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Six Tudor Queens: Katharine Parr, The Sixth Wife
Six Tudor Queens: Katharine Parr, The Sixth Wife
Alison Weir | 2021 | Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics
9
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
I have been reading Alison Weir books since I was a teenager so imagine how much I fangirled when I was given the opportunity to read an advanced copy of her final book in the Tudor Queens series!
To Netgalley and Headline, thank you, thank you, thank you!

It is my opinion that Katharine Parr is often the most overlooked of Henry VIII's wives: indeed most novels focus only on her life after becoming Queen. That is why this novel from Alison Weir was simply brilliant.

Weir introduces us to Katharine Parr as a girl, constantly surrounded by family and, after losing her father at a young age, being brought up by her uncle, aunt and her mother who was an attendant to Queen Katharine of Aragon.

The reader instantly falls in love with Katharine, an intelligent, caring child who is acutely aware of her eventual duty to her family but desperately wishes to remain in her carefree days with her siblings.
As we know, Tudor girls married young and Weir explores each of Katharine's four marriages in great detail: combining historical fact and storytelling in the way that only she can.

It struck me that, in three of Katharine's four marriages, she was used as a pawn, marrying for rank, power and connections as was the norm at the time.
However, in every one of these marriages Katharine was able to find love; even when marrying an old overweight Henry, already famous for disposing of numerous wives.
The writing during each of these marriages is rarely emotional: Katharine is a very rational and practical character, only showing real passion for religion. She is even super calm when she believes she is being investigated as a heretic!
It isn't until Katharine's fourth and final marriage that she marries for herself and for love. The passionate relationship between Katharine and Tom Seymour seeps into the writing at this point: introducing jealousy and anger where there has previously been merely a stoic resolve.

The fact that this novel spans the lifespan of Henry's marriages is fitting and really allows Weir to paint a picture of Tudor society throughout the religious reforms and upheavals associated with its monarch.

No one who has read Alison Weir's books before will be surprised that this is yet another success. Together with Philippa Gregory, Weir is a Queen of historical fiction and this novel is only the latest jewel in her crown.
  
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Kurt Vile recommended Tusk by The Dead C in Music (curated)

 
Tusk by The Dead C
Tusk by The Dead C
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"I guess there is singing on it, but it's still instrumental music that opens your brain. It starts out almost sounding like weird pots and pans that I guess, my theory is, they're speeding up and slowing down their four-track so it's like [makes hissing, distorted sound]. So it does that for probably ten minutes, you're just sitting there, it's like psychedelic meditation, like you could tone it out. It's definitely analogue, it's probably four-track because, all of a sudden, out of nowhere, you feel something lift up, like it un-pause and start to record again and it's just like [makes skronky sound] and there's this weird guitar shit. But then they just have a good thing with mood where it just takes you on this weird textural journey and then somewhere along the way, it gets really heavy and the drummer starts in, and you don't know what he's saying, so it may as well be instrumental. The first Dead C record I ever got was Trapdoor Fucking Exit, which is an amazing title and an amazing album cover. That came out on Siltbreeze, which is a Philly label, so that's close to home. My buddy Richie, who I worked at this brewery with, he turned me on to that kind of thing and he made rethink how the... he basically hit me on to how my path in music should be, which would be: some people can jump up to a decent-sized label, but other people have to do it themselves, much like The Dead C, where you just start small and make it your own artform and then eventually, bigger labels aren't going to be able to ignore you because you're doing it yourself anyway. They can decide, if they like you, you're going to be doing it anyway. So I got that Tusk record pretty early, but I remember listening to it on the airplane in-between touring/recording for this new album and it's just another that just opens your brain and opens your mind. They're just as passionate, or they come off that way, about their music, except they're from Bumblefuck, New Zealand, but they put out tons of records, so it might as well be jazz - they're definitely influenced by that sort of thing. I have no doubt in my mind - but of course I could be wrong - that they're influenced by those psychedelic jazz records."

Source
  
More Than Just a Pretty Face
More Than Just a Pretty Face
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
*I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

This is the first book I've read where the main characters are Muslims. It's a good insight into the religion and the various ways people follow it.

So this starts with Danyal. He's not the best in school, but, as quite a few people point out, he's got a pretty face. It's not that he's stupid or anything. He just has other interests in life such as cooking, which he is very good at and wants to become a chef. His father doesn't agree with his career choice and they have several tense conversations. His mother, on the other hand, cannot wait to marry him off to someone who would be good for the family.

I've just struggled to write the above description without giving too much away about this story.

I did enjoy this. Danyal, as I mentioned above, may not be the brightest guy but I really grew to like him. He was quick witted and passionate about what he cared about. His Renaissance Man speech showed that perfectly. History was far from his favourite subject but the Bengal famine became something he wanted to let people know about and he did it in a way that didn't judge so much as inform. Very well thought out.

I also quite liked the romance. It was a very slow burn. They spent quite a lot of time together but mostly as friends. The more time they spent together, laughing, studying and cooking, the more the feelings grew and I was willing them to get together properly, family be damned. It took a long time, though, with other factors getting in the way.

This book was a great insight for those of us who aren't Muslim into what the religion is like and the broad range of ways you can follow it. Sohrab was very invested in the religion, Intezar wasn't following it that much, if at all, and Danyal was like a happy medium.

This was enjoyable but, for me, it was a little too focused on the history and Churchill for the Renaissance Man challenge. I know it was a big part of the plot but History for me, like Danyal, bores me. I wanted more of the romance.
  
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Eleanor Luhar (47 KP) rated Uprooted in Books

Jun 24, 2019  
Uprooted
Uprooted
Naomi Novik | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.4 (10 Ratings)
Book Rating
I've been meaning to read this for a long time now and finally managed to do so. I'm so peased I did! It was such a great book, and I really did enjoy reading it.

Agnieszka is a seemingly ordinary young girl. Her best friend is about to be taken by the Dragon, a powerful wizard who routinely takes girls into his tower for ten years before they leave the village for good. Everyone's prepared for Kasia to go - she's the pretty one, the talented one, the one who everyone is drawn to. Of course the Dragon is going to choose her.

Right?

Of course, nothing goes to plan. Agnieszka assumed she was safe from being chosen, due to her clumsiness and lack of appeal or talents. But of course, she is chosen. Little does she know that she was destined for this role all along.

The Dragon is feared by most, including Nieshka. But she soon learns that he is not as terrible as she thought. She also learns some valuable skills involving magic that she never knew she was capable of.

Nieshka discovers the importance of magic in protecting her village from the Wood. The Wood is full of corruption, often taking unknowing passers-by and either never releasing them or returning them to their families changed beyond repair. The Wood has been a huge threat for centuries. The Dragon holds it at bay, but nobody ever dreamed of defeating it.

Until Agnieszka came along.

It's quite a complex plot, and there are a lot of moments where Nieshka makes mistakes. She is driven by emotion, especially when her best friend's life is at risk. She is a passionate girl and doesn't always think rationally. I liked her for this - don't we all let our emotions get the better of us sometimes?

There was a small amount of romance in this book that I felt was rather unnecessary, but it didn't overtake the plot or anything. I loved how the plot and subplots twisted together, and how many turns they took. It was exciting and intriguing and very clever.

The ending seemed a little too simple to me, though. Had they never thought to look into the Wood Queen's origin before?

Overall it was a fantastic book. Timeless. I can see why it's so popular, and I'm sure it will be for some time. 4 stars.
  
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