What Are You Reading Now?

[old_gregg]

Does anybody have any suggestions for books, fictional or otherwise about Medieval Europe's history. There are so many twists and turns with which I am unfamiliar.

Just following English history is a major undertaking, but trying to wrap in the Huns, the Holy Roman Empire, the Visigoths, and so many other major events is mind-boggling.

the da vinci code, if you can manage to find a copy. i believe it's out of print.

[Katy Lied]

Love love love VS Naipaul. I won't countenance any criticism of him.

[Topper]

Love love love VS Naipaul. I won't countenance any criticism of him.

His characters are so real, animated and inviting. From my limited knowledge of those cultures, he seems to capture their essence.

[SteelBlue]

Sleep Donation by Karen Russell.

[Topper]

Sleep Donation by Karen Russell.

Keep the recommendations coming. I bought a bunch you suggested oni iPad.

[BigPiney]

Sleep Donation by Karen Russell.

looks interesting, heard a review on NPR today, and since I enjoyed Swamplandia!, I will have to look for this one.

Finished The Goldfinch the other day. I liked it but it was 200 pages too long.

Also finished the 2nd of the Mistborn series. This one really dragged in the middle, but I still enjoyed it. Probably will wait to read the 3rd till I am on a plane this summer.

[happyone]

Does anybody have any suggestions for books, fictional or otherwise about Medieval Europe's history. There are so many twists and turns with which I am unfamiliar.

Just following English history is a major undertaking, but trying to wrap in the Huns, the Holy Roman Empire, the Visigoths, and so many other major events is mind-boggling.

Lets see what I can think of
Non Fiction
THE starting point for the 14th Century has got to be Barbara Tuchman's A Distant Mirror

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_no...t+mirror&ajr=1

Dan Jones' The Plantagenets is a good look at the Dynsety that ruled England during the Middle Ages - It covers the time from the sinking of the White Ship to Henry IV's over throw of Richard II

http://www.amazon.com/Plantagenets-W...e+plantagenets

A decent overview of the whole era is the Oxford History of Medieval Europe
It's a little dry, but will give a good grounding in what was going on

http://www.amazon.com/Oxford-History...edieval+europe

Fiction

Edward Rutherfurd books are a good look at what was happening at a particular place. I've read and liked

Russka - Russia and Sarum - Southwest England
http://www.amazon.com/Russka-Novel-R...therfurd+books
http://www.amazon.com/Sarum-Edward-R...therfurd+books
He also has one out on Paris that I haven't taken the oppurtunity to read yet

Hawk Quest is basically a travelogue of 11th Century Europe - France, Britian, Iceland, Greenland, Scandinavia,the rivers of Russia and finally Constantinople - it needs a little editing, but I enjoyed it

http://www.amazon.com/Hawk-Quest-Rob...rds=hawk+quest

Finally a couple of series that I have enjoyed

Sharan Newman's Catherine Levendeur mysteries - they are set in12th Century France and feature a Jewish/Catholic family. There are some real life people has feature characters including St. Bernard of Clairvaux and the lovers Heloise and Abelard -that paid a heavy price for their love.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss...92584&ajr=sabc

and last but definately not least Bernard Cornwell's Saxon Shores series - set in the time of Alfred the Great and his children -the story of the saving of Saxon England from the Danes

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss...in+order&ajr=1

I hope this helps

[Topper]

Lets see what I can think of
Non Fiction
THE starting point for the 14th Century has got to be Barbara Tuchman's A Distant Mirror

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_no...t+mirror&ajr=1

Dan Jones' The Plantagenets is a good look at the Dynsety that ruled England during the Middle Ages - It covers the time from the sinking of the White Ship to Henry IV's over throw of Richard II

http://www.amazon.com/Plantagenets-W...e+plantagenets

A decent overview of the whole era is the Oxford History of Medieval Europe
It's a little dry, but will give a good grounding in what was going on

http://www.amazon.com/Oxford-History...edieval+europe

Fiction

Edward Rutherfurd books are a good look at what was happening at a particular place. I've read and liked

Russka - Russia and Sarum - Southwest England
http://www.amazon.com/Russka-Novel-R...therfurd+books
http://www.amazon.com/Sarum-Edward-R...therfurd+books
He also has one out on Paris that I haven't taken the oppurtunity to read yet

Hawk Quest is basically a travelogue of 11th Century Europe - France, Britian, Iceland, Greenland, Scandinavia,the rivers of Russia and finally Constantinople - it needs a little editing, but I enjoyed it

http://www.amazon.com/Hawk-Quest-Rob...rds=hawk+quest

Finally a couple of series that I have enjoyed

Sharan Newman's Catherine Levendeur mysteries - they are set in12th Century France and feature a Jewish/Catholic family. There are some real life people has feature characters including St. Bernard of Clairvaux and the lovers Heloise and Abelard -that paid a heavy price for their love.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss...92584&ajr=sabc

and last but definately not least Bernard Cornwell's Saxon Shores series - set in the time of Alfred the Great and his children -the story of the saving of Saxon England from the Danes

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss...in+order&ajr=1

I hope this helps

Great suggestions. Now I've got a great reading list. Thanks a million.

