One of the books I am currently reading is ‘The Perfect Heresy: The Life and Death of the Cathars‘ by Stephen O’Shea. At the beginning of the chapter on Carcassonne there is a perfect description of what I saw and how I felt when I caught my first fleeting glimpse of Carcassonne as I traveled from Toulouse [...]
Archive for the 'Books' Category
Filed under Books, Carcassonne 2012, Heritage, Holidays
To Dream with Your Eyes Open
8 Comments CherryPie on Feb 7th 2013
Synopsis (from book cover):
Did you know that the word “Cathar” has been used only since the 19th century in reference to the 13th century supporters of a faith and a religious practice which the Catholic papacy considered to be dangerously heretical? Did you know that almost everything that we know about the Cathars comes from interrogations carried out by [...]
6 Comments CherryPie on Jan 28th 2013
Filed under Books
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
Synopsis (from book cover):
Set in the turbulent times of twelfth-century England when civil war, famine, religious strife and battles over royal succession tore lives and families apart, The Pillars of the Earth tells the story of the building of a magnificent cathedral.
Against this richly imagined backdrop, filled with intrigue and treachery, Ken Follett draws the reader irresistibly into a wonderful epic [...]
13 Comments CherryPie on Jan 21st 2013
Filed under Books, Carcassonne 2012, Holidays
The Knights Templar from Glory to Tragedy by Patrick Huchet
Synopsis (from book cover):
After the taking of Jerusalem by crusaders in the year of grace 1099, pilgrims started to travel to Palestine in ever greater numbers to worship at the tomb of Christ, the Holy Sepulchre. It was to ensure their protection that in 1119 – 1120, a knight from Champagne, Hugh de Payns, founded [...]
Comments Off CherryPie on Jan 3rd 2013
Filed under Books
The Winter Ghosts by Kate Mosse
Synopsis (from book cover):
It’s 1928, Freddie Watson is still grieving for his brother, lost in the Great War. Driving through the foothills of the French Pyrenees, his car spins off the road in a snowstorm. Freddie takes refuge in an isolated village and there meets a beautiful, captivating woman. They spend the night talking of love and loss and war. But [...]
4 Comments CherryPie on Dec 29th 2012
Filed under Books
Keep Calm at Christmas
No matter how carefully you stored the lights last year, they will be snarled again this Christmas.
Robert Kirby
17 Comments CherryPie on Dec 12th 2012
Filed under Books
The Old Kingdom Trilogy by Garth Nix
Description from the publishers site:
Only the Abhorsen can keep the living safe from the dead.
Sabriel: Every step she takes brings her closer to a battle that will pit her against the true forces of life and death – and bring her face-to-face with her own destiny.
Lirael: With only her faithful companion, the Disreputable Dog, Lirael [...]
6 Comments CherryPie on Nov 15th 2012
