Hi Froggies! This is the page from my reading of Classic Literature over the course of 2023. I started this blog site late in the year so that is why not all the books in the list have a full page of my thoughts on them. When I started this blog I simply did quick thoughts on the books I had read up to the point of starting the blog and then did the full page links for books I thereafter read. Just in case you were wondering.

If you are interested in seeing the classics I have read since 2016 you can see
the complete list here.

My Quick Thoughts on "Man Alive" by GK Chesterton. This book was the 1st book I read of the year. I did not take notes on it while I read it and for the number of pages it is (very short) it took an extraordinarily long time for me to read because of my research reading at the time. Remember that microbiology stuff? yeah, that. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed it as it was a really fun read. The basic idea is that people fall into their routines and forget to live. My all time favorite classic is still Don Quixote and there you had a main character who was slightly off his rocker so to speak and here you have that too. Perhaps that's why I enjoyed it so much and add it to my favorites of all time. If you are married and finding yourself in a boring routine, you should read this book; it has some good ideas in there how to keep things interesting. Like I said it's a very short read and very fun and whimsical.

What do you do to feel alive so to speak?

If you have been in a relationship for a long time, what do you do to keep things fresh and exciting? . . . there are some good ideas in this book I think. haha

My Quick Thoughts on "In Patagonia". This was a travel type novel involving a traveling adventure to Patagonia which if you do not know (honestly I did not know when I started reading the book) is in South America. Actually it is at the very southern part of South America. I enjoyed the adventure and was surprised to read about how some of the famous gun-slingers from the days of the wild west when the law dogs started putting too much pressure on them, moved down to Patagonia to either settle down or carry on their gunslinging ways down there. A useful quote in there is "never kick the woman you love" at page 80. Well that's good advice isn't it? Another quote makes me think that this author probably would have appreciated Man Alive: "The Golden Age ended when men stopped hunting, settled in houses and began the daily grind" at page 144. I read the Penguin Classics publication of this by the way.



My Quick Thoughts on "Lark Rise to Candleford". This one took place in the 1880s in England. It was an enjoyable read. A cousin of mine informed me that there was a great television series based upon it. I need to obtain and watch that. Remember the advice above about not kicking your lover in South America. . . well in England I guess they have a different take on that: "A woman, dog and a walnut tree, the more you beat 'em the better they be." (p86). Yikes. Here's a piece of good advice from it though: "don't be poor and look poor, too." (p131). Anyway, if you want to travel to England in the late 19th century in a rural area of England, this is a read for you! I do look forward to seeing the series on it.

My Quick Thoughts on "Nana" by Emile Zola. All the books I have read by Emile Zola were very very good; so going into this one I anticipated I would enjoy it and I certainly did. As a lover of live theatre, that this one's main character was a beautiful actress in live theatre and its whole setting was the lives of people within and around the theatre community made it most enjoyable. So if you too enjoy live theatre or are connected to it in any way I certainly recommend you read this classic at some point. Unlike in the book, however, I would advice against pouring champaigne into a Piano! Isn't it fun all the helpful life lessons and pieces of advice one can gather from reading classic literature? I am doubtful though that pouring champaigne into a Baldwin will make it sound like a Steinway! You of course are welcome to try of course. It is a saucy book full of vice and debauchery. It is also a look into the meeting of different socio-economic classes within the theatre world. Read it.

What is the last live play you went to see?

Who makes better tea, the English or the Russians do you think?

My Quick Thoughts on "Under the Greenwood Tree." This one also took place in a rural area of England at the beginning of the industrial revolution when there were changes in musical instruments. It centers around a little church band who were holdovers from the prior way that worship music was done in churches. Their views on the new instruments is comical to me. There are some comical scenes in the book as well. I enjoyed the read.

Do you like clarinets?

Do you associate any instrument with the devil? how about a violin?

My Quick Thoughts on "Cards of Identity". This was a very unique book about people's identities taken within the context of a club and also involves the putting on of a play. So yeah, live theatre? Count me in. I enjoyed it.

Are you a member of any clubs? How has the club shaped your identity? or to what extent have the members influenced the identity / nature of the club? That's something to think about if you are in any club.

My Quick Thoughts on "Laxdaela Saga". Typical of the icelandic sagas. I have read others including Njal's Saga and Egil's Saga which are referenced within this one. They are enjoyable adventures! Here's a quote to get a reaction out of ya: "we women always lack foresight in our expedients, particularly if there is anything at stake." (p71) or how about this one: "The counsel of fools is all the more dangerous the more of them there are." (p90). I read the Penguin Classics publication of it. In the footnoot(s) there are some interesting laws of iceland regarding divorce, cross-dressing and about writing songs to women. Perhaps today we should bring back trials by ordeal, in particular one mentioned in this one 'the ordeal of turf,' wherein a respondant is vindicated if the turf he is made to crawl under does not collapse upon him. What do you think?



