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A Burnable Book
A Burnable Book: A Novel | Bruce Holsinger
22 posts | 22 read | 67 to read
London, 1385. Surrounded by ruthless courtiersincluding his powerful uncle, John of Gaunt, and Gaunt's artful mistress, Katherine SwynfordEngland's young king, Richard II, is in mortal peril. Songs are heard across London, said to originate from an ancient book that prophesies the ends of England's kingsincluding Richard's assassination. Only a few powerful men know that the cryptic lines derive from a "burnable book," a seditious work that threatens the stability of the realm. To find the manuscript, wily bureaucrat Geoffrey Chaucer turns to fellow poet John Gower, a professional trader in information with connections high and low.Gower discovers a conspiracy that reaches from the king's court to London's slumsand potentially implicates Gower's own son. As the intrigue deepens, it becomes clear that John Gower, a man with secrets of his own, may hold the key to saving the king, and England itself.
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TheEllieMo
A Burnable Book: A Novel | Bruce Holsinger
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I am posting one book per day from my extensive to-be-read collection. No description and providing no reason for wanting to read it, I just do. Some will be old, some will be new. Don‘t judge me - I have a lot of books. Join in if you want!

#ABookADay2023

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Lauram
A Burnable Book: A Novel | Bruce Holsinger
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Enjoying a quiet morning with hot coffee and an interesting mystery.

Trashcanman I hope you have a fantastic day 2y
Lauram @Trashcanman some of my favorite people came over to have dinner and play games tonight. I had a beautiful day and hope you did too. 💜 (edited) 2y
Trashcanman @Lauram sounds lovely, thank you ❤️ 2y
53 likes3 comments
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jenniferw88
A Burnable Book: A Novel | Bruce Holsinger
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My books from LibraryThing's #SantaThing! I haven't heard of either of these series so looking forward to trying both of them!

julesG Oh, both sound intriguing. 5y
Itchyfeetreader The tagged one sounds right up my street ... stacking (and merry Christmas!) 5y
101 likes2 comments
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Seshat
A Burnable Book: A Novel | Bruce Holsinger

"When the light fails and belief fades into nothingness, and the season of your darkest ignorance begins."

by Bruce Holsinger

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TrishB
A Burnable Book: A Novel | Bruce Holsinger
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#burningbride #NoFemmeber
No burning brides....but some books 📚 which is always bad!
Not usually a big fan of historical mysteries but I enjoyed this one.

Cinfhen Actually sounds interesting 🤓 5y
Melissa_J Have you read the sequel yet? I haven‘t. 5y
TrishB @Cinfhen it is 👍🏻 5y
See All 11 Comments
TrishB @melissa_j no 😱 usual, too many books etc... 5y
Cinfhen Low Litsy rating 🤔 5y
TrishB @Cinfhen very mixed 🤷‍♀️ 5y
Melissa_J @Cinfhen I liked it, too, if that helps. Trish and my seal of approval should take precedence over Litsy ratings 😂 5y
Cinfhen Absolutely @Melissa_J 🙌🏻💕 5y
Billypar I feel like that happens a decent amount where I love a book, and am all set to review it, only to find it has a crazy low rating 😯. But to each her/his own! 5y
TrishB @Cinfhen @Melissa_J some people‘s reviews will always be more convincing as I know we like similar stuff! 😁 5y
TrishB @Billypar it‘s the joy of reading 👍🏻 5y
114 likes3 stack adds11 comments
review
behudd
A Burnable Book: A Novel | Bruce Holsinger
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Bailedbailed

I didn‘t finish it. I couldn‘t get into it & didn‘t care about the “mystery” at all. It‘s the first one I haven‘t finished in a loooong time.

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HighLadyoftheStacks
A Burnable Book: A Novel | Bruce Holsinger
Bailedbailed

I finally had to admit I didn‘t want to read this anymore. The books moves between several different character perspectives and none of it felt cohesive enough to carry the plot forward. Carl Hiaasen is a master of putting characters on a stage and letting them wander into each other, this felt like the opposite of that. #dnf #itried

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HighLadyoftheStacks
A Burnable Book: A Novel | Bruce Holsinger
Mehso-so

I honestly don‘t know if I want to continue with this book. It takes a lot for me to DNF a book, I‘ve only done it a few times, but I‘m trying to give myself room to put down things I‘m not genuinely enjoying.

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Bulldog
A Burnable Book: A Novel | Bruce Holsinger
Pickpick

A story of prophecy, treason, loyalty, and family. In Medieval timed a book and a prophecy can be very dangerous things for anyone who comes in contact with them.

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Sensitivemuse
A Burnable Book: A Novel | Bruce Holsinger
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Mehso-so

Excellent description of setting. A lot of characters to keep track of. However the plot and a nice web of intrigue make up for most of it. Definitely not a book you can put down and read a week later. You need to keep track of everything. Could do without all the medieval terminology although it does add more flair to the book.

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LizzyM
A Burnable Book: A Novel | Bruce Holsinger
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Pickpick

Not a fast or easy read, but it is certainly an interesting one set in medieval London involving a mysterious book with supposed prophecies of the king's assassination. The story is complicated with many plot lines and characters, and there is a lot of historical detail (the author is a scholar of the medieval period) which really brought the story to life (I swear I could smell it all😝).

23 likes3 stack adds
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LizzyM
A Burnable Book: A Novel | Bruce Holsinger
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Friday night! I blame @Beckys_Books for the Magic Shell.

