The Odyssey

The Odyssey by Homer, translated by Emily Wilson (2018), 582 pgs. 

Odysseus has caught the attention of the gods--for better or for worse. Zeus rages against Odysseus's mission to get back to Ithaca after the Trojan War, crushing his ship and stranding him for years on Calypso's island. Athena takes note of his intelligence, and convinces Zeus to let him free. Poseidon wrecks his ship again, the sun god kills his men, and Hermes delivers the souls of his enemies to Hades. As Odysseus makes his way back to his family, he faces many trials. At home, his wife, Penelope, and son, Telemachus--now an adult after so long apart--face their own battle against a group of raucous and increasingly belligerent men who have taken over the family's estate with the demand that Penelope marry one of them. This epic journey can end no other way but in violence. 

I am so grateful to have been able to read this translation of The Odyssey by Emily Wilson--the first translation published by a woman! Dr. Wilson starts with a comprehensive introduction to this massive work, including explanatory information about what is to come and background as to why she made certain translatory decisions. This section is chock-full of details and can take a while to get through, but it is well worth it, and once you begin reading, the actual Odyssey is a breeze. Dr. Wilson has translated the ancient text into a relatively easily accessible work for anyone with an interest in Greek mythology to dive right into. If you have not read The Odyssey yet--or even if you have--Dr. Wilson's version is a great way to get into it. 

Sula

 Sula by Toni Morrison (1973) 174 pages

I previously listened to Morrison's Beloved, but didn't grasp much of what it was trying to say. When The Atlantic published a "The Great American Novels" list in 2024 including Sula, I decided I should read another of Morrison's books. I'm from Ohio too. Medallion, Ohio is a fictional town, but I read it could be based on Lorain, Ohio to the west of Cleveland where Morrison grew up. Morrison explores the social changes in a black community called the "Bottom" between 1919 and 1965. There is a good bit in the beginning and end of the novel that does not focus on the title character, Sula. Instead, we meet Shadrack, who is a traumatized WWI veteran. He cannot readjust to living in "normal" society. Morrison's descriptions of the community are vivid. She then traces the lives of four women that are central to the relationships of the "Bottom." Eva is a mysterious figure who has a promiscuous daughter named Hannah amongst many other children. Hannah is the mother of Sula, who dies when Sula is still young. We spend quite of bit of time getting to know Sula and her friend Nel, but also Sula leaves for ten years for college. After college, Sula passes through many big cities, but is unable to find a man that she feels really connected to, so she returns to the Bottom. There is no straightforward plot, but a loose set of occurrences that resist simplistic notions of heroes or villains.

The Odyssey

The Odyssey by Homer, translated by Emily Wilson, 582 pages

It's been on my to-do list to blog about my read of our 2025 Adult Summer Reading Big Book Challenge for AGES, and then Regan goes and beats me to it. So all I'll say here is this: go read Regan's blog post, and add my second to everything she wrote. It's an excellent, fresh translation and well worth a read.

Nightwood

Nightwood by Djuna Barnes (1936) 182 pages

I listened to the audiobook on Hoopla narrated by Gemma Dawson. The Atlantic published a list of The Great American Novels earlier this year. There was a lot more diversity amongst the authors on this list compared to others I've seen, so I added several books to my reading list. I had also recently seen a review of a graphic biography about Djuna Barnes that will be published later this year. I jumped into this novel, which is Modernist, without knowing much about the Modernist movement. T.S. Eliot wrote an introduction praising the novel as an example of this artistic movement. He suggested that people who like poetry would appreciate her use of language. It certainly is florid in its literary stream-of-consciousness. Eliot also prepared me not to expect much plot, but I really like a strong plot. Audiobooks are "real" reading, but it is more passive. By the end, I had forgotten how the two characters, who converse about a woman's love for another woman, connect to the characters introduced at the beginning. I struggled to fully understand this book. It was not for me.
 

Ship of Fools

Ship of Fools by Katherine Anne Porter, 278 of 497 pages

A whole pile of upper-class twits get aboard a ship in Mexico, traveling to Germany in 1931. This, Porters only novel, follows them as they judge each other and the lower-class passengers, professing their opinions and being scandalized at anyone and everyone. From the seasick dog to the demonic twin children to the anti-Semitic husband of a Jewish woman, there is not a single likable character on this aptly named Ship of Fools. 

So why am I blogging about it? I spent several weeks slogging my way through this morass of detestable characters before finally giving up; I earned every last one of the 278 pages I read and darn it, I want them to count. My only saving grace is that everyone who discussed this in the Read the Classics book group ALSO hated this novel.

All Creatures Great and Small

All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriott, 442 pages

I'm possibly the last person on earth to discover this charming memoir, but I'm still going to crow about it. Told in episodes centering on the odd characters (both human and animal) in rural Yorkshire, Herriott's book covers his first couple of years as a country vet, treating everything from spoiled dogs to neglected cattle. Throughout it all, there's a wry sense of humor, enhanced in the audiobook by wonderful narrator Christopher Timothy. I absolutely loved this, and I'll definitely be reading Herriott's other two memoirs.

The big sleep

The big sleep / Raymond Chandler, 231 pgs.

