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I don't know if everyone is as voracious a reader as I am, but I feel confident in assuming that you all are. I would like to suggest a new room I guess you would call it. where we can post reviews/recommendations of history books we have recently read. My school does this and while most of what gets posted is garbage some gems have been recommended as well. I know I don't have the time to read the backs of all the books I want to read much less read them, so I thought this would be a good way to get an idea of whether a book is worth reading in the first place. Who better to comment on a books worth than like minded folks?School keeps me pretty busy reading and I occasionally pick something up on my own. Most of the guys at work are drones and I just thought I would throw the idea out there.Patrick
But if you post just the title and author you WILL get flamed. Just ask this guy named Matthew. ;D(AMU inside joke)
I know all about that. And wholeheartedly support such activities in that case, the name and title are worthless as to the quality of the book. Pictures of the cover aren't much better. ;D
While we're suggesting this new Book Review Room, I might also suggest we couple it with historiography as well. Since we have serious students of History on the forum now, it is very important to know the various schools of thought and what scholars are associated with them. I am utterly fascinated by the history of historians and their historical methods. It's also a good way to ask your professors what school they subscribe to and if you should take their courses. 🙂
While we're suggesting this new Book Review Room, I might also suggest we couple it with historiography as well. Since we have serious students of History on the forum now, it is very important to know the various schools of thought and what scholars are associated with them. I am utterly fascinated by the history of historians and their historical methods. It's also a good way to ask your professors what school they subscribe to and if you should take their courses. 🙂
Good point, I hadn't thought of that. Of course, Everything is up to the Emperor in the end and I defer to his judgement.
Emperors can be bribed or flattered into granting almost anything. I'm sure Phid will come up with something. 🙂
So let me get this straight…you guys are requesting two rooms – one for historical book reviews/discussion, and one for “historiography”? Or a room combining both? It's not a bad idea….come to think of it, I wonder how many threads we have on this forum that deal with book reviews/discussion. It might be possible to move some of those into that kind of room…. Thoughts?
I would combine them because book review discussions might wax and wane since many of us are too busy to read as much as we would like. But discussing various schools of thought and historians of interest is something that might keep that forum moving. And it wouldn't have to be just modern historians either, it could be Herodotus, Tacitus, Livy, Polybius, Josephus, Eusebius, Gibbon and so forth. Or….you could also include Historical Method in this forum as it's very important for all History majors. If it's too specific, it might not ever get used.
Thoughts?
I don't think you'd have to move anything. We can just start the new threads in the new room that we are beseeching of you to make, oh great benevolent emperor.
I don't think two rooms are necessary, one room would cover both. Donald is right, a combination would keep the room more lively. I only have time to read for fun in-between or when I have light classes which is rare. My next class has 8 books totaling almost 4000 pages of reading plus whatever I have to read for my term paper. If I can be so bold as to suggest a name for the room it would be something like “Historical Theory and Book Reviews“I thought about adding some mangled version of Tolkien's ring poem here but decide to forgo it for fear of being labeled a geek. I know too, that I am a relatively new though active participant in this forum and don't want to get ahead of myself or wear out my welcome by being to forward either.
Ok, so is “Historical Theory and Book Reviews” a good title for the new room? I'd also have to search for an appropriate icon for the room…
I like it but then I suggested the title. I would like to humbly suggest a picture for the icon too.It is a painting called the librarian by Giuseppe Arcimboldo. c.1556. It is available at the following website, which is an online gallery: The Librarian by Arcimbolo I checked the site out and I think it is okay to use the image but I am no expert on copyright.
I tried to create one in Photoshop for you Phid, but it's hard to do that with a 50 x 50 pixel image.
Hmmm….why did you want that image for the avatar? I hadn't heard about the artist but then I saw his painting of the vegetables in the form of a man. Odd! But as far as pictures go, reproductions of paintings from before 1922 are generally public domain. This basically includes the entire history of art and some photography.Here's another on, 50×50….unfortunately it may be the case where it's too hard to tell what's on the avatar to make it usable…that is the problem with some of these historical images.
