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What 📔book are you reading right now?

The Class Struggle in the Ancient Greek World by G.E.M. De Ste. Croix.
Bit of a weighty tome (in every sense of the word!)
 
The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Ardine. It’s book 2 of her Winternight trilogy which is based on Russian folklore.
 

Quite a well-written book about the history of the United States.
 

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Halasían said:
Quite a well-written book about the history of the United States.
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looks like an intriguing read. right up the alley of some of my current work.
pondering adding it to the library. (pondering usually means addition within 48 hours..!!)
 
'Mayflies' by Andrew O'Hagan.
Extremely good, and now I want to read everything else he's done.
 
I'm still working on the Crusades, currently via "The Crusades, a very short introduction" by Tyerman. Will be followed by either Asbridge on the Crusades, or Wright - The Battles That Created England - 793 - 1100."

Also started on Le Guin's Steering the Craft as a beginning to my study of words, and specifically, poetry. (Laid in a few books OF poetry, to use them in the study.)

Laid in 3 books on Mythology, to close some gaps in my education there.
 
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Still reading 'The Girl in the Tower.' I really like the Russian folklore and from what I've read, the book is pretty accurate on the actual Slavic beliefs that were there before Christianity.
 
Well I waded through Wolf Hall recently and found it worthy but dull. So for relief I read Live and Let Die by Ian Fleming. I guess you could call it unworthy (racist language) but definitely not dull. Actually I found the public school elitism more annoying but it is defo a page turner with two set piece thrilling sequences, a solid plot, great description of diving amongst coral reefs and a believable and menacing baddy.

There was one particular passage that stood out. Written in the 1950s when metal fatigue was an issue in airplane flight, as he is flying to Jamaica, Bond muses on the uselessness of the magazines in the racks if the "tired metal" were to rupture. But since he can't do anything about it he reaches for another cigarette. Fleming was a heavy smoker and drinker who died young for someone who was physically strong. So I would argue that Fleming is a better writer than Mantel since writing a page turner requires a lot of skill
 
Well I might just re-read Steven Runciman's 3-vol history of the Crusades; it's as much literature as history, beautifully written throughout
 
TrackerOrc said:
Well I might just re-read Steven Runciman's 3-vol history of the Crusades; it's as much literature as history, beautifully written throughout
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Thanks for this lead..!! I'm wanting to get hold of all sources folks know about and recommend over time.

The Crusades are one of the most written-about events and periods of time in history. (And of course, in some respects, still go on to this day, 'from a certain point of view' to quote Obi Wan Kinobi.)

I can't see it fully from all perspectives, from the shelf I stand on viewing the world currently... so I'm broadening my shelf to take in more of the world and ponder it more appropriately.

(Unfortunately, most of the authors simply 'speak supposed facts' and 'share supposed perspectives' without directing me to their source material - so what I'm reading is their 'take' on whatever they've read... which may as well have been just the writings of other authors. So to get to a point of 'secure confirmation' of what I think and why takes a bit of time.)
 
You would enjoy Peter Frankopan's 'The first Crusade: The Call from the East', where his basic premise is that the Byzantine Empire had a lot more to do with the inception of the Crusades than has previously been thought.
 
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TrackerOrc said:
You would enjoy Peter Frankopan's 'The first Crusade: The Call from the East', where his basic premise is that the Byzantine Empire had a lot more to do with the inception of the Crusades than has previously been thought.
Click to expand...
Well, I have added Frankopan to my digital library.
It appears I will need to add Runciman as a tree-based product, but it seems both affordable and most worthwhile. I’ve set it in my ‘cart’ and will likely click the ‘purchase’ button tomorrow. (We must not be hasty.). His focus also seems to be toward the area I need to add to locate and verify facts.
 
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