Signing up for a challenge is always a risk for me. Somehow having to pick specific things to read is nearly always a guarantee that, no matter how badly I wanted to read them before the challenge started, I will no longer have the slightest interest in them once I've committed. But I think it's good to stretch, and two challenges popped up last week that caught my attention.
Really, really old classics--as in, written before 1600. This takes me back to college, since it's definitely been that long since I read that far back. I've opted for the Canterbury Tales--modern translation, since I don't know that I'm up to Middle English--with a backup of Ted Hughes' translation of Tales from Ovid. As extra credit, I choose Karen Maitland's Company of Liars, which, while not a strict retelling of the Tales, is at least an homage to them.
The Kristin Lavransdatter Readalong. I read the Kristin Lavransdatter trilogy many--25?--years ago and loved it, and have often thought about rereading it. So when this readalong crossed my path, it was a no-brainer. I have to admit that it took a bit to get into the first book--much slower than I remembered. But I'm about 1/3 of the way done with it, and it's growing more interesting with each page.
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