Whatcha been reading lately?

[houseisland]

For me..

Tim Sevrin's Viking trilogy.


The Viking Triology

Sevrin is not the most polished of prose writers, but he is a great story teller. The three books are historical fiction but are firmly grounded in close readings of Norse sagas and detailed research. They trace the story of Thorgils Leifsson, son of Leif the Lucky, through 11th Century Greenland, Newfoundland, Iceland, Ireland, the Eastern Roman Empire, Norway, France and England, the climax being the Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066, the denouement being Thorglis's old age in in a Christian/Norman Britan. A warning: there is an air/underpinning of new-agey, romanticized ( Neo-)Paganism about the books, both from a Norse and Celtic/Druid perspective. Thorglis, at times at times a Christian monk (in name), remains at heart a staunch crypto-pagan recusant to his death, even as the world around him converts or is forcefully converted to Christianity. His insightful cynicism reveals a distrubing relationship between Christian conversion and the mundane politics of power. A most interesting and enjoyable read.

And

Neil Shubin's Your Inner Fish


Your Inner Fish at Random House

Shubin is an engaging writer. Writing for a non-scientific audience, he outlines recent thoughts about vertebrate evolution in easily read discussions of palentology, physiology, and molecular biology, all with reference to the human body. A fun read through materials and ideas that could very easily be heavy sledding in another writer's hands.

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It is my pure and virtuous heart that
gives me the strength of ten!