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Much like some people prefer Alien to the sequel Aliens, I've always thought Brave New World was better than Brave New Worlds.I've finally started reading Brave New Worlds, by Huxley, Something I've been meaning to do for 15 years now.
I actually got a book with both Brave New World and Brave New World Revisited.Much like some people prefer Alien to the sequel Aliens, I've always thought Brave New World was better than Brave New Worlds.
"The soul of wit may become the very body of untruth." --Aldous HuxleyI actually got a book with both Brave New World and Brave New World Revisited.
Finished my binge-read of The Boys. All 72 issues. It was well-done, but now that I'm finished with it, I'm ready to read something bright, cheerful, and hopeful.... open to suggestions.
Rex Stout's novels are great fun. Archie and Nero are such a terrific matched set of leads. (The television adaptation with Timothy Hutton and Maury Chaykin was very well done, too, I think by A&E.)Next up on deck is Rex Stout's Fer-de-Lance, the first of his Nero Wolfe mysteries.
I plan to do the same once I finish two more (non-fiction) books!Taking a bit of a break from reading non-fiction for the moment.
I loved the A&E series when it was on. It will be hard for me to not visualize Archie and Wolfe as Hutton and Chaykin when I start reading it.Rex Stout's novels are great fun. Archie and Nero are such a terrific matched set of leads. (The television adaptation with Timothy Hutton and Maury Chaykin was very well done, too, I think by A&E.)
Watching one while folding laundry on a rainy day. Great sets, great costumes, great scripts, great acting, great jazzy music, and lots of verve, there's nothing I didn't enjoy about it except that they only made two seasons. Best thing ever on A&E. I read the books before seeing the series and as far as I'm concerned Hutton's breezy Archie Goodwin and Chaykin's cantankerous Wolfe were perfect.I loved the A&E series when it was on. It will be hard for me to not visualize Archie and Wolfe as Hutton and Chaykin when I start reading it.
I wouldn't have passed it,either!I have a backlog of historical non-fiction I still need to go through, but for $3 I couldn't pass up picking up a copy of this:
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A good companion to The Iliad is What Homer Didn't Tell (untitled in the original and called such now for convenience) by Quintus of Smyrna, which picks up the rest of the story, since at the end of The Iliad Achilles is still standing and Troy hasn't fallen to the wooden horse ruse. It tells what happens to Achilles, the Queen of the Amazons, and the King of Ethiopia, and about the funeral games held in honor of Achilles, the victory of Odysseus in his contest with Aias, the death of Paris, the trick with the wooden horse, and the capture of Troy.View attachment 14165
The last time that I read this was in High School, and I had forgotten how good the story was. Translated by Martin Hammond.
In my opinion the best translations of the Iliad and the Odyssey are those by Stephen Mitchell. He's quite accurate to the content of the Greek, especially in retaining its coarse violence, while still having readable English prose. Fagles is another good translator, being more accurate to the poetry of the original. For me though he doesn't have the aggressiveness needed, but it's a very close toss up between Fagles and Mitchell.Very nice. I haven't seen that before. I'll have to look at that after I finish the Odyssey. I havent read anything on ancient Greece in ages, and it has recently caught my attention.
In my opinion the best translations of the Iliad and the Odyssey are those by Stephen Mitchell. He's quite accurate to the content of the Greek, especially in retaining its coarse violence, while still having readable English prose. Fagles is another good translator, being more accurate to the poetry of the original. For me though he doesn't have the aggressiveness needed, but it's a very close toss up between Fagles and Mitchell.
Here are the opening sections from Hammond, then the classic English translation (Lattimore) and the two major modern ones (Fagles, Mitchell):Ok, good to know. I'll have to see if my library has one these two in their stacks. I haven't gotten too far into my current read, so it might be worth having a look for them.
Hammond said:Sing, goddess, the anger of Achilles, son of Peleus, the accursed anger that brought uncounted anguish on the Achaians and hurled down to Hades many mighty souls of heroes, making their bodies the prey to dogs and the birds' feasting, and this was the working of Zeus' will.
Lattimore said:Sing, goddess, the anger of Peleus' son Achilles and its devastation, which put pains thousand-fold upon the Achaians, hurled in their multitudes to the house of Hades strong souls of heroes, but gave their bodies to be the delicate feasting of dogs, of all birds, and the will of Zeus was accomplished
Fagles said:Rage—Goddess, sing the rage of Peleus' son Achilles,
murderous, doomed, that cost the Achaeans countless losses,
hurling down to the House of Death so many sturdy souls,
great fighters' souls, but made their bodies carrion,
feasts for the dogs and birds,
and the will of Zeus was moving toward its end
Mitchell said:The rage of Achilles—sing it now, goddess, sing through me
the deadly rage that caused the Achaeans such grief
and hurled down to Hades the souls of so many fighters,
leaving their naked flesh to be eaten by dogs
and carrion birds, as the will of Zeus was accomplished.