General Discussion

I have a few areas of history that interest me! I research them as a hobby and because I have OC's in those settings. I'm more interested in the personal experiences so whilst I do read history books generally I'm more interested in biographies or documentaries that (where possible) have interviews with veterans in them.

WW2 - Specifically the RAF. Idk what the draw is but something about the RAF in WW2 fascinates me. It's probably my biggest historical obsession I commit the most time to thinking about. I'd probably go as far as saying it's something I hyper-fixate on.
I've had the chance to sit in a Spitfire I can't put into words how awesome it was.
I'm actively researching the RAF at the moment and it's fascinating, so far I've only found Gee and Oboe boring but I had to look into so I could write the navigator when my characters get chopped from their fighter squadron and end up part of an Arvo Lancaster aircrew.

You can get books of RAF war diaries that's specifically aimed at writers for research and has a load of war records in it - I got hold of the the Bomber Command war diaries book but the Fighter Command ones are more tricky to get hold of because they're out of print, in a set of 5 books and the middle volumes (which happen to be the ones that'd be of most use to me) have a high resale value. ;_;

WW1 - Specifically the British Army in Europe. I'm specifically interested in the European theaters (namely Ypres and The Somme) and trench warfare. This one's more of a morbid interest that started from me wondering how I'd react to the trenches - the two outcomes I came up with ended up being full blown OC's.

Age of Sail - Specifically Nelson's Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. Whilst it's a period of history I think about often enough, I'm not as interested in the Age of Sail as I am WW2 and WW1. I think that's because it's such a niche interest it's hard to find good related content - I wasn't a fan of the few novels I picked up or was gifted, there's not a lot of recent movies/drama that doesn't center around pirates (shoutout to Hornblower and the Master and Commander movie for being awesome) and a lot of the history books I have on the subject seem to repeat themselves or deal with the subjects on vague terms they're not as useful as I'd hoped so I find it hard to be inspired to work with this period though I do have a story and OC's in this setting.

@bogbee

this is for you

*drops in at the speed of light* Me! I love history! Not sure if I share any periods of interest with you, as I tend to fixate on very specific eras, but hey! Any opportunity to learn about the past is one I'll gladly take.

There are only really two periods I'm really, deeply fascinated by, but I dabble in others frequently!

- Ancient Rome: Specifically the late Roman Republic and the early principate (the Julio-Claudian dynasty). It's a running joke that I just became interested by Rome out of the blue, as I honestly can't track my mild obsession to any single book or class. I would chalk it up to the prevalence of political intrigue throughout the civilization's history. Furthermore, the fall of the Roman Republic is one of the most well-documented epochs in that civilization's history, which means I get to enjoy the full extent of the many plots and schemes that were brewing amongst the ambitious political class. (Speaking of class, the plebeian/patrician/optimas/popularis conflicts of the period are intriguing as well, and some of the more radical politicians were at once amusing, scandalous, and revolutionarily progressive characters).

I have several books on the Late Roman Republic specifically (authored by prominent classicists, also some historical accounts that should be taken with a grain of salt) as well as on Ancient Rome in general; every new one I purchase or check out expands my knowledge usefully and fundamentally. Not sure where I'd be without Tom Holland and Mary Beard. Y'all rock. (There's also a former classics professor whose name is escaping my memory right now, but she has the absolute most snarky writing style and it is awesome.)

- The French Revolution: This is a new one for me. We very recently wrapped up a unit on the French Revolution in my history class, but let me tell you, I am not done learning about it no matter what the curriculum dictates I have to focus on. I'm honestly not quite sure about the origin of this one either (that's a trend when it comes to my amateur historical studies), though it could very well be the chaos of the period. If my interest in the Late Roman Republic isn't telling enough, then let me just state it explicitly: I quite enjoy political and social chaos. In the context of history, of course... wouldn't want to live through it myself.

