Ancient & Medieval Historical Fiction discussion
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Ahh, I saw you seemed to like that book (The Burnable Book) as you read it. It seems really interesting, so I may have to try and pick that up at some point. Definitely understand the issue of fewer hits than misses though! I've had a streak of pretty good books recently though, but I know it won't last forever.
It is a promising start to a very good series to come, I think. Good writer. :)
Reading murder mystery series set in regency England which is entertaining but definitely not factual and a bit on the romantic side. Has some interesting facts in it tho. Written by a woman from New Orleans who manages to keep writing even tho her home was destroyed during hurricane Katrina. Author is c s harris
Scott wrote: "Hmmm... Could be true. I can see it being incredibly busy at the start, but perhaps I'll end up with more time to read once it settles a bit. Will find out soon, I guess. :)Have you read anything..."
I virtually gave up reading when went to Uni (sorry it was called a Polytechnic when I went) as far too many other activities to partake in....! Enjoy Freshers week
PS Dragon tattoo series is excellant, good choice that, with Conn Iggulden I'd recommend his Genghis Khan series over the Rome series.
Terri wrote: "nice to sit down and see what everybody has been up to. I have spent the last three days, sun up to sun down, painting our paling fence with white wash. Now I know how Tom Sawyer felt. :)"
Thought you'd be more Karate Kid era... Wax on Wax off :0
I read a lot whilst at Uni, but very little of it was for leisure or pleasure. In the four years I studied I reckon I read maybe 8 fictions, all but one had fewer than 3000 pages. All but 1 were from a series that I follow quite closely. The first week after the convocation I think I slept. The following week I read 9 non-academic books (a couple weren't fiction). The third and fourth weeks I spent in Ireland and since then I read (or not) as I please. :)I do miss Uni though even if it means giving up reading fiction.
My problem was that I kept buying the novels but not reading any, hence my backlog of hf. :D
I was a psychology student in college. My sophomore year I took an upper level English class just so I could justify reading something other than psychological texts and studies. The professor spent the entire semester trying to convince me I was getting the wrong degree. As much as I would have loved to get a degree in English lit, the only thing you can really do with a degree like that is teach. I would make a terrible teacher. Then again, what am I doing with my psychology degrees? Staying at home with my kids. Oh well.
Andy wrote: "I virtually gave up reading when went to Uni (sorry it was called a Polytechnic when I went) as far too many other activities to partake in....! Enjoy Freshers weekPS Dragon tattoo series is excellant, good choice that, with Conn Iggulden I'd recommend his Genghis Khan series over the Rome series."
That's what I think will happen- I'll take my Kindle but it will just lay unused somewhere as I'm either studying or doing other things. Really looking forward to Freshers' now, aha :P
I thought the Dragon Tattoo book is really good, but I haven't had any time to read at all since I started it, which is a shame. Cheers for the tip about the Conn Iggulden books too, I might have to think about reading the Genghis ones first instead. :)
I barely read anything that wasn't for class at uni too. And then in grad school I didn't have time for any reading for fun. But then I started working a boring office job and I started to read more for fun. No better escape from the drudgery of spending a day staring at a computer screen than a trip to ancient Greece, a space flight with aliens, or a detective romance. And I just won a drabble challenge in another group. Never thought I would but I'm so proud of my exactly 100 word story. :D
And of course I was the only one who looked at a picture of a shirtless cowboy (the drabbles were supposed to be inspired by the picture) and wrote about aliens. :P
Most of you seem to be painting the same picture, ahaha. I don't expect to have much free time but I might be pleasantly surprised at some times throughout the year(s). I can imagine the course/ uni might be quite demanding on time spent working, but we'll just have to see I guess- at least I'm studying something that I really enjoy.
At the risk of appearing ignorant; what pretell is a Drabble?
