Welcome to Litsy!

On why America isn‘t Rome and why it matters. Mary Beard. https://youtu.be/EpFFyQ7rv8Q?si=oSDzAQIzL8j3pLIP

23 likes

Abailliekaras

pick

A brilliant history of Ancient Rome. Mary Beard has a mastery of her subject and an engaging writing style that makes this a pleasure to read. I came to this knowing very little so it‘s a lot to absorb and probably more comprehensive that I need (as a casual lay reader). But it‘s accessible as an introduction & would be super rewarding for those who have a particular interest. New material is still coming to light. Essential if you like history.

33 likes

iread2much

pan

I wanted to like this book, but it didn‘t provide much history. I think it was more of a commentary on Roman history, with an expectation that the reader was familiar with Roman historical events but not with modern History theory and approaches. I haven‘t studied History academically in years, but I remember the basics, so I was disappointed that so much of the book was about Historical theory and not Roman history.
2/5 I didn‘t learn much

Soubhiville Great review, thank you. I‘ve often wondered about this one. 2y

Soubhiville And I love your Lego sets! 2y

iread2much @Soubhiville thank you! 2y

iread2much @Soubhiville 😊you are welcome. I was very sad that it wasn‘t really a history of events, but if you know a lot about the history of Rome, it might be something that you enjoy. 2y

20 likes4 comments

AllDebooks

#BookSpinBingo

August roundup
Another good month, with 2 lines, #bookspin and #doublespin in the bag, 5 arcs for #NetgalleyGroup

This is such an enjoyable way of flying through these tbr lists. Thank you so much for hosting Sarah 😊 @TheAromaofBooks

TheAromaofBooks Yay!!! Fantastic month!!! 2y

38 likes1 comment

RowReads1

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/07/03/the-divine-comedy-of-roman-emperor...

34 likes

catiewithac

pick

I liked this history of Rome which I listened to on audiobook. It was nice to hear Latin read aloud (it‘s been since college!). If you‘re a fan of Cicero, Caesar, Pliny, Ovid this book is for you.

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mcausten_sister

Every few months I'm reminded that I have a Litsy and think to post on the site. Since May I've been slowly reading SPQR by Mary Beard to learn more about ancient Rome.

#ancienthistory #romanhistory

DrexEdit This was a good one I thought. Found out much that I thought I knew was wrong! 4y

14 likes1 comment

Verity

Some recent purchases… and some others. I‘ve given up on doing SPQR just via the audiobook - and it came around on a daily deal this week so maybe that will help…

22 likes

MayJasper

#QuotsyJul21 Day 20 #Round
@TK-421

36 likes

BekaReid

Took a walk downtown this evening and came home with a couple of new books. I really enjoy Mary Beard's writing but haven't read SPQR yet for some reason. Well, that changes now.

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i.z.booknook

pick

I really enjoyed this! I don‘t know why I‘d never before considered why or how or when Rome began. Beard is very thorough and covers all aspects like myths, politics, relationships and analyses why sources are or aren‘t reliable and what archeological discoveries can tell us. Obviously some answers we‘ll never know but she paints an intriguing and detailed picture!

Crazeedi I've have this on my shelf for a few years, I really need to read 4y

40 likes1 comment

andrew61

#20in4
Not a great start as I was off work today after picking dtr up from uni yday and ended up only reading for 90 mins. 30 this am finishing a bk and an hour this afternoon as I am trying to add a bit of non fiction to my diet and dreaming of one day visiting Rome.
The reason for the reduced mins was watching an episode of 'small axe' which is so good .
Anyway I have found a crime novel to speed up my reading stats, culture over for now.

DrexEdit This is a terrific book, but there's a lot of detail! Not a quick read, that's for sure! 4y

Palimpsest This has been on my to read list for a long time. 4y

33 likes2 comments

RamsFan1963

pick

I tried reading this when it first came out years ago, but bailed because it became overwhelming trying to remember all the Roman names. It works much better as an audiobook, so there is no stumbling over hard to pronounce names, and the narrative flows better. 4 💫💫💫💫
1st book finished for #20in4 readathon @Andrew65

Andrew65 Well done 👏👏👏 5y

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i.z.booknook

When you trip and spill your tea ☕️🤦🏼‍♀️

*instant heart-break*

maich 😥😥 5y

TrishB Oh no 😞 5y

Lmstraubie 😔 5y

40 likes3 comments

jmtrivera

S.P.Q.R: A History of Ancient Rome | Mary Beard

so-so

Beard details a history of ancient Rome, exploring how it grew & challenging common misconceptions. While I found many ideas interesting, a deeper background in the subject might have helped. The writing was often circumlocutory & made a dense history harder to follow. I did learn a lot, but because of the writing, I know I didn't fully comprehend or retain many things. Perhaps if you have more knowledge going in, you might do better than I did.

