Reading Round Rome in 2012 (but starting now for those who want)

04 Nov 2011 12 Comments

by Eibhlin in Reading Round Rome Challenge Tags: books about Rome, reading challenge 2012, Roman authors, Rome

Books about Rome, set in Rome, or by Roman authors – come join in the fun!

Read six books in 2012 (or seven if you begin before Jan 1st 2012).

A few months ago I came to live in Rome, and I want to give time to reading about this wonderful city, and delving into the works of its authors.  Care to join me?  Personally I’m more interested in contemporary Rome than any other period – but ancient, medieval, Renaissance or modern Rome will all be fine for this challenge.

Rules:
1.  The challenge runs from now until Dec 31st 2012.
2.  If you join in with a start-reading date before Jan 1st 2012, your target is seven books.  If you join with a start-reading date of Jan 1st 2012 or later, your target is six books.  That’s six books if you’re joining in for a year; if you’re beginning now – like me! ’cos I can’t wait any longer! – you’ve got an extra two months, almost, so add an extra book to your target to make it seven.
3.  (a) Books must be about Rome, or set in Rome, or written by a Roman author.  Not Italy in general, but Rome specifically.  Not a novel set in London in which the heroine spends three paragraphs in Rome, but a novel set in Rome.  Not a biography of someone who lived all his life in the USA but who had a great-grandma in Rome.  You get it.  (b) “The Vatican” counts as Rome for the purpose of this challenge.  Politically it’s a separate state, but as it’s located entirely within the city of Rome, it passes my “Roman” test.
4.  All genres count: fiction, history, memoir, biography, mystery, etc. etc. etc.  I hope you’ll try more than one genre, but it’s up to you.
5.  All types of books count: bound, e-book, audio, ancient parchment… whatever you’ve got, or can get.
6. Crossovers with other challenges are fine.
7.  Every month I’ll make a post where you can link to your reviews of books read that month (or, if you’re not into or not able to post reviews online, where you can just give us the details and a very short comment on what you’ve read.  But part of the fun is reading others’ reviews, isn’t it?)
8.  To sign up, please leave a comment on this post, with a link to your own blog or wherever we can find you.  Please mention whether you are starting to read now, or waiting till 2012.  If you’d like also to let us know what books you’ll include, that’s great!  (But not obligatory).

Here is a list of what I’m planning to read myself:

- Rome Tales (Helen Constantine, ed.); a collection of twenty short stories which “capture the spirit of the Eternal City”, spanning 700 years, by a wide range of authors old and new.
- Rome: Ten Literary Walking Tours (John Varriano); arranged as a series of walking tours with the focus on the artists, writers, historians and poets of the city’s various quarters.  I hope to do all the walks too.
- The Accusers (Marcus Didius Falcus #15) (Lindsey Davis)  Marcus Didius Falcus is a private investigator in the world of the Roman Empire under Vespasian.  There’s a whole series of these books (you could complete this challenge with them alone!) – if you haven’t already tried them, please do; they are great fun.
- Rome 1960: The Olympics that Changed the World (David Maraniss) looks interesting, if I can get my hands on it.  (Trivial information: I live close by the swimming pool which was built for those Olympics).
- I’m learning Italian, and hope to be able to read a book or two in Italian before the end of 2012.  Scontro di civiltà per un ascensore a piazza Vittorio by Amara Lakhous (Clash of Civilisations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio) has already been gifted to me as an incentive towards this end; I’m told it’s very funny.
- Probably I’ll add something from an ancient Roman writer, but I don’t yet know what.
- And definitely I want to include at least one work of literary fiction by a contemporary writer.

I’m sure you have other ideas – please share them with us!

I look forward to having you on board as we Read Round Rome in 2012.

Ciao.