers, gliding between coffee houses and gaming houses, drawing rooms and bordellos. The more Weaver uncovers, the darker the truth becomes, until he realizes that he is following too closely in his father’s footsteps—and they just might lead him to his own grave.

Verdict: Go – I was obviously in historical mystery mode when I added a lot of these but I’m not convinced there’s anything that makes it stand out from the crowd.

TheExpectedOneThe Expected One by Kathleen McGowan (added 8th Dec 2012)

When journalist Maureen Paschal begins the research for a new book, she has no idea that she is stepping into an ancient mystery so secret, so revolutionary, that thousands of people have killed and died for it. Two thousand years ago, Mary Magdalene hid a set of scrolls in the French Pyrenees: the Gospel of Mary Magdalene, her version of the life of Jesus and the events of the New Testament. Protected by supernatural forces, these sacred scrolls could be uncovered only by a special seeker, one who fulfills the ancient prophecy of L’Attendu – the Expected One.

Verdict: Go – Hmm, another dual time historical mystery this time with a religious conspiracy angle. This one no longer grabs me plus it’s the first in a trilogy so that would be three books I’d be committing to!

BlindJusticeBlind Justice by Bruce Alexander (added 3rd Jan 2013)

Falsely charged of theft in 1768 London, thirteen-year-old orphaned printer’s apprentice Jeremy Proctor finds his only hope in the legendary Sir John Fielding. Fielding, founder of the Bow Street Runners police force, then recruits young Jeremy in his mission to fight London’s most wicked crimes.

Verdict: Go – I was on the verge of keeping this one but then I saw it’s part of an 11-volume (11!) series…no way!

 

CompanyofLiarsCompany of Liars by Karen Maitland (added 28 Feb 2013)

The year is 1348. The Black Plague grips the country. In a world ruled by faith and fear, nine desperate strangers, brought together by chance, attempt to outrun the certain death that is running inexorably toward them.

Each member of this motley company has a story to tell. From Camelot, the relic-seller who will become the group’s leader, to Cygnus, the one-armed storyteller . . . from the strange, silent child called Narigorm to a painter and his pregnant wife, each has a secret. None is what they seem. And one among them conceals the darkest secret of all–propelling these liars to a destiny they never saw coming.

Verdict: Keep – Now we’re talking! I love Karen Maitland’s books (I have her latest The Plague Charmer sitting on my TBR shelf) so this one is staying.

TheTrialofElizabethCreeThe Trial of Elizabeth Cree by Peter Ackroyd (added 28 Feb 2013)

The year is 1880, the setting London’s poor and dangerous Limehouse district, home to immigrants and criminals. A series of brutal murders has occurred, and, as Ackroyd leads us down London’s dark streets, the sense of time and place becomes overwhelmingly immediate and real. We experience the sights and sounds of the English music halls, smell the smells of London slums, hear the hooves of horses on the cobblestone streets, and attend the trial of Elizabeth Cree, a woman accused of poisoning her husband but who may be the one person who knows the truth.

Verdict: Keep – Ackroyd is a great writer about London and I love the sound of the period setting and the story.  Also, it’s subtitled Dan Leno and the Limehouse Golem which alone makes me want to read it right this minute…

TheWinterSeaThe Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley (added 28th Feb 2013)

In the spring of 1708, an invading Jacobite fleet of French and Scottish soldiers nearly succeeded in landing the exiled James Stewart in Scotland to reclaim his crown. Now, Carrie McClelland hopes to turn that story into her next bestselling novel. Settling herself in the shadow of Slains Castle, she creates a heroine named for one of her own ancestors and starts to write.  But when she discovers her novel is more fact than fiction, Carrie wonders if she might be dealing with ancestral memory, making her the only living person who knows the truth – the ultimate betrayal – that happened all those years ago.  That knowledge comes very close to destroying her.…

Verdict: Keep – Dual time narrative alert! However I like the setting and if anyone can pull off a combined past and present story line it’s Kearsley.

The Result: Not quite as good as last week, but not bad – a 50/50 outcome. Do you agree with my choices? Have I dumped one of your all-time favourite books?