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What I Finished Reading This Week
Beowulf – Maria Dahvana Headley
Headley’s mix of modern slang and typical fantasy genre language works surprisingly well, with the result that I engaged far more with this version of Beowulf as a story than I have with other translations. Headley uses plenty of alliteration and other devices from the original, but to my mind this version is the spiritual successor to Toby Barlow’s Sharp Teeth (one of my favorite books and highly recommended to anyone interested in a free verse epic about werewolves in Los Angeles). That said, I wonder how much of a shelf-life the book has, given how quickly colloquial language changes in the Internet era; the introduction’s indirect references to the lame duck president and covid-19—among others—are also likely to resonate less with future readers. Finally, I would also love to know whether this is a bona fide translation or an adaptation, even though the answer to this doesn’t have any bearing on my considerable enjoyment of this book.
The World of the Shining Prince – Ivan Morris
Another seasonal reread. Morris’s mid-20th century cultural biases are often on display (even the new-to-me-in-this-edition Introduction by one of Morris’s students, written expressly to explain that yeah, Morris’s attitudes toward women may look dated now (i.e., 1994) but were pretty progressive for 1964—is rife with outdated views on gender). I personally find this quite heartening; it shows how far the needle's moved that once-unfamiliar progressive views now seem uncontroversial, even somewhat quaint.
And overall, the book holds up remarkably well despite the dated elements, all of which are easy enough to spot for what they are and disregard while reading. Morris’s prose is crisp and engaging, his enthusiasm for The Tale of Genji and other period writings infectious, and the wealth of historical information really useful to have in a single volume.
The Fellowship of the Ring – JRR Tolkien
I first read The Lord of the Rings between the ages of 9 and 10, and it would be hard to overstate its level of influence on me in a host of areas. There's the lifelong love for fantasy, obviously, but at least some of my serial acquisition of foreign languages is probably an attempt to duplicate the experience of reading Tolkien as a nine-year-old, i.e. banging my head against a text that's far too difficult for me tackle until comprehension emerges. This is a book that every time I reread it: Yup, learned that word here. This one too. Remember asking mes parents what this one meant... To say nothing of the fact that I also remember where I was while reading it, what music was playing in the background, conversations other people were having, and so on. Not a lot of memories have a similar level of vividness.
I also vividly remember my reactions to much of it: complete betrayal that Bilbo had actually left Hobbiton, that he wasn't going on another adventure with Frodo; that no one burned down Old Man Willow; that Sam didn't just ask the Elves for rope at Rivendell; that Bilbo reunited with Frodo and then begged off the adventure again; that Gandalf met this doom (and this even as Gandalf--like pretty much every other arrogant Wise Male Authority Figure--irritated the crap out of me).
Plus, many of my favorite scenes in the entire trilogy are in this volume: the Old Forest (to which Naomi Novik’s Uprooted owes a massive debt of inspiration), the Barrow Downs, meeting Strider at the Prancing Pony, the Mines of Moria, Argonath. Reading it this time has been bittersweet, too; as much as I enjoy the Peter Jackson movies, Mortensen, Bean, and Bloom have overwritten the mental images I'd had in my head of Strider, Boromir, and Legolas for decades. Ah well. It's still been a great reread.
What I Am Currently Reading
[Title] – [Author]
For reasons.
Mongolia – Michael Dillon
Still trucking.
Milk, Sulfate, and Abby Starvation – Martin Millar
I generally read a Millar every year around New Year’s; this is this year’s selection.
Rat Queens vol. 6 – Kurtis Wiebe, Owen Gieni, & Ryan Ferrier
So far, so good. Thankfully, the plot is much easier to follow in this volume than its predecessor.
The Bass Rock – Evie Wyld
Creepily well-written when I pick it up, but for whatever reason I find it difficult to do just that.
欲しがりな君と不束な僕 – 直野儚羅 (Hoshigarina Kimi to Futsutsuna Boku – Naona Bohra)
I plan to read the Edo period stories in this volume alongside Naono’s related doujinshi Toki to Koku and Asa to Yoru.
片づける 禅の作法 – 枡野俊明 (Katazukeru Zen no Sahou – Makino Shunmyo)
Makino shares Kondo Marie's tendency to anthropomorphize inanimate objects, which is not everyone's cup of tea but totally fine in my book. I like his emphasis on repairing and repurposing possessions instead of discarding them, although readers’ mileage may vary depending on their motivation or capability to repair things, or tendency to hoard them to use or fix “soon.”
What I'm Reading Next
Aside from Headley’s Beowulf. I picked up Stephen Fry’s Mythos for Thingsgiving.
