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Member: Garp83

CollectionsCurrently reading (11), Read (63), Your library (1,457), All collections (1,460)

Reviews7 reviews

TagsAncient History (1) — see all tags

Cloudstag cloud, author cloud

GroupsAncient History, B.C. Musical Glass Discussion, History at 30,000 feet: The Big Picture, Homer, the Trojan war, and pre-classical Greece, Learning Ancient Greek, US Presidents Challenge

Favorite authorsAndré Brink, Cormac McCarthy, William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, John Irving, Gabriel García Márquez, William Styron (Shared favorites)

About me"The greatest university of all is a collection of books." -- Thomas Carlyle

I have always loved to read, but only in the past several years have I returned to reading on an almost daily basis. I often read five books at a time, bouncing from one to the other as my interest rises and falls in the work at hand.

I read a lot of nonfiction, especially history and biography. Traditionally, my interest has been primarily in American history, colonial period through the Civil War, plus Presidential biographies from all the various eras. Over the past few years, however, I became seduced by ancient Greece and the classical education I never had, so I read The Iliad & the Odyssey, Hesiod, Herodotus, Thucydides, and some great treatments of the various periods by current historians. I continue to pursue a study of the ancient world, as well as the so-called "big history" that reaches back to anthropology and even beyond human origins.

I used to read a lot of fiction. My favorite authors are William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, Andre Brink, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and John Irving. Of late, I began reading contemporary literary fiction fairly regularly, including great recent stuff by Cormac McCarthy, Richard Powers, Junot Diaz, Khaled Hosseini, Dennis Lehane, and Andrea Barrett. I joined a first edition book club at the Odyssey Bookshop, a local independent bookseller, that has been feeding me a steady diet in this vein. At the same time, I have attempted to re-visit classic fiction such as Dickens, Crane, Stowe and Melville.

I also belong to a local books-and-beer reading club, B.C. Musical Glass, and we pick out an unusual book each month that strays beyond usual interests.

It is not unusual for me to have four or five books in progress at the same time, often a mix of fiction, non-fiction and classical. That way I never get bored!

I am very meticulous about handling and caring for my books. I loan anything to friends except books, because that is the one item few value on the same level as I do.

I have a B.A. in History with a minor in Politics from Fairfield University. I still dream of perhaps getting a grad degree one day, although more for the intellectual gratification than any career opportunity.

I am the owner and president of GoGeeks Computer Rescue, a company specializing in computer repair and custom computer manufacturing, which has absolutely nothing to do with books or reading ...

UPDATE: On April 14th I was elected to a three year term as Library trustee for the town of East Longmeadow MA

About my libraryI have more than 1600 books in my collection, primarily hardcover, which I catalogued using the awesome Book Collector software from collectorz.com. I batch uploaded my collection from Book Collector to LibraryThing and I still have to sort thru and figure out what didn't stick. I have been putting some time into this recently, so we're only a couple of hundred shy of getting the two catalogs to agree.

Here's what I've read over the last several years:
1. The Eternal Frontier – Flannery
2. Facing East From Indian Country – Richter
3. Benjamin Franklin – Isaacson
4. Uncle Tom’s Cabin – Stowe
5. The Dahlgren Affair – Schultz
6. Lincoln’s Last Night – Axelrod (5/16/05)
7. His Excellency: George Washington – Fleming
8. American Colonies – Taylor
9. A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies – Las Casas
10. Moby Dick – Melville
11. Memories of my Melancholy Whores – Garcia Marquez

READ 2006
12. The Iliad – Homer (2-2-06)
13. 1491 – Mann (2-3-06)
14. Troy – McCarty (2-9-06)
15. President Nixon – Reeves (2-21-06)
16. The Last Voyage of Columbus – Dugard (4-2-06)
17. The Red Badge of Courage – Crane (4-10-06)
18. The Odyssey – Homer (4-20-06)
19. Empires at War – Fowler (5-31-06 ?)
20. Troy and Homer – Joachim Latacz (6-12-06)
21. Agamemnon – Aeschylus (7-7-06)
22. 1776 – McCullough (7-9-06)
23. The War at Troy – Quintus of Smyrna (7-16-06)
24. Guns, Germs, and Steel – Diamond (8-20-06)
25. Gulliver’s Travels – Swift (8-29-06)
26. The King Must Die – Renault (10-13-06)
27. State of Denial – Woodward (10-29-06)
28. Before the Dawn – Wade (11-23-06)
29. Nisa: The Life and Words of a !Kung Woman – Shostak (12-9-06)
30. The Trojan War: A New History – Strauss (12-17-06)

READ 2007

31. The Kill Bill Diary – David Carradine (1-11-07)
32. Freethinkers – Susan Jacoby (2-19-07)
33. Frankenstein – Mary Shelley (3-23-07)
34. Persian Fire – Tom Holland (3-25-07)
35. Histories – Herodotus (6-2-07)
36. The Classical World: An Epic History From Homer to Hadrian – Robin Lane Fox (6-5-07)
37. Thomas Paine – Craig Nelson (6-14-07)
38. The Other Side of Silence – Andre Brink (8-6-07)
39. Cities of the Plain – Cormac McCarthy (8-9-07)
40. A Dangerous Friend – Ward Just (8-12-07)
41. Mayflower – Nathaniel Philbrick (8-12-07)
42. The Peloponnesian War –Donald Kagan (8-23-07)
43. The Kite Runner -- Khaled Hosseini (9-8-07)
44. The Inheritance of Loss – Kiran Desai (9-22-07)
45. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao – Junot Diaz (9-25-07)
46. The Echo Maker – Richard Powers (10-14-07)
47. The History of the Peloponnesian War – Thucydides (10-25-07)
48. Bridge of Sighs – Richard Russo (11-17-07)
49. Theogony – Hesiod (11-29-07)
50. Roanoke Island: The Beginnings of English America – David Stick (12-1-07)
51. Coronado – Dennis Lehane (12-6-07)
52. The Air We Breathe – Andrea Barrett (12-13-07)
53. A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens (12-23-07)

READ 2008

54. The Case of Abraham Lincoln – Julie M. Fenster (1-2-08)
55. The Pirate’s Daughter – Margaret Cezair-Thompson (1-31-08)
56. American Shaolin – Matthew Polly (2-8-08)
57. A Tale of Two Cities – Charles Dickens (2-11-08)
58. Frogs – Aristophanes (2-12-08)
59. Hellenica: Books 1-4 -- Xenophon (2-16-08)
60. Charlatan – Pope Brock (3-3-08)
61. A Golden Age – Tahmima Anam (3-16-08)
62. Arslan – Engh (3-25-08)
63. The Commoner -- John Burnham Schwartz (4-2-08)
64. Anabasis – Xenophon (4-6-08)
65. Scapegoats of the Empire – George Witton (4-13-08)
66. Killing Custer – James Welch, Paul Stekler (4-20-08)
67. The Persians – Aeschylus (4-24-08)
68. The Choephori(The Libation Bearers)- Aeschylus(4-27-08)
69. The Eumenides - Aeschylus (4-30-08)
70. Ajax – Sophocles (4-30-08)
71. Philoctetes – Sophocles (4-30-08)
72. Oedipus Rex – Sophocles (5-3-08)
73. American Creation – Joseph Ellis (5-11-08)
74. Antigone – Sophocles (5-18-08)
75. The River of Doubt – Candice Millard (5-22-08)
76. All the Pretty Horses – Cormac McCarthy (5-31-08)
77. Mudbound – Hilary Jordan (6-5-08)
78. The Crossing -- Cormac McCarthy (6-24-08)
79. Four Hats in the Ring – Lewis Gould (6-24-08)
80. Me of Little Faith – Lewis Black (7-3-08)
81. Zeus:A Journey Through Greece in the Footsteps of a God – Tom Stone (7-14-08)
82. How to Survive a Robot Uprising – Daniel H. Wilson (7-25-08)
83. Blood Meridian – Cormac McCarthy (8-2-08
84. The Cruelest Miles – Gay Salisbury & Laney Salisbury (8-15-08)
85. Inverted World – Christopher Priest (8-23-08)
86. Whale Hunt – Nelson Cole Haley (8-24-08)
87. A Thousand Splendid Suns -- Khaled Hosseini (9-15-08)
88. A Crack in the Edge of the World – Simon Winchester (10-17-08)
89. In Patagonia – Bruce Chatwin (11-29-08)
90. Just After Sunset – Stephen King (12-17-08)
91. Pyramids – Terry Pratchett (12-18-08)
92. The Road – Cormac McCarthy (12-26-08)

