第二次书会Troy by 油炸大叔

snapdragon

在公司参加了第二次书会。

第一次是《月神之女》， 主持人带了蛋糕来。吃人家的嘴却不软。人家问我有兴趣主持下期否？我果断拒绝，能力不足嘛。要是中文的，我可以一直主持，可这英文…… 都是泪啊。


一位大胡子的local承接了。

OK I have some books for consideration. I own all of them in one way or another (3 physical and 2 audiobook), and I wanted to give variety but also reflect what I like to (or would like to) read. As usual, vote with the icon and looking forward to see where the group mind lands.

:helmet:Troy by Stephen Fry  (Classics, Stephen F'n Fry, Deep Dave)
A very Stephen Fry retelling of the Homeric Epic with so many Ur-heroes and bastards; Odysseus, Achilles, Agamemnon, Helen, Cassandra, Hector and silly, silly Paris. To measure the history I have this with story I will regale you with the mighty mural I drew on butcher's paper of the Horse and the Fall of Troy when I was in Grade 4 that adorned the wall of the classroom.

:male-police-officer::skin-tone-2oose Units by Paul Verhoeven  (True crime, memoir, father-son, Australian)
You might know Paul Verhoeven from various ABC TV projects over the years, but one day he sat down with his dad John, retired NSW detective and made a podcast. Partly as an attempt to discover more about his father's life and partly rollicking true crime tales of being a cop in NSW in the crazyand corrupt Sydney of the 80s.

:caesar:Rubicon by Tom Holland  (Ancient History, Nonfiction, politics)
I'm a history nerd and this is the first of two history books on the list. The end of the Roman Republic is fascinating and a showcase in how the sudden expansion of wealth and empire can test a "democratic" government (really an oligarchy of the wealthy) to its limits and break it as it descends into anarchy and then authoritarianism. (Sound familiar? Yeah I as totally thinking ancient Athens as well). Tom Holland is an approachable write of the period who leans more on themes and movements than the 'great or terrible man' theories of history.

:earth_fire:The Fifth Season - The Broken Earth, Book 1 by N. K. Jemisin (Fantasy, Science Fiction, Dystopia)
At the risk of sending some of us down the rabbit hole of a new series of books, multiple Hugo Award winner N.K. Jesmin's opening book of her award winning Broken Earth series sounds fascinating and celebrated for writing modern diverse fantasyscifisydtiopiastuff.

:ghost: Ghost Empire by Richard Fidler (History, Travel, Memoir)
The only book on the list I have read, and will gladly read again. Richard Fidler (yes, of ABC Conversations and DAAS fame) this book is part travelogue and part history as Richard and his near adult son visit Istanbul and he tells the largely unknown tale of the "Second Rome", Constantinople, and an entertaining potted history of the Byzantine or Eastern Roman Empire. You know the part of the Roman Empire that lasted a thousand years AFTER the fall of the Western half we all bang on about? An empire that was Christian in religion, Greek in culture, and Roman in institutions. Fidler expertly threads his personal exploration of the city through the telling of a history of an empire that was as obsessed with the fine details of the nature of Christ as it was defending itself from threats all around. (Personal 5 stars for this one).



经过投票，Troy胜出。
哇，我也投了它。想想我也不正喜欢希腊神话么？ 我们称Fry为油炸大叔。对这本书其实早已神往了。



David：OK Booksters! Troy by the ineffable Stephen Fry it is. I have started and the jolly giant even manages to make the background of Greek myth that founds all of this readable and clear. I am reading my copy but I hear all the footnotes in his voice.
I can recommend the Audiobooks read by Mr Fry. Absolute delight.

可是，一直没有时间读。一个多月月了。是的。中国读者也喜欢油炸大叔的HP啊。那魔性的声音。。。。

公司另外一个斯里兰卡菇凉带着crochet来了。这便成了三合一。书会钩会吃吃会。

我也带上我包的饺子，来了。主持人David带着长长的胡子，神似Stephen的嗓音身材向我们走来了。他读了一段，像极了。大家都说像极了。他却要谦虚一下。

这些澳洲人，骨子里也是很中国的。

我带入更多的中国元素，自拍这书会。就在公司的厨房里，David带来一种有maple酱的油炸米球或者面球？味道相当不错。加上我的饺子，其乐融融。

David还真诚地写了问题卡，每个问题都问。我也真诚地拿出来了我的盗版书，他们会认为不道德。但和正版纸质合个影呗，嘿嘿。

他们的讨论特别热烈，我主要是听不懂，所以就是一个安静地倾听者。

最终，下期主持人has to be 我了！

大概是大家知道我基本无法听懂，所以贴心地假装无意在群里问…… 且听下回分解！