This is such a nice topic. And even though we've had similar subjects before, I'm not going to bore you with the list I published before but mention some of my all-time favourites by some of the best authors ever and also some more recent reads.
Let's read
Tuesday, 1 April 2025
Top Ten Tuesday ~ Books You'd be a Fool not to Read
This is such a nice topic. And even though we've had similar subjects before, I'm not going to bore you with the list I published before but mention some of my all-time favourites by some of the best authors ever and also some more recent reads.
Happy April!
New Calendar picture with this
beautiful watercolour painting by Frank Koebsch
Spring definitely has sprung in our part of the world. Far too early. But it gave us the chance to visit our youngest son in Brussels. The town was so beautiful at this time of year.
☔ I wish you all a Happy April ☔
Monday, 31 March 2025
Weir, Alison "Katharine Parr. The Sixth Wife"
Weir, Alison "Katharine Parr. The Sixth Wife" (Six Tudor Queens #6) - 2021
The sixth wife of Henry VIII. And the sixth book in the Tudor Queens series by Alison Weir.
I think I knew far too little about Katharine Parr. She was Henry's last wife. She survived him. She had two husbands before him. She married again when he died only to die herself in childbed. That's about all I knew.
Of course, this is a novel based on the life of the queens. However, there is a lot in it that is history and where we can learn about that time in England.
We see through the eyes of Katharine Parr that women were just a commodity, and not worth a lot for that. At her first marriage, she doesn't even know the husband. Then she has to look for another one because otherwise a woman has no means to live. When she falls in love with Thomas Seymour, she has to marry the king who also wants her. What a life!
In any case, Alison Weir has brought the Tudor queens to life in a way no history book could ever have done. For that, I thank her profoundly.
From the back cover:
"Two husbands dead; a life marred by sadness. And now Katharine is in love for the first time in her life.
The eye of an ageing and dangerous king falls upon her. She cannot refuse him. She must stifle her feelings and never betray that she wanted another.
And now she is the sixth wife. Her queenship is a holy mission yet, fearfully, she dreams of the tragic parade of women who went before her. She cherishes the secret beliefs that could send her to the fire. And still the King loves and trusts her.
Now her enemies are closing in. She must fight for her very life.
KATHARINE PARR – the last of Henry’s queens.
Alison Weir recounts the extraordinary story of a woman forced into a perilous situation and rising heroically to the challenge. Katharine is a delightful woman, a warm and kindly heroine – and yet she will be betrayed by those she loves and trusts most.
Too late, the truth will dawn on her."
Friday, 28 March 2025
Book Quotes
True. Even if your parents are the smartest and most educated in the world, nobody knows everything. But we can learn so much from books that it will almost make us fly.
"If people cannot write well, they cannot think well, and if they cannot think well, others will do their thinking for them." George Orwell
Even truer. As we can always see when there have been elections.
"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something." Plato
Another true statement. Worst are those who think they know everything but really know nothing. They will shout loudest. And those who shout loudest are usually in the wrong.
Find more book quotes here.
Thursday, 27 March 2025
#ThrowbackThursday. November 2012
Larsen Line, Joanne/Loving Tubesing, Nancy "Quilts From The Quiltmaker's Gift" - 2000
Two of the most famous quotes in one book, how often do you get that? And the rest of the book is as good as the beginning and the end.
This dystopian novel is so up-to-date, it might as well have been written yesterday. That's how great it is, you can tell good writing.
Wednesday, 26 March 2025
Alphabet Authors ~ L is for Lamb
I found this idea on Simon's blog @ Stuck in a Book. He picks an author for each letter of the alphabet, sharing which of their books he's read, which I ones he owns, how he came across them etc.
This was a tough letter to choose from I really love Mary Lawson but I read more books by Wally Lamb. Maybe one day, Mary Lawson will write more books and I can put together a list of hers, as well.
I got to know Wally Lamb with my Dutch book club, we read "She's Come Undone" and were wondering what the German and Dutch translations were (this was before you could look up everything on the internet). Anyway, we were quite surprised to find the titles that both meant something like Music of the Whales.- "The Hour I First Believed" - 2008
- "I Know This Much is True" - 1998
- "I'll Take You There" - 2016
- "She's Come Undone" - 1997
- "We are Water" - 2013
- "Wishin' and Hopin': A Christmas Story" - 2009
Born October 17, 1950 in Norwich, Connecticut, US
He is a University professor for English and has done a lot of prison work.
He received several prizes for his works of fiction and non-fiction.
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Tuesday, 25 March 2025
Top 5 Tuesday ~ Covers with Clocks
You probably noticed that some of the titles are not in English. Well, the English edition doesn't have a clock. But all the books are available in English and the links lead you to the Englisch review.