READ 2009

93. Noah's Flood – William Ryan & Walter Pitman (1-31-09)
94. The Bizarro Starter Kit – D. Harlan Wilson, et al (2-7-09)
95. Courtesans & Fishcakes – James Davidson (2-10-09)
96. Mr. Wilson’s Cabinet of Wonder – Lawrence Weschler (2-28-09)
97. Under the Banner of Heaven – Jon Krakauer (3-17-09)
98. Hellenica PT II – Xenophon (3-23-09)
99. Book Finds – Ian Ellis (3-28-09)
100. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle – David Wroblewski (4-12-09)
101. The Honey and the Hemlock: Democracy and Paranoia in Ancient Athens and Modern America – Eli Sagan (4-14-09)
102. Maps of Time: An Introduction to Big History – David Christian (4-17-09)
103. Child of God – Cormac McCarthy (4-23-09)
104. Snow Crash – Neil Stephenson (4-26-09)
105. Suttree – Cormac McCarthy (5-09-09)
106. Eleven Minutes – Paulo Coelho (5-12-09)
107. No Country for Old Men -- Cormac McCarthy (5-24-09)
108. My Name is Red – Orhan Pamuk (6-1-09)
109. The Illustrated A Brief History of Time – Stephen Hawking (6-3-09)
110. The Fuck-Up – Arthur Nersesian (6-24-09)
111. Outer Dark – Cormac McCarthy (6-26-09)
112. The Devil in Dover – Lauri Lebo (6-27-09)
113. The Garden of Last Days – Andre Dubus III (6-28-09)
114. America in 1857: A Nation on the Brink – Kenneth Stampp (7-16-09)
115. The Orchard Keeper – Cormac McCarthy (7-24-09)
116. Dead Until Dark – Charlaine Harris (8-9-08)
117. Too Loud a Solitude – Bohumil Hrabal (8-15-09)
118. Acharnians – Aristophanes (8-24-09)
119. The Beautiful Cigar Girl –Daniel Stashower (9-2-09)
120. Wildebeest in a Rainstorm – Jon Bowermaster (9-3-09)
121. The Long Fuse – Dan Cook (9-6-09
122. The Secret History – Donna Tartt (9-26-09)
123. Helen of Troy: Goddess, Princess, Whore -- Bettany Hughes (10-17-09)
124. Black Elk Speaks – John G. Neihardt & Black Elk (11-5-09)

I recently completed listening to the following Teaching Company Course in audio CD format:

"Origins of Life," taught by Robert Hazen

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Real nameStan

Location01028

Emailgarp83verizon.net

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Member sinceDec 2, 2007

Currently readingThe Island at the Center of the World: The Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan and the Forgotten Colony that Shaped America by Russell Shorto
Pride and Prejudice by Jane. Austen
Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow
Europe Between the Oceans: 9000 BC-AD 1000 by Barry Cunliffe
Now the Drum of War: Walt Whitman and His Brothers in the Civil War by Robert Roper
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Most recent activity

Garp83 added:
Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino

Garp83 added:
The Year of the Flood: A Novel by Margaret Atwood

Garp83 added:
Going Away Shoes by Jill McCorkle

Garp83 added:
The End of Iraq: How American Incompetence Created a War Without End by Peter W. Galbraith

Garp83 added:
Andrew Jackson and the Course of the American Empire by Robert V. Remini

Garp83 added:
Mystic River: A Novel by Dennis Lehane

Now I'm going to chime in here, uninvited but I am sure not unwelcome. I loved Gravity's Rainbow as noted in the thread, but I read it as a young person, so maybe Lizzie's right about that. But I think you ought to try it.
I agree re Atwood. I love everything by her I've ever read, including Oryx and Crake. I haven't read Penelopiad, but sounds interesting. I also liked Blind Assassin, though.

posted by kokipy at 5:21 pm (EST) on Nov 4, 2009

Stan - almost anything by Atwood is a winner! I've most recently read Alias Grace which I just adored. Haven't read Oryx and Crake or Penelopiad, which I must see about procuring. (If you don't know her poem, "The Siren," you should hunt it up online. It will appeal to your classical bent.)
Peggy

posted by LizzieD at 10:04 am (EST) on Nov 3, 2009

Hey, Stan. You may get wild Pynchon lovers saying READ GRAVITY NOW. I think I came to it too late. I'm entertained, bored, amused, bemused, confused, enlightened, and confounded enough to finish it, but I'd never run out into the streets yelling "You have to read this book!" (I'll be interested to see whether wild Pynchon lovers show themselves.)
Peggy

(Yeah.....snooping around your comments here, I'd say that you should read some Atwood - just not Blind Assassin.)

posted by LizzieD at 3:11 pm (EST) on Nov 2, 2009

Hi, thanks for your comment! Just finished Interview With The Vampire and I liked it very well, much more emotional than the movie (although I haven't watched it in a long time). I was hesitant at first, I read the Witching Hour and then tried Lasher and just couldn't get through the thing. This was much more enjoyable!

posted by shellibrary at 3:48 pm (EST) on Oct 20, 2009

No, it won't make you crazy. I'm already almost used to it... almost. :oD

posted by clamairy at 7:19 pm (EST) on Oct 19, 2009

It's okay, but I wish he hadn't insert a person from our time in there. It makes me feel like a middle schooler that he's trying to engage. I'm already interested, I don't need a gimmick. Good detail, though.

posted by clamairy at 7:15 pm (EST) on Oct 19, 2009

Hello Garp83,
I just finished reading your review of [Helen of Troy:Goddess, Princess, Whore] and enjoyed it very much. I gave you a thumbs up in appreciation. It sounds like a book I would enjoy. I have a copy of [Island at the Center of the World] which is on your currently reading list. I look forward to what you have to say about it. I also have a copy of [Suttree] which is on your list of books read in 2009. I have actually slowed down a little on buying books so I can concentrate on reading the ones I have. I went through my catalog and figured out that I have only read about 25% of the books in my library. That is a little embarrassing and shows that I have plenty of books to read. I have about 100 volumes from Library of America and they are either one book that is 800 to 1600 pages long or a volume of an author's work with 3 to 5 separate novels in it. The bottom line is that I have plenty to read so I have cut down my buying, although I just got 5 books in from Amazon.
I haven't been posting much on History at 30,000 feet. I go there all of the time and read through the threads. A lot of times I just don't feel I have anything to add. I was doing the 50 book challenge and keeping up with that takes some time. I have moved to Club Read which has a more informal structure. I do enjoy keeping a reading journal. I printed my 50 book challenge thread from last year and have it in a binder. I usually read history on a topical basis and the journal keeps me on track. The best book I have read this year is [Mind of the Master Class]. It is an intellectual history of the ante-bellum South and is quite a work of scholarship. Now I am getting interested in the American Revolution.
I do ramble on. Come say hello when you have the time and let me know how you liked [Suttree].
Bill

posted by wildbill at 7:20 pm (EST) on Oct 18, 2009

Wow Garp! That book sounds fabulous. ;)

And the best part is our local library actually owns a copy. W00T!!!

