Elly
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Post by Elly on Dec 6, 2006 17:53:46 GMT 10
I bought 'Sylvia' today, the latest book from Bryce Courtney, he has wrote tons of books but the only one I have really read and enjoyed was 'Jessica', this seems a new type of book for him being set in Europe,
From master storyteller Bryce Courtenay comes a colourful, lusty story set in the thirteenth century. The story of Sylvia Honeyeater, who sings like an angel and can literally charm the birds from the trees, this epic tale of a Europe torn by religious intolerance also features the Pied Piper of Hamelin, Francis of Assisi, the Muslim Sultan and his harem, as well as the fervour that became the Children’s Crusade and then later the Crusades …
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Post by dreamy on Dec 6, 2006 23:52:05 GMT 10
Oh, this book sounds good to me, the more as I LOVED "Jessica". Let me know what you think, Elly; I'm planning to get that book myself.
I still have two gift certificates for the bookstore - so I will let you know what I finally got for them.
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Elly
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Post by Elly on Dec 7, 2006 9:52:28 GMT 10
just finishing 'The Boleyn Inheritance' the latest Phillipa Gregory, have read most of her books, this one is very good too, so maybe start the Courtney one next week, a lot of sales on here on books in most shops, why do they do this when there are so many other things we need to buy, so very very tempting #happy# I have to keep away from them this Bryce Courtney one was only released here last week Dreamy, not sure about elsewhere, just in hard back so far, only bought it as it was only $20 #happy# usually you'll pay more than that for the paperback version.
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Post by dreamy on Dec 10, 2006 2:21:46 GMT 10
I was out today and hit the book store. I bought a couple of books, one of them is "The Ancestors of Avalon" by Diana Paxton who was a cowriter of Marion Zimmer Bradley for a long time. Diana finished this book by using Marion's raw prints (For those who don't know Marion Zimmer Bradley died in 1999 and couldn't finish this book which is the last one of the "Avalon" series). Here is a review on the book:
"Ancestors of Avalon by Diana L. Paxson Viking, 2004, ISBN 0-670-03314-6 A book review by Elisabeth Carey
This has Marion Zimmer Bradley's name splashed across the cover slightly larger than Paxson's, and in all caps. The story itself, while entirely Paxson's work, is apparently based on an idea that Bradley had been kicking around for years, and inserted bits of into Mists of Avalon and other works, of a connection between mythical Atlantis and mythical Avalon.
The Sea Kingdoms of Atlantis are about to be destroyed by earthquake and volcanic eruption, the delayed consequence of a prince and priest of the previous generation, and the priestly and royal leaders of Atlantis can only gather as many people as they can onto the available ships, and head for the possible sanctuary of the Isles of Tin, i.e., Britain. Tiriki, one of the most senior priestesses, and her husband Micail, both a priest and the prince of Ahtarrath, one of the last of the Sea Kingdoms to be destroyed, wind up on different ships in the last of the chaos. Both ships reach Britain, but at far enough separated points that they don't find each other, and must each struggle on separately, with the friends and colleagues who are with them, as well as the natives, to preserve the traditions of Atlantis.
Micail arrives in a town built by Atlantean traders earlier, with some of the comforts of civilization as well as somewhat familiar rules for ordering life and making decisions. In his growing grief, however, as Tiriki's ship doesn't arrive, he's very passive. A prince from a neighboring Sea Kingdom, Tjalan, fills the vacuum and sets out to rebuild the Atlantean empire in his own way, and despite the doubts and concerns of some of the others, with Micail passively going along, there's no one to exercise any restraint on him.
Meanwhile, Tiriki and her companions arrive near a more primitive native village and, after some tense moments, are welcomed by the natives when their priestess recognizes Tiriki as another priestess serving the same powers. There's a tor nearby which is clearly the home or focus of a Power worth being on good terms with, and which should be easily recognizable to any fan of Arthurian fiction. Tiriki's grieving for the apparently lost Micail, also, but she and her smaller group of companions, joining a relatively primitive native village, has critical problems of basic survival to struggle with. In addition, there's the political problem of melding the small group of Atlanteans, of widely different social status at home, into one coherent group. Unlike Micail's group, there simply aren't enough of them to keep old social structures in place in the new land. Apprentice priests and priestesses may thing themselves of a higher caste than servants and sailors, and sailors may think land-based hard labor, rather than shipboard hard labor, is beneath them, and they may all have their initial doubts about the villagers, but nothing they value about their civilization is going to survive into the next generation if they don't get over it.