Beckys_Books Brings back some memories doesn't it? 8y
26 likes1 comment
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ImaginativeMom
A Burnable Book: A Novel | Bruce Holsinger
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Pickpick

First and without a doubt, impeccably written. The sentences are flawless; paragraphs beautifully constructed. And yet, too many POVs bothered me. The first hundredish pages had me wondering if the plot would ever come together. Once it did, though, I was delighted! Great twists and turns. One other small deduction for heavy use of foreshadowing. I certainly recommend this, especially if you like historical fiction. This guy's a master at it!

30 likes4 stack adds
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ImaginativeMom
A Burnable Book: A Novel | Bruce Holsinger
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Me! Me!! I would. I mean, you know, if I had to steal something. 🙄

Alisnazzy Obviously they never met any one here on Litsy 😂 8y
Laalaleighh Who WOULDN'T steal a book? That's the better question. 8y
Redwritinghood I have this one my kindle. I hope to get to it some day soon! 8y
LeahBergen This is on my shelf. I need to move it up the pile. 😃 8y
ImaginativeMom @Redwritinghood @LeahBergen Hold that thought!! I'm a couple hundred pages in and struggling! Is it because I'm not a fan of historical fiction? Maybe it's that the cast of characters is huge? I don't know. It is starting to come together a bit, so maybe I'll end up loving it. I'll let you know! 8y
24 likes5 comments
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ImaginativeMom
A Burnable Book: A Novel | Bruce Holsinger
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So at Costco today I picked up A Man Called Ove and The Trap. When I got home, A Burnable Book was waiting for me. What a nice book day! Note: I also got a case of Yuengling at Costco. With a middle schooler and high high schooler going back to school tomorrow, I think I'll need it! 🍻🎒

britt_brooke Seriously loved Ove! And seriously love Yuengling! 🍻 8y
ImaginativeMom @britt_brooke Whoop! Dropping a couple in the freezer now. 😉 8y
Alisnazzy My dad was a safety patrol officer when he was a kid in front of the Yuengling brewery in Pottsville. I will always have a soft spot for it in my heart. Lol 8y
MrBook Well done 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻! Eager to hear your thoughts about Burnable. 8y
DreesReads I took Holsinger's coursera course, it was interesting (and lots of good reading!). I haven't read his book, but I'm curious! 8y
29 likes2 stack adds5 comments
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Shemac77
A Burnable Book: A Novel | Bruce Holsinger
Mehso-so

This took longer to read than I anticipated, mostly because of studying and work.
I liked it but expected more. I found the protagonist meandered through the mystery with a blindfold which was somewhat annoying. However, the writing and research were solid. The characters weren't one dimensional but I had a hard time getting to know them.
All in all I thought it was decent and will give book 2 in the series a try.

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Shemac77
A Burnable Book: A Novel | Bruce Holsinger
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#funfridayphoto @Liberty
I have postcards, wedding invites, bookmarks, etc; whatever works! This one is from The Noisy Plume. And I also try to match my bookmark to my book....ish.
#readeverydayeverywhere

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Shemac77
A Burnable Book: A Novel | Bruce Holsinger
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The struggle between studying and reading.
#readeverydayeverywhere

MrBook Love this pic! Loved this book! Can't wait to read its sequel. 8y
25 likes1 comment
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MrBook
A Burnable Book: A Novel | Bruce Holsinger
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Pickpick

Enjoy mysteries? Then this will take you places you may never have been before! Medieval London, a book of morbid Royal prophecies, Oxford U, ancient libraries, Italian mercenaries, & Geoffrey Chaucer (among many other figures). Intricate and surprising. Immerse yourself! Pair with: Fuller's Porter.

Merethebookgal Sounds really interesting! 8y
MrBook It's definitely different. Holsinger is an expert on the period, but he conducted even more research for this book. Might be slow-going at first in order to adapt to the cultural shift, but it kept me enthused. (The literature from this time was part of my one degree's emphasis anyway.) 8y
Dogearedcopy If I could double-like this post, I would! I not only like the book rec; but the Fuller Porter recommendation too (I'm a fan of dark stouts and porters as well. I'm currently buying out the local stock of Samuel Smith's Chocolate Stout 😊) 8y
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MrBook 😁👍🏻 Chocolate Stout 😳?! Oh. Myyyyyy. I'm a dark stout & porter kinda guy. I like my lagers also. I need some Samuel Smith's Chocolate Stout stat. 8y
ImaginativeMom I just ordered this book! So excited. 😃 8y
ValerieAndBooks Hey! I'm a huge porter and stout fan myself, too :-). My current fav is Brooklyn Brewing's Black Chocolate Stout. It's seasonal but our local stores haven't run out of it yet. 8y
MrBook I've had that tasty stout, and have become a big fan. I wish it wasn't seasonal though. Brooklyn Brewing produces some great beverages. 😎👍🏻 8y
niftytiffd Beautiful organ! 🎹🎶 8y
MrBook Thank you, @niftytiffd ! My better-half can play. I just sing bad karaoke 😉. 8y
niftytiffd 🙉 Lol, @MrBook! 8y
60 likes26 stack adds10 comments
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Shemac77
A Burnable Book: A Novel | Bruce Holsinger
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Evening reading.
#readeverydayeverywhere

MrBook Great pic! 😊👍🏻 8y
23 likes3 stack adds1 comment
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Bksinthebelfry
A Burnable Book: A Novel | Bruce Holsinger
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Pickpick

A satisfyingly twisty historical mystery, well grounded in period research (in other words, not prettied up, so be prepared), set during the reign of Richard II and featuring Geoffrey Chaucer and his friend and fellow poet John Gower as somewhat compromised sleuths. Bonus: Feline approved.