Niccolò Rising by Dorothy Dunnett – 14/20 Books of Summer

It’s hard to know where to start with this dazzling book but, after a slow start, it became so compelling I had to switch from the leisurely pace of the audiobook to a trusty paperback. That also helped with the typically Dunnett vast array of characters, as the actual book has a proper list of those involved, most of whom are “recorded in history,” as is noted a bit smugly. Her best known series, the Lymond Chronicles, is set during the 16th century. In Niccolò Rising, which turned out to be book one of eight, she sets the scene in 1460 and her hero is not a member of the landed gentry like Francis Crawford but a lowly 18-year-old apprentice for a Bruges dyer. 

Bruges

In Dorothy Dunnett’s Niccolò series, the author of the Lymond Chronicles introduced a new hero, Nicholas vander Poele of Bruges, a dyer's apprentice who seems clueless at first but, over several books, connives his way to lead a mercantile empire. Dunnett is my mother’s favorite author so this was part of the impetus for our cruise, which included an excursion to Bruges (about the size of Maryland), in northwest Belgium.

Daughter of Lir by Diana Norman - Reading Ireland Month 2024

Title: Daughter of Lir
Author: Diana Norman
Publication: Headline Books, paperback, 1988
Genre: Historical Fiction
Setting: 12th century Ireland

Description: Taken from Ireland and abandoned at a French convent in the Loire Valley at 6, Finola is renamed Sister Boniface and brought up by the nuns, then at 18 is chosen to be Abbess of Kildare in Ireland. Her focus on her new Abbey and not the warring factions around it is disastrous and she makes a serious enemy, Dermot of Leinster.

Canada 2023 - part 2

We left Niagara-on-the-Lake Sunday morning to visit nearby Niagara Falls, which Andrea and Katherine had never seen. Our friendly waiter the previous evening had suggested we park by the Electric Commission to avoid traffic.  We should have got more precise

instructions as we wound up going through the very commercial town and then had to retrace our steps on foot. But when we saw the Beaux-Arts style Electrical Development Co. building (which operated from 1906 until it was replaced by a newer power station in 1974), we knew it was the right place and snagged a parking place.

The 2019 TBR Challenge

Like many avid readers, I often find myself waiting eagerly for new pubs or library books to come in, despite piles of books waiting to be read at home that I already own. But the only time I tried to deal with this was during my last year of law school when I knew I would be moving back to Boston, so I tried to read only books already in my possession with the objective of reducing the quantity I’d have to pack.  It worked to some extent because once I have read a book I usually decide whether to keep it or donate it (sadly, I still had to donate hundreds in 2006 that I hadn't had time to read).   However, lately I realized I am missing out on some great books I already own as well as purchasing more books than I have space for (this only stops me when I am traveling with already heavy luggage).  Yesterday, when tidying up for a visiting puppy, I was newly aware of my (otherwise delightful) piles.  

When I read about Roof Beam Reader’s 2019 TBR Pile Challenge, where the goal is to read at least 12 books that have been on my “to be read” list for at least a year (thus published before 2018), I decided to join in:

2019 TBR Pile Challenge

1.     Avalon by Anya Seton (1965) - reviewed 10/27/19

2.     Niccolo Rising by Dorothy Dunnett (1986)

3.     The Crystal Snowstorm by Meriol Trevor (1997) - reviewed 8/26/19

4.     Set in Stone by Robert Goddard (1999) - reviewed 8/13/19

5.     Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum (2004) - reviewed 9/11/19

6.     Patriot Hearts by Barbara Hambry (2010) - reviewed 2/23/19

7.     The American Heiress by Daisy Goodwin (2010) - reviewed 12/12/19

8.     Sisters of Fortune by Jehane Wake (2010)

9.     Life After Life by Kate Atkinson (2013) - reviewed 8/3/19

10.  Through the Evil Days by Julia Spencer-Fleming (2013) - reviewed 12/19/19

11.  A Fall of Marigolds by Susan Meissner (2014) - reviewed 7/27/19

12.  The Travelers by Chris Pavone (2016) - reviewed 7/11/19

Alternates

13.  If You Go Away by Adele Parks (2015)

14.  The Gates of Bannerdale by Geoffrey Trease (1956)

Some of my TBR came from this windowsill pile.  Sometimes
it overbalances and comes crashing down.

For my Boston friends interested in finding a good home for their "read" books, I recommend donating to More Than Words, a youth development program that trains at risk young people to work in their two bookstores.


Girl Reading borrowed from this site: https://tinyurl.com/ycxv52lq