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Su Tung-p’o: Selections From a Sung Dynasty Poet
The following is an old book jot from December 2021: I just finished reading Su Tung-p’o: Selections From a Sung Dynasty Poet, translated and with an introduction and notes by Burton Watson (1965). This book is a selection of poems by Su Shi, also known by his literary name of Su Tung-p’o, and contains poems…
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Under the Greenwood Tree by Thomas Hardy
I just finished reading Under the Greenwood Tree (1872) by Thomas Hardy. It was his second published novel, and the first one set in his fictional Wessex County. In it, Hardy unfolds a love story set amid the rural, rustic farmland and villages of 1850s England. There is a simplicity and warmth about the story…
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The Spoken Word
For awhile I’ve been enjoying listening to old Transformers books-on-tape while lying down. I recently decided to look at a list of titles with publication dates, so that I could try listening to them in order (not that it really matters much…they’re stand-alone stories with little to no continuity between books). Anyway, I’m really having…
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A Bitter Fate by Alexey (Aleksey) Pisemsky
I finished reading A Bitter Fate by Alexey (Aleksey) Pisemsky.
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Turgenev by Henri Troyat
I just finished reading Turgenev by Henri Troyat, a biography of Ivan Turgenev published in 1985 and translated by Nancy Amphoux. This was a beautiful biography of one of my favorite writers, so it’s no surprise that I greatly enjoyed it. The book, perhaps like Turgenev’s life, is tinged with sadness, dignity, and a gentle…
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Bane of the Black Sword by Michael Moorcock (fifth in the Elric of Melniboné saga)
I finished reading Bane of the Black Sword by Michael Moorcock. This is the fifth book in the Elric saga and was first published in this form in 1977, though some of the work had previously been published in other formats. It consists of four stories (The Stealer of Souls, Kings in Darkness, The Flamebringers,…
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The Covetous Knight by Alexander Pushkin
I finished reading The Covetous Knight (1830), a short play by Alexander Pushkin, translated by A. F. B. Clark. I subsequently learned that Sergei Rachmaninoff wrote a one act opera known as The Miserly Knight based closely on Pushkin’s text. The plot is simple and focuses on the avarice of an elderly baron and his…
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Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Here is a book jot from December 2021: I just finished reading Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (1958). The story narrates the life of Okonkwo, a prominent member of an Ibo clan in Nigeria. The story is deftly told in a fluid and unadorned style with a finely-crafted, objective voice. There is a strong…
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Jean-Leon Huens
I was curious about the cover art for the Prydain books I mentioned in the previous post. I have loved these pictures ever since I first saw them as a child. The art is evocative and beautiful. I wondered who the artist was, so I looked around online. The artist’s name is Jean-Leon Huens. I…
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The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander
When I was in elementary school, I read the novel The High King by Lloyd Alexander. I loved it! I remember making a board game based on the story on a big sheet of posterboard. I really hadn’t read anything like it before. It was epic and exciting, with memorable characters and important insights into…