Drama-Lovers Book Club

 violetfleuri:

I just finished a book called Lady of the English by Elizabeth Chadwick. I will affectionately refer to it as historical lady smut, as I discovered, after the fact, that the author works in both historical and romantic fiction. It was the story of Empress Mathilda, daughter of King Henry I of England. I don't feel better for having read it. I'm going to jump out of the 1100's and in to a different part of history next. 

I have this book, along with five others (from the William Marshal series) by Elizabeth Chadwick, but I have yet to read any of them. They came to mind recently as I've been reading The Birth of Britain (by Winston Churchill) and I'm currently in the period dealing with William Marshal and the English kings (the Henrys et al).

I'm curious - is Lady of the English more romance than historical? For some reason, I have all the books tagged as historical but not romance. Then again, I've owned them for about 10 years now, so I have no recollection of what I was thinking at time I bought them.

To LucianYaz : 

Re: Elizabeth Chadwick series. I just came out of months of reading Science Fiction, so perhaps I was unprepared for Elizabeth Chadwick and Lady of the English. The romance parts of the book caught me off guard with the "...her loins moist with need" stuff. I guess I am more used to Edward Rutherfurd style historical fiction. Perhaps, I should give Elizabeth another try? I had no idea this book was part of a series. It was just a book I picked up in a house I happened to be visiting. 

 violetfleuri:

Re: Elizabeth Chadwick series. I just came out of months of reading Science Fiction, so perhaps I was unprepared for Elizabeth Chadwick and Lady of the English. The romance parts of the book caught me off guard with the "...her loins moist with need" stuff.

Thanks for the heads-up! I have yet to read any of her books so I had no idea what to expect; just always thought they were heavy on history with only a passing romance. 

 violetfleuri:

I had no idea this book was part of a series. It was just a book I picked up in a house I happened to be visiting. 

Well, Lady of the English is a standalone book, just that I own other books of hers that are part of a series.

I have not finished my book from last month(because i'm lazy) but i think its slow burn kinda book where i make a lot of notes cause there are a lot of words i don't know and its very experimental. hopefully i finish it this month but i also am going on a book haul and i'm buying a couple of books. BOOK HAUL. these are few i want to buy. if anyone wants to recommend some please do.

 namsham:

I have not finished my book from last month(because i'm lazy) but i think its slow burn kinda book where i make a lot of notes cause there are a lot of words i don't know and its very experimental. hopefully i finish it this month but i also am going on a book haul and i'm buying a couple of books. BOOK HAUL. these are few i want to buy. if anyone wants to recommend some please do.

 BigLiz:

hi im an advid reader (mostly fanfics atm) and i need more motivation to read, so at the start of next month i would love to post what im readin if that okay !!!! <3

Welcome to our drama-book family!
Of course you can post about your books and progress! looking forward to it :)

Guess who finally finished a book? ME! 

This month I read Dykes to Watch Out For: Essential Edition

This behemoth was around 450 pages long and full of American political/academic jargon that I sometimes skipped because it was a lot. But it was really interesting to read! It's full of various kinds of radical feminists and lesbians, and it's interesting because it reflects the lesbian community in real time from 1980 - 2008, so it kind of feels like getting a ground-level view of life. It's very slice-of-life with each character feeling alive. There's romance throughout as well, showing the rise and falls of many different kinds of relationships. Not a book I could have read in one sitting, but definitly a book worth picking up. 

If the author's name is familiar and you haven't read her books, you might know her from her famous test! The Bechdel Test sometimes used to critique films and tv shows. I was a bit disappointed this one wasn't included in the essential edition, but luckily I've read it before somewhere else.

One thing that surprised me about the book was finding some of my current fears in these stories. In a strange way it gave me hope and hopelessness! Like when Mo says, "How can we bring a child into a world like this?!"  I thought, "Wow, I've said the same thing... and this was written in the 90s? Maybe the world is just always like this..." but I also felt a bit hopeful because to me that also meant others had gone through the same thing and are still doing alright.

Anyway super proud of myself for finally finishing a book.  I think I didn't have any updates for two months so I feel a bit relieved now. Hopefully my next update will come sooner!