I finished reading the last chapter of Frank Kermode's The Age of Shakespeare. The last chapter went much like the previous couple of chapters--a bit over my head. Still it was a very worthwhile read and any new bit of information to add to what I am learning about Shakespeare is very helpful. I have also been watching the last couple of episodes of In Search of Shakespeare, the PBS special narrated by Michael Wood. The Wood program has been very accessible, though he and Kermode don't always seem to agree on actual facts (well, I guess they are conjectures not facts, really) in Shakespeare's life. I have a stack of videos checked out from various libraries, including several more on Shakespeare, but I will save those for a later post.
I've decided that Margaret Forster's biography of Daphne Du Maurier is calling out to me to be read, so I plan on working on that as my next nonfiction read. And since my reading is already all over the place at the moment anyway, I started reading Katherine Mansfield's Journal. As it consists of fragments of journal entries and other short writings, it would be a perfect book to dip into now and then--no rush to get through it. I'm already intrigued by her life and I think I will have to read a biography of her as well as see which short stories I happen to have on my shelves at the moment.
Night and Day by Virginia Woolf has been a really good read. I am nearing the end (finally), and need to think the story over in my mind. Set before WWI, the story follows four young people and their relationships with each other. It is a conventional story in that it deals with love and marriage to some extent, but also deals with women's places in society and their desires to break free from their assigned places and duties--I'm not entirely sure they will be able to do so in the end. I've only got a few chapters left, and I am looking forward to seeing how things turn out. Jacob's Room is up next, but I think I will hold off on starting it as I really do need to make some progress on poor, neglected David Copperfield and Tess of the D'Ubervilles!
I am reading daily from Cervantes' Don Quixote. I think this is going to be a slow read as I am only reading a couple of chapters a day (and they are fairly brief). The book seems to be somewhat episodic, though, so maybe this is the best way to approach it at the moment. And for books on the lighter side, I am still enjoying Mariana (Mary is currently enduring drama school--I don't think thins are going well for her...) and The Wayward Muse.
As for what I should be reading? The Slaves are reading Ford Maddox Ford's The Good Soldier this month. I have wanted to read this for ages and am looking forward to pulling it off the shelf and finally reading it! I also need to work on my next Once Upon a Time Challenge books--Saints and Strangers by Angela Carter and Over Sea and Under Stone. The halfway mark has passed for the challenge and I have only finished one book. I hate the idea of failing at yet another challenge! Although it may not seem so, there is actually a method to my reading madness and more or less I am reading what I need to read--just at my own pace!