Again, since this is a new interest, I don't have any books. Like... any. And my local bookstore hasn't been much help. I'd seek aid from our corporate lord and savior Amazon if not for the threat of being branded a francophile by my parents (I am not), as they, quite unfortunately, do not like France. (It's mostly the language. I dislike the language as well, no offense to the French.)

I also like:
- Ancient Egypt
- Ancient Greece
- some other stuff I'm definitely forgetting :')

Ye it's the same for me, I'm more into military history than anything. Whilst I do love Hurricanes, Spitfires and Lancasters I also find myself wanting to know about the people who flew them as well as what it was like. Most of the historical rabbit holes I end up going down are either related to people's experiances in the RAF or trench warfare in WW1. I think being interested in the personal experience is a big part of why I write characters in those settings to start with, I also think that's part of why I loved 1917 so much.

I should start looking at the German side of WW1 because that WW1 story (admittedly I do later dump those characters into my sci-fi plot so it's not truly a WW1 story though I am intending to write it so it can be read as a standalone within that era) is supposed to flick between the English and German sides until the characters are forced together.

I totally get that, the overall complexities are fascinating too. I'm watching a 4 part series called Spitfire Ace (you can pick this up on youtube) that deals with all the complexities of the Battle of Britain and it's really interesting. They also talk to RAF and a Luftwaffe veteran (including Geoffrey Wellum who's biography First Light got me into the RAF in WW2 to start with). The Ewan McGregor RAF documentaries were also fantastic for unraveling those complexities.

Thanks! I half want to say the first Pirates of the Caribbean got me into Age of Sail (it also got me into boating, art, writing and even my current career path lmao) - Age of Sail has been a lowkey interest in the back of my mind since but I didn't properly get into the Age of Sail until about 2016 at least? I saw fanart of Hornblower, fell in love with the show and it's characters then got more interested in the Royal Navy side of the period from there.

Age of Sail is something I'd like to be able to get as in depth as I can get with my war research so I can write that story well it's just hard finding books and sources that aren't repetitive and give me the info I need to know. That said, I did pick up a huge book on period-accurate seamanship that is a fantastic resource. It is a shame there's not more (recent) Age of Sail media that doesn't focus on pirates because as a setting it has so much potential. A series set around/about Trafalgar for instance could be pretty intense. I forgot Turn: Washington's Spies handles the subject really well too!

Oops that got long, sorry!

I suppose that label could apply to me? my main focus is on mythologies and religion however. I'm also more interested in day to day life so to speak- fashion, diet, daily practices, superstitions, anything that shows us what their values where and what life would have been like for them.

I suppose my main region of focus is Europe, but particularly Greece, Norway, Wales, Ireland, and Scotland. But really if you give me anything relating to ancient religious practices, I'm going to be pretty interested.

[quote name="voidbeast" date="2020-03-05 15:06:41" ] does the cambrian count... [/quote] dude,, the cambrian is so rad I could wax poetic about anomalocaris (and the burgess shale in general!) [rule] [quote name="Requacy" date="2020-03-05 17:10:53" ] THE CAMBRIAN PERIOD THOUGH- [/quote] cambrian gang rise up!!

I'm mostly a Natural History buff. I actually wrote a research paper about four-winged dinosaurs and why they went extinct. Apart from that, I'm a mythology person, specifically the mythical creatures and all of that stuff.

The three "human" history periods I know about beyond mythology and animals are Castles of Britain/Ireland, the French Revolution, and the American Revolution. Did you know today is the 250th anniversary of the Boston Massacre? I'll probably try to talk about those on here later, or natural/mythological history, which is more of my skill and interest. Yi qi is my spirit animal.


THE CAMBRIAN PERIOD THOUGH-

casually slides into this thread!

i'm greek and i actually still worship the ancient greek gods! my parents raised me into the religion and thus, as an extension, i actually still partake in a lot of ancient greek traditions and stuff which probably leads to why i like it so much

i'm also minoring in ancient greek classical studies in university so wheeee~