As for good historical fiction set in ancient cultures, I'd recommend Sutcliffe's The Eagle of the Ninth. Its the only one of hers I've read, but I really liked it. I'd also recommend The Robe, by Lloyd C. Douglas, which is a fictional account of the soldier who wins Jesus' robe at the crucifixcion.
As for my own reading, I recently finished Crown Duel. Will post more on it later.

I've thought of a few more for Rome/Roman occupied territories: Henry Winterfield's Detectives in Togas and Mystery of the Roman Ransom and the popular Roman Mysteries by Caroline Lawrence. Winterfield's books are hilarious. On the more serious side there's Anna of Byzantium by Tracy Barrett and The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare. I know in the Royal Diaries series there is one for Cleopatra... as well as some other less well known figures from diverse cultures and time periods. Some of those might fit the time periods you're looking for.

Kate Seredy's The White Stag is probably more historical fantasy than factual, but it's got stunning illustrations and it's a look at Attila the Hun from his people's point of view.

So here are my thoughts on Crown Duel:
I liked the pacing, especially in the first half. Mel's first-person POV was great, and so was the description. I liked its take on rebels. It was pretty exciting, too.
I didn't like the second half as much, and the ending felt kind of sudden. But I'd still recommend this book.

So sorry to be late replying to your post Valiant. I haven't been on here in awhile! It is called Marie Antoinette: The Journey by Antonia Fraser. I have finished reading Hush Hush and its sequel Crescendo. I enjoyed them. Very fast reads!

ooh! books!!
I just finished reading starlighter by Bryan Davis. anyone else read that one?

I just read "Dragon Spear" by Jessica Day George and it was epic! I love that book and the two prequels in the series "Dragon Slippers" and "Dragon Flight"

I'm currently reading Stephen King's Under the Dome. It's very well-written but I'm not attaching myself to the characters like I did with The Stand. But it's a testament to his writing skill that I'm still reading this huge novel despite all that. There's more swearing than I'd like and some of the themes are quite strong at times (but not really gratuitious) but still, it's quite good.

Reading:
The Man Who Was Thursday by G.K. Chesterton.
I'm only a page or two in, I can't give my opinion yet.
Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper.
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo.
Slow going so far...
Choosing Forgiveness by Nancy Leigh DeMoss

Finished:
Farmer Giles of Ham by J.R.R. Tolkien
It was a short read... Just for fun. I enjoyed it...
Princess Academy
I liked it.

The Man Who Was Thursday by G.K. Chesterton.
I'm only a page or two in, I can't give my opinion yet.

Probably a good thing you clarified that; I was about to pounce.

I am currently about 1/3 of the way through book #55 for the year, which is Twenty Years After by Alexander Dumas (book two in the Musketeer series). I'm enjoying it so far, and am glad that I decided to read some more of his work. I really enjoyed The Man in the Iron Mask (book three in the series), which I finished a few days ago. (Yes, I'm reading the series backwards, but not by choice; they were all checked out at the library, and that's the order they're coming back in. It's not too bad though; I've read at least an abridged version of the TTM, so I know the basic plot, even if I don't remember all the characters.)

I read Belles On Their Toes (sequel to Cheaper by the Dozen) for the first time yesterday, and loved it. It was quite amusing, as well as a great (true) story, and I was sorry to say goodbye to the Gilbreth family at the end.

*thinks* What else have I read recently...

Ummm, I've read Paradise Lost (pretty good), The Hunger Games series (average), the City of Ember series (the first book was the best), a bunch of other books I can't remember off the top of my head, and re-read Manalive and fell in love with it all over again.

I've had to refrain from buying books lately so I could save money for a camera, so my purchases lately have been very few. It's been hard, but I have avoided stopping at my favorite thrift store on Wednesdays, and I'm trying to stay out of the bookstore at the library.

I think that's about it. Up next (or at least pretty soon) is Little Dorrit, which I was inspired to check out after seeing the Dickens discussion a page or two ago.

--- flambeau

Farmer Giles of Ham by J.R.R. Tolkien
It was a short read... Just for fun. I enjoyed it...
Princess Academy
I liked it.

Those are both excellent books - I'm glad you enjoyed them!