My Quick Thoughts on "The Country of the Pointed Firs. This one took me to the state of Maine in the late 1800s. It also included a handful of short stories by the author Sarah Jewett as well. I read the Barnes and Noble Classics publication. It is kind of along the lines of In Patagonia as it is told through the eyes of a traveller spending time in an imaginary (though based upon reality) coastal fishing town in Maine. It is a very low key, easy going read. I would like to visit such a place. In one of the short stories (A Dunnet Shepherdess) I noted the following quote which I will share with you: "It was mortifying to find how strong the habit of idele speech may become in one's self. One need not always be saying something in this noisy world" (p146). The context of that was a lady and a fella out trout fishing and they were just fine just sitting there together in the boat fishing without talking just to talk. How pleasant! I need that sort of relationship! Let's head to Maine, crack open a "spruce beer" and fish!

are you the type of person who talks just to fill up the silence or know someone who is like that?

My Quick Thoughts on "Nectar in a Sieve". This one took me to India. I really enjoyed this one. If you like reading books about marriage and the ups and downs and whatnot, you will enjoy this book. Here is a quote for thought / reaction: "You must cry out if you want help. It is no use whatsoever to suffer in silence. . . there is no grandeur in want or in endurance." (p111). I read the Signet Classics publication of this. It was an excellent read.

Parents, how well do you think you know your children?

My Quick Thoughts on "Winesburg, Ohio.". I read the Signet Classics publication of this one. It was excellent. There are colorful characters in it. Life in a small farming town in Ohio. Like Nectar in a Sieve there is a lot of dynamics of marriage, relationships in there to feast your reading eyes upon. Its life lesson for you: "Be Tandy!". . . "Dare to be strong and courageous. That is the road. Venture anything. Be brave enough to dare to be loved. Be something more than man or woman. Be Tandy." (p141-142). Another quote I noted: "Many people must live and die alone, even in Winesburg." (p112). However, then another of the colorful characters in the book said "does not every man let his life be managed for him by some bitch or another?" I told you there were colorful characters in there did I not?

My Quick Thoughts on "Memoirs of a Geisha." This was one of the most pleasurable books I have read in a long time; in large part, because I had the pleasure of reading it concomitantly with a lovely lady and we would speak on the phone at various points through the book and share what we thought and I would share the various quotes that I noted down for reaction. In addition to that though the book was fantastic in itself. It is a light shined into the world of Geisha houses in Japan from the period before the great depression, during it and after it. The character development was great. Again a lot of colorful characters and personalities. The main character and her sister were given up because they could not be taken care of. One ended up in a geisha house the other in a house of prostitution. In the geisha house she was abused, taught to be a geisha and learned the ins and outs of the geisha community and ultimately became a/the leading geisha in the district. The characters, the conflict, the struggles, the rivalries, the schemes, the hopes, the disappointments all render this one to be placed in my favorites.

My Quick Thoughts on "Les Miserables." I read the Penguin Classics publication of this well known classic. I think it is more well known from the theatre production of it I'm sure; and after reading it I am planning on going to go see the theatre production of it in the springtime. Back to the book: the main character is Jean Valjean who was convicted of a momentous and deplorable and deathpenalty worthy crime of . . . stealing bread because he was hungry . . . After a few botched attempts to escape his sentence gradually increased to felony proportions. Forced to carry around a Felon's Yellow Card he tried desperately to shake the stigma and did so by creating an alter ego / alias. He ended up developing a fabulous reputation following influence by a certain Bishop. The adventure is great with a big cast of unique characters. I loved the story, the adventure, the conflict and the philosophical ideas therein about crime and punishment. I am a lover of reading history too; but in this book there was too much unneeded history or side shoots that took far too many pages. That for me brought the book off of the list of favorites of all time. How can you say a book is a favorite of all time if whole chapters in your mind should be crossed out with a bold black sharpie or torn out of the book altogether. I have this general aversion to reading "edited" classics. In fact, I started to read this book a few years ago (a Barnes and Noble publication of it) which was "edited." After I learned it was edited about 10 pages in or so, I stopped reading it. IF, and that is an IF, if an edited version of this book simply cuts out the various chapters devoted needlessly to history, or the role of monesteries or nuneries or specific french dialects of speaking THEN one would be well advised to read such an edited version. That's my take on it at least. Otherwise, the story was AMAZING!

My Quick Thoughts on "Little Women." This book is the story of four sisters in northeast America during the time of the civil war and afterward being raised first by their mother as their father is off to fight in the war and then later by both of them after he returns from the war. The different personalities of the sisters is nice. The exposition of love interests was good. However, what I did not like about it was the unrealistic or overdone "lesson teaching" by the mom of the girls. I do not know how to express it, it was just too much, a little "cheesy" at points or otherwise just unreal. Not that I did not enjoy the read; it was a good read but that detracted a lot from it for me at least. I do have the DVD of it on my shelf and look forward to watching it at some point. I read the Barnes and Noble Classics publication of it.

My Quick Thoughts on "Man of Straw". This one took place in the pre-WWI time of Germany. It is about a man who is obsessed with serving the emperor to the point of fanatacism. Kind of like how Charlie was obsessed with Humboldt and metaphysics. The interplay between his fanatacism politically with his relationship, with his business relationships was very interesting. There are also some very good court scenes in there as well. I read the Penguin Twentieth Century Classics publication of it.