Ancient & Medieval Historical Fiction discussion
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Yay! Welcome Kimber among the Outlander lovers (I'm speaking of the books...I didn't watch the TV series but I don't find it appealing).
I have not read the Outlander books myself but I did buy the whole series for my friend who is going on a military expedition to Africa in the new year. She doesn't care for historical fiction but she wanted something to keep her busy. I thought that series would keep her busy.
Gretchen wrote: "I have not read the Outlander books myself but I did buy the whole series for my friend who is going on a military expedition to Africa in the new year. She doesn't care for historical fiction but ..."Aren't you a great friend!
Even though the outlander series doesn't interest me, I get the feeling it would be a good series for that situation. And so generous of you to buy her a whole series to help her fill the spare hours. :)
Kimber wrote: "My first session is six hours long so I'm taking my kindle, a big ol' bottle of water, food and a pillow to nap..."Wow, 6 hours. That sounds incredibley boring. Thank goodness you are a reader. 6 hours of gossip magazine flicking would be torture if you didn't have books. :)
Terri wrote: "Gretchen wrote: "I have not read the Outlander books myself but I did buy the whole series for my friend who is going on a military expedition to Africa in the new year. She doesn't care for histor..."Her last deployment took her to Iraq. I bought her a kindle before she left. I figure if she's going to keep deploying, I might as well keep her kindle full. Added bonus, I can borrow it from her when I want to read it. ;)
Kindle are a great little tool for military personnel. As we all know, I don't like eReaders, I can't read on them, but they are good for so many situations. For those in the military they are perfect..if they are based somewhere that facilitates easy device charging that is. :)
It turned out to be a great gift. My friend isn't a big reader but there were points where she didn't have anything else to do. Sending her books on her kindle is much easier than sending her books via mail.
Gretchen wrote: "I have not read the Outlander books myself but I did buy the whole series for my friend who is going on a military expedition to Africa in the new year. She doesn't care for historical fiction but ..."I dare say it will. It has been a very nice thing to do.
Brian wrote: "I'm kind of the same way though with Terry Pratchett. I have about 12 more Discworld to read plus various others he's written, then i'll have to find something else like it..."I adore Pratchett. Unfortunately I'm completely caught up on everything he's ever written so I'm eagerly awaiting anything new. Oh...I do have a couple of Science of Discworld books to track down and still need a copy of 'Where's my Cow?" but other than that...
Terri wrote: "Kimber wrote: "My first session is six hours long so I'm taking my kindle, a big ol' bottle of water, food and a pillow to nap..."Wow, 6 hours. That sounds incredibley boring. Thank goodness you ..."
I am very much looking forward to some good naps and solid reading time with no distractions. Not often you can set aside 6 hours of a day just for that purpose. Silver linings and all... :D
do we have any goodreads librarians in our group?
just read a book and its not on here. lols do i message u the information?
Almost done with work travel for the year!! Last game the Cotton Bowl. Then me wee wife and I are headed to the Swiss Alps for a little skiing. Well needed vacation. Hope all are well...haven't been on much but I do keep an eye on all of you. Will try and get back into the group reads soon...used to enjoy them very much.
Wow, Bobby! The Swiss Alps! You're so fancy, mate. :)It will be great to have you on a group read or two next year. I've missed your company!
Kimber wrote: " Not often you can set aside 6 hours of a day just for that purpose. Silver linings and all... :D ..."You are an absolute legend, Kimber. You go girl. :)
Bobby wrote: "Almost done with work travel for the year!! Last game the Cotton Bowl. Then me wee wife and I are headed to the Swiss Alps for a little skiing. Well needed vacation. Hope all are well...haven't bee..."Soooome people's kids :) It sounds like a great vacation! Enjoy and stay safe
Fröhliche Weihnachten! or
Joyeux Noël! or
Buon Natale!
depending on what part of Switzerland you end up in
Today I remembered to bring the bagels for breakfast, new box of tissues, chocolates for my department, my work mobile (I'm not used to having a mobile so, it's touch-and-go that I remember). Got to work early and everything. Forgot the cream cheese for the bagel....
But I hear others are bringing in treats, so do I wait and hope someone brings something I like, or do I run to the coffee shop to get something I know I do?
