The Ancient History Book Tag!

It’s about time for another tag post! Not long ago I put together a book tag and challenge master list so thought I’d put my own hard work to good use and try a tag that I haven’t done before. As an ex History student and all around history lover, the Ancient History book tag seemed like a perfect fit for me!

This tag was started over on booktube by Books Michelle so a big thank you to her for coming up with these questions! I’d love to know which books you’d pick for these prompts so even if you’re not tagged below, feel free to give it a go.

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QUESTIONS:

The Stone Age: one of the first books you remember reading.

I’m taking this prompt as the first book I remember reading myself so it has to be something by Jacqueline Wilson as she was very much my go to author in primary school. I vividly remember reading Vicky Angel, Best Friends, Double Act and The Diamond Girls.

Ancient Greece: your favourite myth-inspired book (doesn’t have to be Greek mythology), or retelling.

I have a load of myth inspired books still on my TBR (think Ariadne, The Wolf Den, The Silence of the Girls, Circe, Song of Achilles, etc.) so as for ones I’ve read, I’d have to go with In the Shadow of Heroes by Nicholas Bowling (a mystery with lots of Ancient Greek and Roman myth inspiration) or A Touch of Darkness by Scarlett St Clair (a spicy Hades x Persephone retelling with a really interesting premise).

The Roman Empire: a book featuring an impressive empire or kingdom.

As it’s pretty much always on my mind lately, it has to be the A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J Maas. The set up of Prythian is really interesting to me and I loved getting to know more about the Season and Solar Courts in A Court of Wings and Ruin.

The Middle Ages, (or the Dark Ages): a book that is an absolute bummer.

I don’t tend to finish books that really depress me unless there’s a fantastic element that saves it. The first book that comes to mind here is I Stop Somewhere by T E Carter. It’s a depressing topic and has a crushing ending but the subject matter and the way it’s written had me thinking about this book long after I finished it. If you’re ok with the trigger warnings, I can’t recommend this book enough.

The Renaissance: a book that you’ve learned a lot from, or that made you think.

Most recently, it would have to be Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam. This book is based on Salaam’s own experiences as part of the Exonerated Five from the Central Park Jogger Case in 1989. I couldn’t claim to know anything about this case before but essentially, five Black and Latino boys were convicted of the attack and rape of a white woman before being exonerated years later in 2002 when another man confessed to the crime. As someone who will never experience this kind of prejudice based on my skin colour, this book is one of many that have truly opened my eyes to the work that must still be done to create an anti-racist society.

The Industrial Revolution: a book featuring an invention or concept that you would love to have in your own life.

Probably a bit of a cliched answer here but I’d still love to be able to use magic like they do in the Harry Potter series. One particular scene from the movies which stays with me is the first time that Harry sees The Burrow and the plates are washing themselves which always fills me with such a warm feeling. Plus no more washing up!

World War I & II: your favourite historical fiction book about the World Wars (or if you don’t have one, your favourite historical fiction book in general).

My first answer probably comes as no surprise as I’ve shouted about just how much I love the Once series by Morris Gleitzman many times so just to switch things up, I’ll say People Like Us by Louise Fein. Historical romances set in the time of WW2 can often cause split opinions but this one brought on my tears like nothing else I’ve ever read and was a story that kept me awake at night for weeks.

Present Day: a book everybody should read in present day according to you.

There’s a few things I could pick for this one! Once by Morris Gleitzman and the Winternight trilogy by Katherine Arden are my go to recommendations but I’d also say Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens and for a non-fiction rec, What A Time to be Alone by Chidera Eggerue.

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Tagging: Marion, Rafaela, Elanor, Jo and anyone else who fancies a go!

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What would your answers be to these questions? Would any be the same as mine? I’d love to know!

You can always find me over on Twitter if you’d like to discuss this post (or any others that I’ve featured) in more detail 😌