Today’s prompt from Long and Short Book Reviews is, “Books I Keep Meaning to Read But Haven’t”. But first, WWW Wednesday.
WHAT have you finished reading recently? The Great Deluge, a quasi-history of Hurricane Katrina and the devastation of New Orleans. I say quasi- because it was written within a year of the storm striking, and the author obviously has targets to attack. I also finished listening to Anthony Esolen’s four-hour lecture series on The Inferno, which originated within Catholic Courses but which is now available on Audible. While it’s not a book, it’s literature related so I figured it bore mentioning. While I’ve read Esolen’s translations of Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso before, this lecture added the pleasure of Esolen quoting from the book in medieval Italian when he wanted us to hear the music in Dante’s writing.
WHAT are you reading now? I’m….sort of listening to Napoleon’s Hemorrhoids, a collection of “Golly gee, if it wasn’t for this one little thing, then this one BIG thing would be like, totally different!!!!” anecodotes that encompass science, history, politics, etc. It’s interesting as far as trivia goes, but not impressive. That’s just in-car listening, though. I also cracked open SQPR by Mary Beard.
WHAT are you reading next? Hopefully The Day of Battle, on WW2 in Sicily and Italy after OPERATION HUSKY.
Long and Short Prompt: Books We Keep Meaning to Read
(1) Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville. This is a book that frequently comes up in other stuff I read. I would also like to make good Iran’s president Khatami’s faith that Americans are familiar with it:
(2) The Shahnameh, which I’ve wanted to experience since encountering quotes from it in the writings of Anita Amirrezvani’s Persian historical fiction.
(3) Persian Gulf Command: A History of the Second World War in Iran and Iraq, Ashley Jackson. The beginning of DC’s long entanglement.
(4) SQPR, Mary Beard. A history of Rome up until the early Republic. Haven’t tried Beard out as an author and I’ve heard good things. I did pick this one up yesterday to start looking into.
(5) The Story of Philosophy, Will Durant. Durant’s magisterial Story of Civilization remains one of my favorite reads of the last twenty years, so I want to see what he has to say about the pursuit of wisdom.
(6) The Life We’re Looking For: Reclaiming Relationship in a Technological World, Andy Crouch.
(7) Tarkin, James Luceno. This is a Star Wars novel about Grand Moff Tarkin, once brilliantly played by Peter Cushing in Star Wars.
(8) The Horse, the Wheel, and Language: How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World, David W. Anthony. I’ve had this on my amazon wishlist for twenty years and it’s never once dipped under $20.
(9) Neither Here Nor There: Travels in Europe, Bill Bryson. The rare BB title I’ve not yet read.
(10) The Sopranos Sessions, Matt Seitz. A rare Sopranos book I’ve not red.
Reading Freely 
The Sopranos Sessions would be an interesting read. I enjoy a good “behind the scenes” type book.
At this point my fear is that it wouldn’t add to what I know after reading “Woke Up This Morning”!
I remember intending to read Democracy in America when I was like 14 or so, but I didn’t get around to it. Perhaps if I were to acquire the handsome Library of America edition, I’d have no more excuses. 😆
Fourteen? Ambitious!
I love visiting your blog, Stephen, because you always feature such interesting books. The Great Deluge might be one for me. The Story of Philosophy also sounds wonderful. Thanks for sharing and for visiting my blog today.
I’d like to read “The Great Deluge” and “Neither Here nor There.” I read Tocqueville in English a few years ago. He’s sort of annoying because he never had an English teacher telling him to specify his generalizations…I think his audience thought the generalizations were the goal and WANTED to skip the specific facts.
PK
I have wanted read Tarkin. Great list.