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 …
Paradiso by Dante Alighieri
In Dante’s Paradiso, the journey of the protagonist reaches its culmination in the celestial realms, where he experiences the ultimate redemption by divine grace. As Dante ascends through the various spheres of Heaven, each representing …
Purgatorio by Dante Alighieri
Dante Alighieri’s “Purgatorio,” the second cantica of his monumental epic poem “The Divine Comedy,” continues the journey of the poem’s protagonist—Dante himself—through the afterlife. Having traversed the depths of Hell in “Inferno,” Dante and his …
