Welcome to Litsy!

One more post (I seem to have fallen in love with this book ❤️). He‘s in the midst of praising True Grit, in the above, a novel for which I haven‘t any use, so it‘s not just me loving what I agree with 😄.

While possibly more illuminating for readers of history than for writers, this is nonetheless a deeply interesting, casually bold commentary on the ways we approach historical texts. Bram isn‘t afraid to be contrary (he hasn‘t much use for Wolf Hall or The Killer Angels) and is perfectly willing to correct William Faulkner. 💡💡💡💡💡

Not, so far, as instructive or motivating as other titles in the series, but it has succeeded in making me want to read War and Peace (a thing which has never happened before!).

So, great subject and some great quotes, but this book falls quite short of delivering what I was expecting. Its just some examples of books that the author has enjoyed in both fiction and non fiction historical accounts and how they compare to each other. He never goes any deeper than that. So it's a little disappointing.

"When I was a sophomore in high school, I had an English teacher named Mrs. Comstock, a handsome, formal, forty-something lady with a stiff neck in a high collar. This was 1968 in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and she was already an anomaly, a throwback to an earlier age. But there was nothing stiff or formal about her love of books or the fearlessness with which she shared ideas with us." #firstlines (first book I read just from #underthelitfluence)

This was, on the whole, a very brief, interesting discussion of history writing. Would recommend to writers of historical fiction and nonfiction and those with an interest in literary criticism.

I had read one chapter of this beforehand, but calling this book 2 of my #biblioweekend

An interesting read. It has some dull moments but also some very insightful ones. With lots of references to history writing done well, this is a great resource for writers. #biblioweekend

Agreed! Liking this one so far.

Starting this tonight and very fascinated by the topic. I hope to write historical fiction someday, so if it's good I might have to buy a copy! Has anybody read it?