Did you make? Three mammoth books about a fascinating time in history, full of dastardly deeds, changing allegiances and power struggles. A time when loyalty was the name of the game. Treason was the crime. Death by execution the end result. We are all dying, just at different speeds. The pall of death and dying … Continue reading The End #WolfHallReadalong2021
“We are all dying, just at different speeds.” The end is nigh. For our Wolf Hall trilogy readalong and for Thomas Cromwell. I hope you enjoyed your Tudor mini-break throughout April; I certainly did. But I am now more than ready to tackle the final episode in this courtly drama, The Mirror and the Light, … Continue reading #WolfHallReadalong2021
April is Zoladdiction month with Fanda @ClassicLit! This year I am up to book five in the Rougon-Macquart series - La Faute de l’Abbé Mouret (1875) The Sin of Father Mouret. I will be reading the Oxford University Press edition translated by Valerie Minogue, the President of the Émile Zola Society in London. 'I really don't … Continue reading Zoladdiction 2021
Here we are at the end of March, and hopefully, the end of our (re)read of both Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies. A road trip holiday has delayed my ability to finish BUTB on time, but I'm close. Very, very close. My (re)read of Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies has reminded … Continue reading #WolfHallReadalong2021 Update
When I started reading Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander in the first week of January, it was almost 17 years to the day, since I had read it for the very first time. During my first 2004 read, I found the nautical terminology challenging. However, by the time I had finished all 20 and a … Continue reading Master & Commander | Patrick O’Brian #Readalong
Right from page one, it is obvious to see (as I (re)read), that Mantel is setting up the story to show Cromwell in a favourable and sympathetic light. The first chapter of Wolf Hall graphically, and unforgettably, describes a young Thomas Cromwell being severely beaten by his father, Walter. This is not a one-off event … Continue reading Wolf Hall | Hilary Mantel #Readalong
I didn't think that I would have time to join in Dewithon this year, but a chance hearing of part of a Byrds song on the radio (perhaps they played it on the 1st March for a reason?) led me down a Welsh rabbit hole. This post is what I discovered. Idris Davies was born … Continue reading Gwalia Deserta XV | Idris Davies #Dewithon
Wolf Hall, and it's two sequels, are a commitment. I had forgotten how much so. Don't get me wrong, I'm absolutely loving my reread of Wolf Hall, it's just taking longer than I thought and it's a much denser read than I remember from the first time around. Or maybe, it's just that I'm taking … Continue reading #WolfHallReadalong2021 Update
The Hilary Mantel Wolf Hall Readalong runs from the 1st Feb until the 31st May 2021. I first read Wolf Hall in 2011. I remember that I took it our summer holiday to the beach. After exhausting ourselves in the waves every morning, I would look forward to an hour or so every afternoon, lying in the … Continue reading Wolf Hall Trilogy Readalong Master Post
February will be the beginning of my Wolf Hall Trilogy Readalong. If you'd like to join in, here are some of the why, when and how details. The Hilary Mantel Wolf Hall Readalong: Feb – May 2021 I first read Wolf Hall in 2011 and Bring Up the Bodies in 2012.It is now nine years since I read them. Before … Continue reading Wolf Hall Trilogy Readalong
It will be nigh on impossible to write anything new or insightful about Tolstoy's War and Peace that has not be said before, so this will be a collection of loose impressions and thoughts that occurred to me throughout 2020 as I read a chapter-a-day (or more accurately seven chapters a week) with Nick. The … Continue reading War and Peace | Leo Tolstoy #RUSclassic
I've been joining in Sheila's First Book of the Year for many years now. It has become one of my bookish traditions. As from the 1st January 2021, I will be reading Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian. This is a reread so that I can join in Nick's #AubreyMaturinReadalong over the next four years. … Continue reading First Book of the Year #BookTag
Brona (This Reading Life) 
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