Reading Through the Ages discussion

Hello and welcome. Introduce yourself here.

Here is the Bingo Card for download:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1i...

Here is the Bingo Card for download:
https://app.luminpdf.com/viewer/EvwmK..."

For those who would prefer to work from a list, the categories on the Bingo Card are:

India during the British Raj
Roman Europe
Industrial Revolution
Napoleonic Wars
Early Middle Ages (c.400-1000)
Early Modern Scandinavia (c. 1500-1800)
Russia after the Revolution
Americas' Early Settlement
Australia pre-1900
Victorian Scotland, Ireland and Wales
Medieval China
Inter-war Europe
Africa before 1800
South America's Lost Empires (e.g. Aztec, Maya)
Russia before the Revolution
Ancient Egypt
Tudor Britain
Medieval Middle East
Japan pre-1900
Alternative History
Time Travel

There are also four 'wild cards' on the Bingo Card. You can chose any time periods for these squares.

Thank you both for organising this, it's really well thought out, and I'm looking forward to learning new things, and reading out of my comfort zone. X

Laura wrote: "Thank you both for organising this, it's really well thought out, and I'm looking forward to learning new things, and reading out of my comfort zone. X"

Thanks for joining us Laura :)

I'm still bursting with joy at this! It's going to be a great time. 💕

I'll take a slightly different approach and try to read translated poems from these time periods rather than full novels. Near the end of 2018, I got super curious about translated poetry & would like to begin exploring them more. Of course, plays, mythology & fairy tales can be up for discussion, too.

I'm super excited to see all the books everyone chooses for these prompts. I'll probably crack and reads heaps of novels, too. :P Bookish self control isn't my strong suit. 😅

Great job you two on organizing this! 🥳

A great idea!

My plan is to check the huge pile under my bed to see what fits before buying anything new!

What a great idea, thank you both for organising this! I'm really looking forward to learn more and find new books to discover ♥

I’ve always liked historical fiction and lately I’ve really been into it. I’m looking forward to seeing what everyone reads and adding some good books to my tbr!

One of my reading goals for 2019 is to read one historical fiction book a month. I just recently heard about this challenge group on Mel’s booktube channel and wanted to join in on the fun.

Biblio wrote: "I'm still bursting with joy at this! It's going to be a great time. 💕

I'll take a slightly different approach and try to read translated poems from these time periods rather than full novels."

Thanks so much for joining us. Poetry is a great idea! I'll be very interested to hear about what your reading and get some recommendations.

Karen wrote: "A great idea!

My plan is to check the huge pile under my bed to see what fits before buying anything new!"

This is my plan too. I've got so many historical fiction books that I've been meaning to get to for years, and some I'm hoping to re-read too.

Historical fiction is one of my great loves. Your time periods will send me to eras I am interested in exploring. Thanks for setting this up! Happy reading, everyone!

What a great idea! I’ve been in a reading slump the past 2 months, and this just might be the ticket out of it. Love the categories, and can’t wait to start putting my TBR together!

This is such a great idea! Historical fiction is my favorite genre. I spent a lot of 2018 reading historical fiction about women in history. I think I’m going to try to keep reading about more women in history with this challenge. Thank you for putting this together.

Kristin wrote: "Historical fiction is one of my great loves. Your time periods will send me to eras I am interested in exploring. Thanks for setting this up! Happy reading, everyone!"

Excellent, I feel like an adventurer, sofa time traveller

Sharon wrote: "What a great idea! I’ve been in a reading slump the past 2 months, and this just might be the ticket out of it. Love the categories, and can’t wait to start putting my TBR together!"

Yay, I hope it pulls you out of the deep depths of the reading slump.

Ruth Ann wrote: "This is such a great idea! Historical fiction is my favorite genre. I spent a lot of 2018 reading historical fiction about women in history. I think I’m going to try to keep reading about more wome..."

so fab, I love reading historical fiction from a woman's perspective too

Hi! I have a question about adding books to shelves: if a book is only partially set in a geographical area, is it still OK to add it there? For example, The Physician by Noah Gordon is set both in medieval Europe and Middle East. Is it OK to add it to the Medieval Middle East section?

Diana wrote: "Hi! I have a question about adding books to shelves: if a book is only partially set in a geographical area, is it still OK to add it there? For example, The Physician by Noah Gordon is set both in..."

I would say you can totally double dip with this book, I read it and it is pretty evenly spread between Europe and the Middle East.

Awesome idea thank you.

