Helga Recommends: Patricia Veryan

My mother was a great fan of historical romance, and I happily followed her lead. There's pretty much nothing I'd rather read than a good historical--one with the right mix of historical detail and relationship-building. Ideally, a book that reflects the author's interest in and research about the historical period and not one riddled with obvious anachronisms and modern characters transposed onto historical settings. The less said about those, the better.

Let me get to the point. If you like Georgette Heyer's historical romances, you should try Patricia Veryan. If you like historical romance with elements of swashbuckling adventure (à la Scarlet Pimpernel), you should read Patricia Veryan. If you enjoy historical romances with characters that pop up in multiple books, especially series that end with rogues becoming heroes, Veryan could be a good fit for you as well. I am a Heyer fan, but I'm a Veryan fanatic. Every time I visit a new library, I go to the Vs in the fiction section to see how that library's collection measures up.* As you can see from the picture below, I am deadly earnest about this recommendation.

My personal collection includes my mother's copies as well,
hence the stack of duplicates on the right. 

From the late 1970s to the early 2000s, Veryan published more than thirty historical romances set in the Georgian and Regency periods. Most of her books are connected to four different series: the Golden Chronicles (set in 1746 in the aftermath of the Jacobite rebellion); the Tales of the Jewelled Men (featuring several characters from the Golden Chronicles); and the Regency-era Sanguinet Saga and Riddle series.

Why Do I Love Them?

This was surprisingly hard to quantify. To me, Veryan's books are a perfect blend of humor, romance, action, adventure, swashbuckling, and period detail. Perhaps it's because there are always interesting and life-threatening situations that put the hero and heroine in relief? There are very few books that I re-read, but these are on top of my list. I would be perfectly fine stranded on a desert island with only Veryan series and Oreos to sustain me. In short: my literary catnip.

This scene is from The Tyrant (which I was just re-reading the other day), in which the hero and heroine become engaged to hide the fact that they were aiding a fugitive. They hope to extricate themselves from the engagement once the danger is past, but in the meantime:

Carruthers swooped down and planted a kiss on her cheek.
She jumped back, saying indignantly, "I thought it was agreed there was to be none of that!"
He shook his head at her. "You'd make a poor spy, Miss Ramsay. You seem quite incapable of understanding that this is a most deadly predicament you have got me into."
"Of course I understand, but--"
"It is of vital import that we keep up the pretence if we are to come out of this alive."
She glanced around. "Certainly. But there is no one here to--"
"One of the first things I learned in my military career," he said gravely, "was that one does not fail to post sentries merely because there is no sign of the enemy."
Phoebe regarded him suspiciously, then started up the stairs. She halted on the third step and looked back. He stood there, watching her. She fancied to detect a quickly suppressed grin, but then he said "I believe we have taken sufficient precautions for tonight, ma'am. Mustn't overdo it." (68) 

Like Heyer's, Veryan's books are also "green light" reads--there are only a few (very tasteful) sex scenes to be found throughout the series. Perfect for when you've got an elderly lady at your reference desk who doesn't like those "modern" romances.

Where Do I Start?

If you're looking for a one-shot, test-the-waters book, try The Wagered Widow, Married Past Redemption, or Some Brief Folly. Both Practice to Deceive and Time's Fool are good series openers, although they aren't my favorite books in their respective series. Love Alters Not is another fun book, if you don't care about jumping in to the middle of a series.

Several of my personal favorites (Sanguinet's Crown and The Mandarin of Mayfair top this long list) are many books into a series and should be read as a culmination of plots from the preceding books.

Books to avoid unless you become a die-hard fan: The Lord and the Gypsy, The Mistress of Willowvale, Give All to Love. The Riddle series was her last, and I haven't re-read it multiple times like I have the other three.

Unfortunately, Veryan's books are very hard to find. Her last new book was published in 2002. They are not easily found in used bookstores--trust me, I check every time, even though I own all but a few of them. Georgette Heyer's books have recently been reissued in lovely trade editions. Let's hope for the same for Veryan's work in the near future. In the meantime, check your local library.


Other things I've recommended:
Podcasts
Paper Books


*My own library does very well, with 16 Veryan titles on the shelf. I check them out regularly to make sure they don't get weeded.

Reading Roulette

I've described before the feeling of never having enough time to read all the books that I want to read, even if I locked myself in a room (with snacks) and ignored the world. This year I did a much better job of reading the books I wanted to read, and next year I'm planning on keeping up the pace. To introduce more variety into my reading diet, however, I want to experiment with my TBR pile. This is where you come in. I'm asking people who read this post or follow me on Twitter to recommend one book that they think I should read/would enjoy--fiction, nonfiction, genre, picture book, classic, new release--the type of book doesn't matter to me, just the recommendation.