Thanks,
Pam

posted by ThePam at 9:09 am (EST) on Oct 18, 2009

Hey. I've got to find it. Sorry!

T

posted by timspalding at 10:27 pm (EST) on Oct 9, 2009

I'd need a fake name, which would kind of defeat the purpose of connecting with one's past...

posted by stellarexplorer at 9:22 pm (EST) on Sep 23, 2009

Hey G --

How is the Loom of History?

posted by stellarexplorer at 10:58 pm (EST) on Sep 21, 2009

The easiest way to let me know that you have completed a president is to post a message on the President's thread with the title of the book so that I can add it to the list and check you off for that president.
Also, on the ticker thread, if you create a message for tracking and just add to that list. I try to check there frequently, but I admit I have been bad this past month because I was trying to finish my 999 Challenge. Smack my hand, I will go check there immediately.

Glad you are with us, you have spiced things up a bit with new ideas!

Cheli

posted by cyderry at 6:21 pm (EST) on Sep 1, 2009

Actually, I have not read the Handmaid's Tale. I'm not sure what was going on when it came out, but it never got on my TBR. I think maybe I was in my Cahokia stage or something and only reading non-fiction.

In any case, from the few works I've looked this week, I think anything of Atwood's is worth looking at. At times she just brilliant.

What are you reading now?

posted by ThePam at 9:14 pm (EST) on Aug 22, 2009

Garp, Garp, Garp!

Found a book and have to share. It's Margaret Atwood's "The Penelopiad". I think you'd either like it alot or else loath it alot. I thought it was pretty darn brilliant fiction, but what also rocked was the myth analysis at the end.

posted by ThePam at 3:32 pm (EST) on Aug 22, 2009

Thanks for that link!

posted by dchaikin at 12:16 pm (EST) on Aug 4, 2009

Hi Garp,

No worries about any delays. Thanks for your thoughts.

A few thoughts on the books. I think that by the ending of "Snow Crash" the main points had already been made - and I love that church of Elvis. As for "My Name is Red" - it just stuck around with me for awhile.

I liked Noah's flood for the geological aspects and I think they were fully convincing that the Black Sea filled in roughly 7500 years ago. I thought the archeological aspects were not so well done, which is too bad. Knowing for certain that sea filled in at that time really should open some eyes and alter the overall archeological thoughts... or maybe that idea long considered and accepted? It would have been nice to get the view point of an archeologist who really understood that implications.

I could use a RL book club like yours!

cheers,
d

posted by dchaikin at 10:32 am (EST) on Aug 4, 2009

Hi Stan,

I take it the '83 isn't your birth year. They do grow up fast. We got a bunch of those Little Critter books from the library a while back and they were a hit. I keep telling myself I need to update those books with the ones were actually reading now...some day.

I'm looking at your book list above and you've read several of my favorite books this year..."Under the Banner of Heaven", "Snow Crash", "My Name is Red"...Any favorites? Also, I'm curious what your thoughts were on "Noah's Flood"?

Thanks for the comment.

Cheers,
d

posted by dchaikin at 10:11 am (EST) on Jul 28, 2009

Actually, I bought the Stand and Salem's Lot not too long ago while reading the Dark Tower. Several of the characters from those two books make extended appearances in DT and I knew both of those books have a good reputation so I decided I'd eventually read them. Aside from the Dark Tower, I haven't read any other King works - I've seen the Shining, and was absolutely terrified of clowns and sewer drains when I was a child from the movie It, but I'm personally not a big fan of horror.

If you've only read the first book, The Gunslinger, I would love to suggest either reading it again and continuing on to the third book, or just going straight to books two and three as they are two of the most interesting fiction books I've ever read. He has an interesting concept that isn't really fantasy at all, rather a blend of westerns and horror. If you've seen either Seven Samurai or The Magnificent Seven, the fifth book in the volume takes a spin on that same theme in an interesting book. And since you're familiar with many of his works, you'll understand some things a bit better as he incorporates various ideas and characters from his other works (for example, Don Callahan from 'Salem's Lot plays a very large role, as does Randall Flagg from a few of his other books).

Ah, well, I'm not sure why I'm trying to sell these books on you! I'm sure as it is you have quite the TBR pile and wouldn't even be able to get around to them for some time anyway.

posted by deslni01 at 11:04 am (EST) on Jul 20, 2009

More disturbing?!? Yikes!

One does indeed have to wonder about Cormac.
In any case, it was interesting to observe the seeds of his later works. The beginning sentence, for example, was long ;} And though it was well written, it was not as profoundly good as his more recent works.

posted by ThePam at 6:27 pm (EST) on Jul 17, 2009

Hiya Garp!

Just finished McCormac's "Child of God". Same happy-go-lucky tone as in his later works ;-]

posted by ThePam at 8:16 pm (EST) on Jul 12, 2009

Here's some info on Airplane's Flight Log. It may be on cd as an import???
http://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id...

posted by LamSon at 2:15 pm (EST) on Jun 29, 2009

Stan,
Where in North Carolina were you? (And why? although that's not any of my business.) You do know to get in touch with me if you come down I-95, don't you?????
Peggy

posted by LizzieD at 11:19 pm (EST) on Jun 26, 2009

Garp83,

I'm honored that you selected my library for your interesting libraries. This community sets a very high standard in its discussions, and I hope the challenge and inspiration from LT contributors like you will drive improvement in my own reading and study.

My library on LT actually just went over 1000 this week. And so far I am just working the boxed up garage books. I know that is counter to your "meticulous handling and caring for books," but I have no more room on the shelves.

BTW, I sympathize with your managing 4 or 5 books at once. My brain get overloaded with one subject, and needs a break, I move to another subject for a while. Then back.

Anyway thanks, always enjoy your comments.

posted by richardbsmith at 5:34 pm (EST) on Jun 26, 2009

Hey Garp,

I did read the Lomask biographies of Burr and agree that they were quite good. Burr had lacked a good biography up to that time.

If you're looking for a history of WWI that doesn't deal so much with the battles, you may want to look at "The Great War and the Search for a Modern Order" by Ellis W. Hawley. I read it long ago but if memory serves me correctly, it might have the perspective you want. It did emphasis American history (and not so much European).

