Beowulf
Today I finished Beowulf (202 pages, ISBN: 978-0140449310), translated with an introduction and notes by Michael Alexander. It is an anonymous Old English poem preserved in the Nowell Codex, with the surviving manuscript usually dated …
The Aeneid by Virgil
Today I finished the book The Aeneid (484 pages, ISBN: 978-0143105138). The book was written from 29 to 19 BC. Having completed The Iliad and The Odyssey, I come to Virgil’s The Aeneid as the …
The Odyssey by Homer
Today I finished the book The Odyssey (504 pages, ISBN: 978-0679410478). It is the second of two books, following The Iliad, that recount the events surrounding the Trojan War and the return of the Achaean …
The Iliad by Homer
Today I finished the book The Iliad (595 pages, ISBN: 978-1857150605). It’s the first of two books, including The Odyssey, that tell of the Trojan War and the Achaean return voyage to their homeland. The …
Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky
Having completed The Brothers Karamazov cover to cover, I find it hard to overstate its density and its power. Dostoevsky did not write a mere novel but constructed a comprehensive moral and theological drama, clothed …
Biography: Elon Musk
Today I completed Walter Isaacson’s book on Elon Musk, a monolithic 671-page biography that charts the ascent of one of the most dynamic minds of the modern era. More than a chronicle of innovation, the …
The Fellowship of the Ring by Tolkien
Today I completed The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien (407 pages). Unlike The Silmarillion, which unfolds as a record of origins and long decline, this book begins in a settled land whose boundaries …
The Hobbit by Tolkien
“The Hobbit,” or “There and Back Again,” written by J.R.R. Tolkien and first published in 1937, is a timeless work in the fantasy genre, offering a richly imagined world filled with memorable characters, profound themes, …
The Silmarillion by Tolkien
Today I completed The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien (358 pages, ISBN: 978-0008433949). When I first began reading, I quickly realized that it was not a conventional story, but a vast record of origins and destinies …
Dune by Herbert
Frank Herbert’s Dune first impressed me with the sheer depth of its world. Arrakis is not just a desert planet but a complete ecosystem that controls every choice people make. Its sandstorms, water scarcity, and …
The Magician’s Nephew
Today I completed The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis, the first book in the Chronicles of Narnia series, though it was the sixth to be published. As a foundational work, it serves not merely as …
Don Quixote by Cervantes
Today I completed the book Don Quixote, having followed its long, wayward path across more than a thousand pages. The book—written in two parts, in 1605 and 1615 by Miguel de Cervantes—is often claimed to …
