Wanted to see what everyone's reading of late. What inspires your roleplay, or gives you something to do in your downtime?
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Good Reads
- Thread starter WarderDragon
- Start date
- Watchers 0
Wow how did I miss this thread.
This book, while I haven't read it recently, is good to have on-hand as a reference, because it tries to deal both with myth and reality and how they inter-mingled.
http://www.amazon.com/Knights-History-Legend-Constance-Bouchard/dp/1554074800
Finished this one recently. Very useful and interesting.....And horrifying.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Queens-Bed-Intimate-Elizabeths/dp/0374239789
In the midst of this one:
http://www.amazon.com/After-Black-Death-History-Interdisciplinary/dp/0253211808
I will read this one soon:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Longbow-Weapon-Mike-Loades/dp/1782000852
and I've read this one recently (or rather re-read) and, I suspect, will turn to it time and time again like I do the first one I mentioned:
http://www.amazon.com/SWORDS-AND-SWORDSMEN-Mike-Loades/dp/1848841337
This is just the stuff I've read recently. I've found many things, both non-fiction and fiction, to be of use in informing my RP. I find source material, especially non-fiction historical source material, to be essential to RP.
The key is to remember that it's only source material. It informs your RP. You can't stick to it too closely or it becomes confining. But forget the history that created the legends that UO seeks to emulate, and fantasy can spin off from reality too much.
I also want to recommend that everyone who RPs both watch and read Lord of the Rings at least once (truthfully, in entertainment terms the movies are more successful as films than the books are as books, but the books are still good to read at least once if you're into this genre), read one or two Conan stories and/or watch the 1982 movie, read a King Arthur myth or two and/or watch Excalibur.
-Galen's player
This book, while I haven't read it recently, is good to have on-hand as a reference, because it tries to deal both with myth and reality and how they inter-mingled.
http://www.amazon.com/Knights-History-Legend-Constance-Bouchard/dp/1554074800
Finished this one recently. Very useful and interesting.....And horrifying.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Queens-Bed-Intimate-Elizabeths/dp/0374239789
In the midst of this one:
http://www.amazon.com/After-Black-Death-History-Interdisciplinary/dp/0253211808
I will read this one soon:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Longbow-Weapon-Mike-Loades/dp/1782000852
and I've read this one recently (or rather re-read) and, I suspect, will turn to it time and time again like I do the first one I mentioned:
http://www.amazon.com/SWORDS-AND-SWORDSMEN-Mike-Loades/dp/1848841337
This is just the stuff I've read recently. I've found many things, both non-fiction and fiction, to be of use in informing my RP. I find source material, especially non-fiction historical source material, to be essential to RP.
The key is to remember that it's only source material. It informs your RP. You can't stick to it too closely or it becomes confining. But forget the history that created the legends that UO seeks to emulate, and fantasy can spin off from reality too much.
I also want to recommend that everyone who RPs both watch and read Lord of the Rings at least once (truthfully, in entertainment terms the movies are more successful as films than the books are as books, but the books are still good to read at least once if you're into this genre), read one or two Conan stories and/or watch the 1982 movie, read a King Arthur myth or two and/or watch Excalibur.
-Galen's player
I highly recommend Sharon Kay Penman's novels about the Middle Ages! I've been trying to decide recently which of hers that I haven't read yet to purchase in the Kindle edition. I've got quite a pile of earlier books as nice, big thick paperbacks and I'm torn between going the quick and easy route and just downloading something new of hers on the Kindle or buying an actual book to put with her previous titles that I've already enjoyed so much.
Also, you may enjoy reading a couple of her recent blog entries in which she recommends some books she thinks may interest her readers:
http://sharonkaypenman.com/blog/?m=201407
http://sharonkaypenman.com/blog/?p=460
I love her explanation as to why she entitled both entries (one from July and the other from August) "Read This At Your Peril": "Because I’ve already enticed so many of you into joining me on the merry road to book bankruptcy, and I am about to do it again. But I did have a twinge of conscience, so I decided to play fair. If you continue to read this blog, you will find a number of books that you are going to find very tempting. "
Lastly, I found this page on her blog that may also be of interest to roleplayers: http://sharonkaypenman.com/researchrecs.htm. It's a hefty list of her research recommendations.
Also, you may enjoy reading a couple of her recent blog entries in which she recommends some books she thinks may interest her readers:
http://sharonkaypenman.com/blog/?m=201407
http://sharonkaypenman.com/blog/?p=460
I love her explanation as to why she entitled both entries (one from July and the other from August) "Read This At Your Peril": "Because I’ve already enticed so many of you into joining me on the merry road to book bankruptcy, and I am about to do it again. But I did have a twinge of conscience, so I decided to play fair. If you continue to read this blog, you will find a number of books that you are going to find very tempting. "
Lastly, I found this page on her blog that may also be of interest to roleplayers: http://sharonkaypenman.com/researchrecs.htm. It's a hefty list of her research recommendations.