Dickens does not want me writing this evening. He is currently curled up in front of me as I type, laying on my right arm, purring, and occasionally trying to bite my fingers. So we’ll see how much he lets me do before both of us become very unhappy.
First, I finally finished a book. Yay! Stay tuned for a write-up of The Canon by Natalie Angier tomorrow night.
Second, the Slaves have picked their next group read: Stet: A Memoir (or Stet: An Editor’s Life if you are in the UK). Discussion is set for March 31st. All are welcome to read along and join in the discussion. The more the merrier!
Third, I was reading The New York Review of Books today from February 21st, and came across a book called The Classical Tradition edited by Anthony Grafton, Glenn W. Most, and Salvatore Settis. Before I read the review I thought it would not be a book I would ever want but I was curious to see what the article said. Within a couple paragraphs I decided I have to have this book! It is 1,067 pages of Greco-Roman goodness focussing on the ways Greek and Roman heritage managed to survive and the ways in which it has influenced culture and thought. It has long essays and short essays, essays about humanism and Sophocles, and essays about the asterisk and emperors. It is not an encyclopedia though it covers a lot of topics. It has its faults but its ambition and wide coverage has me goggling in wonder. It is a book for dipping into, for browsing and for making serendipitous discoveries. It seems like one of those reference sorts of books you actually want to read instead of just putting on your shelf for random use. Want to find out more about the book? The review is online so you can lust after it too.
And now I find the hand that Dickens is laying on is growing numb. Time for me to stop for the evening and try to get the blood circulating again.
That book sounds very interesting. At the weekend I picked up an anthology of readings about women in classical Greece and Rome at a car boot sale. It reads fascinatingly, the extracts really take you there while the Classical tradition on sight is an often pretty relentless one of oppression and silencing. I hope Dickens backed down!
Lefkowitz/Fant : Women’s Life In Greece and Rome/ translated readings.
Ian, oh, the book you picked up sounds really good too! Thanks for the title. I will have to see if any libraries around here have it.
These cats! We love them and hate them, don’t we? I stayed up last night to watch the Academy Awards and had planned to sleep a little later this morning. Turtle, however, demands a rigid schedule for her and Nikita’s food and snacks. No matter how I covered my ears, I could hear her piercing meows. She can now take a nap, but not I.
Joan, I just love that one of your cats is named Turtle! And silly beasts, they do seem to always want to be fed don’t they?
My cat has taken to sitting right next to me on my chair when I am using the computer. It’s a tight squeeze, but we can usually manage it. Of course she changes her mind about twenty times jumping up and then down and then up again! I have gotten so far behind in reading my NYRB issues I wonder if I will ever catch up. Oh well, it’s not like book reviews get old or out of date, right. Just as satisfying to discover a book when it’s been out a while as one that is brand new. Will have to check out The Classical Tradition as it sounds like something I’d like, too.
Danielle, that sounds like Waldo when he is trying to curl up next to me at night. I should have named him Goldilocks! Aren’t they funny though? I often wonder what is going through their heads but conclude that really, I don’t want to know! It turns out the NYRB is reviewing the book after it has been out awhile. I was originally published in 2010. I think the paperback might have just been released or something. It is definitely a good thing book reviews do not have an expiration date!
That book sounds like what I would call a ‘cut and come again’ book. The expression is normally applied to large fruit cakes that seem to last forever but I always think about it when you have a book that you can take from the shelf and luxuriate in a slice as and when you feel like it. The only problem with a time that size is the weight. You might need a slice of cake to give you the energy to lift it.
Alex, a cut and come again book, I love it! that is exactly the kind of books this seems to be. And yes, it is hefty and also deserving of a slice of cake for the oomph to lift and read it
The Classical Tradition sounds great but over 1,000 words? I think I’ll read it vicariously through you as you share – hopefully – bits with us.
whisperinggums, I haven’t bought it yet but I think I might. I think I will wait for a sale coupon though to lower the price a bit. And of course I will share anything interesting I might learn from it!
Oh, I assumed from your comment you had … I can be patient!
If only wanting were equivalent to actually owing
The Classical Tradition sounds so perfect for you – and now you will read it so I don’t have to! Isn’t it great when things work out neatly?
Litlove, ha! isn’t it nice how things work out like that? I know I always appreciate it when others read certain books so I don’t have so I am glad to return the favor
I’m glad I’m not the only one whose pet tries to keep them from reading! My dog Bentley likes to bug me until he finally gives up and then I can read. Or, he outlasts me and I have to stop reading so I can throw his ball to him a few hundred times.
boarding, oh those pets, they are smart things aren’t they?