Book a Week in 2014 - BW2

[MomOfOneFunOne]

AMDG

 

The Bacchae

* no goofy image b/c that image isn't supported here.*

 

What in the world is wrong with Euripides?  Or, what was going on in his world that provided a context for the relentlessly cruel retribution of The Medea and The Bacchae?

 

The Bacchae is another horrific tale of revenge.  This time Dionysus is outraged that

1.  his mother's sisters claimed that Dionysus was not Zeus' son

2.  Pentheus, king of Thebes, refuses to acknowledge Dionysys as a god, refuses him prayers and libations, and even mocks his followers.

 

Hello, again, dear Teiresias.  Teiresias, the blind seer, and Cadmus, founder and former king of Thebes and grandfather to Pentheus, beg Pentheus to do his duty and honor the god but, alas for him, he won't.

 

In retribution for this crime of impiety, Dionysus plots this revenge:

 . . . but Thebes is the first city in the land of Hellas that I have made ring with shouts of joy, girt in a fawn-skin, with a thyrsus, my ivy-bound spear, in my hand; since my mother's sisters, who least of all should have done it, denied that Dionysus was the son of Zeus, saying that Semele, when she became a mother by some mortal lover, tried to foist her sin on Zeus-a clever ruse of Cadmus, which, they boldly asserted, caused Zeus to slay her for the falsehood about the marriage. Wherefore these are they whom I have driven frenzied from their homes, and they are dwelling on the hills with mind distraught; and I have forced them to assume the dress worn in my orgies, and all the women-folk of Cadmus' stock have I driven raving from their homes, one and all alike; and there they sit upon the roofless rocks beneath the green pine-trees, mingling amongst the sons of Thebes. For this city must learn, however loth, seeing that it is not initiated in my Bacchic rites, and I must take up my mother's defence, by showing to mortals that the child she bore to Zeus is a deity. Now Cadmus gave his sceptre and its privileges to Pentheus, his daughter's child, who wages war 'gainst my divinity, thrusting me away from his drink-offerings, and making no mention of me in his prayers. Therefore will I prove to him and all the race of Cadmus that I am a god. And when I have set all in order here, I will pass hence to a fresh country, manifesting myself; but if the city of Thebes in fury takes up arms and seeks to drive my votaries from the mountain, I will meet them at the head of my frantic rout. This is why I have assumed a mortal form, and put off my godhead to take man's nature. 

 

But that's not the half of it!  Maybe he gets carried away?

When the women leave the city for the mountain, they fall upon a large animal (ox?) and tear it to pieces with their bare hands.  If it's hadn't been so gruesome, it would have been funny: a group of otherwise dignified women falling to in a frenzy with blood, flesh, cloven hooves flying through the air around them.

 

The women lounge around as if in a drunken stupor and, I don't remember why we know but we do, if they would encounter a man, they would do unto him as they did unto the ox.

 

This is reported to Pentheus who declares that this is something he just has to see.  That didn't make sense to me, though.  Why would he want to see what would be bitter to him?

 

DIONYSUS

Ha! wouldst thou see them seated on the hills?

PENTHEUS

Of all things, yes! I would give untold sums for that.

DIONYSUS

Why this sudden, strong desire?

PENTHEUS

'Twill be a bitter sight, if I find them drunk with wine.

DIONYSUS

And would that be a pleasant sight which will prove bitter to thee?

PENTHEUS

Believe me, yes! beneath the fir-trees as I sit in silence.

DIONYSUS

Nay, they will track thee, though thou come secretly.

PENTHEUS

Well, I will go openly; thou wert right to say so.

DIONYSUS

Am I to be thy guide? wilt thou essay the road?

PENTHEUS

Lead on with all speed, I grudge thee all delay.

DIONYSUS

Array thee then in robes of fine linen.

PENTHEUSWhy so? Am I to enlist among women after being a man?

 

And from here Dionysus unfolds cruelty upon cruelty.  He dresses Pentheus as a woman (because the women would kill him else) and makes Pentheus want to walk through the town to the women.  Dionysus' aim is Pentheus' humiliation.  Pentheus approaches the hills and is seen by the women, no fooled, who fall upon him thinking him a mountail lion and do to him as they had done to the ox.  Pentheus is torn to bits by his own mother, his head impaled upon her thyrsus.

 

Proud of her hunting prowess, she returns to the palace to show her victim to her father.  Through pointed questioning he leads her to the truth.

 

Interesting tid bits:

Teiresias:

Whenso a man of wisdom finds a good topic for argument, it is no difficult matter to speak well; but thou, though possessing a glib tongue as if endowed with sense, art yet devoid thereof in all thou sayest. A headstrong man, if he have influence and a capacity for speaking, makes a bad citizen because he lacks sense.

He had something very similar to say in The Medea.

 

and from a different translation.  I prefer reading the other translation but in this case, I like the meaning better here:

Teiresias: Do not mistake for wisdom that opinion which may rise from a sick mind . . . 

