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#266 ~ The House at Midnight

The House at Midnight by Lucie Whitehouse

Published by: Random House Publishing

Published on: June, 2008

Page Count: 336

Genre: Gothic fiction

My Reading Format: Audiobook purchased with a credit from Audible.com.

Available Formats: Hardcover, paperback, eBook, audiobook

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My Review

The House at Midnight tells the story of Joanna and her group of college friends. They are entering their later 20s and starting to get more settled into their adult lives. As the story begins, Lucas, Joanna’s best friend, inherits his Uncle Patrick’s estate after his suicide. Lucas adored Patrick, especially since he became like a father to him after his father’s apparent suicide decades earlier. Patrick was a wealthy and well respected art dealer. While Lucas never lacked for money growing up, his new-found wealth leaves him uncomfortable. He opens up the estate to their group of friends on the weekends as a place for them to come and relax after the weeks spend in London. The group was rounded out by Danny, Michael, Martha, Rachel, and Rachel’s boyfriend Greg. Joanna has always been attracted to Lucas, but their relationship never developed into anything more until they started meeting at Stoneborough Manor. Once their romantic relationship began, Danny, who had been Lucas’ boyhood friend, became increasingly hostile toward Joanna. Lucas didn’t see this change and at first Joanna tried to blow it all off due to the trouble’s Danny was having with his job. When Lucas decided to move to Stoneborough permanently with Danny, who lost his job, the situation became increasingly intolerable. The house even felt hostile and oppressive to her. When Joanna is forced to make a drastic decision about her future and her romantic life, Lucas, her career, and her friendships start to deteriorate.

I love Gothic novels set in old English manners. That is what first appealed to me when I selected this novel from Audible.com. Although The House at Midnight is set in current time, those places can be deliciously eiry and full of mystery. The Thirteenth Tale, The Sister, and The Little Stranger are all strong examples of what I love in stories of this genre.  Lucie Whitehouse’s first novel did not live up to my expectations.  Joanna’s narration about the house being somehow haunted was the only thing that really spoke to the house having any power at all.  I wouldn’t have come up with that on my own.  The triangle between Joanna, Lucas, and Danny had enough tension in and of itself.  This would have been enough on its own, especially if there had been payoff.  As it was, the house really got in the way.  The situation between the friends was more uncomfortable than the house.  Perhaps this is because there wasn’t any subtlety about it.

I can’t say that I didn’t enjoy The House at Midnight.  It had its moments.  I really got involved in the story when Joanna happens upon Rachel and Greg in a compromising position.  I wish that more had come of Danny’s knowledge of this incident than what did ultimately.  The ending held some surprises but some missed opportunities as well.  There was some great potential to make Danny in to one heck of an intriguing villain.  The proposed influence of the house took up too much energy.

The House at Midnight was narrated by Kate Reading.  As I started listening to this audiobook, I was trying to figure out where I had heard her voice before.  She was the female narrator in Chemistry for Beginners.  Although her male voices were  a bit strange, I got used to them rather quickly.  I would definitely listen to another of her audiobooks.  She does very well with the voice of contemporary British women.

My Final Thoughts

This book is definitely worth a try if you enjoy Gothic fiction.  If you do, I would rent it from the library instead of buying it.  I will be interested to see what Lucie Whitehouse writes next.

Other Voices

You know what I think.  Why not check out what other bloggers have to say?

Caribousmom

Tuesday’s Temptation ~ June 1

Despite how wonderful my current reads might be (or, this week, how incredibly disturbing), I really enjoy being able to look over my shelves and drool over the as-of-yet unread goodies. I don’t know about you, but I could spend a half hour or more just touching the spines and, because I have to double park my books for lack of space, pull out the first row so I can rediscover what’s behind them.  Granted, this is most likely to occur when I’m procrastinating getting the laundry started or doing the dishes, but I would enjoy it just as much if I planned to do it.  So, why not plan on deliberately combing my shelves?  Going forward, I’m going to take a look at my (horrifically gigantic) TBR pile and highlight a book that I’d really like to pick up right now if it weren’t for …  Sigh.  Here you’ll find the who, what, why, when, and where of one of my greatest literary temptations of the week.

