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1A_musing
OK, having failed miserably at reading 50 in 2007 (yes, I didn't get a start until half-way through, and, gee-whiz, I did read some big books in there), time to give it a go again. But I'm not sticking to a numerical goal of fifty total; I'll be happy with whatever I read in total, but will set some other monthly goals.
So, this year, my goals:
Each month, I'd like to read at least one classic work, at least one book of poetry and at least one history.
Over the year, I'd like to add 3-5 nobel prize winners I haven't read before, as that's been a great source of really fine books I haven't otherwise been exposed to. I'd also like to add 5 new countries to my "epic journey" on the Global Readers forum.
Following up on some authors read for the first time last year, I'd like to read the Cairo Trilogy by NaguibMahfouz, some more Halldor Laxness, Ismael Kadare and some more Ivo Andric.
So, we'll see how it goes!
So, this year, my goals:
Each month, I'd like to read at least one classic work, at least one book of poetry and at least one history.
Over the year, I'd like to add 3-5 nobel prize winners I haven't read before, as that's been a great source of really fine books I haven't otherwise been exposed to. I'd also like to add 5 new countries to my "epic journey" on the Global Readers forum.
Following up on some authors read for the first time last year, I'd like to read the Cairo Trilogy by NaguibMahfouz, some more Halldor Laxness, Ismael Kadare and some more Ivo Andric.
So, we'll see how it goes!
2A_musing
A couple other goals for this year: I want to add at least 10 countries to my world map, and want to read more deeply in works of at least two regions or places. My first "deeper dive" is going to be an Iberian one: I'm on Don Quixote now, and want to read considerably more from both all the Golden Ages: Christian, Jewish and Islamic.
3lauralkeet
I've just "starred" your thread, A_musing! I'm looking forward to following your reading journey this year.
4A_musing
I'm going to start my reviews off this year with three audiobooks, which are a new experience for me.
The first is Robertson Dean's telling of Beowulf, which we've listened to over the last two weekends. The recording is as dramatic and powerful a reading as you could imagine, and had great appeal for my seven-year old boy, less for my older girls. I do think that this story was meant to be told more than read; it is a riveting two-and-a-half hour listen. If anyone is tempted to see the new movie, I'd recommend getting the audio book and listening instead.
The second is Robert Whitfield's reading of Don Quixote; I picked this up for some long holiday drives, and the experience was great as an audiobook, it part because it is a rather light-hearted, easy to listen to tale. I'd never made it all the way through before, though I'd read the opening chapters a few times. What surprised me most about it was it's similarity in form to some of the Islamic classics, like the 1001 Nights and the Shahnameh - the stories within stories and the use of interjected poetry both came across to me as more Arabic/Persian in form than European. It drives home the extent of the Arabic influence on the European Renaissance, particularly in Spain. I plan to do some additional reading more from the period before long. Beyond that, it is a well-deserved classic, rich with very human stories about eternal issues.
Finally, I also listened to a classic reading of Dylan Thomas's Under Milk Wood; this is another work that benefits from the telling, though it is immensely more complicated and subtle than either Beowulf or Quixote. I've read it several times, and think listening adds still more to the extraordinary lyricism of the story, even if its harder to catch some of its complexities. One day in a Welsh coastal town, beginning with sleep and dreams and ending with their return, traversing the full range of experiences and emotions at breakneck speed. I'd recommend a listen as well as a read of this.
I'll add some on my actual reading, as opposed to listening, shortly.
The first is Robertson Dean's telling of Beowulf, which we've listened to over the last two weekends. The recording is as dramatic and powerful a reading as you could imagine, and had great appeal for my seven-year old boy, less for my older girls. I do think that this story was meant to be told more than read; it is a riveting two-and-a-half hour listen. If anyone is tempted to see the new movie, I'd recommend getting the audio book and listening instead.