I have a general question as to what we are counting as historical fiction. Officially, a novel is only considered to be a work of historical fiction if the time period of the novel is at least 50 years prior to the date of publication. Are we holding to that standard?

I ask because I’ve seen books on Goodreads lists marked as historical fiction when the time period of the novel preceeds publication by only 10-20 years, if that.

The bingo card is a great way to keep track of those books I have read for this challenge. As I am looking at the specific recommendations for each individual category in this challenge, I decided to add another tracking device for books I am considering reading so I can gather them all in one spot. I created a shelf on my own bookshelf labeled Reading Through the Ages. This way any titles I come across that I might want to consider reading I won't lose sight of. Maybe others would like to do this.

Thank you Victoria and Mel for coming up with this idea and putting in all the hard work involved in creating the forum. When I joined I thought that I might read books for a handful of the prompts since I love historical fiction anyway. And then I realised just how many unread books I own that would fit one or other of the categories so I'll make all those my starting point and see how far they take me. I'm really looking forward to the journey.

Regina wrote: "I have a general question as to what we are counting as historical fiction. Officially, a novel is only considered to be a work of historical fiction if the time period of the novel is at least 50 ..."

Yes that is officially the case, but naturally you can read and interpret the challenges in any way you want. We added Mary Barton to the bookshelf, it's only about 10 years in past to Gaskell, but still a relevant book with regards to the Industrial Revolution.

Marina wrote: "Thank you Victoria and Mel for coming up with this idea and putting in all the hard work involved in creating the forum. When I joined I thought that I might read books for a handful of the prompts..."

Excellent, I think that's the brilliant think, when you discover that you actually got many books that fit the prompts.

This is a fantastic idea. I'm encouraged to dust off some H.F. I've been
collecting. : )

Currently reading Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver. Wild card?

Tammy wrote: "Currently reading Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver. Wild card?"

Tammy wrote: "This is a fantastic idea. I'm encouraged to dust off some H.F. I've been
collecting. : )"

Absolutely, Wild Card is whatever you want it to be.

I can’t believe that I own a book for all but 5 categories on the bingo card. Most of them my husband has read, but I guess it’s my turn.

I've been a silent observer for a while now. Time to speak up. I decided that 2019 should be my historical fiction year. 2017 was my modernist literature year and it took a lot of energy to go through those books and to move away from them. I like the suggested categories. I naturally own a number of unread novels that fit.

Hi,
My name rhymes with Heman (yes, I'm a child of the 80s), and I: 1. am lazy with book reviews and discussions.
2. should really work on my thesis.
3. must prepare next term's lesson plans.

So why not join in. I've missed reading for pleasure in 2018. I don't want another year like that.

Eeman wrote: "I've been a silent observer for a while now. Time to speak up. I decided that 2019 should be my historical fiction year. 2017 was my modernist literature year and it took a lot of energy to go thro..."

Welcome and we all should be doing things, but reading is good for the soul.

Hello all! And a happy new year!

Thank you, Mel and Victoria, for organizing this, such a wonderful idea and great prompts.

I am intending to do a mini version of this focusing solely on books I already own.
Was not quite sure where to post my reading list.
If this is not the right place, or you would prefer for me to split it up and post directly in the individual prompts let me know.

Time Travel

Kindred by Octavia E. Butler.
I've read her SciFi novel Survivor last year and thought it was really strong. Very eager to read this one.

Tudor England (1485-1603):
Wolf Hall is one of my all time favorites, few books have connected so deeply...thus I want to finally read its sequel Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel this year.

Wild Cards inspired by Australia pre-1900:

The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton

and/or Aboriginal Myths, Legends & Fables which probably does NOT count as historical fiction BUT it is sitting on my bookshelf and wants to be read and I am interested!

Wild Cards very loosely inspired by Roman Europe:

Books two (Pallas and the Centaur) and three (The Rebirth of Venus) of the Botticelli trilogy by Linda Proud.

I've read the first one A Tabernacle for the Sun some years ago and can still recall the atmosphere of the book, set in 15th-century Florence. It followed Tommaso, an apprentice scribe as he arrives and settles in Florence and gets pulled into various political machinations involving the Medici family. I believe the second book is told from two different perspectives, while the third book is once again told from the perspective of Tommaso as he looks back on his life.

Victorian Scotland, Ireland and Wales:

Penmarric by Susan Howatch,
I have never read this author before and know nothing about the book. Blurb says this is a family saga set in Wales, beginning in the Victorian era until the end of WW2.

