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Spoilers What Book Are You Reading?
- Thread starter Huntn
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I'm currently on the 8th book in the series, and they are all page turners for me. You will enjoy the rest.
I have no doubt about it.
I'm several chapters in and it's proving to be another winner.
Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan. Really enjoying it. It's light but just what I need right now.
The Book of Genesis. I wish I had taken the Bible as Lit in college as an English Major.
As far as religious texts go, however, the Tao Te Ching is my favorite.
As far as religious texts go, however, the Tao Te Ching is my favorite.
Finished J.D. Robb's "Salvation in Death" (book 38 in the Eve Dallas "In Death" series) yesterday, and am now in the middle of "2: Deserter (Kris Longknife series)". Also I'm trying to slog my way through the last hour of "And Another Thing..." book 6 in Doug Adams's Hitchhiker's Guide series (written by Eoin Colfer). Audiobooks all.
"The Fall Of The Roman Empire" by Peter Heather, preceded by "Cables from Kabul" by Sherard Cowper-Coles.
I agree completely; it is an excellent, detailed, well written account and is extraordinarily interesting. It seems to take a much more detailed, subtle and nuanced treatment of the topic than other books which I have read which cover much the same era. In fact, it is so good, I am reading it slowly - normally, I speed read, but there is so much in this book that I feel the need to stop and mull over ideas and thoughts every few pages, (or, sometimes, paragraphs).
Sounds interesting. Is it any good, or is it worth reading?
Actually, I've always had a sneaking liking for Henri IV (Henry of Navarre) who strikes me as one of the most attractive characters ever to sit on the French throne, as he seemed to be generous, intelligent, tolerant, broad-minded, flexible, and good-humoured, among many other attributes,..... and had some sort of generous vision for how the country ought to be governed....(Granted, the historical competition presented by other French monarchs since early medieval times, wasn't exactly very strong as most of of the others over several centuries vied with one another in the various categories of dreadful, licentious, incompetent, imbecilic, neurotic, murderous, vicious......the list is gloomily extensive, I fear.)
First of I bought the book to get a grounding in the period. English is not my first language, but the writer uses language that is easy to understand but not childish, but really brings this period of French history to life. You can tell that he has spent years studying this period. But he never makes it hard work to get interested in the facts and people, this is certainly not a dry history book.
That being said I sometimes have to stop and look words up in a dictionary.
As you point out French Kings of that and earlier periods, were quite an apart group of individuals.
But they are more than compensated for by the very strong women who became Queen of France.
Eleanor de Aquitaine
Blanche de Castile
Maruerite de Provence
Anne de Bretagne
Catherine de Medici
Maruerite de Valois
I do hope that this has been of some help.
First of I bought the book to get a grounding in the period. English is not my first language, but the writer uses language that is easy to understand but not childish, but really brings this period of French history to life. You can tell that he has spent years studying this period. But he never makes it hard work to get interested in the facts and people, this is certainly not a dry history book.
That being said I sometimes have to stop and look words up in a dictionary.
As you point out French Kings of that and earlier periods, were quite an apart group of individuals.
But they are more than compensated for by the very strong women who became Queen of France.
Eleanor de Aquitaine
Blanche de Castile
Maruerite de Provence
Anne de Bretagne
Catherine de Medici
Maruerite de Valois
I do hope that this has been of some help.
Ah, yes, what a wonderful cast of formidable females; very well done for highlighting them and their role in history.......bravo.
Fiction:
A High Wind in Jamaica by Richard Hughes.
Poetry:
That Little Something by Charles Simic (my former professor....lucky dude!).
A High Wind in Jamaica by Richard Hughes.
Poetry:
That Little Something by Charles Simic (my former professor....lucky dude!
).
I decided that my next bout of history would be nearer to home.
The Thirty Years war is seen here as a part of the Eighty Wars war.
This war changed Europe more than any other event before WWI.
The Thirty Years war is seen here as a part of the Eighty Wars war.
This war changed Europe more than any other event before WWI.
Yes, it did, I agree completely with you, and it is a pity that it isn't better known. It is an extraordinarily complicated sequence of events (it was the last section of a course on Renaissance/Reformation history that I used to teach as part of the standard first year undergrad history course years ago, so I have a nodding acquaintance with the whole area).
In fact, although the term 'world war' didn't exist then, firstly, given that virtually all of the 'major powers' of the day fought, on and off, for 30 years as part of this conflict, secondly, given the political, social and cultural impacts of this awful war, and thirdly, the sheer scale of the casualties and devastation caused (especially to what is now Germany), make it a 17th century 'world war' in my view. Until the Napoleonic Wars, - and, some would say, WW1 - nothing had as great an impact on Europe.
I'm nearly half-way through American Insurgents:American People
Pretty good read so far. Breen argues that the revolution was won by the average colonists taking 'insurgent' actions. It's a bit more involved than that, but I won't get into that now.
Pretty good read so far. Breen argues that the revolution was won by the average colonists taking 'insurgent' actions. It's a bit more involved than that, but I won't get into that now.