The Swiss Alps Bobby? As in THE Swiss Alps? ***jealous*** Have a great time buddy!!Good for you Kimber!! I'm sorry you have to go thru all that but your attitude towards it is inspiring :)
What did you decide, Darcy? :)
Just caught up on a few pages... I loved 'Where's my Cow" by PTerry, but I find funny psudo-kids books very enticing.The 2014 challenge; I aimed for 80 and have read 101 so far. I surprised myself no end. I did however spend a lot of time at home during what I like to think of as the great kitchen debacle: If anyone in Brisbane is, or knows of anyone doing home renovations NEVER EVER use Bigtime home improvements!! I have been without a kitchen for six weeks now with no end in sight.
Anyhow, on the positive, I have spent hours and days at home waiting for tradies so, lots of reading time.
Best I think, The Golem and the Jinni
must have been the best, with the Conquest series by Jack Ludlow and Fire from Heaven close on it's heels.
The worst was an idiotic thing called 'In a fix' In a Fix absolute waste of dead trees.
Renovations are dreadful. It's so hit and miss finding a good construction company too.
Ah, the baking never showed, so I got a muffin out of the vending machine. heh
So, I'm told leaving things in the bag provided by the shop is not considered 'wrapped'.... :=/
Darcy wrote: "So, I'm told leaving things in the bag provided by the shop is not considered 'wrapped'.... :=/"You have to tie the handles together with ribbon and then stick a bow on it. Voila! Done!
Excellent!Do twist-ties count as ribbons? Reckon I can use tp for bows?
Bobby wrote: "Almost done with work travel for the year!! Last game the Cotton Bowl. Then me wee wife and I are headed to the Swiss Alps for a little skiing. Well needed vacation. Hope all are well...haven't bee..."This year there's less snow than the last. It's because of the warm weather...which means that in Engadin there is a couple of Celsius degrees under zero, instead of the usual -20°C of December.
We live close to Switzerland, so last Sunday my husband & younger kid went skiing to the Corvatsch (over ST Moritz) and they said the snow was wonderful.
Darcy wrote: "Excellent!Do twist-ties count as ribbons? Reckon I can use tp for bows?"
No they don't. Expecially to a ribbon-hoarder like me.
Simona wrote: "Bobby wrote: "Almost done with work travel for the year!! Last game the Cotton Bowl. Then me wee wife and I are headed to the Swiss Alps for a little skiing. Well needed vacation. Hope all are well..."We have no snow in Minnesota right now. My six year old is upset about the idea of a snow-less Christmas.
Dawn wrote: "Speaking of this year in books....how did everyone do with their challenges and goals?? Did you read more or less than planned?
Best and Worst of the Year?
Something interesting you learned?
Et..."
According to Good Reads, I only read two books, but that was because I'm really bad at updating my reading on the site! My main aim was to read as much Scottish 'Classic' historical fiction as I could, with a focus on Sir Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson. I did well on this front - survived Waverley, wasn't sure how I'd get through the next books in the series, but wound up throughly enjoying Guy Manneringand I'm currently reading The Antiquary and enjoying that, too. I enjoyed Robert Louis Stevenson far more, particularly Treasure Island(I'd read Kidnappedpreviously. I interspersed these classics with other books, usually written by literary friends - historical fiction titles which stuck out were the amazing YA novel The Wicked and the Justand The First Blast of the Trumpet. Other honourable mentions in my favourite reads of the year were Wuthering Heights and The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner.
My reading goals for next year are dominated by Dorothy Dunnett - I'm planning to read the House of Niccolo Series in its entirey and the Lymond Chronicles. My bookshelves are currently groaning under the weight of my acquisitions as I prepare for this task. Once again, I'll be interspersing these with modern works and the odd work by Walter Scott. Not to mention a load of non-fiction reading which accumulates almost daily as I'm a sucker for a hard-luck book...
Gretchen wrote: "Simona wrote: "Bobby wrote: "Almost done with work travel for the year!! Last game the Cotton Bowl. Then me wee wife and I are headed to the Swiss Alps for a little skiing. Well needed vacation. Ho..."We don't, either, close to Milan. It's 1 hour and 1/2 drive to the snow of St. Moritz. I understand your 6 yrs old perfectly :)
Louise wrote: "According to Good Reads, I only read two books, but that was because I'm really bad at updating my reading on the site!..."Thank you Louise. I'm not alone...
Simona wrote: "Louise wrote: "According to Good Reads, I only read two books, but that was because I'm really bad at updating my reading on the site!..."Thank you Louise. I'm not alone..."
Too busy either reading, or writing... (Hangs head in shame and slinks off into naughty corner....)
Gretchen wrote: "...We have no snow in Minnesota right now. My six year old is upset about the idea of a snow-less Christmas. ..."
We don't have any in the valleys here in Utah, but the mountains have been plastered this past week. We had storms coming every 2 or 3 days. The ski resorts are estatic. We are supposed to get snow in the valleys Christmas Day with an outside chance Christmas Eve.
To all those here at A&M, I wish you a very Merry Christmas and very Happy New Year.
Gretchen wrote: "Simona wrote: "Bobby wrote: "Almost done with work travel for the year!! Last game the Cotton Bowl. Then me wee wife and I are headed to the Swiss Alps for a little skiing. Well needed vacation. Ho..."I'm almost thirty and upset about there being no snow on Christmas! Its been super cold for about two months now and all of a sudden, the next couple days are going to be rainy and close to 60 degrees!! That's April/May weather!!
Allie wrote: "Gretchen wrote: "Simona wrote: "Bobby wrote: "Almost done with work travel for the year!! Last game the Cotton Bowl. Then me wee wife and I are headed to the Swiss Alps for a little skiing. Well ne..."And then we are going to end up with snow well into April/May......
The morning of Christmas Eve here. Having a cuppa and a lie in before I get up, pack dishwasher and then start my pre-Christmas cooking.Got to make the stuffing for the Turkey (bacon and cranberry) then the two Christmas treats I make every Christmas nowadays..White Chocolate & Peppermint Fudge and Chocolate, Cherry & Coconut Fudge. Yum.
Fellow A&M HF members;Have a very Merry Christmas.
To those who celebrate it, Happy Hanukkah. Shalom!
To everybody else, Happy Holiday.
Cheers!
Thankyou, Lia! Same to you!
Gretchen wrote: "Allie wrote: "Gretchen wrote: "Simona wrote: "Bobby wrote: "Almost done with work travel for the year!! Last game the Cotton Bowl. Then me wee wife and I are headed to the Swiss Alps for a little s..."Right!
Terri wrote: "Thankyou, Lia! Same to you!"Ditto :)
Terri wrote: "The morning of Christmas Eve here. Having a cuppa and a lie in before I get up, pack dishwasher and then start my pre-Christmas cooking.Got to make the stuffing for the Turkey (bacon and cranberry..."
Sounds like a plan - that stuffing sounds divine:). I'm the chief cook and our big diner is Christmas Eve, so tomoroow will busy with the ham, special Christmas potatos, various vegis including glazed carrots. I alsoneed make a couple more batches of caramels - It seems the carmaels are getting a reputation, people in the neighborhood/church/work keep hinting about having a taste:)
I'm pretty keen on those caramels too Happy!!Merry Xmas everyone, hope you all make the most of the break, spending it the best way you can. Thanks for your friendship, the great conversations, and for a place where we can all just be ourselves. Special thanks to the mods for keeping it one of the best groups to belong to. Stay safe everyone! Xx
Happy Holidays! Merry Christmas! This year, Elizabeth decided she needed to share her stomach bug with mom so it looks like Christmas is going to be low key around here.
Sending holiday greetings to everyone on here.Mark
hugs to one and all.
Merry Christmas all. Have a wonderful time, hope you get good presents and awesome food!
I have 5.5 hours of work to endure before I'm off to play video games with my Dad, which we will occasionally interrupt to eat cookies!!!
Let's all go to Terri's to eat and meet Bobby on the slopes! Or you could all come here to watch HOME ALONE, CHRISTMAS VACATION and non-stop Turner Classic Christmas movies. We are on the eve as I write. The pizza has been delivered. Happy Holidays!
Simona wrote: "Bobby wrote: "Almost done with work travel for the year!! Last game the Cotton Bowl. Then me wee wife and I are headed to the Swiss Alps for a little skiing. Well needed vacation. Hope all are well..."That's good to hear. Hope they saved some snow for us!
Ancient & Medieval Historical Fiction
Books mentioned in this topic
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Hild (other topics)
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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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While there were a couple in that series that I liked less than the others, it is one of three series that I order new releases the first day they go on pre-order. I also have all the Lord John books and the anthologies. Before Outlander I only ever read mysteries, horror, and non-fiction.
So no need to apologize. Lol