The Logophile > Recent Status Updates

I started reading this book because i heard so many good things about it. Normally, I don't write things on here until I finish the book, but I have to ask since I'm in chapter 9..... At what point does it get good? Because so far, I think it's pretty awful.

I read this book in order to gain a better understanding of Jewish history in the hopes of getting an educated background of the current genocide happening in Gaza. While there are a great deal of good things to say (the author is obviously very educated & informed) I feel like the book is all over the place. It's kind of in chronological order, but it skips over so much that I'm not sure that's a fair assessment.

Alfonso X is an incredibly interesting man, but the way in which this book was laid out was terrible. So much so that I tired of reading it. Had the author just written about the subject in chronological order it would've been a much more enjoyable experience but breaking his life story up into categories (Lovers, Healers, Friendship, etc.) it became a mumbled bore.