I finished up The Winter Palace which is about Catherine the Great. Positives: I learned more about this Russian ruler than I knew before. Negatives: I found this one kind of slow and a bit fragmented. The narrative is told through a young woman who winds up as a maid-of-honor at the Russian court, but her story wound up shadowing the story of Catherine, and about 50% of the book has Catherine only very peripheral to the rest of the story. I think it could have used more editing.
At any rate, onward to The Fossil Hunter this week. I had read Remarkable Creatures (a fictious account of the same town of Lyme Regis on the coast of England where many amazing fossils were found in the early 19th century) by Tracy Chevalier last year and enjoyed that very much. This is the nonfiction version of the same set of facts. Just a couple of chapters into it, but so far, a very good read - well-written and interesting.
I need to back-track at some point and pick up a volume of short stories - I may find something to fit the bill that I can take with me to read at night in the hotel in Denver in another week when I'm tired and short on attention span!
WEEKS & TOPICS
1. a book with more than 500 pages: Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth. FINISHED.
2. a romance: Katherine by Anya Seton. FINISHED
4. a book published this year: The House of Hawthorne by Erika Robuck.
5. a book with a number in the title: The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. FINISHED.
6. a book written by someone under 30: Eragon by Christopher Paolini. FINISHED.
7. a book with nonhuman characters: The Greyfriar by Susan Griffith. FINISHED.
8. a funny book: Bossypants by Tina Fey. FINISHED.
9. a book by a female author: Fever 1793 by Laurie Anderson. FINISHED.
10. a mystery or thriller: Séance in Sepia by Michelle Black. FINISHED.
12. a book of short stories: Snow White, Blood Red anthology.
13. a book set in a different country: The Winter Palace by Eva Stachniak. FINISHED.
14. a nonfiction book: The Fossil Hunter by Shelley Emling.
15. a popular author's first book: The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan.
16. a book from your favorite author that you haven't read yet: Forests of the Heart by Charles deLint. FINISHED.
17. a book a friend recommended: Botelo by Alyson Hagy.
18. a Pulitzer-prize winning book: Andersonville by MacKinley Kantor.
19. a book based on a true story: The Wild Princess by Mary Hart Perry.
20. a book at the bottom of your to read list: Before I Go To Sleep by S.J Watson.
21. a book your mom or dad loves: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman.
22. a book that scares you: The Blackhouse by Peter May.
23. a book more than 100 years old: Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte.
24. a book based entirely on its cover: Twilight of Avalon by Anna Elliot.
25. a book you were supposed to read in school but didn't: The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde.
26. a memoir: Two Rings by Millie Werber and Eve Keller
27. a book you can finish in a day
28. a book with antonyms in the title: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt.
29. a book set somewhere you've always wanted to visit: Iceland by Betsy Tobin.
30. a book that came out the year you were born: Mary, Queen of Scots by Antonia Fraser.
31. a book with bad reviews: Moon People?
32. a trilogy (the first): Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clarke.
33. a trilogy (the second) Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clarke.
34. a trilogy (the third) Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clarke.
35. a book from your childhood: Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell. FINISHED.
36. a book with a love triangle: Muse by Mary Novak.
37. a book set in the future
38. a book set in high school: The Small Rain by Madeline L’Engle.
39. a book with a color in the title: A Cavern of Black Ice by J.V. Jones.
40. a book that made/makes you cry
41. a book with magic: Grave Witch by Kalayna Price.
42. a graphic novel
43. a book by an author you've never read before: My Name is Mary Sutter by Robin Oliveira
44. a book you own but have never read: The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro.
45. a book that takes place in your hometown: Magic America by C.E. Medford.
46. a book that was originally written in another language: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.
47. a book set during Christmas (or similar holiday): A Child’s Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas.
48. a book written by an author with your same initials: Silver Lies by Ann Parker.
49. a play
50. a banned book: Beloved by Toni Morrison.
51. a book based on OR turned into a tv show: Deja Dead by Kathy Reichs.
52. a book you started but never finished: The Heresy of Dr. Dee by Phil Rickman.
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