Paid Members Carbomb Posted January 22, 2017 Paid Members Posted January 22, 2017 For me, the big hero of the 19th Century was Giuseppe Garibaldi. A tireless revolutionary who travelled all over the world to fight against autocracy and oppression. You've got me interested in reading about Bismarck though, Gus.
Paid Members Gus Mears Posted January 22, 2017 Paid Members Posted January 22, 2017 He was a conservative and a monarchist Carbomb, so not revolutionary in temperament and ideology. But he understood international relations more than any other human in history. His downfall was the real start of the path to WW1. I read a wonderful biography on Simon Bolivar, liberator of much of South America, can't remember the author, but would be up your alley.
Paid Members Carbomb Posted January 22, 2017 Paid Members Posted January 22, 2017 As I understood it, he wasn't strictly a monarchist; he supported Italy having a monarchy because the republican factions were weak and badly organised. Most of his other campaigns, I'm pretty sure he advocated democratic government. I guess he was a conservative, but in the context of the C19th, he seemed revolutionary. Yeah, Bolivar is definitely worth reading about, although his image draws a bit of shade for me because of his treatment of the natives. But then I guess every figure has his/her contradictions; it's just a matter of whether or not those contradictions are too numerous or damaging to be negligible.
Paid Members Gus Mears Posted January 22, 2017 Paid Members Posted January 22, 2017 Sorry, was referring to Bismarck not Garibaldi regarding conservatism!
Paid Members Carbomb Posted January 22, 2017 Paid Members Posted January 22, 2017 Fair enough, makes sense. Still interested in reading about OVB though. Such figures are always fascinating. I really need to get back to reading more history and philosophy. Haven't done so in quite some time.
Paid Members Gus Mears Posted January 22, 2017 Paid Members Posted January 22, 2017 Drank insane amounts of beer, ate lots of meat and brought peace to Europe. My kind of historical figure.
Paid Members SpursRiot2012 Posted January 22, 2017 Paid Members Posted January 22, 2017 I've started reading all the Discworld novels in order. I've read a load of them before so I decided to skip Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic because I remember finding them a real slog. Have started with Mort and intend to read every novel from there in order.
Awards Moderator HarmonicGenerator Posted January 22, 2017 Awards Moderator Posted January 22, 2017 Would be good to hear your thoughts as you progress! I have my favourites and haven't read a lot of them for ages so it'll be interesting to hear what yours end up being.
Paid Members SpursRiot2012 Posted January 22, 2017 Paid Members Posted January 22, 2017 Sure thing. From the random ones I've picked up here and there over the years, I always enjoyed the Ankh-Morpokh city watch books but we shall see if those remain my favorites.
Paid Members Carbomb Posted January 22, 2017 Paid Members Posted January 22, 2017 The Colour Of Magic and The Light Fantastic aren't great, but to be fair, most establishing episodes/books/installations tend to be the weakest in most series of things. Still funny in places. My favourites are Lords & Ladies, Feet Of Clay, Small Gods, Pyramids, The Truth, Interesting Times, and Nightwatch.
Paid Members Onyx2 Posted January 22, 2017 Paid Members Posted January 22, 2017 I've started reading all the Discworld novels in order. I've read a load of them before so I decided to skip Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic because I remember finding them a real slog. Have started with Mort and intend to read every novel from there in order. You've missed Equal Rites too. But Mort is the best place to start.
Members SuperBacon Posted January 22, 2017 Members Posted January 22, 2017 Some of your reading habits are impressive, especially Gus's as its all heavy non fiction as well, which I really struggle with. At the moment I'm re-reading The Corrections by Franzen (I have a stack of unread books but fuck it, I'm going for a comfort blanket) and I've started the Percy Jackson series with my eldest. Really enjoyed the first film and the books seem decent enough. I need some inspiration...
Paid Members SpursRiot2012 Posted January 22, 2017 Paid Members Posted January 22, 2017 I've started reading all the Discworld novels in order. I've read a load of them before so I decided to skip Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic because I remember finding them a real slog. Have started with Mort and intend to read every novel from there in order.You've missed Equal Rites too. But Mort is the best place to start. I'd read Equal Rites before and while it was better than the two proceeding novels, I feel like Mort was the one where TP really started to find his groove.
Awards Moderator HarmonicGenerator Posted January 22, 2017 Awards Moderator Posted January 22, 2017 (edited) I've started reading all the Discworld novels in order. I've read a load of them before so I decided to skip Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic because I remember finding them a real slog. Have started with Mort and intend to read every novel from there in order.You've missed Equal Rites too. But Mort is the best place to start. I'd read Equal Rites before and while it was better than the two proceeding novels, I feel like Mort was the one where TP really started to find his groove. Yeah, I think that's fine. I didn't get on with Equal Rites very much at all. It kind of serves as an intro to Granny Weatherwax, but she hasn't fully evolved into the Granny of the rest of the series in this one. And (vague half-spoilers for a character 35-odd novels later) If you plan to read the Tiffany Aching books as well (and you should), Esk does show up again in a couple of those. So Equal Rites is worth considering for a bit of a reminder there. Edited January 22, 2017 by HarmonicGenerator
Recommended Posts