 

Teiresias: Dionysus will not compel women to be chaste, since in all matters self-control resides in our own natures.

 

Chorus:  The brash unbridled tongue, the lowless folly of fools, will end in pain.  But the life of wise content is blest with quietness, escapes the storm, and keeps its house secure. Though blessed gods dwell in the distant skies, they watch the ways of men,  To know much is not to be wise.  Pride more than mortal hastens life to its end; and they who in pride pretend beyond man's limit, will lose what lay close to their hand and sure.  I count it madness, and know no cure can mend the evil man and his evil way.

Chorus:  His enemy is the man who has no care to pass his years in happiness and health, his days in quiet and his nights injoy, watchful to keep aloof both mind and heart from men whose pride claims more than mortals may.  The life that wins the poor man's common voice, his creed, his practice -- this shall be my choice.

Here though, I prefer the other translation:

 

Hateful to him is every one who careth not to live the life of bliss, that lasts through days and nights of joy. True wisdom is to keep the heart and soul aloof from over-subtle wits.  That which the less enlightened crowd approves adn practises, will I accept.

Dionysus: He were a fool, methinks, who would utter wisdom to a fool.

 

Alright, now that's just mean!  Dionysus doesn't just dress Pentheus as a woman to humiliate him in the town but makes him die that way so he spends all eternity in his humiliation . . . and dress and locks!

Dionysus: Now I will go, to array Pentheus in teh dress which he will take down with him to the house of Death, slaughtered by his own mother's hands.  

Chorus: Slow, yet unfailing, move the Powers of heaven with the moving hours.  When mind runs mad, dishonours God, and worships self and senseless pride.  Then Law eternal wields the rod.

Here I think is one one of the cruelest episodes in a catalog of cruelties.  Finally, Pentheus places himself in the hands of Dionysus to be readied for his mission to spy on the women.  He trusts Dionysus utterly.  Dionysus speaks to him in terms of attentive caring.  All the while Dionysus is plotting his doom with those sweet, caring words.  This perfidy struck me particularly.

DIONYSUS

The god attends us, ungracious heretofore, but now our sworn friend; and now thine eyes behold the things they should.
PENTHEUS
Pray, what do I resemble? Is not mine the carriage of Ino, or Agave my own mother?
DIONYSUS
In seeing thee, I seem to see them in person. But this tress is straying from its place, no longer as I bound it 'neath the snood.
PENTHEUS
I disarranged it from its place as I tossed it to and fro within my chamber, in Bacchic ecstasy.
DIONYSUS
Well, I will rearrange it, since to tend thee is my care; hold up thy head.
PENTHEUS
Come, put it straight; for on thee do I depend.
DIONYSUS
Thy girdle is loose, and the folds of thy dress do not hang evenly below thy ankles.
PENTHEUS
I agree to that as regards the right side, but on the other my dress hangs straight with my foot.
DIONYSUS
Surely thou wilt rank me first among thy friends, when contrary to thy expectation thou findest the Bacchantes virtuous.
PENTHEUS
Shall I hold the thyrsus in the right or left hand to look most like a Bacchanal?
DIONYSUS
Hold it in thy right hand, and step out with thy right foot; thy change of mind compels thy praise.
PENTHEUS
Shall I be able to carry on my shoulders Cithaeron's glens, the Bacchanals and all?
DIONYSUS
Yes, if so thou wilt; for though thy mind was erst diseased, 'tis now just as it should be.

I actually felt a physical response of disgust and anger.  lame I guess.  Well done, Euripides!

 

Chorus: A sound and humble heart that reverences the gods is man's noblest possession; and the same virtue is wisest too, I think, for those who practise it.

Ague: You gave me to Echion, of the sown race . . .

but what is the sown race?

the other translation has it

 

Thou didst give me to earthborn Echion, as men call him.

 

"Not divine" was my guess but theoi.com has this to say:

 

THE SPARTOI (or Sparti) were a race of warlike, earth-born warriors, which sprang fully grown, armed and ready for battle from the sown teeth of a Drakon sacred to the war-god Ares.

 

Yeah, I remember that story now.

 

Did I like it?  Yes, I think so, if only because Euripides can really excite an emotional response from me!

 

[Jane in NC]

I just finished:

 

1.  The Second Coming by Walker Percy

 

My, oh my, that was the most abrupt ending I've ever experienced. I'll have to think about the ending more after I get over the flu. I did like the book, I think. It was strange, but I liked it. That was my first Walker Percy. Is anyone here a fan of his? Could you recommend a second book by him?

 

I'm not sure what I'll start now. I have a few ideas, but I'll need a day or so to get over that ending (and the flu) before I make a decision about what's next.

I enjoyed Love in the Ruins as a college student.  At the time, the ontological lapsometer amused me.  What would I think now?  You got me...

[Jane Elliot]

I enjoyed Love in the Ruins as a college student.  At the time, the ontological lapsometer amused me.  What would I think now?  You got me...

 

I've been rereading some of the books I read in college. Typically I like them better now than I did then.

