Tagged: discussion

Discussion: Forgotten Figures

As sort of a lead-up to my first real Forgotten Figures article on Monday or Tuesday, I thought we’d have a discussion about it.  Not the articles themselves, but the whole concept of obscure historical figures.

My idea with the series is, as I’ve said, to bring to light figures that are forgotten in mainstream history.  I still love Julius Caesar, Cleopatra and Charlemagne, but who can forget the accomplishments of Aurelian, Zenobia and Emperor Li Shih-min? Some of those names are far from obscure in the circles of history buffs, but they have been forgotten by most people.  As in, you could go up to a random person on the street, tell them the name and ask what they accomplished and most people would look at you blankly.  So basically, as far as I define it, it’s all about name recognition.

That’s why I chose to start on what will hopefully be a regular article series here on The Mad Reviewer.  I have a passion for history that I want to share and although it’s not necessarily the most book-related thing ever, many of these people are people I discovered either within books or people I’d love to see represented in fiction.  So if you’re an aspiring historical fiction writer, maybe you’ll find inspiration here in the weeks to come.

Enough preamble, though.  What I want to know is this: Who is your favourite historical figure that’s been forgotten by the mainstream media?  Why?

(And on a side note: Is there a particular figure you’d like to see me feature in Forgotten Figures?  I’m quite open to suggestions and I have the resources to mount at least a decent research effort into most eras, so please don’t hold back if you want to share your love of an obscure figure.)

Discussion: Your Favourite Historical Figure(s)

This is a topic that comes up frequently amongst historical fiction lovers, but as a lover of historical fiction as well as an extremely amateur historian, I just can’t get enough of it.  My question for this week is: Who is/are your favourite historical figure(s)?  Why?

Here are some of my favourite historical figures:

  • Julius Caesar.  His mixture of cunning on the battlefield combined with his impressive political savvy make me really appreciate him as both a man and the legend that he became.  When you read about it, his life essentially reads like an epic movie and it’s just plain awesome (aside from the whole violent death part).  Having the guts to order around the pirates holding you captive and seemingly always fighting with the smaller force and winning is pretty impressive.
  • Hatshepsut.  I’ve always had a soft spot for strong female leaders throughout history, and the Iron Lady of Egypt is one of my absolute favourites.  She presided over a golden age with minimal military activity and a new resurgence in trade from her Punt expedition.  And she did all this in an extremely sexist society where she was never, ever meant to take the throne.  The more I read about her, the more I love her.
  • Niccolo Machiavelli.  This is probably not the most popular choice, but having read The Prince I can’t help but admire his cunning.  His political theories ring true throughout history; having a background in Roman history certainly didn’t hurt his credibility.  And he presents them in a very concise way without adding in too much fluff like many of his contemporaries.

I could go on and on, but that wouldn’t be fair.  Now it’s your turn to answer the question: who is/are your favourite historical figure(s)?  Why?  How did they come to be your favourite(s)?

Discussion: Keeping Things Fresh

My three year blog anniversary is just a couple of months off and over my nearly three years of blogging I’ve noticed something: sometimes it feels like your blog is going stale.  Your writing isn’t as good as it seemed to be before, you’re doing the same features over and over again, etc.  You really do lose your motivation and doubt yourself every once in a while; I think every blogger experiences that.

What’s different is how everyone deals with that funk and how they keep their blog fresh.  When I get in a funk, sometimes I’ll just take a day off from writing altogether (usually a Sunday).  Or, I’ll start researching for an article I want to write instead of my usual four reviews in a week.  That’s actually what I’m doing right now since I was just in a funk: I’m researching for an article about how history seems to be at odds with so many dystopias.

My question for you guys is this: How do you keep your blog fresh when you feel it’s getting stale?  What’s the best way that works for you to get out of a writing rut?  And how do you personally stay motivated to keep going?

Discussion: The Most Underrated Book (For You)

Last week we talked about books that get way too much attention in the mainstream media as well as the blogosphere.  So this week I want to talk about books that you think don’t get nearly enough hype/attention!

For me personally, I think Graceling by Kristin Cashore is the most underrated book I’ve read in recent years that has been traditionally published.  You hear people praising Cassandra Clare’s work to the heavens and the Twilight series gets so much attention, but you never hear about a book in a series that is actually incredibly well written.  In Graceling, I see everything that I love about fantasy: an organic relationship, a kick-butt heroine, fantastic worlds and insanely fast plots.

Come to think of it, another fantasy like that would be Crewel by Gennifer Albin.  It’s not famous because the world-building is pretty complex and the twist behind the dystopia is so not what you’d expect.  And Adelice, the main character is amazing compared to most YA dystopian characters: she knows how to (gasp!) hide her emotions and cloak her actions.  I know, it’s incredible!  A protagonist that can act is such a novelty that I don’t stop recommending this book, even though I read it almost a year ago.

So which books for you personally are the most underrated?  Why?

Discussion: The Most Overhyped Book (For You)

I’ll admit that sometimes I get caught up in the publisher’s hype of new releases and immediately buy or request them.  Or, I’m browsing through some of the blogs I read on a regular basis and I notice that everyone is giving five stars to this one new book.  Either way, I do end up getting swept up into the hype of a book on occasion.

For me personally, most of the time I find that an overhyped book is good, but that it’s not the greatest novel ever written like some people say it is.  It’s very rare that a book lives up to its hype.  Perhaps I’m just overly critical, though.  There are certainly hyped books that were worth the hype for me, like Graceling or Mira Grant’s Feed.

By contrast, there are books like If I Stay by Gayle Forman (which I read before the movie came out).  That’s probably one of the most overhyped, overrated books I’ve ever read, not counting some ridiculous ‘classics’ like The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton.  The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory was certainly disappointing as well.  It was supposed to be an entirely new take on a rather forgotten woman, Mary Boleyn, but it just ended up being the TMZ of the Tudor period.  Gregory took the most scandalous accusations of the time and didn’t bother researching much to slap together a novel purely designed for shock value instead of realism.

Those were some of the most overhyped books I’ve ever read.  What are some of yours?  Were there any books that have absolutely lived up to the ridiculous hype for you?