RIP (Read In Progress) Wednesday

[quillpunk]

There's a rumor going around this part of the solar system that it might be Wednesday again. What are the odds of that, I humbly ask. But, well, just in case...

What are you reading? 👀

Comments

[yhlee]

I'm only a little way in, but so far so good; it's from Cornell UP, which had a very strong social history focus in the history department when I got my B.A. there a couple decades ago. Ironically, my interest WAS (and is) nuts-and-bolts tactics/strategy/logistics, but there were only a couple professors in the department at the time who had that focus (Prof. Barry S. Strauss, also in Classics; and IIRC Prof. C. Peterson, whose East and West Warfare course I missed because I opted against a 400-level history course as a freshman although I would have been fine, and then it wasn't offered the three following years! he did kindly give me an annotated syllabus for the course when I asked later, though). In any case, I am glad to see more social history books around warfare. Another from the same imprint I picked up that I'm looking forward to is The Stuff of Soldiers: A History of the Red Army in WWII Through Objects by Brandon M. Schechter - literally, as far as I can tell from not having read it yet, "what can we learn about soldiers and their experiences from GOING THROUGH THEIR POCKETS AND BACKPACKS" (or whatever backpack-equivalent).

I read OBSESSIVELY about classical and medieval warfare from middle school onward lol and am now catching up on all things gunpowder-and-after, including some hasty remedial reading on anything to do with dogfighting after getting into the Biggles books and, uh, having to write very nonrealistically about mecha. XD

[anehan]

having to write very nonrealistically about mecha

XD

I've been pondering kind of diametrically opposite situation to your mecha one (not writing, alas, but thought exerices are fun, too). I don't know if you've read Modao Zushi, but it's set in c. 6th century fantasy China, with sword-flying cultivators, and the cultivation society there goes through a war.

So, I'd been wondering just how exactly that war would have worked, when their forces probably only numbered in the thousands, and the medieval warfare book I read actually shed some light to that. Because it occured to me that small bands of people who could fly were rather similar to the nomad warriors who fought on horseback. The cultivators would probably still have to fight earth-bound, but they'd be capable of swift movements between places.

But then, would they be able to move their supplies by air? *ponder ponder*

So yeah, applying real world cases to fantastical settings is fun! I also like characters who are good at tactics etc., whether they use their skills in warfare or, say, in the volleyball court, ahem. XD

[yhlee]

Thought exercises are best! My husband and I love discussing them. (He's a physicist.) I have not read Modao Zushi although I watched S1 of the...animated cartoon?

[anehan]

Yes! The animated series has three seasons, I think, though I haven't seen more than a few episodes of it, nor more than a few episodes of the live action series that was based on the novel. I'm firmly in the camp novel myself. :D