 

There were times while reading The Second Coming when I didn't know whether to be amused or disturbed. Perhaps the flu is affecting my head though.

[mlbuchina]

I was able to finish two books for the first week of the new year.  Yay!

 

I finished up reading The Last Unicorn that I had started at the end of December.  It was wonderful.  The story was simple enough, and very familiar since I have seen the cartoon movie an  upteen number of times.  However, the writing, or lanuage, of the story was beautiful.  I'll share some quotes, but it is hard to pick as I could underline almost the whole book.

 

"I have been mortal, and some part of me is mortal yet. I am full of tears and hunger and the fear of death, although I cannot weep, and I want nothing, and I cannot die. I am not like the others now, for no unicorn was ever born who could regret, but I do. I regret."

"The magician stood erect, menacing the attackers with demons, metamorphoses, paralyzing ailments, and secret judo holds. Molly picked up a rock."

"I am what I am. I would tell you what you want to know if I could, for you have been kind to me. But I am a cat, and no cat anywhere ever gave anyone a straight answer."

"As for you and your heart and the things you said and didn't say, she will remember them all when men are fairy tales in books written by rabbits."

 

 

The need to clean up all the Christmas stuff allowed me to be able to get the second book in.  I downloaded the audio of The Winter Ghosts by Kate Mosse, and listened to it all day as I put my house back together.  I really didn't know anything about it as I started listening, and, overall, it was a little on the boring side for me.  I did enjoy the story of coming to grips with loss, and the story of how that happened, but the book was just OK for me.  If I were reading it, and not listening to it while working, I would have probably put it aside.  I do still want to read her book Labyrinth, though.

 

I have started The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, and I am loving it!  I'm 35% in according to my Kindle, and I am getting to a point where I don't want to put it down.  I've started sneaking in reading while my dc are doing school work...

[Violet Crown]

Thanks. These lists are daunting. It's hard to know where to start. I've read Sophie's World, and a smattering of Plato on Socrates, Augustine, Decartes, and Voltaire.

Dh just published a book of philosophy, but I'd hate to recommend it, as I could barely understand the first chapter, even with lots of helpful coaching from the author. Better to go for the Russell.

[Kareni]

Last night I finished Hard As It Gets: A Hard Ink Novel by Laura Kaye which I enjoyed.

 

The book is labeled as contemporary romance, and it is.  It also includes a mystery component which will continue to unfold over the course of further books in the series. 

 

"NOMINATED for Best Romantic Suspense of 2013 in the RT Reviewers' Choice Awards

 

Tall, dark, and lethal...

Trouble just walked into Nicholas Rixey's tattoo parlor. Becca Merritt is warm, sexy, wholesome--pure temptation to a very jaded Nick. He's left his military life behind to become co-owner of Hard Ink Tattoo, but Becca is his ex-commander's daughter. Loyalty won't let him turn her away. Lust has plenty to do with it too.

With her brother presumed kidnapped, Becca needs Nick. She just wasn't expecting to want him so much. As their investigation turns into all-out war with an organized crime ring, only Nick can protect her. And only Becca can heal the scars no one else sees.

Desire is the easy part. Love is as hard as it gets. Good thing Nick is always up for a challenge..."

 

It reminds me a bit of Julie Ann Walker's Black Knights, Inc., series.

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

[nd293]

I'm back and am really going to try and stick to it this year (I participated in 2012, I think, or 2011 - time flies). I'm struggling enormously with concentration and sustaining interest in anything lately, so we'll see how it goes.

 

I read The Black Life by Paul Johnston - it's the 5th in a series of crime novels, and the best so far. I wouldn't rate the writing as exceptional (and a couple of the books are pretty bad), but the storylines are very interesting, set as they are in modern day Greece, with each book weaving in some aspect of Greek history. This particular book deals with the treatment of Jewish Greeks in World War II and thereafter.

 

I have a handful of things on the go (concentration and interest issues, remember?):

Justine by Lawrence Durrell

The Ramayana by Ramesh Menon

Siddhartha by Herman Hesse (audio book)

The History of the Ancient World  by Susan Wise Bauer

[shukriyya]

I'm back and am really going to try and stick to it this year (I participated in 2012, I think, or 2011 - time flies). I'm struggling enormously with concentration and sustaining interest in anything lately, so we'll see how it goes.

I have a handful of things on the go (concentration and interest issues, remember?):

Justine by Lawrence Durrell

The Ramayana by Ramesh Menon

Siddhartha by Herman Hesse (audio book)

The History of the Ancient World  by Susan Wise Bauer

 

I, too, have struggled with sustaining both concentration and interest wrt books. I have to say that's improved considerably with the kindle. But even generally, yes I know a bit about that ;)

 

I remember reading The Alexandria Quartet and *loving* it, particularly Justine. I see you've got a version of the Ramayana on your list. Have you read William Buck's version? It is excellent, as is his Mahabharata.

