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I’m not reading this in public because I periodically burst out into uproarious laughter…

I wonder if I will get more out of Shakespeare’s “histories” after reading this, though there’s a bit of a chicken and egg problem, as I suspect lots of these yarns’ more colorful speeches may be more closely inspired by the plays than by more strictly historical references…

What it says on the tin. Funny, opinionated (not always my own opinions; it is very harsh on Eleanor of Aquitaine, without giving any reason other than to call her a bad woman), full of fairy stories as well as historical yarns, and very readable.

This is Bryant’s translation in blank verse, and I am loving it so far. I don’t remember which translation I read years ago but also loved, and it may be this one. The blank verse gives it rhythm and formality and the language itself seems intimate and welcoming. I guess I won’t know for certain until I get far enough to see whether and how it raves about the mighty thews of Odysseus.

My favorite of the Brontë sisters’ novels so far. I am partway through Helen’s journal describing her experiences, and they are rotten to be sure, but also distressingly normal, I would guess. I await learning how she achieved independence and the beginnings of friendship, and how everyone ends the narrative.

Only just started and not remotely what I was expecting! Keenly observed and humane about everyone so far. Perhaps my opinion will drop when I reach the explicit content for which this is famous, but at the moment I am wondering why I haven’t been urged to read this by everyone. As wry and ironical as Edith Wharton but rather kinder to the characters so far…