The Mysteries of Ancient Rome

I am taking a two-year sequence of courses on Ancient Rome through the Basic Program of the University of Chicago.  Last year we studied the history of the city from Livy through Cicero to Suetonius.  This year we will be reading poetry, literature, and philosophy including Ovid, Petronius, and Marcus Aurelius.  In order to keep the names and events of the era in my mind over the summer, I’ve been reading historical mysteries set in Rome.

First off the TBR pile was The Silver Pigs by Lindsey Davis.  The detective here is Marcus Didius Falco and these mysteries are set during the reign of Vespasian 70 AD.  Falco is an “informer” though his activities are those of a detective.  The focus of the story is on missing silver ingots stolen from Roman Britain. The daughter of the Senator he is working for, Helena Justina, becomes a significant character in this and subsequent stories.

 

Next I read Roman Blood by Steven Saylor which features Gordianus the Finder.  Here the year is 80 BC and Sulla and Crassus are consuls.  Gordianus is hired by the young lawyer Cicero to help in his defense of a man accused of having his father killed.  We meet Cicero’s scribe, Tiro, and a number of other historic men. The trial itself is drawn from actual transcripts of Cicero’s arguments.

 

Finally I came across The King’s Gambit by John Maddox Roberts, first in the SPQR series featuring Decius Caecilius Metellus the younger.  Decius is the commander of a local group who keeps night watch and thereby stumbles onto a series of murders which he chooses to investigate despite roadblocks being put in his way and general apathy on the part of higher ups.  He uncovers corruption at the highest levels of government — that would be the late Republic.  This book has a wonderful glossary to explain many of the Roman titles and expressions and decent maps.

I found all three mystery series to be fairly good in representing the history of their time at least as far as I know it.  I intend to keep reading in all three series.  More importantly, these books helped me keep my Roman terminology current as I anticipate the next series of Basic Program readings beginning in late September.

LOTR: “Are we there yet?”

The Two Towers is a book about journeys.  Actually there are three journeys: the journey of Merry and Pippen from the time they are captured by the Orcs and rescued by the Ents through the arrival at Isengard; the journey of Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli in search of the missing hobbits from the Great River to Helm’s Deep, through the reuniting with the hobbits; and the journey of Frodo and Sam from the breaking of the Fellowship at the Great River through the trials in the Dead Marshes, the encounter with the Men of Gondor, through the final advance into Mordor.

Like the kids in the backseat of the minivan, we cry out, “Are we there yet?”

The Two Towers is considered by some as a long slog through the desolate lands of Middle Earth.  I bet there are many readers who put the “one book” down or skip ahead to sections with more action.  Other readers find this one of the more interesting sections of the story as much gets revealed about the history of the inhabitants and the lands.  I found the journeys interesting and revealing.  Our discussions were enlightening. (We’re reading this as a family book with a weekly discussion on Sunday nights.)

In addition, I read an interesting article by a Tolkien scholar on some connections between this book and the other “little” book I’m reading, Gibbons’ Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.  the connection concerns the language of the ancient Goths, who migrated from the area of the Baltic to the area of the Ukraine, to the created languages Tolkien uses in LOTR.  In fact, this scholar writes, there are some parallels between the two eras and locations: The Shire represents England, Gondor is Byzantium, and Mordor is eastern Europe out of which the invasion of the barbarians destroy Rome.  Tolkien insists his book is not an allegory, but everyone is influenced by something.  Who knows?

We have four more weeks to read Return of the King before the big discussion at ARRT.  I’m looking forward to every page of it.

Reading Tolkien

Every once in a while in the hard work of parenting, a moment comes along when you can celebrate the fact that you did a good job.

When the Speculative Fiction genre study of ARRT suggested that we read The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien — all three volumes, if possible — by our June meeting, I knew I was going to need a push to get this done.  Enter my son, the Tolkien lover, who devised a 16-week reading schedule and then encouraged my husband and I to read it with him and he would lead the discussion each Saturday night at dinner.

We have now finished The Hobbit and are through “The Council of Elrond” in The Fellowship of the Ring.  Our discussions have been fruitful.  Last weekend the kid even told me, “You asked a good question.”

I find LOTR a really hard book with all of the different characters (and beings), not to mention all of the history of Middle Earth which needs to be explained.

