I'm just starting this and the prologue seems pretty confusing, is this one of those books where I am lost the whole time??

I’ll be the first to say that I’m being quite the downer for pointing this out, but I just can’t get over it and I’m sure there are others out there that feel the same. Simply put, a lot of the books on this list do not take place in “Medieval Times”.

Historical periods are constructs just like any label for anything really, however I feel that when pop culture conflates massively different eras purely based on vibes, misconceptions and incorrect interpretations of narratives can damage the modern social perception of our past. I’m not talking about the books that stray more into myth and fantasy on here - such as The Salt Grows Heavy or The Pilgrim. Instead, sadly so, it’s the more popular and loved books on this list: Hamnet, Year of Wonders, The Other Boleyn Girl, etc. Generally speaking, the Renaissance/Early Modern Period (whatever you’d like to call it, obviously the latter lasts much longer), begins around 1450. So Shakespeare, the Tudors, and a plague in 1666 are decidedly no longer in “Medieval Times”.

With that being said, it would be a shame if I were just a critic and not a contributor, so here are my bids for period accurate additions: The Buried Giant, When Christ and His Saints Slept, The Mists of Avalon, The Once and Future King, and Here Be Dragons.

When discussing Gogol and his work - is he considered a Ukrainian or a Russian writer? My understanding is that he was from Ukraine (which at the time was under the Russian Empire) but I think his works were written in the Russian language (correct that if I'm wrong) and mainly intended for an audience in St Petersburg. But, especially considering Russia's war on Ukraine at the moment, it's not something I want to be misunderstanding. Though, perhaps I'm overthinking this and there isn't a need to push either modern nationality onto a 19th century author. I'm really not sure.

(Reposted from a completely inactive book forum, because I figured I'd be more likely to get and answer here.)

this year i’m making an effort to un-melt my brain and one of the things i want to do is brush up on my french reading skills!

i took 6 years of french in school + passed a reading/translation exam of an academic paper in french for my master’s. rn i’m trying to start very small and basic so i can get a good feel for it again AND make sure i can understand it well (and i haven’t read anything fiction in french since high school 🫣)

i honestly don’t even know where to start with looking for the right book, so all recs welcome!! i was considering the little prince but i want some more input and i’d love to have a little backlist of books too :)

Ava's gaze is formidable and European what the fuck is "european gaze" 😭😭😭

A Year of War and Peace Day 7 Book 1 Chapter 7 Link to Project Gutenberg Chapter 7 Maude Translation Here

Today, Tolstoy gives us and Pierre a front row seat to watch a martial spat between Andrei and Liza!

Final Line of Chapter 7: “Good night, Liza,” said he, rising and courteously kissing her hand as he would have done to a stranger.

Discussion Questions

1. The chapter opens on Andrei's expression becoming the same one he wears in Anna Pavlovna's drawing room. What do you think this means and why do you think Tolstoy pointed this out?
2. What are your thoughts on Pierre's role in this martial spat?
3. What are your thoughts on Andrei and Liza's marriage/dynamic after this chapter? What do you think this fight reveals about the couple or the bigger picture of the novel?
4. Andrei is described as consistently polite and restrained throughout this chapter, why do you think Tolstoy is characterizing him this way?
5. The chapter ends with Andrei kissing Liza's hand "as he would have done to a stranger." How did this final image affect your reading of the chapter?

As always, these are just a starting point! Feel free to respond to any or all of the questions above, pose your own, highlight quotes you liked, ask questions, there are no wrong takes here!

Minor Housekeeping: Starting tomorrow I'm going to leave the "includes spoilers" tag on. If you are having a hard time finding the posts on pagebound, search "AYoWaP Day #" for whatever day number you are looking for and it will jump you there! I'll always keep that part of the title consistent!

I have also been posting in the discord channel each day when I upload the daily post if you want a notification reminder. Link to join the Discord Here

To help with the different translation version, here's the last line of the next chapter for tomorrow: Day 8 Book 1 Chapter 8: “On my honor!”

I'm hooked immediately. This is such an engaging style of writing, and a dry humour running through. It feels a lot like hanging out and listening to someone chat, easy and relaxed and confident.

i’m ngl the mentions of how much damn money they make is taking me out of the story a little. i truly believe that athletes do not deserve to be millionaires when teachers and doctors and nurses make about 50k a year.

like you’re an adult playing a GAME that doesn’t do much but perpetuate toxic masculinity. be so fucking for real with me rn why do you deserve millions when i have a masters degree and a good job and can barely pay my rent huh ??? correct you don’t NEXT