Group Non-Fiction Read - March 2014 - The Time Traveller's Guide to Elizabethan England - SPOILERS ALLOWED

[Paul]

The discussion thread is now open. Spoilers are allowed on this thread. Don't read on if you haven't finished the book.

[LauraT]

Liking it a lot; it makes you consider point of views which you would never think of - for istance the avarage age at matrimony ...

[Cathy]

Just finished this and my head is spinning with the amount of information in the book. Interesting concept, treating history as a place to which the reader travels with the help of a guide. I found it very accessible, full of fascinating nuggets of information that shed light of the everyday life of Elizabethans from all levels of society. Only occasionally did it become a bit heavy on statistics, for example when discussing topics such as average incomes for different professions. Generally though very entertaining. I particularly liked the way the author doesn't limit himself to the material differences between the Elizabethans and our age, but emotional and psychological similarities and differences too - how they thought of themselves and the world they lived in.

[Sandy]

I'm really enjoying this book. Just finished the part about sailors and ships; they had a hard and dangerous life. Amazing how they navigated.

[Sandy]

This book continues to fascinate me. So glad it was nominated as a reading choice.

[Paul]

I have read 100 pages so far, fascinating stuff. It was a tough life that they lived

[Sandy]

Finished this am. This book really made me think.

[Paul]

Dipping into this, as i had another book to read. It it really well done in parts, but the perspective does change sometimes from walking through a town, to an overview of the section he is writing about.

[Sandy]

Some of the stats can be overwhelming. I liked the parts when he describes everyday life. I had to take breaks when reading this :)

[Pat]

Just come through. The library phone call. It's arrived. Well, I'm only a month behind. I do things the Cornish way, we are a bit more relaxed here. Haha

[Paul]

i am a third of the way in. Two more to finish first

[Paul]

Finished it yesterday. Really good read. Review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Pat]

Just started it. Only a month late

[Paul]

Pat wrote: "Just started it. Only a month late"

No problem. Enjoy it!

[Debbie]

I'm struggling with this so I'm going to put it aside and dip back in and out over the year. I find it too list-like with all the statistics. I find history more captivating with a constant narrative.
I do like this and it is an interesting take on history, approaching it as if we were travelling through and experiencing Elizabethan times.

[Paul]

There is a BBC programme on this on next Tuesday at 4.30 am:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b036lgmn