Came across this site on my travels (Lydian Empire) & looks quite a trove for info on the ancient period, maybe some of you folk know of it, if not.... :D Not sure where it would reside so here goes mods....?http://www.ancient.eu/
Darcy wrote: "At the risk of appearing ignorant; what pretell is a Drabble?"It is a short prose wiring of exactly 100 words, not 99, not 101, but 100. And it is harder than it seems, I usually write way more than 100 and then have to choose my words wisely because at 100 each one matters.
Kimber wrote: "Gretchen wrote: "If it is a coping mechanism, it sure is an annoying one! I am spending way too much energy trying to give the words a rhyming rhythm. I just might have to abandon my reading for th..."pretty bad englydion. I echo Terri's Groan.
:)
Andy wrote: "Came across this site on my travels (Lydian Empire) & looks quite a trove for info on the ancient period, maybe some of you folk know of it, if not.... :D Not sure where it would reside so here goe..."I think I remember a thread about good sites....ummm....this one: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
You can add it there Andy, I think it fits with the spirit of that threads and I spy a few good maps too...
Dawn wrote: "Andy wrote: "Came across this site on my travels (Lydian Empire) & looks quite a trove for info on the ancient period, maybe some of you folk know of it, if not.... :D Not sure where it would resid..."Ta Muchly, have given you an hounrable assist too ;)
Jane wrote: "Kimber wrote: "Gretchen wrote: "If it is a coping mechanism, it sure is an annoying one! I am spending way too much energy trying to give the words a rhyming rhythm. I just might have to abandon my..."I admit..not my best work. Usually I'm making up spelling rhymes for Monkey #2's weekly spelling test. He's a musical learner so a silly song or rhyme gets it done fast.
I had the opposite problem of most at Uni. I was an English major and my problem was NOT reading the mandatory pieces because I was too caught up in whatever else I was reading at the time.
Gretchen,Cute new profile pic. :)
Terri wrote: "Gretchen,Cute new profile pic. :)"
Thanks! It was kind of nasty out today so while the twins napped, the oldest and I put up a tent (we used a card table and a blanket) in our living room and read books. We're taking advantage of all the alone time we get. There won't be a lot of it when she starts school in two weeks.
There should always be makeshift tents in children's lives. Whether it be made of sheets, or pillows or cardboard boxes. :)Miserable day here too. Windy, rainy, grey with mist.
Cardboard boxes! The child's favorite book is Not a Box. "Mom you need to buy something really big so I can have a box."
Aw, what a sweet looking kiddies book. :)
There's another one about a stick.
Gretchen wrote: "Cardboard boxes! The child's favorite book is Not a Box. "Mom you need to buy something really big so I can have a box.""My 7th or 8th birthday present from my dad was a huge set of books that were delivered in an enormous box. I had nearly as much fun with the box as with the books. :D I turned it on it's side, lined it with pillows and a blanket, curled up in it and read. :D
That's a great prez. I remember the book presents I got as a kid with fondness. Most other presents Ihave forgotten. The books I remember. Still own some.
Terri wrote: "That's a great prez. I remember the book presents I got as a kid with fondness. Most other presents Ihave forgotten. The books I remember. Still own some."I remember the gifts from my dad, because he ALWAYS put huge amounts or care and attention into them.
Gretchen wrote: "Cardboard boxes! The child's favorite book is Not a Box. "Mom you need to buy something really big so I can have a box.""You need to raid an appliances store. Ovens (as in Wolf or Aga ovens...is oven the best word..?bah!) have the best, big, sturdy boxes. Warning: this kind of box can stay in your living room for ages, expecially if furnished with blankets, kids books and a good torch. And obviously cookies.
I have a stash of super big boxes in a storeroom in my place. Not for kids, but to use for brooding baby chickens in. :) Evefy time I hatch a clutch of chicks, which is pretty much every 21 days right now, I grow them out in large boxes, on hay, under a brooder light.
After using Ancestry.ca site for awhile, I noticed one of my ancestors was in a book I read.
.Has anyone else read about one of their own ancestors in a Historical Fiction?
One of mine has been the subject of a few, probably the best known is Mistress of the Sun. Another pops up as a peripheral character in some books about pirates.