SamAnne This was a so-so for me as well. The writing could have been cleaner. And while I appreciate Beard trying to paint a picture of regular Romans, women, etc the fact remains that the primary sources are skimpy. It can‘t help but be speculative. (edited) 5y

jmtrivera @SamAnne I agree with all of this! 5y

25 likes2 comments

CallMeIshmael

Another Xmas present

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MamaGina

Started not One but TWO books yesterday. As long as books are different genres or, like here, Fiction and NF, my brain seems to be able to keep the details straight 🤓 I‘m also using the Serial Reader app to read A Room With a View when I‘m using my stationary bike. Pleased to be back in the reading swing of things again! 👍🏼

22 likes

K.Wielechowski

bailed

It's very interesting but so dense. I fully plan to go back to finish it but I need to move on.

5 likes

VeganCleopatra

#ReadingEurope2020

Since I came to the challenge late, can I just fill in the spots on the Google form for books I read previously this year or would you like me to list them here on Litsy as well?

Librarybelle, BarbaraBB

Librarybelle You can certainly just fill them in on the Google form...it‘s completely up to you! 5y

VeganCleopatra @Librarybelle Okay, thank you! 5y

18 likes2 comments

Mrshawaii

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brilliantglow

pick

Just finished this. Started it this morning and just powered through it all day lol quite enjoyable even though I did not enjoy the narrator.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

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AngelaBurr88

Just started this!

13 likes

Rieltalk

so-so

Managed to make it through the book as I am personally quite interested in Roman history, but it certainly wasn‘t easy. While extremely informative and fairly well-organized, it tended to drone on monotonously, and struggled to keep my attention. Granted, I might be expecting too much of a history book, but it might‘ve benefited from a different sort of voice than the one the author provided.

5 likes

Happy1848

pick

Reading about (sunny) Ancient Rome whilst it's raining ☔ outside

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catiewithac

@stephothebesto I am soooo ready for my staycation to Italy 🇮🇹 Both books are ones I want to read, and I loved the themed goodies! The pasta, chocolate biscottis and dark Italian roast coffee all look amazing. And the metallic puzzle is so cool!!! Thank you for the thoughtful box!!! 😎🧩☕️ Thank you!!!
@Chrissyreadit #SITS #staycationintimeswap

Chrissyreadit Yay!! This looks like a lovely Staycation! 6y

57 likes1 comment

so-so

Entertaining, but a bit of a one trick pony that struggled to support itself over 500 pages. I learned less from it than I had hoped to, but laughed more often. Meh. 🤷🏻‍♀️ #HSreadathon

65 likes

This is the thesis statement of this book, I'm not kidding 😂 Guys, this is SO FUN TO READ. Mary Beard loves Roman history and clearly is NOT impressed with self-promoting historians from ANY period and I am incessantly giggling at her snark. #HSreadathon

Connster Mary Beard is awesome! 😁 (edited) 6y

Graywacke That line makes this book appeal 6y

63 likes2 comments

Just signed up for the #HSreadathon! https://bit.ly/2SZAlsq Looking forward to spending my quiet August trying to blast through my TBR pile...but guys, do you have any idea how many #chunksters are on said pile? Or how much my pile blew up after the local bookstore decided to move and made all their books $2 to lighten the load? These are just the TBRs I have WITHIN ARMS REACH! 😆 😆 😆

66 likes

Things that are really embarrassing -- I somehow slept through the ENTIRETY of my education on Ancient Rome as a young adult. 😬 Since I know nothing about it beyond “et tu, Brute“ and I'm hankering for a nonfiction read, I picked this book up from the library today. Mary Beard is “happily of my generation“ in her interest in the life of the common citizen and gender studies, so I'm SUPER stoked to see what she says.

rretzler I didn‘t sleep through mine - I just didn‘t get much of an education in Ancient Rome beyond the basics 6y

TheBookStacker There‘s a great podcast called History of Rome that I quite enjoyed 6y

bromeliad @rretzler Yeah, I suppose when schools really only have 9 months to try to teach everything, there probably isn't much time to really delve into Ancient Rome! 6y

bromeliad @TheBookStacker Oh cool! I'll have to look into it! 6y

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Reading in the sun...my favorite thing!

