This short satirical essay was published in 1729. Swift was living in Dublin as Dean of St Patrick's (1713 to 1745) which was an Anglican (Church of Ireland) cathedral. Swift was born and educated in Ireland and, by his own epitaph, was a fiercely indignant champion of liberty.
Here's a bit of history: James II was defeated in 1691, and subsequently various penal laws were subsequently enacted that punish Catholics - Catholic education is restricted, Catholic clergy are ordered to leave Ireland, Catholics can't buy land, Catholics can't hold public office. In 1727 Catholics lose the right to vote.
The Irish famine of 1740-1741 had not yet happened when Swift wrote this essay. Was Swift prescient? His proposal is that the children of the poor should be eaten by the rich. He argues this will reduce the number of Papists and give the poor a reliable income so that they don't have to beg.
I read Swift's bio on Wikipedia and it made me want to find out more about him. Wikipedia refers to Samuel Johnson's Lives of the Poets, so I've downloaded that (free) to Kindle as further reading. I've also downloaded (for $2.99) the Essential Works of William Makepeace Thackeray, who wrote English Humorists of the Eighteenth Century. I love my Kindle!
Here's Swift's epitaph:
"Here is laid the Body of Jonathan Swift, Doctor of Sacred Theology, Dean of this Cathedral Church, where fierce Indignation can no longer injure the Heart. Go forth, Voyager, and copy, if you can, this vigorous (to the best of his ability) Champion of Liberty. He died on the 19th Day of the Month of October, A.D. 1745, in the 78th Year of his Age."
Monday, December 27, 2010
20. Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
It's interesting to read again a book that I first read as a teenager. Then I read it for the story, and completely missed the political satire. This time I appreciate the satire much more, and regret that I don't have a better knowledge of 18th century English politics and society, because I'm sure I've missed many of Swift's allusions. A lot of them could still be applied to today's society, I think.
It would be fun to write a modern version of Gulliver's travels, to question our own assumptions. Gulliver travels to Australia and is imprisoned as an 'illegal refugee'?
A new movie version of Gulliver's Travels has just been released. The reviews I've read have not been favorable, and I won't bother going to see it.
It would be fun to write a modern version of Gulliver's travels, to question our own assumptions. Gulliver travels to Australia and is imprisoned as an 'illegal refugee'?
A new movie version of Gulliver's Travels has just been released. The reviews I've read have not been favorable, and I won't bother going to see it.
Friday, December 10, 2010
19. Roxana by Daniel Defoe
And this is the third novel by Daniel Defoe that's recommended reading. I hadn't read this before. It was published in 1724 as The Fortunate Mistress.
Again, the story is told by the heroine. Roxana is wickeder than Moll, I think, because she's motivated by greed and vanity more than survival. But maybe it's understandable that after early poverty she wants the security of financial independence, and not to be dependent on someone else. Eventually she has affairs with princes, enormous wealth and a doting husband but it doesn't bring her happiness, as she has to lie about her earlier life and is terrified of being discovered.
I was shocked by Roxana's lack of feeling for her children, whom she palms off to relatives. The last part of the book is about the efforts of one of her daughters to get Roxana to admit she's her mother. Is this the first example in literature of a stalker? Roxana does eventually help her other surviving children, but this daughter is dealt with (the implication is she's murdered) by Roxana's maid and ally, Amy.
The relationship between Roxana and Amy is interesting. Early on in the story Roxana corrupts Amy (by getting her to sleep with one of her husbands). Is this because Roxana feels herself to be corrupt and wants to bring Amy down to her level? Then Amy is her go between and trusted companion. In the end Roxana drives Amy away (because Amy wants to kill her daughter and Roxana is revulsed) and Amy seems to have murdered the daughter anyway and then rejoined her.