The second is Robert Whitfield's reading of Don Quixote; I picked this up for some long holiday drives, and the experience was great as an audiobook, it part because it is a rather light-hearted, easy to listen to tale. I'd never made it all the way through before, though I'd read the opening chapters a few times. What surprised me most about it was it's similarity in form to some of the Islamic classics, like the 1001 Nights and the Shahnameh - the stories within stories and the use of interjected poetry both came across to me as more Arabic/Persian in form than European. It drives home the extent of the Arabic influence on the European Renaissance, particularly in Spain. I plan to do some additional reading more from the period before long. Beyond that, it is a well-deserved classic, rich with very human stories about eternal issues.
Finally, I also listened to a classic reading of Dylan Thomas's Under Milk Wood; this is another work that benefits from the telling, though it is immensely more complicated and subtle than either Beowulf or Quixote. I've read it several times, and think listening adds still more to the extraordinary lyricism of the story, even if its harder to catch some of its complexities. One day in a Welsh coastal town, beginning with sleep and dreams and ending with their return, traversing the full range of experiences and emotions at breakneck speed. I'd recommend a listen as well as a read of this.
I'll add some on my actual reading, as opposed to listening, shortly.
5A_musing
My review from Breathless in Bombay, by Murzban F. Schroff, an ARC from LT:
This is a solid, well written book that offers a series of short stories and vignettes about life in contemporary Bombay. The writing is for the most part strong and straightforward, with the tone mixing the tragic, the melodramatic and the amusing.
For me, the best parts of this book are the places where the author lets himself go and takes a few risks. An example is a story that revolves around a retired champion horse that now pulls a tourist cart, his owner, and a couple of small girls lost in the world, one being driven in the cart and the other the daughter of a prostitute whom the cart-driver has befriended. This story leaps from image to image, a sort of verbal montage, to build toward its conclusion. It deftly mixes humor, sometimes ironical, sometimes slapstick, to keep the situations from declining into the overly melodramatic. This writing has the mark of greatness on it.
On the other hand, in the title story and in other stories Schroff indulges himself in an excess of melodrama; the rich/poor contrasts and comparisons become too easy to anticipate as you read through the stories. He needs to take them a level deeper in a number of places. The result is a series of good stories with occassionally memorable images that, in the end, fall a bit short of what we hope for them.
I enjoyed this book; I hope to enjoy his next even more.
This is a solid, well written book that offers a series of short stories and vignettes about life in contemporary Bombay. The writing is for the most part strong and straightforward, with the tone mixing the tragic, the melodramatic and the amusing.
For me, the best parts of this book are the places where the author lets himself go and takes a few risks. An example is a story that revolves around a retired champion horse that now pulls a tourist cart, his owner, and a couple of small girls lost in the world, one being driven in the cart and the other the daughter of a prostitute whom the cart-driver has befriended. This story leaps from image to image, a sort of verbal montage, to build toward its conclusion. It deftly mixes humor, sometimes ironical, sometimes slapstick, to keep the situations from declining into the overly melodramatic. This writing has the mark of greatness on it.
On the other hand, in the title story and in other stories Schroff indulges himself in an excess of melodrama; the rich/poor contrasts and comparisons become too easy to anticipate as you read through the stories. He needs to take them a level deeper in a number of places. The result is a series of good stories with occassionally memorable images that, in the end, fall a bit short of what we hope for them.
I enjoyed this book; I hope to enjoy his next even more.
6laytonwoman3rd
Hmmm...great idea to listen to Beowulf on audio. But I'd like to hear Seamus Heaney's translation, which I've read through a couple times, rather than a prose rendition. Apparently Heaney has read it himself for the audio version. Amazon, here I come.
7A_musing
I'll confess that my selection of translations was dictated entirely by the Boston Public Library, which has free audio downloads. While a prose rendition, this version had a lot of lyrical force. I may look at that Seamus Heaney one, sometime, too - I wouldn't mind having a permanent copy of Beowulf in audio (the BPL version stops working after two weeks).
8amandameale
Very interesting works and comments. Thanks.
9Robertgreaves
I've been thinking about listening to poetry rather than reading it as well. I'd also like to hear the Seamus Heaney translation read, as well as Fagles's translation of The Odyssey
10A_musing
The latest book "read":
Melville's Typee, an audiobook from Librivox: This is a fascinating tale on several levels: historical, anthropological, biographical, literary.
