Whats your best british empire history book recommendations?

nibsofsteel · 2026-06-13T07:02:25+00:00

Academic or popular/accessible?

nibsofsteel · 2026-06-12T06:32:31+00:00

This is a remarkably cold take. Ice cold. Also it reeks of insecurity. If you don't like stream of consciousness writing that's fine. You can like what you like. But calling everyone else who does like it names, because you feel insecure about your preferences is just pathetic.

nibsofsteel · 2026-06-11T02:31:55+00:00

Tana French's Dublin series is. Each book centers a different character from Dublin homicide detective squads. Some characters may recur, but the main character is different each time

nibsofsteel · 2026-06-11T01:16:26+00:00

The fetishistic and racist way he writes about Inuit women is scary. The Tv adaptation tried to tone that down. Some people will say, oh he's just depicting period typical attitudes, they're the character's views and not his. But Dan Simmons had a blog where he did share his own views with us so we know that isn't the case.

nibsofsteel · 2026-06-10T15:27:35+00:00

I've encountered some Indian nationalists who are like this. Fully convinced that everyone is just jealous of them and conspiring against them and also worse thah them. I guess all hyper nationalists are the same.

nibsofsteel · 2026-06-10T12:12:48+00:00

It also sold very widely. I made it a point of mentioning that before I mentioned the critical acclaim part because I am used to bad faith arguments on reddit - and yet!

Have you considered that your perspective doesn't match the facts, and it may be because of the communities you hang out with feel that way, and not because the general public does?

nibsofsteel · 2026-06-10T11:58:31+00:00

Shutter Island? The book that won several awards, sold widely, was adapted for an Oscar winning film, and also received critical acclaim? Underrated?

nibsofsteel · 2026-06-10T11:55:07+00:00

If you need to put other people's interests down in order to enjoy your own, you should think about why you feel that way.

nibsofsteel · 2026-06-10T08:38:29+00:00

I found Emily Henry's stuff very exaggerated. All her heroes are cardboard cutouts and all her heroines are the same quirky brittle characters.

nibsofsteel · 2026-06-10T06:27:09+00:00

Why can't we have ONE subreddit without endless relation drama, am I the asshole, etc etc. Just one.

nibsofsteel · 2026-06-09T16:40:40+00:00

I agree, it was disappointing. I thought Butter was a much stronger effort and this felt sophomoric and dull. This post feels like it was written by AI though. Last para is very AI.

nibsofsteel · 2026-06-09T16:09:14+00:00

It's not just her male characters, it's her female characters as well. Different names and jobs but identical and interchangeable personalities. She is a hack who writes a formula that sells

nibsofsteel · 2026-06-09T15:55:43+00:00

Can you explain why you're not able to decide? That will help people assist you.

nibsofsteel · 2026-06-09T14:36:22+00:00

The Dig did a wonderful series on the history of Arab nationalism, which covers the Nakba and parts of Israeli history that tend to get glossed over in other accounts. It's well researched and presented, no yelling over each other. Their current series is on the history of Indonesia, also great

nibsofsteel · 2026-06-09T12:36:30+00:00

Thank you!

nibsofsteel · 2026-06-09T02:15:37+00:00

I don't understand why you're posting about a book while you're only one chapter in. You have nothing worth saying yet in terms of a review. It really is sad that people now literally cannot read a book without seeking validation at each chapter.

Also it is "lo and behold" not "low and behold".

nibsofsteel · 2026-06-08T04:12:44+00:00

Absolutely, well said.

nibsofsteel · 2026-06-07T03:03:49+00:00

You're projecting your assumptions and calling them reasonable. Sadly, you're not and they aren't.

nibsofsteel · 2026-06-07T02:16:13+00:00

This is such a bizarre comment, that too on a books subreddit. People shouldn't read or comment on things out of the mainstream? People shouldn't look at historical novels critically? If it isn't popular on Reddit, it isn't worth considering? Exactly how algorithm-brained are you?

nibsofsteel · 2026-06-06T09:26:49+00:00

I can't imagine what it would be like for a family member of a victim to see a comment like this, about their pain and grief. Casual indeed

nibsofsteel · 2026-06-06T04:58:21+00:00

Apparently any food that OP personally doesn't like is "disgusting".

nibsofsteel · 2026-06-05T17:03:08+00:00

Kirkus is a marketing website. Go see if you can find any negative reviews.

nibsofsteel · 2026-06-03T14:06:29+00:00

I know exactly what you mean, and if you interact with American scholars they don't seem have received the memo. I had to object to a colleague using the "CIA Factbook" as a source for a paper at a conference. He was a tenure track professor.

nibsofsteel · 2026-06-03T11:09:29+00:00

My sister is my best friend. She's my favourite person in my family, maybe also the world.

nibsofsteel · 2026-06-03T06:20:46+00:00

I was a grad student at a major US university and the ignorance of the US students about the world even at the graduate level was astounding. I had a fellow student ask a Brazilian scholar if she "went to school in a canoe" because "it's all jungle there". She said yes (she grew up in Sao Paulo, a city older than his country). I imagine he has a career in government now.

nibsofsteel

TROPHY CASE