Take care,

- Noel

posted by NLytle at 8:58 am (EST) on Jun 14, 2009

why not you?

posted by rcss67 at 5:33 pm (EST) on Jun 5, 2009

its a strangely neglected period, your uni library should have the cambridge ancient histlry volume for this period. unfortunately the major historians of the period didnt survive.

posted by rcss67 at 5:28 pm (EST) on Jun 5, 2009

it was a thread about greek history in the 4thC BC

posted by rcss67 at 3:26 am (EST) on Jun 5, 2009

BTW most of my emails to you are bouncing due to anti-spam protections

posted by stellarexplorer at 10:22 pm (EST) on Jun 4, 2009

The Greek World 479-323BC Simon Hornblower in Routledge Hisotry of the Ancient World

posted by rcss67 at 5:29 am (EST) on Jun 4, 2009

Yeah I wasn't super into Ryan and Pitman's book; was hoping for more "history" and instead got the "history" of them discovering the site, hehe. Don't care for the title either ;-).... Interestingly enough though re: the Black Sea flood, Anthony posits a different Black Sea flood coming from THE OTHER DIRECTION, which I'd never heard of before at all. I can only imagine his info is based off Soviet archaeology that has recently become available, which would explain a few things. It's definitely an interesting connection, though for Anthony's scenario, the flood proper (no matter which way it came from) would have been way too early for the *PIE spread.

I have the Cunliffe book too, though I was just picking it apart by sections at bedtime, rather than reading it straight through :-)

posted by Feicht at 7:32 pm (EST) on Jun 3, 2009

Hi, Garp. Got my copy of "Persian Fire" at last! Thank you thank you thank you for recommending this book. It's perfect for my level of learning at this time.

posted by walf6 at 12:22 pm (EST) on May 29, 2009

Okay, you've convinced me to give it a day or two.

btw, dragged out "Child of God" last night and put it on top of Mt. TBR.

posted by ThePam at 10:34 am (EST) on May 24, 2009

Yes, must consider carefully about what to do with the Loebs. (Funny how we Book-People are.) But honestly some of them are close to a hundred years old. I am really thinking they need a more stable environment.

posted by ThePam at 8:29 am (EST) on May 24, 2009

"I don't think you're really that boring Peggy ...."

O.K. It's not like it's never happened before, but now I really know what it is to be damned by faint praise.
(And I do agree that Tid's fantasies are the best thing written on that thread yet!)
My name is Peggy

posted by LizzieD at 11:04 pm (EST) on May 16, 2009

And, oh Stan, #2. I've read only Snow and My Name is Red of Pamuk, and *MNiR* is definitely my favorite. I hope you enjoy it too.

posted by LizzieD at 10:33 am (EST) on May 14, 2009

Oh Stan, I think the fly on the wall came through the screaming fit pretty well - I certainly didn't hit him with the book. I did scare the cat and dog though, so I can't do it again. Back to boring!
Peggy

posted by LizzieD at 10:31 am (EST) on May 14, 2009

I hope you enjoy Calasso if/when you get around to it. Another thing that strikes me as potentially having some appeal to you would be Walter Burkert's Greek Religion. One of the best syntheses of the subject around.

posted by Makifat at 2:54 pm (EST) on May 13, 2009

I haven't read it myself, but found enough interesting reviews that I gave it for a gift at Christmas. The recipient promptly read it back-to-front, with the chronology! I've been wondering if I should borrow it back, despite my ever-growing hold list at the library and the correspondence course I've been neglecting shockingly.

posted by Cynara at 9:24 am (EST) on May 8, 2009

I'd be curious to know what you think of My Name is Red.

posted by Cynara at 12:10 pm (EST) on May 7, 2009

Somewhere I saw a message by you referencing Greek myth. If you haven't read Calasso's The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony, it might be worth your time. It's challenging and defies easy description, but gives dimensions of the myths unheard of by Hamilton or Bulfinch.

posted by Makifat at 11:27 am (EST) on May 7, 2009

Yes, but will you say all these nice things if you end up hating the book! ;]

posted by ThePam at 6:37 am (EST) on May 6, 2009

Congratulations, Garp me buddy. You've won a copy of NOW THE DRUM OF WAR.

dm your address and I'll try my darndest to get the book out to you on Monday. Tuesday at the latest.

posted by ThePam at 10:14 am (EST) on May 2, 2009

Likewise, thanks for Interesting Libraty comment :) It should get more so once I catalogue what is in the UK...

posted by grahamhk at 12:01 am (EST) on May 1, 2009

Thanks for the Interesting Library addition.
LamSon

posted by LamSon at 9:26 am (EST) on Apr 30, 2009

Hi,

LibraryThing contacted me and indicated you were one of the winners of the Early Reviewer Giveaway (for my novel, Dirty Little Angels). Please send me your e-mail address (mine is mail@christophertusa.com), and I'll send you a copy of the e-book.

Thanks for entering the giveaway,

Chris

posted by cmtusa at 10:20 pm (EST) on Apr 24, 2009

Hi, thanks for the invite to the new history group. I have been away for a while, but will hopefully become a regular visitor again soon. I am going to just watch the group for awhile, until I reach the inevitable point where I feel that I MUST pitch in.

posted by oregonobsessionz at 7:56 pm (EST) on Apr 21, 2009

Stan, did you buy the Greek texts used at UMASS? I'd love to know what they are....ever the optimist, I'd probably tackle Greek more readily than bringing myself back to speed (and a rather slow speed it was) in Latin. And as I think about it, that's not really true. I do love that muscular old language!
(And as for books, I may have half entered here, but I'm not even sure of that. When it's a benign addiction - we don't have books stacked so high that we can't move freely in the house - relax and enjoy!)
Peggy

posted by LizzieD at 3:37 pm (EST) on Apr 19, 2009

My dear Stan, surgery is never pleasant to contemplate. I very much hope that yours is "minor" (If it is your own, it is never minor), that you and your doctor do well, and that you quickly feel like reading and have with you exactly the books that you want to read.
Of your current list I've read only Snow Crash: what fun! I have yet to finish Anathem, but it gets better and better, and I sort of hate to have it end. I'm looking at your message from ginnyday...are you learning ancient Greek? I always think that I'll give it a try one day. I had the "baby" course of Koine Greek taught in seminaries when I was in high school and loved it. I wonder what text you're using, so I will go to gd's place to see if I can eavesdrop on that end of the conversation.
Anyhow, you're in my prayers whether you care to be or not. Oh! And quit saying that you're unworthy because you haven't bought huge piles of books. By the time you're my age, your library will be monumental.
Peggy

posted by LizzieD at 11:05 pm (EST) on Apr 18, 2009

I was taught ancient Greek at school 1965-7 by my Latin master Wilfred Berridge. I took it up again at various times later, sometimes by myself, sometimes in a class and I've also done an Open University course. To learn ancient Greek by yourself (especially if you have not done Latin) would be a challenge for most people, I think. Good Luck!

posted by ginnyday at 2:33 pm (EST) on Apr 17, 2009

Hello,

Thanks for your recommendation of The Honey and the Hemlock. I look forward to reading it. Also, I appreciate you adding me to your interesting libraries list, especially since I enjoy reading your posts.