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Settling in for a wild Saturday night. Excited to try this hard cider rosé! ?

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Spent the afternoon/evening in the hammock.

Happy solstice everyone!

ferskner That looks so lovely! 6y

Libby1 ❤️Mary Beard❤️ 6y

44 likes2 comments

Women & Power: A Manifesto

The sun is my motivation to make progress on this book!

LyndseyReads Need to read this. I loved Women & Power.

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I haven‘t cracked this book in weeks but hoping to make some progress this evening while taking advantage of the nice weather!

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#Riotgrams #Day4 #StacksonStacks

Just one stack tonight before going to bed. These are my current nightstand books. The bottom two I am currently reading, the top one I just found today in a Little Free Library.

Got a bit behind on this challenge due to 3 days being internet-less, but getting back on track now!

35 likes

Learning new stuff!

17 likes

#bookanddinner :)

lover.of.the.classics I have actually wanted to read this for awhile! Is it good so far? 6y

Kimberlone It‘s a little slow going in the beginning but starting to get to the more exciting stuff now! 6y

teainthelibrary Jealous of the book AND the food!! 6y

39 likes2 stack adds3 comments

Kind of a gloomy day today so decided to spend a little bit of time with this book at my local coffee shop as an excuse to get out of the house.

35 likes1 stack add

Roman Blood: A Novel of Ancient Rome

I recently watched the Netflix show Roman Empire, which alternates between historian talking heads and pretty high production value dramatizations, and have been craving to read more about Ancient Rome. This has been hitting the spot so far.

Does anyone have recommendations for historical fiction set in Ancient Rome?

bookandcat Colleen McCullough did an excellent series following Caesar in ancient Rome!

The First Man in Rome

bookandcat Stephen Saylor has a mystery series set in ancient Rome (Roma Sub Rosa)

bookandcat Kate Quinn has a good series as well:

Mistress of Rome

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bookandcat This is a classic too

I, Claudius (Turtleback School & Library)

Kimberlone @bookandcat thank you for all the recommendations!!! 6y

bookandcat Another classic:

Quo Vadis: A Tale of the Time of Nero

bookandcat Also if you want a very, very long read (nonfiction), I listen on and off to

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

HeathHof I enjoyed this one!

I Am Livia

41 likes8 comments

As_An_Adamant

One reviewer notes: “Ms. Beard seems more eager to tell us what historians DON‘T know than what they do.” This is an occasionally frustrating tendency of hers but ultimately I appreciate her cautious approach.

13 likes

As_An_Adamant

pick

This is an accessible and engaging history of Ancient Rome. It is funny, informative and almost never boring. This book nicely covers the major institutions of the Roman Republic-turned-Roman Empire, and the lives of the individuals who comprised them. An apocryphal quote attributed by Tacitus to an enemy of Rome nicely sums up the imperial project: “They create a desert and call it peace.” We may yet have something to learn from history.

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GlassAsDiamonds

Mary Beard in conversation with Dan Jones!!! I love her: she‘s just said that when journalists call and ask her which Roman Emperor Donald Trump is like, she, annoyed at the idiocy of equating historical empires, will name an Emperor no one‘s ever heard of ... (Elagabalus? spelling could be off) 😂😂😂 She‘s got Dan Jones almost crying with laughter.

