Label Update

As, yet again, there’s no burning issues going on in my head ATM and my present low(er) reading speed means I don’t have enough books in my review pile to ‘risk’ a review today… I thought I’d just do a quick update on my Label List (yes, sometimes SaLT gets THAT boring!).

Anyway…. Because ‘History’ is basically a far too big and (frankly) unwieldly topic I’ve been chopping it up into regions or countries I’m concentrating on. One interesting facet of doing this (of course) is actually realising what areas my butterfly brain is concentrating on! Timeline-wise I’ve only added ‘Ancient World’ so far. This essentially covers human history up to the fall of the Western Roman Empire. I think that’s pretty uncontroversial. I might add Medieval and other temporal ‘chunks’ later but I haven’t decided that yet. Naturally having an Ancient label has alerted me to the fact that I haven’t read anything from that period in some time!

I’m happier with the geographical zoning than the temporal ones. Afghanistan already has 4 hits with many more on the way. I think it’s an important area globally going back over a hundred years and will remain so for the foreseeable future so I can imagine I’ll be reading about it for some time to come. China is another zone of the planet that is rising in significance and will continue to do so long after I’m dead. The whole Pacific area is important globally going forward and it’s somewhere I know very little about so there’s just two good reasons to know more. Empire is next – by which I (largely) mean the British Empire. I know it’s not ‘politically correct’ to be interested in such things – except to criticise it – but I’ve never been PC so….. No doubt other Empire’s will get a look in but only occasionally. Europe as a whole – rather than individual countries – will be looked at for a whole host of reasons, mostly because (despite the Brexit vote) it will still have a huge influence over our future as it has over our past going back over 1000 years.

Next is a whole group of countries that I have an interest in and expect to be reading about in the coming months/years: France & Germany will no doubt be read about extensively because of their interaction with British history and because they’re still at the heart of the European experiment. India doesn’t have many hits (just 1 presently) but that’ll change. Central to the Empire it’s had a huge influence on British history and culture. Ireland naturally appears and will end up growing well beyond the present paltry 4 books. It’s where my ancestors are from so I have a natural affinity with the place (despite never going there!). Japan almost speaks for itself. Interesting on multiple levels this will no doubt make a strong appearance (eventually). Likewise the Middle East will be an area of growing focus. The whole area is so complex and so messed up I just have to try to get my head around it if I can. Russia, resurgent and (potentially at least) a renewed global threat deserves attention for that alone. You’ll be hearing much more of that country in future. Scandinavia speaks to my ‘Viking’ heart so, well, duh! Spain, and especially the civil war just before WW2, has a strong pull on my imagination. I need to know why. Whilst the UK will be my main focus (as exhibited by the book numbers – presently 43) I am being drawn into looking more at the US especially from the political side, hence the comparatively impressive 12 books so far. Far more to come I assure you.

Finally an odd-ball: Self-Help. But don’t worry – being me it doesn’t mean what you might think it means on first thought. Listed there are essentially books that could assist you in combatting the bullshit surrounding how we are ‘supposed’ to be in today’s busy life. Just don’t expect to learn how to be ‘successful’ or be a better corporate drone. Not happening….