Just finished reading Germania by Simon Winder; described as a personal history of Germany and the Germans. It's very entertaining; does not stick to a traditional names and dates structure, and gives you some very unique insights into how and why Germany developed between Roman times up until 1933.

Looking forward to getting into Bettany Hughes' book about the history of Istanbul; very heavy one that though, so I won't be carrying around on buses with me :-)

kerk