“Great discoveries, whether of silk or of gravity, are always windfalls. They happen to people loafing under trees.”
Jeffrey Eugenides, Middlesex.

I’ve read a lot of good books this year, tried bravely with a lot of books that I tried to like and couldn’t (but I’m not telling you what they are) and wanted to share with you the following results of my own loafing under trees.

Top of the heap, Kate Atkinson’s Case Histories. Its back cover blurb describes it as a literary detective novel, which I suppose it is. The book is about a group of people who you think at first have nothing in common, but as the book progresses, you see how their lives are linked together. Two murders are common threads, but there’s a lot more going on; at the end, you know more than the characters do, and it’s a pleasure to put the pieces together. Wonderfully written, wry, and funny. A sequel has just been released and I can’t wait to get my hands on it.

I was a bit nervous of Emma Donoghue’s collection of short stories, Touchy Subjects. I loved her first book, Slammerkin, and found myself wondering with her next full-length historical, Life Mask, how such a good writer could make such an interesting setting and group of characters so, well, boring. But I loved these short stories, ranging from the touching and mysterious to the ribaldly funny (hint: gentlemen, do not choose a hotel in Dublin where everyone knows you for an attempt at artifical insemination with your wife’s best friend).

Somehow I missed Jeffrey Eugenides’s brilliant, erotic, funny Middlesex when it first came out in 2003. We’ve been passing Middlesex around at work, and we’ve all been enchanted and thrilled by it. It’s hard to describe what this book is about, a huge, rich, rambling chronicle of a Greek-American family, a cross between Greek myth and Tristram Shandy, spanning decades and generations.

Another book I loved this year, because it had the power to take you into another time, was Kate Dolan’s Restitution. Set in eighteenth-century Maryland, it tells the story of ordinary people caught up in the tumultuous years before American independence; they’re not called upon to perform heroic acts, but they do have to make choices and sacrifices. Restitution blends both fictional and historic characters and paints a wonderfully vivid picture of colonial life.

And, guess what, I actually read some romances this year! And enjoyed them. First, Pam Rosenthal’s wonderful The Slightest Provocation–another book that blends fiction and history. This is a complex, challenging, adventurous read; Rosenthal blends the past and present of her characters, and her hero and heroine are annoying, frustrating, human people who don’t always behave well, but are completely convincing in their frailty. They have a strong sense of the ordinary about them, of people caught up in extraordinary events and times, and trying to make the best decisions. Read the Riskies interview with Pam here.

That’s what I also enjoyed about Eloisa James’s The Taming of the Duke–ordinary people (although more caught up in the trappings of the aristocracy than Rosenthal’s) dealing with ordinary, stupid, human tragedy. I loved the way James dealt with her Duke’s alcoholism–not a hint of modern theory of disease, but a thoroughly believable and moving account of his attempt to remake his life and confront his past. And chock full of literary and theatrical references, a real treat. A perfect romance–why can’t they all be this good?

And a couple of contemporaries, both written by smart Englishwomen (well, Julie’s from Maine, but she sounds English to me, and lives in my home town). Portia da Costa’s Entertaining Mr. Stone is a very funny erotic novel. It’s set, mainly, in a labyrinthine local government office where everyone, er, misbehaves. Imagine Kafka in a good mood letting his hair (or pants) down. A great naughty read. Again, ordinary people faced with the extraordinary. Is this a theme, class?

And Julie Cohen’s Delicious is, in a word, delicious. He’s a superstar chef, she’s a teacher–ordinary people again, more or less. It’s all about taking risks and allowing yourself to trust–nothing new, but beautifully written, and written from the heart, and with deep sympathy for the adolescent kids, who, in a lesser writer, would have been only wallpaper.

My best re-read of 2006 was Dickens’s Our Mutual Friend, which I blogged about a few months ago here.

Happy new year, everyone!
Janet
www.janetmullany.com

Last year around this time, I joined a book discussion group. I was getting stale reading only romance novels and historical reference books. I figured my life and my writing would both improve from reading outside the genre. So far, the experiment is going well. I found something to enjoy in each of the group’s selections and I’ve enjoyed the socializing, too.

BUT.

If I thought that this year I’d read some literary novel that blew away all my favorite romance authors along with Georgette and Jane and the Brontes, or even came close to the reading pleasure they’ve given me, it didn’t happen. I think the other book group members were also somewhat disappointed in this year’s reads. So first I’ll describe some that came close but were NOT my favorite reads of 2007.

One was ATONEMENT, by Ian McEwan. Brilliantly written and the characterizations and dense but evocative (slow for some readers) prose appealed to the Anglophile in me. Still, parts seemed too self-consciously clever and I was disappointed to learn of the controversy regarding what certainly appear to be barely modified passages from the autobiography of Lucilla Andrews, an author of hospital romances.

