Here
we are at the mid year and I have to say I’m impressed with my reading. You can read my reading plans for 2014 here and the first quarter update here. This quarter I read three books of
non-fiction, Happy Catholic and The Imitation of Christ, both
devotionals for Lent and Reading Dante:
From Here to Eternity, a work of literary criticism. Actually I would say Reading Dante by Prue Shaw is more of a primer for those who haven’t
read Dante than a work of literary criticism, though it’s a sort of blend. I should give you a book review of it,
especially since it got such rave reviews when it came out this year. I bought it and altered my reading plans on
the strength of some of those reviews.
Quick review here: It’s ok, two and a half stars out of five if you wish.
Those reviews (like a lot of reviews) are over inflated.
I’ve
read two novels this past quarter.
Actually one novel and a volume of a tome-length novel that is about as
long as most novels. The tome length
novel is Hugo’s Les Misérables, and I
read the first volume, “Fantine.” In
order to not commit a whole year to Les Misérables
I’m just going to read one volume at a time; each volume amounts to about a
novel’s length. The other novel I read was
also part of a longer work, Some Do Not…,
which is the first novel in the tetralogy, Parades
End by Ford Madox Ford. Again I’m
breaking up the series so I don’t commit an extended amount of time to one
work. I don’t know if you’re like me,
but I sometimes get bored reading one author for an extended period of
time. When I worked on my Master’s
Thesis, I think I spent something like two years on almost exclusively D. H.
Lawrence, either by him or on his work, and to this day because of that
saturation I have a hard time picking up a Lawrence work, even though if there’s
any author I’m capable of explaining, it’s him.
Between
the non-fiction and the novels, I completed five books, plus I’m beyond half
way on Stephen King’s The Shining. That’s better than the one per month I aim
for. However, that did pinch into my
time for short stories. I aim for two per month, but I only read four. I provided analysis of Cather’s “Paul’s Case”
and I intend to do the same for Paul Horgan’s
magnificent story, “The Peachstone.” If
you can find the story (unfortunately it’s not on the internet) read it, it’s
worth it, and then you can also comment on my analysis and criticize me!
To
round out my reads for the quarter, I read two more books from the Old
Testament, The Book of Esther and First Book of Maccabees. Both were easy reads as far as Old Testament
works go.
I’m
still making my way through Hopkins poetry—definitely enjoying it—and pecking
away at Goldsworthy’s biography of Julius Caesar. I did start my annual read on writing—every year
I read one book on the craft of writing— Richard A. Lanham’s very
unconventional, Style: an Anti-Textbook. And I’m more than half way through Brian
Doyle’s, The Thorny Grace of It: And
Other Essays for Imperfect Catholics.
Brian Dolye’s book is a collection of his personal essays on Catholic
life, faith, and culture, and it’s really enjoyable. I posted one of his essays here.
I
have made a couple of changes to my plans for this year, as you’ll see in my Upcoming
Plans list below. I was trading some
emails with a friend from Germany, Barbara, (we had once both been active at
Literature Network, a literature internet forum) where I realized
my reading of German literature was paltry.
I have never read anything by Johan Wolfgang von Goethe, who is the equivalent
of Shakespeare in Germany. So I added
his novel, The Sorrows of Young Werther,
which is something I’ve wanted to read for a long time. In addition, another fellow Literature
Network member came across my blog and she linked me up to her literature blog,
Frigate to Utopia, where she calls herself Lit-Lass. She happens to be quite knowledgeable, and of
course a fan, of Jane Austen, and in our discussion she recommended I read Mansfield Park, since this year will be
the 200th anniversary of its publication. I was easily persuaded, having no will power
when it comes to reading. Well after
counting up the months and the planned reads I realized something had to
give. I’m saddened to say, I will have
to put off Dostoyevsky’s Crime and
Punishment once again. So after I
finish King’s The Shining, I plan to
spend the rest of the summer with Dante’s Paradiso,
and the fall will be devoted to The
Sorrows of Young Werther and Mansfield
Park, though I’m undecided which to read first.
As
to short stories, I’ve got another Hemingway and another Kipling in cue, but
then I wish to read a few from Vladimir Nabakov and Saki, and then we’ll
see. I’ll have to press on with the Old
Testament and read the Second Book of
Maccabees. Oh, and I did promise I
would re-read Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Where will I find the time?
Oh, and to make matters worse, we're having our kitchen, living, and dining rooms remodeled, starting Monday. All three at the same time! I thought it best to just get it all done at once. Things are packed in boxes and the boxes are in our bedrooms. The house is in turmoil. They estimate it will take at least a month to be completed. So I'm not sure how this will effect my reading and blogging schedule. But all one can do is persevere.
Read in Previous Quarter:
“The
Doom of the Griffiths,” a short story by Elizabeth Gaskell.
The
Book of Tobit, a book of the Old Testament.
“Rappaccini’s
Daughter,” a short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
Life
on the Mississippi, a memoir by Mark Twain.
The
Book of Judith, a book of the Old Testament.
“The
Ransom of Red Chief,” a short story by O. Henry.
Washington
Square, a novel by Henry James.
84,
Charing Cross Road, a collection of correspondence by
Helene Hanff.
“Fifty
Grand,” a short story by Ernest Hemingway.
“A
Simple Enquiry,” a short story by Ernest Hemingway.
“The
Pitcher,” a short story by Andre Debus.
“After
Twenty Years,” a short story by O. Henry.
Read This Past Quarter:
Happy
Catholic, a non-fiction devotional by Julie Davis.
The
Imitation of Christ, a non-fiction devotional by Thomas à
Kempis.
“Paul’s
Case,” a short story by Willa Cather.
Reading
Dante: From Here to Eternity, a non-fiction work of
literary criticism by Prue Shaw.
The
Book of Esther, a book of the Old Testament.
“Wee
Willie Winkie,” a short story by Rudyard Kipling.
Fantine,
the 1st Volume of Les Misérables, a novel by Victor Hugo.
“The
Peach Stone,” a short story by Paul Horgan.
Some
Do Not…, the 1st novel of the Parade’s End Tetralogy by Ford
Madox Ford.
First
Book of Maccabees, a book of the Old Testament.
“Ten
Indians, a short story by Ernest Hemingway.
Currently Reading:
Gerard
Manly Hopkins: Poems and Prose, Selected and Edited
by W. H. Gardner.
Julius
Caesar: Life of a Colossus, by Adrian Goldsworthy.
Style:
an Anti-Textbook, a non-fiction book on writing by
Richard A. Lanham.
The
Thorny Grace of It: And Other Essays for Imperfect Catholics,
a collection of personal essays by Brian Doyle.
The
Shining, a novel by Stephan King.
“The
Drums of the Fore and Aft,” a short story by Rudyard Kipling.
Upcoming Plans:
“A
Canary For One,” a short story by Ernest Hemingway.
"Sredni
Vashtar,” a short story by Saki (H.H. Munro).
“The
Wood-Sprite,” a short story by Vladimir Nabokov.
“Russian
Spoken Here,” a short story by Vladimir Nabokov.
Second
Book of Maccabees, a book of the Old Testament.
Paradisio,
the 3rd Cantica of Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy.
Mansfield
Park,
a novel by Jane Austen.
The
Sorrows of Young Werther, a novel by Johan Wolfgang von
Goethe.
