To be honest I have not read very much in the past few years. After a long day of reading research papers and writing research papers, I often find it kind of hard to enjoy taking time to read even more. I do however love to read history and non-fiction specifically regarding the Classical Period in the Mediterranean.
Here is what I am currently reading and what I have read.
📖 Currently Reading#
Iliad - Emily Wilson’s Translation
I am slowly going through this classic. There are so very many names in the text, but I think this translation makes it super easy to read and I am not finding myself too confused at any point.
The Landmark Julius Caesar - Edited by Robert B. Strassler
This one feels a lot like a textbook, I have been reading this for about 2 years now. Reading the words of one of the most influential men in Roman history is a very interesting experience, especially with the callous descriptions of the genocides he is commiting. It is so strange to think that these writings are pro-Caesarian propoganda and the intended audience would see the autrocities commited as a good thing. Nonetheless this is a very good read for someone interested in the time-period, and the included maps and footnotes are incredible for being able to understand things that Caesar would have assumed a Roman citizen reader would know, but I do not know.
✅ Finished#
Project Hail Mary - Andy Weir — Finished Oct 2025
I absolutely destroyed this book at the recommendation of Michelle. I could not stop reading once I had started. It had probably been 10 years since I last read a SciFi book. I am glad to get back to it, and I look forward to the movie coming out in 2026.
The Letters of the Younger Pliny Book 10 - Pliny the Younger — Finished Sept 2025
Book 10 of the letters of the Younger Pliny consist entirely of the correspondences between Pliny the Younger and the Emporer Trajan. It is insanely humanizing to be able to to read the personal letters between two people that lived almost 2000 years before me. They talk about many things, Pliny looking for guidance on what to do with governance and the christians. Trajan constantly tells him that he put Pliny in charge so that he wouldn’t have to make such decisions. In addition to these letters, I read Pliny’s firsthand account of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in book 6.
The Storm Before the Storm - Mike Duncan — Finished June 2025
Mike Duncan is the person who ignited my interest for Ancient Rome. His “The History of Rome” podcast is absolutely amazing and I recommend it to anyone with even a slight interest in History. This book is more of the same great stuff, but with even more detail about a very interesting time period in the Roman Republic.