What are you reading? Watching?
Now that I have been vaccinated–yay!–I have been doing less reading and watching than during the pandemic. For the past year, I’ve read several books a week (The best: Bench Player and Ten Things I Hate About the Duke and binged what seems like, in retrospect, countless shows. (The best: A Place to Call Home followed by The Queen’s Gambit.)
However, even though I’m reading and watching less, I am still doing both!
I am currently reading Last Hope Island and The Heiress Hunt. The first is taking me a while because I so rarely read nonfiction. The second, well, the jury’s out on this one. I loved the set up but, halfway into the book, want to send Maddie, the heroine, to Golden Rule School. Next up, is Klara and the Sun by Ishiguro and–I can’t wait–The Devil and the Heiress by Harper St. George. I’m watching, for the first time, Mad Men. I love the acting and the sets but, honestly, halfway into the first season I’m over the idea that everyone and every family was fundamentally miserable in 1959. Surely at least one of those suburban homes held some happiness! I’ve also started The English Game which I am enjoying.
How about you? What are you reading and/or watching?
Because the last of the True Gentlemen books by Grace Burrowes has come out, I decided to reread some of her books before getting around to the new release — mostly because I wanted to spin out the time with her characters. Instead of reading books in order by series, however, I began by jumping around.
As far as I know, Burrowes is unusual among romance writers because her books do not so much form a chronology as a web. This means there can be different paths through her work that make rereading a more interesting exercise for me.
One sequence I read began with Matthew (Belmont), and went on to Axel (Belmont), Worth (Kettering), then His Lordship’s True Lady (Hessian Kettering). I did this to read Jacaranda’s story in Worth, which is the first Dorning romance.
Then I read the Dorning books, from Will’s True Wish through The Last True Gentleman, omitting Hessian’s book and the Tresham book that came after. After the Dornings, I read My Own True Duchess (Jonathan Tresham), and then, because the Duke of Anselm appears in Tresham’s book, I read the stand-alone The Duke’s Disaster.
Next I read Nicholas (Haddonfield), who marries Lady Leah Lindsay, in part because I had read Worth, but also because of a remembered connection to Axel Belmont’s sons. Ethan (Grey), the older, illegitimate brother of Nicholas came next. Then I read The Virtuoso (Valentine Wyndham) in which the Belmont boys and Darius Lindsay appear. Next up, Darius (Lindsay) followed by Trenton (Lindsay).
I finished Beckman (Haddonfield) and am almost done with Gabriel (North/Hesketh). Tremaine’s True Love (Tremaine St. Michael) will likely be next, which will veer again into the Haddonfield sisters.
Other times I have read through all the Haddonfields in order by marriage. The Windhams are easy to read that way.
Even though The Duke’s Disaster is a standalone novel outside of Burrowes various series, it can be fitted into reading sequences as a result of her plotting style.
I find it really interesting to vary the reading order among the many parallel novels because my focus on the secondary characters changes. The plotting Grace Burrowes follows on the many interrelated books seems more like a complex television series story arc than the more sequential series from writers such as Jennifer Ashley, Mary Balogh, Jo Beverley, Roberta Gellis, Mary Jo Putney, or many others.
In the end, what I particularly like about the Burrowes novels in the Regency time frame is that they develop not a family saga, but a community saga that reflects a social network of people I find interesting. But soon I am going to get back to my tbr list and other new releases, too.
I haven’t read her in a long time. You make a persuasive case!
I’m going all over the place. I got back into Agatha Christie (after seeing a couple of documentaries on PBS) and finally read “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.” I finished a cool (but violent) YA fantasy (The Gilded Ones). And now, I’m reading a domestic thriller — “The Wrong Family” by Tarryn Fisher.
I’ve watched almost nothing since the pandemic started.We even cancelled our subscription services except for Netflix,and we don’t have cable or dish. Pandemic began,I was furloughed from work, and I completely lost interest in visual media. Go figure.
I returned to reading as my default activity, especially audiobooks,which I had almost stopped listening to. I generally go through 3 audiobooks and two print books a week now, because that is like my job. It’s what I do 6 or 7 hours a day–read. Most of my plans for home improvements (like deep cleaning, organizing) have withered on the vine as I read. I have managed to get back to drawing, taking some online courses for fun.
