Summer Reading: Part I

I have several posts regarding Keld Zeruneith's The Wooden Horse.

I continue to read it, but not getting very far. I read several pages, maybe even several sections, enjoying it so much, that I have to put it down and reflect on what I have just read. I then return to the book and find myself returning to earlier sections, or even earlier chapters, and re-reading.

So, I read ten pages forward, and then go back and re-read six pages that I have read earlier. Eventually I will finish, but in a sense I never want to finish. And when I do, it is the kind of book that can be read over and over again.

If you enjoyed Greek mythology back in middle school, or enjoyed Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, or want to learn more about the development of western democracy, or drama, you will really enjoy this book. If you are a student of philology, this is also great. Zeruneith uses the Greek words (and, obviously, the English translation) to better articulate his many theses.

I remember the classic book on mythology: Edith Hamilton's Mythology. And it is a classic in every sense of the word. I now understand how much work it took to sort out the mythology and the original sources of much of her work, the Greek tragedies by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides.

This will be one of the ten books I will carry with me while I travel around the states. A second may be Richard Dawkin's The Pilgrim's Tale, although I have not yet decided for sure.

One comment: someone told me the other day that his wife was a voracious reader and could read/would read books in a single day. He say the very thick hardover The Wooden Horse that I was carrying and said his wife could read that book in a day and a half. There is no question one could read the book in a day and a half, some getting more out of it than others. But for me reading is something to enjoy slowly, savoring every morsel, stopping frequently to reflect, take notes, and re-read. In a day and half speed-reading through the book I would be able to tell you the first half of the book was on Homer's Iliad and Odyssey and the second half was on the Greek philosophers, the Greek tragedians, and Socrates. But I would have missed so much. I would have missed so many of the nuances in that book if I read through it quickly.

And to think I got a brand new "remaindered" copy at a discount book store.