May 18, 2006 at 1:19 pm · Filed under Non-fiction
The weather’s been pretty miserable the past week or so; a few short periods of sunshine interrupted by ominous clouds, drizzling rain, thunderstorms, and even hail. Last night’s thunderstorm seems to have imbued the light in my roommate’s closet (a light bulb with a chain to pull it on and off) with static electricity. Touching the chain sends a tingling shock throughout one’s body. We must now wrap a hand in cloth to turn the light on and off. Hopefully this condition will not persist.
I’ve just finished reading ‘The Life and Death of Socrates’ (containing Euthyphro, the Apology, Crito, and the death scene from ‘Phaedo’) for a political theory course. For some reason, I expected Plato to be much more complicated and difficult to interpret than I found him to be. I don’t know if the excerpts I’ve read have just been from old or poor translations, or if his other writing is harder, but I guess I’ll find out - I’m starting the ‘Republic’ today.
Tags: Plato
May 12, 2006 at 12:56 am · Filed under Book Reviews, Fiction and Literature
The Charioteer by Mary Renault
My re-read of Mary Renault’s The Charioteer has confirmed it as one of my favourite books, despite the fact that there are several things I don’t really like about it.
I’ve come to realize that I like The Charioteer more for its brilliant prose, its handful of likable characters, and certain specific scenes than for its actual plot. Alec’s party, from the moment Laurie arrives until the appearance of Andrew back at the hospital may be my favourite scene from any book I’ve read. It’s certainly in the top five.
I ordered some books from bookcloseouts.com tonight. They really do have fabulous prices, both at their St. Catharines, Ontario warehouse and online. I got, among other things, a new paperback copy of The Friendly Young Ladies, which seems to be out of print in Canada, for only US$4.99. Which is nice, considering how hard Renault is to find used–partly because she is usually mistakenly shelved in the Ancient History section.
Tags: Mary Renault
