The Mirror and the Light | 
pickIt's taken me about a year to get through this. Though not as fast paced as the previous two it had a resonance and a reflective nature that I enjoyed after I had settled into the pace of it.
Highly recommend and a fitting end to this amazing trilogy.
#chunkster
#chunksterchallenge2025
pickI picked up my final book of 2024, and I was determined to read it at last before I watched the BBC adaptation. What a phenomenal series, poetic writing, dialogue, and description that made me feel like I was hiding behind a tudor curtain terrified that Henry would pull it back and send me to the tower. It's so good that I forgot I knew the ending + on tenterhooks waiting for a pardon. If it wasn't nearly 900 pages, I'd pick I up again tomorrow.
pickI put off reading this final book because Mantel made me love Cromwell and we all know how it ends. So I put it off as if my not reading it could change history. As sad as the end was, it was also redemptive in a way. Cromwell was a fascinating character who lived through incredibly dangerous times. And Mantel makes it all so relatable. Now I want equally well-written books about the other people surrounding him!
“Once the queen‘s head is severed, he walks away.”
#firstLineFridays. @ShyBookOwl
pickI finally finished this audiobook!!! It was the longest audiobook I've ever listened to. I did enjoy the book a lot. I rated this book a 3 out of 5 stars.
Listening to this audiobook little by little, dipping into the hardback when I have time. I love this series. #52bookclub2023 #meanttoreaditlastyear
Me, going to the bookstore to pick up the books I ordered for #BlitsySwap: "I'm not going to buy anything for myself, just picking up my order"
Also me: "oooh! Sale table!"
Just heard this incredibly devastating news, and I am heartbroken. 💔💔💔
Her Thomas Cromwell series has brought me (and countless others!) such joy. It's my favorite historical fiction trilogy and just so beautifully written. The world has lost a great writer today.
So very sad to hear the news today of Dame Hilary Mantel's death. RIP dear lady
I shall be rereading your books to treasure how good you were.
Library haul for this week. 📚 The spotlight book was featured in Duchess Camilla's book club last year and I finally got around to checking it out. Has anyone read it?
https://www.royal.uk/duchess-cornwalls-reading-room
Starting this doorstop today and regret putting it off for so long. The writing is just *chef‘s kiss*. The first line: “Once the queen‘s head is severed, he walks away.”
(Also, check out the insane pollen build up on my outdoor table 😬)
One of the definitions listed for dungeon is “the principal tower of a medieval castle.” In this final volume of the phenomenal Wolf Hall Trilogy, Thomas Cromwell is imprisoned at the Tower of London before his execution.
#Dungeon #SavvySettings
@Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
I'm late with my spinny list, but it's basically the same as last month. My #bookspin is a short story. I think it will be Eudora Welty The Death of a Traveling Salesman because I'm already a couple of pages into that one. And #Doublespin is Hilary Mantel Cromwell #3! Hallelujah!
@TheAromaofBooks
Good morning, everyone!
I‘m going to take today & tomorrow (Thursday and Friday) off from posting. Today through Sunday are going to be very busy for me due to packing and trying to get some last minute visits in before I leave for DC. (I‘m heading there for an internship that‘ll last through May.) I hope to get back to posting Mon-Fri next week!
pickAbsolutely brilliant. This book, this whole trilogy really, has made me so emotional. I can't explain it...but I feel as if reading it has somehow made me a better person. ??
"If Henry is the mirror, he Cromwell, is the pale actor who sheds no lustre of his own, but spins in a reflected light. If the light moves he is gone."
"He follows the king. What can you do but, as Cicero says, live hopefully, die bravely?"
#catsoflitsy #roxas
A great book and two warm kittens on my lap! What a fantastic start to the week! 😻📚💕 Happy Monday!
#catsoflitsy #littenkitten #rumpel #jupiterjazz
"The duke whirls away, cursing. 'You know in the north parts they use your name to frighten children? Be quiet, they say, or we'll fetch Cromwell.'
'Do they?' he says. 'Lord Cromwell would be more polite.'
?????
One of my favorite things about this trilogy is the wit of Thomas Cromwell! ?
Finally picking this one back up after having not read it for...quite a long while! 😂 I seriously love it (and Cromwell!) so much that I hate to see it end! But I'm in for the long haul now! I'M WITH YOU TILL THE END OF THE LINE, CROMWELL! 😭💕📚 #averycromwellsummer
PS- this is a red velvet cupcake from a local bakery and I am SUPER excited about it!
pickThe end of this terrific Thomas Cromwell trilogy was a slow inevitable wind-down to the 🪓. The whole books moves slow, and has a feeling in a way unlike the first two. This one was bogged down by the amount of historical detail Mantel had to cover to maintain her commitment to keep us in Cromwell's head. I do appreciate that she held up her end of that. I enjoyed it, slow and all, and I think I will like it more down the road.
pickThe 3rd book about Cromwell, is just as good as the previous ones. I read the first 2 years ago, and had forgotten how much I love her writing style and way of telling a story (even if this is a translation). I feel like the structure in this one is a little looser than for the other two, and we get more glimpses into his past. I had a feeling that something would happen, but I was just as shocked as Cromwell when it did.
