Spain was great! I’ll write a post about it soon (with piccies! Hopefully great ones as one of my travelling companions had a very nice camera and an awe-inspiring dedication to good shots).

I admit once I was free of posting along with the group I just gobbled down I, Claudius. And any virtuous thoughts I had about keeping notes went out the window once Sangria and the Prado and the Alhambra entered the picture. So I’ll just post thoughts about all of the chapters in the last half of the book in a big jumble.

( I have forgotten lots of stuff but here are some quick reactions, spoilers as usual )

I, Claudius was a great book to read. It was slow at times with the lack of dialogue and the name-heavy prose. But the sly humour and the sheer madness of the storyline (and the fact that many of the bits were true!) made it worthwhile. I just wish I had been around more to do it justice in my blog.

Claudius the God is on hold at my library. I’m eager to read it. Will Claudius revenge Caligula’s death as he promised even though it was a Good Thing that the mad emperor was offed? Will his fourth (? I’m losing track) wife turn out better than the previous two? Will he make Livia a Goddess? Will the population of Rome boom now that people can survive a year without being poisoned? Good times ahead, my friends!

Edited to add, thanks to Leila at Bookshelves of Doom for arranging this Big Read! It was great trying out a book I probably wouldn't have got around to picking up myself!

Tags: books, graves, historical