First Suddenly Sunday 2011

It’s Suddenly Sunday again! This event is hosted by Svea at The Confessions and Ramblings of a Muse in the Fog.

I hope you all had a safe and happy New Year’s celebration. Did you do anything fun and exciting? My boyfriend and I just decided to stay home this year – we did so much driving around for the Christmas weekend that we were just pooped out. It has been so nice to have a few days off these last couple weeks because work has been wearing me a little thin, but things should change up a little in this new year and I am looking forward to some of the things I have in store for the blog.

This week I will be posting my blog stats from the past year in terms of what I have read and how I did on the many challenges I participated in. In a short summary – much better than last year and I think this year I will be at least on the same pace. I also have three scheduled reviews for this week as well. I will have book reviews on Watermark by Vanitha Sankaran (loved it!) as well as Sacred Hearts by Sarah Dunant (this will not be a pretty review). There will also be a review of the newest episode of the American Experience tv series, Robert E. Lee. This episode will air tomorrow (Monday 1/3/10) at 9 PM on PBS. Here is the blurb:

“He is celebrated by handsome equestrian statues in countless cities and towns across the American South, and two postage stamps issued by the government he fought against during the four bloodiest years in American history. Nearly a century and a half after his death, Robert E. Lee, the leading Confederate general of the American Civil War, remains a source of fascination and, for some, veneration. This two-hour film from AMERICAN EXPERIENCE examines the life and reputation of the Confederacy's pre-eminent general, whose military successes made him the scourge of the Union and the hero of the Confederacy during the Civil War, and who was elevated to almost god-like status by his admirers after his death.”

Watch the full episode. See more American Experience.

Now for a summary of the responses for the Meet the Courtiers survey that has been running over the last couple of weeks. I thank all of you that have taken a few minutes to respond to my survey. So based on the results of the survey, here is what I can tell you:

To the question – Who are you?
59% are bloggers
6% are authors
35% are blog readers/non-bloggers

To the question of Age?
6% are under age 18
29% are between age 18-29
41% are between age 30-49
24% are over age 50

To the question – Do you blog?
82% blog
18% do not blog

To the question – Where are you from?
USA – Louisiana, Virginia, Michigan, Oklahoma, Tennessee, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Texas and California
Finland
Canada
Australia
Indonesia

Most common favorite places/times to read about (from most popular to least)
Medieval
Renaissance
England
Victorian, Tudor, WWI, WWII, France, Egypt, Greco-Roman

Colonial New England, Regency, Dark Ages, Civil War America, European Jews, Middle Eastern Harems, Restoration

Favorite Authors (from most popular to least)
Elizabeth Chadwick
Sharon Kay Penman
Michelle Moran, Philippa Gregory, Susan Holloway Scott, Anne Rice

Deanna Raybourn, Diana Gabaldon, Jean Plaidy, Karen Essex, Robin Maxwell, Susanna Kearsley

Bernard Cornwell, Brenda Joyce, Brunonia Barry, C.W. Gortner, Catherine Coulter, Christine Trent, Connie Willis, Daphne de Maurier, Dashiell Hammett, Diana Norman/Ariana Franklin, Diana Haeger, Edith Wharton, Georgett Heyer, Helen Hollick, Isak Dinesen, Jeanne Kalogridis, Karen Harper, Kate Grenville, Katherine Howe, Ken Follett, Laurell K Hamilton, Lauren Willig, Margaret Campbell Barnes, Margaret Campbell Barnes, Margaret George, Michael Crummey, Penelope Lively, Rosemary Rogers, Sara Donati, Sigrid Nunez, Sigrid Undset, Susan Higginbotham, Anya Seton

Thanks for reading and hope you have a great rest of the weekend and week ahead.




Copyright © 2011 by The Maiden’s Court