I found my copy of this book last summer at an antique store near my house, where I got it for a toonie. I noticed it first because it was red (what is it with me and red books?), second, because it was old (I'll discuss the amazingness of old books later in the post), third I noticed the name that is the title, and finally, I noticed how fancily the title was printed. My copy is the second printing, from December 1952. Fun Fact: That means that the book was printed 398 years and 10 months after Lady Jane died. The first printing was in September of the same year. I think that it was maybe a library book at some point, and it's not in the best shape ever, but I love it.
So, I am going to admit it, I happen to be a bit of a geek. I really like English history, specifically the Tudor royal family. It's fascinating! When I was younger, I would read almost anything I could get my hands on about Queen Elizabeth the First. I think that part of that was that we happen to have the same first name, and that's always cool, but also part of that was because she was SO cool. Anyways, because of my extensive (for someone under 10) research, I knew a lot about that specific time period, and I knew about Lady Jane Grey. Now, normally, she was mentioned in passing in the books I read, as she was Queen for only 9 days, so she was sort of glossed over, and you never really heard much about her after Mary took her rightful place as Queen of England.
I found my copy of this book last summer at an antique store near my house, where I got it for a toonie. I noticed it first because it was red (what is it with me and red books?), second, because it was old (I'll discuss the amazingness of old books later in the post), third I noticed the name that is the title, and finally, I noticed how fancily the title was printed. My copy is the second printing, from December 1952. Fun Fact: That means that the book was printed 398 years and 10 months after Lady Jane died. The first printing was in September of the same year. I think that it was maybe a library book at some point, and it's not in the best shape ever, but I love it.
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I'm going to let you in on a secret. I didn't just read this book this week. This is a first for me. I usually review books that I actually read within the week, but I didn't read anything worth reviewing... so I'm going to review this. On top of a review, you are going to get to meet Junior, and I am going to reveal my (sorta) top-secret process for picking a good free ebook on Kobobooks (almost) every time! Yay! This book is adorable. I am going to come right out and say that this is probably the gooiest, cutest, girliest book I have ever read. It is sort of cheesy. It doesn't have a believable plot-line, and I don't care. I like it anyways. No one ever made the rule that something has to be anywhere close to reality to be enjoyable. Normally I don't read this kind of book, but I am so glad that I made an exception! I picked it up because of the title and the cover... it's just... it looks... so... happy! Is it possible to say that you liked a book that made you cry? I don't know. It's a weird feeling, that I just read the best book I have in a long time, and yet some of it was so sad. I practically devoured this book, and it is something that I definitely want to read again. I first picked it up because it had this vibrant red spine, which stood out on the bookshelf I was looking at. Then I noticed the title, which intrigued me. Finally, I read the back, and I knew that I had to read it. It was so well written, and the voice was just the way it needed to be to make everyone feel for her. But I guess I should back up and tell you what the book is actually about, right? Yes, I'm sure you're all wondering about my mysteriously sad new book. Even if you're not, you still need to click 'read more'. It's a fact. Not really, but you should. Hi everyone! So, lately I've been going and reading a bunch of Ancient Greek/Ancient Roman/Ancient Egyptian stuff (this prompted the failed attempt at reading Homer's Iliad. I got about a third of the way through before all of the spelling mistakes and editing errors really got to me. I still plan on finishing it someday. Just not with the copy I've been reading.). I used to go through these phases where I read everything I could get my hands on about a certain Ancient civilization. The Maya, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans... if you wanted a random fact that probably wasn't useful about one of them, I was your girl. Although I usually don't obsess over singular civilizations anymore, it's still fun to read representations of how people lived. I got this book a while ago, and I thought that you guys should be given the opportunity to like it as much as I do! Hi everyone! First of all, I adore Narnia. A lot. To the point where one of my teachers asked the class if we knew what the only animal in the world is that has one leg, and my brain chimed in "Dufflepuds!" (You'll get that if you've read The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Also, the answer, if you were interested, was clams. Clams are the only one-legged animal in the world.). I'm just glad that I didn't say it out loud. So, yeah. I really like Narnia. It sort of bothers me when people read them out of order, even if The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was technically written first, it's still the second book in the series, so people should read The Magician's Nephew first, and move on from there. So, I recently joined the Harry Potter party! I promise to anyone who hasn't read these books that there will be no spoilers, or judging (because, seriously, we've all heard someone say it "What? How can you not have read them, they're like, the best books of all time!!!", and we all know it's getting old). I tried to read the version that was adapted so that us North Americans could understand the slang about a year ago, and I got through about half of it before finally giving up on it. Now, you might be wondering (understandably) why I picked it up again (albeit the original British version). Honestly, I grabbed it because I needed something to read on the bus, and it was the first thing I saw. And the crazy thing is...I liked it! So I've been reading the British versions, and I have made it to book number 5 so far. It is now March Break, and I will have to stop reading them until I can get back to school and get another one. I actually really enjoyed this book! I only picked it up because we had to read something that qualified as ‘romance’ for the book club, and this mentioned that the main character finds her first love on the back, so the librarian let me have it. I was grateful to not have to read what most people classify as ‘romance’. In case you have no idea why I would be required to read something romancey, on Friday it’s going to be Valentines Day! Some of my favourite things are the Pirates of the Caribbean and well-written YA time-travel books. So when I found this book (which has pirates, and is a YA time-travel book, which are surprisingly hard to find), I was pretty excited. I made myself wait until the next morning to buy it, for a few reasons: 1. Late-night impulse buying of books didn’t sound like a good idea to me. 2. If I bought it, I’d start to read it, and I generally have a hard time putting down a good book after I’ve started. 3. I was too tired (I know, bad excuse, but nevertheless, it is one) So the next day, I decided to get it. Am I ever glad that I did! Mind you, there’s violence, and cussing, but less cussing than I hear at school every day, both in volume and severity. I wasn’t too shocked about that, because, honestly: Pirates. |
AuthorsJason and Elizabeth are brother and sister book addicts who somehow manage to get along (most of the time). They reside in Canada with their dog Becky, and one (slightly insane) fly-hunting cat named Fish. Oh. And their parents. They're important too. Archives
July 2016
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