Mike’s
Comments
(group member since Oct 28, 2021)
Mike’s
comments
from the Never too Late to Read Classics group.
Showing 241-260 of 317
Chrissie wrote: "I am new to this group, so I don't know if people usually provide a link to their review!"I usually do and have had some great comments/feedback from members of this group so please do!
I tend to read the introductions to books that are from a different time or culture than I'm familiar with as they do often provide some context to the work that can increase it's enjoyment. If the introduction has a note that "plot points are made explicit", I'll skip the introduction and read it after I finish the book.I suggested Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia for the group read as I hoped it would provide a good background for Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Chekov, Gogol, Pushkin and others and I'm not disappointed.
In addition to Natasha's Dance, I'm reading Sons and Lovers by D.H. Lawrence. I did not read the introduction because they "strongly advise you enjoy this book before turning to the Introduction" and I also studied the Industrial Revolution in History.
I've finished the first 3 parts (European Russia, The Children of 1812 & Moscow! Moscow!). Overall I'm finding it intersting, but have had the plot of Anna Karenina spolied. Most of the other works mentioned I have already read but there is danger here. I'll still read Anna, I don't expect the overall experience will be too diminished.One criticism I do have is that it's rather chronologically choppy. Figes does state that a strict chronology is not to be expected, but I would've thought the progression in each part would've been more chronological than it is. I've been confused a few time as we bounce from the start of the 19th century, to the end and back to somewhere else.
I'm aiming for a part a week, so five more weeks to go!
I saw a new book release on Twitter earlier that reminded me of this thread, Why We Read. It's a collection of responses from 70 accomplished non-fiction writers as to why we read non-fiction, including two I have enjoyed, Malcolm Gladwell and Michael Lewis. Now to don my Librarian hat and find a cover for this...
I took the plunge and read The Red Pony. Having seen the conversations here about the emoitional impact I figured now was a good time as I already have a "gentle" book planned to follow. As detailed in my review, despite the warnings the first chapter was very close to home and hit hard.This to me is where Steinbeck's power really is. He found a way to capture moments of everyday life, paint a picture of it with his words and make you feel what's happening. Like Of Mice and Men, the only other Steinbeck fiction I've read so far, I can imagine what these scenes would be like as if I'm watching a movie. I can't recall any other author that has acheived that for me.
Stephen wrote: "Mike wrote: "I've finished reading Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev. It's a slow burner, and I think the subtext about nihilism was perhaps more interesting than the..."Thank you Stephen, this was the first Turgenev I've read and will continue!
I've finished reading Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev. It's a slow burner, and I think the subtext about nihilism was perhaps more interesting than the commentary on relationships in society as I discuss in my review.As it's my birth month, I shall read a book by an author that shares it with me as part of the 2022 Personal Challenge. Born two days earlier in the month but many, many moons before me, is Ian Fleming. I'll be reading Moonraker, next in the box set I was given a few birthdays ago.
Before that, I'm going to read The Red Pony by John Steinbeck as the discussion in Reading Steinbeck piqued my interest. It's been sat on the shelf for a while having bought a bundle of secondhand Steinbeck books last year.
I've been reading The Cave and the Light: Plato Versus Aristotle, and the Struggle for the Soul of Western Civilization to get a better understanding of philosophy and learned about Plato's Timaeus. I have a deep interest in creation narratives and was surprised that I had missed this one. Hunting for a translation, I found one that fits this list Timaeus and Critias. Remarkably both these books have used the same image of Raphael's The School of Athens.
I made a start at the weekend and I'm enjoying what I've read and learned so far. I read War & Peace last year and well recall the scene of Natasha's dance but also remember noting how much the French seemed to have influnced the Russian aristocacy. Forty pages in and I already know why.
I read Dombey and Son earlier this year, my second Dickens after A Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Writings. I thouroghly enjoyed it and heartily recommend it!
I wish you a speedy recovery Lesle!
Lumi wrote: "At the moment I read Svetlana Aleksievich’s Voices from Chernobyl (not sure if it is a classic but maybe a modern classic?) in Finnish and 1984 by Orwell (audiobook in English). Aleksievich is amaz..."The translation I read was published as Chernobyl Prayer: A Chronicle of the Future on the Penguin Modern Classics imprint, and it certainly is. Aleksievich's presentation is unique and just lets these voices speak, and for me humanised the Chernobyl disaster in a way no other account has. I intend to read more of her works.
As for Orwell, I "enjoyed" reading both 1984 and Animal Farm but not in any sort of sense of pleasure. For me they are powerful metaphors that each take a political worldview to an extreme to explore their consequences giving us a warning of possible futures. Perhaps a parallel is the hazard labels on cleaning chemicals, I don't enjoy reading them but I'm grateful they're there to protect me.
I've just finished reading Ralph Ellison's magnificant Invisible Man (review) - what a book! It shows how much life got in the way of reading, when I had time to read I could hardly stop but it still took two months.Next I'm returning to my AND list with Ivan Turgenev's Fathers and Sons.
It is also Shrove Tuesday, better known in the UK as Pancake Day! I managed to get some Canadian Maple Syrup and Hershey's Chocolate Syrup for the pancakes. As our eldest was born in Wales we got plenty of daffodills and also enjoyed some Welsh Cakes.
I finished Dombey and Son this morning (review) and started Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man. Pretty powerful right out of the gates!
