Oct 23, 2012

what i'm reading


i've discovered that i read a lot more when i download books to the ipad - i use the kindle app since the books on amazon are much cheaper than itunes

(side note, i'm totally wanting a kindle for christmas, or perhaps the new smaller ipad.  the ipad is a little clunky for reading, and that's all i tend to use it for these days - and since i use the kindle app i'm leaning more towards the kindle over any future ipad)

so i downloaded a book that was featured in amazon's best sellers by ebooks for $5
The Bloodletter's Daughter (A Novel of Old Bohemia)
the bloodletter's daughter @ amazon

the description reads:
 
Within the glittering Hapsburg court in Prague lurks a darkness of which no one dares speak…
In 1606, the city of Prague shines as a golden mecca of art and culture carefully cultivated by Emperor Rudolf II. But the emperor hides an ugly secret: His bastard son, Don Julius, is afflicted with a madness that pushes the young prince to unspeakable depravity. Desperate to stem his son’s growing number of scandals, the emperor exiles Don Julius to a remote corner of Bohemia where the young man is placed in the care of a bloodletter named Pichler. The bloodletter’s task: cure Don Julius of his madness by purging the vicious humors coursing through his veins.
When Pichler brings his daughter Marketa to assist him, she becomes the object of Don Julius’s frenzied—and dangerous—obsession. To him, she is the embodiment of the women pictured in the Coded Book of Wonder, a priceless manuscript from the imperial library that was the mad prince’s only link to sanity. As the prince descends further into the darkness of his mind, his acts become ever more desperate, as Marketa, both frightened and fascinated, can’t stay away.
Inspired by a real-life murder that threatened to topple the powerful Hapsburg dynasty, The Bloodletter’s Daughter is a dark and richly detailed saga of passion and revenge.

the only thing i really can recall from high school history class is that the assassination of franz ferdinand (part of the hapsburg dynasty) in 1914 was what started world war 1.

(my aunt lisa should be so proud)

this book is historical fiction, and is set during the renaissance period which was probably my most favorite time period to study.

the madness and craziness described above is based on true stories of both rudolf and don julius, which adds even more intrigue to the book

i'm about 40% through with the book and so far i really like it.

it has a majority of good reviews on amazon, but i always try and read the worst reviews.  and i think some of those reviews are coming from book snobs/historical fiction snobs. 

so if you consider yourself in one of those categories, then maybe you won't like the bloodletter's daughter - but i was looking for something mysterious to keep me occupied while on vacation and it's really held my attention especially from the beginning (warning: there are some adult themes that featured the main charater, marketa, who works in a bathhouse), the gritty part really helps you cheer on the protagonist as she tries to pursue her love of science and move away from her family's profession at the bathhouse.

i'll give a complete review once i've finished reading.

i have a feeling i will finish this book before much of my vacation starts

so please send me recommendations for books topping your must read list - but a fair warning - i don't do chick lit or romanticized stories.



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