So, I’m not much of a TikTok viewer, but the “How Often Do You Think About the Roman Empire?” meme has managed to penetrate my middle-aged bubble. Apparently, women asking their husbands and boyfriends how often they think about the Roman Empire are shocked at the frequency men are doing just that. But to my mind, what's truly shocking is that these women aren't also thinking about it. Not to sound cranky (although I am a little), liking cool things is not a male pursuit, and the Roman Empire is undeniably cool. I mean, aqueducts and togas and writing Latin in all caps so it always looks as if you’re screaming is pretty amazing as far as I’m concerned.

Also, I’m hardly the only woman thinking about the Roman Empire. For my money, the best Roman history being written today is by Mary Beard. She’s got a new book coming out next month, which is just fantastic timing for her and Roman Empire fans. If you can’t wait that long, though, I recommend her book SPQR, which I’ve actually suggested before (because this isn’t the first time I’ve thought about the Roman Empire.)

So, if you enjoy thinking about the Roman Empire, too, here are a few more historical fiction books you will probably want to check out on the Libby app, so you can think about it some more.

I, Claudius by Robert Graves

I’m starting with this book, because it’s a really good one to read for several reasons. One, it’s one of my favorite books ever, full stop. Definitely on my personal Top 10. I’ve read it three times. I really, really like this book. This novel is an imagined journal written by the Emperor Claudius from his birth, through the reigns of Augustus, Tiberius, and Caligula, to his own surprising elevation to Emperor. And if you can’t get enough of the completely wild Julio-Claudian family in this book, there is a wonderful sequel, Claudius the God.

The Wolf Den by Elodie Harper

This is just Book 1 in a trilogy about a young woman sold into slavery at a Pompeii brothel. Amara is an educated woman, trying to make the best of the twist of fate that has brought her to the Wolf Den brothel, struggling to work her way up to a better life. She’s glimpsing some opportunities in Book 2, The House with the Golden Door, but in this fall’s final installment, The Temple of Fortuna, a certain nearby volcano is looming. What will happen to her? You should probably hop on those first two books so you’re ready on Nov. 14.

A Day of Fire by Kate Quinn, et al.

Speaking of Mt. Vesuvius, this new novel, written by bestseller Kate Quinn and a host of other authors, takes you to that fateful day. Each of the six authors follows a different character on the day of the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius that buried Pompeii. Some survive, others perish, and only by reading all of these overlapping stories will you find out the fate of each.

Imperium by Robert Harris

How did Rome go from a Republic to the rule of Emperors? The great orator, Cicero, had a front row seat, and Harris, a master of historical fiction, puts him at the center of this trilogy. Book 1, Imperium, opens with Cicero as a young lawyer, before he ever becomes a senator. Then in Conspirata, Cicero becomes a consul and makes common cause with a rising political star, Gaius Julius Caesar. Finally in book 3, Dictator, Cicero watches the complete disintegration of the senate and the murder of Caesar. This is a great series to read if you want to see where it all started.

Feast of Sorrow by Crystal King

It’s Ancient Rome Downton Abbey for foodies. This novel shows both the upstairs and downstairs in Emperor Augustus’s home, with the true center of the story being the cooks and slaves that inspired the oldest known cookbook. Dinner parties in Rome were often the center of politics (Mary Beard’s new book has a whole chapter dedicated to this, by the way), so King’s critically acclaimed debut is the perfect way to get a taste of everyday life and the politics on the biggest stage in the world.

Now it’s time to stop thinking about the Roman Empire and start reading about it on the Libby app from your library.