And that is my plan for now. :-)

Happy reading!

Thanks, Mel and Victoria for organizing this challenge! I just printed out the bingo card and I'm oddly relieved that there are "wild card" spaces. Even though most of the suggested time periods sound interesting (and I'm up for the challenge), I, too, am trying to focus on reading what I currently have unread, and the wild card spaces are definitely helpful for that.

Happy New Year, everyone! And happy reading!

I can't get the bingo car to even come up. So I can't print it.

Twana wrote: "I can't get the bingo car to even come up. So I can't print it."

The link on Mel's comment worked for me, but not the one on Victoria's comment so maybe try that if you haven't already.

Thanks to you both for organising such an interesting challenge!

I already have several books on my tbr that fit some of these categories. I read mostly English 18th and 19th C fiction so I'm also looking forward to seeing what other people suggest for categories I know nothing about. Books set in Japan, Russia and the Middle East for example. A whole world to explore... without ever leaving my sofa. ;-)

Natalie wrote: "Hello all! And a happy new year!

Thank you, Mel and Victoria, for organizing this, such a wonderful idea and great prompts.

I am intending to do a mini version of this focusing solely on books I..."

Absolute excellent list :)

Twana wrote: "I can't get the bingo car to even come up. So I can't print it."

Have you tried both links? if not drop me a message with your email address and I email it to you :)

Sue wrote: "Thanks to you both for organising such an interesting challenge!

I already have several books on my tbr that fits some of these categories. I read mostly English 18th and 19th C fiction so I'm al..."

Exactly time travel in the comfort of your own home.

hi all and massive thanks to mel & victoria for organising this challenge! it's the only one i'm doing alongside the reading women challenge & i'm so excited by the diversity of the challenges for both, they're forcing me to stretch my brain & my reading comfort zone - i didn't realise until looking at my tbr how shamefully euro-centric a lot (if not all?) of my historical fiction is!

a very happy new year to you all, i'm looking forward to a heavily historical 2019!

Would Pachinko by Min Jin Lee fit the "Japan" category or nah? I don't want to read too much about it, so that I don't spoil it for myself - haha.

Hi all,

Cheers for organising this. Will go through my TBR shelves/LibraryThing over the next few days to see how many categories I can fill without buying more, and then post a provisional list. Although I am also very up for recommendations!

Nic

ps. Vicky will no doubt be pleased to hear that I've already allocated one book to a category - the obvious one for Tudor Britain ;)

Thanks Mel and Victoria for organising this event. I love historical fiction and cannot wait to get started!

Sharon wrote: "Thanks Mel and Victoria for organising this event. I love historical fiction and cannot wait to get started!"

Thanks for joining us :)

Hello Mel and Victoria, thank you for this event. My name is Isabelle and I am french, but I can read in english :-). I am currently reading My Antonia by Willa Cather, just starting it but already love it. The subject is early settlement of Europeens in the Midwest, so it could maybe be added to the America's early settlement list ?

Hi all, I'm excited to join in this Bingo game with you! I'm Karen and I'm a former high school librarian. Historical Fiction is a favorite genre of mine, and my 2019 goal is to read books I own already. I think this challenge will help me read what I love and what I've bought and never read!

Here's a link to my copy of the Bingo Card:
Reading Through the Ages Bingo

Isabelle wrote: "Hello Mel and Victoria, thank you for this event. My name is Isabelle and I am french, but I can read in english :-). I am currently reading My Antonia by Willa Cather, just starting it but already..."

Definitely suits the prompt and welcome

Karen Michele wrote: "Hi all, I'm excited to join in this Bingo game with you! I'm Karen and I'm a former high school librarian. Historical Fiction is a favorite genre of mine, and my 2019 goal is to read books I own al..."

Excellent, looking forward to hearing what is on your shelf.

Hello everyone, I'm Anette, 43, German literature blogger since 2011. I'm a history nerd, I love historical fiction as well as non-fiction. I'm particularly keen on British history (the earlier the better), but there aren't many historical topics I'm not interested in :-)
Will read almost any topic up to World War II and the 1950s.
I'm looking forward to joining you in reading loads of historical fiction this year!

nettebuecherkiste wrote: "Hello everyone, I'm Anette, 43, German literature blogger since 2011. I'm a history nerd, I love historical fiction as well as non-fiction. I'm particularly keen on British history (the earlier the..."

Hello Anette, great that you are joining us :)