TrishB I love both of them! Beard is great though 💜 7y

BiblioLitten 😄😄 7y

Karisa Oh! Elagabus was one of the worst! My middle schoolers love to try and find the most horrible emperors. He's always a contender (right up there with Nero and Caligula). What an excellent experience! Thank you for sharing it with us! 7y

GlassAsDiamonds @Karisa yeah wow!!! I didnt know anything about him before this session but woah, the things you learn. Beard was very engaging but also very accessible: she commented that she used to have what she called a “Doormouse Rule”; the sooner a TV programme said “Romans ate doormice”, the less accurate it would be until she came across a doormouse “holder” in a museum so she needed to revise & acknowledge her error (so impressive). Such fun to share 😊 7y

GlassAsDiamonds @TrishB I knew very little about either before the festival but they have been amazing! Jones looks like a biker (full sleeve and most of a sleeve tattoos on each arm) and must *freeze* through the holes in his jeans but his scholarship is on point and he‘s lovely. Beard held her own against both Jones and Germaine Greer so... woah!!! 😊😊😊 7y

33 likes5 comments

HardcoverHearts

Naples '44: A World War II Diary of Occupied Italy

Help, Littens! I am looking for recommendations for book set in Rome, Florence, Naples or the Amalfi coast To prepare for my summer vacation that I just booked. I have read the Ferrante series and found it brilliant. I am thinking of reading SPQR to bone up in my history of Rome. Any other great books you would recommend? Any genre would work. Grazie!

sunnyaltman I read Inferno by Dan Brown on a plane to Florence, and it was an amazing introduction to the city. The plots can be silly, but Brown does his research on history, art, and architecture. You can follow the characters paths through museums and find the art referenced in the book. The same is true of Angels and Demons for Rome/Vatican City! 7y

HardcoverHearts @sunnyaltman I forgot all about those! Of course! Thank you. I know my husband will be happy because those books got him back to reading again. 7y

Sarah83 What about a book about the Medici family? In Germany there are quite a few books which deal with their history and their influence in Florence? 7y

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HardcoverHearts @Sarah83 That‘s also a great idea! Thank you. 7y

RidgewayGirl The Sixteen Pleasures by Robert Hellenga is about a flood that caused damage to a library in Florence. It‘s full of beautiful descriptions of that city.

The Sixteen Pleasures

HardcoverHearts @RidgewayGirl That sounds perfect! Thank you! 7y

andrew61 If you like non fiction there is a very good memoirby norman lewis Naples 44 about his time there during the war, slim but fascinating insight into the people and area

HardcoverHearts @andrew61 Sounds great- thank you! 7y

30 likes8 comments

Gezemice

so-so

Rome is still important: our calendar, political system, the concept of citizenship rights, and the underpinnings of our culture came from Rome. Mary Beard‘s book is both fascinating and frustrating: she likes to write about themes, sources and the difficulty of the historian‘s work, but it is hard to know WHAT actually HAPPENED. There is great analysis and insights, but a frustrating lack of narrative. ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

GingerAntics Don‘t forget that we got sexism from them. Thanks for that, Rome. 7y

Gezemice @GingerAntics Sexism is much older than Rome... Mary Beard includes a section on Roman women, and it is one of the best parts of the book. Roman women had actually quite a bit of independence. Greece was way worse. 7y

GingerAntics @Gezemice women didn‘t even have citizenship in Rome. They were considered property. They were legally just above slaves, but depending on the man they could be equal to slaves. Greece was bad, too. It was just that Rome expanded and brought their sexism with them. They obliterated most of the matriarchal societies of Europe, thus solidifying patriarchy and sexism as the main form of civilisation on the continent. 7y

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Gezemice @GingerAntics Yes, women did not have any political rights, but in practice they enjoyed more freedoms than women of Greece, such as going anywhere they wanted, property ownership, abilty to divorce, sexual freedom. Beard does not talk about the spreading of sexism, however. I do not know anything about the matriarchal societies of Europe - sounds like something to remedy! Do you have a good book you can recommend on the subject? (edited) 7y

GingerAntics @Gezemice I‘ve learned about them from a bunch of different places for years. Let me think of there is a specific book I‘ve heard mentioned a lot. I‘m a historian of the British isles and pretty much all of that area was matriarchal until Rome came along. I know the Norse were fairly equal before Christianity came in. There are plenty of shield maidens through history. I don‘t think they were matriarchal, but they were certainly close. 7y

GingerAntics @Gezemice I know that the Jewish/Hebrew word for the spirit of god (which became the Holy Spirit of Christianity) was feminine until Rome took over Christianity. It‘s still Feminine in Hebrew/Judaism. Men and women were equal in Christianity until Rome took over. I‘ve got info from various documentaries, lectures and legends. I know there are Roman sources, but they also claim they sacrificed humans as they usually did of other societies. 7y