Mine would probably be in something like:
I got a job interview today. Yay! And yesterday a district court deemed my state's, Florida's, same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional. The decision is stayed until a higher court looks at it but it makes me feel good that it is my state (and not someone place else) that's taking this step. Like now the whole marriage deal could be a real choice for me.
I have a great aunt who wrote (by wrote I mean used a typewriter and put everything in a binder) a book chronicling the German side of my grandma's family. Does that count? My dad was adopted and never knew his biological family so I suppose it's possible there's a family in a book somewhere out there.
Alicja wrote: "I got a job interview today. Yay! And yesterday a district court deemed my state's, Florida's, same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional. The decision is stayed until a higher court looks at it but ..."
Good.
I traced my family back using Ancestry.com but came to a stand still when trying to figure out if we were from the Western Hebrides in Scotland or County Clare in Ireland. (Surname 'originates' in both places) but my married name will be Martel and he has traced his family back to Charles the Hammer and Charlemagne.
I am humbled *bows to the floor* That is very cool info!
Trees, boxes, rainy days, ancestry, etc. I had to take a break from reading a book so I read the random thoughts. My twinplettes make their playhouses out of two afghans, four sofa pillows and the coffee table. They then fight and their house comes tumbling down. And that is when I return them to their parents. I admire Gretchen. Taking care of one small child is a 24/7 job, but tending three close together in age is like competing for Iron Man. When they get independently mobile life becomes unreal. My son wrote on Facebook the other day: "I have lost my mind. I let my daughter have a sleep over with eight other little girls. I was the only adult in the house." His wife evidently ran off before the party started, and I don't blame her.
Most days I feel like I should be running around in black and white stripes carrying a whistle. There are a times when I have keys and purse in hand and run out the door as soon as my husband walks through it. I would love to be working right now but at the end of the day we can't afford to have me work (as strange as it sounds). I enjoy being at home seeing so much of my girls but sometimes I really need other adults. Soon enough they will all be gone and I will be crying for these days back.
or smiling while you remember, since you won't have regrets.(and it's just right to want adults around.
there were times my husband asked me if I wanted to have a walk in the woods and I answered that I wanted to go to Milan and walk among ADULT PEOPLE and LOTS of it, thank you very much!)
I like what Simona and Gretchen said. I helped with our babies on Saturdays giving one parent a day out. Feeding, breathing treatments, washing, folding, changing, bathing over and over...I hit the door as soon as we got them down for the night. I thought to myself many times driving home, 'I want to watch a triple x movie and say some really bad swear words.'
and drink beer from the bottle! and smoke a cigar! :)
Alicja wrote: "I got a job interview today. Yay! ..."
Good luck with the interview!
I'm sad about Lord Richard Attenborough. I learned so much from many of the docos he narrated. Made history interesting.
Sad about him? Did he pass? I had not heard. That's a shame.
Terri wrote: "Sad about him? Did he pass? I had not heard. That's a shame."Yes. Just today.
Darcy wrote: "I'm sad about Lord Richard Attenborough. I learned so much from many of the docos he narrated. Made history interesting."Oh wow, that is sad. He lived a full life though - I liked him both as a director and as an actor.
His role in the Great Escape is one of my favorites.
I'm getting a little annoyed with the media calling him the "Jurassic Park" actor. He was so very much more than that.There are days when I REALLY loathe the media. Today is one of them.
Ancient & Medieval Historical Fiction
Books mentioned in this topic
The Berry Pickers (other topics)Fortune's Child (other topics)
Hild (other topics)
Sharpe's Command (other topics)
Edenglassie (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Amanda Peters (other topics)Nicola Griffith (other topics)
Bernard Cornwell (other topics)
Bernard Cornwell (other topics)
Allan Hands (other topics)
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Wars of Scottish Independence, so stirring subject matter.
I also read a book I thought was pretty good a little while back. it was one of group reads.
Mostly though, this year so far, I have had more misses than hits. Its depressing!