I read Belles On Their Toes (sequel to Cheaper by the Dozen) for the first time yesterday, and loved it. It was quite amusing, as well as a great (true) story, and I was sorry to say goodbye to the Gilbreth family at the end.

Oh yes!! Those two books are so hilarious and sweet, I read and re-read them so many times! I think they were the first books I'd ever read that were better than the movie (this was a LONG time ago, obviously. ).

Up next (or at least pretty soon) is Little Dorrit, which I was inspired to check out after seeing the Dickens discussion a page or two ago.

Oh yay!! I just finished that, and I loved it so - have you read it before? Tell me how you like it!!

So sorry to be late replying to your post Valiant. I haven't been on here in awhile! It is called Marie Antoinette: The Journey by Antonia Fraser.

Oh, that is such a good book! I'm reading it right now. And, ahem, it's taking me quite a while to get through but only because it's the sort of book I find I can put down for ages and pick back up and get easily into. Very informative, some parts are a little draggy but mostly interesting. Makes me respect and appreciate Marie Antoinette in a new way. You might enjoy a book called Queen of Fashion: What Marie Antoinette Wore to the Revolution. I can't remember who it's by, but it's kind of a biographie about her based on her clothing choices and how they reflected her personality and politics and her background as an Austrian and her position as Dauphine. Very interesting!

Thought I'd post a bit about some books I got for my birthday this year:
Cleopatra: A Life: by Stacy Schiff
This biography about Cleopatra looks soooo interesting! I haven't started it yet, but I've taken a few peeks and it looks very interesting and informative. It's gotten amazing reviews too, and is the basis for a movie coming out in the next year, I believe.

http://www.amazon.com/Cleopatra-Life-St ... 0316120448

Yesterday I finished the YA book I mentioned in my last post - The Twin's Daughter. It was a surprisingly interesting, emotional, and complex novel. It's hard to say what my final opinion is. I'd have to say it's probably negative. Annnd below you will find my usual inane list of positives-negatives:

~ The author (Lauren Baratz-Logsted) did do a beautiful job describing people and building up her characters. On occasion they might do something silly, but they are very believable.
~ At the beginning of the book the writing seemed rather stiff and even awkward in a few places. But it did get progressively somewhat better (or as the plot got more gripping I failed to notice the poorer areas! ).
~ The plot was very unique and the romance was very good - passionate and sweet without being unpleasantly so. (IMO!)
~ I'm a "Prude", so I didn't like the nudity mentioned several times. It wasn't graphic, but neither was it necessary. Lucy, the MC, is aware of adults in the household having sex. Also,

~ The biggest issue I had with the book was not the [somewhat] adult content but the fact that by the end of the story everything that was stable and familiar in Lucy's life has been turned upside down.Reviewers on Amazon used the words "Twisted" and "Menacing", which are pretty apt, to describe the feeling I was left with. Considering the amount of awful things happening in real life, novels should encourage us to trust our relatives and grow closer to them, not sow more precedents for distrust and doubt.
If you don't mind that, or the material that would earn a movie a PG-13, or the sometimes *meh* prose, this book is pretty decent and certainly thought provoking. And at least the ending is relatively happy.

Today I got the last new Redwall book out from the library.
Apparently it's not officially released yet, so I'm not sure how my local library got a copy... But that's nice!

Last week, I finished my reread of the seven Harry Potter books, which took me a little over two months. Now I'm busy rereading Rick Riordan's The Red Pyramid in time for the sequel, The Throne of Fire to be released this Tuesday. Very excited! The Red Pyramid, by the way, is just as good a book as I remember it to be. I have such a soft spot for mythology.

Elanor! I'm not finished with Dombey and Son yet, I'm about a third of the way through it, but I am loving it so far! Thanks so much for the excellent recommendation.

(I may even like it better than Bleak House...)

Elanor! I'm not finished with Dombey and Son yet, I'm about a third of the way through it, but I am loving it so far! Thanks so much for the excellent recommendation.

hehe, this totally made my day - I was so glad to recommend it to you! So glad you're enjoying it, I hope you like it more and more as you get deeper into it.
Not quite sure if I like it Bleak House, but it's easier to read.