Welcome to the June 1st edition of Tuesday’s Temptation (yeah… I know it’s nearly Wednesday, but the holiday weekend has my days all messed up)!

Who?

The author of today’s Tuesday’s Temptation is Deborah Noyes.  As someone who loves both historical and Gothic fiction, her website caught my attention right away.  She is a photographer and all of her interests intertwine beautifully.  I absolutely adore the homepage!  In the past she’s edited an anthology of Gothic fiction for teens.  I know I’ve not yet read a word that she’s written, but when an author loves to read the same things you do, it’s a really good sign.  Upon further investigation, the books she’s been involved in have been really diverse.

What?

Why?

As a lover of historical fiction, I really enjoy reading about the past.  When a novel is about a subject or time completely new to me, I get really excited.  Captivity most definitely falls into that category.  It tells the story of the Fox sisters, young New York women who claimed to be able to converse with the dead in 1948.  Talking to dead people in 1948 = historical fiction with a Gothic twist.   I also happen to love the cover.  That never hurts.

Here is the synopsis from the publisher:

This masterful historical novel by Deborah Noyes, the lauded author of Angel & Apostle, The Ghosts of Kerfol, and Encyclopedia of the End (starred PW) is two stories:

The first centers upon the strange, true tale of the Fox Sisters, the enigmatic family of young women who, in upstate New York in 1848, proclaimed that they could converse with the dead. Doing so, they unwittingly (but artfully) gave birth to a religious movement that touched two continents: the American Spiritualists. Their followers included the famous and the rich, and their effect on American spirituality lasted a full generation. Still, there are echoes. The Fox Sisters’ is a story of ambition and playfulness, of illusion and fear, of indulgence, guilt and finally self-destruction.

The second story in Captivity is about loss and grief. It is the evocative tale of the bright promise that the Fox Sisters offer up to the skeptical Clara Gill, a reclusive woman of a certain age who long ago isolated herself with her paintings, following the scandalous loss of her beautiful young lover in London.

Lyrical and authentic—and more than a bit shadowy—Captivity is, finally, a tale about physical desire and the hope that even the thinnest faith can offer up to a darkening heart.

When?

I first heard about Deborah Noyes and Captivity when Caitlin from Unbridled Books brought it to my attention, believing it might be a great fit for my Historical Fiction Lover’s Book Club on Facebook.  I couldn’t say no.  I will definitely be reading it this month.

Where?

I recently cleared off a shelf on our entertainment center in our living room for the books I really want to read soon.  They are ordered by height alone.  I’m not sure why I’m OCD about that when I first set up a bookshelf.  As you may recall from my previous Tuesday’s Temptation posts, my bookshelves are more often than not double parked and double-deckered, so this organization isn’t meant to last for long. LOL!  Captivity is the third tallest book on that shelf, so it’s the third book from the left.

What’s tempting you today?

Wuthering Heights Wednesday ~ Week 1

I’m taking part in a fun read-a-long of Wuthering Heights spearheaded by Jill from FizzyThoughts.  I don’t generally reread books. Not because I wouldn’t like to, but because I don’t read fast enough to insert a book I’ve already read into my schedule without impacting other things.  However, as part of my quest for reading deliberately, this is something I’d like to better plan into my reading routine.  Jill provided me with a most excellent opportunity and I jumped on it.

Here is a list of all the other readers taking part:

• Vivienne( Serendipidy)
• Messy Karen
• Victoria
• Jenny (Take Me Away)
• Ti (Book Chatter)
• Lisa – Lit And Life
• Dar@ Peeking Between the Pages
• J.C. Montgomery (The Biblio Blogazine)
• Whitney
• JoAnn (Lakeside Musing)
• Gentle Reader (Shelf Life)
• Amy at New Century Reading

Chapters 1 through 3

Synopsis (as stolen from Jill):

In the first three chapters we are introduced to Heathcliff, the master of Wuthering Heights. Heathcliff is a moody grump, although our narrator, Lockwood, at first believes he is “in dress and manner a gentleman.” Lockwood initially likes Heathcliff, and feels he is a kindred spirit. However, Lockwood is a pest, and after he invites himself over for a return visit and is forced to spend the night due to a snowstorm, he revises his opinion of Heathcliff. Lockwood also meets the other inhabitants of Wuthering Heights. There’s Catherine (who Lockwood at first assumes is Heathcliff’s wife…wrong! She’s his daughter-in-law), Hareton Earnshaw (who Lockwood at first assumes is Heathcliff’s son…wrong! He’s his nephew. The son is dead.), Zillah (the housekeeper) and Joseph, the crotchety old servant.

