May, June, etc. books

I feel so delinquent.  But since I saw most of the readers of this blog on my trip down south, it helps assuage the guilt.  I was busy -yeah!  Besides, I still don't know what I am going to do with this thing anyway.  But until it is decided, I guess I will write about some recent reads.

History of the Medieval World by Susan Wise Bauer - I finally finished this beast of a history.  Took me a year  -not straight, of course - but picking it up and down.  It WAS my conquest on the trip - determined to finish it.  And I did.  I'm glad I did.  I have been reading much lately on Medieval literature and the symbolism employed by it's authors.  Having a general background of the history certainly helped.  And while history can get *dull* at times, I must say that Mrs. Bauer keeps it as entertaining as she can while still sticking to the facts.  She uses primary sources as much as possible -which is huge for me as I tend to be more than a bit skeptical of what anyone might call history these days - since we tend to revise it according to our needs.  Did she do that?  I don't know - but the emphasis on primary sources lends more credibility for me than the typical university or wikipedia fare.  7

Possession by A.S. Byatt - my bedtime reading on the trip.  Two scholars discover a love affair between two poets from the previous century.  It got a little drab during the letters between the lovers.  Might have been the mood I was in  - I don't know.  I'll probably read it again someday.  Don't know what else to say about it - I'll give it a 6.

Brothers Karamazov by Fydor Dostoyevsky - Yes, so this is considered Dostoyevsky's highest achievement.  I have read it once before - about 10 years ago.  At the time, I was not impressed  -which can sound really pretentious.  What I mean though, is that I did not love the novel like I was told I should.  I DID love Crime and Punishment and count it as one of my top five favorite books.  So I decided to reread this one - and see if maturity might give me more insight into what lays between the covers of this gem.  Well, I have figured out what the deal is for me.  It is true that there is some amazing writing and story telling, not to mention profound insight into the soul of man - which is Dostoyevsky's gift.  But there is also lumbering text of, to me, unimportant minutia that just rambles on.  I will always recommend Dostoyevsky above any contemporary writer - his insight into the heart of man cannot be matched - except maybe by Tolstoy.  But be forewarned - there will be mires of mediocrity to persevere through while digging out the gold.  He is worth the effort for sure, but not every sentence is treasure.  The ones that are though, are incomparable.  9