Oh, that looks extremely cool -- will check it out!! I'm rereading The Big Oyster: A Molluscular History of New York by Mark Kurlansky. Weird and wonderful!
Well, if Wikipedia says it, it must be TRUE. *laughs* I note that they have a separate category (genre?) for 'creative' non-fiction. Goodness, everything subdivides.
Mongols? *laughs a lot* Oh, I keep forgetting they are your livelihood and bread'n'butter but to me they are pure fantasy land. They got on the list because ... um, they're not a genre but they should be one! And I've been reading about the silk road and then I remembered the Mongol fic I once wrote and the Mongol TV movie I once saw where a very sexy Mongol played the part of Genghis Khan.
Well, at the moment they're not. But come autumn, they at least partly will be again.
And I like the idea of Mongols as genre. Of course, I've always been convinced of the slashibility of Chinggis Khaan. Completely convinced. Should not mention that in my thesis probably but still. :)
Completely horrible. Not completely surprising with China's politics concerning their minorities but still completely, utterly horrible. Damn.
Jamukha. As little boys they were bloodbrothers and then later on, when Temujin needed his help, Jamukha came back and they renewed the bloodbrother oath and - as The Secret History of the Mongols tell us - "slept under the same blanket". Now, obviously, it's not meant to be slashy but come on! And the best part, Temujin's mother and first wife brought them apart with intruige (also both guys were apparently kind of stupid and stubborn) and they actually become mortal enemies, with both of them trying to become khan. And in the end, Jamukha's own men betray him and bring him to Temujin (now already khan but not Genghis Khan yet). They obviously did not know that Temujin was not so happy with betrayals - they were killed instantly to turn on their leader. And then Temujin actually offers Jamukha not only his life - after Jamukha had went behind his backs, turned friends on him and been really not lovely - but a place at his side. Like desperately. But Jamukha feels he doesn't deserve that anymore, that too much bad blood is between them and so he asks for an honourable death so he may be able to watch over Temujin after his death. Hell yes.
(Also, I'm not the only one getting a slashy vibe - there's a historical novel by Pamela Sargent called "Ruler of the Sky". She makes Jamukha gay and in love with Temujin. She then kind of makes a mess of things but whoo for daring to do that anyway because there is some mutual fooling around)
I know, I know. And I just looked the episode in the question up again in the newest, bestest German translation anf holy slashiness, it's even slashier than I remember. The context is that Temujin and Jamukha are renewing their bloodbrothership:
"[§ 117...] Unter dem Verzweigten Baum im Qorqonag-Tal, vor der Felswand von Qulaqar, erklärten sie sich ihre Schwurbrüderschaft, liebten udn vergnügten sich bei Mahl udn Tanz, und die Nacht verbrachten sie zusammen, allein unter ihrer Decke.
§ 118 Temüjin und Jamukha liebten einander ein Jahr und die Hälfte des nächsten Hagrees - dann beschlossen sie eines Tages, jenes Lager, in dem sie sich aufgehalten hatten, zu verlassen. [...]"
Let me check the Mongolian version... Okay. I wouldn't translate as 'they loved each other' but 'they were beloved friends' but still. Also, as you say - who cares about canon so much anyway?
I have been reading travel books! I like the type that's closest to fiction, e.g. travel literature written in the Middle Ages and really, really exotic. Hence my choice of 'Mongols' (because I read Marco Polo's travels last year). yay, armchair travel! (Not that I ever read in an actual armchair.)
Sorry to but in but re: on the more fictional travel books and on Mongolia. Do you know Fritz Mühlenweg's "Fremde auf dem Pfad der Nachdenklichkeit"? Because it is utterly beautiful, blends facts (Mühlenweg was in MOngolia as member of those Sven Hedin-expeditions in the 1920s/30s) and fiction and gives such a wonderfully sensitive insight into the Mongolian mentality and all. Also, there is action and fun. And okay, well, Mühlenweg is single-handedly (or rather single-bookishly) responsible for me having done Mongolian Studies so I'm obviously biased. But it's really a beautiful book.
Awesome. And if you like that one - the one that is to blame for my choice of major, is called "In Geheimer Mission durch die Wüste Gobi". It's a Jugendbuch about two boys having to make their way through the Gobi desert in the Kriegswirren of the time. Just as beautiful and brilliant.
For "Other": lots of linguistics books and history. Also, the fiction I read nowadays is Spanish and Italian novels in the style of Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code." I guess that qualifies as fantasy?
I'm not overly fond of history books, perhaps because I'm married to an historian and get too much of it on a daily basis, *g*, but linguistics, oh yes, *gags*! What are you reading linguistic-wise? Is Dan Brown fantasy or thriller or some special genre of his own??
Are you reading these novels in the original languages? I can read Italian but Spanish would be too much of a challenge to crack for an entire novel.
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(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-06 09:54 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-06 11:15 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-07 12:26 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2009-07-07 11:09 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-08 04:20 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-07 12:26 pm (UTC)Hm. Surely, the difference between fiction and non-fiction is not one of 'genre'. Or is it? *scratches head*
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Date: 2009-07-07 12:57 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-07 11:10 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-06 10:04 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-07 12:28 pm (UTC)Horrible about the Uighurs, incidentally.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-07 09:30 pm (UTC)And I like the idea of Mongols as genre. Of course, I've always been convinced of the slashibility of Chinggis Khaan. Completely convinced. Should not mention that in my thesis probably but still. :)
Completely horrible. Not completely surprising with China's politics concerning their minorities but still completely, utterly horrible. Damn.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-07 11:11 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-08 04:23 am (UTC)That is my 100% favorite period, can you tell?
(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-08 03:23 pm (UTC)Oh god, and your icon.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-09 11:06 pm (UTC)(Also, I'm not the only one getting a slashy vibe - there's a historical novel by Pamela Sargent called "Ruler of the Sky". She makes Jamukha gay and in love with Temujin. She then kind of makes a mess of things but whoo for daring to do that anyway because there is some mutual fooling around)
/rant about the greatest love never told ;D
(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-10 10:02 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-10 08:44 pm (UTC)"[§ 117...] Unter dem Verzweigten Baum im Qorqonag-Tal, vor der Felswand von Qulaqar, erklärten sie sich ihre Schwurbrüderschaft, liebten udn vergnügten sich bei Mahl udn Tanz, und die Nacht verbrachten sie zusammen, allein unter ihrer Decke.
§ 118 Temüjin und Jamukha liebten einander ein Jahr und die Hälfte des nächsten Hagrees - dann beschlossen sie eines Tages, jenes Lager, in dem sie sich aufgehalten hatten, zu verlassen. [...]"
Let me check the Mongolian version... Okay. I wouldn't translate as 'they loved each other' but 'they were beloved friends' but still. Also, as you say - who cares about canon so much anyway?
(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-08 04:22 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-09 11:11 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-07 01:20 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-07 12:29 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-09 11:15 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2009-07-10 08:35 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-07 05:40 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-07 12:30 pm (UTC)Are you reading these novels in the original languages? I can read Italian but Spanish would be too much of a challenge to crack for an entire novel.