First, it is a well crafted, straightforward and engaging story of a sailor who jumps ship in the South Seas. Melville tells it well, and it can be read simply as a good tale.
Underlying that tale is light commentary on the state of civilization at the time; Melville uses the innocent and carefree "savages" as a foil against which he compares and criticizes almost every significant institution of his day. This is a commentary on civilization and its discontents, both at a grand policy level and at an individual physchological level.
Next, and perhaps least, it is an anthropological study of a South Seas civilization. In its day, it was sold as a true story focusing on the noble savages and "cannibals" of the South Seas. I somehow think this was the least of Melvilles concerns, though he does take great care in describin the food, lodging and habits of the natives, and he did indeed jump ship and live among a native group for a period in the South Seas.
Finally, this is a fascinating biographical exercise plumbing the learning and development of the greatest novelist ___________ (you may fill in the blank, if necessary, with whatever you believe appropriate - perhaps "of the 19th century", "of American Letters" or "of New England Sea Stores involving Whales" - I think no blank is necessary). You begin to see the deep, constantingly turning mind at work, though he is still turning out more accessible and commercial product, in this story; his ruminations on civilization would become fully blown and fully complex in his later novels (and then he'd return to simplicity in Billy Budd), but here you see his starting point.
So, it's a very good book. An excellent book in many ways. On top of that, this was an exceedingly well-read version (downloaded from www.librivox.org). The reader has a sonorous voice that reads the formal prose in an easy way, neither too fast nor too slow, taking care to inflect the prose with a modest bit of drama. Well done.
Melville's Typee, an audiobook from Librivox: This is a fascinating tale on several levels: historical, anthropological, biographical, literary.
First, it is a well crafted, straightforward and engaging story of a sailor who jumps ship in the South Seas. Melville tells it well, and it can be read simply as a good tale.
Underlying that tale is light commentary on the state of civilization at the time; Melville uses the innocent and carefree "savages" as a foil against which he compares and criticizes almost every significant institution of his day. This is a commentary on civilization and its discontents, both at a grand policy level and at an individual physchological level.
Next, and perhaps least, it is an anthropological study of a South Seas civilization. In its day, it was sold as a true story focusing on the noble savages and "cannibals" of the South Seas. I somehow think this was the least of Melvilles concerns, though he does take great care in describin the food, lodging and habits of the natives, and he did indeed jump ship and live among a native group for a period in the South Seas.
Finally, this is a fascinating biographical exercise plumbing the learning and development of the greatest novelist ___________ (you may fill in the blank, if necessary, with whatever you believe appropriate - perhaps "of the 19th century", "of American Letters" or "of New England Sea Stores involving Whales" - I think no blank is necessary). You begin to see the deep, constantingly turning mind at work, though he is still turning out more accessible and commercial product, in this story; his ruminations on civilization would become fully blown and fully complex in his later novels (and then he'd return to simplicity in Billy Budd), but here you see his starting point.
So, it's a very good book. An excellent book in many ways. On top of that, this was an exceedingly well-read version (downloaded from www.librivox.org). The reader has a sonorous voice that reads the formal prose in an easy way, neither too fast nor too slow, taking care to inflect the prose with a modest bit of drama. Well done.
11A_musing
I've been ignoring this thread in favor of my "888 challenge", but just realized I'd read a couple books not on there.