While I enjoyed the films, I had only read the book once, forty years ago.  Reading it together and with a discussion is the way to go with this one.  That’s one of the reasons I don’t often recommend an acclaimed classic to people.  While I love The Brothers Karamazov, I’ve only ever read it (twice) in a classroom setting and I worry that others might dislike this masterpiece if tackling it on their own.  It’s good to know that there comes a time in a parent’s life when you can go to your own kids for support in your reading education.

Review: The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin

I have come to the phase in my life where I am able to put a book down if it doesn’t do anything for me.  I’ve realized that I might miss a really good book if I waste my time with a less than stellar one.  But if I have committed to reading something — by taking a class, by joining a book discussion group, by agreeing to a read-along — I do my best to finish a book even if I don’t like it.

I’m involved in a genre study program with the Adult Reading Round Table focused on speculative fiction; that is, science fiction, fantasy, and horror.  None of these genres are what I usually read, though I have more working knowledge of fantasy (thanks Tolkien, Lewis, and Rowling) than the other two.  I signed up for this training because if I am committed to reader’s advisory in the library I must be at least somewhat familiar with what patrons are reading and not just what I like to read.

Our first science fiction assignment is The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin.  I must admit that several times in the first 150 pages I almost quit.  The world-building on the planet Winter is done well. Not only is the environment well imagined, but the characters are unique — each character is BOTH male and female and cycles into a full gendered being monthly and then returns to a neutered state.  The central character, Genly Ai, can best be described as an envoy from an intergalactic UN and comes from a planet that could be Earth.  After a year on Winter, Genly’s plans for planetary cooperation are foiled by both countries on Winter.

In telling this story, Le Guin uses mostly first person narration, but changes narrators without warning and I had a difficult time knowing who was speaking.  She also throws in myths of these people and history of their civilization intermittently.  I had real trouble following the plot line.  And then, about 100 pages from the end, the story gets focused on Genly and his sole companion on a journey.  Finally I got into this story as I watched them work together and help each other survive.

Based on the recommendation of the ARRT leaders and the numerous awards won by this book, I didn’t give  up and actually had a good experience with science fiction.  Philip K. Dick is the next author and I hope his books will be as rewarding as Le Guin’s.

I’m back…

7 Feb 1988: Michael Jordan    Mandatory copyright notice and Credit: Copyright 2001 NBAE Mandatory Credit: Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE/Getty Images

In the words of the great Michael Jordan, “I’m back.”

More books to discuss, more mysteries to explore.

I’m back for the Classics Club.  I’m back for Gold and Silver Vintage Mysteries.  I’m back for the Read Harder Challenge.

In the time I’ve been away from blogging I’ve picked up some new interests including a six-quarter course on Ancient Rome.  I’ve been reading Livy and Cicero and trying to determine how the ancient philosophers speak to contemporary issues.  As a start, I’d suggest reading Cicero’s “On Friendship.”  You’d might want to compare it to the discussion of friendship in Aristotle’s “Nichomachean Ethics.” Both ancient works have a lot to say to us today, but I would admit that Cicero is much easier to read.

Give some of the ancients a try, you might really enjoy reading them.  And how much fun it will be when the next time you are out drinking with friends you can drop into your conversation, “Well, when I was reading Cicero last night he said….”  OK, you’ll get just as many eye rolls as I got when I said in conversation, “The last time I studied Hamlet….” Embrace your inner nerd!

Classics Club Spin #10

Perhaps without the Classics Club I wouldn’t get on this blog at all. Another spin coming up on Monday, August 24 and I’m submitting the list below.  I’m looking forward to reading all of them and need a break from my mysteries (which I love too, but aren’t in the same category as these books).

1. The Hunchback of Notre-Dame – Victor Hugo
2. Ivanhoe – Sir Walter Scott
3. The Mysterious Island – Jules Verne
4. Return of the Native – Thomas Hardy
5. Lord of the Flies – William Golding
6. Little Men – Louisa May Alcott
7. Winesburg, Ohio – Sherwood Anderson
8. Go Tell It on a Mountain – James Baldwin
9. The Man Who Knew Too Much – G. K. Chesterton
10. The Awakening – Kate Chopin
11. The Deerslayer – James Fennimore Coooper
12. Robinson Crusoe – Daniel Defoe
13. Mill on the Floss – George Eliot
14. Invisible Man – Ralph Ellison
15. A Passage to India – E. M. Forster
16. The Sun Also Rises – Ernest Hemingway
17. Native Son – Richard Wright
18. The Aeneid – Virgil
19. The Picture of Dorian Gray – Oscar Wilde
20. All Quiet on the Western Front – Erich Maria Remarque

I have three books I must read by September 4th, so I probably won’t start my spin pick until then.