Roberta

posted by robertajl at 3:32 pm (EST) on Apr 14, 2009

Hi Garp, thanks for your note and the kind words about Mudbound. I'll be reading at Odyssey this THursday, APril 16 at 7 pm. Hope to see you there!

posted by scribblegirl at 11:16 am (EST) on Apr 13, 2009

Hi Garp, Thanks for noting my library. Like you, I have been an avid reader all my life. I still have the first book ever given to me. It is a prayer missle given to me on my first communion when I was about six. I have fallen away from religion but it is still my most valued posession. I have been a student of history all my life. I enjoy all your comments on the History group. I am slowly learning how to up-load my library. I'm new to computers. I just uploaded a new image of me in a corner of my library. I look forward to hearing from you. Carmelo

posted by cbellia at 7:28 pm (EST) on Apr 11, 2009

Thanks for adding me to your interesting libraries list. I enjoyed reading your reviews - you should write more though I know writing longer reviews takes a little time (at least they do for me).

posted by cemanuel at 8:34 am (EST) on Apr 11, 2009

Yes, I have read them both. I noted in your profile that you are presently reading Christian's _Maps of Time_; that's a great book! I assign it when I teach global history courses. I hope you are enjoying it.

posted by gothamgrrl at 6:58 pm (EST) on Apr 10, 2009

Got Facing East from Indian Country, and it looks great. Thanks!

posted by stellarexplorer at 10:40 am (EST) on Apr 10, 2009

(This is fun.... I'm not usually here with other people that I "know.")
I won't pretend that S.E. N.C. is completely devoid of people who read, but they are few and far between. My friend who reads history wouldn't touch scifi; the one who reads scifi won't look at anything really hard; then there's the mystery-reader and the gentle women's fiction reader. Finding omnivors like me is rare and wonderful. The only bad thing about the place is that everything is so fascinating that I'm reading fewer books: not good. I expect it will pass though, and I hope to find a better balance. Meanwhile, it's a big world out there, and I'm thrilled to have it open to me through you guys.

posted by LizzieD at 9:21 pm (EST) on Apr 6, 2009

I too am gratified that you think my library is interesting..... We have a number of attitudes in common (lending books, reading multiple books at the same time, love for Richard Powers, Faulkner, Lehane). I seem to read a lot more trash than you do, but I think it's good trash. I'm only now beginning to regain my ability to concentrate on concentration-worthy reading material following retirement after a really rough school year. Things are looking up!
At any rate, I'm enjoying your posts at 30,000 feet. I need to shut up and read some!
I look forward to hearing more from you.
Peggy

posted by LizzieD at 9:09 pm (EST) on Apr 6, 2009

Hi. I saw you added me to your Interesting Libraries list. Above you say you've been getting to the Classics lately. I just finished Bulfinch's mythology a couple of weeks ago. There's a real wealth of material there, but I get the sense (and others have remarked) that it's a bit bowdlerized. Have you come across anything that's less filtered?

Regards,
Carnophile

posted by Carnophile at 7:40 pm (EST) on Apr 6, 2009

:) Thank you for letting me know about the History group! It looks pretty cool!

posted by valkylee at 7:37 pm (EST) on Apr 1, 2009

Thank you! You have got me pegged exactly.

Elizabeth

posted by ejj1955 at 7:04 pm (EST) on Apr 1, 2009

I think I may have thought that too when it was recommended to me 30+ years ago. I have a love/hate relationship with Crichton. For some odd reason, I have read almost all his books.

posted by stellarexplorer at 10:30 pm (EST) on Mar 31, 2009

Stan,
Since you like History so much, and you have read a few biographies of the US Presidents, perhaps you might join us in the US Presidents Challenge

http://www.librarything.com/groups/uspre...

Cheli

posted by cyderry at 4:39 pm (EST) on Mar 29, 2009

I have started a new group for discussing the Big Picture in history. I have used some of your ideas in constructing the concept. I'm sure you will find it! Hope it'll be fun!

posted by stellarexplorer at 4:51 pm (EST) on Mar 28, 2009

And another thing: I see you've entered Toland's Adolph Hitler. Impressions of the book?

Also, while I read (and liked) Into the Wild and Into Thin Air, I haven't read UtBoH. I'll have to give it a shot!

posted by stellarexplorer at 12:45 am (EST) on Mar 26, 2009

Well, I am just blown away by that. I don't think you said anything unacceptable. You were upset by being singled out and I think you called the insulter on it.

FM I think the reaction that followed was not very well thought out .OR. tolerant which is too bad as I suspect matters would have settled down and everybody could have gotten on to discussion history.

Oh well. Nothing like taking your ball and going home :o)

posted by ThePam at 6:52 am (EST) on Mar 25, 2009

"this carmody guy is really annoying me!"

Same here. He seems to think football and extensive reading are somehow mutually exclusive. I probably knew more about football when I was in high school than he could begin to believe. Of course, that was probably several decades before he was born.

posted by erilarlo at 10:00 am (EST) on Mar 24, 2009

You flatter me, haha.

posted by a_radical_abacus at 2:47 am (EST) on Mar 23, 2009

I saw you were part of a books-and-beer reading club. Now I'm jealous.

posted by dlweeks at 1:13 pm (EST) on Mar 22, 2009

We anti-social lonely nerds must stick together. Right? I also am very protective of my vices.

Or perhaps I failed to see the point in basically telling a bunch of people who clearly love books and reading that their pastime automatically makes them socially inept. Especially since this is clearly a website dedicated to books. Hmmm...

I also can fully admit that I spend a great deal of time in libraries--between working at one, living in one, and studying in one I fear there's no hope for me.

Cheers!

posted by a_radical_abacus at 10:49 pm (EST) on Mar 21, 2009

Stan,
I hope that's an OK handle. I was just going to write you about that post. I hadn't noticed some of his others but this one was pretty obnoxious. I put some some thought into slipping the knife in real clean and cold. What a jerk.
Bill

posted by wildbill at 3:15 pm (EST) on Mar 21, 2009

Hey, thanks :-) I ran across the Robot Uprising book in a small bookshop and just knew I had to have it! I keep it next to my Zombie Survival Handbook, where it belongs :-) As for Ulysses and the Odyssey...it may sound ambitious reading them together, but I honestly would have no clue what is going on in Ulysses without it! So many references are lost if you don't have the corresponding Odyssey chapter fresh in your mind. I'm reading it in English, but I've got the ancient Greek one bookmarked on the Perseus Project. I speak modern Greek, which means I can plod my way through a fair bit of the ancient Greek, but need alot of help (it's like the difference between German and Dutch). I'm just using that one to get a feel for the original alliteration and verse structure. I have read (in English) both the Odyssey and the Iliad before (I got my BA in archaeology in Athens, so there was no escape :-) ) and love them both. Hector is one of my heroes (and, (this may be too much info), I've got the tattoo to prove it!).

posted by jenknox at 12:40 pm (EST) on Mar 21, 2009

No, I haven't read it. :( I started it some time ago, but for some reason or another set it aside, and haven't picked it up again. I'm hoping to start again though, soon, but I have to get through midterms first. *sigh*

I noticed you have the first book in the Abraham Lincoln biography, have you read it? I have the whole set, but haven't had time to start.

posted by ArmyAngel1986 at 9:16 am (EST) on Mar 10, 2009

Haha, I've been asking myself the same question for like three years! :-D

It just never came up, really. But the longer I'm at university the more people I see with one (of course they are all playing World of Warcraft in the student lounge instead of typing papers... but who's counting haha).

As for what kind to get... I'm not really settled on that yet. At first I thought of just picking up one of those little notebook dealies that are small and light and only a few hundred bucks. Then I noticed I might be able to get something fairly decent for not too much more... and THEN I started thinking that maybe I should just go ahead and get something nice to replace my current computer, which I've had since at least 2005, but I think it was 2004. It was fairly nice back then and it's served me well, but I'm starting to get those problems that happen before it's about ready to shit itself: blue screen of death, trouble restarting, random crashes, etc. It's also getting a little buggy too, which bothers me... for instance, ever since I got high speed internet, I haven't been able to listen to music on this computer because it like... I don't know really how to describe it... sort of "skips" but not like it does when you have a scratch on your cd. Someone told me it was that I had too many programs running at once, but essentially if I'm not on the net I don't have much of a reason to be on the computer to begin with. Coincidentally, when I turn off my modem or whatever, the problem goes away... but I rarely do this because for some reason it's really finicky about turning back on again.

