Book 50: Richard II

So when I read Richard III last week, I was really supposed to be reading Richard II. Oops.



I'm reading these plays because the Hollow Crown series (Richard II, Henry IV Part 1, Henry IV Part 2, and Henry V) will air on PBS in September. It won a number of awards in England, so I'm pretty excited about it.

Richard II is a complex play. I wasn't sure whose side I wanted to be on, unlike Richard III, which has a definite villain.

Book 49: Richard III

I'm slowly working my way through five dramas this year, as part of my 5/5 goal. I haven't read Shakespeare since college, which was actually last century.



Richard III was great. The history (the succession to the throne, the wars and assassinations) was new to me, so a Wikipedia primer was very helpful.

Why haven't I read Shakespeare in so long, I don't know. I'm now going backward in time and reading Richard II so I can get a feel for more of the histories. There are lots of the comedies that I have never read, either.

Book 34: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

I think I've probably started reading this at various other times in my life, but never finished it. But this time, I had a great Audible recording of it to listen to while digging in the community garden and then driving across the country.



The recording was lovely, and some parts were interesting (the sermon on Hell accompanied my digging in the garden), but a lot of it was kind of dull. Sorry, James. Maybe sometime I'll try Dubliners, but I'm not going to rush out and get a copy tonight.

Book 33: Moll Flanders

I needed a classic fix this week. Moll Flanders was on my phone, so I gave it a listen. It was a pleasure to listen to.



Oooh la la, that cover is a bit racy, no? Yep, the story was a bit racy, too--for 1722.

The improbability of all these things happening to one person was pretty funny. When my husband asked what I was reading/listening to and I told him, it really sounded a bit like a soap opera.

The genre of the novel has really changed, though, and its place in literature is solidified in a way that it was not in the early 18th century. It's a good reminder even something that seems as basic and timeless as the novel has not always existed in its current form.

Book 17: Three Sisters

One of my 5/5 challenges this year is to read five dramas. Since I hadn't started a single one and it's mid-March, it was time to get going.



I'm sure I've actually read this before. And I really do love Chekhov. But I was often so confused. Why is Olga suddenly crying? I thought Masha left--why is she still here?

I looked to see if there was a production of it I could watch, since that's the way it's supposed to be enjoyed. I found a couple from the 70s and they got terrible reviews because "nothing happens." Well, yes, that's pretty much the point of the play, my friends.

So maybe I'll stick with Chekhov short stories. And plays in which something happens? Like Shakespeare, perhaps? We'll see.

Book 15: Tom Jones

I have finally finished this behemoth!



It was a bit of a slog for a long while, but toward the end I was more interested, because I began to see how it might all turn out. Some of it was quite funny--I think most of it was supposed to be funny, actually.

Book 7: Moby Dick

The last chapter of Moby Dick was posted today for the Moby Dick Big Read.



I started listening on September 16 of last year, and now 135 days later, it's over. I loved it. There were several chapters that I listened to more than once because they were so good.

Book 61: Frankenstein

This is October's book club "spooky read".



It was fun, and strange. I want the monster's language learning ability and eloquence, though. Monsters these days just aren't as genial and eloquent as they used to be.

Book 48: The Great Gatsby

Like many of you, I read this in high school, lo these many, many years ago. I remembered only one thing about it, and that was something about Robert Redford and Mia Farrow. Oh wait . . . .




Well, I loved it. It was so well-written: so spare, yet so descriptive! I listened to the audio book, and it was just a delight to listen to.

And now I feel that education is wasted on the young. I should probably re-read everything I read in my youth.

Book 9: Little Dorrit

February 7 was Charles Dickens' 200th birthday, so what better month to read some Dickens? I picked Little Dorrit, weighing in at an impressive 900ish pages.



It was delightful, though sometimes grim: just what one would expect from Dickens. It was like taking a mental multivitamin. I just felt smarter while reading it.

I loved the characterization: the clerk who pulls on his hair and makes it stand on end to reflect his mood, the rich patriarch with a serene bald head and long silver fringe, the bizarre old aunt who comes up with outrageous invective. Many of the characters are described as greasy or filthy, such that I would have felt relieved to read about some good scrubbings and washings.

The message of selfless duty to others is a good one, but a bit discouraging. I'm not sure I want to spend too much time thinking about wearing myself out in the service of others.

Book 5: Walden

Y'know, this was kind of familiar. Maybe I read Civil Disobedience when I was an undergraduate. Surely no English major gets away with not reading Thoreau.


Photo from Flickr uploaded by Ekabhishek

Let's face it: I'm not going to spend two years living in a cabin by a lake, growing beans and eating unleavened bread. There's a lot to like about a Thoreauvian existence: simple food that doesn't cost much or require a lot of preparation; a simple dwelling that doesn't require many materials to build or keep up. It's good to be reminded of these things, even if I can't apply them literally to my circumstances.


Photo from Flickr uploaded by Ekabhishek

So what is the message I take away? Maybe I'll try a digital sabbath once a week. Maybe we'll go outside more. I'll definitely spend less money on things I only think I need.