I’m in the midst of two quite different ARCs and having trouble with both of them. On the heels of a book I absolutely could NOT put down, I’m now reading the BN First Look selection, The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane and Dara Horn’s new book about a Jewish Civil War spy, All Other Nights, and much to my dismay, I’m not having trouble putting either of them down.
Thus the problem. I absolutely do not like Deliverance Dane. I think it’s quite contrived and I haven’t gotten past the first six chapeters. I’m really disappointed. I wanted to like this book so much, but there is nothing I dislike more than an unbelieveable female heroine and that’s how I’m viewing the protagonist, Connie Goodwin. She’s a complete caricature of the female graduate students I have encountered and, as I am a female graduate student in ancient history, I take umbrage at that. I’m contrasting this novel, or at least what I’ve read of it, to The Heretic’s Daughter, another novel based on the Salem witch trials by an ancestor, and The Monsters of Templeton’s grad student heroine, Willie Upton, for the academic vibe. Willie may be flak, but Groff’s grad student is much more beliveable (even with a crazy plot premise!) Each of these novels is fabulous and deserves a wide reading.
I can’t say the same for The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane. I’m guessing, though, by the BN book club boards, that the book will be a big seller for them. I’ll be in the minority on this one, but I found it more like this past summer’s blog hit The Lace Reader. I really, really disliked that book. I did finish it although I’m not sure why. It was completely unbelievable from start to finish. That’s how I’m feeling about Deliverance Dane. The characters are too overdrawn and pat for me. I shan’t finish it and that makes me very sad (it’s got a GORGEOUS cover!).
As for the other ARC I’m reading, All Other Nights, I’m having a completely different problem. The characters are interesting enough and the plot is definitely meant to be exciting, but something is missing. I think it’s the fact that Horn sets up the protagonist in a series of challenges and as he finishes one I feel like I can put the book down. It’s like the story has been totally completed and there’s nothing compelling to push me to follow his next expoloit– they’re just strung together.
It is finished at last. I really loved reading this book– at least through the first 500 + pages. After that I stuck with it because I had to know what was going to happen. I had invested so much time in it that I couldn’t let it go. I wasn’t disappointed but the last 1/4 of the book was less compelling to me than the first 3/4.
Dan Simmons is a terrific writer and seems to thrive on telling exhausting historical tales. I would read something else of his in an instant if I liked the topic– if not, I don’t think I could stick it out. I started The Terror when it came out but I couldn’t get into the story and the whole maritime vibe so I put it aside. Now that I’ve read Drood I can appreciate Simmons’ talent but I know I have to love the topic, too.
And love the topic, I did. The idea of exploring the relationship between two well known British authors (Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins) was fascinating — especially since they both lived lives of upper crust British excess, adultery and substance abuse. You can’t beat Simmons’ portrait of these two characters for descriptions of mid-19th century luxury, be it in food, clothing, travel or substance abuse. Add an elusive serial killer, mesmerism, adultery and multiple mistresses to this as well as a heavy dose of underground and slum filled London and it’s my idea of historical fiction heaven. There’s even a bit of Egyptology in this!
I discovered Wilkie Collins this past year when my book club read The Woman in White and loved it– I jumped at the chance to imagine more about his life and circumstances. One of the most fulfilling aspects of the novel is the chance to remind myself of the vast catalogue of Dickens and Collins’ work. They were both prolific writers and reading Drood does whet my appetite to read more from each of them. It was helpful to have some sense of each of their work as I was reading (the more you know the better), but it’s not essential and my guess is that you’ll leave wanting to know more about them both. I’m actually quite interested in finding out how much of this is accurate– I’m going to check out Simmons’ bibliography at the conclusion of the book. Even if it’s not true, it’s a heck of a read!
I’m trying something new. I’ve decided to see what all the fuss is about at Barnes & Noble’s First Look Online Book Club. Their next title looks appealing to me– what’s not to love about Salem, witches, and historical fiction? Remind me to say how much I hated The Lace Reader, but that’s a topic for another day.
I’m including the BN blurb introducing the April read written by the moderator, Maria. I’m looking forward to seeing how this goes. I’m fascinated by the whole on-line anonymous book club idea so I’ll blog about my experience here. I’ll also give my review of the book. I think I’m due back online with them by March 30th. I’ve already introduced myself online but I’ll be anxious to see how long it takes to GET the book and read it. It took them @9 days to respond to my request to join and I clocked in soon after the title was announced. I wonder how many folks get ARCs? We’ll see!
In the meantime, Drood continues to thrill me. 