These names can all be quiet confusing, both to Lockwood and the reader, since there appears to have been another Catherine (Lockwood meets her in a very bad dream) and another Hareton Earnshaw (his name is above the door mantel). After a haunted night at Wuthering Heights, Lockwood returns home confused, not to mention a little put out by the rudeness and inhospitableness of the inhabitants of Wuthering Heights.

Of course, Lockwood also comes across as a bit of an ass, so can we really trust him as a narrator?

My Thoughts:

Have you ever had an experience where you’ve gotten in touch with an old friend you’ve not talked to in a long time and it feels like you were never apart?  Have you have had an experience where you’ve put on a pair of your favorite slippers after a long hot summer and they feel like home on your feet?  That’s what re-reading the first 3 chapters of Wuthering Heights feels like to me.  While I’m jealous of any of the participants who are reading this novel for the first time, there’s something to be said for knowing what’s going to happen and allowing the events to all unfold again before you anyway. Does that make sense?  Those are my thoughts on becoming reacquainted with Heathcliff, Catherine, Lockwood, and the complete awsomeness of Gothic manors.

If I enjoyed week 1, I know that the remaining weeks are going to get even better.

#234 ~ A Reliable Wife

A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick

Published by: Algonquin Books

Published on: March 2009

Page Count: 291

Genre: Historical Fiction / Gothic Fiction

For Consideration: graphic sexuality

Format: paperback review copy from the publisher

Availability: hardcover, paperback, eBook, audio

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My Review

Ralph Truitt, a man who is the virtual king of his small Wisconsin town, put an ad in the the paper looking for a “reliable wife.”  Although he has all of the wealth and power he could ever need, he can’t get away from his past.  He spent many years celibate and sober in hopes of making right the mistakes he made with the wife of his youth and their children.  Ralph, now at a distinguished age, wants to try a different tactic.  For that, he needs an honest, simple wife.  Catherine Land answers Ralph’s ad for her own reasons.  She uses deceit to get what she wants, believing that the transition from living in 1904′s Chicago to Ralph’s rural community worth the sacrifice to satisfy her needs and fulfill her fantasies.  Despite the best laid plans, things do not go as planned for Ralph or Catherine.  They both find that when you use someone to reach your own ends, things get messy.

A Reliable Wife is a book that requires discussion.  There are so many themes and topics ripe for conversation and debate.Thankfully I have been able to participate in a thoughtful Twitter book club as well talk about it in more depth with a friend.  I think I could be happy spending hours talking about the interplay between Ralph, Catherine, and Tony, the distinction between nature and nurture, and the role of weather, gardens, and dark sexuality.  As much as I want to dig down deep into every little crevice, the story is enjoyable and accessible at the surface level.

I couldn’t have been more than two chapters into A Reliable Wife when I wondered where it had been all my life.   I was drawn into the characters immediately and my interest never let up for a moment.  The writing was beautiful throughout and I consider its conclusion to be among the best I’ve read.  I relished every bit of this novel, finishing it with a sense of satisfaction that can only come from the knowledge that I will read it again many times over.

#227 ~ The Little Stranger

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

Dr. Faraday, a bachelor with meager beginnings, is a local family doctor. Normally his clients are from or near his own socioeconomic status, so he was somewhat surprised when he was called to an increasingly run down Hundreds Hall.  It is here where his mother worked as a maid in her early years.  Although he was called to tend to a maid when their usual doctor is unavailable and not one of the Ayres themselves, this  house call begins an ongoing association between him, the Ayres family, and Hundreds Hall.  These relationships change the course of his life and the lives of everyone associated with Hundreds Hall forever.

This novel has great Gothic atmosphere.  Hundreds Hall is such a wonderful setting for things that go bump in the night – or day.   Despite a few sections that seem long in retrospect, this novel had my attention throughout.  I wanted to know what would happen to the Ayres family, especially Roderick and Caroline.  That Caroline, born to a privileged family, is not stunning beauty was a relief.  This makes her more real and accessible.  The name Roderick itself set the tone for me.  Is there a more perfect name for a character in a Gothic novel?  I think not.  Best of all, he lived up to his name.

