Anna's Reading in 2016

[chaliepud]

That's too bad, Firefly Lane sounded good!

It does get good reviews, I just wasn't fond of the main character at all, and she didn't get better in the second book, in my opinion. There's only one way to see if you agree!!!

[Anna Begins]

It does get good reviews, I just wasn't fond of the main character at all, and she didn't get better in the second book, in my opinion. There's only one way to see if you agree!!!

Oh- then Fly Away is the sequel? Hmmm, that makes it more attractive.

[chaliepud]

Oh- then Fly Away is the sequel? Hmmm, that makes it more attractive.

Yes, it is, if you read it let me know what you think.

[Athena]

Once I start reading again *roll eyes* I will probably check out Home Front first, it sounds like something I normally wouldn't read.

 

I loved Home Front! To date, it's the only Kristin Hannah book I read, but it was amazing. I plan to read more of them though, I have a couple.

 

I hope you are able to get around to it soon, I do like Kristin's books although I wasn't so keen on Firefly Lane and Fly Away.

That's good to know . I do own both of those but I also own others, so I'll start with another one.

[Anna Begins]

I'm not really reading too much lately, but just found out about a book of historical essays that I thought I'd review. It's about all I can handle right now Anyway, the recommendation came from BBC History Magazine in an article if the genre is damaging historical knowledge (say with popular series and books like Man in the High Castle). This book, Virtual History, however, is based in historical fact and is not fiction in any way.

 

Virtual History: Alternatives and Counterfactuals by Niall Ferguson (504 pages)

 

Consisting of nine essays, ranging from an England without Cromwell to JFK living, Scottish historian and Harvard Professor Nial Ferguson looks at the flip side of historical events and their repercussions.

 

Nazi Europe

 

This isn't make believe or science fiction, nor Ferguson's vision of what had happened could history have taken an alternative turn. I started with the essay "Nazi Europe" , which covered Rosenberg 's Counterfactual, Hitler's Vision, Himmler' Counterfactual, as well as the final sub chapter, "And Tomorrow, the World?" . Backed up by legitimate plans of the Nazi regime, some take 65 years to implement and involved deporting over 20 million Poles to Siberia, Ferguson doesn't hypothesize, but simply lays out plans already (scarily) beginning to be put into fruition.

 

Especially interesting were plans for conquered Russians.

 

Most terrifying were that Nazi plans for world domination were already in effect: ready deportation of Ukrainians for transfer to Poland as a 'barrier', the murder of hundreds of thousands of ethnic Poles for no reason except their being Poles... elaborate Nazi offices were even deployed for the far east and Africa, detailing how millions of Germans would inhabit these lands, but natives would live in the most primitive conditions.

 

The beginnings of the essay start with Hitler taking over Britian, but never sinks so low as to propose popular and basic questions. ( it even shows up in my auto correct)

 

The essay ends with opposite viewpoints of Hitler domination: was he content to rule all of Europe, or ready to fight the U.S. For world domination?

 

Plans for world domination are frightening, Operation Tannenbaum, which allowed Switzerland to be divided among its (Nazi/ German) neighbors or Operation Isabella and Felix, which would have secured Portugal and Gibraltar.

 

The essay ends with " And Tomorrow, the World? " with Hitler's vision of cities he has taken, populated by Aryans; with his architectural background he envisions a Berlin with bridges and skyscrapers to rival the United States.

 

I'm interested to see what else this book has to say, I thought I'd keep my thoughts in my thread.

Edited December 3, 2016 by Anna Begins

[Anna Begins]

Game of Queens: The Women Who Made Sixteenth Century Europe by Sara Gristwood

(394 pages)

 

This was a great book, with the first half focusing on Anne de Beaujeu and Isabella of Castile. It builds to Katherine of Aragon's marriage and struggle with Henry, while weaving in relationships between Margaret of Austria and Louise of Savoy. Anne Boleyn is slowly brought into the book, as her impact on the period was significant.

 

Basically, the women who ruled behind Kings and Emperors, but then a change occurs as Elizabeth I and Catherine de Medici come to power and rule in their own right.

 

After these two women passed, Gristwood points to the decline of women as heads of state, but her reasons are weak. She concludes, as she wrote the book, Hilary Clinton was running for President, Theresa May was negotiating with Nicola Sturgeon and Angela Merkel. Griswold proposes a new Age of Queens.

 

*book ends with an astounding 80 pages of Acknowledgments, Notes, Further Reading, Illustration Credits, Index and About the Author. Disappointing.

[Athena]

I'm glad you enjoyed reading Game of Queens .

 

What a shame about the 80 pages! How disappointing.

[Anna Begins]

I'm glad you enjoyed reading Game of Queens .What a shame about the 80 pages! How disappointing.

Thanks! It was a nice read.

 

That is a pet peeve of mine! It makes me so mad!

[willoyd]

That is a pet peeve of mine! It makes me so mad!

 

That intrigues me.  Why?

[Lau_Lou]

That book sounds really interesting. Put it on my to read shelf.

[Little Pixie]

That is a pet peeve of mine! It makes me so mad!

 

Me too - if I`m really loving a book, and think I have another hour of reading left - and suddenly it`s "Sucker! Book`s ending now !! " , I`m aggrieved. 

