What 📔book are you reading right now?

[Deimos]

Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad

 

[Vorondil]

I did it! I finished the Iliad! Though I barely survived the ordeal.

 

[Squint-eyed Southerner]

Which is more than can be said for a lot of the characters.

 

[Deimos]

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens! Great book

I had read a few reviews about it... most were positive, so I read it.
"Coming of age" story ( "bildungsroman" is the literary term) set within a murder mystery.
I found it ...OK....kind of uneven. It had its moments, but I will never re-read it.**
The test (for me) of a good book of any genre: is it worth a re-read (which, of course, is an entirely subjective criterion).

**Some folks have wondered how one could re-read a mystery because once reaching the end the mystery is solved, and unless you have selective amnesia, it is no longer a mystery story.
The enjoyment of a mystery is not necessarily in its resolution, but in seeing how it is solved.
I can't tell you how many times I've read the Sherlock Holmes stories.
The most enjoyable part of those stories is looking over Watson's shoulder to watch SH in action, both physical and mental, but especially the mental activity.

What RL Stevenson said of traveling --- "I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake."-- can be applied to reading anything, even a mystery, or maybe especially a mystery.
That is, I read not to get somewhere (the "end") but for the sake of all that occurs prior, the "literary traveling", before reaching the end.

Even with LOTR... we all know how it ends; no matter how many times you read it, damme if Frodo doesn't board that ship and Sam doesn't end up back home.
And yet, how many times have we, all of us, re-read it and re-re-read it, and re-re-re-read it?......and will continue to do so until we are in the grave.

I did it! I finished the Iliad! Though I barely survived the ordeal.

A better translation might have helped you come through with fewer injuries....

 

[Vorondil]

Which is more than can be said for a lot of the characters.

Most of them seemed to have been created so that the heroes could kill them.

 

[Deimos]

Which is more than can be said for a lot of the characters.

So...one of the characters, Odysseus, spends the next ten years trying to get home.
The Trojan War lasted 10 years, but the Iliad only covers about 2 months of it, very near its end.
Even with Hektor dead, the Greeks could not breach the walls of the city.
Then one of them got the idea (divinely inspired of course) to build the Wooden Horse, hide inside it and trick the Trojans into pulling the horse into the city. The Greeks then sacked the city.

Odysseus goes home, or tries to. The Odyssey (also by Homer) is the account of O's 10 year journey to get home.
So think about that... he was away from home for 20 years.
When he left, his son Telemachos was maybe one or two; when he returns his son is a young man.
And his wife Penelope waited for him faithfully, all those years. Even his dog managed to hang on the whole time, waiting for his return.

And when he does arrive home? Oh, the account of Odysseus "putting his house in order" is ...well "gratifying" doesn't do it justice.
It's an epic ending for sure. 😄 The only thing lacking is cheerleaders.

 

[Squint-eyed Southerner]

There are -- or were -- epics by other authors filling in the story, including the Trojan Horse.

I once had an Iliad boardgame. At the end of the rulebook, the designer says "Don't expect an Odyssey. If you insist on a game for it, take out the Odysseus counter and flip it over your shoulder. It has ten years to find its way back to the box".

 

[Deimos]

There are -- or were -- epics by other authors filling in the story, including the Trojan Horse.

I once had an Iliad boardgame. At the end of the rulebook, the designer says "Don't expect an Odyssey. If you insist on a game for it, take out the Odysseus counter and flip it over your shoulder. It has ten years to find its way back to the box".

Too funny. 😁

Yes, Homer gives a brief account of it in the Odyssey.
Vergil gives a lengthy account from the Trojan perspective in The Aeneid.

 

[Vorondil]

I've just started the Eagle of The Ninth (for the umpteenth time). Its one of my favourite books actually.

 

[Squint-eyed Southerner]

Have you also read the others of the series?

 

[Olorgando]

Re-reading (after I don't know how many years) the 1996 volume 12 of HoMe, "The Peoples of Middle-earth".

I've now flipped back to vol. 4 "The Shaping of Middle-earth" (I feel no urge to revisit the "Lost Tales" and "Lays" parts).
Erm ... at least the early parts of the book are becoming rather "loose-leafed" after over 30 years ... 😬

 

[Fingon_Findekáno]

I’m currently reading The Silmarillion, about halfway through and about to start Beren and Lúthien! I’ve loved reading this book so far, and many times I have gone back to reread various parts and consult the maps. It’s so interesting when going back to previous scenes and seeing how they connect to later events with all the details, making everything all the more richer and captivating.

 

[Vorondil]

Have you also read the others of the series?

I have. I've also read most of Rosemary Sutcliff's other books, The Shield Ring is my second favourite after The Eagle Of The Ninth Trilogy.

 

[Radaghast]

Recently finished this (free Nook edition). I'd never read it before and was surprised at how little I liked it. I love the 1953 Disney adaptation, though. It's one of those rare instances where I like the adaptation better than the source material.

 

[Radaghast]

Reading this, which I got as a free eBook from Barnes and Noble.

One of the worst books I've ever read; well, I haven't quite finished this car wreck but it's truly a shining example of horrible writing. Really, really bad.

 

[Squint-eyed Southerner]

At least you can say it was worth every penny.

 

[Radaghast]

The author, Morgan Rice, apparently a best-selling author who has been cranking book series out. The book I named is the first of a six-book series *shudder*

It's often said how hard it is to become a successful author but reading this book I have to wonder how hard could it be; or, if they're publishing stuff like this, what are they rejecting?

Looking at this author's bibliography, it's clear Rice is a big fan of A Song of Ice and Fire with titles like "A March of Kings" and "A Feast of Dragons" 🙄 But there is zero indication that she is otherwise influenced by George R. R. Martin, at least as far as writing style and quality are concerned. There are derivative elements such as the main character having a pet wolf and there being a giant wall that keeps out hostile forces.

Edit: I've since learned she self-publishes, which explains a lot. But good on her, I guess. I don't quite get why she's a best-seller, though.

Edit II: Here's a sample:

Aidan marched for his father's chamber impatiently, Leo at his side, with a deepening premonition that something was wrong. He had been searching for his sister Kyra all over the fort, Leo at his side, checking her usual haunts—the armory, the blacksmith's, Fighter's Gate—and yet she was nowhere to be found. He and Kyra had always had a close connection, ever since he was born, and he always knew when something was off with her—now, he felt warning signs inside. She had been absent from the feast, and he knew she would have not missed it.

Most concerning of all, Leo was not with her—which never, ever happened. Aidan had grilled Leo, but the wolf, clearly trying to tell him something, could not communicate. He only stuck to Aidan's side, and would not leave it.

 

[Vorondil]

Beowulf translated by David Wright. I really like Beowulf, even though its quite short.

 

[Olorgando]

"The Lost Road", the 1987 volume 5 of HoMe, a 1989 paperback reprint, which lists vol. 6 as "in preparation", and vol. 7 (presumably projected).

 

[Elbereth Vala Varda]

"Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis.