What I Finished Last Week When I tell you that I finished two enormous books last week, I mustn't forget to tell you that last Monday was a school holiday and last Friday was an unexpected (snow-less) snow day. I almost never read big books (unlike many of you, I love prefer reading lots of short books). So this was a bonanza reading week for me. 
How's this for a book premise? Tell the real story behind Sleeping Beauty, modifying all the magical elements to include rational explanations of events in the story that were prevalent in the middle ages. That's the idea behind this book. Blackwell does a "beautiful" job, creating atmosphere, explaining the cruelty of Millicent and the mysterious sleep of the castle and the kiss of the prince well. A perfect
vacation day read.
I've had this ARC since last summer's ALA conference. I was drawn to the story of Robert Louis Stevenson; my school is named after him and I felt like I knew very little about him.* I know lots about him now. The book mostly deals with his relationship with his wife, Fanny, which is to me the least interesting part of Stevenson, but that may just be me. I like his cheerfulness and I liked learning about how he came to write his books. A perfect snow day read.
*Apparently, the school board who named my school after him knew little about him either; I find it hard to believe that my small town school board would have eagerly chosen to name a school after someone who was a self-proclaimed agnostic and an adulterer.
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What are you hoping to read this week?
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is where we share what we read this past week, what we hope to read this week…. and anything in between! This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from!
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I don't read as many chunksters as I used to, my reading has slowed and it takes me too long to get through them lol. Both your books are new to me, hope you enjoy them :)
ReplyDeleteI almost never read enormous books, but I was happy to have both of these on hand during the vacation day and the storm day. They were perfect.
ReplyDeleteVery impressive reading! I want to read While Beauty Slept and I have an ARC of Under the Wide and Starry Sky that I got at BEA last year. Hope to read that one soonish, as I really enjoyed Horan's previous book, Loving Frank.
ReplyDeleteMy post: http://www.bookclublibrarian.com/2014/01/sundays-weekly-book-recap-51.html
Yay for reading some chunksters. I love diving into big books.
ReplyDeleteGoing to add Under the Wide and Starry Sky to my shelves!
I have noticed that the longer books sit on my stack for much longer than shorter books. It is nice to get to them once in a while though. Come see my Monday Report if you get a chance. Happy reading!
ReplyDeleteWow, that was some feat. Two chunksters in the same week. I'm tackling a big book this week (Oliver Twist) although I am reading it alongside another and am under no illusions that I'll finish it any time soon. Unless it's a classic, I don't read books with more than 450 pages!
ReplyDeleteHappy Reading!
:-)
Bits & Bobs
While Beauty Slept looks good, I'll have to check that out soon :)
ReplyDeleteWhile Beauty Slept sounds so good I added right to my TBR list. I'm gonna go to the library and see if they have it right away.
ReplyDeleteJust FYI: While Beauty Slept won't be published until Feb. 20!
ReplyDeleteStill attacking my reading backlog -1 book at a time & crosses all genres. Right now is The a Ghost Of Graylock Hall. Bought a Winters Tale -- indeed a hunk of a book at 750+ pages, but I know it will be passed around. Was looking into the Starry Sky book - always enjoy reading new info on historical people.
ReplyDeleteInteresting about Robert Louis Stevenson, I don't know much about him either. That would be an interesting book I would think. It's funny how little we know sometimes about the classic authors whose works are so well known.
ReplyDeleteThe cover design of Under the Wide and Starry Sky reminded me of Neil Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane, perhaps because both are blue. Nice to know that it's about Robert Louis Stevenson! Thanks for sharing and happy reading this week! =)
ReplyDeleteMost of my favorite books are 500+. If well written, they are delightful reads that let us get lost in the details.
ReplyDeleteThese must be very good to keep you invested while reading!
I just added the Sleeping beauty to my list.
Wonderful, some days just devoted to reading! I hope this week is not bad, either.
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