On Reading Classics and The Well-Educated Mind

Here's another thinking-about-books post.  I have always had a soft spot in my heart for classics and wish that they would be read more for interest and less "just because it's a classic".  There are some pretty obvious exceptions (600 pages of the Greek, The Histories by Herodotus, anyone?), but there are many classics that are quite enjoyable just for themselves.

If you don't know where to start in reading classics, I highly recommend Susan Wise Bauer's book, The Well-Educated Mind.  She breaks down classics into several categories: Novels, Poetry, Plays, etc., covering one section in each chapter.  Then, in each category, she lists the most well-known classics and gives a summary, ISBN number, and her favorite edition.  She also includes a set of discussion questions for each category.  The discussion questions are in three sets: Grammar Stage (simply reading through and making notes on what the book is about), then Logic Stage (answering questions about things like structure and style), and finally Rhetoric Stage (what do I think about this book?).

My next read

I have really enjoyed reading the books that she recommends.  I am going through by historical periods, starting by reading all of the ancient writings and now working through the medieval/renaissance books.  I have read everything from Oedipus Rex to The Koran to Dante's The Divine Comedy.  I have learned so much about reading and about history through these wonderful classics.  Not everything is wonderful, but I've been surprised by some very good writing, like the time I read The Birds and laughed my head off.  I have also learned that, with very old writings, translation can make or break a book.  By using Wise Bauer's recommended editions, I've been able to better comprehend and enjoy the writings.

My most recent read

I think that The Well-Educated Mind deserves a place in every home library.  It's a fascinating read if you just want to sit down and read through the whole thing like a novel.  Or, if you have a goal of reading some great books, this book is the first step to reaching that goal.

Lovely Vintage Books

It doesn't matter how good the book turns out to be, just finding those lovely, musty smelling books makes it worth it.  There are cozy little places that sell old books pretty much everywhere.  They're usually in obscure places, but once you find a good old book store, it's almost sure to be a treasure trove.  In this post, I'll list some of the great things about vintage books.  Posted alongside are pictures of pretty vintage books that I have accumulated along the way.

The books are almost always aesthetically pleasing.  Sometimes they have pretty dust jackets or ornate gold lettering, sometimes bright colors or an interesting font.  Of course, the cover of the book is no indicator of how well-written the book is, but a pretty cover makes a book a little more enjoyable to me.

The books are often well-loved.  I have found little notes on the inside, names written in shaky 3rd grade cursive and swirling old man's handwriting.  The pages are often a little dog-eared and the edges of the book are worn.  To me, this is the best review of a book I could ever have.

The stories are usually interesting and give a window into another time.  There is nothing like a book to get you to see a little slice of time through the eyes of someone living through it.  It is also my humble opinion that the stories are more varied and amusing than a lot of modern writing, although that is not to say that there wasn't poor writing long ago.

This week, I hope you are inspired to hunt for an old book, whether it be an old favorite or a new discovery.

Flavia de Luce

I just finished a mystery called The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag and before that I read The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, both written by Alan Bradley.  They are mysteries about a young girl in 1950s England named Flavia de Luce.  She is a brilliant chemist, living with her slightly absent-minded father and two aggravating sisters who are respectively a brilliant musician and reader.  Flavia rides around her small English village on her bike, name Gladys, and solves mysteries.

As I said in this post,  I love stories about precocious young detectives who solve difficult mysteries in their everyday lives and I think that Flavia is going on my list of favorites.  Her funny voice shines through so well.

In the first book, a man is killed in her garden and she is convinced that her father did it.  But, to solve this mystery, she has to go back and solve another mystery about a man with whom her father went to school.  In the second book, Flavia meets a famous puppeteer and his assistant, the frantic and slightly distressed Nialla.  When the puppeteer is killed by a bolt of electricity and then hung by marionette strings, Flavia sneaks around the village inspector who is looking in all the wrong places and does some sleuthing on her own.

I have read just the first two in this fantastic mystery series.  I can't wait to read the next!

Don't Look Now by Daphne DuMaurier

Daphne DuMaurier is a very interesting writer.  When I opened Rebecca (DuMaurier's most famous novel), I fell in love.  I read the story through twice and it continued to haunt me.  It is a book that I still return to regularly

Crocuses!  Pictures in this post are of spring sightings.

However, Rebecca is the only one of DuMaurier's books that I have ever really enjoyed.  I read Jamaica Inn and liked it, but didn't adore it.  I didn't like the heroine and there was something odd about DuMaurier's writing style.  Then I attempted My Cousin Rachel and enjoyed it even less.  Two weeks ago, when I was at the library, I was browsing through DuMaurier's many works, thinking, "I need to get over this aversion and read something else by Daphne."