So yeah. I guess I could use a new computer altogether, and it may as well be something portable. Do people even buy desktops anymore? :-)

posted by Feicht at 1:01 pm (EST) on Mar 7, 2009

Aggggh. I'm so frustrated. I can't even find the picture, much less the name of the movie that my avatar came from. (I love it though. Some days just feel like that to me :)

And I have not completed 1491. I start it, and then find that I have to go off and follow his leads. Love that book.

posted by ThePam at 7:21 am (EST) on Feb 23, 2009

Btw, I think it's interesting that so many people are bothered by the fact that the man and his son have no given names. (I didn't even notice until it was mentioned--lol)

posted by ThePam at 9:26 am (EST) on Feb 14, 2009

That's a good point about the backpacks versus The Cart.

I suppose weight has something to do with it. You can push more than you can easily carry. But when the cart broke down, backpacks didn't seem to enter into the solution.

Myself, I keep going back to that one underground bunker that they found with supplies. I think I would have stayed until the goods were used up. He seemed more driven to keep moving.

posted by ThePam at 9:25 am (EST) on Feb 14, 2009

Your mention of "the shopping cart" makes me laugh, Garp. The Road has definitely changed the way I look at the darn things, now and probably forever. An amazingly powerful book. Makes me appreciate clean air and sunlight.

btw, were you able to read BM straight through? I found I had to take breaks and read lighter material because the 'weight' of the evil-ness was suffocating.

posted by PamFamilyLibrary at 12:17 pm (EST) on Feb 13, 2009

Hey Garp, sorry to take so long getting back to chat about Cormac. The kids brought home some sort of crud and you know how it goes.

I've read the Border trilogy. Like you, I especially liked The Crossing. Besides them I read The Road (actually my least favorite) and BM (perhaps my second fave). The next on my list is an older book, "Child of God." I had started reading NCFOM but my husband snatched it away and I haven't returned to it and I am not quite sure.

I like your comparisons -- Hemingway, etc.-- but where I think Cormac deviates from the others is in his descriptions of place. I can't rightly think of an author who I think compares. He is sparse, but dense.

Thoughts?

posted by PamFamilyLibrary at 12:03 pm (EST) on Feb 11, 2009

Yes -- You have credibility with me! It's high up on the Pile, and I'm looking forward to reading it -- thanks!

{I remember a dumb but true thing I used to do as a 7 year old, which was whenever I wrote my return address on a letter, after my street and town, I would add "Solar System, Milky Way, Universe." The book looks to be in that spirit!}

posted by stellarexplorer at 11:16 am (EST) on Feb 10, 2009

It's in the same state as me, but I'm in suburban Victoria, not regional. It's been intense here, with temperatures hitting 46 degrees Celsius (I'm not sure what that is in Fahrenheit, sorry).

Australia has conflagrations, in fact, some Australian plants need bushfires for regeneration purposes!

posted by Stevia at 9:20 pm (EST) on Feb 8, 2009

Hey Garp-me-buddy!

Try: IMG alt="" src="yourJPGlocationhere" />
except with a beginning 'pointy bracket' which I couldn't put here and have the code show up

That's what's in my can't remember.. um, stuff file.

========

and I didn't know you liked Cormac M. I love his writing. I even liked Blood Meridian. Don't understand it. But like it.

posted by ThePam at 1:29 pm (EST) on Feb 8, 2009

Hehe...I'm coming out on the side of "to each his own" :-D If somebody wants to party every night, sleep all day and never go to class... I suppose you could consider them great philanthropists, what with their multi-thousand dollar donations to the university system every year ;-)

posted by Feicht at 8:48 pm (EST) on Feb 7, 2009

Garp83

Many thanks for the blog info. At the risk of boring you utterly, I must say I really do agree with your comments.

Also when you mention:

"I remain puzzled by the 22% of Americans who retain support for George W. Bush and claim to miss him when he goes."

I am especially interested to know the answer but remain and have been baffled.

However, Bush was elected not only once but twice and on that point I will also never understand. On the otherhand maybe half the nation would prefer oligarchy after all.

On another issue, I see in your profile that you are in computers, as I was before retiring. May I ask you one simple question? If so maybe you could mail me at barlowhumphreys...at...yahoo....dot...co... (hopefully the bots won't pick up that address) Then I could mail you the simple question regarding memory and Windows7. If it is not ok, please don't worry, I will understand.

Thanks again for your insights on LT.

barlow

posted by Urquhart at 3:54 pm (EST) on Jan 28, 2009

Haha awesome.

Yeah that's me in the picture...I'm not actually taking a dump though, it was just a good photo-op! Myself and a friend were outside of Gamla Uppsala, Sweden and found this old farm complex that I think was being "run" as sort of a half-assed museum (there was a turnstile gate, but no one there). Buildings with dirt floors, beds made only of wood and straw--you could see why moving to Minnesota looked like a viable alternative for these people, hehe. But in contrast, and I might add, in what must have been an unmistakable sign of wealth, stood amongst the buildings this exclusive, double-wide outhouse! Couldn't pass up the opportunity for a good picture ya know :-D

I used it for my profile pic here because believe it or not it's one of the few pictures of me reading anything (even though I'm just "reading" a brochure for Uppsala), and not to mention, it has a double-wide outhouse! It's win/win!

posted by Feicht at 1:39 pm (EST) on Jan 11, 2009

Yes, Guns,Germs was very thought-provoking.

Like Feicht below, I am fascinated by the process of dispersal around the globe, and by the persistence of cross-cultural contacts across great distances in pre-modern times, and by what was known when by peoples about other peoples.

posted by stellarexplorer at 10:24 pm (EST) on Jan 8, 2009

I have read it, this time last year actually. Looking forward to another Harris book I have, Cows, Pigs, Wars and Witches: The Riddles of Culture.

posted by fleela at 9:45 pm (EST) on Jan 8, 2009

I though it was just me! I too shelve my history section beginning with our earliest predecessors. I start with Australipithicine and early hominid evolution books, and work my way up through paleoarcheologic technique, into the Homo genus, and then into earliest H.sapiens through the beginnings of human culture, and eventually winding up in the Neolithic and the ancient Near East. Great minds....?

BTW, I too really enjoyed Before the Dawn.

BTW2, I enjoyed seeing Arslan in your list above -- an interesting, under-appreciated book.

posted by stellarexplorer at 1:42 am (EST) on Jan 8, 2009

Yep, really enjoyed them... "Before the Dawn" especially so... I'm really into "pre-historic" history of humanity; not the geologic aspect as much, but rather the dispersal of homo sapiens across the globe after we became our own species, distinct from erectus or neanderthalensis, etc. Good stuff :-)

posted by Feicht at 11:10 pm (EST) on Jan 5, 2009

Happy New Year to you too, Stan.

I hope your year is filled with reading great books!

