Ancient & Medieval Historical Fiction discussion

Good news everyone.
As well as our group bookshelves, you now have our groups own personal Recommended Reading Listopia List to draw inspiration from.

. PLEASE NOTE: These books are added to the list only by the Moderators of this group.

To make the list they must be either a book nominated in our monthly Group Read Polls, or a book that is mentioned heavily within the group.
So please, if you think a book absolutely, positively MUST be on our recommended reading list, post about it here on this thread.

Please do not be offended if your suggestion does not make it onto the list.
The book must fit our Groups Description (eg no romance books, amoung other things) and then it must fit our selection criteria of being popular in the group 'for the right reasons'.

Here is the link to the Listopia List. Feel free to jump right in and vote for your favourite books! We look forward to seeing where the votes fall.
http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/24...

Already getting some early movement on the List voting. Dissolution has moved into top place!

Interesting. Will have to put on my thinking cap and make some suggestions.

Yes, please do. I'll give you an idea of what will meet the criteria.

The ones Dawn and I will consider, will be (obviously) no romance. Lol. But you would have guessed that! :D

So, no romance. They must be unisex. Appealing to men and women fairly equally. And popular in group. As in, gets mentioned a lot as being liked.
I have to go through the threads and have a look in case I have missed some good ones.
Being a favourite of ones own and/or a favourite of people we know won't get it on the list. There has to be positive activity on the book in the group. :-)

Yay! The Last Kingdom is number 1 now! Woot! :-)

Terri wrote: "Yes, please do. I'll give you an idea of what will meet the criteria.

The ones Dawn and I will consider, will be (obviously) no romance. Lol. But you would have guessed that! :D

So, no romance...."

The day I read romance is the day hell freezes over! LOL.

Two that come to mind immediately:

The Assyrian
The Blood Star

Margaret wrote: "Terri wrote: "Yes, please do. I'll give you an idea of what will meet the criteria.

The ones Dawn and I will consider, will be (obviously) no romance. Lol. But you would have guessed that! :D

S..."

Hahaha! :D

Oh I should mention..I did mention it in the actual Lists description, but I didn't mention it here in this thread.
Only suggest #1 in a series..not a #2 or 3 or whatever. Only first in a series will be added to the list.

See. Not complicated criteria at all. :-)

We'll probably evaluate people's suggestions a couple times a month and then make a list here of what gets chosen. Dawn and i haven't really discussed yet what that process will be.

We may just add new books to the list at the same time every month that we open the group read polls. Because we will be adding those 4 group read books to the list. So we may as well choose that same moment to add any other books to the list.

This is still up in the air though. :-)

Okay, I have done some thinking (yes, it hurt) and what Dawn and I will do, is when books are suggested, if they are a book that we notice being mentioned regularly in the group we will add it to the groups bookshelves.

Once a month or so, if any are real stand outs, they get added to the Listopia list also.

Keep this in mind though guys, we don't want the list to be too heavy on any sub genre, eg mystery, nautical, Roman. So this will also be one of the criteria. Books will also be selected based on keeping a good balance of sub genres and eras on the list. :)

Margaret,
I added The Assyrian to the group bookshelves.

Terri wrote: "Margaret,
I added The Assyrian to the group bookshelves."

Better go and vote on it then. :D

Terri wrote: "Margaret,
I added The Assyrian to the group bookshelves."

Thank you for drawing my attention to this book. There is so little material on the Assyrians -- a people who lost their homeland in and around 1914-17, a tragic and dirty little genocidal chapter in recent history, one that England and a few other nations would likely prefer be forgotten. I have met a number of Assyrians in my travels and, very interestingly, they still speak Aramaic. More interestingly, as far as I can tell, they don't complain about what happened to them, but they do remember and they are a patient people...one of the world's oldest surviving cultures.

Margaret wrote: "Terri wrote: "Margaret,
I added The Assyrian to the group bookshelves."

Better go and vote on it then. :D"

Ha. No mate! You can't vote on it. It has only been added to the Groups Bookshelves.

Terri wrote: "Margaret wrote: "Terri wrote: "Margaret,
I added The Assyrian to the group bookshelves."

Better go and vote on it then. :D"

Ha. No mate! You can't vote on it. It has only been added to the Group..."
Yeah. I noticed that after I posted. LOL. Blame it on a long work day.

Margaret wrote: " Blame it on a long work day..."

Lol. That'll do it. :-)

David,
I was trying to remember where that Assyrian book had previously been discussed in the group.
I think it was here, although I am sure it was discussed in another thread too. Can't find that one. Only have this one -
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/8...

Terri wrote: "David,
I was trying to remember where that Assyrian book had previously been discussed in the group.
I think it was here, although I am sure it was discussed in another thread too. Can't find that ..."

Thanks for the link, Terri. :) There are a couple interesting titles mentioned there.

The Last Kingdom is still the winning book on the list.
Which sounds about right to me. :)

The four November Group Read Poll nominee books have been added to the list.
Eagle in the Snow
The Scourge of God
Mexica
Outlaw

Our Listopia List:
http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/24...

Have added the four January Group Read Poll Nominees to the Listopia list.
if you have read any of them and loved them, feel free to vote on the A&M Historical Fiction group Recommended Reading List.
Fire in the East
Eaters of the Dead
Traitor's Blood
The King's Spy

The list:
http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/24...

Have added the four February Group Read Poll books to the Listopia List. If you like them feel free to vote on them.
Also, if you read and liked any of our Group Reads from last month (or previous months) feel free to jump in and cast your vote on those too.
http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/24...

How about Dante's Divine comedy? Set in 1300's and which also makes references to some of the key historical figures and with obvious pagan influence. Plus the book has some great quotes.

