Hello Y'all!

Hi, my name's Ginger, yes Ginger, and no it's not short for Virginia. I'm from south Texas on the border with Mexico near the Gulf of Mexico in a region known as the Rio Grande Valley. I'm not a cowgirl. lol I've actually never been hunting nor fishing but would like to at least once sometime. I'm new to both this site and this group. I spend a lot of time online mainly on a site I'm on called VampireFreaks.

My favorite authors are Anne Rice, Edgar Allen Poe, and JK Rowling to name a few. I'm currently reading Flowers In The Attic and Gone With The Wind. I recently finished reading Carrie and loved it! I'm also working my way through the Bible with an overview of the Bible reading sequence plan. I'm not a Bible thumper or anything though. I've got a lot of books I want to finally read on my bookshelf including Dracula (to read again, I read it as a teen), The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, and The Feast of All Saints to name a few. Last, but certainly not least, I recently published my memoir as an E-book. It's called Wounded Hearts Heal and is on my profile. It's currently available on Lulu and Amazon Kindle and will soon be available on the Apple iBookstore, Barnes and Noble NOOK, and Kobo. But, I promise I'm not just here to promote myself.

I'd love to make new friends here and learn about other great books to read. One of my New Year's resolutions was to read more since I used to get overly distracted with online social networking. So far, I've read Carrie (of course), A Cat's Tale by local author Susanna Fantich, and I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai. Actually, I read those in the opposite order though. lol

I joined this group to learn more about ancient history since history's always been one of my fave subjects. But, I don't know enough about ancient history. I actually borrowed a copy of The Odyssey and The Iliad from the library since I recently joined a Coursera course on Greek and Roman mythology. I already have a copy of Aeneid that I'll finally get around to reading as part of the online course too.

Welcome Ginger. Thanks for mentioning the Coursera course, I just enrolled. There is another course I am in from edX on Homer and War.

Hi, Ginger. If you're reading Homer, you might want to pick up one of the many books designed to enhance that experience. In particular, I recommend Prof. Eva Brann's Homeric Moments. Prof. Brann taught Homer to college freshmen for decades and has a great deal to offer, whether you're reading the epics for the first time or the fifth. And if (like many of us) you've never studied Greek, she discusses the clues Homer or his predecessors worked into the story to alert the careful reader or listener to what's really going on (with Achilles' reaction to the death of Patroclus, with the relationship between Odysseus and Penelope, to take two examples). The use of the word "delight" in the title is not an exaggeration.

In general, when checking books on ancient history, look for a scholar who is qualified in the field. There are a number of "pseudos" out there who have no qualifications in a subject, but manage to get a popular book published, and--presto!--the popular media anoints them experts. (Such alleged experts frequently turn up on Discovery Channel "documentaries" alongside real scholars.) Look at the publisher's name; university presses are usually reliable, as is Thames and Hudson. The latter house publishes many books designed for the general reader, such as the older series entitled Ancient Peoples and Places. They feature non-distracting references and are well illustrated.

Oh cool! I've never heard of edX. I should check that out. I only like to take one course at a time though. I'm not studious enough for more. lol

orsolina Thanks for that advice! I greatly appreciate it!

Welcome Ginger - I hope a world of richness is opening up for you!

Thanks!

Welcome Ginger!
Here's a few lists you might look through and see if anything interests you. These include fiction & nonfiction.

http://www.librarything.com/catalog/Ammianus&tag=Greece
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/Ammianus&tag=Alexander%2Bthe%2BGreat
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/Ammianus&tag=Rome
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/Ammianus&tag=Late%2BRoman
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/Ammianus&tag=Roman%2BBritain

Cheers,
A

Welcome, Ginger! It's a sorry comment on my ability to keep up with my various social media, that I haven't been on this group for a while. It's fun and the people are quite knowledgeable. I also took a course in The Archaeology of Portus about an ongoing dig at Rome's sea port (https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/portus). Quite fascinating. Enjoy your reading and courses.