The story ends very abruptly. In the very last paragraph, Roxana and her husband arrive in Holland in flourishing circumstances, then Roxana and Amy fall "into a dreadful course of calamities ... The blast of Heaven seemed to follow the injury done the poor girl by us both, and I was brought so low again that my repentance seemed to be only the consequence of my misery, as my misery was of my crime".
So it seems to me that Roxana contrasts with Robinson Crusoe. He is selfish and ambitious, but through sufferings and insight is reformed. She is wicked, and miserable, but her repentance is because of her misery - she lacks Robinson's insight.
Again, the story is told by the heroine. Roxana is wickeder than Moll, I think, because she's motivated by greed and vanity more than survival. But maybe it's understandable that after early poverty she wants the security of financial independence, and not to be dependent on someone else. Eventually she has affairs with princes, enormous wealth and a doting husband but it doesn't bring her happiness, as she has to lie about her earlier life and is terrified of being discovered.
I was shocked by Roxana's lack of feeling for her children, whom she palms off to relatives. The last part of the book is about the efforts of one of her daughters to get Roxana to admit she's her mother. Is this the first example in literature of a stalker? Roxana does eventually help her other surviving children, but this daughter is dealt with (the implication is she's murdered) by Roxana's maid and ally, Amy.
The relationship between Roxana and Amy is interesting. Early on in the story Roxana corrupts Amy (by getting her to sleep with one of her husbands). Is this because Roxana feels herself to be corrupt and wants to bring Amy down to her level? Then Amy is her go between and trusted companion. In the end Roxana drives Amy away (because Amy wants to kill her daughter and Roxana is revulsed) and Amy seems to have murdered the daughter anyway and then rejoined her.
The story ends very abruptly. In the very last paragraph, Roxana and her husband arrive in Holland in flourishing circumstances, then Roxana and Amy fall "into a dreadful course of calamities ... The blast of Heaven seemed to follow the injury done the poor girl by us both, and I was brought so low again that my repentance seemed to be only the consequence of my misery, as my misery was of my crime".
So it seems to me that Roxana contrasts with Robinson Crusoe. He is selfish and ambitious, but through sufferings and insight is reformed. She is wicked, and miserable, but her repentance is because of her misery - she lacks Robinson's insight.
18. Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe
Another book by Daniel Defoe - three of his are recommended in this collection. Moll Flanders was published in 1722.
Moll tells her own story which includes five marriages (including an incestuous marriage in America with her unrecognised brother), prostitution and 12 years as a successful thief. She escapes the death sentence and is transported to Virginia with one of her husbands (a highwayman) where they set up a plantation and make their fortune.
Moll's a survivor, and does whatever she has to do to escape poverty and maintain her independence. You can't help admiring her.
Moll tells her own story which includes five marriages (including an incestuous marriage in America with her unrecognised brother), prostitution and 12 years as a successful thief. She escapes the death sentence and is transported to Virginia with one of her husbands (a highwayman) where they set up a plantation and make their fortune.
Moll's a survivor, and does whatever she has to do to escape poverty and maintain her independence. You can't help admiring her.
17. Love In Excess by Eliza Haywood
I couldn't find Love in Excess in the Kindle Store, but I did find some other books by Eliza Haywood. I've downloaded The Fortunate Foundlings but haven't read it yet.
Post Script:
I've just finished The Fortunate Foundlings. It's a romance about the adventures of twin foundlings, left on the doorstep of a nobleman who becomes their guardian. The boy joins the army, is captured by the French, falls in love, is freed and joins the Swiss army, is captured by the Russians, is freed and returns to Paris. The girl runs away after her guardian falls in love with her, becomes a noblewoman's companion, falls in love, is pursued by a wicked nobleman, takes sanctuary in a convent, escapes, and walks to Paris looking for her lover. Their guardian finds them and reveals he is their natural father, they are reunited with their respective lovers, and marry.
This is a plot worthy of Mills and Boon. Eliza Haywood lived 1693 to 1756. In my favorite Regency romances, heroines are often found reading 'unsuitable' romances and I'm guessing they might well have been reading Eliza Haywood.