 

[LostSurprise]

I read The Moviegoer by Walker Percy last year, and I liked it a bit better than I did in college (it made no impression on my whatsoever then). I don't know. Nothing to get worked up about, but that frustrated/isolationist/intellectual viewpoint was big in the '50s and it had a few good lines. 

 

I read a series of letters between Percy and Shelby Foote (novelest, wrote a scholarly series about the Civil War, was in Ken Burn's Civil War documentary). I found that more interesting than a biography, although I don't think you ever completely know Percy. He had a lot of inner contradictions, I think. 

 

Oh, and I liked Peace Like a River. A lot. 

 

Finished The Man of Numbers last night, about Leonardo of Pisa's (aka Fibonacci) famous arithmetic and algebra text released in the 13th century. He brought Indian-Persian numerals and concepts to the Italians and he wrote specifically for traders and other laymen. It was interesting, but a bit dry. I had hoped I'd be done with it by the end of the year, but despite being a short book it contains a 30 page section of algebra done completely by logic, not with symbolic notation. I am again reminded that despite modern evidence to the contrary there were plenty of people much, much smarter than me thousands and thousands of years ago. Take that modern world. I am proud of myself for going through it over and over again until I (mostly) had it figured out. I'm impressed with whoever came up with this stuff.

 

And we finished a read-aloud last night too: The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angelis. I wasn't sure they'd enjoy it, but they did. Some of the characters were a bit limited, but I enjoyed the description. It flowed really naturally and I felt like we learned a lot about medieval times. Next up: The Prince and the Pauper. 

 

Top Ten *
Best of the Year **

 

3. The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angelis~children's book, middle ages, dealing with adversity, 14th century. 

2. The Man of Numbers: Fibonacci's Arithmetic Revolution by Keith Devlin~non-fiction, Indian-Persian mathematics, trade, 13th century. 

1. A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki~fiction, story within a story, Japan, Zen *

 

Working on: 

Cinnamon and Gunpowder

Labrynths

The Lives of the Heart

[prairiegirl]

Finally!   My computer had a virus so it has been getting fixed this past week.  It has been killing me seeing the book threads but not being able to jump in (I can't post here with my phone.)

 

I have finished my first book of 2014--The Aviator's Wife by Melanie Benjamin.  I quite liked it and has spurred me on to find other books about and by the Lindbergh's. 

 

I am now reading:

Mr. Churchill's Secretary by Susan Elia Macneal

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (re-read, I read it when it first came out)

Socrates' Café  by Christopher  Philips

[AllSmiles]

Just yesterday I finished my first 2 books of the year, The Fortune of War and W is for Wasted.

 

 

W is for Wasted was good, maybe not the greatest book I've ever read, but I've loved Sue Grafton's alphabet mystery series since I started reading it almost 20 years ago. What is remarkable about this series is how consistent it is -- the characters have grown and changed but without some shocking plot twists or character deaths (such as in Elizabeth George's series), and the mysteries are always clever and the detecting always

I really enjoyed this series when I read it years ago. I think I made it through M or N. I'm looking forward to hopping back into this series again.

[AllSmiles]

 

 

To redeem myself - check out the Banned and Challenged Classics list or the Canonical English Literature and see how many you've read.

I love all the vintage book covers :)

[Stacia]

I have finished my first book of 2014--The Aviator's Wife by Melanie Benjamin. I quite liked it and has spurred me on to find other books about and by the Lindbergh's.

Yay. Good to know it's a good one. I meant to get around to this one at the beginning of last year, along with a couple of other books I already have:

 

North to the Orient by Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Anne Morrow Lindbergh: Her Life by Susan Hertog

 

I've always been fascinated by pilots & flying in general (so wish I had my own pilot's license!) & learned more about her at a Smithsonian exhibit a few years back. I had never realized that she flew with/navigated for her husband, esp. when he/they were trying to map a route to Asia by going over Arctic routes. Fascinating stuff in the exhibit & I bought her bio right after it (though didn't get around to reading it), then picked up a copy of her book about their time doing that.

[hands-on-mama]

If anyone is looking for a 12th century book for this month, there is one free today.  I am not familiar with it, but the reviews are decent.

http://www.amazon.com/Good-Knight-Gareth-Medieval-Mystery-ebook/dp/B005OLTU8I

Thank you! Just downloaded this!

[Stacia]

Thought of a 12th/13th century read that might interest those who enjoy non-fiction: Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford. I read it a few years ago & really enjoyed it.

[JennW in SoCal]

I just finished:

 

1.  The Second Coming by Walker Percy

 

My, oh my, that was the most abrupt ending I've ever experienced. I'll have to think about the ending more after I get over the flu. I did like the book, I think. It was strange, but I liked it. That was my first Walker Percy. Is anyone here a fan of his? Could you recommend a second book by him?

 

I'm not sure what I'll start now. I have a few ideas, but I'll need a day or so to get over that ending (and the flu) before I make a decision about what's next.