Another beautifully written book was MY SISTER’S KEEPER, by Jodi Picoult. It deals with a difficult and heartwrenching topic and the writing is strong and eloquent, but I was disappointed in the ending. Not because I expected anything but a bittersweet one, but because it felt contrived, as if Picoult had burned out near the end and fell back on deus ex machina. Nevertheless I hope to read more of her books.

THE MERMAID CHAIR, by Sue Monk Kidd, author of THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES, was a bigger disappointment. Her writing is truly lovely but characterization and plotting fell short for me. It was also galling to read a B&N reviewer’s statement that it read like a cheap romance novel.

Anyway, my point, FWIW, is that pretty wordsmanship is not enough for me. (Neither is it the exclusive hallmark of literary fiction any more than cliches are necessary in romance.) To love a book, I have to love its bones too, regardless of genre.

Based on recommendations from friends whose taste is similar to mine, I expect I’ll love THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES and THE TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE, previous book group selections I have high on my TBR list. But I haven’t gotten to them yet, so my two favorite reads for 2007 are romances.

Having loved MISS WONDERFUL, I was eager to read Loretta Chase’s MR. IMPOSSIBLE and I wasn’t disappointed. It’s Loretta Chase at her witty, heartwarming best. The setting is different–Regency Egypt, and the characters are delightful and different. I love that she has been writing heroes who are younger sons–although I look forward to catching up on the story of the oldest brother in this series, LORD PERFECT.

My other favorite read of 2006 is THE PROPOSITION by Judith Ivory (aka Judy Cuevas). It’s her RITA-winning Victorian historical featuring a hero that’s a rat-catcher and the lady who undertakes, a la Professor Higgins, to transform him into a gentleman. It’s warm, funny, sexy, and in places just brilliant. I’m slowly trying to catch up on Ivory’s backlist while hoping for many more.

For 2007, I look forward to reading more book club selections and catching up on the books I mentioned before. But along with those, I’m also going to continue savoring the works of favorite romance authors.

For Christmas I received this hardcover copy of SEIZE THE FIRE, by Laura Kinsale. It’s definitive proof that bad covers happen to wonderful authors. It also goes a long way toward explaining why some members of my book discussion group would never pick up a romance. But based on how I feel about Kinsale’s other books, I’m pretty confident I’ll love what’s inside. 🙂

OK, without spoilers, has anyone read any of the books I mentioned and what did you think of them? What genres do you regularly read besides romance? What are you looking forward to reading in 2007?

Elena
LADY DEARING’S MASQUERADE, RT Reviewers’ Choice, Best Regency Romance of 2005
www.elenagreene.com

This week, we’re talking about our favorites of 2006. Of course, that raises the question… Our favorite whats? For the sake of argument, or, rather, lack thereof, I will limit it to favorite books/movies/plays that I can at least pretend have something to do with the Regency or Regency Romance.

BOOKS

1. I had great fun with Naomi Novik’s imaginative Regency dragon book, HIS MAJESTY’S DRAGON (known as TEMERAIRE in the UK). It was the Regency background we know, crossed with Anne McCaffrey, with some Patrick O’Brian thrown in. Great fun!

2. I just loved Jennie Klassel’s THE LADY DOTH PROTEST. It’s a romantic romp set during the Middle Ages — no, I’d never heard of such a thing either! It’s broad and hilarious and bizarre, and I’d never read anything like it. And it’s link to the Regency is….that there once upon a time were a lot of Regency romps out there. (Yeah, I know, it’s a stretch.)

3. I really loved the science fiction novel SPIN by Robert Charles Wilson. Todd and I both voted for it to win the Hugo Award this year, and then it won, convincing us we were invincible. And the link to Regency Romance is…um…. Well, there’s a love story in it…

4. I loved the FIREBIRDS anthology of fantasy stories, and its follow-up, FIREBIRDS RISING. Fantastic authors. And the link to Regency romance is…um…well, I really liked it, and I like Regencies too.

MOVIES

1. Okay, here’s something that has a real Regency link! TRISTRAM SHANDY. Bizarre and massive book. Massively bizarre movie, though not quite as random as the book. Very funny. Very weird. Has a childbirth scene in for Elena! Go rent it. (Released in Britain as “A Cock and Bull Story.”)

2. Other movies that I either really liked this year, or that I liked better than I expected, included: MUNICH, THROUGH A SCANNER DARKLY, THANK YOU FOR SMOKING, THE PRESTIGE, THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND, THE QUEEN, MARIE ANTOINETTE, and THE FOUNTAIN. (And by now you’ve all seen through my ruse of pretending this have any link to the Regency, so I won’t keep on with it. Well, except I guess that MARIE ANTOINETTE does actually have some relation. Or maybe THE QUEEN.)

