Ah. Well, I think that you could say that about almost any "great work" - you either need a secondary source, or an annotated edition, or repeated close readings and a very deep and broad knowledge of Western literature to completely understand all the subtleties in, say, Lolita, or Beloved, or Ulysses, or Dickinson's poetry, or Paradise Lost, or whatever else. And it makes particular sense that you'd need that for the works of sixteenth and seventeenth century poet and playwright.
But you don't need those things to comprehend them well-enough to understand what is happening in the plot or thematically in those works, and I don't think you need those things in order to enjoy them.
You make a very fair point. Hell, I'll probably use a secondary source to fully appreciate The Silmarillion when I finally get back down to read it.
Granted I haven't read Shakespeare since high school, so I may be able to enjoy it more now than I did back then. Eh, I'll toss Hamlet into my backlog and see if it clicks with me.
I remember seeing these at a bookstore, and I kind of wanted to pick them up.
Edit: I decided to start on my third book, seeing how I reached the halfway points for both of my African novels. So now I am reading this supposed gem:
How is this? I've been dying to read something good on the subject, but have always avoided reading books about contemporary politics due to their inherent nature of suffering from the unavoidable lack of hindsight + the tendency to lean faaaar one way or the other because of the unavoidable biases due to writing on a subject one has first hand perspective on.
How is this? I've been dying to read something good on the subject, but have always avoided reading books about contemporary politics due to their inherent nature of suffering from the unavoidable lack of hindsight + the tendency to lean faaaar one way or the other because of the unavoidable biases due to writing on a subject one has first hand perspective on.
Just got back home from the library with it, so I'll be starting on it soon. I'll post my impressions as I power through it. The Economist, NY Times, and Foreign Policy seem to be major fans of this particular work though.
Oh, no; you just need to stalk all of Edmond Dantés' posts.
Though I have been enjoying The Silmarillion Seminar discussions that Corey Olsen puts out on his website / iTunes
Granted I haven't read Shakespeare since high school, so I may be able to enjoy it more now than I did back then. Eh, I'll toss Hamlet into my backlog and see if it clicks with me.
My personal favorite is King Lear*, and I'd suggest watching it. Your library probably has DVDs of stage productions, and Shakespeare really is meant to be seen, and not just read. Not to say that Shakespeare shouldn't also be read; I personally liked to read it to myself, and then watch it while reading along, and then watch it by itself. But whatever works for you!
* My real favorite is Sonnet XXX
When to the sessions of sweet silent thought
I summon up remembrance of things past,
I sigh the lack of many a thing I sought,
And with old woes new wail my dear time's waste:
Then can I drown an eye, unus'd to flow,
For precious friends hid in death's dateless night,
And weep afresh love's long since cancell'd woe,
And moan the expense of many a vanish'd sight:
Then can I grieve at grievances foregone,
And heavily from woe to woe tell o'er
The sad account of fore-bemoaned moan,
Which I new pay as if not paid before.
But if the while I think on thee, dear friend,
All losses are restor'd and sorrows end.
Just finished re-reading Wild Cards volumes 1-3. Every bit as good as I remembered. I also managed to find a digital copy of
Thieves World finally, so I'll be digging into that. Good, old times.
I am currently reading this and it is quite fascinating, mostly because I knew very little about the subject. I mean, I thought Penicillin was the first antibiotic and was created in the early 20th century by Pasteur. Well, I was totally wrong and misinformed.
I am only about a 1/3rd of the way through, but so far it is a history wonder drug research, basically all of the advancements and ways the field was advanced until the discovery of Prontocil and Sulfa. The author is a fantastic storyteller and does a good job of keeping a story that could easily be dreadfully dull, rooted in people, their discoveries, and worldwide effects and impacts instead of just science. I am assuming it will talk about Penicillin because they mentioned Fleming a few times and I think the book will be done talking about Sulfa at about the 1/2 way point. I am still not sure who is that one doctor either, so maybe it is Fleming?
This was definitely a nice change of pace from my pure history reading lately that I have been doing. I mean, this is obviously still history, just science history.
Finished Shakespeare's Sonnets. It's hard to follow when you first start, but gets much easier once the rhythm of the metering and rhyming imprints on your mind. Fascinating stuff, for me more because of the imaginative ways words are used than because of the content.