It's a minor point, but I was pleased to notice it: whether it's Paxson's doing, or Bradley's in earlier novels, someone has noticed that several thousand years ago, when Atlantis mythically existed, not only would the constellations have had different names, but the sky itself would have looked different, because the stars wouldn't be in the same parts of the sky at the same time. This would matter for astrology and for navigation, and in this book, it does matter.
It's an interesting, enjoyable read, with Tiriki's parts significantly more fun because Tiriki actually does things, rather than sitting there like a lump, waiting for things to happen and not recognizing when someone does something that has Bad Idea spray-painted all over it. (I mean, Micail's a nice guy, but it's definitely not his brains that Tiriki's interested in.)
Anyway, it's fun, quick read. "
Well, this should keep me busy for a while... #read#
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Post by helene on Dec 17, 2006 2:40:30 GMT 10
Hello,
I have just bought a beautiful book of panoramic views of Scotland from a french photograph Hervé Sentucq . His title is "Scotland panorama". I think that his photos are wonderful ! If you want to discover some of them, you can see them on this site #http://www.franco-ecossaise.asso.fr/
A beautiful Christmas gift for me...# #love#
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Post by andi on Dec 17, 2006 21:17:07 GMT 10
True, the photos are really beautiful. Thankfully I don't need a language to view them as I'm helpless with french, unfortunately.
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Post by andi on Dec 18, 2006 7:39:56 GMT 10
I bought some books as Christmas presents for my gran, auntie and cousin, mostly romance novels. Got an amazon voucher from a friend as a birthday pressie but still not sure whether to spend it for a book or dvd...
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Elly
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Post by Elly on Dec 30, 2006 19:31:26 GMT 10
I borrowed 'Court Of The Midnight King' only read a small bit of it, but is really good, have read so many books on Richard, he is one of my favourite characters from history unless you believe Shakespeare, this one is sort of part fantasy part reality. so far I would recommend it. The most reviled monarch in English history or a man caught between the forces of light and darkness, pushed by circumstance into the vilest of crimes? The Wars of the Roses - colourful, full of fury and passion. In our histories - and Shakespeare's play - Richard the Third dies on Bosworth Field, hacked to death in a just ending. But another Richard exists, who is still loved in the North of England and remembered as their best ruler. But how can these two opposites have co-existed in the same world? Or did they? Through the eyes of Lady Katherine we see Richard grow up in a strange world where both Mother Goddess and patriarchal Christian God exist, and the struggle between the two religions is mirrored in that between York and Lancaster. From their teenage years, Freda Warrington traces Richard and Katherine's story during one of the most fascinating times in England's history.
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Post by dreamy on Dec 31, 2006 2:46:56 GMT 10
Looks like a book right after my own heart. Will have a look for it then - I still have one gift certificate for the bookstore... #ssmile#
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Elly
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Posts: 29,887
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Post by Elly on Dec 31, 2006 11:33:50 GMT 10
Looks like a book right after my own heart. Will have a look for it then - I still have one gift certificate for the bookstore... #ssmile# yes thought it was your kind of book Its really very good, going to buy it myself if I can ;D
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Post by dreamy on Jan 1, 2007 5:32:01 GMT 10
I had a look at amazon and a quick read of the summary; I think I will hit the bookstore on Tuesday and have them order it for me. Will take a couple of days but I hope I will soon be able put my nose between the pages.... #read#
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Elly
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Posts: 29,887
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Post by Elly on Jan 1, 2007 16:46:10 GMT 10
oh good Dreamy, know you will love this one, haven't heard of it before I saw it in the library.
what do you think of starting a review thread for the books we recommend, a new thread for each title so they are easy to find, just sometimes folk have recommended books but you have to plough through pages to find it, think it is worth starting, maybe in a sub board.
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