Katherine Howe and The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane
Harvard graduate student Connie Goodwin needs to spend her summer doing research for her doctoral dissertation. But when her mother asks her to handle the sale of Connie’s grandmother’s abandoned home near Salem, she can’t refuse. As she is drawn deeper into the mysteries of the family house, Connie discovers an ancient key secreted within a seventeenth-century Bible. The key contains a yellowing fragment of parchment with a name written upon it: Deliverance Dane. This discovery launches Connie on a quest to find out who this woman was, and to unearth a rare colonial artifact of singular power: a physick book, its pages a secret repository for lost knowledge of herbs and other, stranger things. As the pieces of Deliverance’s harrowing story begin to fall into place, Connie is haunted by visions of the long-ago witch trials, and begins to fear that she is more tied to Salem’s dark past then she could have ever imagined.
About Katherine Howe:
Katherine Howe is completing a Ph.D. in American and New England Studies, and is a descendant of Elizabeth Proctor, who survived the Salem witch trials, and Elizabeth Howe, who did not. The idea for this novel developed while Howe was studying for her doctoral qualifying exams, and walking her dog through the woods between Marblehead and Salem. She lives in Massachusetts, with her husband.
I’ve been on the road the past few days. My grandmother passed away at age 102 and our family gathered for her funeral. We had a wonderful time celebrating her life and it was good to see family I see so infrequently.
It was, however, a good opportunity for me to take my Kindle iphone/ipod touch ap for a spin. I must admit I loved the convenience and didn’t miss having to tote my big fat copy of Drood around (yes, I’m STILL reading it and STILL loving it). I still crave a Kindle and still love the touch and feel of a ‘real’ book, but it was a great alternative for me during this hectic time. I had access to it anywhere and it didn’t take up any extra space. It’s fabulous for ‘covert’ reading, too!
Since I haven’t scored an ARC of Drood, I’ve been waiting for my copy from the library (see below!). That would normally be a fine way to read a hot new fiction title, but not this time. You see, my library has Drood on a ‘high interest’ list so I only have the book for one week. It’s 750+ pages, people, and I have to work and care for my family. I’m a fast reader, but I’d defy most folks to finish that book up in 7 days. My library won’t buy more than one copy because of County budget cuts. Suck!
So I’m sad. It had to return to the library today and I only made it to page 206. Brilliant and wonderful p. 206. I LOVE this book. I might never love another thing Dan Simmons has written or will write, but I LOVE this book.
Sigh.
Now I’ll buy it!
Oh happy day! Amazon has released a *free* app for the iphone/itouch that will allow its owners to buy and read Kindle format books on their Apple gadgets. I am beyond thrilled. I’m an itouch owner (didn’t want the monthly bill associated with full phone/data plan) who has been experimenting with tiny phone reading apps and I long for a Kindle and it’s larger format. I’m contenting myself with the itouch format for now, but the $20+ cost of ebooks was really daunting. I decided I’d only read free classics on my itouch.
Anyway, this morning I downloaded the free Kindle app and will now be able to buy their ebooks and keep them in my Amazon Kindle account. I can store purchased books in my Kindle account off my itouch and never lose access to them. I am just tickled by the fact that the books are so much cheaper, too. It’s all good until I can actually afford to buy a Kindle. Someday! Until then this is a FABULOUS alternative.
Thanks, Amazon!!
I can’t tell you how pleased I am to report that a copy of Dan Simmons’ novel, Drood awaits me at my local library! I love it that when I can’t get an ARC (or it’s too late for one!), I can often get them quickly at my local house o’reading. Our local library may have its faults (mostly the fault of inattention by local government and a lack of tax support), but I don’t usually have too much competition for the most interesting new books. My only fear is that I’ll get it with on a * one week loan*!!! How will I read a tome like Drood in one week? I’ll have to stay up all night for a week to make that happen. I’m assuming I’ll just get a taste of the book and have to return it. Perhaps not, but it should be a hot read. I can’t wait!!
I’m totally involved in my own world of ‘what if I were a publisher’ today. I’ve been dying for a Kindle for ages and now with the advent of the Kindle 2 my lust is resurfacing. BUT, in this day and in this economy that is not much of a reality for this reader. So…instead, I’m trying to read a book on my ipod Touch instead. My brother swears by this method and uses ereader.com to purchase most of his books. He loves the convenience and swears there’s no reason to go Kindle. His suggestion has spurred me on to try it. I’m reading a free download of Little Women right now and actually really enjoying both the book and the process.
This all leads me to my BIG idea for today. Why don’t publishers make ARC’s into time limited files for MP3/ipod/Kindle formats and then send the files out into the world for review. Surely it would save them money in the long run? I can’t be the only person thinking this. But why isn’t it happening? Not enough early adopters? They think it means no one will buy actual books? I don’t think so.