Post Script:
I've just finished The Fortunate Foundlings. It's a romance about the adventures of twin foundlings, left on the doorstep of a nobleman who becomes their guardian. The boy joins the army, is captured by the French, falls in love, is freed and joins the Swiss army, is captured by the Russians, is freed and returns to Paris. The girl runs away after her guardian falls in love with her, becomes a noblewoman's companion, falls in love, is pursued by a wicked nobleman, takes sanctuary in a convent, escapes, and walks to Paris looking for her lover. Their guardian finds them and reveals he is their natural father, they are reunited with their respective lovers, and marry.
This is a plot worthy of Mills and Boon. Eliza Haywood lived 1693 to 1756. In my favorite Regency romances, heroines are often found reading 'unsuitable' romances and I'm guessing they might well have been reading Eliza Haywood.
16. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
I thought I knew this story, but it's quite different from how I remembered. Robinson Crusoe is a selfish and ambitious young man who rejects the secure, mundane life offered by his family and goes off to make his fortune as a plantation owner in Brazil.
When he's shipwrecked, he starts to question why he alone was saved, and why he was able to rescue from the ship enough goods to survive. By degrees he starts to believe that God was giving him a chance to reform his life.
He rescues Friday from Caribbean cannibals, and then he and Friday rescue the captain of a ship whose crew has mutinied. They leave the mutineers on the island and sail home. He's able to sell his plantation for a fortune and rewards everyone who helped him. Later he revisits the island, now a thriving community. The story ends with the promise of a second part to the story and his further adventures.
So it's a story about how a man transforms himself through adversity, as well as a great yarn about survival.
When he's shipwrecked, he starts to question why he alone was saved, and why he was able to rescue from the ship enough goods to survive. By degrees he starts to believe that God was giving him a chance to reform his life.
He rescues Friday from Caribbean cannibals, and then he and Friday rescue the captain of a ship whose crew has mutinied. They leave the mutineers on the island and sail home. He's able to sell his plantation for a fortune and rewards everyone who helped him. Later he revisits the island, now a thriving community. The story ends with the promise of a second part to the story and his further adventures.
So it's a story about how a man transforms himself through adversity, as well as a great yarn about survival.
15. A Tale of a Tub by Jonathan Swift
Now we're up to the 1700's. Jonathan Swift (better known as the author of Gulliver's Travels) published this satire on religious propaganda in 1704. At the heart of the story is an allegory in which a father leaves his three sons a coat each, and forbids them to embellish the coats. The sons first twist their father's instructions and then ignore them completely, then two of the sons strip off all the decorations (one carefully, one recklessly). It's supposed to be an Calvinist allegory about how the Catholic Church needs to be reformed, but Swift is mocking Calvinism and religion in general, I think.
Monday, November 22, 2010
14. Oroonoko by Aphra Behn
Another novel I'd never heard of, this time by Aphra Behn (who apparently is a pin-up girl for modern lesbians). First published in 1688, it's set in West Africa (where Oroonoko is a noble warrior prince who loves Imoinda), and a colony in South America called Surinam (ah, I've just googled, it's a real country) where Oroonoko and Imoinda are slaves. Aphra Behn is supposed to have visited there, and certainly her descriptions sound authentic.
It ends tragically: Oroonoko is respected by Europeans but also betrayed by them, leads a slave rebellion, and ends up killing Imoinda rather than let her fall into the hands of their enemies. He is captured and horribly put to death.
Aphra's sympathies as narrator are all with Oroonoko, but she's helpless to intervene. I wonder what happened when Aphra visited Surinam herself.
It ends tragically: Oroonoko is respected by Europeans but also betrayed by them, leads a slave rebellion, and ends up killing Imoinda rather than let her fall into the hands of their enemies. He is captured and horribly put to death.
Aphra's sympathies as narrator are all with Oroonoko, but she's helpless to intervene. I wonder what happened when Aphra visited Surinam herself.