 

I've not read Walker Percy yet.  I've got Love in Ruins on my iPad, along with at least 3 other books vying for my attention.  But his name keeps popping up, and Rod Dreher, the blogger and author of The Little Way of Ruthie Lemming, is frequently promoting The Walker Percy Weekend that will be held in Louisiana this summer.  Clearly Percy is dearly loved by some!!

 

I was able to finish two books for the first week of the new year.  Yay!

 

I finished up reading The Last Unicorn that I had started at the end of December.  It was wonderful.  The story was simple enough, and very familiar since I have seen the cartoon movie an  upteen number of times.  However, the writing, or lanuage, of the story was beautiful.  I'll share some quotes, but it is hard to pick as I could underline almost the whole book.

 

 

 

The Last Unicorn is a book I hear mentioned almost yearly at sci-fi author panels at Comic-con. It is a dearly loved book.  I tried to buy a copy of it one year but no one had it.  Peter S. Beagle actually was the panelist interviewing Christopher Paolini one year -- it was a magcial hour.  Clearly I need to add it to my "to be read" stack on my iPad. (ETA -- it is only available as a graphic novel through the Kindle store -- got to check the library or *gasp* buy it..)

 

 

North to the Orient by Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Anne Morrow Lindbergh: Her Life by Susan Hertog

 

 

I've always been fascinated by pilots & flying in general (so wish I had my own pilot's license!) & learned more about her at a Smithsonian exhibit a few years back. I had never realized that she flew with/navigated for her husband, esp. when he/they were trying to map a route to Asia by going over Arctic routes. Fascinating stuff in the exhibit & I bought her bio right after it (though didn't get around to reading it), then picked up a copy of her book about their time doing that.

 

Yet more books that I've wanted to read!  Bill Bryson's latest book, One Summer, America, 1927, talks quite a bit about Charles Lindberg, his flight and the madness that surrounded him all that year, and touches upon Anne a bit.  The title "North to the Orient" is sooooo evocative, though!  Waiting for your reviews before either putting them on a library hold or on my iPad!!

[Maus]

I'm late to the party.  I missed the main challenge, finishing with 51 books, with four barely started.  I think I got some of the mini ones, but I lost focus. It was a tough year for us last year (steadily worsening mental health issues in DH and DS), and it doesn't look to be over yet, so at least for the beginning of the year, I'll be reading not so much for intellectual challenge or entertainment, but more for, um, I don't know, emotional and spiritual recentering.  I don't know what else to call it.  Also for information needed to understand what's going on.  I don't plan to sum up what I'm reading for a while, just list the title and author, and since many will probably be by authors from my faith (LDS), I'll put that in parenthesis when it applies as well.  Here is my first for 2014:

 

1. "The Peacegiver: How Christ Offers to Heal Our Hearts and Homes" by James L. Ferrell (LDS). 

[Kareni]

I just finished No Turning Back (The Kathleen Turner Series #1) by Tiffany Snow.  For those who have Kindle Prime, I see this is currently a free book. 

 

"Being a bartender by night and law firm runner by day helps make ends meet for Kathleen Turner. Mostly. Being 23 and single in Indianapolis wasn’t exactly a thrilling adventure, but then again, that’s not what Kathleen wanted. At least, not until she met Blane Kirk.

 

Navy SEAL turned high-profile attorney, Blane is everything a woman could want. The only problem? He’s her boss.

Blane is known for playing the field and the last thing Kathleen needs or wants is to get involved with him. But when her friend is murdered and it seems Kathleen will be next, she may not have a choice.

 

Now Blane is the only thing standing between her and people who want her dead, including assassin-for-hire Kade Dennon. Beautiful but deadly, he’ll kill anyone who gets in his way, even the woman who makes him question everything he’s become.

 

The deeper she sinks into the web of lies and murder, the more Kathleen realizes she can trust no one if she’s going to survive. No one is innocent. Not even Blane."

 

My library has it labeled as a mystery; however, it has a strong romance component.  While I'm sufficiently intrigued by some unanswered questions/loose ends that I'd like to read more by this author, I did almost give up at one point.  (And have you ever noticed when an author seems to overemphasize one thing or another?  In this case, the heroine's strawberry blond hair was mentioned once, twice, a dozen times!)

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

 

[shukriyya]

Okay readers, another Billy Collins poem to share with you. I'm sharing this because I imagine that at some point in the story of your lives all of you have encountered mice and perhaps not always in ways that inspired charitable feelings ;) This poem might allow for a little more spaciousness next time you meet one of the 'little brown druids' in your house.

The Country

by Billy Collins

I wondered about you
when you told me never to leave
a box of wooden, strike-anywhere matches
lying around the house because the mice

might get into them and start a fire.
But your face was absolutely straight
when you twisted the lid down on the round tin
where the matches, you said, are always stowed.

