Damn you, amych! You picked the two books I would have. Heh.

Um, whoops?

And oddly, those are two of the few books on that list that I actually bought. Most of those have been freebies from conferences.

I'll split 'em with you, P-C -- pick whichever of the two you want. But I still want Barb's books!

I would love The Book Thief ! I adored it. Thanks!

I'd like to put in for Eat, Pray, Love and the Jennifer Crusie & Bob Mayer books. I already own your books! If you end up with extra contemporary or historical romances, my aunt in the nursing home goes through them like M&Ms. I'd be glad to pay postage.

On a totally different subject (no new books for me! not until I clear some out! really! well, except ...)

I was reading a book and gave up on it because it hit one of my peeves. It was set in the early 1920s, obviously well researched, well written enough ... but the author kept pulling in famous real people. This is one of those things that just sets my (metaphorical) teeth on edge. It's as though someone were writing something set in colonial America and the main character is friends with Ben Franklin, George Washington, John Adams, etc. Bringing in one or two famous people I can understand ... but let's face it - most of the people at any one time are going to be unknown (except, perhaps, to someone doing extensive research on the period). It's like reincarnation - you know how it seems people are always Cleopatra or Queen Elizabeth I or something.

Does this annoy anyone else? or is it just me?

Does this annoy anyone else? or is it just me?

Makes me crazy. I will say, however, that the further back in time you go, depending on the location, circumstances, etc., it's more plausible. Like in John Jakes' Kent Family Chronicles, I think in the first couple of books, he had some famous folks, but since the character had emigrated to Boston and it was the eve of the Revolutionary War, it seemed far more likely.

But I think the further forward you come, the harder it is to pull off, and then, only if the author is careful with it and doesn't overwhelm the narrative with the All Star Cameos.

Does this annoy anyone else? or is it just me?

Not just you. That's what really lost me on Ahab's Wife. It's a retelling of Moby Dick from the point of view of, as you probably guessed, Ahab's wife. The lead character meets every contemporary philosophical and literary figure remotely available. The author even has her run into a 5 year old Henry James, who speaks in sentences as long and complex as the paragraphs in The Ambassadors. Which was a lovely book, but James was about 5, and I'd like to think he grew a bit over 50+ years. After a point I stopped paying attention to the book's plot and started playing, "guess who'll be the next 19th century American celebrity to show up," although I didn't get around to turning it into a drinking game. And I'm pretty weak in 18th c. American lit. and history, so if it's obvious to me, you know it's rife in the book.

Does this annoy anyone else? or is it just me?

Not just you. I love well-done historical stuff, but way too many authors cross the line between good novel that plays with a historical setting and "look how awfully clever I am!"

Caleb Carr did that in The Alienist and its sequel. The first time around, it wasn't so bad. Second time, when he tossed in Clarence Darrow and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, it got more annoying.