Terrible Title, Wonderful Read. Really.
 

I'm going to gas on about this because I think many of you will enjoy this book. Really, how many biographies of 18th-19th century private figures are page-turners? Dancing to the Precipice: The Life of Lucie de la Tour du Pin, Eyewitness to an Era by Caroline Moorehead (Harper, 2009) is vivid, shocking, and entertaining.

(Advance apologies for the cutesie recipe but it's the shortest way to share this 400+ page biography.)

Ingredients:
The court of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette
The Great Terror
America at the time of Washington and Jefferson
Paris under the Directoire and then under Napoléon
Regency London
The battle of Waterloo
The Italian ducal courts
Meticulous research
Beautiful writing

Sprinkle with friends like La Rochefoucauld, Joséphine, Lafayette, and the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and plenty of trials and tribulations (besides the historical upheavals, it all begins with a shrewish grandmother in a long liaison with her uncle the archbishop).

Enjoy!

Are there any pictures? I have a hard time with books without pictures.

You betcha.

Just finished reading Major Barbara by George Bernard Shaw. I'd be very interested to hear if anyone else has read it, and what you thought of it. I rather enjoyed it and its refreshing take on morality.

Just starting to read The Hunger Games by Collins.

It was a recommended book to my teen daughter and she just finished and really enjoyed it. It seemed like something I might like too.

Here's part of the summary:

UpûIn a not-too-distant future, the United States of America has collapsed, weakened by drought, fire, famine, and war, to be replaced by Panem, a country divided into the Capitol and 12 districts. Each year, two young representatives from each district are selected by lottery to participate in The Hunger Games. Part entertainment, part brutal intimidation of the subjugated districts, the televised games are broadcasted throughout Panem as the 24 participants are forced to eliminate their competitors, literally, with all citizens required to watch.

The Lives of Animals by J.M. Coetzee.

Caution: Old Thread Revival.
 

Today I'm reading THE WILDER LIFE: MY ADVENTURES IN THE LOST WORLD OF LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE BY WENDY MCCLURE

Having loved the Alison Arngrin book, this is another fun read for me as an avid Little House fan.

Tell you more when I finish.