You can read about my
previous 2013 progress updates here and here.
These updates seem to be coming every three months, and I think I’ll
make that a regular quarterly feature.
As you can see since the last update I've completed seven short
stories, another book of the Old Testament, T.S. Eliot most influential poem, and
the Mark Helprin’s epic scale novel, A
Soldier of the Great War. The Helprin
novel was a three month effort, but well worth it. I’ll be posting a couple of blogs on the
work. I’ll definitely be posting on at
least one of Poe’s stories and at least one of Hemingway’s.
I've now pushed into the
Currently Being Read category ifferisms
and Purgatorio. I try to read one book a year on writing, and
this year it will be ifferisms, a book
on the use of the word “if” in writing aphorisms. As you will see it is an incredibly fun read,
and I’ll need something lighter for more relaxation. Purgatorio has been on my re-read list for a
long time, and I can’t wait to get to it.
Given the length and emotional commitment required for A Soldier of the Great War, I really
made next to no progress on Rome and Jerusalem
or Les Mis this past quarter. I’ve also pushed up the remaining short
stories I had planned. I’ve decided to
read “Rip Van Wrinkle” for the fourth of July.
I’m still planning on Twain’s Life on the Mississippi toward the end of the summer and Henry James’s
Washington Square in the early
fall. I’ll also be completing the last
few history books of the Old Testament.
I’ve added Shakespeare’s “MacBeth” to the list and a Steinbeck short novel
(Cannery Row) that I may have read a
very long time ago but have no memory of it.
I need to scout out some more short stories to add.
Here I am at midyear, and I’ve completed 12 short stories, two
books of the Old Testament, a biography, and three novels, one novel being over
double the typical length. I’ve also
made progress on the history book and Hugo’s triple the typical length novel. That’s pretty much on track for my goals, if
not even a little ahead.
As I’ve said before, if there is a work I’ve read that I haven’t
blogged on, or a work I plan to read that you really want my thoughts on,
please let me know. I’ll be glad to accommodate.
Completed:
“A Star Trap,” a short story by Bram Stoker.
The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare, a novel by G.K. Chesterton.
“Feathers,” a short story by Raymond Carver.
The Cossacks, a novel by Leo Tolstoy.
“In Another Country,” a
short story by Earnest Hemingway.
First Book of Chronicles, a book of the Old
Testament, KJV.
Catherine of Siena, a biography by Sigrid
Undset.
“The Masque of Red
Death,” a short story by Edgar Allan Poe.
“William Wilson,” a short
story by Edgar Allan Poe.
“A Descent into
Maelstrom,” a short story by Edgar Allan Poe.
“The Lovely Lady,” a short story by D.H. Lawrence.
“Hills Like White
Elephants,” a short story by Earnest Hemingway.
“The Killers,” a short
story by Earnest Hemingway.
Second Book of Chronicles, a book of the Old
Testament, KJV.
“The Fall of the House of
Usher,” a short story by Edgar Allan Poe.
“The Waste Land,” a long
poem by T.S. Eliot.
A Soldier of the Great
War,
a novel by Mark Helprin.
“The Shawl,” a short
story by Cynthia Ozick.
Currently Being Read:
Rome and Jerusalem: The Clash of Ancient Civilizations, a non-fiction history by Martin Goodman.
Imagist Poetry: An Anthology, a collection of
poetry edited by Bob Blaisdell.
ifferisms: An Anthology
of Aphorisms That Begin With the Word if,
a work of non-fiction by Dr. Mardy Grothe.
“Purgatorio,” 2nd
part of the epic poem of The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri.
The Book of Ezra, a book
of the Old Testament, KJV.
“Rip Van Winkle,” a short
story by Washington Irving.
“Pillar
of Salt,” a short story by Shirley Jackson.
“The
Body-Snatcher,” a short story by Robert Lewis Stevenson.
“Chi Ti Dice La Patria?” a short story by
Earnest Hemingway.Upcoming Plans:
Life on the Mississippi, a memoir by Mark Twain.
The
Book of Nehemiah, a book of the Old Testament, KJV.
The
Book of Esther, a book of the Old Testament, KJV.
MacBeth,
a play by William Shakespeare.
Cannery
Row, a short novel by John Steinbeck.
So glad you finished the Helprin and liked it! Sorry for busting up your reading order :) I am now reading ANOTHER Helprin, called In Sunlight and Shadow. Loving it! :) And I may continue on and read the rest of his novels. But I am really looking forward to your post on A Soldier.
ReplyDeleteSinger, I liked but kind of drove me crazy with his non-ending endings, lol. I enjoyed the Flaubert very much. Another Steinbeck I always enjoy is East of Eden.
I would appreciate your prayers as my daughter goes in for some surgery today. It is outpatient, but to me it is borderline whether is should be or not...and I am going to be "nurse." I am used to this role, but this particular post-surgical care is new to me, and I am nervous. Daily blood thinner injections and all.
thanks~
I haven't heard of that Helprin novel. I thought I knew of them all. I just looked it up, it's his latest that just came out last year. Here's what Helprin's wikipedia entry says about it:
Delete"His latest, In Sunlight and In Shadow, was released in 2012, and has been described as an extended love song to New York City." That sounds cool. You'll have to tell me what you think.
I have read several of Steinbeck's short novels (read The Pearl if you get a chance) but none of his longer works. East of Eden is certainly one I want to read eventually but I had decided to read his most famous, The Grapes of Wrath, next year.
Most definitely will pray for your daughter. Daily blood thinner injections sound serious.