Don Quixote

I haven't finished it yet, I'm about six hundred pages in but I thought I'd get the ball rolling on talking about the books. When approaching a four hundred year old book almost a thousand pages long it's natural to feel a certain amount of apprehension. Perhaps the translator Ms. Wise-Bauer recommends makes it easier but the book is incredibly readable which is a surprise if you've ever attempted Henry Fielding or Beowulf. I like it.

Don Quixote was one of the big reasons I stalled on Susan Wise Bauer's reading list! I have a years-old mental block against the poor main character. And maybe the length of the book. :-)

Tell me how you get along with it.

I didn't have to much trouble with reading it but I'm sure you're not alone. I can't read Moby Dick. I've tried twice and yuck. Ms. Wise Bauer says if you run into such a book there's nothing wrong with skipping it.
I'm reading Don Quixote: the quest for modern fiction by Carroll B. Johnson. It's a hundred pages, very readable and chock full of insights and information about Don Quixote and Cervantes. I'm looking forward to my second reading and seeing everything. Mosey on over to my blog if you want more help.

>3 autodidact101: Hahaha on Moby Dick. I say it is 100 pages of plot and 500 pages of whaling encyclopedia, but that 100 pages is so profound!

There are abridged editions of Moby Dick that leave out all the long "whaling encyclopedia" part. Normally, I hate abridgments, but in this case, one may be worthwhile, because the core story is great. Of course, you can also just skim through those parts in the unabridged version. Melville probably won't come back to haunt you.