Crazeedi This is a book I have on my shelf TBR . Interesting to hear your take 7y

Gezemice @Crazeedi It is an interesting book, and most of the issues are in the first half. The second half - from Augustus on - works well with Beard‘s approach and is a good read. But I have struggled with the first half. I also was listening, so this might have something to do with it - many of the audiobook reviewers shared my view. 7y

Gezemice @GingerAntics Wow, a historian! That is awesome! I love British history, admittedly that means mostly the Tudors and know almost nothing of Britain before the Romans arrived. I would not mind a book on that subject, either! 7y

Crazeedi @Gezemice I think I opened the book and read the first couple pages and thought ohhhh, maybe I'm not ready for this. Glad to hear your explanation, because I read good reviews on it 7y

GingerAntics @Gezemice the problem is that the Romans brought writing. It seems that writing down knowledge was seen as disrespectful, you should memorise the oral tradition basically. That means all sources have one of two issues, either a Roman propaganda bent or a Christianisation. We do know that lineage was handed down through the mother‘s line, sex wasn‘t stigmatised, and the center of a community was the oldest woman. (edited) 7y

GingerAntics @Gezemice men could be teachers, warriors, spiritual leaders. Women could be teacher, warriors, spiritual leaders. Gender didn‘t really matter as far as your role in life. Different groups did marriage/sexual relationships a little differently, but mostly your mother‘s line was more important (or possibly just easier to track) than your father‘s line. 7y

GingerAntics @Gezemice I have a few books up on deck to be read soon, so I‘ll keep you posted. Often it ends up being something that‘s mentioned within a book about a much wider or different topic. The book I read recently about Grace O‘Malley/Granuile mentioned it in several places, but it wasn‘t about that. 7y

Gezemice @GingerAntics That sounds all fascinating, thanks for the recap! Mary Beard also laments on the fact that sources are biased - they are from the winner‘s view. I can also see that we would not know much of oral traditions. But having Roman writers‘ biased view is better than not having anything. I have recently read a book on medieval British queens. An earlier view would be lovely. Thanks for looking out for a source! 7y

Gezemice @Crazeedi Yeah, you gotta be ready. I hope you find the right mood! 7y

GingerAntics @Gezemice She-Wolves? 7y

Gezemice @Crazeedi Here is my full review if you are interested: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2652916192?type=review (edited) 7y

Crazeedi @Gezemice thank you I will read! 7y

Gezemice @GingerAntics Lol, I just realized I had She-Wolves on my Kindle and started reading it! But no, I am a fan of Alison Weir, so it was

Queens of the Conquest

GingerAntics Going to have to add that to my reading list. I‘ve got She-Wolves on my list already. 7y

Gezemice @GingerAntics I have committed to way too many buddy reads in January, but will be reading She-Wolves soon. I am trying to get through Memoirs of Hadrian, but it is denser than I expected and I am having motivation issues... 7y

GingerAntics @Gezemice it‘s going to be a bit before I can read it. It‘s going to be a matter of when I can buy it, because none of the libraries I have access to actually have it. 7y

76 likes22 comments

Slynn71

Im on a serious Roman kick right now. Ive been watching Mary Beard‘s Roman documentaries. I love her style. #SPQR

Severnmeadows I‘m a Mary Beard fan. I like that on Desert Island Discs the book she chose was the Odyssey rather than a Latin text. (She didn‘t say whether she meant the original Greek text 😊) 6y

10 likes1 comment

JLaurenceCohen

I love Roman history and Beard is a terrific writer.

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JenniferP

Excited to read this!

20 likes

Flaneurette

S.P.Q.R: A History of Ancient Rome | Mary Beard

Recent selfie of my hubs and me from my anniversary/ birthday trip to Italy. Sorry about bad quality but it was dark out and maybe you will be distracted by the amazing colosseum in the background. #friyayintro

howjessicareads

BarbaraBB Great picture 💕 7y

merelybookish Awesome! 7y

saresmoore Selfies with architectural distractions—great idea! 7y

batsy Lovely photo! 7y

gradcat Wow! 7y

53 likes2 stack adds5 comments

Nitpickyabouttrains

S.P.Q.R: A History of Ancient Rome | Mary Beard

pick

A long book full of interesting Rome facts and corrections to common misconceptions. Good for history fans but enter with caution because it does just keep going.

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ssravp