Category: Site Announcements

Wideacre by Philippa Gregory

Today is Wednesday, so that means I’m posting over at We Heart Reading once again.  This time, it’s about a truly wretched book by one of my favourite historical fiction authors.  In truth, I wish I had never picked it up because it has tainted my view of Philippa Gregory’s other works.  Anyway, if you’re going to read anything by Philippa Gregory, do not read Wideacre.  Pick up The White Queen or even The Constant Princess first or you’ll be sorry.  For my full rant, click here.

Uther by Jack Whyte

It’s Wednesday today and that means a guest post over at We Heart Reading.  Keeping with the historical fiction theme, I reviewed Uther by Jack Whyte, which tells the story of King Arthur’s father, Uther.  If you love the Arthurian legends, you will love this book, I guarantee.

Anyway, if you’ve missed the first three posts this week, here’s a recap:

Sunday:  Patience, Princess Catherine by Carolyn Meyer

Monday: The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory

Tuesday: The Bad Queen by Carolyn Meyer

The Best and Worst of May

I’m going to try something new here.  On the first of every month, I’ll recap my most viewed and least viewed posts in case you’re curious as to what people are actually looking at on my site.  So here are the five best posts last month:

1.  Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

2.  The Hunger Games and Ancient Rome

3.  City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

4.  Son of the Mob by Gordon Korman

5.  Specials by Scott Westerfeld

I’m actually not at all surprised this time, aside from the fact that Flowers for Algernon has surpassed my popular cheat-sheet on allusions for The Hunger Games novel study.  But it’s not really all that surprising since Flowers for Algernon is another popular novel study book.  It probably won’t stay on top in June because school is going out.  Now, here are the worst posts of May (excluding site announcements):

1.  Run Like Jager by Karen Bass

2.  Scroll of Saqqara by Pauline Gedge

3.  The Many Diseases Found in Fiction (YA Fiction in Particular)

4.  The Seven Songs of Merlin by T. A. Barron

5.  Seer of Egypt by Pauline Gedge

Again, not really surprising, but notice that two out of the five books are by Pauline Gedge.  I guess both she and ancient Egypt aren’t nearly as popular as I thought.

June is History Month

Well, it’s finally the month you’ve all been waiting for: June.  And over here at The Mad Reviewer, that means only one thing: History Month.  I’m going to be reviewing historical fiction for all ages as well as some nonfiction books I enjoyed.  I’ll still be guest posting over at We Heart Reading every Wednesday, but those reviews will also be on history-themed books.  If you’re curious about what June will hold, here are some hints:

  • Carolyn Meyer.  Lots of Carolyn Meyer.
  • Non-sparkly vampires
  • The French Revolution
  • Troy
  • Uther Pendragon

That’s just a few of the many subjects/authors/people my reviews will involve, so stay tuned!  There will be something for everyone next month.

Surprise!

Okay, I have a surprise for everyone here to brighten up your next Monday.  As you’ve probably seen, my Self-Publishing: A Reviewer’s Perspective garnered a decent amount of attention and some very thoughtful comments which started an interesting discussion.  Well, you’ve all seen a reviewer’s perspective, but how about the perspective of an actual self-published author?

That’s why I asked Andrew Levkoff to take time out of his busy schedule and write an article about his own views on self-publishing.  So on Monday, May 28 at 12:00am local time, Self-Publishing: An Author’s Perspective will be going live.  Mr. Levkoff has also graciously agreed to drop in on the comments from time to time, so after you read his article, feel free to ask away about anything related to self-publishing!  He’ll certainly be able to give you better answers than I will as well as adding a much more balanced perspective to a so far one-sided conversation.