The Acharnians, The Clouds, Lysistrata
Aristophanes
translated from the Ancient Greek by Alan H. Sommerstein
Comedy does not translate nearly as well as tragedy, as what is funny in a given culture seems to vary rather wildly, whereas certain situations that provoke sadness are more universal. Also, wordplay and punning in Ancient Greek is obviously not going to work well for English. This was an interesting read, but not particularly amusing. Sommerstein's use of the Scottish dialect for the Spartans made very little sense to this American reader, and just added an impediment to my understanding.

Timon of Athens
William Shakespeare
Timon is both an uncritical prodigal and a misanthrope who comes to a bad end. Apemanthus, the churlish philosopher, is quite funny. This undramatic satire is not considered Shakespeare's best, but has its own charm nonetheless, and some quite accurate commentary on human society. Frederick D. Losey, the Shakespearean scholar who introduces the plays in my edition, does not like Timon at all, and cannot sympathize with him. But I find Timon quite cute, and something of a child, though I agree with Losey as far as comparisons between Timon and Lear. Timon is no Lear.

Macbeth
William Shakespeare
This short play is stunning.

The Body Emblazoned
Jonathan Sawday
A look at the advent of human dissection in the early modern period, and how an understanding of the human body effected the rest of culture and thought.

Art and Architecture Venice
Marion Kaminski
translated from the German by Mark Cole and Eithne McCarthy
A helpful reference to familiarize one's self with the major paintings and buildings in Venice, also deals with some sculpture and mosaics. Gives some floor plans of major buildings, biographies of the major visual artists of Venice, historical information, and a glossary of art and architecture terms. The many color photographs are quite good for orientation, though they are small in size as the book is only 16 x 14.5 x 3 cm. The colors are good though, fairly accurate. The translation is adequate, though at times it is clear that one is reading a translation, a particular turn of phrase might have been perfectly good academic German, but sounds oddly rendered in English. The quality of the editing is certainly not fantastic, as I found a part of the timeline of Venice still in German and there were various typographical errors in the rest of the text. One is comes to expect such things from our good friends at Barnes and Noble, the American publisher of this text.

The Drowned and the Saved
Primo Levi
translated from the Italian by Raymond Rosenthal
A lucid meditation on the Holocaust, Levi's last completed work before his death in 1987.

Across the River and into the Trees
Ernest Hemingway
Hemingway's appreciation of Venice is clear. The tedium of Cantwell's objectification of Renata, having her turn her head just so as if she were an artwork rather than a person, was tiresome. But there are references to Shakespeare and Titian, so it's not so terrible. This printing, published by Arrow Books in 1994, was also badly edited, as there was a typographical error in the text and a misspelling of Cantwell's name as "Cantrell" two times on the back cover.

Othello
William Shakespeare
So much can happen in the span of three days.

Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies
Jared Diamond
Definitely an intriguing sort of read, both self-consciously antiracist and scientific as possible. The writing is quite plain and nonacademic in tone. I was far more drawn to Parts Two and Three of this book, which dealt with food production and pathogens. The treatment of writing systems was fairly solid, as was the treatment of language expansion, though both were rather simplified, inevitable with a book this general. Included in this book are two sets of plates depicting various people that are being held up as exemplars of the various areas discussed, which I find vaguely disquieting.

Dubliners: Text, Notes, and Criticism
James Joyce
edited by Robert Scholes and A. Walton Litz
A useful edition from the Viking Critical Library, the notes on the stories are not marked in the text so that it flows well. These notes are not extensive, but do give a bit of history on the various stories, as well as explain specific allusions. Another useful inclusion is Joyce's correspondence dealing with Dubliners, mostly letters between the author and Grant Richards, the London publisher. The criticism included is also quite serviceable, most of it deals with "The Dead," as this is most written about. Bruce Avery's essay entitled "Distant Music: Sound and the Dialogics of Satire in 'The Dead'" was of particular interest. Jane E. Miller's feminist reanalysis of "A Mother" was also convincing.

The Torah: The Five Books of Moses
translated from the Hebrew (Masoretic text) by Harry M. Orlinsky, H.L. Ginsberg, and Ephraim A. Speiser
This new translation lacks prettiness and is disjointed, the register at times rings unassured, but it is said that this captures the original text better. The language used is not ostentatious, making it quite easy to read. Footnotes are included, but are not extensive, usually they simply indicate that the original Hebrew meaning is unclear.

The New Testament
translated from the Ancient Greek by Richmond Lattimore
Lattimore's translation is masterful and utterly elegant.

The Bumper Book of Operatic Disasters
Hugh Vickers
These droll little stories are quite silly. Rather astonishing that such a serious art form can go so very awry in so many different ways.