12. The Princess of Cleves
This romantic novel is by Marie-Madelaine Pioche de Lavergne, Comtesse de La Fayette. It was first published in 1678. The Princess of Cleves is married to the Prince of Cleves, who loves her but whom she doesn't love. She loves the Duc de Nemours and he loves her, but honour prevents her doing anything about it. Her husband believes she's betrayed him and dies of grief. The novel then ends quite abruptly - the Duc de Nemours gets over it, and she retires to a nunnery. I think.
I wish I knew more about French history. It was fascinating to read about the events of the time from this perspective, as the story spends quite a lot of time describing French politics. Some of the characters I recognised from other historical novels (Georgette Heyer, Dorothy Dunnett).
I wish I knew more about French history. It was fascinating to read about the events of the time from this perspective, as the story spends quite a lot of time describing French politics. Some of the characters I recognised from other historical novels (Georgette Heyer, Dorothy Dunnett).
Monday, November 15, 2010
11. The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan
Well, I have read Pilgrim's Progress before, but didn't remember much about it. The Slough of Despond stuck in my memory, possibly because I didn't know how to pronounce "slough" (like dough? like tough?)
Christian travels to the Celestial City, meeting various characters along the way. Some, like Evangelist and Faithful, help him; others hinder him and tempt him to stray from the straight and narrow way. I was a little shocked that Christian was willing to leave his wife and children behind, and am glad to know that in the second part (which I haven't read yet) they make the same journey.
Although the spiritual allegory is clear, Bunyan's ability to tell a story in simple, descriptive language makes Pilgrim's Progress worth reading even for an atheist like me.
The book was first published around 1678 to 1684, and possibly written while Bunyan was in prison for religious dissent.
Christian travels to the Celestial City, meeting various characters along the way. Some, like Evangelist and Faithful, help him; others hinder him and tempt him to stray from the straight and narrow way. I was a little shocked that Christian was willing to leave his wife and children behind, and am glad to know that in the second part (which I haven't read yet) they make the same journey.
Although the spiritual allegory is clear, Bunyan's ability to tell a story in simple, descriptive language makes Pilgrim's Progress worth reading even for an atheist like me.
The book was first published around 1678 to 1684, and possibly written while Bunyan was in prison for religious dissent.
10. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
I'd never read Don Quixote, and had only a vague idea of what it was about, probably based on the musical (which I'd also never seen). This book was published around 1605 to 1615.
Don Quixote has read too many books of chivalry, and sets out to be a knight-errant, much to his friends' concern. His imagination turns inns into castles and peasant girls into high-born ladies, a herd of pigs into an army and a copper basin into a helmet. The people he meets on his adventures are amused or angry by turns. Sancho Panza is his squire, and Sancho's down-to-earth sayings contrast with Don Quixote's romanticism. Finally he is defeated in a duel and the mysterious knight who conquers him tells him to give up knight errantry for a year. Heart broken, he dies shortly after coming home.
I was intrigued by how many phrases used in Don Quixote are still in use today, and wondered whether that was in the original, or a choice by the translator, or had come into use just because they were in the book.
Don Quixote has read too many books of chivalry, and sets out to be a knight-errant, much to his friends' concern. His imagination turns inns into castles and peasant girls into high-born ladies, a herd of pigs into an army and a copper basin into a helmet. The people he meets on his adventures are amused or angry by turns. Sancho Panza is his squire, and Sancho's down-to-earth sayings contrast with Don Quixote's romanticism. Finally he is defeated in a duel and the mysterious knight who conquers him tells him to give up knight errantry for a year. Heart broken, he dies shortly after coming home.
I was intrigued by how many phrases used in Don Quixote are still in use today, and wondered whether that was in the original, or a choice by the translator, or had come into use just because they were in the book.
