Monthly Reading Update

Well, I was hoping to have read at least 50 books this month, but I fell short by at least 10. Just kidding. But I did have a pretty lofty goal this month: to read Poetics, The Iliad, The Odyssey, and The Aeneid. That sadly did not happen. However, I did read Poetics and most of The Iliad, and I listened to Why Literature Still Matters by Jason Baxter and The Aeneid on audio. I would have finished The Iliad, but I got slammed with the flu last week and definitely did not feel like braving Homer while I was fighting my own battle.

My plans for next month are to finish The Iliad and read The Odyssey, Oedipus Rex, and Plato’s Republic. We’ll see how well I do. I’m the type of person who needs to work toward a deadline, so this kind of setup really helps me tackle big reading projects I’ve been wanting to get to.

Although I felt pretty daunted when I decided to tackle Aristotle and Homer this month, I’ve been really pleasantly surprised by how much I’ve enjoyed them! Poetics was difficult reading because it’s like reading a textbook, but it’s about information I genuinely care about. Homer, however, has been much more entertaining than I expected. There are difficulties that come with reading a translation, but I’m really enjoying Robert Fagles’s classic interpretation. The story has come alive and made me laugh out loud, cry, and actually gasp in horror. It’s far more gruesome than I anticipated, but it’s appropriate to the story.

All in all, it’s been a good reading month, and I’m really looking forward to tackling The Odyssey next!