As hard boiled as they come, this book introduces Philip Marlowe, Private Investigator. He has a code, he is smart, he isn't easily dissuaded and he can take a punch.  This is one of the classics and a total pleasure to read.  Marlowe gets involved in a case with a lot of sex, porn, blackmail and gambling.  Sometimes it is difficult for the reader to see what is going on but Marlowe always seems to know.  A fast-paced classic and an example of what mystery writing is all about.

The Body in the Library

The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie, 191 pages

When the body of a strangled showgirl appears in the library of a manor house, the lady of the house calls upon her good friend Miss Marple to help solve the mystery. Suspicion rotates through the retired army colonel who owns the manor, a shady Hollywood executive that lives nearby, the victim's various coworkers, and the family of an elderly man who had taken a shine to the victim. But the police are flummoxed, leaving Miss Marple to use her nosy, gossip-filled ways to track down the murderer.

This is the first Miss Marple book I've read, and I've gotta say that I love the elderly spinster, who sprinkles gossip throughout her conversations and seems to have a village parallel to everyone she encounters in the course of the investigation. Her intuitions and observations about human behavior are so much more likeable than Hercule Poirot's methods. I see a lot more Marple in my future.

Stuart Little

Stuart Little by E.B. White, 131 pages

In this kid lit classic, mouselike Stuart Little is born to a regular human family, and tries to make his way in a world that is much, much too large for him. I recently listened to this audiobook on a family trip, and was struck by how episodic it is, as well as how abruptly it ends. I remember really enjoying this as a kid, though today I couldn't even hazard as guess as to why.

Murder on the Orient Express

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie, 266 pages

A train traveling between Istanboul and Paris gets stuck in the snow. Usually this would be an inconvenience to passengers making connections, but it is something significantly more inconvenient when one of the passengers turns up dead. Suddenly, everyone on the train is a suspect in the murder, which renowned detective Hercule Poirot decides to solve while they await rescue. This is a classic story, and an excellent one. This was my second time reading it, though the first sharing it with my son, who gamely suffered through my butchering of several French phrases to experience his first Agatha Christie. We both loved sharing our guesses throughout the book, and we loved the big reveal that showed just how wrong we were. It is the first of many many Agatha Christies in our future.

Frankenstein

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley, 324 pages

Rereading Frankenstein this month really drove home the fact that many stories I love owe large parts of their plots to Mary Shelley’s monster story.  Lilo and Stitch?  Not only is it one of my favorite Disney movies, but it’s totally a Frankenstein retelling (with a happier ending).  Ex Machina?  Yep.  Frankenstein.  I’d argue that almost any movie/story where an intelligent non-human creation ends up at odds with its cold, egotistical, human creator can be traced back to Frankenstein.  

For those who have only experienced the cinematic/pop-culture version of Frankenstein's monster*, Shelley's book will be a bit of a shock.  Even though I'd read the book before, I was struck by how graceful, intelligent, and sympathetic the monster is (despite his hideous outward appearance).  It's amazing how all those images of a shambling, non-speaking beast stick in your mind's eye.  For my modern YA-reading sensibilities, the book's 200 year-old plot is not exactly fast moving but was engaging nonetheless. 

*But he really doesn't mind if you just call him Frankenstein:

The Hidden Staircase

The Hidden Staircase by Carolyn Keene, 182 pages

In the second Nancy Drew mystery, our young sleuth is tasked with catching a "ghost" at the manor house of her friend's aunt, while her father tracks down a shifty property owner involved in a railroad development deal. When Nancy's dad goes missing, the two plots become intertwined, and Nancy's on a race against the clock to find her dad and stop the "haunting" before her friend's aunt is forced to sell her house.

My 9-year-old son is hooked on these classic mysteries, and while I'm a bit flummoxed how estate law (from the first book) and shady real estate practices are so captivating for a modern kid, I'm happy to share a bit of my own childhood with him. On to The Bungalow Mystery!

David Copperfield

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens, 891 pages

Presented as the life story of David Copperfield, this sizeable tome follows our protagonist through his life's many experiences (not sure I'd go so far as to call them adventures), and his interactions with many vibrant characters. These characters — especially his great aunt Betsy Trotwood, his wife Dora, the amoral Steerforth, and the villainous Uriah Heep — are excellently drawn, and make the book worth reading. David and the much-adored angelic Agnes are some of the blandest characters I've ever read, and the plot doesn't really move too much. But when Dickens' secondary characters appear, that's when the reading is good. I don't know that I would have read this if it wasn't our Big Book for this summer, but I'm glad I did read it.

The Secret of the Old Clock

The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene, 180 pages

In this, Nancy Drew's first adventure as a teenage sleuth, the young detective and her lawyer father agree that there's something fishy about old eccentric Josiah Crowley leaving his fortune to the uppity Topham family when he'd apparently told several needier friends and family members that he'd remember them in his will. Nancy's convinced that a later will exists and is hidden somewhere that the Tophams will never think to look, and her investigation takes her on an adventure filled with crude thieves, an afternoon adrift on a lake, and some light breaking and entering. I read this book to my eight-year-old son, and had no idea that estate law would be so captivating for him. Yet, he loved the book, and is clamoring for the next Nancy Drew mystery. The Hidden Staircase, here we come!