9. The Unfortunate Traveller by Thomas Nashe
Book 9 was The Unfortunate Traveller by Thomas Nashe. Nashe was born in 1567 and received his B.A. from St John's College, Cambridge in 1586. He was strongly anti-Puritan.
On Kindle I found The Unfortunate Traveller in a collection of Nashe's works. It's very different from Rosalynd, being a tale of the adventures of Jack Wilton, an amoral young man in Henry VIII's army who makes his living by lying and cheating and is proud of his wit. Here's his graphic description of a battlefield:
"here unwieldy Switzers wallowing in their gore like an oxe in his dung; there the sprightly French sprawling and turning on the stained grass like a roach new taken out of the stream".
I wonder whether he's making fun of euphuism when he uses these "pastoral" similes?
On Kindle I found The Unfortunate Traveller in a collection of Nashe's works. It's very different from Rosalynd, being a tale of the adventures of Jack Wilton, an amoral young man in Henry VIII's army who makes his living by lying and cheating and is proud of his wit. Here's his graphic description of a battlefield:
"here unwieldy Switzers wallowing in their gore like an oxe in his dung; there the sprightly French sprawling and turning on the stained grass like a roach new taken out of the stream".
I wonder whether he's making fun of euphuism when he uses these "pastoral" similes?
8. Euphues: The Anatomy of Wit
Amazon couldn't find book 8, Euphues: The Anatomy of Wit by John Lyly (from which we get 'euphemism'). Based on the review in 1001 Books, I think I'm glad - it's described as "relentless in its display of verbal affectation". However, I did download Rosalynd, or Euphues' Golden Legacy, by Thomas Lodge, who was a contemporary of John Lyly. Here's a summary of the introduction.
Thomas Lodge was born around 1557, graduated from Trinity College, Oxford in 1577, and took up the law. He seems to have had an adventurous life, travelling to the Azores and the Canaries on a free booting expedition and later raiding the Spanish colonies of South America. He studied medicine, and died (supposedly of the plague) in 1625.
The plot of Rosalynd is based on a ballad written in the 14th century which can be found in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales as "The Coke's Tale of Gamelyn". Thomas Lodge turned it into a pastoral romance, describing a romantic view of the primitive simplicity of a shepherd's life. The style is "euphuistic", characterised by balanced phrases, alliteration, and similes taken from natural history.
Interestingly, Shakespeare used Rosalynd as one of his sources for the plot of "As You Like It", changing the plot only enough to make it suitable for the stage, but developing the characters and adding new ones.
Thomas Lodge was born around 1557, graduated from Trinity College, Oxford in 1577, and took up the law. He seems to have had an adventurous life, travelling to the Azores and the Canaries on a free booting expedition and later raiding the Spanish colonies of South America. He studied medicine, and died (supposedly of the plague) in 1625.
The plot of Rosalynd is based on a ballad written in the 14th century which can be found in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales as "The Coke's Tale of Gamelyn". Thomas Lodge turned it into a pastoral romance, describing a romantic view of the primitive simplicity of a shepherd's life. The style is "euphuistic", characterised by balanced phrases, alliteration, and similes taken from natural history.
Interestingly, Shakespeare used Rosalynd as one of his sources for the plot of "As You Like It", changing the plot only enough to make it suitable for the stage, but developing the characters and adding new ones.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio
While looking for Gargantua and Pantagruel I found the Decameron and downloaded it, although it's not one of the 1001 Books (and why not?) It was readable, but again poorly edited - footnotes, for instance, appearing in the middle of the text when it would have been easy to move them to where they are referred to.
I've read the Decameron before and enjoyed reading it again. Like Aesop's Fables and Metamorphoses and the Thousand and One Nights, it's a collection of stories - this time the context is that seven young women and three young men who escape the plague by moving to a country house and entertaining themselves telling stories. Through the stories they tell we get a sense of their characters and the relationships between them.
And again, while the stories are entertaining (and frequently made me smile as I read), this book is just as interesting for the insight it gives into life in 14th century Italy.
