My Thoughts on Mary Beard's SPQR After Reading and Taking Notes on It

Last reading dates: May 3-17, 2018

Most recent reading dates: March 18 - May 18, 2021

Rating: 5/5 stars

Updated Review: I definitely enjoyed this book way more during this second time reading it. I picked up on a lot of things that I didn't quite remember from my last time reading it. I also picked up on a lot of points that I missed during my first read of the book. A lot of this was due to taking notes on SPQR while I read it this time around,  Beard really did a good job in focusing on as much as she could in the book. However, she also admitted that it is virtually impossible to truly focus on every single detail of Rome's history due to its vastness. I truly applaud Mary Beard in getting all the information she did on Rome within a 536-page book (606 pages including further reading, a timeline, acknowledgements, a list of illustrations, and an index).

An image of my copy of Mary Beard's
SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome

So what are my general thoughts after re-reading Mary Beard's SPQR and taking notes on it? I definitely think that it benefitted me in the long run. Will I remember all of the information that's in the book? Probably not off the top of my head. But that's why I took notes on it.

But, for me at least, here's why the re-read and note-taking was beneficial:

1. It gave me more to think about when I take in information about Rome. It also gave me something to contemplate when someone says or refers to "Rome," because it can honestly mean so much.
2. I learned the really fun fact that Cicero and Catiline had a debate on my birthday in 63 BCE. This is a piece of information I missed in my first read. So now I can just blurt this out randomly.
3. I can easily refer to my thoughts on the book if and when needed.