This is the first novel I’ve read by Sarah Waters.  The writing is spectacular and the characters are curious and fleshed out well.  The depth Waters gave to the characters and the house made the reading experience for me.  Once again, my go-to narrator, Simon Vance, hits the mark perfectly. I left this novel not at all sure what really happened in the end.  Sometimes that is exactly what is called for and I love it.  This time, it left me on the fence.  I will need to ponder it for a while.  It, along with The Thirteenth Tale and The Sister, has reignited my love of Gothic novels and prompted me to buy some similar novels, though.  Maybe I’m not so conflicted about The Little Stranger as I think I am.  I look forward to talking to others about this novel and I can easily see myself reading it again to pick up clues to puzzle through the ending.

++++

This book will be discussed by Nicole and Rebecca tomorrow night (1.12.10) at 8pm on Nicole’s Blog Talk Radio show, “That’s How I Blog.”  Be sure to tune in.  I know I will be.

++++

Other Voices

Regular Rumination
Asylum
Fleur Fisher reads
S. Krishna’s Books
literary license
1 more chapter
Medieval Bookworm
books i done read
A Garden Carried in the Pocket
A Bookworm’s Worlds
Shelf Love
Jenny’s Books
You’ve GOTTA Read This!
Farm Lane Books

*******

I purchased this audio book using one of my credits from Audible.com.

#200 ~ The Shadow of the Wind

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The BBAW theme for today is highlighting a book that you have read based upon the recommendation of a book blog.  As it so happens, one of my favorite books of the summer came highly recommended from all over the book blogging community. Conversations with various people on Twitter prompted me to buy the book, but I saw this book reviewed on several book blogs as well.  I knew as soon as I read the daily themes that I would hold on to this review for today.  What I didn’t know at that time was that this would be even that much more special to me because this review is

!!!!!!!! MY 200th REVIEW !!!!!!!!

since beginning my book blog!  What started as a goal to read a mere 52 books in 2007 is now so much more.  I thank all of my readers and fellow book bloggers for their recommendations and their support.  I do not think I would have read and reviewed as many books in such a short time (for me, not Swapna – LOL!) had it not been for this community of readers.

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The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

I love Gothic literature.  When Daniel was taken into the Cemetery of Forgotten Books by his father, I knew that I would love this book as much as I loved The Angel’s Game.  My instincts were correct.  Daniel selected The Shadow of the wind by Julian Carax during that visit and thus began a love of reading and an unrelenting search for more books by Carax, which were nearly impossible to find because someone was systematically burning all of Carax’s books.  Daniel is prepared to do whatever is necessary uncover the mystery surrounding this book.  He finds that simply by having the book in his possession puts him and those with whom he is close in danger from sources he would never before have imagined.

I think that the Cemetery of Forgotten Books is one of my favorite literary locations.  It is a safe harbor for books that may otherwise be forgotten.  Who among us would not want to lose ourselves among seemingly endless corridors filled with books that are otherwise lost to the world?  Knowing you could save only one book to bring back with you into your life, how would you choose?  Once you’ve made your choice, imagine how much your heart would pound as you read it.  What book could be as special to you?  Imagine if someone tried to buy it from you.  Would you let them?  What if someone tried to  take it from you by force, if necessary, with the express purpose of destroying it?  Would you fight for it?  If so, you understand Daniel’s character and you’ll be invested in his story like no other.

Although Daniel is the main character and I enjoyed him very much, I loved Fermín Romero de Torres.  Fermín is the vagab0nd that Daniel saved from the street.  He is quirky and unreliable.  He could be Daniel’s salvation or Achilles heal.  He adds laughter mixed with anxiety.   Fermín is the reason why I could never watch a film adaption of this book.  If his character was marred in any way, I would be crushed.  He is one of my all-time favorite secondary characters in literature.  Off the top of my head, I cannot think of any other character to match his place in my reader’s heart.  He makes me glad to be human.