I just finished up a 5 book Boundary Magic by Melissa F. Olson, a UF series from KU that is whispersynced for free on Audible. A cut above in terms of world building and plotting. Very enjoyable. I’ve also been listening to a lot of Annabeth Albert books, and a UF romance series by Jenn Burke, Not Dead Yet.
I also just finished the last Stella Riley book on audio that I hadn’t already listened to. I’m still in awe of her historical fiction books (each with a romance that is so good). She has an amazing talent for weaving historical facts with fictional characters for a completely compelling story. I also really enjoyed her historical romances, the Rockcliffe series.
I’m continuing with Hailey Turner’s Metahuman series, and planning to start a Cat Sebastian series. I honestly rarely know exactly what I’ll read or listen to next. I’m very mood driven.
You are inspiring me to read a Stella Riley. Which one would you recommend as a one off?
FWIW, I am new to Stella Riley as well but started with the first Rockcliffe title. It was delightful. Am slowly making my way through them, and will start on the rest of her work as well. BTW – someone mentioned this series around the time of all the “best of” lists for 2020. Not sure I’d have found this author otherwise.
I know I mentioned her on my “best of 2020” post here even though her work was published years ago. She was my biggest find for 2020.
A Splendid Defiance has been one of my favourite books for the last 35 years. Plus, it’s one of her few standalones, so you don’t have to commit to reading a whole series.
I’ve been a big fan of Stella’s since the 1980s (yes, really!) She stopped writing for a while in the 90s, but returned to the fray a decade or so ago. Her historical situations are meticulously researched and she writes heroes to die for. The steam level is moderate, but she’s someone who can write sexual tension so thick you can cut it with a knife.
I agree with Caz that A Splendid Defiance is amazing. It is set in the English Civil Wars period and while it’s a stand alone, the main character does show up in her Roundheads and Cavaliers series,which was always fun to see. I also love The Marigold Chain, another stand alone, this time set during the Restoration period in 1666.
Riley’s Rockcliffe series is a more standard historical romance series, although in my opinion better than most. They are set in the mid 1700’s.
If you enjoy audiobooks, all of these are available narrated by Alex Wyndham at his very best, and worth every minute.
ASD is the first of Stella’s books I ever read – I remember coming upon it (and The Marigold Chain, I think) completely by accident in the book section at Selfridge’s and being utterly smitten with it (and Justin!). Then somehow, my dog-eared paperback copies of both books disappeared – I can only presume they got lost in a move or something) and second-hand copies were going for hundreds of pounds. I kept checking Amazon on the off chance that maybe they were available digitally but no luck – until one day I saw The Parfit Knight – which I hadn’t read – on Kindle and pounced immediately! Stella later told me that it was her husband’s gift of a Kindle for her birthday that set her on the path to republishing her older books – and for that, I am eternally grateful!
I have gone back to re-reading some of my favorite authors: Mary Balogh, Jo Beverley, Laura Kinsale, Joanna Bourne, Loretta Chase,Kristin Hannah. I find that many of the newer authors do not appeal to my senses though I have tried to understand the themes and gist they do not engage my interest. Searching for new authors and enjoy reading the comments by others.
I think that re-reading has been huge in the pandemic. We all need comfort and there’s nothing more comfortable than reading, again, a book one loves.
As I’ve said elsewhere here, I’ve spent my audiobook time–when I walk and drive–listening to all the Harry Potter books. I’m almost done with my favorite, The Goblet of Fire. I have read them all but all the ones after this one, I’ve only read twice and not aloud (my children got old enough to read them for themselves and hadn’t the patience for me to read them to them). I have loved the time I’ve spent in Rowling’s world which was such a joyful and influential part of children’s’ childhood. Everytime, Dumbledore shows up and helps Harry, I feel as though I’ve been hugged.
I have gone for a conscious read of older titles / authors, that were new to me, recommended (often here), then one book appealed to my taste and I went on a hunt and read nearly all of Sophie Weston, a lot of Essie Summers, Mary Burchell, Elsie Lee’s contemporaries and now I am moving towards re-reading Edith Layton, Celeste de Blasis, with an occasional Carla Kelly and Roberta Gellis thrown in. Maybe I will go for old Kristin Hannah next, or the old old MJ Putney books.
