Thursday, September 8, 2011

Booking through Thursday: Queue

Booking through Thursday asks:
What are you reading now?
Would you recommend it?
And what’s next?

I'm nibbling at several books at the moment: Will Durant's The Renaissance, which is thus far just about Italian city-state politics;  The Illiad, interpreted into prose by Barbara Leone Picard;  Marcus Aurelius: A Life, by Frank McLynn; Sharpe's Gold by Bernard Cornwell; and the Discourses by Epictetus.   How on earth am I trying this much at once? Well...I'm taking a devotional approach to the Discourses, reading a chapter or two a night;  I read Sharpe's Gold for leisure, and I alternate between the others when it is time for my serious reading. I know I need to commit to one if I expect to make any progress, but for the moment I'm still nibbling.

The Renaissance thus far is not igniting my interest (petty city-state rivalries are so pre-classical era), but The Iliad is thus far entertaining. People keep getting introduced and killed, but Hector insulting his brother ("Most wretched Paris!") is almost a running joke.   The Marcus Aurelius bio is good so far, and Cornwell is always worth recommending.  I'm finding The Discourses surprisingly readable, although right now I've slammed into a section on the proper use of reason in thinking which is slow-going.

As for what's next, I have Your Faith, Your Life: An Invitation to the Episcopal Church, by Jenifer Gamber and Bill Lewellis, which I'm reading  as part of my study of Anglicanism.
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6 comments:

  1. AnonymousSeptember 8, 2011 at 8:15 AM

    Whew...I was worried I was the only one crazy enough to try four books at once! LOL

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousSeptember 8, 2011 at 9:31 AM

    Wow! I can't believe how many books you get through in one month! How do you find the time?

    ReplyDelete
  3. StephenSeptember 8, 2011 at 9:33 AM

    I've been a big reader all my life, so my reading comprehension is pretty quick. It helps that I don't watch a lot of TV! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousSeptember 8, 2011 at 11:34 AM

    Four at once wow! How do you keep them straight ?

    http://tributebooksmama.blogspot.com/2011/09/booking-through-thursday_08.html

    ReplyDelete
  5. Lisa (Lisa's World of Books)September 8, 2011 at 11:53 AM

    The Illiad sounds interesting. Might have to look into that.

    Lisa
    Lisa's World of Books, Booking through Thursday

    ReplyDelete
  6. jlshallSeptember 8, 2011 at 4:18 PM

    That's quite a line-up! I like to "nibble" too, so I usually have several books going at once. Think I'd get bored with just one book at a time.

    ReplyDelete

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