So, here are the one's already listed, and occassionally reviewed, on the 888 thread (rating system explained over there):
6. Penguin Island by Anatole France (5)
7. A Death in the Family by James Agee (7.0)
8. Successor by Kadare (6.5)
9. Barrabas by Par Lagerkvist (6.0)
10. Tristan and Iseult, Joseph Bedier (trans. fr. French by Hilaire Belloc) (6)
11. Life of Charlemagne, Einhard (6)
12. Pilgrim's Progress, John Bunyan
13. The Tain (6.5)
14. Gulf Music by Robert Pinsky (6.0)
15. The Metamorphoses by Franz Kafka - book 7, recording ***1/2
16. Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz
17. Southey's Chronicle of the Cid
18. God's Crucible by David Lavering Lewis (5)
19. Ornament of the World by Maria Rosa Menocal (6.5)
20. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi (7)
21. The Normans in European History by Charles Homer Haskins (6.5)
22. A Tale of Four Dervishes by Mir Amman (7)
23. The Sauptikaparvan (6.5)
24. Monkey: Journey to the West (trans. by David Kheridan - 6.0 )
I'll try to dig up the couple I've read that didn't fit in this challenge and add them with a brief review next.
So, here are the one's already listed, and occassionally reviewed, on the 888 thread (rating system explained over there):
6. Penguin Island by Anatole France (5)
7. A Death in the Family by James Agee (7.0)
8. Successor by Kadare (6.5)
9. Barrabas by Par Lagerkvist (6.0)
10. Tristan and Iseult, Joseph Bedier (trans. fr. French by Hilaire Belloc) (6)
11. Life of Charlemagne, Einhard (6)
12. Pilgrim's Progress, John Bunyan
13. The Tain (6.5)
14. Gulf Music by Robert Pinsky (6.0)
15. The Metamorphoses by Franz Kafka - book 7, recording ***1/2
16. Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz
17. Southey's Chronicle of the Cid
18. God's Crucible by David Lavering Lewis (5)
19. Ornament of the World by Maria Rosa Menocal (6.5)
20. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi (7)
21. The Normans in European History by Charles Homer Haskins (6.5)
22. A Tale of Four Dervishes by Mir Amman (7)
23. The Sauptikaparvan (6.5)
24. Monkey: Journey to the West (trans. by David Kheridan - 6.0 )
I'll try to dig up the couple I've read that didn't fit in this challenge and add them with a brief review next.
12A_musing
25. Foreigners by Caryl Phillips - an LT early reviewer read; interesting, thoughtful, well-written, but not extraordinary - 5.5 - full review here: http://www.librarything.com/work/3386686
26. Orpheus in the Bronx by Reginald Shepherd - also an LT early reviewer read - Meh. 3.5
26. Orpheus in the Bronx by Reginald Shepherd - also an LT early reviewer read - Meh. 3.5
13A_musing
OK, I'm going to try to catch up a bit here.
27. The Thief and the Dogs, also by Mahfouz (6.5)
28. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (8.0)
29. The Caucasian Chalk Circle by Bertolt Brecht (6.0)
30. The Fish Can Sing by Halldor Laxness (8.5)
31. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (6.5)
32. Monkey: A Journey to the West, translated by Arthur Waley (this is a fuller translation/rendering than the one I read earlier, and a better one in general) (7.0)
I've added a review to The Fish Can Sing - you can click through the book for the full review, or here's my intro:
"Is this book really simultaneously comparable to Joyce's "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" and Einhard's "Life of Charlemagne"? Somehow, yes. Laxness twists together some very odd strands of modernism and pastorlism, of novel and chronicle, resulting in a distinctive, thoughtful, and deeply entertaining book."
I'll be reading more Laxness soon. Everyone reads Independent People - yet Laxness' other work is as good, perhaps even better.
It is always great to "read" Dosteyevksy. Even if I did read by listening this time, with an audiobook. While the Brothers Karamazov remains among my all-time favorites, I thought Crime and Punishment almost as good. And there was something about the slightly dark, deep voice reading it....
Certainly, with my recent read of Anna Karenina, I can say that Tolstoy is no Dostoyevsky. Even if he's not bad. A good read.
I've also written a bit about The Caucasian Chalk Circle in this month's Reading Globally group read on the retelling of myths. An interesting and quite humorous read. It may suffer a bit on my ratings in comparison to the really extraordinary other reading I've done of late, but it remains a wonderful play.
