We read a lot. These books, purchased from the Carlos Museum Bookshop, are the ones we recommend to friends, purchase as gifts, and return to over and over again.
Send your orders by email, with phone number and shipping address, to Bookshop Manager Mark Burell at mburell@emory.edu.
Recommendations from the week of June 29, 2020
The Book of Longings
Recommended by Vicky Alvear Shecter, Carlos Museum Docent
Catnip, pure unadulterated catnip. An ancient history novel dealing with an erased woman’s perspective, set in a tumultuous period of history? Gimme.
The story is told from the point of view of Jesus of Nazareth’s imagined wife. This story gives us fascinating glimpses into the power structures within Jerusalem, the daily lives of women both poor and rich, the brutality of Roman occupation, and the desperation of zealots.
As a docent, though, I must give one final reason why I enjoyed this book so much—the main character used an “invocation bowl” to articulate her longings. Every time she referenced it, I smiled because she described it as looking exactly like the one we have in the Carlos Museum’s Near Eastern Galleries.
The Amazons: Lives and Legends of Warrior Women Across the Ancient World
Recommended by Vicky Alvear Shecter, Carlos Museum Docent
This is one of my all-time favorite nonfiction books and I reference it every time I give a tour of the Greek and Roman galleries at the Carlos.
Mayor has a gift for communicating historical detail in an extremely accessible way. She also helped me understand how the Greek and Roman perspectives on Amazons revealed their anxieties about powerful women. After all, nearly every ancient hero had to defeat or overcome an Amazon in some way to prove his bona fides.
I must also mention that I used this book in much of my research for my own book for children, Warrior Queens, also available at the bookstore (obligatory plug, sorry). Highly recommended for fans of Amazons and Wonder Women everywhere.
In Bed with the Ancient Egyptians
Recommended by Vicky Alvear Shecter, Carlos Museum Docent
Both these subjects—sex and ancient Egypt—are endlessly fascinating and this book does justice to both. On a visual level, the cover is simply gorgeous.
From a historical perspective, the research is impressive, reinforcing my opinion that history is always way more fascinating than fiction. The author explores the relative openness of sex and sexuality in ancient Egyptian culture (it was not considered taboo, dirty, or forbidden) and its expression in mythology and religion. Some of the ancient attitudes toward sex seem surprisingly modern and some (especially as it relates to birth control) are, well, downright surprising. We also get glimpses into the love lives of Akhenaten and Nefertiti as well as the last pharaoh of Egypt, Cleopatra VII.
Highly recommended for anyone who loves ancient Egyptian history and frank discussions of sex and sexuality.
The Secret Lives of Color
Recommended by Allison Hutton, Director of Communications and Marketing
This is fascinating, beautifully designed book relatively short "biographies" of colors like vermillion and heliotrope that may well leave you saying to yourself "Finally! It's so nice to put a face to a name!"
The brevity (two to three pages per color) of the biographies make this book a good choice for times when you find it hard to read, or as a the perfect gift for a friend who may not have time to devote to lengthy tomes.
Cræft: An Inquiry Into the Origins and True Meaning of Traditional Crafts
Recommended by Allison Hutton, Director of Communications and Marketing
This is medieval historian and archaeologist Alexander Langlands's esoteric look at cræft (note the ligature) as practiced by the Anglo Saxons.
Descriptions of learning to thatch a roof, maintain a rock wall, and build a bee skep aren't just entertaining those of us who secretly dream of a career as a living history interpreter—they are meditations on what it means to develop a skill over the course of years and work in and with nature.
I recommend this book to all Anglophiles, nature lovers, PBS supporters, DIYers, history buffs, English majors, and artisans/crafters.
Beneath My Feet: Writers on Walking
Recommended by Allison Hutton, Director of Communications and Marketing
I purchased this for two loved ones who are readers as well as walkers; they've both taken to the sidewalks with renewed vigor as a method of managing stress.
Bonus: One of the recipients, a former editor at UGA Press and the type of book lover who lives to inhale fresh ink, couldn't stop raving about the lovelines of the book itself.
