Incredibly only the first Book Update of 2010

[carolanne5]

Whilst my 'Forty Festivals' and being with new!boy are fabulous they have taken a serious toll on my book reading time.  So far I've only read 13 books this year ... 

1.  Terry Pratchett - Nation
2.  Richard Morgan - Altered Carbon
3.  C J Sansom - Dark Fire
4.  Naomi Novik - Temeraire: Black Power War
5.  Douglas Adams - Last Chance to See
6.  Stuart Sutherland - Irrationality
7.  C J Sansom - Winter in Madrid
8.  Peter Whitfield - London: A history in maps
9.  Quinn - London: the strangest tales
10. Ian Mortimer - The time traveller's guide to medieval England
11. C J Sansom - Revelations
12. Anne Rice - Interview with a Vampire
13. Anne Rice - The Vampire Lestat

For some reason I've developed a fascination with the evolution of London over time.  The London History in maps was great for that, seeing out the city expanded from within the original Roman city walls to it's current shape.  How the separate towns of Westminster and London grew together, how the monastery grounds were taken over and reused, how the elite expanded westward and the merchants and workers eastward.  How the city rebuilt after the great fire.  

Did you know that there is a London church called St Andrews by the Wardrobe?  Dating back to Tudor times when the King's clothes of state and regalia required an immense warehouse and the church was built tucked into it's shadow.  

Or that the chapel bell at law court of Lincoln's Inn has rung a curfew bell every night since the 16th century?



 

Comments

[uninvitedcat]

What did you think of Altered Carbon? Are yo going to work your way through the rest of the Takashi Kovacs books?

Takashi Kovac

[carolanne5]

I loved Altered Carbon but the sequels seem to have mixed reviews. Would you recommend reading on?

Re: Takashi Kovac

[uninvitedcat]

I certainly enjoyed the next two or three (can't remember how far I got in the series), and I think slowfox did too.

The world-building was good! At some point, I'll re-read them all.