History, History, History.

Hello Again,

So the reading challenge is not going very well!! However ... I just thought I would do a little bit of an update. I am meant to be reading The Luminaries but I am struggling. My head is so full of Kingship in the Middle Ages, chivalry and masculinity, along with some good old Richard I. So instead I thought to keep myself going with some blog action that I would write a little bit about what I am reading other than my reading challenge. SOme of it is a little bit boring and nearly all of it is HISTORY but really this is to keep me going and to see if anyone else is even remotely interested in history!

Lionheart and Lackland: King Richard, King John and the Wars of Conquest - Frank McLynn.

So as you can tell this is very much a  history book that is related to my area of research for my dissertation (Richard I). However I wanted to write about this book as it is one that is accessible for anyone!! Many historians like to use big words etc.. that make them sound more intelligent and alienate their readers, but Frank McLynn is a history graduate who went into the world of journalism before he decided to write some history books!! I love his writing style as instead of writing like an academic book with subtitled sections to their books, McLynn actually writes in chapters like a normal novel. Which fortunately gives the illusion that you are reading a book and not an academic book!! SO I am progressing with this book really well. My only issue is that McLynn takes a very traditional approach with the good king Richard and bad king John. Even though I am TEAM RICHARD I I still love a historian who challenges this usual stereotype and goes for the opposite opinion. However McLynn does this very well and has a balanced argument unlike many of Richards historians.


The History of the Holy War - Ambroise

Apart from Ambroise referring to himself in third person ALL the time, this can be quite a readable book/poem. Written in the twelfth/thirteenth century Ambroise was a French poet who idolised Richard I and wrote his history. The poem is a little bit more stylised than most of the sources from the Third Crusade which is why it is more readable. Not quite as boring and the other longer accounts Ambroise bigs up Richard, exaggerates many aspects of the crusade  which makes the poem more like a story than real life. Personally I am enjoying this but I am a huge history geek that needs to get a life most of the time :)  But again with it being a poem it is very good and very accessible, even if it was written 800 years ago!!!


BBC History Magazine.

The BBC History Magazine is written by many different authors, journalists, historians etc.... Anyone who can specialise in anything!! I have been getting this magazine for quite a while and it is interesting, as everything that is going on in the world of history is in this magazine. Some obscure articles can sometimes grate and I do tend to miss out the ones that make me yawn just from the title!! But this months issue is very useful, very interesting and so moving! The First World War is one of those events that when I read anything about it or I watch anything about it, it really does make me cry (needless to say when a module was offered on the Great War this year at Uni, I avoided it as I don't think people would appreciate the amount of crying I would do over it!!). Yes I am pretty pathetic but just writing this is making me tear up! But the majority of the Feature parts of this issue are different aspects of the First World War along with many recommendations for books (That can be trusted). Therefore when I get around to finishing this issue off, there will be a lot of tears but a  lot of interest and a lot more reading!! If you have any interest in history or the First World War I would highly recommend the July issue of BBC History Magazine to you.



Sorry if I have bored you out of your brains but I thought I'd share a little bit of everything else that I do with you!!

I do promise that at some point I will actually get around to finishing some normal books so that it is something remotely interesting to read rather than my love for Richard I being professed!! So hopefully I soon will have finished the Luminaries, I have also bought many new books and I have been lent some more Terry Pratchett. SO look out for all these coming soon!!

Thanks for reading and persevering if your reading this part :)
See you soon,
Leanne :)