My Five Favorite Books of 2024

[@ReadBecca]

Every one of these sounds so interesting, I'm glad you did give us a top list. I've got Plantagenets on my shelf to get to, even more looking forward to it now!

[@joshuacreboreads]

Wow! I’m going to have to look for the Wallace book. This was great, John. All of these books sound interesting.

[@NicholasOfAutrecourt]

Joshua, I think you'd LOVE the Michelangelo biography. Let me know if you ever get your hands on a copy!

[@DrCrankyPantsReads]

I love the way you framed this list-focusing on five truly standout reads rather than stretching it to a top 10 just for the sake of it. Your enthusiasm for Michelangelo: God’s Architect is infectious, and I’m now even more intrigued by how it captures the final years of his life with such poignancy. Also, your description of Cicero as 'first-century Rome’s most cantankerous gasbag' had me laughing-what a fantastic way to sum him up! Great recommendations all around.

[@NicholasOfAutrecourt]

Thanks so much. Glad you saw something you liked!

[@davidnovakreadspoetry]

I remember enjoying Brunelleschi's Dome and liked selected letters and poetry by Michelangelo, so I think you’ve put another title on my list. But all of these sounded good.

[@NicholasOfAutrecourt]

Ross King is a great foot in the foot to the history of Renaissance art. He also wrote something called "Mad Enchantment" about Monet and his lilies - also very much worth looking out for.

[@TriumphalReads]

I guess i have to read some more Dan Jones at some point. Bloodlands is a book I plan on reading this year most likely for my gloom and doom reading. Enlightenment was great, had a lot of fun reading it with everyone. I can't stand Cicero but I do remember that book being helpful. And the Michaelangelo book does sound intriguing for q3.... Great vid and selections John!

[@battybibliophile-Clare]

Another Dan Jones and the Enlightenment to go on my TBR, and another Michael Angelo book for my collection. Another exemplary video. Thanks.

[@materiagrix]

From The Enlightenment onwards I was captured by every book on the list. Cicero fascinates me as an author even though I don’t know too much about him, and if that is true for him, with number one I can only say that will definitely read it. My obsession with Michelangelo is way more recent, and perhaps all the more intense for that reason. Great video! I can always count on you to bring something new to my table :)

[@NicholasOfAutrecourt]

My love for Cicero takes back a long way, like I mentioned in the video. I still remember reading some of his court cases in the Loeb Classical Library edition for Latin class, and then a few years later during my Hellenistic philosophy seminar and the Tusculan Disputations. He's simultaneously charming and grates on the nerves, but I just can't turn away. Glad you saw something that looked interesting!

[@BryanM.R.-prionic1]

These have all been in my queue for a while (conveniently ignoring my thwarted attempt at The Enlightenment 😉), and they all sound great. I might have to give "God's Architect" a priority boost. And Latin class memories leave me quite sympathetic to that "cantankerous gasbag" description of Cicero. 😂 Have a good one!

[@ToddsBookTube91]

Nice set of 5 there John!

[@NicholasOfAutrecourt]

Thanks so much, Todd!

[@finlay1602]

Great video! Really loved hearing you talk about God's Architect, I've never read anything on Michelangelo but found myself convinced to find a copy by your clear admiration for it :))

[@NicholasOfAutrecourt]

If you find one and read it, please let me know what you thought!

[@sterlingreads547]

Nice!

[@NicholasOfAutrecourt]

Thanks, Summer!

[@KatJack-vl8xj]

I've been interested in the question of which kings were referred to as Plantagenets for a while now. It seems to be a relatively late attribution by the academic community to end the Plantagenet line with Richard II, with the cadet houses of York and Lancaster. However, when I looked into who first referred to themselves as "Plantagenet," it turns out it wasn''t until Richard Duke of of York declared himself to be of the Plantaget line, meaning descended from Georffrey of Anjou, whose nickname was Plantagenet.(It referred to the broom flower he took as a kind of badge.) It was not meant to be a family name. After Henry Tudor achieved his victory, the descendants of the Duke of York were referred to as "Plantagenets." But it wasn't until the late 17th century that the term "Plantagenet" was used by historians for this line. So it seems to be a moot point. The academic fashion of referring to certain people and not others as Plantagents is simply that -- a fashion.

[@user-iz6cc6lz3j-Vickie]

I just finished the Plantagenets also. I thought it was really good. He writes in an easy to read style and keeps your interests. I can’t wait to pick up Henry v his new book.

[@NicholasOfAutrecourt]

I'm looking forward to that one, too! Just waiting for it to pop up at a second-hand book shop or library book sale!

[@xtfgrw]

nice

[@NicholasOfAutrecourt]

Thank you.

[@revenantreads]

God’s Architect sounds wonderful.

[@NicholasOfAutrecourt]

I was expecting it to be good, but it was fantastic.