PLAYS

1. I saw the RSC put on all three of Shakespeare’s Henry VI plays in one day, at their cool new theatre in Stratford. That was really exciting, fascinating, and fun (believe it or not).

Well, those were my favorites, as I remember them! If you read/saw any of these, what did you think?

Cara
Cara King, author of MY LADY GAMESTER — which is also one of my favorite novels, albeit in a rather different manner

A Poem for Christmas Day. No matter what holiday you celebrate (or have celebrated) at this time of year, I hope it is/was a wonderful one. This poem by Tennyson, although a little later than “our” time, brings my wishes for all of us.
Cheers,
Diane

RING OUT, WILD BELLS
Christmas Poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light;
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.

Ring out the grief that saps the mind,
For those that here we see no more,
Ring out the feud of rich and poor,
Ring in redress to all mankind.

Ring out a slowly dying cause,
And ancient forms of party strife;
Ring in the nobler modes of life,
With sweeter manners, purer laws.

Ring out the want, the care the sin,
The faithless coldness of the times;
Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes,
But ring the fuller minstrel in.

Ring out false pride in place and blood,
The civic slander and the spite;
Ring in the love of truth and right,
Ring in the common love of good.

Ring out old shapes of foul disease,
Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;
Ring out the thousand wars of old,
Ring in the thousand years of peace.

Ring in the valiant man and free,
The larger heart, the kindlier hand;
Ring out the darkness of the land,
Ring in the Christ that is to be.

This past week I’ve been off work (yay!) and trying to get ready for the holiday. Here’s what I’ve been doing:

1) Reading the new Phillipa Gregory book
2) Working on the “Muses” WIP (122 pages so far!)
3) Researching two future projects. This is confusing the heck out of me, because one is set at the court of Henry VIII and one in eighteenth century France! So, I’ve been switching back and forth from Regency England, 1528 England, and 1780s France.
4) Making Christmas candy. I’m not much of a cook, but there are a couple of things I like to make at this time of year. Maybe it’s that winter “hibernate and pack on pounds” instinct. Maybe childhood memories–I also like to read Eloise at Christmastime, because I remember my mother reading it to me when I was a kid (see the photo!). Boy, was my mom sorry when I took Eloise as my role model. One of my favorite holiday treats are my grandmother’s Christmas bonbons. They’re super-easy to make and very yummy. See the recipe at the end of this post.
5) And, on evenings when no one is having a party, I’ve made popcorn, put on my flannel pajamas, and watched some favorite non-Christmas, romantic movies. Like these:

Amelie–if Eloise grew up French, she might turn out to be a bit like Amelie. I love her schemes, her self-made rocky road to love, the characters she works with at the cafe, and the silly touches like talking photos! Tres French.
Strictly Ballroom–lots of dancing, a hunky hero who (eventually) falls for the plain but spunky heroine, Australian accents, outrageous costumes. This, along with Dancing With the Stars, has inspired me to sign up for a samba class after the holidays. Hopefully I can dance away those bonbons!
The Cutting Edge–one of my top guilty-pleasure movies since high school! Shrewish prima donna ice skater and oafish ex-hockey player forced to team up (as if that would happen!). Arguments (“Toe pick!”), kisses, and Olympic medals. This makes a great double bill with Strictly Ballroom!
Cold Comfort Farm–the romance in this is minimal (it does feature Rufus Sewell, but not as the love interest), but it’s an adorable movie. Kate Beckinsale (before she decided to morph into Posh Spice) sets a passle of grimy relatives to rights. Great costumes, stellar cast, hilarious!
Shakespeare in Love–admittedly, I’ve seen this one so many times I speak the dialogue along with the actors, but I love it every time. Perfect holiday escape. It also makes a great Valentine’s Day film, along with Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet.

Tomorrow, I’m off to my parents’ house for presents (yippee!) and my dad’s “famous” margaritas (double yippee!). However you spend the holiday, I hope it’s great, and that you have a “Risky” New Year! Let us know your best holiday “escapes”…

Christmas Bonbons
1 stick butter
2 pounds powdered sugar, sifted
1 can Eagle Brand milk
1 can Angel Flake coconut
Tsp vanilla Chopped pecans
Chopped maraschino cherries

Mix these up, refrigerate until chilled. Then form into little balls.

1/4 pound paraffin
Large package chocolate chips (I use dark!)

Melt in double broiler, and dip coconut balls in. Let them harden, and you’re done! (The pecans and cherries are optional–you can really use anything that sounds yummy to you)