I’m actually likening the process to that of moving from CDs to mp3 files. Most of us are still buying plenty of music but in different forms. It’s more convenient and doesn’t take up space on my shelf. I still ‘own’ the file and can keep it and that doesn’t freak me out not to have the actual jewel case CD. I think this might be the right thing for my reading habits. I used to want a giant library of books but realized I was accumulating them without re-reading them. I move often due to my husband’s work so I was moving them and resenting it. I still ADORE the physical process of holding a book in my hand, but I happily share books with others and donate them to libraries.
So that’s my suggestion. ARC’s in downloadable format for reviewers. I’m so wanting this. I think it would encourage reading even more than any Oprah review.
I still love Liberty Lane. She’s the heroine of Caro Peacock’s new release, A Dangerous Affair. The new book is the US release of Peacock’s second historical adventure/mystery featuring the Victorian heroine, Liberty Lane.
This book features her solving the murder of a notorious theatrical dancer who goes by the stage name, Columbine. As was true in the first book, Liberty is driven to solve the case because it’s resolution directly affects someone close to her. David Suter, Liberty’s close friend and confidant, has fallen in love with a chorus dancer working alongside Columbine. Young Jenny has stolen his heart but appears to have alienated the star of the show. Their animosity becomes public in an on-stage altercation and Columbine’s murder follows soon after. Jenny is suspected and sentenced to death. David’s grief is all-consuming and Liberty cannot help but become involved in identifying the true murderer. Soon Liberty is the central investigator with the help of her friend Amos Legge and another musician associate of David’s, Daniel Kennedy.
I love the quick pace of this book and Peacock’s Liberty seems to be becoming more acclimated to the Victorian era. Any hesitation I might have had about her historical plausibility is dissipating. Liberty’s energy and insight are so winning that I can’t help but enjoy her exploits and the mood invoked in the book seems just right for the period. I loved reading about the backstage dramatics at a Victorian theater and her descriptions of meeting a prisoner in the bowels of the Old Bailey are terrific.
My last post featured a review of the first novel and if you scroll down you can see how much I enjoyed discovering Peacock and her characters. They are all back in this second novel and I love how Peacock reveals just a bit more about each of them. We discover more about these characters as Liberty does and Peacock leaves us wanting more– especially about the enigmatic Amos Legge and the infamous Benjamin Disraeli. I love it that Liberty is attracts such interesting and diverse male friends, but I admit to wanting a bit more positive female interaction for Liberty. She’s the product of strong and charismatic father (we never learned much of her long dead mother) and seems aloof from any real attachments to women. She’s strong enough to hold her own so I hope Peacock will allow her an equally intelligent female partner in crime (even if it’s just a minimal role).
I can’t wait to find out more about Caro Peacock– I’m off to check out her websites via Avon and her UK publisher. I hope to learn that more Liberty is in store for 2009 and beyond.
And now for something completely different… my turn at reading a historical fiction page turner– the trade pb of A Foreign Affair by Caro Peacock. I’m not a big fan of mystery series with the notable exception of Elizabeth Peters’ Amelia Peabody mysteries. I’m a sucker for all things Egyptian and her Victorian heroine Amelia is my kind of woman– brilliant, funny, totally head-over-heels in love without all the gooeyness, and loves everything having to do with the Pharaonic period. She’s treated as an equal by her husband and isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty. But my love for Amelia aside, I’ve finally found another heroine who just might lure me into her world for a couple of books– Liberty Lane.
It is 1837 and young Queen Victoria has just ascended to the throne. In the midst of this national excitement, we meet 22 year old Liberty Lane. She is an extremely self-possessed young woman determined to find her father’s murderer and restore his good name. Along the way, Liberty finds herself embroiled in political intrique so serious that England’s stability hinges on her success. Liberty is intelligent, capable, heroic, and completely unaware of her own attractiveness– all features that serve her well whe she is contacted by the mysterious ‘man in black’ asked to pose as a governess at Mandeville Hall to spy on its master, Lord Herbert Mandeville.
Peacock adds to this mixture Liberty’s fondness for a thoroughbred racehorse, her unusual friendships with a Hereford horse trainer named Amos Legge, and Daniel Suter, a musician friend of her dead father’s. Nothing in Liberty’s world is quite what it seems, and as she seeks to regain her bearings and bring her father’s killer to justice her strength and intelligence become increasingly apparent. She’s the kind of heroine you want to join you for a glass of wine or a cup of tea so you can hear more about her adventures.
Needless to say I’m looking forward to the next Liberty Lane installment, A Dangerous Affair. British readers know that Peacock has published these same first two books under different names in the UK. Avon (a Harper Collins imprint) has the US rights and is publishing them with ’series’ titles (A Foreign Affair, A Dangerous Affair).