I've read the Decameron before and enjoyed reading it again. Like Aesop's Fables and Metamorphoses and the Thousand and One Nights, it's a collection of stories - this time the context is that seven young women and three young men who escape the plague by moving to a country house and entertaining themselves telling stories. Through the stories they tell we get a sense of their characters and the relationships between them.
And again, while the stories are entertaining (and frequently made me smile as I read), this book is just as interesting for the insight it gives into life in 14th century Italy.
7 Gargantua and Pantagruel by Francois Rabelais
I'd never read anything by Rabelais, but knew 'Rabelaisian' implied bawdy humour. This satirical French novel was published in 1532 and in several books tells the story of Gargantua, his son Pantagruel and Pantagruel's companion Panurge and their adventures and travels.
Rabelais makes fun of politics, education and religion. I enjoyed the stories about Pantagruel and Panurge best, where Panurge seeks advice of various oracles about whether he will marry happily or be a miserable cuckold.
Rabelais makes fun of politics, education and religion. I enjoyed the stories about Pantagruel and Panurge best, where Panurge seeks advice of various oracles about whether he will marry happily or be a miserable cuckold.
6 The Thousand and One Nights by Anonymous
I remember reading this wonderful collection of Arabic stories in high school. The local public library had the complete set in hard cover in several volumes and I think it was Richard Burton's translation, but can't remember. And of course many of the stories, like Aladdin and the Lamp, have been popularised for children in picture books.
There were several versions available for download on the Kindle, but frustratingly the most readable version was incomplete and some of the other versions were very poorly edited, so in the end I didn't re-read all ten volumes.
The stories themselves vary immensely, from short anecdotes to love stories to long and complicated histories and stories within stories. They are, on the whole, entertaining in their own right; and also give a useful insight into Middle Eastern culture.
There were several versions available for download on the Kindle, but frustratingly the most readable version was incomplete and some of the other versions were very poorly edited, so in the end I didn't re-read all ten volumes.
The stories themselves vary immensely, from short anecdotes to love stories to long and complicated histories and stories within stories. They are, on the whole, entertaining in their own right; and also give a useful insight into Middle Eastern culture.
3, 4, 5 The Golden Ass by Apuleius
Well, Amazon let me down for book number 3: Chaireas and Kallirhoe by Chariton, and book number 4: Aithiopika by Heliodorus. I couldn't find either when I searched on my Kindle.
Book number 5 is The Golden Ass by Lucius Apulieus. I read it a few weeks ago and only now have got round to reviewing it, so my memory's going to be unreliable.
Lucius is a Roman who is turned into an ass by accident and recounts his adventures, which are funny and often pornographic (did this help the story survive down the ages?) The story ends on a moral high note when Lucius is transformed back into a man and dedicates his life to the goddess Isis.
Book number 5 is The Golden Ass by Lucius Apulieus. I read it a few weeks ago and only now have got round to reviewing it, so my memory's going to be unreliable.
Lucius is a Roman who is turned into an ass by accident and recounts his adventures, which are funny and often pornographic (did this help the story survive down the ages?) The story ends on a moral high note when Lucius is transformed back into a man and dedicates his life to the goddess Isis.
Monday, July 12, 2010
2 Metamorphoses by Ovid
I bought two versions of this for the Kindle, because the first one I bought was hard going (archaic English, no explanations). The second version has a great introduction by the translator about Ovid, and then each of the 15 books that make up Metamorphoses also has a summary telling me what to watch out for.
Ovid is a Roman poet who lived around the time of Christ. He's collected a lot of stories from Greek and Roman mythology, all of them about metamorphosis (human to animal, human to tree, human to water, human to rock, human to god, man to woman, woman to man - you get the idea) and linked them together in one long poem. It made me think of someone telling jokes and saying 'if you think that's good, did you hear the one about ....?'.
He's a great story teller who uses subtle little details to make his characters individuals with real feelings.