Occasionally, I read a KJ Charles or anything that you specially recommend here, but my trend is above.
I find the non-pc realities of those books, and the heroes who often remain a mystery, as we are all in the heroine’s head, for many of these authors, all this appeals to me right now. There is a sad realism in them that modern books gloss over: Women are weaker, were often prey (still are) and men are mysterious in their behavior, and all this is constantly in the background, in those books.
I have no idea why this is where I end up right now. I was happy with the more modern books for ages, and I still cannot say why I am now so firmly in the close past, and in attitudes that I still personally remember and see in older persons (my age and up), and never liked much, though they are real and pretty pervasive, still.
I do not enjoy watching stuff, and since I have only myself to please, I tend to go out into nature a lot, and read a lot, and spend much more time talking to friends than before this strange times. That is how I go on.
OMG, Lieselotte! A reference to Elsie Lee!!! I first read her in 1970 – before the beginning of modern times ;-) !!!! I always loved her regencies – even more than the contemporaries and of those, Barrow Sinister is the one I recall most.
I tried both. The recommendation for the Nabob’s widow came from here, and I loved that.
But somehow, her contemporaries suit my mood. Those heroines, both confused and yet defiant in the way women could be / were in the 70-ies, both so “modern” and yet still so hemmed in by “manners”, I find it so fascinating right now.
Weird but fun!
I love those authors also and reread them often . I’m reading Gentlemen Prefer Blondes /Loretta Chase I love it interesting plot
Reading The Medieval Cookbook by Maggie Black. So many recipes (adapted) sound like fun to try but also call for huge amounts of saffron which costs a fortune. My DH and I are wallowing in series 11 of Blue Bloods, watching Devils, Unforgotten, The Terror, MasterChef and I keep wondering if Outlander will manage to return in my life time ;-)
Saffron is remarkably affordable at Trader Joe’s!
Long way from England!!
This is actually something I adore about our community. I have no idea where anyone is! And yet we are all here.
Last week I finished KJ Charles’ The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting, which I loved. Now I’m about halfway into Queen Move by Kennedy Ryan, and I’m feeling spoiled getting two great books in a row. Thanks AAR!
My viewing’s been going well, too. I loved Nomadland. Francis McDormand is amazing and the gorgeous cinematography was like a love letter to the American west. Just started Lupin on Netflix, which is about a “gentleman thief.” The series was made in France, and the dubs are so good, you hardly notice. The first episode was well done with wit, intrigue and great action. Plus it was shot in Paris. I am hoping the rest of the series will be as good.
My husband and I had a mild argument about whether it was dubbed or not. Halfway into the third episode, he was like “I don’t think they’re speaking English.” Yup Dude told you that 5 minutes into the first episode.
I found Nomadland to be good but not great. And while I think McDormand is astonishing in all she does, I didn’t feel that this role was Best Actor worthy–she appears to be the forerunner.
Thanks to recommendations from AAR, I just finished Stella Riley’s Rockcliffe series. It was very enjoyable, low heat, more than wallpaper, Georgian romance. Several of the series dragged a little, and as it went on it got a little melodramatic, but it was refreshing to have clever dialogue and protagonists who mostly behave historically. I am looking forward to her series set in the Restoration.
Since I’ve decided I don’t care for the world c. 2020-2021, I’ve been reading old mystery stories. I just finished Barbara Paul’s “Your Eyelids Are Growing Heavy”, which is a combination amnesia/hypnosis story, and I am a sucker for both of these tropes. She appeals to my anarchic sense that private justice beats legal justice.(Not that I’d actually do it, but…)
Reading across a few genres, including nonfiction (“The Soul of an Octopus” by Sy Montgomery), literature (“The Buried Giant” by Kazuo Ishiguro), romance (an oldie but goodie, “In the Midnight Rain” by Ruth Wind/Barbara Samuel), and mystery (“Murder in Old Bombay” by Nev March). Never would have thought that a book about octopuses would hold my interest, but it did. Only half finished with the Ishiguro but find it mesmerizing and sweet, very much a fairy tale with knights, and ogres and a lovely elderly couple on a journey. The mystery wasn’t bad but was much less satisfying. An interesting setting (1890’s India), but I got tired of the hero telling me how wonderful his lady love was, and there were a number of other questionable aspects to the book as well.
