Peak fall foliage season and perfect weather has been keeping me outdoors all day long. Hiking, tennis, hiking! I will be posting about Nikolai Gogol's Dead Souls in the next couple of days. (I hear there's rain in the forecast on Tuesday. Maybe I'll have a few extra minutes.) I read along with Katrina of Pining for the West and please don't miss her excellent post and summation about this Russian classic.
As I've discussed, I'm in the process of getting lined up for the Classics Club. Before I post my list, though, I'll probably already be reading several of Henry David Thoreau's classic writings for the Classics Club. His memoirs and thoughts about hiking in Maine, for one. I will keep you posted. It's the right time of year for reading a nature writer, because I feel especially close to the wilderness right now. I haven't read Walden since I was eighteen. I remember it so vividly that I'm not sure I'll be reading that title, but The Maine Woods, I'll definitely be reading.
Europe 2024: Austria and Germany
10 hours ago
You probably won't be surprised that I haven't read anything by Thoreau - yet.
ReplyDeleteWe're having lovely weather, tomorrow it's to be as warm as it got on any summer day here in Scotland, 18 celsius, and it's to stay good all week. I'm looking forward to reading your list and Gogol thoughts.
Katrina,
ReplyDeleteI think, given your interests, that you would like Thoreau's sensibilities quite a bit. I recommend Walden as the best general introduction to Thoreau. What a classic!!! I read it first when I was 16 and loved it. His essay "Civil Disobedience" is a bit of a chore, though important, but Walden was pure pleasure for me.
Woops! I said I first read Walden at 18 in my post. I don't think this is correct because we did American Lit my sophomore year of high school when I was 16. In any case, I thought it was brilliant!
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