This month I still had hardly any time to read, but I did finish one chunkster that I’ve been working on for a long time (Don Quixote), and made time for one short novel that I’ve been meaning to read forever (Hag-Seed). Alas, neither was quite as marvelous as I’d been expecting from their great press. But you can’t win them all.
Now, while waiting for my shipment of books and other belongings to arrive, I’m left with my e-reader. I should be content with the many books I already have loaded on it already, yet I can’t help looking for something new and exciting to download from the library. What would you suggest?
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Reviews
- The Heart’s Necessities by Jane Tyson Clement and Becca Stevens was a multilayered exploration of poetry, music, and life.
Other Books Read
Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood- Don Quixote by Manuel de Cervantes – Review to come
- Indiscretions of Archie by P. G. Wodehouse
Other Features and Events
- I celebrated my five years as a member of the Classics Club.
- I went on a literary pilgrimage to Salem, Mass., home of Nathaniel Hawthorne and site of the House of the Seven Gables.
- I announced the upcoming Robertson Davies Reading Week, with a suggested reading list to choose from.
- On my other blog, Entering the Enchanted Castle, I unearthed some wise words from myself.
Shared in the Sunday Post hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer, the Month in Review linkup at The Book Date, and the Monthly Wrap-up Round-up hosted by Feed Your Fiction Addiction
The Emerald City Book Review Archive 
Happy July!
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Likewise!
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Robertson Davies is/was one of the few Canadian authors I really enjoyed. My favourite was Fifth Business but i have so many more yet to go.
I was sort of so-so over Don Quixote too. I really enjoyed Part I but not-so-much Part II. I still wish I could find a way to like it better.
Happy reading!
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I think I would like to reread Don Quixote now that I have a better sense of what I’m in for, and won’t expect a straightforward narrative. Part I and II are very different so it’s good to be aware of that as well.
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Congratulations on finishing DQ, no matter that you didn’t enjoy it as much as you would have loved to. When time passes, it may settle in your memory as a very worthy experience, specially for having finished it. Part II is sadder. DQ is aging and the thrill is gone. It’s also cruel to see how people interact with both. Sancho’s voice is very funny and sweet in part II, but maybe it didn’t sound that way for you or Cleo.
I’m looking forward to your review. I always love to hear your thoughts, even more when they are different.
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I enjoyed Sancho in Part II. His governorship of the “insula” was one of my favorite sections of the book.
Definitely glad I made the effort to read the whole book. I read an abridged version in high school but I always think it’s important to encounter the work as the author intended.
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Didn’t Cevantes write the two parts with a space of about 15 years between them? I think that’s what sort of put me off Part II. The voice and even actions of both characters didn’t seem consistent between the two parts. I liked Part I so much, so then Part II was sort of a let-down. But I’ll have to read it again one day now knowing what to expect and see if I feel the same.
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Yes, they were published 10 years apart, and in the interval someone else wrote a “Part II” that Cervantes wanted to supplant with his own version. DQ changed from being an original and spontaneously evolving character in Part I, to being a very self-conscious literary construct in Part II. That’s one reason I came to like Sancho better.
The metafictional aspects in this part were ahead of their time, but I didn’t find them to be worked out very thoroughly. Cervantes was unquestionably a great innovator, but fiction as it developed a few hundred years later remains more satisfying to me personally.
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Congratulations on being in the classic clubs for five years that’s really awesome! I’m not much of a classic reader but I do think I’d like to read some eventually.
I hope you have a wonderful July.
Tina @ As Told By Tina
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I used to be intimidated by classics, but finally I realized they are just books that a lot of people have loved for a long time. Not every one will be for you but I’m sure you could find something to enjoy. Thanks for stopping by!
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You finished Don Quixote!!!!! How exciting, good on you!!!!! Can’t wait to read your review 😉❤️
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Coming soon…
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I’ve never read Don Quixote, so bravo to you! I have enjoyed a few classics, like Little Women and To Kill a Mockingbird. I hope your books arrived safely for unpacking. Yikes, August is next week!
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My books did arrive safely, thanks. That was a big relief!
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