45. The Empire Stops here: A Journey along the Frontiers of the Roman World by Philip ParkerI meant to read this when it came out, forgot about it, and then stumbled across it in the library recently ( Read more... )

23. The Restoration of Rome: Barbarian popes and imperial pretenders by Peter Heather.
Got this from the library because I wasn't sure about it. I needn't have worried - it's very good indeed and the fact that it's taken me nearly two months to read says more about my state of mind recently than about the book ( Read more... )