Reading Wednesday
What I finished:
Peter the Great: His Life and World by Robert K. Massie. Whew! That was a long read. And fascinating, even if the Great Northern War felt almost as long to read about as to fight. I'm not a fan of the "Great Man" theory of history, but Peter's Russia was the one time and place where it probably came closest to being true (and even then, lots of other influential people were involved). Peter reformed pretty much every aspect of Russian society, from the government/church/military institutions, to industry and commerce, to education, to class hierarchy, to the way people dressed and wore their hair. Considering that Russian society really didn't want to be reformed and had to be dragged along kicking and screaming, sometimes brutally, it's kind of amazing how many of his changes actually stuck, even centuries after his death. Overall, this book made me really, really glad I wasn't living back then, but it also made me even more interested than before in actually visiting St. Petersburg one day.
What I'm reading now:
The Dark Archive by Genevieve Cogman New Invisible Library book, whee! More Irene and Kai and Vale! Banter and competence and adventure and books! I'm only a few chapters in and having a great time already.
What I'm reading next:
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, and The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan, both for book club next month. I've read the Austen many times before, but a refresher is always good. I haven't read The Bookshop on the Corner, but I've read several other Colgan books and found them very pleasant comfort reads, though the last one I read -- The Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris -- wasn't my favorite. This entry was originally posted at https://marinarusalka.dreamwidth.org/658626.html. You may comment there using OpenID.
Peter the Great: His Life and World by Robert K. Massie. Whew! That was a long read. And fascinating, even if the Great Northern War felt almost as long to read about as to fight. I'm not a fan of the "Great Man" theory of history, but Peter's Russia was the one time and place where it probably came closest to being true (and even then, lots of other influential people were involved). Peter reformed pretty much every aspect of Russian society, from the government/church/military institutions, to industry and commerce, to education, to class hierarchy, to the way people dressed and wore their hair. Considering that Russian society really didn't want to be reformed and had to be dragged along kicking and screaming, sometimes brutally, it's kind of amazing how many of his changes actually stuck, even centuries after his death. Overall, this book made me really, really glad I wasn't living back then, but it also made me even more interested than before in actually visiting St. Petersburg one day.
What I'm reading now:
The Dark Archive by Genevieve Cogman New Invisible Library book, whee! More Irene and Kai and Vale! Banter and competence and adventure and books! I'm only a few chapters in and having a great time already.
What I'm reading next:
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, and The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan, both for book club next month. I've read the Austen many times before, but a refresher is always good. I haven't read The Bookshop on the Corner, but I've read several other Colgan books and found them very pleasant comfort reads, though the last one I read -- The Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris -- wasn't my favorite. This entry was originally posted at https://marinarusalka.dreamwidth.org/658626.html. You may comment there using OpenID.