Well Readers, here is what I’ve been reading over the past few months, and what an eclectic bunch of stuff it is! You might pick up one or two themes – since I’ve retired I find myself becoming more interested in the Classics, in particular the Iliad and the Greek myths, though Rome has crept in there as well. There’s Venice, and also art history – I still think I might head in that direction once I’ve done my OU Environmental Science/Biology degree. There’s some nature writing (of course), and a book by Peter Ross, of which more in a minute. But here are a few thoughts, from top to bottom of the pile.

1. The Iliad – this is the Emily Wilson translation, the first translation by a woman. I’ve always preferred the Iliad to the Odyssey (which Wilson translated a few years ago) – I’m not quite sure why, but there are universal themes in here, about revenge and resentment, the horror of war, the sheer randomness of existence which make it feel horribly current. Wilson’s translation also brings out the humour, the self-knowledge (or otherwise) of the characters, the tenderness of mothers, and how forgiveness can also be honourable. I think I’ve mentioned before how these stories both bring out the similarities between us and this ancient civilisation, but also the differences. I find something different in it every time I read it. And for my interest in the Classics (most unlikely for a working-class child from East London growing up in the sixties) I shall be eternally grateful to our Classics teacher, Miss Mallin, who must have been in her seventies then. She gave us all Latin names  – I was Calpurnia, who was the wife of Caesar and who had an omen of his assassination, which she was powerless to prevent. We didn’t actually study the Iliad (probably too bloodthirsty) but we did study what I always think of as ‘the sequel’, the Aeneid by Virgil, which actually tells of the fall of Rome.
2. Martin Gaylord’s ‘Venice – City of Pictures’. I bought this on my return from my last trip to Venice for my husband’s sixtieth (it’s much too big to take on a trip) and I love it – it tells the story of Rome through its artists, and there are tales of falling out and making up, of treachery and alliances, much as you’d expect. I didn’t know that Michaelangelo and Durer both spent time in Venice, though, and how the Venetian artists were both Influencers of, and influenced by them. My only regret is that there isn’t more on my beloved Carpaccio, who was apparently considered old-fashioned even before his death. Harrumph.
3. Emperor of Rome, by Mary Beard – this is really a book about the propaganda that sprang up around the whole role of ‘the Emperor’ – while there are lots of juicy stories about imperial misbehaviour, the overriding theme is about ‘one-man rule’, and how this worked in the largest empire that the world had ever seen. I found it fascinating – a photograph showing the busts of all the emperors, one after the other, shows how there was an imperial ‘style’ of bust which bore little relationship to how they looked – continuity was more important where the changeover from one emperor to another was smooth, with a complete change of look when the old emperor was considered to have been bad (and probably assassinated).
4. Divine Might, by Natalie Haynes – more on the Classics, this time on Greek goddesses and how they’ve been portrayed. One very interesting point was about muses – how in ancient times it was considered that any artistic skill that you had was only possible because it was allowed by the muse. How different from the Pre-Raphaelites dunking their ‘muses’ in a bath so that they could model for Ophelia, nearly killing them in the process! No Greek muse would have put up with such treatment. Another great read, and Haynes is extremely funny.
5. Art Monsters, by Lauren Elkin. You might remember that I reviewed Elkin’s ‘Flâneuse‘ a little while back. This is her more recent book, on women artists, and in particular the way that they’ve used their bodies in their art, and how this has been received. It’s a dense book, packed with ideas, and it introduced me to many artists that I wasn’t familiar with. Elkin makes me think, which is always a good idea.
6. Steeplechasing, by Peter Ross. You might remember me raving about Ross’s last book ‘A Tomb with a View‘ – this is another great book, which had me laughing  and crying (and thinking). What I love is the way that he relates to people, and there are some wonderful characters here, treated with respect and tenderness. And it makes me want to jump on a bus or a train and go and visit some of these places. Heartily recommended.
7. Footprints in the Woods, by John Lister-Kaye. Surprisingly, this is my only recent nature volume – probably because I’m mostly writing about nature here on the blog, and for my degree, and so I generally need a break. I loved this book, even so – Lister-Kaye was rewilding before it became the word of the month, and his home at Aigas in the Scottish Highlands absolutely brims with wildlife – I was there for a nature-writing course many years ago, and it is a wonderful place. This book concentrates on the encounters that Lister-Kaye has had over the years, from his boyhood friend Wilba the weasel to more recent otters, pine martens and badgers. He manages to convey a lot of information about the animals themselves and about fieldcraft without it ever feeling like a lecture. It made me yearn for a trip to the Highlands, for sure.
8. And finally – Homer and his Iliad, by Robin Lane-Fox. I’d read a previous book on Homer by Adam Nicholson, but felt like I needed to get another perspective, so here it is. I’ve only just started, but I was impressed by the way that Lane-Fox has such confidence in our love of the Iliad that he advises us to learn Homeric Greek, which he says ‘should only take about two years’. Well, I was thinking I should pick up a smattering of German for my trip to Austria later in the year, but maybe Homeric Greek is the way to go. What do you think, Readers?

And btw, what have you been reading? Let me know any recommendations, or books to avoid. I should at some point do a list of books that I’ve hated, which would be short but piquant. However, for today I am veering towards positivity. I can recommend all of  the books above, but for the nature-lovers amongst us it would have to be the John Lister-Kaye – not just this book, but pretty much anything he’s written.

Happy Reading! What a pleasure it is.