27. The Thief and the Dogs, also by Mahfouz (6.5)
28. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (8.0)
29. The Caucasian Chalk Circle by Bertolt Brecht (6.0)
30. The Fish Can Sing by Halldor Laxness (8.5)
31. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (6.5)
32. Monkey: A Journey to the West, translated by Arthur Waley (this is a fuller translation/rendering than the one I read earlier, and a better one in general) (7.0)
I've added a review to The Fish Can Sing - you can click through the book for the full review, or here's my intro:
"Is this book really simultaneously comparable to Joyce's "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" and Einhard's "Life of Charlemagne"? Somehow, yes. Laxness twists together some very odd strands of modernism and pastorlism, of novel and chronicle, resulting in a distinctive, thoughtful, and deeply entertaining book."
I'll be reading more Laxness soon. Everyone reads Independent People - yet Laxness' other work is as good, perhaps even better.
It is always great to "read" Dosteyevksy. Even if I did read by listening this time, with an audiobook. While the Brothers Karamazov remains among my all-time favorites, I thought Crime and Punishment almost as good. And there was something about the slightly dark, deep voice reading it....
Certainly, with my recent read of Anna Karenina, I can say that Tolstoy is no Dostoyevsky. Even if he's not bad. A good read.
I've also written a bit about The Caucasian Chalk Circle in this month's Reading Globally group read on the retelling of myths. An interesting and quite humorous read. It may suffer a bit on my ratings in comparison to the really extraordinary other reading I've done of late, but it remains a wonderful play.
14A_musing
Oh the Irony!
I think I'll make 50 books this year, but, boy, I'm not making the goals I set out in my first couple of posts (the goals I set in response to not making 50 last year).
I think I'll make 50 books this year, but, boy, I'm not making the goals I set out in my first couple of posts (the goals I set in response to not making 50 last year).
15A_musing
33. Kalidasa, The Recognition of Sakuntala, discussed over at the Reading Globally, August group read board. Let's give it an 8.0.
34. Fernand Braudel, A History of Civilizations - a broadly reaching, mildly outdated, still facsinating overview of the world and everything in it, along with some interesting discursions on historical method. (6.5)
35. William Raymond Manchester, A World Lit Only by Fire - History foxified - an utterly shallow, unfootnoted, poorly researched, often questionable summary of various rumors about sexual behavior in the Middle Ages masquerading as a book having something to do with history. I read this, as well as several other Medieval historical works, because they are being assigned to my teenage daughter. I'd rather have her taught creationism (but Braudel, up above, is quite good, as are some of her other assignments). This is a well-deserved (1) - my review is here: http://www.librarything.com/work/29796/details/35515297
34. Fernand Braudel, A History of Civilizations - a broadly reaching, mildly outdated, still facsinating overview of the world and everything in it, along with some interesting discursions on historical method. (6.5)
35. William Raymond Manchester, A World Lit Only by Fire - History foxified - an utterly shallow, unfootnoted, poorly researched, often questionable summary of various rumors about sexual behavior in the Middle Ages masquerading as a book having something to do with history. I read this, as well as several other Medieval historical works, because they are being assigned to my teenage daughter. I'd rather have her taught creationism (but Braudel, up above, is quite good, as are some of her other assignments). This is a well-deserved (1) - my review is here: http://www.librarything.com/work/29796/details/35515297
16A_musing
36. The File on H by Ismail Kadare (6.0) - clever and humorous, certainly nowhere near as significant a work as Kadare's Chronicle in Stone but more riddled with irony and humor than The Successor. A good read.
18A_musing
Thanks, avaland.
37. Light in August by William Faulkner (8.5). My rather over-the-top review is here: http://www.librarything.com/work/3384/details/35748429
Great stuff.
37. Light in August by William Faulkner (8.5). My rather over-the-top review is here: http://www.librarything.com/work/3384/details/35748429
Great stuff.
19laytonwoman3rd
Again you have me considering listening to audiobooks, which I have never tried. You make an excellent point about letting someone else sort the words out--I may have to find audio versions of all my favorite Faulkner novels just for that simple reason. As I have made the leap into the 21st century and now own a car with a CD player and an MP3 connection, I may have to get "on the bus", as my daughter would say. Light in August is very near the top of my re-read pile; in fact I had hoped to get to it this summer, but naturally that was too optimistic. I don't think your review is "over the top" at all---it's damned near brilliant, and I have given it a thumbs up.
