Don’t think I’m one of those people because I’m linking to the New York Times newspaper.  I have a space on my Yahoo page where I get links to articles from their Book Review.  Like this one: 

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/23/books/23read.html?partner=rssyahoo&emc=rss

This article reviews a 2006 book, 1001 Books To Read Before You Die.  I’m fairly sure I’ve read fewer than 100 of them, because I’m not a big fan of contemporary literary fiction.  I read Portnoy’s Complaint by Philip Roth in the 8th grade, which pretty much sealed my opinion of late 20th century novels.  Roth has something like 7 novels on the list.

Still, it’s an interesting book concept, a good conversation starter.   I’m most intrigued by the end of the article, where the reviewer refers to the Humiliation game in which people admit to the most famous book they have not read.  In this anecdote, an American academic wins with “Hamlet,” then loses tenure at his college for being, one supposes, illiterate.  The reviewer offers up Moby Dick as his most humiliating omission.

Me, too.  I haven’t read MD.  Nor War and Peace, nor Anna Karenina, Last of the Mohicans, Uncle Tom’s Cabin.  Shamefully, I haven’t read beyond Pride and Prejudice in the Jane Austen cannon.  Given that I’ve been writing romance for almost 2 decades, that might be my most humiliating confession regarding books.

What’s yours?

LK
www.lynnette-kent.com

To be an artist is to arrive at some sort of resolution of the mind and matter struggle. It’s a yea to the proposition that there are ideal human values lasting beyond one’s own mortal limits, and that it is a necessary part of being human to seek, enjoy and transmit these values. To be an artist is not the privilege of a few but the necessity of us all.

Robert Shaw, Letter to Collegiate Chorale, November 5, 1953

To which I can only add, Amen!

LK
www.lynnette-kent.com

That’s the title of Stephen Hawking’s major work, his explanation of the universe and its structure.  Definitely a book you could use when marooned on a desert island.  He’s an amazing fellow, given all he’s accomplished while confined to a wheelchair.  All my “reasons” for not getting pages done and tasks completed on any given day crumble into dust when I consider Stephen Hawking…and all the others who do so much with their lives despite immense challenges.

I think I’ll go straighten up the kitchen, just because I’m able to.

LK

Yesterday, I was considering the proverbial question: What ten books would you need to survive on a desert island?  Taking along my favorites, I realized, would mean being stranded with books I had already read.  And I pretty much have those memorized already.

So, instead, I think I would take books I need to read but haven’t managed yet.  I’m still working on the list, but so far I’m including…

War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy.  I started it several times, but never got very far.

The Complete Works of Shakespeare.  Fortunately, I have the plays and sonnets in one (4 inches thick) volume.  I haven’t read all of them, by any means.

The Bible.  I haven’t read this all the way through, either.

I’m considering the other options–the Koran, perhaps, the words of Confucius, at least one book by David McCullough, something by Churchill.  With a long enough exile, I might begin to understand the work of Stephen Hawking!

Which books would you take along for company?

LK

Speaking of favorite authors, I’ve been enjoying a new one lately.  Deanna Raybourn’s first published novel, Silent in the Grave, is a finalist in the Best First Book category and  the Best Novel with Strong Romantic Elements category of the Rita Awards given by the Romance Writers of America.  I was curious about the book because it’s published by Mira, the mainstream arm of Harlequin Books.  I’ve been told by those who really do know that Mira doesn’t take on new authors unless their work is exceptional.

Silent in the Grave is, indeed, exceptional.  A murder mystery set in 19th century London, the story is told by Lady Julia March, a strong, intelligent and charismatic heroine.  Ms. Raybourn’s elegant prose recreates the Victorian world with accurate, often whimsical, details.  A wide variety of characters–from Gypsies, servants and prostitutes to lords and ladies–enriches this world and complicates the plot.

And then there’s Nicholas Brisbane, the inquiry agent with whom Lady Julia finds herself collaborating in order to discover the truth about her husband’s death.  Brisbane fascinates Julia…and the reader.  The sexual tension in this relationship owes nothing to explicit description and everything to a battle of wills, minds and hearts as conveyed by Ms. Raybourn’s considerable skills.

