This royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle, This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars, This other Eden, demi-paradise, This fortress built by Nature for herself Against infection and the hand of war, This happy breed of men, this little world, This precious stone set in the silver sea, Which serves it in the office of a wall Or as a moat defensive to a house, Against the envy of less happier lands,-- This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England. ~~William Shakespeare, Richard III



Thursday, December 31, 2009

What Did I Read in 2009?

I posted my top reads earlier in the week but decided to post a bit more information on my adventures in reading this year. I'm actually surprised at how much I read, even for a speed reader like me! And I am sure I've missed some!

  • Total books read: 74
  • Genres:
Historical Fiction: 70
Other: 4

  • Time Periods:
Ancient: 1
Roman/Celtic/Saxon: 3
Medieval: 37
Tudor: 27
17th Century: 1
Colonial: 1
19th Century: 2
Modern: 2

List of Titles:

The Conqueror, Georgette Heyer
The Bastard King, Jean Plaidy
The Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn, Robin Maxwell
The Sunne in Splendor, SKP
A Bloody Field by Shrewsbury, Edith Pargeter
A Rose for the Crown, Anne Easter Smith
Daughter of York, Anne Easter Smith
The King's Grace, Anne Easter Smith
Bitter is the New Black, Jen Lancaster
A Hollow Crown, Helen Hollick
The Traitor's Wife, Susan Higginbotham
Secrets of the Tudor Court: Pleasure Palace, Kate Emerson
The First Princess of Wales, Karen Harper
The King's Daughter, Sandra Worth
The Queen's Sorrow, Suzannah Dunn
Katherine of Aragon, Jean Plaidy
The Virgin Queen's Daughter, Ella March Chase
The Queen of Subtleties, Suzannah Dunn
The Concubine, Norah Lofts
The King's Pleasure, Norah Lofts
The Spanish Bride, Laurien Gardner
Falls the Shadow, SKP
To the Tower Born, Robin Maxwell
The Queen's Devotion, Jean Plaidy
My Father had a Daughter, Grace Tiffany
Mary, Queen of France, Jean Plaidy
A Lady Raised High, Laurien Gardner
My Enemy, the Queen, Victoria Holt
The Other Queen, Philippa Gregory
Plain Jane, Laurien Gardner
The Secret Bride, Diane Haeger
In the Shadow of the Crown, Jean Plaidy
The Lady in the Tower, Jean Plaidy
Mademoiselle Boleyn, Robin Maxwell
The Last Wife of Henry VIII, Carolly Erickson
The Rose without a Thorn, Jean Plaidy
Duchess of Aquitaine, Margaret Ball
Katherine, Anya Seton
Brief Gaudy Hour, Margaret Campbell Barnes
The Innocent Posie Graham Evens
Hammer of the Scotts Jean Plaidy
Follies of the King, Jean Plaidy
Star of Lancaster, Jean Plaidy
A Secret Alchemy, Emma Darwin
Queen of Shadows: Novel of Isabella, Wife of Edward II, Edith Felber
Azincourt, Bernard Cornwell
When Christ and His Saints Slept, Sharon Kay Penman
The Vow on the Heron, Jean Plaidy
Passage to Pontefract, Jean Plaidy
Red Rose of Anjou, Jean Plaidy
The White Queen, Philippa Gregory
The Sun in Splendor, Jean Plaidy
Time and Chance, Sharon Kay Penman
The Daughter of Time, Josephine Tey
Devil's Brood, Sharon Kay Penman
Legacy, Susan Kay
The Marsh King's Daughter, Elizabeth Chadwick
The Last Boleyn, Karen Harper
The Queen's Bastard, Robin Maxwell
The Queen's Handmaiden, Jennifer Ashley
Dreaming the Eagle, Manda Scott
Two Brothers, David H. Jones
The Tudor Rose, Margaret Campbell Barnes
The Court of the Midnight King, Freda Warrington
Gwenhwyfar, Mercedes Lackey
O, Juliet, Robin Maxwell
The Boleyn Wife, Brandy Purdy
Willoughby's Return, Jane Odwie
The Greatest Knight, Elizabeth Chadwick
The Heretic's Daughter, Katheleen Kent
The Heretic Queen, Michelle Moran
Blue Christmas, Mary Kay Andrews
The Winter Mantle, Elizabeth Chadwick
The Stolen Crown, Susan Higginbotham


So what does this all mean? Well, if you want to get me a gift, historical fiction set in Medieval or Tudor England is a safe bet! It also means I'm up pretty late at night reading in bed!

Happy New Year!

5 comments:

  1. Looks like you read some great books. I am going to check some of them out, thanks for posting them... Happy New Year!

    http://muse-in-the-fog.blogspot.com/

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  2. Wow, you are a speed reader! With work and my 2 kids I rarely get more than 1 book per week read. Lots of good books on your list!

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  3. It's always interesting to look back over your reads for a year and see what patterns emerge!

    Happy new year!

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  4. Arleigh, I have always read really, really fast...but I retain what I've read surprisingly. I do my reading at night after I put the little one to bed...it really messes up my sleeping pattern! Hahaha!

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  5. I can't get beyond about 30 books per year -- if I'd use some of my computer time for reading, I'd get through a lot more. I've read a lot of those on your list -- and have a lot of the others on my TBR pile.

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