Mount TBR Check Point #1

Although I’m late for the prize deadline, I’d like to share how I am doing with the Mount TBR Challenge.

I have committed to the Pike’s Peak challenge — reading 12 books from my own shelves which I owned prior to 12/31/14.  I’m surprised how well I’m doing.

Books read:

• The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler
• Death at the President’s Lodging by Michael Innes
• To Love and Be Wise by Josephine Tey
• N or M? by Agatha Christie

E-books read:

• The Greene Murder Case by S.S. Van Dine
• The Bishop Murder Case by S.S. Van Dine

Audiobooks “read”:

• The Powerbroker by Robert Caro

Of these, I liked N or M? by Agatha Christie the best.  This book is from her Tommy and Tuppence series which I’m beginning to like better than Poirot or Marple.  Tommy and Tuppence met just after WWI and now WWII is underway and the Battle of Britain is about to start.  They have children old enough to be war workers in this war, but mom and dad have been told they are too old to participate in any way.  Until, of course, Tommy and Tuppence find themselves engaged to uncover the spies on the coast of England.

I’m glad I started this mountain trek.  I’ve pulled out about ten other books from my mystery shelves and piled them next to my bed for a quick choice the next time I need a good book.  And, to top it off, I’ve bought no new books in 2015!  Don’t worry, I’ll have plenty of TBR books to keep me going for years.

Classics Club Spin #9

I’ve been a great reader in 2015, but a lousy blogger.  I’ve also been focusing on mysteries rather than classics, but I’m in the mood for a change of pace.  Here are my twenty books for the next spin coming on April 6:

1. The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo
2. Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell
3. Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy
4. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
5. Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin
6. The Man Who Knew Too Much by G. K. Chesterton
7. The Awakening by Kate Chopin
8. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
9. The Deerslayer by James Fenimore Cooper
10. The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
11. The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
12. The Good Soldier by Ford Maddox Ford
13. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
14. The Trial by Franz Kafka
15. Billy Budd by Herman Melville
16. All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
17. Native Son by Richard Wright
18. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
19. The Warden by Anthony Trollope
20. East of Eden by John Steinbeck

Here’s to a good spin on Monday, April 6th.

Book Review: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo

“Tidying up” is not my middle name.  In fact, my sister’s most embarrassing moment was when our mother posted a sign on our shared bedroom door announcing “Bless this Mess.”  And what a mess it was.  Interestingly the tidying up gene skipped a generation and showed up in my own daughter.  If she had my mother’s sign, I’m sure she would post it on the books pile, the yarn pile, the last-year’s-tax-return pile and our entire basement.  I just close the door and move on.

But generally messy people are always looking for that magic bullet which will change their life forever.  Unfortunately “keep only what sparks joy” — Kondo’s mantra of tidying up — just isn’t that bullet for me.  When the advice is delivered by someone who joyously began tidying up other people’s stuff at the age of six, I tend to run for the hills.

Since I gather “sparking joy” is a relatively rare occurrence for Kondo, much of her technique relies on getting rid of 40 or 50 bags of unjoyous things people have accumulated.  A minimalist approach to possessions doesn’t require a lot of organization and so, there it is.  Kondo might have taken her own advice when writing the book since there is quite a bit of repetition in it and her smugness didn’t spark a lot of joy for me.

Read for the Reading Harder Challenge:  A self-help book.

Book Review: Bad Feminist: Essays by Roxane Gay

I’ve learned my lesson with short stories; don’t try to read them one after the other, but savor them slowly and allow each to work on you.  I tried this with Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay which is a collection of essays, not short stories, but it just didn’t work.  Although the essays are collected into chapter topics, I always felt myself looking for the hook that was holding them together and never quite found it.  The essays themselves were interesting, particularly Gay’s illumination of the black perspective on popular culture.  As open-minded as I think I am, I keep forgetting that I bring a particular mindset to all of my interactions with media and that I must become more aware of that.  Gay’s take on The Help by Kathryn Stockett, for example, shows just how unaware I am of different cultures and time.

Though all essays in this book are not as thought-provoking as some, all contribute to a wider understanding of the black, female view of life in these times.

This book was read for the Read Harder Challenge: Recommended by someone else.