If anybody enjoys light, fast reading fun, you might try Brett Battles, Project Eden. They are short works and not complete but it involves a worldwide conspiracy to thin the population. http://www.brettbattles.com/project-eden-series.php

Sitting on an airplane, you don't always want heavy lifting. Battles also has an interesting series known as the Jonathan Quinn series. He is a "cleaner", in other words, he cleans up after a hit has happened. Not the usual angle in the spy or thriller genre.

The covers are silly but the books are easy reads.

[BigFatMeanie]

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/The-Fallen-Angel-A-Novel/dp/0062073125/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1355003311&sr=8-1&keywords=the+fallen+angel"]Amazon.com: The Fallen Angel: A Novel (9780062073129): Daniel Silva: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Rh-FL6TWL.@@AMEPARAM@@51Rh-FL6TWL[/ame]

Highly recommend this spy series featuring art restorer and Israeli agent Gabriel Allon. This was one of the best of the series.

I've read the first three in this series and I really like the way Daniel Silva writes. Also recommend.

[Solon]

Does anybody have any suggestions for books, fictional or otherwise about Medieval Europe's history. There are so many twists and turns with which I am unfamiliar.

Just following English history is a major undertaking, but trying to wrap in the Huns, the Holy Roman Empire, the Visigoths, and so many other major events is mind-boggling.

The Last Apocalypse by James Reston Jr. is one of my favorites.
He's also written on Galileo, the Third Crusade, the Turks vs. Charles V, and Ferdinand & Isabella's Spain.

http://www.restonbooks.com/works.htm

He's one of my favorite authors. Even his book on Jonestown is very interesting, if turgid.

I also highly recommend The Secret History by Procopius. It's filthy Byzantine stuff.

[Topper]

Thanks Solon. One day I hope to be one tenth as educated as you were. Sounds fascinating.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

[Indy Coug]

The Last Apocalypse by James Reston Jr. is one of my favorites.
He's also written on Galileo, the Third Crusade, the Turks vs. Charles V, and Ferdinand & Isabella's Spain.

http://www.restonbooks.com/works.htm

He's one of my favorite authors. Even his book on Jonestown is very interesting, if turgid.

I also highly recommend The Secret History by Procopius. It's filthy Byzantine stuff.

Cool. The Byzzles were the shyzzle.

[YOhio]

I just finished 'The Rise of Superman: Decoding the Science of Ultimate Human Performance.' It's a pop science book but is loaded with great insights on athletic performance. The whole book is centered around adventure sport athletes and their exponential growth in shattering records over the past couple of decades. It's a quick read and worth a few bucks for the ebook.

[happyone]

The Last Apocalypse by James Reston Jr. is one of my favorites.
He's also written on Galileo, the Third Crusade, the Turks vs. Charles V, and Ferdinand & Isabella's Spain.

http://www.restonbooks.com/works.htm

He's one of my favorite authors. Even his book on Jonestown is very interesting, if turgid.

I also highly recommend The Secret History by Procopius. It's filthy Byzantine stuff.

Procopius' Secret History - Payton Place in Constantinopole, The Emporess Theodora was quite the "Lady"

A really good general history of the Byzantines is John Norwich's trilogy

http://www.amazon.com/Byzantium-Cent...6272118&sr=1-4
http://www.amazon.com/Byzantium-Apog...6272118&sr=1-6
http://www.amazon.com/Byzantium-Decl...6272118&sr=1-9

if you don't have that kind of time or more importantly interest - he also published a one volume history

http://www.amazon.com/Short-History-...6272118&sr=1-2

[SteelBlue]

looks interesting, heard a review on NPR today, and since I enjoyed Swamplandia!, I will have to look for this one.

Finished The Goldfinch the other day. I liked it but it was 200 pages too long.

Sleep Donation was a pretty cool concept. Goldfinch could have cut quite a bit from the Vegas chapters, but I still liked the book a lot. Reading her book The Secret History now.