Die Harris-Bücher sind eigentlich immer saftige, gut recherchierte Unterhaltung, aber die römischen sind besonders gut, auch Pompeii

Genau, Lindsey Davis ist großer Spaß!

Mal den Horizont des Geschichtswissens erweitern mit Amitav Ghosh, Ibis-Trilogie, über Opium-Anbau? Vikram Seths Eine Gute Partie mag vermutlich, wer die dicken Schinken des 19. Jahrhunderts mag.

Dava Sobel, Längengrad, toller Sachbuchklassiker. Und wann Patrick O‘Brian?

If holiness were binary, thee would be no way for anyone to be holier than thou, and I think on the whole that would be a loss.

This is one of the best recipes ever. Ever. From the cookbook with the highest ratio of recipes actually cooked repeatedly that I own.

One would hope the Bérézina socks are made of sufficiently warm wool.

I always stop for Roman funerary inscription. Luckily, most have been transcribed and can be found online, and so many tell the most human stories.

The chief reason I love the Romans despite all the unsavoury aspects of their culture is because of their funerary inscriptions that bring long-dead children, charioteers, soldiers, freedwomen and strangers to life in such a heart-rending way.

My favourite from Aquileia:

You can tell they‘re trying really hard not to march in step to the tune.

The various states of undress are quite something. Is the man left of the wine-pourer wearing a woman‘s cap?

Das Perpetumobil!

It expanded my world and made me a lot more interested in Neanderthals than I already was. Also, my admiration for archaeologist and adjacent sciences and the painstaking work they do (like inferring from knapping leftovers who made what tool why and where!) has risen immeasurably.

Diese wunderschönen Cafés in Triest!

Are you under sail? The background sounds as if there was a motor.

Thank you so much for sharing this downriver journey through what often really seems like the past. It‘s very evocative.

That reminds me, have you heard about Ulli Lust‘s graphic nonfiction book „Die Frau als Mensch“, first in a series about women through prehistory? It won the big nonfiction prize here, so a translation might be forthcoming. Definitely worth a look. reprodukt.com/products/die...