Who could sleep that night?
Who could whisk away the thought
of the one unlikely mouse
padding along a cold water pipe

behind the floral wallpaper
gripping a single wooden match
between the needles of his teeth?
Who could not see him rounding a corner,

the blue tip scratching against a rough-hewn beam,
the sudden flare, and the creature
for one bright, shining moment
suddenly thrust ahead of his time—

now a fire-starter, now a torchbearer
in a forgotten ritual, little brown druid
illuminating some ancient night.
Who could fail to notice,

lit up in the blazing insulation,
the tiny looks of wonderment on the faces
of his fellow mice, onetime inhabitants
of what once was your house in the country?

[Negin]

North to the Orient by Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Anne Morrow Lindbergh: Her Life by Susan Hertog

 

 

 

 

Stacia, I read her book "Gift from the Sea" several years ago. I like her writing style. I'm quite certain that I read an excerpt from one of these books in a magazine recently.

[Onceuponatime]

Okay readers, another Billy Collins poem to share with you. I'm sharing this because I imagine that at some point in the story of your lives all of you have encountered mice and perhaps not always in ways that inspired charitable feelings ;) This poem might allow for a little more spaciousness next time you meet one of the 'little brown druids' in your house.

 

The Country

 

by Billy Collins

 

I wondered about you

when you told me never to leave

a box of wooden, strike-anywhere matches

lying around the house because the mice

 

might get into them and start a fire.

But your face was absolutely straight

when you twisted the lid down on the round tin

where the matches, you said, are always stowed.

 

Who could sleep that night?

Who could whisk away the thought

of the one unlikely mouse

padding along a cold water pipe

 

behind the floral wallpaper

gripping a single wooden match

between the needles of his teeth?

Who could not see him rounding a corner,

 

the blue tip scratching against a rough-hewn beam,

the sudden flare, and the creature

for one bright, shining moment

suddenly thrust ahead of his time—

 

now a fire-starter, now a torchbearer

in a forgotten ritual, little brown druid

illuminating some ancient night.

Who could fail to notice,

 

lit up in the blazing insulation,

the tiny looks of wonderment on the faces

of his fellow mice, onetime inhabitants

of what once was your house in the country?

 

Oh, dear. No one ever told me this could happen. We live in the country. We battle mice every winter. Two down this year, so far. Lots of matches laying exposed in drawers where mice could play. I love the imagery. Until the last stanza.

[Luckymama]

Gosh, I do love Billy Collins! I've heard him on so many public radio programs over the years that I "hear" his voice when I read his poems :D

[Jane Elliot]

I'm just curious how you all count short stories, poems, and essays for your personal challenge. I'm reading a lot of these lately with my daughters as we study American literature this year. I wonder how to list and count them.

[Violet Crown]

2. Frederick Rolfe, Hadrian the Seventh

1. Thomas Mann, Death in Venice & Other Stories

 

What an odd little book Hadrian the Seventh is. The story of a much-abused English Catholic convert whose vocation to the priesthood was unjustly and repeatedly denied, who finds himself elected Pope and, ultimately, ruler of the world, through a series of gasping implausibilities. Written by an English Catholic convert who considered himself unjustly denied his vocation to the priesthood. Wish-fulfillment so brazen you just have to enjoy the giddy ride. Rolfe invents his own fantasy life as a novel, his own identity (he abbreviated his name to Fr. Rolfe, and dubiously acquired the title Baron Corvo), and often enough his own English words.

----------------------

Had He been trained in boyhood at a public-school, in adolescence at a university, had His lines been cast in service, He would not have had to put so severe restraint upon Himself. The occasion would not have arisen. A simple and perhaps a stolid character would have been formed of His temper, potent and brilliant enough to distinguish Him from the mob, but incapable of hypersensation. Instead, His frightfully self-concentrated and lonely life, denied the ordinary opportunities of action, had developed this heart-rending complexity: had trained him in mental gymnastics to a degree of excellence which was inhuman, abominable (in the first intention of the words) in its facile flexible solert dexterity. He was not restrained by any sense whatever of modesty or of decorum. He had no sense of those things. He knew it; and regretted it. He was Himself, He distrusted that self, rejoiced in it, and determined to deal well and righteously with it.

[AmandaVT]

Does anyone have any poetry recommendations? I'm trying to reach out of my reading comfort zone and I've never really read poetry. Well, except in school, but I'm not counting that. 

[Robin M]

I'm just curious how you all count short stories, poems, and essays for your personal challenge. I'm reading a lot of these lately with my daughters as we study American literature this year. I wonder how to list and count them.

 

Good question.  I'd say if you are reading an anthology of short stories or poems or essays by the same author or collection of authors, that would count as one book.  Flavorwire has a good collection today in their 35 Perfect Examples of the Art of the Short Story.

 

 

gymcoachvt  Does anyone have any poetry recommendations? I'm trying to reach out of my reading comfort zone and I've never really read poetry. Well, except in school, but I'm not counting that.

I'm not too big with poetry myself.  I do like Billy Collins and Robert Frost.  Other than that have going by the list SWB suggests in WEM. The ones with asterisks I've read.   There are a lot of contemporary poets but I'm not too familiar with them. I'm sure a few of the other BaWer's will have suggestions.  I do like Poets.org which has a lot of resources. 