If ever there was a Gothic author who appealed to book enthusiasts, it is Carols Ruiz Zafón.  Both The Angel’s Game and The Shadow of the Wind are gripping Gothic mysteries.  Where David from The Angel’s Game is an author, Daniel is a reader.  For both, there is danger in every corner.  The peril in which they find themselves because of reading and writing amplifies the importance of both in this world.  If such things were without power, they would never be at risk from characters like Fumero or Andreas Corelli.  So, if I ever make my way to Barcelona, I will see the Barcelona of Daniel and David.  I, a woman who doesn’t normally give in to the supernatural or fantastical, will keep alert for the Cemetery of Forgotten Books.  If I find it, I may never return.

++++

In case you’re not familiar with it, Fyrefly created a custom Google search of Book Blogs.  It is an invaluable too.  If you’re interested to see what book bloggers out there are saying about The Shadow of the Wind, click here for that exact search.  If  you’ve never used this tool and would like to take it for a test drive, here is the link to the search itself.

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To buy this book, click here.

Related articles by Zemanta

• #184 ~ The Angel’s Game (literatehousewife.com)
• Q & A: Author Carlos Ruiz Zafon (time.com)

#184 ~ The Angel’s Game

The Angel’s Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

As a lover of Gothic fiction, I was over the moon to have been selected to snag a copy of The Angel’s Game from LibraryThing‘s Early Reviewers program.  I was far from disappointed.  Despite a vague sense that the novel was long, I loved the story and quickly became engrossed in it.  Set in Barcelona, I loved mystery and darkness and enveloped David Martín’s life after he began writing stories in installment for a small local paper. His way was paved for him by his benefactor and legendary Barcelona author and his talent caught the interest of a strange Parisian editor, Andreas Corelli.  Corelli wants him to take a year of  his life to write a book written to  his own specifications.  In exchange, Martín would recieve a small fortune  and a freedom from tight weekly or monthly deadlines.  While researching Corelli’s odd request, Martín becomes embroiled in so deep in a sinister mystery that inevitably leads back to the history of his house and disrupts the few relationships he’s been able to maintain over the years.

Zafón creates a Barcelona of dark tunnels and secrets that is both beautiful and terrifying at the same time.  He clearly loves this place, right down to the underbelly where the witch’s reside.  I couldn’t imagine a more perfect setting for this novel.  Only Barcelona could house the cryptic castle-like home that Martín chooses to rent as soon as he has a reliable source of income.  I love wondering what the house was all about and the sheer foreboding present in the novel whenever it was mentioned.

My favorite scene of the novel is when we first see Corelli.  Martín isn’t sure he believes what he is seeing, but what he believes he sees in that moment is about the more freakishly alive thing I have read in a long time.  I could clearly picture what Martín thought he was seeing and it gave me goosebumps.  It was such a strong image that I could close my eyes and conjure the image back up again without needing to read that passage over again.

If what I’ve read thus far is any indication, Carlos Ruis Zafón is destined to become one of my favorite authors.  According to Wikipedia The Angel’s Game is a prequel to Zafón’s first novel, wihch I have not read.  [For the once this summer, I'll actually be reading novels in order.  What a nice feeling! LOL!].  I will definitely be making time to read The Shadow of the Wind soon.  I’m curious to learn more about The Cemetery of Forgotten Books the fate of Sempere & Sons bookshop.  I can see enjoying his work more with each book I read.  With the translation of this novel being so beutifully written, I cannot image what it’s like to read Zafón in his native language.  This is a must read for fans of Gothic fiction.

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To buy this novel, click here.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Q & A: Author Carlos Ruiz Zafon (time.com)
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• “The Angel’s Game:” Zafón returns with a deal-with-the-devil mystery (seattletimes.nwsource.com)

#171 ~ My Cousin Rachel

My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier

Philip Ashley, orphaned at an early age, was raised unconventionally  by his older bachelor cousin Ambrose.  Ambrose owns the estate and 500 acres on which they live. Ambrose did not care to have women around, so Philip’s exposure to the fairer sex was quite minimal.  He only regularly was in the company of the women in his vicar’s life and Louise, his godfather’s daughter.  As Philip grew into early adulthood, Ambrose’s health dictated that he spend the winters abroad.  He never came back from him fourth winter away.  Instead, he met, fell in love with, and married their distant cousin Rachel, who was born and raised in Florence.  When Ambrose succumbs to what is believed to be a hereditary brain tumor  before returning to Cornwall with his bride, Philip suspects foul play based upon letters Ambrose sent before his death. He is intent on making Rachel suffer for what happened to his cousin and mentor, but is he right in believing that she was behind such evil deeds?