ETA: Hmmm...just checked Amazon, and the audio version you listened to is "currently unavailable". Pfui.
ETA: Hmmm...just checked Amazon, and the audio version you listened to is "currently unavailable". Pfui.
20A_musing
I downloaded the audio version of Light in August from emusic.com - it may also be available on audible.com.
I expected Faulkner to be an awful choice for audiobook - those complex sentences that weave in and out did not seem made for it, especially since I listen while commuting and sometimes have to pay attention to traffic. But it was ideal. I've got Intruder in the Dust read by Brick as well, and will probably listen to that soon. Intruder in the Dust has more twists to its langauge than Light in August - we'll see how it goes.
I have found I like very poetic and melodic work best in audiobook format - Faulkner, Dylan Thomas, Beowulf, etc. But I only started listening when I got an ipod last Christmas, so you are not far behind me at all. I recently listened to Anna Karenina, and found myself mixing reading and listening after a while, as listening wasn't as good a medium for it.
I expected Faulkner to be an awful choice for audiobook - those complex sentences that weave in and out did not seem made for it, especially since I listen while commuting and sometimes have to pay attention to traffic. But it was ideal. I've got Intruder in the Dust read by Brick as well, and will probably listen to that soon. Intruder in the Dust has more twists to its langauge than Light in August - we'll see how it goes.
I have found I like very poetic and melodic work best in audiobook format - Faulkner, Dylan Thomas, Beowulf, etc. But I only started listening when I got an ipod last Christmas, so you are not far behind me at all. I recently listened to Anna Karenina, and found myself mixing reading and listening after a while, as listening wasn't as good a medium for it.
21laytonwoman3rd
I tried audible.com, and didn't find it there either. I didn't think of emusic.com for books. I've just finished Intruder in the Dust (for probably the third time), and in fact was reading Cleanth Brooks' analysis of it from The Yoknapatawpha Country before signing on here this evening. I love reading Brooks--I suppose because I'm usually inclined to agree with him, and he tends to take a rather simpler approach to Faulkner than some critics. He never fails to see the humor, and while it's clear he loves Faulkner, he doesn't hesitate to point out flaws either. The professor who introduced me to Faulkner in college was very much like that---I wish more people could be exposed to him that way.
22A_musing
38. Three Novelas by Joseph Roth - not bad, not extraordinary. Nice and thoughtful stories about Austria between the wars. Three tableaus, each focused on an individual struggling with a world that has, in some sense, passed them by. A bit too melancholy and detached for my taste.
23A_musing
Okay, I haven't updated in a while.
First, books read aloud to my son:
39. Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne (7.0 on the text, a 9.0 on the experience) - A wonderful read, and a memorable experience he and I will share for a while. And we haven't seen the movie.
40. Gulliver's Travels by Swift (6.5 on the book, a solid 8 on the experience) - I remembered more belly laughs, but it was more wry, sardonic wit. Luckily, my boy likes wry.
I've also been reading him a bunch of rather horrid little "Bionicle Books", but I'm forgetting those as quickly as I can.
Now, my own readings:
41. The Bridal Wreath, the first book of Undset's Kristin Lavransdattar (6.5) - it suffers from a bit of a stilted translation, but an even tempered, thoughtful bit of historical fiction. I look forward to reading the second and third.
42. The General of the Dead Army (7.5) Another wonderful book from Ismail Kadare, in which he brings the death of world war II to light in the rather morbid image of a general sent to Albania by Italy to recover the bones of the dead. Macabre, thoughtful, genuinely original.
My listening to Intruder in the Dust has been side-lined by a change in job and commuting pattern, but hopefully I'll pick it up and finish it soon. Laytonwoman, I'm going to have to pick up Cleanth Brooks' analysis. It's been a while since I've read Brooks, and I did enjoy him once upon a time.