 

1. The Epic of Gilgamesh ***
2. Homer - The Iliad and the Odyssey
3. Greek Lyricists 
4. Horace - The Odes 
5. Beowolf 
6. Dante Alighieri - Inferno
7. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight ***
8. Geoffrey Chaucer - The Canterbury Tales
9. William Shakespeare - Sonnets 
10. John Donne 
11. King James Bible - Psalms ***
12. John Milton - Paradise Lost 
13. William Blake - Songs of Innocence and of Experience 
14. Williams Wordsworth 
15. Samuel Taylor Coleridge 
16. John Keats
17.  Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
18. Alfred, Lord Tennyson
19. Walt Whitman
20. Emily Dickinson ***
21. Christina Rossetti
22. Gerald Manley Hopkins
23. William Butler Yeats
24. Paul Laurence Dunbar
25. Robert Frost ***
26. Carl Sandburg
27. William Carlos Williams
28. Ezra Pounds
29. T.S. Eliot
30. Langston Hughes 
31. W.H. Auden

[Alice]

Does anyone have any poetry recommendations? I'm trying to reach out of my reading comfort zone and I've never really read poetry. Well, except in school, but I'm not counting that. 

 

You can sign up at the Poetry Foundation website for a poem of the day email. It’s free and I’ve discovered a lot of new to me poets that way. 

 

www.poetryfoundation.org

[Rosie_0801]

 I see you've got a version of the Ramayana on your list. Have you read William Buck's version? It is excellent, as is his Mahabharata.

 

 

I bought William Buck's two books on Hive recommendation and plan to read them later in the year after watching the dvd version. 94 episodes x 45mins seemed just the thing for February, when it will be too hot to do anything but veg out and watch movies. I'm looking forward to it all!

[Robin M]

Check out the reading list of David Bowie - David Bowie's 75 Must Read Books.  It is rather eclectic

 

 

And from Buzzfeed - 16 Books to read before they hit the theaters this year. 

 

If anyone has been following the Tournament of Books, they announced the short list finalists for the Morning News 10th Annual ToB

 

 

 

[azucena]

2. Frederick Rolfe, Hadrian the Seventh

1. Thomas Mann, Death in Venice & Other Stories

 

What an odd little book Hadrian the Seventh is. The story of a much-abused English Catholic convert whose vocation to the priesthood was unjustly and repeatedly denied, who finds himself elected Pope and, ultimately, ruler of the world, through a series of gasping implausibilities. Written by an English Catholic convert who considered himself unjustly denied his vocation to the priesthood. Wish-fulfillment so brazen you just have to enjoy the giddy ride. Rolfe invents his own fantasy life as a novel, his own identity (he abbreviated his name to Fr. Rolfe, and dubiously acquired the title Baron Corvo), and often enough his own English words.

----------------------

Had He been trained in boyhood at a public-school, in adolescence at a university, had His lines been cast in service, He would not have had to put so severe restraint upon Himself. The occasion would not have arisen. A simple and perhaps a stolid character would have been formed of His temper, potent and brilliant enough to distinguish Him from the mob, but incapable of hypersensation. Instead, His frightfully self-concentrated and lonely life, denied the ordinary opportunities of action, had developed this heart-rending complexity: had trained him in mental gymnastics to a degree of excellence which was inhuman, abominable (in the first intention of the words) in its facile flexible solert dexterity. He was not restrained by any sense whatever of modesty or of decorum. He had no sense of those things. He knew it; and regretted it. He was Himself, He distrusted that self, rejoiced in it, and determined to deal well and righteously with it.

 

If you want more Baron Corvo (which you might not!), the classic follow-up is A. J. A. Symons's The Quest for Corvo, which is in print as as NYRB Classic.

[BarbecueMom]

Speaking of short stories, I read Agatha Christie's "Poirot Investigates" collection of short stories this week. I started 1Q84, but everyone in this house has a nasty cold or croup, and my head and eyes hurt too much to read.

[shukriyya]

I bought William Buck's two books on Hive recommendation and plan to read them later in the year after watching the dvd version. 94 episodes x 45mins seemed just the thing for February, when it will be too hot to do anything but veg out and watch movies. I'm looking forward to it all!

I remember that thread and giving out the Buck rec and the DVD rec. So glad you were able to follow up. Dh and dc just finished watching all 94 episodes. They did it over the course of a few months usually one episode a day, occasionally two if they were at a particularly gripping point. They pronounced the series wonderful. They had already read Buck's version and dc danced in a production of Ramayan so they know whereof they speak.

 

On an unrelated note, many happy returns of the day :D

[Violet Crown]

If you want more Baron Corvo (which you might not!), the classic follow-up is A. J. A. Symons's The Quest for Corvo, which is in print as as NYRB Classic.

Ooh! I think I might just see if the university library has a copy.

 

ETA: Yes they do! Sending the request to dh....