Stevie

posted by Stevia at 4:03 am (EST) on Jan 2, 2009

I would just like to say thank you to whomever was my "SantaThing" -- I received the book -- "Fallen Founder" by Nancy Isenberg -- in the mail today. I am so psyched! What a great choice! I have long been fascinated by Burr and many years ago read the two-volume Burr biography by Milton Lomask. I believe this Isenberg book is the first full treatment by a professional historian. Anyway -- thanks "SantaThing" and if you read this please reveal yourself to me so we can chat further. Have a great holiday! -- Garp

posted by Garp83 at 7:59 pm (EST) on Dec 22, 2008

Hey Stan,
Sorry about my 'quietness'. A couple of weeks ago I moved interstate and have not had much in the way of internet access, hopefully this problem is now resolved. Thank you for checking in, I will henceforth try to be more vocal.

posted by Stevia at 5:51 pm (EST) on Dec 15, 2008

It must be an old photo! You look happy in it, I must say. Being near my books does that to me too!

posted by stellarexplorer at 10:13 pm (EST) on Nov 18, 2008

And I do love my books very much. But as to numbers, from the look of your photo, I've had longer to collect. I just hit 50. A young 50, though.

posted by stellarexplorer at 9:56 pm (EST) on Nov 11, 2008

Hey Garp -- I am honored you added me to your "Interesting Libraries" list! We share an interest in and collection of history and biography -- my third and fifth largest tag categories. Also love ancient history, prehistory, etc, etc. See you around the watering hole!

posted by stellarexplorer at 12:58 am (EST) on Nov 11, 2008

I'm guessing you are pretty chuffed!

posted by Stevia at 7:45 pm (EST) on Nov 5, 2008

Hi - Thanks for adding my catalog to your "interesting libraries" list. I am surprised to see that I am near the top of your "members with your books" list. Doesn't happen often - something in the way LT weights for obscure titles leaves my MWYB list dominated by quilters instead of nonfiction readers. Unfortunately, most quilters are not readers - or, if they do read, they tend to stick to a category I'll call "quilt romance novels"!

posted by oregonobsessionz at 9:35 pm (EST) on Oct 21, 2008

That's unfortunate. I simply cannot wait to read the Iliad in Greek!

Languages are funny things. You evidently have a lot of self-discipline but find it hard to teach yourself a language. Me too. I had plans to teach myself the basics of Greek last summer and I got as far as the alphabet!

I have to do my MA and my PhD, so approximately 5-6 years left depending on other factors such as funding, placement etc. I am doing my MA in Aus (it was just too hard to try and get funding for a UK uni without having any published work, so my aim next year is to try and get something out there!

I think it is absolutely awesome that you love Classics and haven't actually been Classically educated! It's a discipline that is becoming more and more devalued and it is most upsetting. Then again, it makes me want to study it even more (rebellious type that I am).

posted by Stevia at 3:24 am (EST) on Oct 11, 2008

That's a shame. Was it one of those accelerated courses where you learn everything in one year? I guess it would be hard to find a recreational ancient Greek course. I'm going to try and get a head start over the summer, but I, like you, struggle to teach myself a language. I hope you find another course!

May I ask, what sort of business do you have?

posted by Stevia at 4:57 pm (EST) on Oct 8, 2008

Winning, I think. I only have 4 weeks left until it's all over! Then I will be heading off to do my Masters and finally study Greek! How are you finding Greek?

posted by Stevia at 9:22 pm (EST) on Oct 6, 2008

Hi, you seem to be quite a scholar in ancient history, especially Greek history. Nice to meet you!

Ted

posted by HarmlessTed at 7:06 am (EST) on Aug 18, 2008

Thank you for your review of Persian Fire. This is on my TBR list, and your review has moved it further to the top!

You might want to try Victor Davis Hanson's Why the West has Won. As a classicist he's very good on the enduring impact of Greek culture on the military practice of the West. This article by VDH here

http://www.newcriterion.com/articles.cfm...

might also stimulate your festering wound from the ancient Greek bite!

It's nice to know there are more classicists around.
Murr.

posted by tomcatMurr at 7:35 am (EST) on Jun 30, 2008

The compelling thing about the subject of Persian Fire -- or perhaps about all history -- is that we really do seem to be perpetually fighting slave-driven empires on the one hand, and our own immediate neighbors on the other. Perpetually, this Peloponnesian War, and so many triumphant heroes trundled off to exile. (Both Themistocles and Aristides?)

In our own day, I rankle still over the fact that Mao, Pol Pot, and Idi Amin died natural deaths. Who are we? As I sit here I feel way way past my prime, and what keens the "past" part, is that I have failed to give even the pettiest tyrant -- oh all of them are petty -- so much as a pause.

I'm hoping that Justice no longer cries out for blood and vengence. Forever ingenuous, I offer tea and bun. So great to share enthusiasm with a reader of history. It will always be Greek to me.

posted by keylawk at 12:08 am (EST) on Jun 26, 2008

Really appreciated your review of Persian Fire: The First World Empire and the Battle for the West, by Tom Holland, which I've not read. I confess I credit the network of Aegean thalassocracies, including the Aeginetans who bore the brunt of the fight with fewer ships, with having won the battle of Salamis in the short-term, and sapping the Persian navy in the long-term. The Athenians did more than merely "win", they tied their survival to ideals of freedom and justice, which make us want to root for them even after their defeats.

Did Holland mention the other Myceneans? The significance in battles of differential numbers of slaves? What would civilization be like if Xerxes, or any Persian at any time, had defeated the Greeks? Hey, thanks for the intro to Holland.

posted by keylawk at 7:47 pm (EST) on Jun 24, 2008

Greek? I'm jealous! I've tried teaching myself Greek and succeeded only in learning the alphabet :(. I think Latin is probably easier, but then again I'm passionate about it! Catullus is a lot of fun, but I don't know whether someone should learn Latin just so they can read him in the original! In an ideal world, maybe.

Good luck with your studies, and keep me posted!

posted by Stevia at 10:11 pm (EST) on May 23, 2008

Awesome! I admire your self-commitment! That takes a lot of discipline. I'm not from the UK, I'm Australian, but I'm moving there at the end of the year to pursue a career in classics. *fingers crossed*

Read the Iliad like Alexander? Alexander disconcerts me in a similar way that Caesar does.

Keep in touch. Let me know if you stumble across any wonderful books you'd think I'd like!

Stevie

posted by Stevia at 7:59 pm (EST) on May 8, 2008

Hey Garp83,

Greek tragedy is something I've always struggled with. My problem is I have reservations about reading and analysing things in translation. And the fact that I haven't learnt Greek yet has put a stop on me really getting into them. Of course I've read quite a few over my undergrad, Aeschylus, Euripides, Sophocles... but being a huge fan of Latin and Roman culture, I find myself taken away from them very easily.

Conceptually I find the Greeks harder to engage with, but that may be because of my Greek deficiency! I do intend to go back and read them in the original once I've picked up the language!

I'm so chuffed that you're getting the Classical education you never had. I'm worried that it's going to fade away to nothing and that would be such a big loss. Classics is a wonderfully rich discipline. I'm more than a little bit in love with it. In fact, I'm currently doing 13 hour days at uni simply because I love it that much!

Anyway I hope to chat more!
Stevie

posted by Stevia at 3:59 am (EST) on May 7, 2008

Troubadour has a better depth and a more friendly price structure IMHO.

I made it up there over Patriots' Day weekend: thanks for the tip! I'll be adding it to my "on the way to Boston" route.

