What We're Reading: Cathy

London Under: the Secret History Beneath the Streets by Peter Ackroyd

Did you ever wonder what is under your feet as you walk around a city? Well it turns out there's an awful lot down there. Peter Ackroyd gives us a short account of what's under London - the historical items such as Roman tile floors, Saxon ruins, coins, monasteries, graveyards, medieval tools, etc. He tells us about the wells and streams that used to flow through the area now covered by London's streets. Unseen and unheard by today's Londoners for the most part but definitely still there: London must pump 15,400,000 gallons of water a day from below to preserve the city. You can get a map and see where they used to be by following his descriptions (this book really should have had a map in it). He tells us the story of the sewers. And, of course, he tells about the building of The Underground. It opened in 1863 and has served not only as a convenient transport system but also as a bomb shelter in WWII. The deepest tunnels are over 200 feet below the surface. Lots of interesting stuff!

What We're Reading: Edward



The Hope Vendetta: a novel

by Scott Mariani

Ben Hope was tired of all the killing he saw as an SAS operative. He tried working as a private contractor to right the wrongs in the world but ended up losing even more of himself. Ben decides to return to Oxford University and continue his study of theology and become a minister. But his favorite professor's daughter goes missing. Ben gets a former colleague to search for the girl. But when Ben's colleague is killed, Ben sets out to exact revenge on the party behind the kidnapping and murder.Ben ends up in the United States on the trail of a minister, who believes that the end of days is near. When Ben is almost killed, he realizes that there are forces at work that hope to bring about the final conflict for political reasons. Will Ben be able to stop these forces before they bring about the biblical end of the world?

Soon to be a major motion picture.

But read the book first and be sure to get more of Ben's story in the "Mozart Conspiracy".

What We're Reading: Edward

Weep, Shuder, Die: a guide to loving opera


By Robert Levine


Most people think that opera lovers are aging codgers. But Time magazine online states that the age of the average opera attendee is 48. In 2009 over a million tickets were sold for the Metropolitan Opera's HD Live Broadcast. In his book, Levine describes fifty of the most produced operas. First he divides the operas by country and composer. The Levine gives the plot of the operas act by act. Memorable music and performances are also mentioned. Opeera is even keeping up with the newest technology with the release of Bizet's Carmen on a 3D DVD. Levine's book would be great to read before attending one of the operas he describes. Excellent, si vous apprenez a aimer l'opera!

What We're Reading: Edward

Mozart's Last Aria: a novel


by Matt Rees


On her death bed Mozart's sister, Nannerl, gives her nephew, Wolfgang, a diary filled with the results of her investigation into her brother's death. Nannerl travelled to Vienna, when she learned of her brother's death. While in Vienna she meets with Mozart's wife, Constanze, his patrons and friends. Nannerl is able to fit into her brother's clothing.Dressed as Wolfgang, she participates in concerts celebrating his life. She hopes that this deception will reveal how and why Wolfgang died. Nannerl even meets with the Emperor and is almost killed. Was her brother poisoned? Was his death the result of his Masonic ties? Did he believe in too much equality? Rees makes Mozart's Vienna come to life. Could he be right about the reason for Mozart's death? One of the best books of the year!

What We're Reading: Edward

Revenger: a novel of Tudor intrigue


by Rory Clements


John Shakespeare, William's brother, is trying to live quietly as a school master. His wife, a Catholic, is almost caught meeting with a banned priest. John and his family are being closely watched by pursuivants. Five years ago John worked as an intelligencer for Lord Burghley. Now Burghley's son, Sir Robert Cecil, puts John to work on two tasks. He is to find a survivor of Sir Walter Raleigh's lost colony. Raleigh is in the Tower of London and hopes to regain the favor of Queen Elizabeth. This would diminish the power of the current favorite, the Earl of Essex. John is also to spy from inside the Essex household for Cecil. John slowly learns of a plot on the life of Queen Elizabeth. Will he be able to stop the plot without losing his life?

What We're Reading: Edward

Ashes of the Earth: a mystery of the post-apocalyptic America

by Eliot Pattison

Twenty-five years after the world experiences a series of atomic and biological attacks, people are beginning to gather in communities for their survival. One of these communities, near the Great Lakes, is Carthage. Hadrian Boone was one of the founders of the community. But now he is on the outs with the current leadership. When the leading scientist of the community is killed, the violent underside of the community is revealed. Boone is given the task of finding out what is happening to Carthage. Neighboring communities want to change Carthage. Boone had hoped that the devastation of the Earth would change mankind. But evil and violence still seem to be a part of the human condition. Will it ever change? Start of a new series for Pattison.

What We're Reading: Edward

The Road to Rome: a forgotten legion chronicle

by Ben Kane

In this the third book in the Forgotten Legion series, twins Fabiola and Romulus are fated to find each other in Rome after many years apart. Fabiola is now an intimate favorite of both Brutus and Mark Anthony. She lives to seek vengeance on Julius Caesar for the past treatment of her family. Romulus was a slave serving in the lost Roman Legion in the East. Caesar spares Romulus the death penalty for this crime. Thus earning his loyalty. Tarquinius, a fellow legionnaire, tell Romulus of his vision of an auspicious death. As the Ides of March approaches, Fabiola and Romulus will meet again. Who will survive their meeting on the Ides of March?