Wednesday Reading Meme

[osprey_archer]

What I’ve Just Finished Reading

William Heyliger’s Don Strong of the Wolf Patrol, which is a book about Boy Scouts from 1916 and totally charming as long as you have a taste for epic earnestness, which it must be said that I do.

In fact I liked it so much that I went on to read another Heyliger book, Bartley, Freshman Pitcher, which is actually most about the sophomore pitcher Kennedy - who was about to move into the limelight as the college’s star pitcher, only to have his laurels stolen from him by that freshman brat Bartley. AGAIN. Bartley also tore away Kennedy’s chance to be star pitcher on the high school team.

When Kennedy discovers that Bartley’s father took out a mortgage at Kennedy’s father’s bank to pay for Bartley’s education, Kennedy tells Bartley that he owes it to him to step aside in the ballpark. This is impressively vile and I really doubted that Heyliger could bring Kennedy back from this, because honestly how could you, but actually he won me over for about 95% of Kennedy’s redemption arc. The very last bit seemed a bit rushed: they moved from enmity to “let’s be roommates next year!” just a little too quickly.

I have long thought that if I could just find the right Heyliger book it would be slashy as hell, but alas I think I will have to give this idea a rest. Here you’ve got a classic enemies-to-friends plot and arm massages (to keep the pitching arm in shape!) and they’re going to be sharing a room next year and it’s still not very slashy.

What I’m Reading Now

William Heyliger’s Captain of the Nine, which is the sequel to Bartley, Freshman Pitcher. I HAVE A HEYLIGER PROBLEM, OKAY. Now that Kennedy’s all reformed, the college nine has a new problem child: Mellen, the star second baseman who wanted to be elected captain but was THWARTED when the team elected that darn sophomore Bartley, even though Bartley is a pitcher and apparently it’s tough for the pitcher to be the team captain because he’s already got enough to deal with being, you know, the pitcher.

I suspect that Bartley will be a roaring success as captain after some initial hiccups, but it seems genuinely possible that it might be too much for him to handle (although Mellen certainly wouldn’t have been a better choice) and I’d quite enjoy it if the book explores that avenue.

I started Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment for my March challenge (“a book in translation”) but I’m having such trouble getting into it that I may read something else for the challenge. Possibly Alexandre Dumas’ The Black Tulip? No, the library doesn’t have The Black Tulip. Maybe Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations. Anyone have any suggestions?

What I Plan to Read Next

Google Books has the last two books in Elizabeth Stuart Phelps’ Gypsy Breynton quartet! FOR FREE. I HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR THESE FOR YEARS.

Comments

[evelyn_b]

Translations: Eugene Onegin is a verse summary of Every Russian Novel Ever Not Yet Written, very witty and funny. Georges Simenon writes sad, smart detective fiction. If you've never read The Symposium by Plato, it's short (maybe 80 pages?) and delightful - Socrates is a magnificent troll who likes to invite attractive young men to dinner and discourse on Love. You probably have already read Borges, but if you haven't you're in for a treat. Italo Calvino also writes short books that are imo easy to read, but it's been a long time since I read any. Too long? probably.

There's also the Iliad, which is shockingly good, but long for a poem.

[osprey_archer]

Oh! I've meant to read Italo Calvino's If on a Winter's Night a Traveler for ages, and this is clearly a Sign that now is the time to do it. I actually read the first couple of chapters ages ago but got interrupted and never got back to it but now! Now at last I shall.

The Iliad I think I will save for the reading challenge for "a book of poetry, a play, or an essay collection." What translation did you read?

[evelyn_b]

I read Fagles and loved it (and it should be easy to find) but people who know things about ancient Greek have other opinions. I know there's a huge range in terms of how scrupulous the translator is being about accuracy (which is a tricky business in poetry under the best of circumstances) and Fagles is somewhere in the middle. Probably the best thing to do is to look at a few different ones and see which one you feel the most like spending 15,000 lines with.

[asakiyume]

Even arm massages and yet not slashy! Remarkable. Do they have other love interests within the story, or have they pledged themselves heart and soul to baseball?

[osprey_archer]

There are no love interests; I am not sure there are any women in the book, full stop. The boys have pledged themselves heart and soul to baseball and the honor of their college and also humans in Heyliger-land might reproduce by parthenogenesis.

[sovay]

Here you’ve got a classic enemies-to-friends plot and arm massages (to keep the pitching arm in shape!) and they’re going to be sharing a room next year and it’s still not very slashy.

That's impressive, honestly.

[osprey_archer]

They take showers and dry themselves off with rough Turkish towels (the roughness is always mentioned) and even that doesn't manage to raise any slashiness. HONESTLY. Throw me a bone, Heyliger.