I'm going to put all the recommendations in my GoodReads account as "Want to Read" and select the next book I read using random.org's number generator. Because I am a creature of moods, I'm going to generate three numbers and pick each next book from the three random results. I will give each book at least 50 pages (per Nancy Pearl), after which I can decide to put it down and move to the next randomly generated book. I will report on my results here.

I already have several books on my "Want to Read" list that friends have been surprised I haven't read, such as The Handmaid's Tale and The Giver, so feel free to browse over there and see what shocking gaps I have.

Please leave me a comment on this post or @ me on Twitter, and let me know what I should read next! I will accept submissions until December 31st.


ETA: If it ends up being a later book in a series, I'll go back to the first book or the latest book I read in that series. If a book is prohibitively expensive for me (can't be acquired via ILL or purchased for a reasonable price, I will pick another option).

First Pick
Second Pick
Third Pick
Fourth Pick

Helga Recommends: Paper Books

This is not going to be a curmudgeonly anti-ebook rant, because electronic books certainly have their (growing) place in the world, and I have and will continue to make use of them. If your object is simply to read and not to own a book, either format will do, and an ebook will often end up being more convenient. But when it comes to investing in pieces of intellectual and cultural capital, physical books have any number of advantages over their electronic counterparts:

• Batteries. During the recent power outage in the northeast, I was able to read by candlelight even when I was trying desperately to conserve the remaining power on my various devices. I do not have to have my computer turned on in order to look up a word origin or the history of Norway. In the coming global superpocalypse, I'll still be able to read via the ray of sunshine coming through the bunker airholes, whether or not I have a charge or a signal. (Note to self: Pack Apocalypse Books)
  
• Possession. Once I have it in my hot little hands, a book is mine and no one can relieve me of it unless they break into my house and figure out my shelving system. What Amazon and Barnes and Noble give, they have the power to take away. That being said, a house fire would take out both my paper books and all of my electronics. (Note to self: Pack Apocalypse Books in Fireproof Box)
  
• Longevity. I can sit down with my son and read books that were read to me as a child. Yes, the same books. Technology is not yet to the point where he will be able to say to his children "this is the ebook that grandma used to read to me when I was little--we can't read it because that file format is obsolete, but there it is on my ancient backup drive." I also have many of my mother's books, including her Regency romance novels, and reading them gives me the feeling of being close to her.
  
• Marginalia. In college, developed a complex system of symbols and notes that enabled me to very quickly find relevant pages in the books I had read and, of course, amuse myself with my own witty commentary. Physical books can be marked, tabbed, folded, inscribed, and lent to others who may add their additional commentary. If necessary, they can be thrown across a room in a fit of pique. Someday, ebooks may catch up on this front, but they're not quite there yet.
  
• Sharing. I'm sure that it's possible to give the gift of an ebook. One might even be able to e-write some nice sentiment in the front before emailing it to one's friend or relative. But the paper book has a physical presence that says "pay attention to me, the person who gave me thinks I'm important." A physical book can be shared with others, it can be re-gifted, it can be sold to a used bookstore, it can be donated to the library, it can be used to prop up a wobbly table, it can be turned into a purse. The afterlife of paper books is full of possibilities.
  
• Price. Bear with me on this one. Ebooks are, in general, less expensive than their newly published counterparts. However, they aren't less expensive enough to make the investment worthwhile, given their instability . . . once purchased, they should be backed up (especially if Amazon moves farther from "sales" to "licensing" and begins removing content again). If the purchaser wants to keep the material for a longer period of time, ebooks will have to be transferred from device to device. The common format today will no doubt be superseded by future formats, which may not be compatible, and so on . . . $1.99 is the maximum price I put on this hassle. If it disappears from my computer, I haven't spent enough to be driven to tears by it. I will bend this rule to get a book by a favorite author that I absolutely couldn't get in any other format without selling a minor body part, as I have to purchase older novellas by Connie Willis.
  
• Proximity. When I think about paper books, I think about my collection as a whole. How I have ordered it and re-ordered it. How I can glance at a shelf and pull down a book to see my notes or read a particular passage. How I can easily see a stack of books (or five) I have yet to read, although I have the most sincere intentions toward them. A lot of people find their next read by browsing, and I like to spend time browsing my own shelves until something catches my attention.