The Hobbit

The Hobbit, Or There And Back Again by J.R.R. Tolkien, 288 pages

In this prequel to The Lord of the Rings, unassuming hobbit Bilbo Baggins is drafted (as a burglar, of all things!) into a dwarves' quest to defeat a dragon and reclaim the treasure of their ancestors. Along the way, they encounter trolls, goblins, wargs, elves, and, my favorite, the creepy Gollum. This was by no means the first time I've read this book, though it was my son's first experience with it. He was thrown by the "old-timey" low-dialogue style, and I was thrown by having to read the many songs aloud, but we both loved the classic tale. I don't know that I'm up for reading The Lord of the Rings to him (at least not yet), but I loved sharing this story with him.

The Man Who Was Thursday

The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare by G.K. Chesterton, 199 pages

Once upon a time in London, two poets get into a philosophical argument about anarchy, resulting in one bringing the other to a clandestine meeting of anarchists who are electing a member to fill a position on the board of a worldwide organization devoted to destroying the constructs of society. The outsider, Syme, is elected to the board, and begins a whirlwind thrilling (and, more often than not, terrifying) adventure with six mysterious men, who go by pseudonyms named after the days of the week.

I picked up this book on the recommendation of Neil Gaiman, who mentions it in his book of essays, The View from the Cheap Seats. Upon reading The Man Who Was Thursday, it is easy to see Chesterton's influences on Gaiman; you could almost call Chesterton's book Gaimanesque, except, of course for the fact that The Man Who Was Thursday far predates any of Gaiman's work (it was originally published in 1907!). Anyway, it's an entertaining book that offers plenty of twists and thrills, as well as meditations on society, religion, and humanity. In other words, it's a perfect read for fans of Gaiman.

Anna Karenina

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, 938 pages

While I think I liked last year's Big Book Challenge, Middlemarch, more, I still enjoyed Anna Karenina. The story largely revolves around Anna, her affair with Count Vronsky, and its inevitable fallout, but I found that what kept me coming back was the story of Levin and Kitty. I found myself rooting for those two crazy kids, and that helped balance out some of the awfulness around Anna. While I'm with the crowd that finds Anna annoying, I find I'm still sympathetic to her. She's such a tragic character that I can't help feeling sorry for her, Vronsky, and their child (though I don't feel sorry for Karenin, and I'm not sure I can fully explain why). It's well worth a read, and I can see how it has endured through the years, even if it isn't been my favorite.

Frankenstein

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, 256 pages

We all know the basics of this story: mad scientist Dr. Frankenstein creates life in the form of a humanoid monster, built from scavenged pieces of corpses. Hideous and misunderstood, the creature turns murderous, leaving Frankenstein guilt-ridden and insane with the terror he has wrought. But this tale is different from the multitude of iterations in pop culture, and it's interesting to read the original and see how time has changed the story. There's no Igor, for one; for another, the creation of the monster occurs in a much more mundane locale than a lightning-struck tower on a cliff. I'll admit that there were bits of this story that strained believability (how a creature could go from incapable of communication to eloquently speaking on Milton's Paradise Lost in just two years is beyond me), but in all it was a good story with plenty to ponder on the ethics of science.

A wrinkle in time

A Wrinkle in Time / Madeleine L'Engle 245 pg.

The classic time travel book featuring the Murray family with the scientist parents and four children, two of whom are special in their own way.  Meg and Charles Wallace end up traveling through time to look for their father who is lost.  They get assistance from a trio of interesting ladies who have some familiarity with the "wrinkle in time" aka the tesseract.  The kids end up on their own on planet Camazotz and need to learn to recognize good and evil and battle accordingly.

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The Phantom Tollbooth

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster, illustrations by Jules Feiffer, 256 pages

Milo is bored boy, who often doesn't know what to do. A middling student, he runs everyday from school to home and then sits around, staring at his toys and doing nothing. Until one day, when a mysterious package appears in his room. Inside is a set of instructions on how to build the tollbooth and a map to the Lands Beyond. After putting the tollbooth together, he hops into his electric toy car, puts a coin in the toll box, and suddenly finds himself on the road to Expectations. Picking up Tock the Watchdog along the way, he winds up in Dictionopolis, where he learns that nothing in the land of Wisdom has been the same since the princesses Rhyme and Reason were banished by their brothers, King Azaz the Unabridged and the Mathemagician, over their decision that letters and numbers were equally important. Milo agrees to bring the princesses back, so with Tock and the Humbug in tow, they set off across Wisdom in search of the princesses, meeting interesting characters and having great adventures.

This book is a classic, and I can see why. Chock full of inventive word play and fun characters, Milo's quest to rescue Rhyme and Reason twists and turns delightfully through the different cities and areas of Wisdom. While I appreciated all of the puns, I suspect that a lot of them can go over children's heads. But for those that get them, this is a book that's sure to please. In a lot of ways, it reminds of The Little Prince, but not as serious. It would a good book to read with a special child in your life.