The Arabian Nights II, Sindbad and Other Popular Stories
translated from the Arabic (Bulaq and Galland versions) by Husain Haddawy
Four very popular stories, including Sinbad the Sailor, 'Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves, 'Ala al Din, and Qamar al-Zaman. The translation is clear in tone, not overwrought in the least.

Measure for Measure
William Shakespeare
It is clear that Shakespeare is weary of the comedic form at this point. Still, of note, since the Mariana of Tennyson's poems is the one here. She is the only one that is not selfish in the entire play.

The Cult of the Virgin Mary
Michael P. Carroll
A look at Marian worship from a Freudian perspective. I remain unconvinced, but this was simple to read.

A History of Venice
John Julius Norwich
Engaging and intelligent. Norwich occasionally reveals his love for culture, especially architecture through a few well-placed anecedotes.

Class: A Guide Through the American Status System
Paul Fussell
A very funny look at class in the United States. Nary a reference to race, though.

Why We Can't Wait
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Brilliant. Much has changed since 1963, but not enough.

Alcestis
Euripides
translated from the Ancient Greek by Richmond Lattimore

The Heracleidae
Euripides
translated from the Ancient Greek by Ralph Gladstone

Hippolytus
Euripides
translated from the Ancient Greek by David Grene
The plot to this is basically the same as the Joseph and Potiphar's wife story from Genesis 39:7-23.

Coriolanus
William Shakespeare
Caius Martius is highly unlikeable.

The Cyclops
Euripides
translated from the Ancient Greek by William Arrowsmith
The only surviving complete satyr play.

The Fig Eater
Jody Shields
Suspenseful, but the ending is slightly ridiculous. The Viennese, whether Austrian, Hungarian, or Roma, are drawn unsentimentally. Color description is used deftly throughout. Mostly, I enjoyed this because figs were involved.

When In Germany, Do as the Germans Do
Hyde Flippo
This book has some useful information, but unsurprisingly, it is clearly written with the white American in mind. These two lines particularly gave me pause:

Learn to adjust to them, rather than expecting them to adjust to you. If you react with indignation or anger, even privately, then you are displaying a profound lack of understanding of the culture in which you're trying to function.

I have no business trying to live in Germany, apparently. Germans have every right, I suppose, to ask me embarrassing personal questions they would never ask other Germans, or white Americans for that matter. Clearly, it is I that has a problem. Being treated less than human on a daily basis, and I have no right to be angry.

The History of Forgetting: Los Angeles and the Erasure of Memory
Norman M. Klein

The Details of Time: Conversations with Ernst Juenger
Julian Hervier
translated from the French by Joachim Neugroschel

Vermeer: Veiled Emotions
Norbert Schneider
translated from the German by Fiona Hulse

Cymbeline
William Shakespeare
I've been told that this is Shakespeare's worst play, an assessment I cannot agree with. Imogen is one of the more powerful heroines in his work, she is human, not a Desdemona or Juliet.

The First, Second, and Third Parts of Henry the Sixth
William Shakespeare
This sequence is more integrated than any of the other histories.

The Tragedy of King Richard the Third
William Shakespeare
The strongest play of the first tetralogy, because of the strong protagonist we have in Richard, evil as he is.

The Life and Death of King John
William Shakespeare
The problem with John is that he isn't strong. He's neither good (Henry VI), nor evil (Richard III). He's isn't even really as interesting as Richard II, who was a bad king, but sort of silly and foppish, and almost likeable. The Bastard was probably the most charming character, I find it interesting that despite his irreverence, he proves more loyal than many others.

The Life of King Henry the Eighth
William Shakespeare

Titus Andronicus
William Shakespeare

Antony and Cleopatra
William Shakespeare

The Merry Wives of Windsor
William Shakespeare

The Complete Major Prose Plays: Pillars of Society, A Doll House, Ghosts, An Enemy of the People, The Wild Duck, Rosmersholm, The Lady from the Sea, Hedda Gabbler, The Master Builder, Little Eyolf, John Gabriel Borkman, When We Dead Awaken
Henrik Ibsen
translated from the Norwegian by Rolf Fjelde
The typesetting was poor, many letters and sometimes whole words were missing. There were also misspellings. The overall purpose of having these twelve plays together, in order of composition, and translated by one person, was commendable and useful.

Jude the Obscure
Thomas Hardy
This novel made me wince many times.

Decartes' Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain
Antonio R. Damasio

Survival in Auschwitz
Primo Levi
translated from the Italian by Giulio Einaudi

The Reawakening
Primo Levi
translated from the Italian by Stuart Woolf
An account of Levi's struggles after being liberated from Auschwitz.

Shakespeare: A Life
Park Honan
A clear and simple chronicle of what is known about William Shakespeare.

Written On the Body
Jeanette Winterson
Strained and vaguely tiresome. I was impressed that someone could use the word "palimpsest" twice in 190 pages.