I totally agree with Dabney that “A Place to Call Home” was wonderful. A bit over-the-top sometimes but totally engrossing, with beautiful sets and costumes, people I cared about, and included history and social issues without preaching. Definitely made me want to visit NSW in Australia (especially if I could have visited in the 50’s, when the series is set).
More recently I watched the documentary “My Octopus Teacher” (octopuses are definitely having their Andy Warhol 15-minutes, as Stephen Colbert even mentioned this recently), “Happy Valley” (only two seasons so far but fingers crossed there will be a third), “Queen’s Gambit” (I felt I was the only person I knew who hadn’t seen it and my friends/family got tired of me telling them not to talk about it since I didn’t want spoilers), “War & Peace” (2016 version with Lily James, Paul Dano, and James Norton). I know I’m shallow, but I am a sucker for costume dramas, and the sets and costumes for QG and W&P were quite amazing. I don’t think all the women’s costumes for W&P were totally historically accurate, although there’s a scene of Prince Andrei leaning out a window, dressed in a shirt which has the correct early 19th C collar and buttons only to mid-chest, so is more accurate than most romance novel covers. I don’t even really like the women’s styles of the 1960s, but Anya Taylor-Joy in QG carried them off so well.
You’re not kidding about octopi being a trend right now. Recently, I ran across a science fiction anthology entitled And Lately, the Sun, which had a whole introduction about octopi building a village of sorts out of refuse off the coast of Australia. An interesting choice for a non-fiction intro to a SF anthology, I thought, but I didn’t realize the subject was popping up elsewhere. Interesting…
I think all of us who long for a third season of Happy Valley will be sadly let down. But wasn’t James Norton amazing?
Amazing doesn’t begin to describe it – he’s petrifying as Tommy Lee. And to think he then played Sidney Chambers, a vicar, and Prince Andrei, a troubled 19th C nobleman, and made all of them believable. Did you notice that there’s a scene near the end of the first season of Happy Valley where he’s carrying a copy of War & Peace – I think it was an Easter egg about his role in the miniseries of the novel.
I need to watch War and Peace. I so wish he’d be the next Bond!
I’ve been enjoying two shows that are on PBS – Miss Scarlet and the Duke which is a historical mystery with a female detective and the police detective with whom she’s always at odds, and All Creatures Great and Small, the latest remake about James Herriott’s books (I’ve read them all). I actually became a PBS supporter just so I could get access to the app and use it on my TV with my amazon fire stick so that I can watch the episodes at my leisure.
As well, lately my husband has been having Family Feud on TV when I get home from work so I watch that and then reruns of Whose Line Is It Anyway, both fun and mindless entertainment.
I love the British and first American versions of Whose Line Is It Anyway? Colin’s always been my favorite. The reboot grates on me though because there’s way too much of an emphasis on obscure TV stars with no improv experience clogging up half the show. Bleh!
I wish I could see the British ones, I haven’t seen those
I adored Miss Scarlet. I was caught unawares at the season finale – it was too short a season for my taste and I hope there will be more!
There’s no romance in it, right?
Miss Scarlet is the main character and she has chemistry with the Duke (who is a detective inspector, nicknamed the Duke because his last name is Wellington). However, there is no overt romance.
It’s gotten mixed reviews and I don’t know anyone who’s actually watched it. Thanks for clarifying.
There is some great banter between Miss Scarlet and the Duke that is quite funny, my husband is enjoying watching it with me.
I guess if people went into it expecting romance they’d be disappointed but we are really enjoying the mysteries (that always have something I don’t expect), the architecture and ambiance of the time period and the banter between the 2 MCs. I sure hope there will be more.
I’m currently reading Shadowheart, the only novel written by Kinsale that I haven’t read yet. And I’m on a binge of French TV series with policewomen of a certain age as the main characters: Cassandre and Candice Renoir. I just love them, the mystery, the setting (one in the Alpine mountains, the other on the Mediterranean coast) and the way everybody dresses! It’s a great mix of humour, elegance and romance in a noir context of crime and police investigation.
If you are interested in policewomen of a certain age, you might like “Happy Valley”. It takes place in west Yorkshire, UK, and is not elegant but more working class. The series won a number of awards for writing and acting, and the stories are suspenseful and compelling.