I've now finally read the less important works in the complete Shakespeare (not that I count the Sonnets as "less important"...), and can go on to the plays. But I won't pick up the book again for a while. Shakespeare is tiring to read, best to divide it out over a long period.
I am currently reading this and it is quite fascinating, mostly because I knew very little about the subject. I mean, I thought Penicillin was the first antibiotic and was created in the early 20th century by Pasteur. Well, I was totally wrong and misinformed.
I am only about a 1/3rd of the way through, but so far it is a history wonder drug research, basically all of the advancements and ways the field was advanced until the discovery of Prontocil and Sulfa. The author is a fantastic storyteller and does a good job of keeping a story that could easily be dreadfully dull, rooted in people, their discoveries, and worldwide effects and impacts instead of just science. I am assuming it will talk about Penicillin because they mentioned Fleming a few times and I think the book will be done talking about Sulfa at about the 1/2 way point. I am still not sure who is that one doctor either, so maybe it is Fleming?
This was definitely a nice change of pace from my pure history reading lately that I have been doing. I mean, this is obviously still history, just science history.
You should check this out; I listened to the entire lecture series at work.
Course Description said:
This course consists of an international analysis of the impact of epidemic diseases on western society and culture from the bubonic plague to HIV/AIDS and the recent experience of SARS and swine flu. Leading themes include: infectious disease and its impact on society; the development of public health measures; the role of medical ethics; the genre of plague literature; the social reactions of mass hysteria and violence; the rise of the germ theory of disease; the development of tropical medicine; a comparison of the social, cultural, and historical impact of major infectious diseases; and the issue of emerging and re-emerging diseases.
I finished 2010: Odyssey Two. Not a bad follow up, though it feels a little anti-climactic. 2001 was far more mysterious but the ending very simply explains everything. 2010 doesn't have a whole lot to keep going with, really. I'm still glad I read it.
And with that, I've hit my personal goal of 30 novels read in 2014.
Engineers of Victory It's about how specific people and events lead to the Allies winning WWII. The author specifically states he tries to avoid oversimplifying the war. He also teaches some "grand strategy" classes at Yale. Looking forward to finishing this.
Sweet, thanks. I'll definitely check it out since I have been looking for a book on the history of diseases, but havent found any that spark my interest.
If you are able to listen to that at work, you should start listening to audio books as well (assuming you dont already). I was pretty wary at first, but I became a huge convert after I gave it a shot.
Sweet, thanks. I'll definitely check it out since I have been looking for a book on the history of diseases, but havent found any that spark my interest.
If you are able to listen to that at work, you should start listening to audio books as well (assuming you dont already). I was pretty wary at first, but I became a huge convert after I gave it a shot.
Oh, I just meant at work. I agree that info recall is not as good, but taking notes on paper helps me. I find that sticking to non-fiction is absolutely essential as well. Plus, this would actually give you a chance to finish all of your to-read list in your lifetime
I just finished The Gardens of Kyoto by Kate Walbert. It was good. Not amazing, but enjoyable. I've been trying to get into A Tale of Two Cities but have been having trouble. It's just not grabbing me. I'm not giving up though, I want to give it another shot since I enjoyed the other Dickens book I've read, Oliver Twist.
I just read that for the first time a week ago! I knew it was dystopian, but I had no idea it was pretty much THE dystopian story. It was a terrific read, but I definitely needed to go out and see the sunshine afterwards.
I just finished The Gardens of Kyoto by Kate Walbert. It was good. Not amazing, but enjoyable. I've been trying to get into A Tale of Two Cities but have been having trouble. It's just not grabbing me. I'm not giving up though, I want to give it another shot since I enjoyed the other Dickens book I've read, Oliver Twist.
I just read that for the first time a week ago! I knew it was dystopian, but I had no idea it was pretty much THE dystopian story. It was a terrific read, but I definitely needed to go out and see the sunshine afterwards.
Where the new thread at, I've actually read some stuff for the first time in a few years.
Gawt damn, was dubious about Hobb's return to some of my favourite fantasy characters ever, I hadn't managed to work my way through The Rain Wild Chronicles so thought she may have lost some shine. Thrown back into Fitz's boots with the first person style it feels so damn good.
The books all about building the character anew and some new ones and now I'm gonna be fiending for the follow ups which I hope are LAF. The last few lines in the book, man chills Fitz gonna Fitz.
