Last month, I mentioned wanting to bump up my relaxation reading, and my Scribd subscription helped with that in October. For my reading the Odysseys project, I started Stephen Mitchell’s translation (it will be in my November review). I also focused on contextualizing by familiarizing myself with Homer scholarship and reading more reception literature. Continue reading “Enraged and more October reads”
In September, I worked on finding balance in my reading life. I’ve been so consumed with ancient Greece and The Odyssey that I’ve neglected my relaxation reading, meaning the reading I do to clear my mind at bedtime and when I first wake up. It can feel so self-indulgent to read without any destination or purpose other than relaxation and the pleasure of getting lost in a story. But I’m trying to allow myself this simple joy. Continue reading “September Reads in Review”
Pardon me as I clear out the cobwebs… Continue reading “Samuel Butler’s Odyssey and more summer reads”
As February is slipping away, it’s past time to revisit my excellent January reads. So with no further preamble…
The Oresteia: “Agamemnon,” “Libation Bearers,” and “Eumenides” by Aeschylus
The Oresteia follows Agamemnon’s return from Troy, his murder at the hands of his wife (Clytemnestra) and lover (Aegisthus), his son Orestes’ revenge killing of them, and Orestes’ murder trial.
Continue reading “The Oresteia by Aeschylus and more January reads”
December reads? December rereads, more like. Six of the 10 books I read were books I’ve read before … in some cases multiple times. The holiday season is a time for nostalgia, apparently.
The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #5) by Rick Riordan
This completed my 2017 rereading of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. I’d forgotten how cleverly done the last book was. The first four draw on Greek mythology in fun and silly ways. The last book uses character development and plot to engage with ideas and questions ancient Greek mythology wrestled with and explored. My favorites: Your fatal flaw can also be your greatest strength. And: Is it possible for heroes to survive their own hubris? Continue reading “Reading Wrap-Up: December Reads”
This month, every book I read came from my existing library. I’m going to savor that for a minute…
[*dramatic pause*]
This is the first month since making the conscious decision to read my own books that all my reads were my own. Of course, I must thank Andi of Estella’s Revenge for #ReadMyOwnDamnBooks and Benjamin Thomas of The Writing Train for the Book Hoarder’s challenge. Both have inspired me to stare down my gargantuan library. I’m … still buying books, un-redeemable book hoarder that I apparently am. But I’m making progress. Slow, snail-like progress. Continue reading “Reading my own books in 2017: January reads”
October was a fab reading month! I enjoyed diving into contemporary literary fiction, fantasy fiction for young readers, a memoir, a nonfiction book, a classic, and some YA.
Quite an eclectic month!
Books I read:
The following is one of my longest tallies this year. Actually, it might be my longest. Then again, quite a few of the books I read were rather short. Dewey’s 24-Hour Readathon also gave me a boost.
On the downside, my quest to read my own books crashed and burned in a fiery conflagration: Only one of 13 reads was culled from my pre-2016 library. That’s far short of the 50-50 split I’d intended. Oh well. There’s always November and December. (Hmmm, I seem to be running out of months…) Continue reading “The unabridged list of books read in October”
WWW Wednesday is hosted by Taking on a World of Words. Follow the link to read more about it, and be prepared to expand your to-be-read list! A special shout-out to Coffee and Cats for introducing me to WWW Wednesday.
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
Since my last WWW Wednesday, I’ve done more reading than I did the entire month of September! What’s missing here is even one asterisk indicating #ReadMyOwnDamnBooks title. This is because I have yet to read one of my own books in October! Good thing we’re only halfway through, eh?
It felt like a slow month of reading for me. For good reason: It was. With six books read, July was my slowest month of reading this year. And it’s even slower than it looks since I read Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in one day, that day being July 31.
On the upside, my low reading tally is the result of spending loads of my free time with friends and family. And you definitely will not hear me complain about that! Continue reading “The unabridged list of books I read in July”
It has been another slow week of reading for me, though for different reasons than last week. On the *plus* side, I’m excited to have finally finished reading a book that was languishing on my “currently reading” list for the last month.
All credit to Taking on a World of Words and Coffee and Cats for WWW Wednesday and inspiring me to continue writing about what I’m reading every week.
What are you currently reading? Continue reading “Wednesday Reading Roundup: June 15”