I hold out hopeless hope for a third season!
Me too. I know there was talk of one. I think they were waiting for the young actor who played Ryan to become a teenager (teenage rebellion + Tommy Lee’s manipulation = major plot point) but I think that too much time may now have passed and the pandemic certainly didn’t help.
I’m spending this year doing a lot of re-reads and catching up on series I haven’t quite finished. Along that line, I’m currently re-reading the first two trilogies set in Julie Czerneda’s Trade Pact Universe in preparation for reading the final trilogy.
At home we just finished streaming the first season of Ozark and have started season two. It’s dark, but suspenseful. Since some of it was filmed in Georgia we amuse ourselves with guessing the film location for certain scenes.
We watched WandaVision and are looking forward to Falcon & Winter Soldier. We also watch The Rookie and The Equalizer (new version with Queen Latifah). The husband watches a ton of other stuff while I am in the room and reading. :-)
This weekend it was three Georgette Heyer Regencies and a few other things. I’m in a low-inspiration period so am reading more than writing, averaging 8 things a week, though I have finished a short story and a new edition of a book in the past month. Looking forward to some new releases from authors I like (Jay Hogan, Sally Malcolm, Alexis Hall).
in terms of reading: recently finished kamila shamsie’s a god in every stone. felt like a history lesson in the best way possible. the lush prose in places reminded me of how the best romance novels make certain moments feel so visceral and cinematic. if you’re interested in historical fiction/romance like The Duke of Shadows, definitely give it a go!
in terms of watching: finished buffalo 66. watched it primarily because of how beautiful it is. it was a singular viewing experience to say the least: there were parts that made me uncomfortable because of how the main character treats his love interest, but there were also parts that were absolutely hilarious. great watch if you like beautiful looking films and dark humor.
Shamsie’s book sounds interesting and wasn’t on my radar. Thanks for the mention.
I very much loved Shamsie’s Home Fire, though it was a devastating book, emotionally. It really pulled me in, and did not let go. All the characters were masterfully drawn, and I experienced emotions and actions that I cannot really imagine, just by the power of her writing. It is a modern retelling of Antigone, whom I never understood in the Greek tragedies, and it blew my mind, teaching me so much about inevitable consequences of certain virtues like steadfastness, or family loyalty.
(Its thinly veiled take on London politicians of Pakistani descent was fascinating, too.)
I hesitate to read another of her books because the experience was so powerful, and the story so terribly tragic.
if you want a lighter read by her, salt and saffron is great! it’s such a good portrayal of how big families in india/pakistan tend to be. while it’s full of humor, it also has heft to it-if you’re interested in the partition of the subcontinent and how it affected people’s lives, shamsie does a sensitive depiction that isn’t sappy or maudlin.
i’m from pakistan myself and i love seeing our talented authors get recognition!
Thank you, I will like that , good recommendation.
Yes, I am quite interested in the region, and its rich culture and difficult history.
I have been working in and with Pakistan for the last few years, and have found much to admire, this is how my interest in Shamsie came to be.
Home Fire is a heart-wrenching read, and one that stays with you days after you finishing reading the book. It is such an inventive take on Antigone too.
yes, you say it so well!
I never really got Antigone in the Greek stories, and here, while finding her total denial of rationality hard to follow, my heart was with her all the way.
Every character became somehow understandable, even the politician, and changed my perspective on people and actions that will remain alien, but now, I can somehow have a glimpse of why they end up where they end up.
I just finished Skye Warren’s PRIVATE PROPERTY, it’s the first book in her new Rochester trilogy and is a modern take on JANE EYRE. When it comes to duets & trilogies, I usually try to wait until all the books have been published so that I can read them in one fell swoop, However, for Warren—one of my favorite writers of dark romance—I made an exception, even knowing the book would end with a cliffhanger (which it did—and it’s a Bronte-appropriate doozy). I’ve just started Zoey Castile’s FLASHED (from 2019), a Beauty & the Beast retelling with a young women who takes a job cleaning the house of a reclusive, badly-scarred (physically & emotionally) former male model & stripper.