[willoyd]

Me too - if I`m really loving a book, and think I have another hour of reading left - and suddenly it`s "Sucker! Book`s ending now !! " , I`m aggrieved. 

 

But if it's a half decent biography/history book, it's always going to have pages of notes, references etc. usually at the end.  100-150 pages is quite common whilst, for example, Roger Knight's eminent one-volume biography of Nelson is replete with 320 pages of appendices, notes, references and index! I must admit, one of the first things I do when picking such a book up is to flick through to see where the main text ends and the notes start. If there weren't any, then I would be aggrieved! 

[Anna Begins]

But if it's a half decent biography/history book, it's always going to have pages of notes, references etc. usually at the end. 100-150 pages is quite common whilst, for example, Roger Knight's eminent one-volume biography of Nelson is replete with 320 pages of appendices, notes, references and index! I must admit, one of the first things I do when picking such a book up is to flick through to see where the main text ends and the notes start. If there weren't any, then I would be aggrieved!

Oh, I don't mind extra's, I've found some good authors in the Further Reading. It's just if it says the book is 400 pages, I want 400 pages, not 320.

 

*also goes for book previews

Edited December 18, 2016 by Anna Begins

[Anna Begins]

That book sounds really interesting. Put it on my to read shelf.

It was really interesting. Have you read anything by Alison Weir?

Me too - if I`m really loving a book, and think I have another hour of reading left - and suddenly it`s "Sucker! Book`s ending now !! " , I`m aggrieved. 

I guess this could be a Kindle only problem. But I never appreciated the book page count continue with notes either, after the story/ book was finished. It was easier to flip to the back, with a tree book, I guess. But also with Kindle, the time remaining might reflect the authors next book except, it doesn't feature on page counts, so it can be disappointing.

[Lau_Lou]

It was really interesting. Have you read anything by Alison Weir?

I haven't read anything by her yet. Think 2017 is the year.

[Alexi]

But if it's a half decent biography/history book, it's always going to have pages of notes, references etc. usually at the end.  100-150 pages is quite common whilst, for example, Roger Knight's eminent one-volume biography of Nelson is replete with 320 pages of appendices, notes, references and index! I must admit, one of the first things I do when picking such a book up is to flick through to see where the main text ends and the notes start. If there weren't any, then I would be aggrieved! 

 

I do this as well. I like to know where the book ends and the appendices begin. With a non-fiction book, you know there are going to be loads of notes at the end as a rule. 

 

I agree it's very annoying when you aren't expecting it, so it's one of the first things I do - even if reading on kindle. 

[willoyd]

 It's just if it says the book is 400 pages, I want 400 pages, not 320.

 

 

 

I guess this could be a Kindle only problem. But I never appreciated the book page count continue with notes either, after the story/ book was finished. It was easier to flip to the back, with a tree book, I guess. But also with Kindle, the time remaining might reflect the authors next book except, it doesn't feature on page counts, so it can be disappointing.

 

I do agree that it's more of a problem with a Kindle than with a paper book. I tend not to use 'time left' with a Kindle (never seems accurate), preferring either pages or, if  those aren't set up, percentage.  It can mean it says 50% when actually one is much further along!  Like Alex says, I tend to go to the end and find out what is the actual percentage at the end of the main writing before starting to read, just so I know genuinely how far I've got to go as I read. 

 

It would be probably be better if, just as many publishers do with introductions etc., a different numbering system was used for 'extras', like Roman numerals, or paging starting with a letter (e.g. A1, A2, A3 etc)  Could have percentages for just the main writing too. (Probably a good reason not to, but can't think of one). 

[Little Pixie]

But if it's a half decent biography/history book, it's always going to have pages of notes, references etc. usually at the end.  100-150 pages is quite common whilst, for example, Roger Knight's eminent one-volume biography of Nelson is replete with 320 pages of appendices, notes, references and index! I must admit, one of the first things I do when picking such a book up is to flick through to see where the main text ends and the notes start. If there weren't any, then I would be aggrieved! 

 

Oh, I prefer lots of footnotes ; it seems like hard work always having to flick to the end of the book and search for them.

[Little Pixie]

It was really interesting. Have you read anything by Alison Weir?

I guess this could be a Kindle only problem. But I never appreciated the book page count continue with notes either, after the story/ book was finished. It was easier to flip to the back, with a tree book, I guess. But also with Kindle, the time remaining might reflect the authors next book except, it doesn't feature on page counts, so it can be disappointing.

 

Yes - you can`t easily turn to the end of a Kindle book to find any extras - you have to flick through and risk spoilage.

[Athena]

In a paperbook, before I start reading I always flick to the end to check when the actual book ends and keep the page number in mind while I read the book (I don't read the ending - that would be spoiling). On Kindle (on which I don't read often) I don't do this, because it seems easier to get spoiled and it's harder to flick through. It also offsets the 'Time remaining' setting. When I just got my Kindle, I did flick to the end of books, and ever since it says "Time in chapter remaining: 1 min", for almost every book. I've turned off the setting, instead showing 'Location' because it annoys me.

[pontalba]

The Gristwood sounds interesting.  I have to put it on my wish list on Amazon.