Apr 21 2006
Young ladies; married ladies; old maids; thoughtless young persons of both sexes; gamblers, profligates and libertines; servants who, whether by accident or design, have acquired an education beyond their station: these are the idle creatures who may be found at any hour of the night or day with a novel in their hands
Heather has a book meme that I’m stealing;
Connect any six books in your library to each other by any way you want. One book will remind you of another because the author’s name is similar, a fictional character shows up in someone else’s book, another author is talked about by characters in a book, maybe the same friend recommended both books, or whatever. Books from a series count as one entry in your list
- Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb. In my head cause Mal just reviewed Ship of Magic. I love all Hobb’s books. She just has some really great characters. I started on these because everyone in Fantasy Favorites loved them. And, they also got me to pick up
- A Song for Arbonne by Guy Gavriel Kay. Again, I love all of Kay’s books. But this was the first one by him that I read. He has some wonderful characters and I really enjoy the way he blends historical events and people into great fantasy novels. And speaking of historical fantasy leads me to
- Grunts! by Mary Gentle. Another of my favourite authors. Okay, so this one isn’t really historical, but others by her are. Grunts is the tale of a company of orcs, cursed by a dragon they begin to turn into a sort of marine corps. Its really great, and has loads of little shout-outs to the classics of fantasy. Including
- The Lord of the Rings by Tolkien. I’ve probably reread this book more than any other. Although whether that is because I’ve had it for so long or because I really like it is up for debate. Okay so there aren’t many female characters, and its a bit of a wandering narrative with no destination in sight at the start, but its also a fantastic read, with wonderful characters and is responsible for some great films too. Which leads me on to
- The Sharpe books by Bernard Cornwell. Okay so they aren’t the best books in the world. Not even close. But they are entertaining and quick reads. Easy to pick up, easy to put down. Another book set in the same period is
- Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke. But it is very, very different to the Sharpe books
And far, far better.
Over at Stainless Steel Droppings Carl mentioned that in America it is National Poetry Month. The only poetry I really remember is the stuff we had to learn at school for the Leaving. Luckily I had a good English teacher so don’t hate all those poems I would post Yeat’s Easter 1916 but its a bit long, so instead we’ll go with Austin Clarke’s The Lost Heifer which is about the Irish civil war:
When the black herds of the rain were grazing,
In the gap of the pure cold wind
And the watery hazes of the hazel
Brought her into my mind,
I thought of the last honey by the water
That no hive can find.
Brightness was drenching through the branches
When she wandered again,
Turning sliver out of dark grasses
Where the skylark had lain,
And her voice coming softly over the meadow
Was the mist becoming rain.
