BW20: 52 Books Bingo - Renaissance

Our next 52 Books Bingo category is taking us back in time to the Renaissance which took place between the 14th to 17th centuries and began in Italy with a humanism revolution bringing changes to art, literature, music, philosophy, religion and more.

Famous writers during that period includes William Shakespeare, Miguel de Cervantes, Niccolo Machiavelli, Francesco Petrarch, Dante Alighieri, and Geoffrey Chaucer to name a few.  Now would be a perfect time to continue my Dante's Divine Comedy read as I still haven't read Purgatorio yet and it's been glaring at me from my shelves. *grin*

Let's not forget the ladies with Shakespeare’s Sisters: A Celebration of Renaissance Women Writers

Renaissance writers who shaped the modern world

Biographies and history books on the Renaissance

Reading the Renaissance: the guilty pleasures of historical fiction

Sarah Dunant's top 10 books on the Renaissance

Popular 14th Century Novels, 15th Century, and 16th Century and popular Renaissance books.

While we are time traveling, try moving forward in time to the 1920's and the Renaissance Women: 12 Female Writers of the Harlem Renaissance.

I currently have several Renaissance books in my shelves including Dante's Purgatorio, Machiavelli's The Prince as well as historical fiction authors Sarah Dunant's Sacred Hearts as well as Stephanie Storey's Oil and Marble in my book shelves which I'm looking forward to reading soon.

Have fun armchair traveling through the Renaissance.

**********************************

Please share your book reviews and link to your website, blog, Goodreads, Google+, Tumblers, or Instagram page. If you do not have a social media account, please leave a comment to let us know what you are reading. The link widget closes at the end of each book week.

In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field paste a link to your post, then check the privacy box and click enter.

BW19: 52 Books Bingo - Machiavellian

Our next 52 Books Bingo adventure is to read something about or considered to be Machiavellian. Niccolo Machiavelli was an Italian diplomat and the father of modern political theory. His most famous work, The Prince, was written in an attempt to win the attention of Lorenzo De Medici and earn a position within his government. The short work is a treatise on how to win and maintain political power in which the ruler is not bound by ethical norms.

If someone is said to be Machiavellian, they are characterized as being unscrupulously cunning,  and psychologists see Machiavellianism as a person so focused on their own interests they will manipulate, deceive, and exploit others to achieve their goals. It is also defined as "being or acting in accordance with the principles of government analyzed in Machiavelli's The Prince, in which political expediency is placed above morality and the use of craft and deceit to maintain the authority and carry out the policies of a ruler is described." Some believe the book to be satire and equate it with Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal. Check out Yale Insights What Can You Learn From Machiavelli?

There are a number of ways to go with this category, including but not limited to reading morality plays, history or political thrillers, historical treatises, psychological mysteries.

Need a few ideas?

Explore Goodreads Popular Machiavellianism Books and Popular Political Satire, 23 Books every House of Cards Fan should read, What Would Machiavelli Read, or Game of Thrones: a Study in Machiavellianism.

Have fun following rabbit trails! 

********************************************

If you'd like to share your book reviews, you may link to your website, blog, Goodreads, Google+, Tumblers, or Instagram page. If you do not have any internet or social media account, please leave a comment to let us know what you are reading. Please do not add links of 52 Books, nonexistent or old web pages. They will be deleted. If your link disappears, please email me if you need to change or update your links. The linking widget closes at the end of each book week. 

In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field paste a link to your post, then check the privacy box and click enter.