[Rosie_0801]

I remember that thread and giving out the Buck rec and the DVD rec. So glad you were able to follow up. Dh and dc just finished watching all 94 episodes. They did it over the course of a few months usually one episode a day, occasionally two if they were at a particularly gripping point. They pronounced the series wonderful. They had already read Buck's version and dc danced in a production of Ramayan so they know whereof they speak.

 

On an unrelated note, many happy returns of the day :D

 

I thank you *tips hat*

 

I'm hoping I'll learn how to pronounce the names from the dvd before I read the book...

[welovetoread]

Do magazines count? 

[Luckymama]

My reading for the year to date is

 

1. Big Sky Secrets by Linda Lael Miller (her latest, total comfort read for me; excellent way to start the year)

2. Love Overdue by Pamela Morsi (learned about this book on this thread---I liked it but not as much as her historical fiction)

3. Picture Perfect by Alessandra Thomas ("new adult" story dealing with body dysmorphic disorder; will watch this author)

4. The Dom Project by Heloise Belleau and Solace Ames (sweet story despite the name; much adult content lol)

5. A Touch of Midnight (Breeds prequel novella) by Lara Adrian

6. Kiss of Midnight by Lara Adrian

7. Kids of Crimson by Lara Adrian

8. Midnight Awakening by Lara Adrian

9. Before Jamaica Lane by Samantha Young (her latest in the On Dublin Street series; not as angsty as the others; 5 stars)

10. Full Throttle by Erin McCarthy (her latest in the Fast Track racing series; enjoyable)

11. Aftershock by Jill Sorenson (whoa this was a good suspense story; aftermath of an earthquake)

 

Fluff, all :D Weightier stuff awaits---Pink Boots and a Machete, Zero Waste Home, Well-Educated Mind, and Seven Trails West (Sante Fe, Oregon-California and the like) to name a few. I'll continue to read through the Breeds series!

[Robin M]

Do magazines count?

Nope!

 

 

Taking a break from Wind up to read Faith Hunter's latest in her jane yellow rock series, Black Arts.

[Stacia]

Pink Boots and a Machete, Zero Waste Home,

 

Enjoyed both of these. :thumbup1:

[mumto2]

If anyone has been following the Tournament of Books, they announced the short list finalists for the Morning News 10th Annual ToB

Clicking on this made me feel pretty good, I have actually read a few of them. I guarantee that last year I would not have even heard of the books on this list. Thank you. :)

[Violet Crown]

Happy birthday, Rosie!

 

Good heavens, just looked at your birth year. Are you allowed to homeschool at such a tender age?

[shukriyya]

Does anyone have any poetry recommendations? I'm trying to reach out of my reading comfort zone and I've never really read poetry. Well, except in school, but I'm not counting that.

Posting from my phone so I don't have access to my lists and bookmarks but two wonderful poets that come to mind are Mary Oliver and Jane Hirschfield.

 

I'm curious to hear from the so-called non- poetry folks about what it is that puts you off? Maybe we can help each other, y'all can expand my fairly narrow range of literature love and I can show you that you, too, actually do have a poetic ear :D

[Rosie_0801]

Happy birthday, Rosie!

 

Good heavens, just looked at your birth year. Are you allowed to homeschool at such a tender age?

 

You what? I'm 34! You know there are people around here still in their 20's?

[Stacia]

You what? I'm 34! You know there are people around here still in their 20's?

Yes, you are a tender age! :)

 

-- signed by one of the old ones on here...

[Violet Crown]

You what? I'm 34! You know there are people around here still in their 20's?

I try not to think about that.

[Stacia]

I try not to think about that.

 

:lol:

[mumto2]

Yes, you are a tender age! :)

 

-- signed by one of the old ones on here...

I love your angry old smiley face. :lol:

 

I'm another old one.

[MomtoCandJ]

Can people please add me for Nook lend me books? I like nonfiction (I have a few nook friends but vampires and such are not my thing :) ) my email is chadandmelissamathews@yahoo.com. I don't have the chance to go to the library often any more and it's soon to become even less frequent.

[shukriyya]

You what? I'm 34! You know there are people around here still in their 20's?

 

Check out some of the 70s nostalgia nonsense from last week and you'll see why we consider you a youngster :D

[Shawneinfl]

Check out the reading list of David Bowie - David Bowie's 75 Must Read Books.  It is rather eclectic

 

 

And from Buzzfeed - 16 Books to read before they hit the theaters this year. 

 

If anyone has been following the Tournament of Books, they announced the short list finalists for the Morning News 10th Annual ToB

 

 

 

Aak - Robin you've got to stop posting these lists. I've already read half the books on the "soon to be movies" list and now I want to read the rest. So many books, so little time.

 

[Jane Elliot]

 

And from Buzzfeed - 16 Books to read before they hit the theaters this year. 

 

 

Does anyone else feel a little bit apprehensive when they're turning a beloved book into a movie...like they might not (probably won't) get it right? I'm feeling kind of like that about Unbroken.