I've got to see this!

I absolutely loved and enjoyed this novel from start to finish.  Phillip’s remembrance of the body left to rot from the gibbett three weeks after a hanging sets the reader in the right frame of mind to ride the roller coaster of Phillip’s thoughts, plans, and emotions.  As much as he complained that Louise and even Rachel ran hot one minute and cold the next, Philip need only read a posthumas letter from Ambrose or listen to a sob story to do exactly the same thing.  I loved how he sulked when Rachel gave others her attention and how he preened when she smiled upon him.  Oftentimes, men and women are not all that different.  As much as Philip did not like to be viewed as a child, most especially by any man who might capture Rachel’s attention, he was so very immature in the matters of the heart.  He failed to see and appreciate the unfailing affection of the one woman who knew him best – and loved him regardless.
 
Rachel is truly a character and deserving of the title credits.  As Philip pondered who she was and what she looked like, so did I.  The chapter in which she finally makes her  appearance is a suspenseful to me as the ending.  I wanted to know who this woman was.  I wanted to know what such a woman looked like.  While I was apprehensive of Philip’s initial desire for revenge against Ambrose’s wife, I never really quite knew where anyone ever stood with her.  My opinions flip-flopped along with Philips until he make his fateful decision.  At that point, I wanted to take him by the shoulders and shake some sense into him.  All the while, I was hoping that his trust and faith in her was justified.  Rachel was in league with Scarlett O’Hara, except that their motivations are completely different.  Rachel is almost as sinister as she is selfish, making Scarlett more transparent.  Her downfall in my eyes, however, was that she was unable to brush aside unpleasant realities with Scarlett’s  ”Fidle-dee-dee” attitude.

After enjoying Frenchman’s Creek so much, I was a little concerned about how I would feel about My Cousin Rachel.  I didn’t want to expect too much.  I simply did not want to be disappointed.  I most certainly was not. For me, the writing was as beautiful as I have come to expect from du Maurier.  I would rank this novel right up there with the way I remember Rebecca.  It did not have as much humor as Frenchman’s Creek, but the level of humor matched the tone of the novel perfectly.  The ending serves really to expand the mystery surrounding Rachel.  I’m not so sure there could be a happy ending for anyone she set her sights upon.  As I finished this novel last night, I vowed to read all of her novels.  She is just that good.  The only thing I can’t say for certain is whether this book would be better read in front of  a roaring fire with a glass of red wine or while lounging around on a beach or at the pool with a daiquiri. Either way, is there a better recommendation for a novel?

*****

To buy this novel, click here.

Tuesday Thingers ~ Genre Junkies

Today’s question: Do you have a specialized blog where you only review a certain genre or type of book? If so, what is your favorite thing about that type of book? If not, what is/are your favorite genre(s)? What makes that genre(s) a favorite?

These are some great questions this week.  Wendi, I can’t tell by the questions you are sick.  I hope that you feel  better very soon.  I’m going to answer them in the order they are asked:

Do you have a specialized blog where you only review a certain genre or type of book?

The short answer is no.  I do not specialize in any one genre.  I could say that I typically read and review only fiction, but I have reviewed memoirs (none of them have been discovered to actually be fiction at this time) and a few other random non-fiction selections.  Even within fiction I read many types of novels.  Although I do read a lot of historical fiction, I don’t feel I read enough to qualify as historical fiction specific.  I like some variety, so reading only one specific genre would eventually get old for me.

If not, what is/are your favorite genre(s)?  What makes that genre(s) a favorite?

I have three  favorite genres: Historical Fiction, Gothic Fiction, and the Classics.