The convoluted plot will satisfy the most exacting mystery reader, but I found myself compelled to keep reading simply to further my acquaintance with these remarkable people.  I’m halfway through the second book, Silent in the Sanctuary, and no less impressed with this one.  Brisbane and Julia become better acquainted, though no less conflicted, as they investigate murder, theft and kidnapping at the March ancestral home.  The bad news for me is that the next installment, Silent on the Moor, won’t be available until next January–sufficient reason for a severe attack of melancholy!

Victoria Holt’s gothic novels and Mary Stewart’s romantic suspense stories remain among my favorite books of all time.  Deanna Raybourn easily holds her own in company with her exalted predecessors, and I’m betting she’ll have two gold statues on her mantelpiece after the RWA conference this summer.  

Check out Deanna Raybourn’s blog at  http://deannaraybourn.typepad.com/
Learn more about RWA at www.rwanational.org
Don’t forget the Harlequin web site, where you can order these books: www.eharlequin.com
And my new web site has information on my upcoming book from Harlequin: www.lynnette-kent.com

Happy Reading!
Lynnette       

I’d like to talk about books.   Which ones do we love, and why?  Or, if you’d like, which ones do we hate?  I’m going to list some of my favorite authors and the titles I love and see if I can get the attention of those searching for a place to talk about them.  A shot drawn at venture, but worth a try.  Now that my computer is attached wirelessly to the Web, I can check in easily anytime.

 Among my most beloved authors are:

Dorothy Dunnett–The Lymond Chronicles

Dorothy Sayers–The Peter Wimsey novels, especially Gaudy Night

Ellis Peters–The Brother Cadfael Stories, especially The Rose Rent 

Mary Stewart–Nine Coaches Waiting, Madam Will You Talk, Airs Above the Ground

Mary Renault–The Persian Boy, The King Must Die

Georgette Heyer–Venetia, The Masqueraders, The Unknown Ajax, These Old Shades, Devil’s Cub

Audrey Niffenegger–The Time Traveler’s Wife

Andrew McCall Smith–The Right Attitude Toward Rain

Dean Koontz–Odd Thomas, Brother Odd, The Husband, One Door Away From Heaven

Nora Roberts–Carnal Innocence, Night Fires

Marne Davis Kellogg–Perfect

Mary Balogh–Simply Love

That’ll do for a start.  I’ll be thinking of others.

Lynnette Kent
www.lynnette-kent.com

I Am, I Said

lynnettekent Edit |

My first blog…more than a little scary.  Hello? (hello…hello…hello…)  Anybody out there?

I attended a very nice party last night, a birthday celebration for a dynamic lady who’s now 88 wonderful years old.  My hostess presented me to one guest: “She writes romance novels!”

The guest looked at me.  “For Harlequin?  Or something better?”

Ahem.  “Yes,” I said.  “For Harlequin.”

 I don’t know if she was embarrassed, or if she even realized she’d insulted me.  Because, in fact, I write damn good books for Harlequin, the leading publisher of romance fiction in the world.  I put as much effort into my craft as if I were being published by some “better” house–and who would that be, anyway?  Every publishing house sends good books and bad into the marketplace.  A paperback cover and a 4-week shelf life do not define “trashy” when it comes to reading.  Trash is, in fact, in the eye of the beholder.  I won’t name names, but there are some hardback authors out there whose work is trash as far as I’m concerned.  And most of my favorite authors–Dorothy Dunnett, Dorothy Sayers, Roger Zelazny, Alexander McCall Smith, Nora Roberts, Mary Balogh–came to me first in paperback.

There’s a lot to be said in support of Harlequin as a publisher, and Harlequin books as a reading experience.  I’ll work on that for my next excursion into the blogosphere.  I’m feeling pretty impressed with having gotten this far, so I think I’ll stop at a high point and pour myself a glass of iced tea.

LK
www.lynnette-kent.com