Ovid is a Roman poet who lived around the time of Christ. He's collected a lot of stories from Greek and Roman mythology, all of them about metamorphosis (human to animal, human to tree, human to water, human to rock, human to god, man to woman, woman to man - you get the idea) and linked them together in one long poem. It made me think of someone telling jokes and saying 'if you think that's good, did you hear the one about ....?'.
He's a great story teller who uses subtle little details to make his characters individuals with real feelings.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
1 Aesop's Fables
The introduction, by GK Chesterton, says fables are stories where the main characters are animals. Each character is defined by its nature, for example, foxes are always sly and crows are always greedy. I'd read some of these fables as a child but didn't realise how many there were.
Each fable has a moral. I was surprised to discover how many of the morals from Aesop's Fables are still referred to today, without knowing the source: the goose that laid the golden egg; who is going to bell the cat; one swallow doesn't make a summer; honesty is the best policy; necessity is the mother of invention; don't count your chickens before they are hatched; the boy who cried wolf.
I'm fascinated that the fables and their morals are still referred to, and are still relevant, today - about 2000 years later. You could build a whole ethics course for kids around these fables
Friday, July 2, 2010
I love my Kindle
I love my Kindle
I bought an Amazon Kindle when I got home from the US last November because Pete was sitting next to an American lady on a plane who had one, and he thought I'd like one.
I love my Kindle and I carry it with me all the time. I love that I can lie in bed reading the book reviews in the weekend paper and buy the book they've recommended as an e-book from Amazon without getting out of bed! And it has been great to take away on holidays, for sitting in airports and on the plane and by the pool.
I can browse books by category, and I've found some new authors I love (Mary Doria Russell for one). I now have the complete works of Shakespeare, and Jane Austen, and all the Sherlock Holmes stories, on my Kindle.
So I have pretty much given up borrowing books from the library and buying print books. This has got to be bad for libraries and bookshops, but great for authors and publishers (because I can't lend books on my Kindle the way I used to lend or give away printed books).
However, there is a downside, which is that although Amazon offers over 300,000 e-books for Kindle, most of them are not books I want to read, and there are a lot of duplicates. So sometimes browsing is frustrating (but no more so than browsing in a bookshop and not finding anything I like).
1001 Books
Now, it happens that I have a (print) book published by the ABC called "1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die". I've decided to work my way through that, and see how many of those books are available for Kindle, and use this blog to keep track of my progress.
Measure for Measure
Before I tell you about the first book, here's a sidetrack. Pete and I are going to see 'Measure for Measure' at Company B on Sunday afternoon. I couldn't remember the plot, and thought I had better refresh my memory and give Pete a synopsis to help him follow the story.
I was able to find the play on my Kindle (and as a bonus, look up the definition of some of the words I didn't know). This is the story of Measure for Measure:
Duke Vincentio decides to take some time off and appoints Antonio to rule in his absence. His idea is that Antonio will enforce the law more strictly and bring people into line. The Duke disguises himself as a friar so he can observe what happens.
Antonio promptly arrests Claudio, who's got Julietta pregnant, and sentences him to death. Claudio's friends plead with Antonio for mercy, and Antonio says if he committed this crime he would expect to be executed, so it's only fair that Claudio should be executed.
Claudio asks his sister, Isabella, who's about to enter a nunnery, to plead with Antonio for Claudio's life. Antonio tells Isabella he will free Claudio if Isabella agrees to have sex with Antonio. Isabella refuses, but when she tells Claudio this (and that she's sure Claudio wouldn't expect her to sacrifice her honor for his life) Claudio begs her to save him.
The disguised Duke intervenes with a solution: Isabella will arrange to visit Antonio at night, but it will be Antonio's ex, Mariana, whom he dumped when she lost her dowry, who turns up disguised as Isabella.