これで以上です。
Beowulf – Maria Dahvana Headley
Headley’s mix of modern slang and typical fantasy genre language works surprisingly well, with the result that I engaged far more with this version of Beowulf as a story than I have with other translations. Headley uses plenty of alliteration and other devices from the original, but to my mind this version is the spiritual successor to Toby Barlow’s Sharp Teeth (one of my favorite books and highly recommended to anyone interested in a free verse epic about werewolves in Los Angeles). That said, I wonder how much of a shelf-life the book has, given how quickly colloquial language changes in the Internet era; the introduction’s indirect references to the lame duck president and covid-19—among others—are also likely to resonate less with future readers. Finally, I would also love to know whether this is a bona fide translation or an adaptation, even though the answer to this doesn’t have any bearing on my considerable enjoyment of this book.
The World of the Shining Prince – Ivan Morris
Another seasonal reread. Morris’s mid-20th century cultural biases are often on display (even the new-to-me-in-this-edition Introduction by one of Morris’s students, written expressly to explain that yeah, Morris’s attitudes toward women may look dated now (i.e., 1994) but were pretty progressive for 1964—is rife with outdated views on gender). I personally find this quite heartening; it shows how far the needle's moved that once-unfamiliar progressive views now seem uncontroversial, even somewhat quaint.
And overall, the book holds up remarkably well despite the dated elements, all of which are easy enough to spot for what they are and disregard while reading. Morris’s prose is crisp and engaging, his enthusiasm for The Tale of Genji and other period writings infectious, and the wealth of historical information really useful to have in a single volume.
The Fellowship of the Ring – JRR Tolkien
I first read The Lord of the Rings between the ages of 9 and 10, and it would be hard to overstate its level of influence on me in a host of areas. There's the lifelong love for fantasy, obviously, but at least some of my serial acquisition of foreign languages is probably an attempt to duplicate the experience of reading Tolkien as a nine-year-old, i.e. banging my head against a text that's far too difficult for me tackle until comprehension emerges. This is a book that every time I reread it: Yup, learned that word here. This one too. Remember asking mes parents what this one meant... To say nothing of the fact that I also remember where I was while reading it, what music was playing in the background, conversations other people were having, and so on. Not a lot of memories have a similar level of vividness.
I also vividly remember my reactions to much of it: complete betrayal that Bilbo had actually left Hobbiton, that he wasn't going on another adventure with Frodo; that no one burned down Old Man Willow; that Sam didn't just ask the Elves for rope at Rivendell; that Bilbo reunited with Frodo and then begged off the adventure again; that Gandalf met this doom (and this even as Gandalf--like pretty much every other arrogant Wise Male Authority Figure--irritated the crap out of me).
Plus, many of my favorite scenes in the entire trilogy are in this volume: the Old Forest (to which Naomi Novik’s Uprooted owes a massive debt of inspiration), the Barrow Downs, meeting Strider at the Prancing Pony, the Mines of Moria, Argonath. Reading it this time has been bittersweet, too; as much as I enjoy the Peter Jackson movies, Mortensen, Bean, and Bloom have overwritten the mental images I'd had in my head of Strider, Boromir, and Legolas for decades. Ah well. It's still been a great reread.
What I Am Currently Reading
[Title] – [Author]
For reasons.
Mongolia – Michael Dillon
Still trucking.
Milk, Sulfate, and Abby Starvation – Martin Millar
I generally read a Millar every year around New Year’s; this is this year’s selection.
Rat Queens vol. 6 – Kurtis Wiebe, Owen Gieni, & Ryan Ferrier
So far, so good. Thankfully, the plot is much easier to follow in this volume than its predecessor.
The Bass Rock – Evie Wyld
Creepily well-written when I pick it up, but for whatever reason I find it difficult to do just that.
欲しがりな君と不束な僕 – 直野儚羅 (Hoshigarina Kimi to Futsutsuna Boku – Naona Bohra)
I plan to read the Edo period stories in this volume alongside Naono’s related doujinshi Toki to Koku and Asa to Yoru.
片づける 禅の作法 – 枡野俊明 (Katazukeru Zen no Sahou – Makino Shunmyo)
Makino shares Kondo Marie's tendency to anthropomorphize inanimate objects, which is not everyone's cup of tea but totally fine in my book. I like his emphasis on repairing and repurposing possessions instead of discarding them, although readers’ mileage may vary depending on their motivation or capability to repair things, or tendency to hoard them to use or fix “soon.”
What I'm Reading Next
Aside from Headley’s Beowulf. I picked up Stephen Fry’s Mythos for Thingsgiving.
これで以上です。
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