First, books read aloud to my son:
39. Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne (7.0 on the text, a 9.0 on the experience) - A wonderful read, and a memorable experience he and I will share for a while. And we haven't seen the movie.
40. Gulliver's Travels by Swift (6.5 on the book, a solid 8 on the experience) - I remembered more belly laughs, but it was more wry, sardonic wit. Luckily, my boy likes wry.
I've also been reading him a bunch of rather horrid little "Bionicle Books", but I'm forgetting those as quickly as I can.
Now, my own readings:
41. The Bridal Wreath, the first book of Undset's Kristin Lavransdattar (6.5) - it suffers from a bit of a stilted translation, but an even tempered, thoughtful bit of historical fiction. I look forward to reading the second and third.
42. The General of the Dead Army (7.5) Another wonderful book from Ismail Kadare, in which he brings the death of world war II to light in the rather morbid image of a general sent to Albania by Italy to recover the bones of the dead. Macabre, thoughtful, genuinely original.
My listening to Intruder in the Dust has been side-lined by a change in job and commuting pattern, but hopefully I'll pick it up and finish it soon. Laytonwoman, I'm going to have to pick up Cleanth Brooks' analysis. It's been a while since I've read Brooks, and I did enjoy him once upon a time.
24laytonwoman3rd
I just looked at your profile page--I don't recall reading your rating system before. I had to laugh out loud at your 10 -- My husband's favorite book of all time, and the one he judges everything else against!
25A_musing
43. Abraham Lincoln: A Presidential Life by James McPherson - short, to the point, pretty good if with limited ambition (6)
44. Krapp's Last Tape by Samuel Beckett - four short and poetic vignettes by the master of short and poetic vignettes (give this a 7.5)
45. The Book of the Beginning from the Mahabharata (in progress)
46. In Light of India by Octavio Paz - an excellent little essay on India; Paz was the Mexican ambassador to India and takes a very clear-headed look at its sprawling culture and society; short like McPherson's book, but much more intensely packed (7)
And, yes, laytonwoman, none of them measure up to the story of the White Whale, which has, indeed, forever spoiled me! Some day, perhaps, I will find an 11.
44. Krapp's Last Tape by Samuel Beckett - four short and poetic vignettes by the master of short and poetic vignettes (give this a 7.5)
45. The Book of the Beginning from the Mahabharata (in progress)
46. In Light of India by Octavio Paz - an excellent little essay on India; Paz was the Mexican ambassador to India and takes a very clear-headed look at its sprawling culture and society; short like McPherson's book, but much more intensely packed (7)
And, yes, laytonwoman, none of them measure up to the story of the White Whale, which has, indeed, forever spoiled me! Some day, perhaps, I will find an 11.
26A_musing
I just realized I hadn't listed Paul Auster's New York Trilogy here, which I read a few months ago. So we'll call that 47.
28billiejean
Congrats on reaching 50 and what a magnificent book for #50! I just loved Paradise Lost which I also read in 2008. Look forward to seeing what you read in 2009.
--BJ
--BJ
29A_musing
Made it by the skin of my teeth! Though there are a couple on the list I'm actually still working on (the Book of the Beginning and Paradise Lost) - but, that's OK, they're both good enough to be worth counting for two years, so they'll be the first entries on my 2009 list!
I've been doing Paradise Lost both in text and on audiotape (I'll get through the whole audiotape, but am just reading sections in text where I feel they went by me too fast on tape). I've decided poetry of all sorts almost always benefits from being told as well as read, and am finding it quite enjoyable to go back and read some of the more complicated sections after listening to them.
I've been doing Paradise Lost both in text and on audiotape (I'll get through the whole audiotape, but am just reading sections in text where I feel they went by me too fast on tape). I've decided poetry of all sorts almost always benefits from being told as well as read, and am finding it quite enjoyable to go back and read some of the more complicated sections after listening to them.
30billiejean
What a great idea! I haven't gotten any audio books yet. But poetry, I can see would be especially good that way.
--BJ
--BJ
