Litsy

Catherine de Medici: Renaissance Queen of France | Leonie Frieda

I recently binge watched The Serpent Queen on Starz & LOVED it. It‘s about Catherine de Medici, who was the queen regent of France in the 1500‘s. The show is based on the tagged book. It plays loose with history & has a magical realism element to it but I loved every second of this show. Catherine was such a badass. 😎

smartest one in the
room, always one step ahead —
the serpent queen reigns.

#haikuhive #haikuaday #poetry #tvhaiku #history

JenlovesJT47 @dabbe @TheBookHippie @DebInHawaii @lil1inblue @Kristy_K @julieclair @BooksandCoffee4Me @bellabella @AnnCrystal @Reggie @jdiehr @vivastory @CBee @Mimi28 @Jari-chan @Itchyfeetreader @Susanita @kelly7990 @ImperfectCJ @The_Book_Ninja 3d

dabbe 🧡💜💛 3d

DebinHawaii Love the haiku & will have to check out the series! 🖤🖤🖤 3d

lil1inblue ❤️❤️❤️ 3d

AnnCrystal A serpent queen AND magical realism 👏🏼🐝👍🏼🎬🤩🐝💝. 3d

44 likes5 comments

dabbe

Tombland | C. J. Sansom

#shardlakebr

Thoughts, Shardlakians?

LiseWorks I was disappointed that our main character, Shardlake, never found the love of his life. Other than that, it was a good ending for Barack. 1w

Bookwomble Sherlockians? Shardlakians? 😁 1w

dabbe @Bookwomble Oopsie daisy! 😂 1w

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dabbe @LiseWorks IKR? It's promising that he might find something with Liz ... maybe ... but it's not a heart-palpating love. 1w

AnneCecilie I‘m happy that Shardlake and Tamasin became friends again. I hope that they all start working together again. 1w

kwmg40 I too am happy that Shardlake and Tamasin reconciled. I liked Barak and Overton, mostly because their characters developed in interesting ways. 7d

dabbe @AnneCecilie I was so happy to see this, too. He and Barak need each other. 3d

dabbe @kwmg40 They both grew up the most, didn't they? 3d

33 likes8 comments

dabbe

Tombland | C. J. Sansom

#shardlakebr

Thoughts, Shardlakians?

Daisey, Cuilin, Amiable, PurpleyPumpkin, Texreader, AnneCecilie, Gissy, Centique, OutsmartYourShelf, jenniferw88, Deblovestoread, Librarybelle, batsy, Chrissyreadit, kwmg40, Mollyanna, curiouserandcurioser, dabbe, Fr3NcHtOaSt, RaeLovesToRead, bthegood, lil1inblue, PageShifter, LiseWorks, The_Book_Ninja, Karisimo, BookWrym

LiseWorks All were good. The last one was a bit long. 1w

AnneCecilie Thinking about it after reading them all one after another, I feel that in a way they‘re all one book. The first has the dissolution of the monasteries and over the next books we see how “normal” peoples situation decreases and in the end there‘s no other option than revolt. When you have nothing left to loose, you‘ll fight for you betterment (edited) 1w

dabbe @AnneCecilie You bring up an excellent point. I can't help but wonder if Sansom had lived, how he would have carried this series forward. Would he have seen Shardlake through to his older years? To Queen Elizabeth being on the throne? Sad that we'll never know. 💔 (edited) 1w

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AnneCecilie I‘m not sure, most crime series ends after 8 or 10 books, but I would have loved one final case with all three. I loved the dynamic between them in earlier books. Something was missing for me when Barak wasn‘t in them as much. I always thought Shardlake retired and moved out of the city, most have mixed that up with one of the earlier books when I talks about his dead. 1w

lil1inblue Looking back, I think Dark Fire (we meet Barak!) and Heartstone were my favorites. Tombland is my least favorite, though still a low pick. I did read somewhere online that he did want to continue the series through Elizabeth becoming Queen. I think a novel set when Mary was Queen would have been fascinating (a total flip on the religious stuff). 1w