(The sign outside advertises the selection as "Scholarly and Weird". That fits my family to a T.)

posted by AsYouKnow_Bob at 7:10 pm (EST) on Apr 23, 2008

Hiya Garp!

My reading practices probably don't follow the norm on this sort of thing (referring to "1491" and Cahokia) but I'd be glad to tell you what I've covered thus far.

The first authors I read were Moorehead and Crook. These two guys were anthropologists from the early 1900s. In fact, in Moorehead's paper he begged his fellow scientists to save Cahokia because the powers-to-be in St. Louis wanted to tear the mounds down and use them for landfill --YIKES! [They are available for download from archive.org for free]

Next, I got caught up in reading "The LA Salle Expedition on the Mississippi River: A Lost Manuscript of Nicolas De LA Salle, 1682" which Mann referenced. The Expedition itself has little to do with Cahokia, but the introduction by William Foster was quite extensive and he wrote about the trade routes in the midwest, and more importantly pointed out examples of Cahokian traditions that still existed in 1600s.

Finally, one of our LTers has written an excellent article entitled "The Frontier in Pre-Columbian Illinois" which he was nice enough to tell me about. This paper shines a light on what we do know about Cahokia, and what influence they had on other Indian tribes.

I really haven't outlined any future reading on this topic yet. But it's definitely of interest to me. Cahokia, along with the 'Fort Ancients'. I'd never heard of them before, but Al mentions them in his 'The Frontier in Pre-Columbian Illinois'.

Cheers!
Pam

posted by ThePam at 6:03 pm (EST) on Apr 20, 2008

I talked to my Greek Historian colleague, and he recommends: J.K. Davies' Democracy and Classical Greece. He says that it's has a nice coverage of the time period but isn't all that dry. Hope this helps!

Amber

posted by scaifea at 2:21 pm (EST) on Apr 14, 2008

Hi,

Oh, this is just one of the many things I love about LT--I was looking at another member's profile and saw your comment about reading colonial American history, and since that's an interest of mine, I popped over to see your library--only to find that we share very few books on the subject. I haven't entered all my library yet, but have put in quite a few of the colonial history books--which means that you have lots of books I'm going to want to acquire and read!

Which is why I've added your library to my interesting libraries list . . .

Cheers,
Elizabeth

posted by ejj1955 at 3:55 pm (EST) on Apr 13, 2008

Hi Garp83,

It's sort of funny, but I began "1491" and got so intrigued by what he was writing about that I delved off into reading about Cahokia and La Salle, which led off into related themes. As soon as I'm done with the current round of reads, it will be next... again ;)

posted by ThePam at 6:27 pm (EST) on Apr 11, 2008

Thanks for the note. Yeah, that was my site, as is isidore-of-seville.com. I used to do my own content :)

posted by timspalding at 11:28 am (EST) on Apr 11, 2008

Lol - I'm a Latinist, and also a literary person more than a historian, so Greek history is about as far from what I do as you can get in the field! I've send an email to my Greek historian colleague requesting book recommendations, so I'll get back to you if he comes up with something good. In particular, my interests are in late republican Roman lit; Cicero's letters are my current project. I'm working on how the Roman triumph is portrayed in literature, in particular in Cicero's letters, and I've also got an article started about how Livy uses the image of the triumph too. I'm also in love with Plautus (although he's not late republican), and the character of the clever slave, so I've got a project about that in the works as well. Next I think I'll try to do something with Pliny's letters, but I'm not exactly sure what yet - I have lots of interests I want to pursue there. As usualy, too many irons in the fire at once! It's hard for me to focus sometimes :)

posted by scaifea at 8:54 am (EST) on Apr 11, 2008

You know, until you asked this, I didn't realize that I don't really have a good answer for what's a good general Greek history book (it's really not my specialty). I have heard of Sealey, but I don't know much about the book. Are you looking for a broad general history of Greece or something more specific?

posted by scaifea at 7:34 am (EST) on Apr 9, 2008

aww, shucks. *blushes*

posted by scaifea at 7:25 am (EST) on Apr 4, 2008

It's in my library catalog, if you want to look there, or, here's a link to it on amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/100-Banned-Books-C...

Hope that helps!

posted by scaifea at 9:22 pm (EST) on Apr 3, 2008

I'm glad you got the email(s)! I highly recommend, if you're interested, that you take a look at 100 Banned Books - it has lots of info on the censorship history of each entry. I think now there's an updated version which has 20 more book added.

Amber

posted by scaifea at 11:17 am (EST) on Mar 31, 2008

I tried sending the list to you this morning, but your email service it apparently blocking it. I'm not sure if you can take my email address (scaifea@kenyon.edu) off the block list or not - let me know if I can do something to fix it on my side

posted by scaifea at 12:09 pm (EST) on Mar 29, 2008

I'm using the list of books in [100 Banned Books]. It's a pretty good book, giving synopses of each book and a history of its censorship. However, it groups the books by banned category (banned on religious grounds, political grounds, sexual, and social grounds), and I prefer to read my way through lists chronologically, so I've made up my own ordering of the books on this list. If you're interested, I'll send you a copy of my version via email - just let me know.

posted by scaifea at 1:07 pm (EST) on Mar 27, 2008

Thanks for the tip on the follow-up books to Paine, which I just finished last night. I really enjoyed it and I think I share a lot of his general views on religion (although he did say that he thought reading Latin and Greek was a waste of time!). I read it as part of my 100 Most Banned Books reading list, and I'm certainly not surprised that it's on the list. Love your collection, by the way - we seem to have fairly similar tastes.

posted by scaifea at 7:48 am (EST) on Mar 27, 2008

Garp83,
So now we are mutual interesting libraries. As you may have discovered I love to read history. I have read a lot of ancient history and now am 200 pages into the "Landmark Herodotus". My main attraction to that edition is the maps, I need maps when I read history. For the last three years I have been studying the Civil War. I just finished "Shiloh and the Western Campaign of 1862". It is an excellent book and I finished it in two days because I couldn't put it down. I also have an interest in Chinese history that goes back to college. I look forward to discussing old and new books and getting to know you.
wildbill (Bill Rucker)

posted by wildbill at 10:51 am (EST) on Mar 22, 2008

Could you tell me how you imported the Book Collector info into LibraryThings? Or point me to the instructions? Thanks!

posted by Cynclair at 8:55 pm (EST) on Jan 9, 2008

I signed out to check my SantaThing listing to see what happened, which was: you were late on sending the choice of Persian Fire for me, so Abby took another suggestion that was put in for me. As for The Case of Abraham Lincoln, that has nothing to do with anything; I just was happy to hear that somebody was enjoying it, since I gave it to my mother for Christmas without having read it myself...something that I don't usually do.

I've noted Persian Fire down, and I see that Tom Holland also wrote a book on the last years of the Roman Republic. I'll definitely have give him a try.

LydiaHD

posted by LydiaHD at 4:54 am (EST) on Dec 31, 2007

Hello, Garp83:

Yes, indeed, I had been meaning to write you: thank you very much for choosing the Orhan Pamuk books! I read the first few pages of the memoir, and really liked it, and thought to myself: "It's going to be a long, long time before my Turkish is good enough to read this in the original." The books are next on my list to read.

I gave The Case of Abraham Lincoln to my mother for Christmas, and told her if was any good, I'd want to borrow it from her.

Thanks again -

LydiaHD

posted by LydiaHD at 4:04 am (EST) on Dec 30, 2007

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