Imperium by Robert Harris (historical fiction)

Really really good, five stars.  Although it was a fast read, it was absorbing. From the POV of Cicero's secretary, Tiro, who was quite the learned figure himself, this book tells the story of Cicero's early career.  I never liked Cicero as a person, but now I have new perspective.  In this election season, some of the tactics he used in his own elections are too close for comfort.

Cheese and Culture by Paul S. Kindstedt (nonfiction)

I've never read anything quite like this before - a history of civilization told by a cheese historian using cheese history.  I enjoyed the book overall, even though there were slow parts.  I learned some new things that I didn't know about history and about cheese.  Mostly fun.

The Sons of Caesar: Imperial Rome's First Dynasty by Philip Matyszak

Instead of focusing on silly rumors and stereotypes about these guys, the author analyzes the political and social changes that made the Empire possible and that the first emperors themselves brought about.  I've always been skeptical of the one-dimensional characterizations of Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius and Nero, so I enjoyed this a lot.

More Ursula Blanchard mysteries by Fiona Buckley (historical fiction)

I've read two more in the series now, The Doublet Affair and Queen of Ambition.  The first was better in terms of sustained suspense and a convoluted plot that I didn't guess correctly.  The second wasn't a bad novel, just a little less streamlined.  These are set in Queen Elizabeth's time, and although she shows up only a few times, I think the author does a great job characterizing her.

Catherine the Great: A Portrait of a Woman by Robert K. Massie (nonfiction)

Five stars, read this book if you love history.  The book is long but engrossing.  I learned a lot.

Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel (historical fiction)

Very very good, but not as good as Wolf Hall, the first book, which won the Man Booker Prize.  Bring Up the Bodies is in contention for that prize.  These are first-person accounts by Thomas Cromwell, a minister of Henry VIII.  The first one was gripping and amazing, while this one, still a great effort, is less inspired.

The Kings' Mistresses: The Liberated Lives of Marie Mancini, Princess Colonna, and Her Sister Hortense, Duchess Mazarin by Elizabeth Goldsmith (nonfiction)

A book about independent women before there were feminists, this is an adventure.  Apparently the media of the 1800s made up all kinds of stories about these sisters, even though the truth was amazing.  This book was almost like a novel although it is nonfiction.