April 2012 Books

The Odyssey of Homer - Translated by Richmond Lattimore
First published: 750 B.C
Rating: 5
Goodreads

Excellent, highly readable translation of a very exciting epic.  It is truly remarkable to think that both The Iliad and The Odyssey were first composed and performed in the oral tradition and were written down on papyrus scrolls many years after initially created.

Audiocourse: Greek Drama - Tragedy and Comedy by Professor Peter Meineck
Rating: 5
Modern Scholar course

An excellent course covering the major plays of the four prominent ancient Greek playwrights: Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides and Aristophanes.  What made this course so interesting is that not only is Prof. Meineck a scholar, but he has also produced these plays for the stage.

He speaks about the cultural and political backdrop at the time of the first production in Athens, Greece and how the audience would've thought and felt about certain topics and even moments within each play.  He also addresses the use of masks, the chorus, the three actors and minimal use of props.  A highly recommended course.

Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes by Edith Hamilton
First published: 1942
Rating: 5
Goodreads

When I mentioned to my daughter that I wanted a good book on Greek and Roman mythology, she recommended this book which was part of her high school required reading list.  This became a critical source of information while reading The Iliad and The Odyssey.  I am sure it will come in handy while working my way through the extant plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides.

The Paris Review Interviews: Women Writers at Work edited by George Plimpton
Published: 1998
Rating: 4
Goodreads

The Virginia Woolf Reader edited by Mitchell Leaska
Published: 1984
Rating: 5
Goodreads

I have been intimidated by Virginia Woolf so it was perfect when I spotted this reader with An  Anthology of her Best Short Stories, Essays, Fiction, and Nonfiction on the front cover.  What better way to sample her writing and see how accessible it was?

End result?  I loved reading her essays, short stories, diary excerpts and various letters.  I tried to read the sections from her novels but found it was too difficult to pick up the story mid-stream.  I now own and look forward to reading: A Room of One's Own, Moments of Being, A Writer's Diary and Mrs. Dalloway.

Gone Tomorrow by Lee Child (#13 Jack Reacher series)
Published: 2009
Rating: 4
Goodreads

I bought this at a local library book sale a couple of years ago and picked it up after deciding that I wanted a quick and engrossing read after being immersed in Homer's epics for the past few weeks.   I was happy to find it unnecessary to read prior books in the series.

Jack Reacher is a highly trained, extremely intelligent ex-military cop, whose mind is engaged 110% throughout the story.  And because it is told in the first person, the reader knows exactly what he is thinking.  I enjoyed this far more than the one book I read in the Kurt Wallender series,  The Dogs of Riga by Henning Mankell.  I definitely plan to read more.

March 2012 Books - Poetry, Plays and Survivor Memoirs

In March, our family has been remembering Josh in extra special ways as it was three years on the 18th.  It is apropos that I read these three genres; poetry, tragedies and survivor memoirs.

How To Read a Poem and Fall in Love With Poetry by Edward Hirsch
Published: 1999
Rating: 4
Goodreads
My review coming soon.

Making Toast by Roger Rosenblatt
Published: 2010
Rating: 4
Goodreads

I saw this Feb 2010 review in the Washington Post and remember thinking, I need to read this book.  I would recommend this quick read to parents, siblings and spouses who have lost a loved one.

There are a number of thoughts that I could relate to - writing "YES!!" in the margins.

"I seethed at those who spoke of Amy's death in the cliches of modern usage, such as "passing" and "closure." 

"The trouble with a close family is that it suffers closely, too."

"Odd that I seem to know Amy more completely in death than I did when she was alive."

"Grief is a lifelong process for every one of us...one year is no time at all." 

After A Funeral by Diana Athill
Published: 1986
Rating: 2
Goodreads
My thoughts on Josh's blog

The Art of Losing: Poems of Grief & Healing edited by Kevin Young
Published: 2010
Rating: 4
Goodreads
My review coming shortly
Post on Josh's blog: "The Dead" by Billy Collins and original poem: "Where He Lay"

Darkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness by William Styron
Published: 1990
Rating: 5
Goodreads
My thoughts on Josh's blog 

I was profoundly moved by my reading of this short but powerful book last summer but for some reason, the pages of quotes, thoughts and questions in my journal never made it to either blog.  However, while reading Athill's book, After A Funeral, and the suicidal thoughts of her friend Did, I was reminded of Styron's words and wanted to re-read the book and share my thoughts.

If you happen to read Styron's memoir, I would highly recommend another Styron memoir, written by his daughter, Alexandria called Reading My Father.  In it, she speaks of the profound response to her father's memoir, from the thousands who suffered from depression, making him more famous to the general public than any of his novels ever could.  It is a fascinating coda to his life.

Audiocourse: Iliad of Homer by Professor Elizabeth Vandiver
Rating: 5

I am reading the Iliad and thought it would be helpful to listen to this course.  I would highly recommend anything by Professor Vandiver - she has a gift of making the material accessible and interesting.

Before I Say Goodbye by Ruth Picardie
Published: 1998
Rating: 4
Goodreads

I found this slim book in a local library book sale.  It is not for the faint of heart.  It is the raw, honest writing of a brave woman who died from an aggressive form of breast cancer in September 1997, less than a year from the initial diagnosis.  She was happily married and a new mother of one-year-old twins.

A free lance writer for numerous British publications, she chronicled her journey towards death in a series of poignant articles in the Observer.  These articles as well as email correspondences with close friend and letters received by Observer readers were pulled together by Ruth's husband and sister for publication.

Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Published: 1603
Rating: 5
Goodreads

Thank goodness for the "No Fear" versions of Shakespeare.  Being generous, I would have gotten about 60% on my own so I needed it!  It's nice to know the context of such famous quotes as "to thine own self be true" and "To be or not to be?  That is the question."

I am listening to Professor Clare Kinney's lecture on Hamlet and realize that my reading is very much through the lens of Josh's death. Everything I read is filtered through that monumental event because it has fundamentally changed me and how I look at things. See two posts on Josh's blog:  Death, Grief and Suicide in Hamlet Part I and Part II.

The Iliad of Homer
Translated by Richmond Lattimore (Professor Vandiver's suggested translation)
First published: 750 BC
Rating: 5
Goodreads 
Helpful resources: audio course (see above),  The Great Books: A Journey Through 2,500 Years of the West's Classic Literature by Anthony O'Hear, Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes by Edith Hamilton.

Prior to reading, these were my preconceived ideas about The Iliad:  ancient literature, must know Greek to understand therefore inaccessible to the general public, uninteresting, old, irrelevant, boring, very difficult read so why bother?  Read full post.

Electra in The Complete Plays of Sophocles
Translated by Sir Richard Claverhouse Jebb
First published: 420 BC
Bantam Classic Edition: 1982
Rating: 4
Goodreads
Helpful resource: The Great Books: A Journey Through 2,500 Years of the West's Classic Literature by Anthony O'Hear.

Even though I have been drawn to books that deal with deep human suffering, the tragedies of Sophocles that I have read thus far, Ajax and Electra are tragic to the nth degree.  There is nothing uplifting in either play and from O'Hear's summary of the Oedipus trilogy or Theban plays, I don't think Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus or Antigone will be any different.   Nevertheless, I plan to read them