Mollyanna I enjoyed all of them but Dark Fire was my favorite by far. We meet Barak, still have Cromwell around manipulating things, Richard Rich kind of in his place…. Plus I am fascinated by Greek fire and the potential of it. 1w

kwmg40 I don't think I can pick a favourite. I loved every single book in this series. 7d

kwmg40 @dabbe Thank you so very much for leading this buddy read. I really enjoyed it! 6d

dabbe @LiseWorks Agree! 🎯♥️🎯 3d

dabbe @lil1inblue Those are my two favorites as well! #greatminds A book with “Bloody Mary“ at the helm would have been fascinating! 3d

dabbe @Mollyanna Totally agree! 🎯♥️🎯 3d

dabbe @kwmg40 YAY! 🤩 3d

dabbe @kwmg40 Aww, you just made my day! I only wish there were more of them! 😍 3d

33 likes13 comments

dabbe

Tombland | C. J. Sansom

#shardlakebr

Thoughts, Shardlakians?

LiseWorks I knew they wouldn't win. Sad to say, but rich men seem to have all the power. They tried, though, and I think the two brothers were naive 1w

dabbe @LiseWorks @AnneCecilie I sure was rooting for them, even though I knew the English army would come in and kick some serious ass. 🧡💜💛 (edited) 1w

AnneCecilie The Kett brothers, they had the most to lose. But I also think about Natty and Simon. And I had hoped for better for Josephine 1w

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dabbe @AnneCecilie Agree 💯. 1w

lil1inblue I didn't know about Kett's rebellion before reading this book, and I found the history fascinating. But I'm also in a rebellious mood. 😉 1w

Mollyanna I was really intrigued by the Kett rebellion. Samsom also did such a great job of blending the real and fictional. 1w

kwmg40 I found the historical setting very interesting, so much so that I hope I can visit Norwich and surrounding areas on my next trip to England. 7d

dabbe @lil1inblue Same, my friend, same. 💙✊🏻💙 3d

dabbe @Mollyanna He was a maestro at that, wasn't he? And a guru on this time period! 🧡💜💛 3d

dabbe @kwmg40 I hope to on my first trip to England! 😂 3d

kwmg40 @dabbe I hope you'll get a chance to visit England! My younger daughter has been living in London several years and my older one just moved there a couple of months ago, so I expect I'll be going there more frequently. 3d

dabbe @kwmg40 Just a “wee“ bit envious! What a lovely place to live with all of the culture, history, and kind people! 🧡💜💛 3d

37 likes12 comments

dabbe

Tombland | C. J. Sansom

#shardlakebr
#tombland

Well, we made it! Boy, was this one intense. Thoughts, Shardlakians?

LiseWorks I do think it was too long. And yes, I always read the notes at the end of the book. 1w

OutsmartYourShelf Thanks for hosting the readalong & for the questions @dabbe

I probably won't finish this one until next month as in the midst of Halloween readathons. I'm definitely finding it a slog to finish. (edited) 1w

dabbe @LiseWorks @OutsmartYourShelf I read an article about Sansom when he wrote this last book. He knew he was dying, and I think he pushed himself to say ALL the things he wanted to say before he couldn't say them anymore. This one's bittersweet for me because of that. And also because I, too, think it was way too long and tried to do way too much. 1w

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dabbe @OutsmartYourShelf You're welcome! I'm so glad you came on this journey with us! 💛💜🧡 1w

AnneCecilie I loved this one as well. Actually the part I remembered best from my first read was the middle part. 1w

dabbe @AnneCecilie For me, it was the Boleyn story I remembered the most the second time around. 🧡💜💛 (edited) 1w

AnneCecilie I had completely forgotten that and why Shardlake was in Norwich to begin with. 1w

lil1inblue This was probably my least favorite, which was disappointing because the historical piece was probably the most interesting to me of all the books. I did a lot of internet reading about Kett's rebellion. But I loathed the mystery, and the pacing was torturously slow for me. 1w

Mollyanna I too think it was a bit long. The perspective on Samson‘s frame of mind is helpful. I, too, did not know about the Kett rebellion. I may have to go and do some independent research on it. This was a great readathon @dabbe Thank you so much for hosting and putting together these questions. 1w

kwmg40 This was indeed a very long book but I didn't find it a slog. I enjoyed all of it and was sad when I was nearing the end, knowing that there would be no more Shardlake stories. 7d

dabbe @lil1inblue As a second read, I couldn't agree more. This one was a major slog for me. He tried to do way too much. 🧡💜💛 (edited) 3d

dabbe @Mollyanna Aww, thank you! It was fun to revisit these with all of you wonderful Shardlakians! 🧡💜💛 3d

dabbe @kwmg40 Glad you felt this way. I did the first time I read it, so I don't know why I felt so weary with this last one this time around. Maybe the rebellion hit a little too close to home--I'm so weary about what's going on in this country in just 9 months. 🧡💜💛 3d

kwmg40 @dabbe I can understand how you feel. When reading the earlier books, I couldn't help thinking that some of our current world leaders seem awfully like Henry VIII. Hugs to all my American friends. ❤ ❤ ❤ 3d

dabbe @kwmg40 It's completely surreal living here now. Thanks for the hugs. 🧡💜💛 3d