As for what I’m watching, Spring Training baseball games have started, so my first stop when I’m channel-surfing is the MLB Network. Another favorite is the Riff-Trax channel which is run by three of the guys behind the old Mystery Science Theater 3000. They take bad movies (and sometimes not so bad—they’ve done Star Wars and Harry Potter movies, with great affection and knowledge) and add their own snarky commentary. They’re hilarious, but my favorites are the short educational films they dig up from the 1960s & 1970s where Mary Jo Pehl (who was mad scientist Pearl Forrester on the old MST3K) and Bridget Nelson provide hilarious, female-centric riffs. Other than that, we’ve been slowly working our way through the almost 300 episodes of the old Perry Mason courtroom drama series—I love the show’s set designs and women’s costumes—very on-the-nose about class and wealth. We also watch British murder-mysteries from our enormous collection of DVDs of Poirot, Miss Marple, Sherlock Holmes, Midsomer Murders, Shetland, and Vera. We watched Poirot’s “One, Two, Buckle My Shoe” last night; it has a very convoluted plot and, no matter how many times I watch it, I always forget how it ends, so it was like watching something new yet familiar, which is my favorite kind of viewing.
I love the Rifftraxers! My family always added their own snarky comments to the movies we watched on TV, so finding them was like finding my tribe. Long may they riff!
Reading: I am finally reading Sarina Bowen’s True North series, set in farming country in Vermont. I enjoyed her NA series the Ivy Years and am a fan of her Brooklyn Bruisers series (which is still ongoing). The True North series was multiple books in by the time I discovered her and I never got around to reading it. I recently read her book Roommate, a M/M novel that is not specifically stated to be part of the True North series but I would consider it such due to the overlap of characters – I just loved it. Now that Ms. Bowen is expanding her True North world to a host of authors (similar to what Penny Reid has done), I wanted to read the True North books first to get the fullest experience from the newer books. I have read the first 5 books of True North (Bittersweet, Steadfast, Keepsake, Bountiful, Speakeasy) and I recommend them all, although Steadfast and Bountiful are my favorites so far.
Watching: I recently watched It’s a Sin on HBO Max, which is a short TV series following a group of young gay men in London during the AIDs epidemic. It takes place over a span of 10 years in the 1980s. It was interesting to see the UK perspective and although there were many heartbreaking moments, there was also a lot of joy. I highly recommend it. I also enjoyed the movie Moxie on Netflix, produced by Amy Poehler. It’s based on a YA novel and is the story of a shy teen girl who is inspired by her mother’s rabble-rousing past to spark a revolution at her own school against sexism and toxic masculinity. On Disney+, I enjoyed watching the series WandaVision, which just ended, and am looking forward to The Falcon and the Winter Soldier series starting next weekend. I love the Marvel universe! I’m also looking forward to the Shadow and Bone series in April on Netflix, based on the YA books by Leigh Bardugo. It looks like it might not be a faithful rendering of the books but rather an amalgamation of her Shadow and Bone trilogy and her Six of Crows duopoly. I usually wouldn’t like that but I am inspired by how much I liked Bridgerton even though it also was not strictly faithful. Lastly, I am going to check out The Irregulars, a series on Netflix coming in 2 weeks. It is about a group of street teens who help solve crimes of a supernatural nature by assisting Dr. Watson and Sherlock Holmes.
Fun question! Here’s my breakdown:
Watching: Just finished watching a documentary entitled Machete Maidens Unleashed!, an informative film about those 1970s B-flicks made in the Philippines. I was disappointed it devoted less than a minute to the 1970 biker film, The Losers, which I really enjoyed. What little they said about it I knew already from the DVD commentary of the actual movie. Oh well!
Up next, I think I’ll have to watch Almost Famous as recommended by Dabney, Chrisreader, and Annik. I also have The Irishman checked out from the library.
Reading: I just finished reading Glass and Gardens: Solarpunk Winters, a small press anthology of 17 hopeful “solarpunk” science fiction short stories that take place in winter. If you are looking for uplifting SF, this is a decent collection. I am looking forward to reading World Weaver Press’s upcoming solarpunk anthology Multispecies Cities, which was funded by a Japanese environmental research organization.
Today, I started reading The Lady Brewer of London, which I discovered through AAR. (Thanks!) I might also start reading the Harlequin Desire title Secret Crush Seduction by Jayci Lee this week. It is the sequel to Temporary Wife Temptation, which I read last year thanks to AAR’s rec.
Happy reading and viewing, everyone!