Hi Shara,
I'm afraid no Classics are being added to the list as there are Classics lists galore in Listopia. And the books that get added have to be popular in group ie get talked about often and draw a lot of interest or the books that go into our Group Read Polls.
But thanks for the suggestion. :-)

Got it. Makes sense.

Go Gates. Go Gates. Gates yah, Gates yah

Poor Gates of Fire. :( He will never be in first place me thinks. But maybe, just maybe, he'll get up to second position.

Have added the four March Group Read Poll books to the Listopia List. If you like them feel free to vote on them.
Also, if you read and liked any of our Group Reads from last month (or previous months) feel free to jump in and cast your vote on those too.
http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/24...

Have added the four April Group Read Poll books to the Listopia List. If you like them feel free to vote on them.
Also, if you read and liked any of our Group Reads from last month (or previous months) feel free to jump in and cast your vote on those too.
http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/24...

Will someone explain to me what this "voting" is about? Is the group coming up with a "most popular" or "suggested reading" list?

Hey Monica,
That's what this thread is all about. The groups Recommended reading list. It has been up and running since last year.

http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/24...

You can go and vote for books that are on the list.
Nobody but Dawn and I can 'add' books, but everyone can vote for ones they like. The more votes a book gets the higher its position on the list.
the higher its position, the more likely people are to read the book when they see the list.

It is like a popularity contest for books. :)

Okay, thanks!

Go and vote! :D

I personally love that list of ours:) It gives me something shiny to aspire to. When I read most of them, I'll vote again, for now I voted according to how they look/feel.
Also not allowing other people to add books it a stroke of genius, keeps it non contaminated.

Kris43 wrote: "I personally love that list of ours:) It gives me something shiny to aspire to. When I read most of them, I'll vote again, for now I voted according to how they look/feel.
Also not allowing other p..."

Glad you like it. :)
I like that when I am talking to others around GR who are not part of our group here, I can direct them to it if they are looking for ideas. They may not be into the genre, but if they want to try it, I direct them to our list.

Also, since the 4 books form the Group Read Polls go onto the list, our members can always keep a track in one place, of what books have been and gone that lost in the polls.

But the biggest thing I like about the list is the 'only book #1' in a series are added. Even if #1 is not the best book in the series, I hate lists that have every book from a series mentioned.
I don't like coming into a series anywhere but book 1, so I hate it when I look at other lists for ideas on a theme and half the list isn't 'unique'. It may have 50 books on the list, but 30 of them are in a bunch of series', so you only get 20 that are unique. One offs or book 1.
I personally don't think a List should have whole series' on them unless it is a series list. Because all you need do is click on that Book #1, go to the books page and then click on the series link that Goodreads gives us next to the Book Title.
Hope that all made sense and wasn't too rambling!

The list is a bucket list for me. I plan on reading every book on it over time. Even the ones that don't interest me. :D

Have added the four May Group Read Poll books to the Listopia List. If you like them feel free to vote on them.
Also, if you read and liked any of our Group Reads from last month (or previous months) feel free to jump in and cast your vote on those too.
http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/24...

Four books added to the Recommended Reading List. These are the four nominees in the June 2013 Group read polls.

Three books (one was already on it) added to the Recommended Reading List. These are the four nominees in the July 2013 Group Read Polls.
Listopia Recommended Reading List
http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/24...

Only had to add one of our four poll books to the Listopia List this month, as three were already on it.



I have also added a couple extra books to the list. They are two very popular ones in the genre.


If you like any of these, please feel free to vote for them on the list.
http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/24...

You are welcome Jocelyn. I hope when/if you get to the ones you have added to your tbr, that you enjoy them.

Whoops, forget to mention the four books form the polls that went onto the Listopia List this month.

These four went on the Listopia List earlier this month...



http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/24...

I have a couple of older candidates that some people may be familiar with.

The Physician by Noah Gordon. Set in the 1100's.

Prince of Foxes by Samuel Shellabarger. Set in the European Renaissance era if I remember correctly.

Possibly they don't meet your criteria, but I'll throw them out there.

HI Elaine,
Thanks for the suggestions.
The books going on the list either have to be very popular in the group (ie discussed a lot by a various range of people over a long period of time) or make it into the group reads polls (that way people will always have a record if they ever want to go back looking for the books of past polls that interested them at the time).

The Physician I have had in my head as a possible future inclusion in a group read, so that one may end up on the list one day.
Sorry, Prince of Foxes won't make it on the list as it doesn't fit the selection criteria.

Thanks for taking the time to suggest some though.

Elaine wrote: "I have a couple of older candidates that some people may be familiar with.

The Physician by Noah Gordon. Set in the 1100's.

Prince of Foxes by Samuel Shellabarger. Set in the European Renaissance..."

I am not sure I would recommend adding The Physician to the list. I am in the middle of this book and while the author knows how to tell a story, his grasp of history is tenuous at best. If the book was marketed as a fantasy, ok. But it is marketed as a historical fiction novel and there are too many historical errors in it to list. Anglo-Saxons in pre-1066 England named Robert, William, Stewart; plus with middle names and last names. Velvet mentioned, a fabric not developed until centuries later. The priests at the Hagia Sophia saying the services in Latin. And these are only off the top of my head; there were many more.

The author knows how to tell a story, which is why I have continued reading it. But this book has about as much historical value as cotton candy has vitamins.

Which one, Eileen? The Physician?

Terri wrote: "Which one, Eileen? The Physician?"

Yes, .

Ah, I see you edited to add some details about which book you meant and why. :) Thanks

I just made a suggestion but deleted because it's thought (rightly so) to have fantasy elements. Manda Scott's Boudica. To explain a deletion.

I would have liked to add it, but that's why I decided not too also. Because a lot of the dreams and visions are borderline unexplainable.

I forgot for a moment that that's why I haven't urged its case before.