The Books/Reading Thread

I'm done with Sappho and have nothing else to read for the next week or so, so I think I can finally get started on Paradise Lost. I was planning on reading this in the summer to follow-up the Divine Comedy, but required reading took an inconvenient precedent.
 
Too many books right now...

Lattimore's Iliad arrived today and I'm about 80 pages in, I still like Lattimore more than Fagles, maybe not as much as Fitzgerald though.

Reading Herodotus' Histories for the first time, a lot of myths I'm already aware of were documented (albeit romantically) here, the context it provides is interesting. There's loads of new stuff too of course - I like his digressive, myth-infused style, as I'm approaching it from a literary standpoint as much as a historical one.

Re-reading Erikson's Midnight Tides - I'm devouring the whole series again before I start Reaper's Gale. Amazing of course - leaves GRRM and co in the dust.

Properly reading Nietzsche's The Birth of Tragedy for the first time. Studied bits of it before but never actually sat and read it through.

Also dipping into Bloom's The Western Canon every so often, I find the man absolutely fascinating and his books are richly rewarding.

Finally, I've been re-reading Hamlet over and over recently, it's limitless, I don't know if I'll ever stop.
 
2/3 of the way through Homer's Odyssey. I haven't read the complete version of it until now, and I was surprised that only like 3 chapters are of the actual voyage of Odysseus (through all the mythological monsters and shit), while the majority of the text focus on either Telemachus or Odysseus when he's already gotten back to Ithaca.
 
fates warning 666 said:
Lattimore's Iliad arrived today and I'm about 80 pages in, I still like Lattimore more than Fagles, maybe not as much as Fitzgerald though.
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What do you think of Chapman?

I'm currently reading Adrian Goldsworthy's In the Name of Rome

From the cover:

"The Roman army was one of the most effective fighting forces in history. The legions and their commanders carved out an empire which eventually included the greater part of the known world. This was thanks largely to the generals who led the Roman army to victory after victory, and whose strategic and tactical decisions shaped the course of several centuries of warfare. This book, by the author of THE PUNIC WARS, concentrates on those Roman generals who displayed exceptional gifts of leadership and who won the greatest victories. With 26 chapters covering the entire span of the Roman Empire, it is a complete history of Roman warfare."

Very well written history and a very interesting subject. This is not as dry as your average school-issue history book, without sacrificing any of it's historical accuracy in favour of literary excitement, ala Steven Pressfield (pure brilliance, by the way). If I had more to say about what my pupils were to read in our history classes, this is the kinda book I would choose.
 
Crimson Velvet said:
What do you think of Chapman?

I'm currently reading Adrian Goldsworthy's In the Name of Rome

From the cover:

"The Roman army was one of the most effective fighting forces in history. The legions and their commanders carved out an empire which eventually included the greater part of the known world. This was thanks largely to the generals who led the Roman army to victory after victory, and whose strategic and tactical decisions shaped the course of several centuries of warfare. This book, by the author of THE PUNIC WARS, concentrates on those Roman generals who displayed exceptional gifts of leadership and who won the greatest victories. With 26 chapters covering the entire span of the Roman Empire, it is a complete history of Roman warfare."

Very well written history and a very interesting subject. This is not as dry as your average school-issue history book, without sacrificing any of it's historical accuracy in favour of literary excitement, ala Steven Pressfield (pure brilliance, by the way). If I had more to say about what my pupils were to read in our history classes, this is the kinda book I would choose.
Click to expand...

Looks interesting. I should look for that.
 
Currently reading (for school):

Elizabeth Gaskell - Mary Barton: A Victorian novel written from a lower class perspective depicting the deplorable living conditions of the working class.

Plato - Phaedo: A classic Greek text recounting the last hours of Socrates during which he discusses the immortality of the soul.

Charlotte Bronte - Jane Eyre: I've read this book far too many times...though admittedly I've enjoyed it more with every read. Too involved to really explain what exactly this novel is 'about.'

Plus various literary theory and political theory texts.
 
Finished The Afghan Campaign by Steven Pressfield and Dawn of Empire by Sam Barone. Quality historical fiction novels.
 
I got about 3/4 of the way through. I'm not sure why I never finished it. That was like 8 years ago though. Why the fuck was I reading Cervantes at 12? :zombie:
 
currently reading this:

51Y36CTG03L._AA240_.jpg
 
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