I’d meant to do a quarter-in-review post the end of March, but a work deadline and vacation immediately thereafter got in the way. Then I thought perhaps the 1/3-mark, but somehow that’s come and gone and we’re already halfway into June. Since I’m–theoretically–participating in 10 Books of Summer and will hopefully actually write something up for that, rather than wait for the half-year point, I’m finally checking in now.
I’m barely keeping up with my typical 3 books per month average (depending how you count a ‘book’) and outside of book club feel like I’m a little bit in a ‘sameness’ rut. But I’m also in the middle of several things, and my 10 Books selections should help the variety, if I stick with them.
As far as my 12 goals for the year, a mixed bag. I’m making very good progress on the sweater, although that may slow down as we enter the hot-weather months. And my winter hike/spring flower walks were resounding success. The underlying hope for that was really about using my camera more–I’d barely touched it last year. Not only did we have so much winter (almost the entire month of January was white, which is unusual for such a long stretch) that I made it out with the camera twice, but I bought a new lens that has given me even more excuses to venture out. On the other hand, my specific book related goals are off to a slow start. But there’s still time!
Since I’ve been so remiss with writing up bookish thoughts, a quickish summing of what I’ve read through May.
The Maltese Falcon – Dashiell Hammett – January book club
Antigone – Sophocles [Robert Fagles, Translator] – part of my goal to read another 10 Greek plays this year; this one was a reread.
The Virago Book of Ghost Stories – Richard Dalby, ed. (started 2024) – an interesting collection of ghost stories by women writers, primarily British, from Charlotte Bronte to Dorothy K. Haynes. I generally liked the older ones better, although Haynes’s “Redundant” (posthumously published after her 1987 death), was very moving. Other favorites included “Old House in Vauxhall Walk” by Charlotte Riddell, “Open Door” by Margaret Oliphant, and “Villa Lucienne” by Ella D’Arcy.
Rhesus – uncertain, attributed to Euripedes [James Morwood, Translator] – 2025 Greek play two. The action comes from book 10 of the Iliad, which I only know because the notes told me; sadly I find that I don’t remember the Iliad all that well. (Or this play for that matter.)
House Made of Dawn – N. Scott Momaday – February book club. Set primarily on a New Mexico reservation (according to Wikipedia Jemez Pueblo) with a portion in Los Angeles, it follows the life of WWII vet Abel and his challenges navigating between the traditional life of the reservation and the modern Western life of the city. Momaday was primarily a poet, which you feel come through in the language. However, it also has a bit of a disjointed style, that while I believe deliberate, made it more difficult to follow at time (which character are we with now?). I appreciated the lyricism and a revisit to the American SW, however, it (like so many novels written since the mid 1940s) wasn’t quite for me. Which could be a me thing.
The Last of the Mohicans – James Fenimore Cooper – A 2024 start that dragged on forever. Setting aside any discussion of Cooper’s portrayal of Native Americans, I didn’t think it well written. Although an action packed adventure (chases! fights! betrayals!), it was aslo tedious at times and Hawkeye’s constant statements reminding us that he’s 100% white, even if his BFF’s are Mohican, was, frankly, annoying. But I can say I’ve read it. I don’t see any more Cooper in my future, though.
A Vindication of the Rights of Woman – Mary Wollstonecraft – March book club.
“But what a weak barrier is truth when it stands in the way of an hypothesis!” (Chapter 3)
Phew. This will undoubtedly be the hardest book I read this year. It requires full concentrated, but was a worthwhile read. A protofeminist text, it argues not merely for educating women but is also clearly anti-monarchy/anti-nobility. Some of the passages felt almost contemporary (syntax aside)–human nature is unchanging and our ability to take advantage of others has not disappeared. I’m actually intrigued about exploring Wollstonecraft and her contemporaries more, but at a more relaxed pace than book club allowed.
“Most of the evils of life arise from a desire of present enjoyment that outruns itself.” (Chapter 4)
One thought that struck, reading this – did Jane Austen read it? Some of Wollstonecraft’s descriptions of people types seem to fit so well with what we see in Austen’s writing (for instance, the red coat solider and the women chasing after him could come straight from Pride and Prejudice), that if Austen wasn’t familiar with this long essay, she at least was making very similar observations of human nature.
A Deadly Education – Naomi Novik
The Wood at Midwinter – Susanna Clarke – set in the same world as Jonathon Strange and Doctor Norell, I unfortunately didn’t find it as enchanting. Maybe if I try again when it’s actually midwinter?
Idylls of the King – Alfred Tennyson – April book club – A series of 12 mini-epic poems heavily inspired by Thomas Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur and Welsh epic Mabinogion. I’ve read parts of the former but not the latter, yet. Some of the poems I found more engaging than others. But mostly, they made me want to visit some of the older texts–perhaps a medieval lit project in my future? Once I get through some of the others…
Ruddy Gore – Kerry Greenwood
The Last Graduate – Naomi Novik
The Razor’s Edge – W. Somerset Maugham – May book club. This was such an enjoyable reading experience all the way around. The library copy I had was an old hardcover that lay open perfectly to whatever page I was on, an underestimated positive in a book. And while my fellow book clubers were a little stuck on how terrible many of the characters were, I couldn’t help but feel that Maugahm liked them (or, at least the narrator Maugham, who may not be the same as the author Maugham), and this made, I thought, for a more enjoyable read. It also struck me, that although reading is said to make us more empathetic, there is still a remove between us and the characters. If we were to encounter these characters in real life, as it were, I think we would find them more likeable. Though Isabel might still be terrible, if, I think, a bit understandable. In fact, I’m inclined to think that Maugham (either narrator or author or both) was maybe writing this to work out trying to understand something or someone, even if it was just a character of his own creation. I’m curious to explore more Maugham sometime in the future.
Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen – a reread in honor of her 250th birth year (as so many are doing). What struck me on this reread was how the opening chapter is really the thesis, so to speak, of the novel: it’s all about the money. The fates of the Dashwood sisters, from the time of their father’s death are entirely linked up to money: who has it, who controls it, who lacks it, who wants it. So many of the turns of plot are directed by these strands. It’s a relief rather, to realize that not all of the characters are so motivated! (Mrs. Jennings really grew on me this read around.) So lovely, though, to revisit favorite novels and find something new in them every time.
Simpler Pastimes