Friday Musings: I have a lot of good things going on - but being sick this past week put a bit of a bump in my happy road towards a new adventure. That's ok. This requires me to get my energy back, take care of myself (dang it) and do one thing at a time (double dang it).
The good thing is that when I'm sick, I usually can crank through a book lickety split. Reading helps me disengage from whatever ails me - in this case a nasty virus that had my throat and mouth feeling like sandpaper on top of sandpaper and a fever... the kit and caboodle of fun.
I have three books on the hot seat right now and they are about London. I have a whole litany of good books lined up - but these are the three that kept me engaged during nights when just breathing hurt.
The Lady In the Tower: The Fall of Anne Boleyn by Alison Weir is a sweeping view of the last few months of Henry VIII's second wife, the mother of Queen Elizabeth I and the first queen ever beheaded in Britain. Of course, we all know she was the first, but not the last. The interesting part of Weir's book is that she does a kind and thorough job outlining the facts - and foibles - of historical interpretation without completely trashing any particular theory. I wanted to read Weir's book in preparation for my trip to give me a better background on my trip to Hampton Court - and for a subsequent second visit to the Tower. Just wanted to renew my historical context. Another book from Weir, Henry VIII King & Court, is my queue when I finish this book - probably this weekend.
(Image: Alibris)
The second book is just a surprising "touristy" find that I wish I'd had in had in 2009 for my first big London trip. It's called London Stories and it's by the experts of walking tours - London Walks. I plan on doing the Victoria & Albert London Walks and possibly the National Gallery London Walks tour on the Friday of my trip. I didn't really know that much about the organization and - wow, I'm impressed. They share history in that way I relish. Passionate, layered and witty. The book, London Stories, is a treasure. Each chapter takes you through a section or a theme of a walking tour of London and even includes recommendations for where to kick back and read a chapter. I am trying to savor this book and not rush it too much. This book will DEFINITELY be in my London backpack. If anyone knows of other similar travel books for any other cities - doesn't have to just be London, let me know.
(Image:Waterstone)
The final book is a newer one - so I'm not as far along. The writing works well for me - and it's got lots of details. The Great Fire of London: In that Apocalyptic Year 1666 by Neil Hanson has painted a great landscape of the London neighborhoods... and I'm hooked. I want to know how more about the fire that started on Pudding Lane in Thomas Faryners house. I can see Thomas resting his hands on his "paunch" or dodging pickpockets and ballers as he makes his way around London in the chapters where Hanson sets the stage for how over 13,200 homes and 87 churches were destroyed. Why am I reading this? Well, I know that this fire set the stage for Christopher Wren's magnificent spires and the history aspects alone of the impact it had are enormous - that domino effect that having to figure out how to house . PLUS, I plan on hiking up the 311 steps to the Monument to the Great Fire of London and I'd like to be well educated on the meaning of the moment.
(image: Alibris)
Ah, so much to read -and since it is almost midnight - and I have to get ready for a relaxing Saturday of pedi/mani, Swoozies closing sale and Archivers visits... along with some groceries...I must get to bed. But not before I pick up one of three tomes "du London".
May you have healthy, peaceful dreams... cloud dreams.
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