I decided that I needed a new book to read and managed to find one on my bookshelf that I’d only half read so thought I’d finish it off: Tower, An epic History of the Tower of London by Nigel Jones. I just wondered what everyone else is reading at the moment? What does everyone else like to read?
You have a friend who’s a late medieval historian! Wow, that’s amazing!! I would love to have such a friend, what a fantastic source of information. We’ve had English Heritage membership cards for a few years now so I usually visit quite a few castles in the warmer months, good way to occupy children too 
Ah I've heard that kids love Peppa Pig! I don't have any children so have only come across those characters in passing!
We studied the Tudors loads in school; I had to take a few years break from reading about them (Tudor overload!) but now I'm finding it's interesting to go back and get a deeper understanding of the key characters, like you say. I don't know much about Richard III so it would be good to find out more about him. I haven't read much about The war of the roses and I probably should seeing as I live in Yorkshire...
One of my friends is a late medieval historian, so whenever she visits we go look at castle or monastery ruins.
Thank you for taking the time to explain the book to me. I might actually have to read it sometime as it does sound rather good
The guy who bought WCW was Ted Turner, the owner of CNN. Jane Fonda's husband at the time.
He seems to have the best intentions for everyone at the start. I think his naivety, and enthusiasm sort of open Pandora's box. He recruits the wrong people, lets the lunatics run the asylum, and seems to think plowing more money in will make the demons go away. Bullying, egos, lawsuits, drug abuse, criminal mistreatment of employees, and lots of other stuff going on. You get all points of view too.
There's Machavellian intrigue, Bacchanalian excess, and tragedy in spades. I'd imagine it would read even more outrageously if you had no knowledge of the subject. I read a lot, and I thought it would be a pretty uninvolving read, but it is very engrossing.
I watched one of the guys who ran the backroom, and shows recently saying that at TNT meetings, the news guys from CNN actually took pointers from the writers at WCW of how to spin news stories. He was making a comparison between the talking heads on "News Networks" like Fox, CNN, and the like, then giving practical examples how it worked. Showmanship, turned into political currency.
Here's a link.
I like the part at the end where he points out Lincoln was a wrestler, and Trump was in wrestling for a time. The Cult of Personality indeed!
What are these books about?
My eldest who's 21 likes to read. The younger two are 1 and 4 so a little bit young to read yet themselves, though I do find myself having to repeatedly read the likes of teletubbies and peppa pig stories to them!!! Do you have any children?
I'll definitely look up the CJ Sansom books on Amazon next time I'm buying some new books. Yeah the 1500-1600 period is an interesting period of history, covering most of the Tudor dynasty, I find the records from that time are much better than the earlier ones, to be expected I suppose, I used to be really into the history of Tudor Monarchs and their courts, but there was only 4 of them so I moved onto Medieval Monarchs, which is still interesting but not as much information survives.
The books you're reading sound interesting. Have you read 'the war of the roses' about the civil war between the houses of York and Lancaster? That also is heavy going but incredibly informative. I also read 'Richard the third' and 'the princes in the tower' around the same time as I do like to gain a better perspective and understanding about historical figures. For example, Richard the 3rd is depicted now as being a cruel man who murdered his nephews but I have to say, Having read the history, that while what he did was terrible, when you put it in the context of how things were at the time and the position he was in following his brothers death, faced with losing all the power, wealth and influence that he enjoyed to his sister-in-law and her family the Woodvilles, I can see why he did what he did, it backfired spectacularly though, as history shows.
Another Bulls**t Night in Suck City by Nick Flynn, Solitude by Anthony Storr, and The Sportswriter by Richard Ford.
I can imagine it's hard finding time for reading having children to look after. Do they like to read? I liked babysitting my cousins when they were younger as it was an excuse to re-read some good children's books!
I'm not keen on reading things that are too gory either. Hopefully you'll like the CJ Sansom books but some of the later ones talk about executions etc in quite graphic detail - I tend to skim read those bits! They are good though, kind of a mix of historical events and detective story. 15-1600s is such an interesting period of history.
The Essex Serpent is quite an unusual novel set in the 1890s about a woman trying to find out if a prehistoric creature is still alive. There was a Country is an account of the Nigerian civil war; it's very interesting but quite hard going.
Thank you. There weren’t many ‘light’ threads on here last weekend, so I thought I’d start one!
The Tower is quite a big book and I usually only have a couple of hours in the evening to read at the moment c/o young children, should improve once my youngest starts school. I’ve just re-read about the execution of William Wallace which was depicted in a bit too much gory detail for my liking, I’m happy with the historical facts, I don’t need to be able to visualise the more macabre bits! Never mind, from memory that’s the worst gory bit in the book so I’ll continue reading. I just find the Tower of London so fascinating for the sheer amount of royal history it contains.
ill look up the C J Sanson novels as if they’re based on actual historical facts then they are definitely my thing and from within the timescale that I’m interested in. Thank you for the tip.
what are the Essex serpent and there was a country about? Are you enjoying them?
It actually sounds really interesting. An example of how money and ego can destroy people. It’s not my usual type of book but I’m intrigued now...
Great idea for a thread; I love to read and pick up suggestions for new books!
Did you enjoy your book on the Tower of London? I used to only read fiction but am trying to get into a wider range of books these days. I don't know if you read the C J Sansom novels set in the 1500s? They are fictional but include historical events and the Tower features quite a bit!
At the moment I'm reading The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry and There was a Country by Chinua Achebe
It really does tell a story of how someone with a fleeting interest, and a heap of cash, can do more damage than good. A lot of the performers careers were ruined. The investment got a few people very rich, very quick. Some others got short term big paydays, but the damage to their careers was irreversible.
It's quite a tragic story. Wrestling is a pretty crazy backdrop (no pun intended), because of all the physical risks, and the culture it contains. The guy had everything for it to work, except restraint. Money actually was the fuel that burned it down. A "too many cooks" situation.
I've read quite a few stories about business shenanigans, but this has a very different setting. A few people made it out OK, but I'm just getting to that part.
It's very surreal, but 100% true. The sheer amount of sources verify the story. I'd actually say it's one of the best books I've read in the last few years.
wow! amazing how little sense that people with too much money can sometimes have
I'm reading a book called, 'will you love me', by Barby Keel its about a rescue greyhound. I have a really eclectic taste in books from Harry Potter to Elanor Oliphant to books about how to read body language. very random usually depends on how I'm feeling if I'm low I try to read something with a feel good factor and a happy ending...
