6-Week Update on My 2024 Reading Goals

The Plantaganets were a messed-up family.

It’s tough to do much writing and creating these days. I have the energy but not the time, so I’ve been channeling my frustration into reading, which I can do in smaller pockets of time: five minutes of Shakespeare here, two minutes of a poem there, seven minutes of a novel over there.

Am I the Drama?

This year I’m reading famous plays. I have a gorgeous 1880s set of Shakespeare’s works from my sister Emily (non-Super Bowl shout-out to Kansas City!), so I’ve begun with his histories. I’ve been interested in seeing how much an actor’s portrayal of a character changes the audience’s interpretation of a play, especially with morally complex characters like Henry Bullingbroke in Richard II and Brutus in Julius Caesar. Are they noble characters who lack the right affections and loyalties, or are they simply ambitious murderers? I intend to watch as many of the plays as I can after reading them.

1. The Complete Works of Shakespeare:

   1. Sonnets 1-12: The theme of these early sonnets is that beautiful people should have kids so that the world’s supply of beauty doesn’t diminish when they grow old and die. *puts on sunglasses* You’re welcome, world.

   2. King John: This story about the latter years of King John (Prince John in Robin Hood) was interesting but not as profound as some of Shakespeare’s plays. It’s a history, nothing more.

   3. Richard II: This was my favorite surprise so far. I wasn’t familiar with it before, and I was really drawn to the pathetic character of Richard II: “I live with bread like you, feel want, / Taste grief, need friends: subjected thus, / How can you say to me that I am a king?”

   4. Henry IV, Part 1: I came to the conclusion that Hal would have learned villainy and dishonesty at his father’s court or in Falstaff’s pub, but at least Falstaff is more plainly what he is. Also, I always lament Hotspur’s death. It’s my weakness for Boromir types.

   5. Henry IV, Part 2: My least favorite of the histories so far. Controversial opinion: I do not like John Falstaff, and I feel no pity for him when Hal exiles him at the end of the play. I know that he's witty, but he is also a lying, thieving coward whom Hal could have hanged - why am I supposed to feel sorry that he lets him off easy?

   I still need to read the rest of Shakespeare’s works, plus:

2. The Complete Plays of Chekhov

3. The Skin of Our Teeth by Thornton Wilder

4. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams

5. A Man for All Seasons by Robert Bolt

6. Becket by Jean Anouilh

7. Oedipus Cycle by Sophocles

8. Medea by Euripides

Next Steps

1. Read four poems by Madeleine and Catherine des Roches.

2. Read twelve more of Shakespeare’s sonnets.

3. Read Henry V, Henry VI, Part 1; Henry VI, Part 2; Henry VI, Part 3; Richard III; and Henry VIII. Even if I don't finish all of my Shakespeare goals this year, I'll be much more familiar with his histories than I was before.

4. Read The Skin of Our Teeth by Thornton Wilder.

Other Things I Finished

• The Dean’s Watch by Elizabeth Goudge

• Pensées by Blaise Pascal

• Guinevere’s Gift by Nancy McKenzie

• Love Your Kids Without Losing Yourself by Dr. Morgan Cutlip

• Meet the Austins by Madeleine L’Engle

Currently Reading

• Crosswicks: A Circle of Quiet by Madeleine L’Engle

• War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

• Just Stab Me Now by Jill Bearup

• Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon

• Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes

A Favorite Quote

From King John:

Bastard: Madam, I’ll follow you unto the death.

Eleanor of Aquitaine: Nay, I would have you go before me thither.

A Journal Excerpt

From January 24:

I love getting in a place of flow, that work condition where you lose yourself and your self-consciousness in creating or organizing or performing a task. My difficulty in this season of life is that the work will be interrupted. It’s still good to get these pockets of time, but I don’t feel the dividends when even thirty minutes is interrupted by making someone a snack, taking someone else to the bathroom, and resettling the baby.

Book Reviews from My Daughters