School has started so once again I am reading things I don’t want to read. And the things I usually want to read are insanely boring to other people (usually history). But for now I’m looking for a novel, could be historical fiction or could be completely made up, to relax to.
About my tastes: I don’t know. I mean, my favorite author is George Orwell and have read most of his stuff. I liked the book Galapagos, hated The Dome, I used to read a lot of Turtledove’s work, but I’ve grown tired of his writing style and laziness. I’ve also read a lot of S.M. Stirling’s stuff.
Oh, I hate fantasy. I don’t mind sci-fi but I can’t stand wizards and unicorns etc.
But yeah, besides fantasy I’m most open to anything.
There’s a series of books by Patrick O’Brian set in the early 19th century that’s just great. It starts with Master and Commander and mostly it chronicles the adventures of captain Jack Aubrey and his friend, the doctor/naturalist/spy Stephen Maturin. These are probably the best historical fiction I’ve ever read: the writing is rich and precise, the characters are complex and extremely well-developed, there’s great humour and the author really nails the ambiance. Each time I finish reading one of the novels I feel I know exactly what’s like to be a sailor of Nelson’s navy. The best thing is that, although I am by no means an expert on the history of those times, there’s never once been a moment in all of the books in which I felt that the people were acting or talking anachronistically.
Hm… Pompeii by Robert Harris. The plot is a kind of standard mystery but its set in and around the eruption of Vesuvius. I really enjoyed it, especially the very detailed descriptions of the water system (the main character is the Aquarius; the regional aqueduct engineer).
Right now I’m reading and enjoying The Plot Against America by Philip Roth, which is kind of like history, but is made up. I think it’s the first alternate history I’ve ever read. Anyway, Charles Lindbergh, running on an isolationist platform, defeated FDR in 1940 and kept the US out of WWII. Lindbergh makes a lot of Jewish Americans nervous, including the father of a kid named Philip Roth. It kind of goes on from there.
If you like historical fiction but don’t want to get into something really heavy, like Colleen McCullough’s Masters of Rome series (a bit much to “relax to”), than try some writers in the “Detectives in Togas” subgenre. The most popular right now seems to be Lindsey Davis’ Marcus Didius Falco novels, but my personal favorite is John Maddox Roberts’ SPQR series.
For non-fiction, I remain a fain of PJ O’Rourke’s earlier works, like Holidays in Hell, Parliament of Whores and All the Trouble in the World. He kind of lost his way with Eat the Rich and everything afterwards, but the early stuff is unmatched in its greatness.
If you’ve read Ender’s Game, read Ender’s Shadow, and then the rest of the Bean Series- way less sci-fi after the first book, and more political thriller.
I loved the novel Mailman by J Robert Lennon, I stayed up till 6am to finish it.
For classical novels, try Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. It’s a great book, I stayed up till the wee hours reading it, and it has one of the best, if not the best, literary villain of all time - Mrs Danvers
I recommend In the Courts of the Sun by Brian D’Amato, about a loner math prodigy who is recruited to travel back in time to decipher an ancient Maya codex that could help save the world. Some of the characterizations are simple, but for the most part there’s a lot of interesting historical and mathematical stuff that isn’t dumbed down for the LCD. Plus basically non stop action and killer set pieces.
What areas of history are you most interested in? (I don’t want to recommend Norwich’s books on Byzantium if you’re into the U.S. Civil War or Manhunt if you’re into ancient Greece.)
I’m about to listen to this narrated by Ron Silver so I will suggest another book by Roth, the largely unknown, The Great American Novel, a fictitious account of the third baseball league, the Patriot League dissolved for being commies. Set during World War II it is a far from perfect book but it turned me into a baseball fan when I was about 20. Oh, and it is very funny.
I’m busy reading Georgette Heyer’s Regency Romances. Silly, light, but well written.
The best book I’ve read in the past few months was Sarah Vowell’s Assisination Vacation. About her obsession with Presidential Assisinations. Well, and about the events themselves. Laugh out loud funny, easy to read, and yet, I felt like I was being “enriched.”