I have not purchased as many books since I became a librarian--with so many enticing books paraded before me every day--so the books I do buy tend to have special meaning. Book ownership is, for me, rooted in a feeling of place. Books = home. My family home was decorated with books, therefore I feel better when my walls are covered with books. As a child I saved up my allowance money to buy books that I still own today. I have books my grandmother gave me when I was a child; I have many of my mother's books; I have multiple copies of some books (different editions or duplicates); I have some of my father's books; and I have books that belonged to a grandfather who died several years before I was born. A large part of my history can be pieced together by reading their spines, and I am passing down that history to my son as we read together. The other day we were reading The Monster at the End of this Book; "Please do not turn the page!" doesn't really work in a digital format.*

Feel free to argue with me or provide additional support in the comments.


*There is, however, an app for that.

Helga Recommends: Podcasts

This blog features my opinions, but I don't talk too much about individual things that I like beyond rating and reviewing the books I read and occasionally other things as well. I spend a lot of time in the car, so in addition to my dependency on audiobooks to help pass the time (and actually cross books off the TBR list), I have developed a rotation of podcasts that I listen to every week. Podcasts are more portable than audiobooks, which I listen to on CD, and I listen to them while doing chores, or at the grocery store, or any time I want to tune out reality. This requires subscribing to many podcasts.

My podcast rotation includes:

Pop Culture Happy Hour: All of the credit/blame for this weekly NPR offering goes to PCHH evangelist and my dear friend Margaret (@MrsFridayNext), who repeatedly referenced it until I had to listen in order to make sense of her effusions. I didn't start at the beginning, and it wasn't until later that I finally figured out Linda Holmes was also the Television Without Pity recapper Miss Alli, whom I had diligently followed through many TARcon and other recaps. It was truly a moment of squee. The show is a minefield of music, book, comic, and movie recommendations that you will want to follow through on (AT YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY).

Extra Hot Great: Tara Ariano and Joe Reid are also ex-TWoP gurus. EHG is a forum in which they--and designer Glark (David T. Cole)--weigh in on pop culture with a variety of delightful (usually TWoP-related) guests. They have several regular segments, but my favorite is inevitably Game Time, in which Tara and Joe face off and answer pop culture trivia questions. They often talk about shows I don't know or care for, and despite this I find myself listening attentively.

Slate's Culture Gabfest: This podcast is hosted by Slate talking heads (usually Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, and Julia Turner) and features three segments each week, followed by a round of endorsements. As with PCHH, the endorsements usually lead directly to interlibrary loan requests. Unlike the first two podcasts I listed, the Gabfest emphasizes "culture" rather than "pop culture," and the subject matter ranges from insanely popular to rarefied. One of my favorite recent moments was when they went to see the Justin Bieber movie and dissected it as seriously as possible.

Only a Game: Every time I listen to this WBUR show, which features interesting, journalistic stories about different sports, I end up wishing it were twice as long. Bill Littlefield is a knowledgeable and gracious host, and I often ending up purchasing the featured books for the library. I also enjoy the weekly review of sports news that Littlefield does with the always-gregarious Charlie Pierce, derailed as it often is by Charlie laughing at his own jokes. Also known as: The Sports Show for People Who Don't Really Care About Sports.

Hang Up and Listen: Another Slate offering, this time with a sports angle. Hosted by Stefan Fatsis, Josh Levin, and the always verbose Mike Pesca, Hang Up and Listen offers three loosely-themed segments a week, plus a trivia question hosted through their facebook page. The segments are hit-or-miss for me; sometimes I just don't care about the NHL playoffs (sorry!) or the Masters, but I do appreciate the panel's insight into sports in which I have an investment.

Judge John Hodgman: You know those longstanding arguments that you have with your friend or spouse over what is the correct way to do something (such as whether one should have dish soap in the sink dispenser, or hand soap) or pronounce something? Neither of you are going to budge, and it's not something you could ordinarily go to court to resolve. Enter Judge John Hodgman, who is prepared to rule however he sees fit. Usually neither party seems quite satisfied with the results of his ruling, but his extemporaneous pronouncements and dry humor make this podcast well worth listening to. Its shorter running time is also ideal for a quick commute or trip to the store.

I could go on for much longer, but I will try to just quickly mention a few more in the interest of having an awake audience at the end of this post. I also listen to classics like This American Life and Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! (shows I would listen to on the radio if I were ever actually near a radio at the time they're on) and have been experimenting with Radiolab, Book Lust, and the SF Signal podcast. The latter is a bit heavy on the male commentators, but has some interesting panel discussions about SF. If you have a podcast recommendation for someone who likes pop culture, books, and sports (not necessarily all at the same time), please leave it in the comments!

I am going to finish with a short comment about donating. These shows aren't produced without some cost, and I try to donate when I can. I've supported NPR, of course, as well as This American Life and Judge John Hodgman. If you find yourself spending a lot of time listening to podcasts, I suggest that you do the same!