To discuss your weekly readings of books, textbooks, papers, etc.
I’m currently on Chapter 3 Part 2 of Lolita (page 166 of the annotated edition). I have no idea why people say this book is pedophilia apologia, or why some say the main character is “sympathetic”. Humbert Humbert is not just a 
perv, he’s a psychopath as well. 
besides the fact he’s funny and witty. As for the witting, is absolutely beautiful, so many references, wordplay and french quotes, you can tell how great Nabokov was by making such a great book with a such a delicate subject as this.
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So you guys might remember that I was reading a book about ancient Rome.
Well I bought an e-reader and that book doesn't have any epub or similar versions (just PDFs) so I picked up a different book, this one titled SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome by Mary Beard. I'm only on the third chapter but it's actually a fair bit more engaging. My favorite part is that she talks quite a bit about how we're drawing inferences of history, ie what texts or artifacts we're relying on to piece together the story of what happened, along with the multitude of different ways some of the evidence can be interpreted.
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I loved that book. Mary Beard is great explaining to the lay man about the daily life of Ancient Romans, and how historians use archeological discoveries to uncover it. I wish there was an author like her for ancient Greece. Enjoy it!
She also got involved in some drama a few years ago.
https://amp.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/feb/19/mary-beard-oxfam-tweet-genteel-racism
https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/cambridge-news/mary-beard-oxfam-haiti-tweet-14305328.amp
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I'll have to give that one a try. I've been nervous to read any Mary Beard just because she's everywhere in regards to roman history. Maybe my internal bias against foids too.
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She’s a chudette though
Read the drama on my comment above.
But seriously, she is a respected scholar, and does a good job explaining to a general audience.
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hey i recently got an ancient rome book at a flea market! it's a "bbc books" book called just...ancient rome, i think. i don't remember the author and am too lazy to stand up and look.
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