The Classics

I have always loved to read the classics.  As a child, I loved to read the older Newberry Award winners.  I don’t know if that would technically qualify a young adult novel as a classic, but it works for me.  As I grew more mature, The Great Gatsby ignited my imagination for adult classics.  I found a book in my library that contained X number of books you should read before college and that is where I discovered other classics such as All Quiet on the Western Front, Catch-22, Edgar Allen Poe, and the short stories of Nathaniel Hawthorne.  In college I read a number of traditional British and American classics. Most notably I read James Joyce’s Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man and Ulysses.  I was always happy to find classics on the reading list.  Between college and grad school, a co-worker turned me on to Jane Austen.  In quick succession I read all of her novels, beginning with Mansfield Park, which was my favorite.  In grad school, I finally read several of William Faulkner’s novels (I love A Light in August) and To Kill a Mockingbird.

Gothic Fiction

I never really thought about genre per se until I was attending Hollins University’s M.A.L.S. program.  Hollins is a small Southern liberal arts university and, as noted above by teaching Faulkner and Harper Lee, my education there opened my eyes to the Southern Gothic tradition.  I then realized that I had always tended to read more Gothic literature.  Poe and Hawthorne were my early favorites, but even as a young grade school student, one of my favorite books was The Ghost of Windy Hill by Clyde Robert Bulla.  I haven’t read it in ages, but I believe it was qualify.  I like dark fiction, whether it is just dark in tone or down right scary (but not too scary – I don’t like Horror much at all).  I researched Gothic authors and that led me to read Wuthering Heights and Patrick McGrath, who one of my favorite living authors.  Asylum is a superb novel and I would encourage anyone to read it.  His novel from last year, Trauma, is also great.  I think what appeals to me most of all in Gothic literature is that you are more likely to encounter an unreliable narrator.  I just love that.  I would take one of those voices any day over a prim, proper and completely honest one.  Other Gothic fiction I’ve read and reviewed here is The Thirteenth Tale and The Sister.  Both of those novels are wonderful.

Historical Fiction

Last but not least is Historical Fiction.  This is my newest love affair with genre.  Again, I had always loved novels like Gone with the Wind and Little Women, but it wasn’t until I read The Other Boleyn Girl that my passion for this genre, and Tudor England in specific, came to life.  For that, I will always owe Philippa Gregory a debt of gratitude.  What’s interesting to me about this genre is the range of fans, that spans almost as far and wide as there is history to capture on the page.  Although I tend to be more forgiving of historical inaccuracies within my fiction for the sake of a great plot, there are others who want the research to be there and for explanations of why authors chose to treat one character over another in  a particular light.  This was evidenced in my post from last week.  Either way, I believe we all have smashing good taste in literature.

Enough about me

Are you a genre junky or do you like to play the field?  I would be interested in hearing about how or why you choose the books that you do.

BBT Evolving Tastes in Books

Have your book-tastes changed over the years? More fiction? Less? Books that are darker and more serious? Lighter and more frivolous? Challenging? Easy? How-to books over novels? Mysteries over Romance?

Since I started this blog at the beginning of 2007, the biggest change I’ve noticed in my taste has been my almost glutenous love for historical fiction. That discovery has really taken me by surprise. Barnes and Noble featured Philippa Gregory and The Boleyn Inheritence in their book club. On a whim, I ordered the The Other Boleyn Girl and the rest is history (pun only intended if it doesn’t offend). Thinking back on that, I can’t believe that I didn’t look into that earlier on my own. I’ve always loved history and Gone with the Wind is my favorite novel. It would be a no brainer if I had known that there was a historical fiction category.

In general, I’ve always preferred to read books that challenge me and those tend to be on the more serious side. For example, I read Crime and Punishment on my own in college after finding out, much to my disappointment, that it wasn’t a requirement in my college curriculum. Still, I’ve discovered that I enjoy reading memoirs and have come to enjoy reading books I would catergorize as guilty pleasures. I’ve definitely grown in my ability to admit to those guilty pleasures. Sometimes you need to just let your mind play and Janet Evanovich comes in quite handy in that regard.

One thing that hasn’t changed is how much I enjoy Gothic fiction. I might not read it all of the time or have the same compulsion to read it as I do with Historical Fiction, but I immediately feel at home when reading Edgar Allen Poe, Daphne du Maurier, Charlotte Bronte, and Patrick McGrath. When I get the bug to actually write on my own, I find my work to fit in that category. I’ve never been able to write anything else. If I ever do write that novel, I could only hope that my work would be compared to any of those authors.

The great thing about reading is that you are free to evolve in any way your fancy takes you. Where else in your life do you have that freedom?

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