April 2022

 April was a good month for books. 

• Napoleon Symphony, by Anthony Burgess. As discussed last month, I finished this one on 1 April. What a great book. I loved it and will read more from him. As evidenced by last month's purchases.
• Harlequin House, by Margery Sharp. Love this woman. Great Brit lit.
• Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury. Great book. Family book club choice. We watched the old Oskar Werner movie too. One of the best opening lines ever.
• Tiu Toskana Septembro (That Tuscan September), de Corrado Tavanti kaj Istvan Ertl. Bonega itala romano detektiva, originale en Esperanto. Rapid-legebla. Tamen, antaŭvidebla fino.
• God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, by Vonnegut. Strange, of course. 
• The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger. Nope, don't get it. 
• Laughing Gas, by P.G. Wodehouse. My now all time favorite. Freaky-Friday type. Hilarious.
• The Sirens of Titan, by Vonnegut. Even stranger. 
• The Classical World, by Robin Lane Fox. Great one-volume history of ancient Greece and Rome. 

And my purchases:

• Middle Egyptian Literature, by James Allen. In my Glyphstudy group, someone will be leading a translation project later this year, most probably "The Debate Between a Man and his Soul." I'll most likely, at least, audit it. 
• The HarperCollins Study Bible. I thought I'd read the Bible over a year-long period. We had this Bible decades ago and I loved it for its footnotes, esp. the historical and linguistic notes. I've fallen a few days behind, but so far so good. 
• The Novels of Iris Murdoch (Henry and Cato; The Italian Girl; The Philosopher's Pupil). Kindle deal for $2.99. Never read her, but everyone says she's good. Probably start with the Italian one.
• For Whom the Bell Tolls, by Hemingway. Was my Classical Spin selection, but I missed the deadline. Will probably pick it next for the family book club. One Audible credit.
• Death of a Russian Priest, by Stuart Kaminsky. Read his first Inspector Porfiry Rostnikov book and loved it. When this showed up for 99 cents, couldn't say no.
• The Assistant: A Novel, by Bernard Malamud. Heard he was good, I think Bloom liked him. Kindle deal, $3.
• The Catcher in the Rye. Family book club choice.
• The Double, by Saramago. My wife absolutely loved Blindness. I may try that one someday. This one looks awesome, and was only two bucks.
• Beau Geste, by P.C. Wren. I heard about this book years and years ago. Bought first edition (hb, dj) for a good price, $25.
• Take Nine Spies, by Fitzroy MacLean. Greatest generation. Definitely was a curmudeon. This study on espionage looked good. hb w/dj, $3.

Language-wise, started reviving my BCS in April. Did two lessons in the big Alexander & Elias BCS text and on lesson three in Hippocrene's Croatian. My class with the DLI instructor starts Monday afternoon and I can't freaking wait!