Another combined #BookReport and #WeeklyForecast
I finished the tagged book and read The Queen‘s Gambit
I continued my chapter a day reading of Anne‘s House of Dreams #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead and my a part a week read of Backlash #SheSaid. I will continue this over the next week. I read a chapter a day of Mansfield #PemberLittens and this will be finished next week.
I‘ve started the 9th book in Lackberg‘s crime series and will finish that.
pick27 Oct-4 Mar 2021
Finally finished this worthy end to the trilogy. Perhaps it took so long because I genuinely liked Cromwell and was avoiding his inevitable demise. There were numerous incidents along the way where I wished him to act differently- he flouted his wealth even over Henry, which was not going to end well. My parallel reading of Caste over the past week has, however, made me wonder whether his true crime was rising above his station.
#WeeklyForecast
This week I‘m going to continue my chapter a day reading of Anne‘s House of Dreams #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead and Mansfield Park #PemberLittens
I‘m going to start this month‘s book in #SheSaid by Faldo
I started the last book in the Cromwell trilogy this weekend and I hope to have it finished by the end of the week.
I didn't enjoy Wolf Hall, but I kept going with the trilogy because I don't give up easily. It's not a good sign that while reading The Mirror and the Light, I stopped regularly to shout OH JUST CUT OFF HIS HEAD ALREADY! I can't pan it because I only have myself to blame.
I was just browsing the Book Outlet website and this happened. #bookmailisthebestmail #bookhaul
pickIt was a long wait for the last book of the three that Mantel crafted about Thomas Cromwell. The book opens with the execution of Anne Boleyn. Throughout the novel Cromwell, in his fifties, plans for the future, but his thoughts turn increasingly to the past. He knows he is in jeopardy, but will not compromise.
More introspective than narrative. I envy those readers who will read the trilogy all at once rather than awaiting publication.
Starting with the third book in the series, but I think I‘m familiar enough with this cast of characters to keep up. 😉
pickI am definitely going to have a book hangover after finishing this one, Mantel‘s third book in her Thomas Cromwell trilogy. She really gets into the head of this complicated man who was in the thick of the politics and intrigue of Henry VIII‘s court. I am inspired to read more about this time period after reading this, which is always a sign of a great book to me.
so-soIt‘s interesting, but a slower read for me at the end of the day. I enjoy it, but need to adjust when I‘m reading it in order to stay awake.
pickNo surprises here ... as in the previous works the prose and the content are dense, rich and picturesque. Just perfect conclusion to the trilogy. Don‘t be intimidated by its length, be brave, raise your head and read it 😘
Wild Friday night 🤪 ... food and book is all I need to feel fine. Enjoy your weekend 😘
Best books of 2020 link: contains links within it for best books by genre as well. Great for gift ideas for loved ones, including your self! https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/nov/28/best-books-of-2020?CMP=Share_iOSAp...
“Once the queen‘s head is severed, he walks away.”
Now, there‘s an opening line.
Critc‘s picks of 2020 so far! Checking off or adding on my list...
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/may/14/the-best-books-childrens-poetry-au...
How do people with dogs get so much reading done? I‘m adjusting to dog life, but my reading has noticeably declined as the dog has taken more of my attention. 8 books this month:
3 🎧 audio
2 🖥 ebooks
3 📚physical books
Fiction: 6
Nonfiction/essays/memoirs: 2
BIPOC authors: 2
Female authors: 5
From my shelf: 1
#monthlywrapup #auguststats
Is Mantel referencing the year of our Lord 1537...or 2020? Because I think we can all totally relate to this.
pickGood ending to the series but it could have been edited down a bit. I was skimming towards the end.
880 pages. 60mm wide. Have I bitten off more than I can chew?
Steadily making progress through this dense behemoth —with a little help from my friend. 👍🏼🐥 Trying to pretend I‘m on vacation at the beach ...
Well, it's officially August now! So that means I'm starting the final book in this wonderful trilogy! 💕📚 This truly has been a very Cromwell summer! 😎 I'm really excited to begin, but also sad to know the journey is almost over. I know how your story ends, Cromwell! I'm not ready to say goodbye! 😢💔
pickThis book was so good I didn‘t want it to end!! I had a hard time getting into Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies, but I tumbled right into this one. I loved being transported to 16th century England. Mantel‘s writing made it feel so alive! I went through this book relatively slowly, but I looked forward to every opportunity to pick it up.
