50bookchallenge, 15000pages
Jul. 16th, 2005 01:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gwynhefarBook #14 -- Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, 279 pages
I've been reading this book bit by bit for the better part of a year. This is one of those books whose every paragraph merits a good hour's worth of contemplation. Dillard takes her experiences of nature in the mountains of Virginia and extrapolates from them a fascinating philosophy of life. She has a tendency to dwell on the more unpleasant aspects of nature -- the book abounds with vivid descriptions of parasitic insects and predatory impulses. But for me this made it all the more fascinating because Dillard is able to find a beauty in the most disturbing and mundane aspects of nature. This is a wonderful book, and one I'm sure I'll reread many times.
Book #15 -- Susanna Clarke, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, 782 pages
This is another book I've been working on for several months, but it was definitely worth it. It is an Alternate Universe Napoleonic England, in which magic, once one of England's strengths and a respectable profession, has largely fallen into disuse and many of its methods lost. The book tells the story of two magicians determined to bring English magic back to its former glory. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell are two very different types of magicians, often taking positions against one another, but always under the shadow of the mysterious figure of the Raven King -- England's greatest magician and the absent King of Northern England. I *loved* this book, and although I was somewhat disappointed that the ending left you with almost more questions than answers, I don't really see how it could have ended any other way.
Book #16 -- Herodotus, An Account of Egypt, 90 pages
Herodotus is one of those historians who is actually fun to read, and his account of the geography, history, mythology, and politics of the land of Egypt is fascinating. Herodotus was writing in the 5th century BCE, so his work has the added attraction of offering a rare contemporary account of the culture of the ancient Mediterranean area, including an alternate version of the Trojan War.
Progress toward goals:
16/50 = 32%
4252/15000 = 28.3%
crossposted to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
50bookchallenge, 15000pages, and ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
gwynraven
I've been reading this book bit by bit for the better part of a year. This is one of those books whose every paragraph merits a good hour's worth of contemplation. Dillard takes her experiences of nature in the mountains of Virginia and extrapolates from them a fascinating philosophy of life. She has a tendency to dwell on the more unpleasant aspects of nature -- the book abounds with vivid descriptions of parasitic insects and predatory impulses. But for me this made it all the more fascinating because Dillard is able to find a beauty in the most disturbing and mundane aspects of nature. This is a wonderful book, and one I'm sure I'll reread many times.
Book #15 -- Susanna Clarke, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, 782 pages
This is another book I've been working on for several months, but it was definitely worth it. It is an Alternate Universe Napoleonic England, in which magic, once one of England's strengths and a respectable profession, has largely fallen into disuse and many of its methods lost. The book tells the story of two magicians determined to bring English magic back to its former glory. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell are two very different types of magicians, often taking positions against one another, but always under the shadow of the mysterious figure of the Raven King -- England's greatest magician and the absent King of Northern England. I *loved* this book, and although I was somewhat disappointed that the ending left you with almost more questions than answers, I don't really see how it could have ended any other way.
Book #16 -- Herodotus, An Account of Egypt, 90 pages
Herodotus is one of those historians who is actually fun to read, and his account of the geography, history, mythology, and politics of the land of Egypt is fascinating. Herodotus was writing in the 5th century BCE, so his work has the added attraction of offering a rare contemporary account of the culture of the ancient Mediterranean area, including an alternate version of the Trojan War.
Progress toward goals:
16/50 = 32%
4252/15000 = 28.3%
crossposted to
50bookchallenge, 15000pages, and gwynraven
