There is a new translation out of The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas. And I want it! Ever since the whole War and Peace debacle--deciding which translation to read, I have been slightly more sensitive to books in translation. There was a review yesterday in The New York Times, where the reviewer called it "a brisk, agile new translation". Of course I would still feel better reading some other reviews before buying a new hardcover. I have long wanted to read this. After reading The Count of Monte Cristo I am a devoted fan of Dumas. Plus I love swashbuckling adventure stories!
If I do buy the Dumas book, you can bet I won't wait to read it! It can join the rest of the books sitting on my night stand. Yesterday Cam posted a list of her current reads. I can relate only too well...a little run down of my stack of current reads...
War and Peace by Tolstoy--I have given up any hope of staying with the schedule. Had I kept up I would be finishing it in just a couple of weeks. Alas, I am only at the end of Book I. There are four books, two epilogues, and well lots and lots of pages. I do read it every day, though. It is very readable, just very long. There seem to be lots of war parts--lately I feel like that is all there is. I am finding that I really need to do a little research on the Napoleanic Wars. I know practically nothing. My goal is to just finish it by the end of the year.
The Life and Death of Mary Wollstonecraft by Tomalin--I am very bad when it comes to nonfiction. I want to read it, but I tend to always pick up my fiction books instead. Mary W. was very interesting, and of course when I am finished with this I want to read The Vindication of the Rights of Woman, her travel narratives, and then move on to her daughter Mary Shelley, and then her writings. Ambitious, aren't I? I am always planning ahead.
The Oak Apple by Harrod-Eagles--Poor Morland Dynasty. A 25+ book series. At this rate I will be nearing retirement age before I get them all read! I will have to start from the beginning on this one, it has sat there so long. These books are best read in one big gulp really.
Robinson Crusoe by Defoe--Remember I said I like adventure stories? No wonder kids have loved reading this as it can certainly be read that way. One small stumbling block--and here comes my personal 21st century ideas--I hated it when he killed the lion at the beginning for Sport. He knew darn well that it wasn't for meat and even admitted to it, but shot it anyway. This made me cringe, but I am enjoying it anyway--and I try to always read in context of when and where a book was written.
Gaudy Night by Sayers--I was doing so well with my mysteries. I'm not even halfway through this one. It is Not a reflection of the author or book or story. It is a matter of too many books on the go at once.
The Observations by Harris--Ditto with this one. I am getting back in the mood for some Victorian drama, though. Poor Bessy...what an odd situation she is in. I can't decide what I think of Arabella yet.
The Last of Her Kind by Nunez--This is the culprit of why so many books are being neglected. I should be finishing it within the next day or two. I reached the point of no putting it down a day or so ago, and now I simply have to find out how it ends, which means all my reading attention is going here. I am ambivalent about the main characters. For me, I think most things in life are not black and white, and there are certainly a lot of grey issues in this book. The characters are very complex. Just when I am feeling sympathetic, something will be said or done make me change my mind about the characters and situations. This would make an excellent book for discussion!
The Forest Lover by Vreeland--Okay, so I have been sneaking peeks at this one as well. I am ready to get back to Emily. I think I will be concentrating on this one next. And I am already contemplating what book comes next after this one. I was leaning towards the new Philip Roth, but now I am very much in the mood for some A.S. Byatt...
A Room of One's Own by Woolf--No I have not forgotten about this! It is an annotated version, and I just made my way through the 30 page introduction! I am ready to get going on the actual text...just to get the Nunez out of the way...
Sophie's Choice by Styron--Last but not least. I really need to dedicate myself to this book (and this book alone) for a solid week or so to get it read. I hate to think about how I am lagging behind in my Modern Library List reading. What did I say at the beginning of the year? Was that to read the last 20 books from the list (I'm working my way up backwards)? Silly ideas. But I did say I would settle for ten! Still that would mean reading: Under the Net (256 pages), Wide Sargasso Sea (192 pages)--have read this one before...perhaps could skip a reread..., The Magus (672 pages)--another long one, Ironweed (240 pages), and lastly Tobacco Road (184 pages). Yes, I know. Ambitious. Remember, I didn't say I was actually going to do it, I just want to!
There are times I feel like I only think about reading, and read about reading. But honestly I am really reading. Must try and squeeze in more reading time...Don't we all wish that, eh?!