Pink rhubarb noses poking out of the ground!

Unfortunately, Don't Look Now, a collection of haunting short stories written in the 60s was my least favorite of all of DuMaurier's writing.  I happily started the first short story one drizzly evening and prepared to enjoy a good shiver.  At first, the story was very enjoyable, with a set of psychic twin sisters in Italy and two grieving parents.  But then, as I moved through the story, I started to frown.  A story that had great potential to be a good, eerie yarn, went down a gruesome path, ending (Spoiler Alert!) with the main character getting an ax thrown through his head by a dwarf woman.  Now, don't get me wrong, I love a good, haunting thriller, but this was too eccentric and gory to be thrilling.   I stopped reading. "Huh?" I said.  I skimmed the rest of the stories and found them just as odd.  I firmly shut the book and finished up the evening with something a little lighter.

Another kitty shot

In my opinion, Rebecca is the exception that proves the rule.  I don't particularly like DuMaurier's writing style, but she did manage to produce one pretty wonderful book.  So, I highly recommend Rebecca, but don't bother reading any of DuMaurier's other writings, unless you like lots of the supernatural and a very dark writing style.

Hotel Paradise

I was at the library and a title caught my eye.  I had heard of this series several times and I  kept meaning to read them.  The Emma Graham series, written by Martha Grimes, is about a 12 year old girl who solves the mystery of a young girl's death nearly 40 years ago.  This series is different from the usual mystery in that it is an ongoing story throughout all three books.  I just finished Hotel Paradise, so I have yet to see how the rest of the books are, but I think I'm going to love them all as much as I did the first.

The second book in the series.

In Hotel Paradise, Emma Graham is working with her mother at a hotel that they own.  She is kept very busy cooking and serving meals, but she still manages to make time to solve a mystery.  She has a gift for getting adults to tell her stories, which is mainly how she solves the mystery.  She makes many friends along the way and learns more about the mysterious girl's past, including the aunts that wouldn't talk to the girl and the sad story of how this girl was almost rescued from her lonely fate, but instead drowned.

The third book in the series

I really enjoy mysteries that are solved by precocious children who, even though they are quite young, manage to surpass even the police.  One of the first of these was Nancy Drew, who, while not very well written, paved the way for all kinds of mysteries with this theme.

I'm heading to the library today, and I'm definitely going to be checking out the next two Emma Graham books.

Kilmeny of the Orchard

Yesterday, I picked up Kilmeny of the Orchard by L. M. Montgomery, longing for a pleasant read after a rather ghastly book (review to come).  I highly enjoyed it.

Kilmeny of the Orchard is different from any of L.M. Montgomery's other writings in that it is written from a man's point of view.  It is the story of a young man who, just graduated from college, goes to teach at a small country school as a favor to a friend.  This man, Eric, meets a beautiful and mysterious girl name Kilmeny who is mute because of some sad story in her past.  Eric is bewitched by this girl and is determined to help her speak.

This is a very short story, at only 130 pages, and I read it in an afternoon in between various errands.  Despite its shortness, L.M. Montgomery manages to write a spell-binding story that leaves you gripping the book until the end.  It is quite predictable and extremely romantic.  Kilmeny is the exact opposite of the imperfect Anne of Green Gables, but I still enjoyed the book.  And, of course, there is the unfailing happy ending that is included in all Montgomery's books. 

I highly recommend this for a dreary, rainy day.  It's the perfect cozy read for March.

Canterbury Tales

About a month ago I started Canterbury Tales.  I enjoyed it, for the most part.

First, the parts I enjoyed or was interested by:  Reading the original Chanticleer story.  I had read it as a little kid and loved the story of that unfortunate rooster.  It was fun to re-read it in its original form.  I enjoyed the arguments through stories.  I found them quite clever.  Many of the stories were quite engaging.   I learned a lot about medieval English culture while reading this book.  The translator, David Wright, was wonderful.  I was amazed that he actually cut out two of the stories because he said they were just long sermons that would not interest the average reader.  I appreciate taking some liberties for the sake of keeping a story engaging.

Now for the less than excellent parts- The blatant sexism throughout most of the stories aggravated me.  Even the Wife of Bath's tale, which is supposed to be a story in favor of wives having more power, seemed ridiculous through modern eyes.  I had to remind myself frequently that I was reading a book set in the medieval period where the role of women was completely different.  The sermon-like stories were quite drone-y but I read through them and was glad because it helped me to understand medieval Christianity a little better.

Overall, I am very glad that I took the time to read this book.  It was enjoyable, funny at times,  and an interesting glimpse into another time.