31 likes15 comments

dabbe

Tombland | C. J. Sansom

#FridayHappyReadingHour #HappyFridayDrinks
@kspenmoll (thanks for the tag, m'dear!) 🧡💜💛

My physical therapist upped the ante today, and boy, is my arm sore. Taking it easy with this book on my laptop, a greyhound (to drink), and my pups and me on the couch. I'll probably be in bed by 7 PM. 😂

Susanita I hope you feel better soon! 3w

MemoirsForMe Keep relaxing and feel better! ❤️ 3w

Cathythoughts Happy belated Friday. I hope you feel better x 3w

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AnnCrystal 💝💝💝 May rest help you feel better over the weekend 💝💝💝. 3w

dabbe @Susanita @MemoirsForMe @Cathythoughts @AnnCrystal Thank you, everyone! Feeling less sore today. 🧡💜💛 3w

AnnCrystal @dabbe that's good 💝💝💝. 3w

Bookwomble @dabbe Glad to hear you're recovering 😊❤️‍🩹 I'd never heard of a greyhound cocktail before - thanks for the introduction! 😁🍹 3w

dabbe @Bookwomble It's a simple one: vodka + grapefruit juice. 🧡💜💛 3w

Bookwomble @dabbe Yes, I looked it up, and I'd probably use gin as the spirit 😊 I always buy a grapefruit for my Christmas morning breakfast, and then never actually eat it, so now I know how to repurpose it! 😁🍸🎅 3w

dabbe @Bookwomble You know, I've never tried it with gin. I'll have to give that a go! It's a really refreshing drink. It tastes really good with sparkling water, too! ☺️ 3w

46 likes10 comments

MariaW

Anne Boleyn | Marie Louise Bruce

pick

This is a very interesting non-fictional overview over Anne‘s life. Because I only watched the different semi-ficituonal series about Henry VIII‘s life, I never realized it took Anne eight years to be married ti the king. On TV it always happens in a shorter amount of time. And in the end she was only married to hin for three years. Seems like the moment he actually had her, he lost interest.

49 likes

kwmg40

Tombland | C. J. Sansom

pick

I loved this final book in the Shardlake series and very sad that there will be no more works from C. J. Sansom. I'll save my thoughts for the upcoming #ShardlakeBR discussion. @dabbe

#52bookclub (explores social class)
#gottacatchemall (cloaks or capes) @PuddleJumper

dabbe 🩵🩷🩵 3w

36 likes1 comment

lil1inblue

Tombland | C. J. Sansom

pick

And I'm done. What a ride! Here's some initial thoughts:
-Love that he explores Kett's rebellion. The history is fascinating.
-It may have been my mood, but I found the slow pace infuriating.
-I did not care for the mystery. At all.
What a series! Thanks for hosting #shardlakeseriesbr, @dabbe

dabbe Agree 💯. The longest and least favorite IMHO. We'll have to talk about that on 10/15. Love your quote, too! 🩵🤎🩵 1mo

39 likes1 comment

dabbe

Tombland | C. J. Sansom

#ShardlakeBR
#tombland

Thanks, Shardlakians, for being so accommodating to everyone. I went for the halfway point to hopefully be fair to all of us. The discussion date over the whole TOME of a book will be on 10/15. I've already read fab reviews of those who finished. Hopefully that will work for everyone. 💛💜🧡

kwmg40 That works for me! 1mo

dabbe @kwmg40 YAY! 🧡💜💛 1mo

Mollyanna Works for me as well! 1mo

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dabbe @Mollyanna YAY! 🧡💜💛 1mo

AnneCecilie That sounds great 😊 1mo

dabbe @AnneCecilie YAY! 🧡💜💛 1mo

43 likes6 comments

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