1. The Aeneid by Virgil. I'm very interested in reading this, having read the Iliad for the first time last year. Last year I also read Lavinia, by Ursula LeGuin, which is a retelling of the Aeneid from the point of view of Lavinia, a character who only merits a few lines in Virgil's epic. Lavinia was so beautiful that it made me want to read the work that inspired it.
2. Metamorphoses by Ovid. Metamorphoses is a verse treatment of classical mythology. Although I read it in college, I've retained almost nothing. A fellow homeschooler who is fluent in Latin raved about Ovid on a message board some time back, sparking my interest.
3. The Five Books of Moses, translated by Everett Fox. This has been recommended as a translation that really captures the flavor of the ancient Hebrew, and some of the drama of that civilization.
4. Bhagavad Gita. It's part of the founding epic (the Mahabharata) of Hindu civilization and religion, and a masterpiece of Sanskrit literature that should be read by any student of ancient history. I know nothing else about it but am eager to experience it.
5. A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth. I'm already more than halfway through this book, but I expect to be reading it thoughout the summer (it's enormous). A wonderful epic of families and politics in 1951 India. Both intimate and panoramic. I'm loving it so far.
6. Narrow Road to the Deep North by Matsuo Basho. Basho, medieval Japan's pioneer of Haiku, recorded, in poetry and prose, his impressions of the landscapes and wildlife on his journey through Japan in search of spiritual enlightenment. I'm just about to start reading this book, and am so looking forward to some dreamy poetry.
7. Last Tales by Isak Dinesen. Dinesen is one of my favorite authors. Her stories combine gothic atmosphere and magical realism in nineteenth-century Scandinavian settings. Mystical, whimsical, sometimes heartbreaking, and often creepy--what's not to like?
8. A Pale View of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro. I discovered this author a few months back with his earlier novel An Artist of the Floating World, a subtle and ironic story set in postwar Japan. A Pale View of Hills is set in 1980s London, but is told in flashbacks to the same era.
9. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte. A Victorian classic with a strong feminist bent, and hopefully moody and atmospheric like the other Bronte sisters' works.
10. Coriolanus by William Shakespeare. I want to see the Ralph Fiennes movie, but not without having read the play. So the play goes on the TBR list.
My first reaction on looking back over this list is that there is no way I'm going to read all these books in the next ten weeks! I predict that I'll read maybe half of them. But it's something to shoot for.
Impressive list!
ReplyDeleteIt will be impressive if I actually get to all of them, lol.
DeleteImpressive indeed! Ooh, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall... must read! I wonder if it's on Project Gutenberg.
ReplyDeleteDon't know, but yes, that's how I feel about it too-- "ooh!"
DeleteThat is quite a list. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall has been on my TBR list for a long time.
ReplyDeleteI'd only actually heard of it quite recently, so I'm anxious to read it too.
DeleteSo thrilled to see Tenant on so many people's lists, it's one of my favourites :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my blog!
Talk about a meaty list! Do you have any thoughts on which translations you will be using? The version of the Gita I read was done by Stephen Mitchell: rendering ancient works into modern English is his shtick. He has versions of the Book of Job, the Epic of Gilgamesh, and so on.
ReplyDeleteI'm using Lattimore for the Aeneid, and Fox for the Bible, on the advice of literary friends. For the Gita, though, I have no idea--I appreciate the Mitchell recommendation.
DeleteYour list looks fascinating, Amy! Especially "A Suitable Boy". I've been reading much about India over the last couple of years. This one sounds great! The Fox version of the Bible is intriguing, also. Thanks for these ideas!
ReplyDeleteThat's what I love about these group endeavors--I get so many ideas for books and authors to explore--almost too many, and choosing among them is painful!
DeleteAn impressive list with some great books. I am especially fond of Ovid and found Vikram Seth's A Suitable Boy a book that I literally could not put down when I read it last year. After reading the Gita you may be tempted to read the whole Mahabharata.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if I'm fond of Ovid or not, lol. Someone else's enthusiasm has affected me, so we'll see if I appreciate it as much as you and she do. A Suitable Boy, yes, it's un-put-downable--I keep trying to get people to read it who are put off by the size. And the Gita--I hope I like it that much!
DeleteAll the best at tackling this list. There's some really great stuff in there. I recently read and enjoyed Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go, so I'd be interested in checking out A Pale View of Hills.
ReplyDeleteWell, like I said, I'm sure I won't read them all this summer. It's more of a wish list, really. I'll maybe get through half.
DeleteIshiguro is really special, isn't he? I was so impressed by Floating World.
Wow, fantastic list! Those are some classics on your TBR pile...I also want to check out Coriolanus but I also want to read the play first. Metamorphoses is also another book I've been meaning to check out; not enough classic Roman lit (or Greek for that matter) in my life xP
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by my blog yesterday!
Not enough classical Greek/Roman lit in most of our lives, probably!
Delete