Then the Duke returns. He asks if anyone has any grievances, and Isabella tells the Duke about Antonio's proposal. Antonio denies it, the Duke pretends to believe him, and Isabella is unable to produce the friar (the disguised Duke) as witness. Then the Duke leaves, and reappears as the friar, and reveals himself. Angelo admits his guilt, all is revealed, Claudio marries Julietta, Mariana pleads for Antonio's life, and the Duke proposes to Isabella.
As well as all this there's a subplot involving Mistress Overdone, who runs a brothel, and Pompey, her bawd, and Lucio, who claims to know the Duke well.
I'm really glad I've read the play beforehand, because the language is fairly hard to decipher. I hope it will all make sense on Sunday.
I bought an Amazon Kindle when I got home from the US last November because Pete was sitting next to an American lady on a plane who had one, and he thought I'd like one.
I love my Kindle and I carry it with me all the time. I love that I can lie in bed reading the book reviews in the weekend paper and buy the book they've recommended as an e-book from Amazon without getting out of bed! And it has been great to take away on holidays, for sitting in airports and on the plane and by the pool.
I can browse books by category, and I've found some new authors I love (Mary Doria Russell for one). I now have the complete works of Shakespeare, and Jane Austen, and all the Sherlock Holmes stories, on my Kindle.
So I have pretty much given up borrowing books from the library and buying print books. This has got to be bad for libraries and bookshops, but great for authors and publishers (because I can't lend books on my Kindle the way I used to lend or give away printed books).
However, there is a downside, which is that although Amazon offers over 300,000 e-books for Kindle, most of them are not books I want to read, and there are a lot of duplicates. So sometimes browsing is frustrating (but no more so than browsing in a bookshop and not finding anything I like).
1001 Books
Now, it happens that I have a (print) book published by the ABC called "1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die". I've decided to work my way through that, and see how many of those books are available for Kindle, and use this blog to keep track of my progress.
Measure for Measure
Before I tell you about the first book, here's a sidetrack. Pete and I are going to see 'Measure for Measure' at Company B on Sunday afternoon. I couldn't remember the plot, and thought I had better refresh my memory and give Pete a synopsis to help him follow the story.
I was able to find the play on my Kindle (and as a bonus, look up the definition of some of the words I didn't know). This is the story of Measure for Measure:
Duke Vincentio decides to take some time off and appoints Antonio to rule in his absence. His idea is that Antonio will enforce the law more strictly and bring people into line. The Duke disguises himself as a friar so he can observe what happens.
Antonio promptly arrests Claudio, who's got Julietta pregnant, and sentences him to death. Claudio's friends plead with Antonio for mercy, and Antonio says if he committed this crime he would expect to be executed, so it's only fair that Claudio should be executed.
Claudio asks his sister, Isabella, who's about to enter a nunnery, to plead with Antonio for Claudio's life. Antonio tells Isabella he will free Claudio if Isabella agrees to have sex with Antonio. Isabella refuses, but when she tells Claudio this (and that she's sure Claudio wouldn't expect her to sacrifice her honor for his life) Claudio begs her to save him.
The disguised Duke intervenes with a solution: Isabella will arrange to visit Antonio at night, but it will be Antonio's ex, Mariana, whom he dumped when she lost her dowry, who turns up disguised as Isabella.
Then the Duke returns. He asks if anyone has any grievances, and Isabella tells the Duke about Antonio's proposal. Antonio denies it, the Duke pretends to believe him, and Isabella is unable to produce the friar (the disguised Duke) as witness. Then the Duke leaves, and reappears as the friar, and reveals himself. Angelo admits his guilt, all is revealed, Claudio marries Julietta, Mariana pleads for Antonio's life, and the Duke proposes to Isabella.
As well as all this there's a subplot involving Mistress Overdone, who runs a brothel, and Pompey, her bawd, and Lucio, who claims to know the Duke well.
I'm really glad I've read the play beforehand, because the language is fairly hard to decipher. I hope it will all make sense on Sunday.
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