June has finally come to an end and 6 months of 2018 are already over; time does pass, whether we like it or not and I can for sure say for this year, Thank Goodness for that! Monsoons have hit some part of the country and the expectation of rains, definitely makes life more bearable, especially when we remember that, rains will be followed by the glorious Autumn! To summarize, end of June brings much hope and the reading that happened this past month, just added on to the sense of enrichment and sanguine calm, which makes the terrible times pass and help you see through a better tomorrow! So what did I read in June?
White Flock by Anna Akhmatova, Translated by Andrey Kneller
We thought: we’re poor and don’t have anything,
But as we started to lose one thing after another,
So much that each day became
A remembrance day,
We began to write songs
About God’s immense genrosity
And the wealth, we once had.
Testament of Youth by Vera Brittian
“When the sound of victorious guns burst over London at 11 a.m. on November 11th, 1918, the men and women who looked incredulously into each other’s faces did not cry jubilantly: ” We’ve won the war! ” They only said: ” The War is over.”
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
“From that time on, the world was hers for the reading. She would never be lonely again, never miss the lack of intimate friends. Books became her friends and there was one for every mood. There was poetry for quiet companionship. There was adventure when she tired of quiet hours. There would be love stories when she came into adolescence and when she wanted to feel a closeness to someone she could read a biography.”
The Lady of the Basement Flat by Mrs. George de Horne Vaizey
“I have been here a week and am already endorsing the theory that you can never really know a person until you have lived together beneath the same roof.”
Shakespeare: The World as Stage by Bill Bryson
“We all recognize a likeness of Shakespeare the instant we see one, and yet we don’t really know what he looked like. It is like this with nearly every aspect of his life and character: He is at once the best known and least known of figures.”
This then was my readings for June and now here’s to a new month and new books!
Mockingbirds, Looking Glasses & Prejudices... 
was the Bryson book okay? i’ve been interested in various incarnations of Shakespeare for a while, maybe sixty years… there used to be an argument as regards who wrote the plays, but i think that’s finally been put to rest by a few ultra-perceptive scholars… the other books look interesting: i was surprised by “Tree in Brooklyn”. it’s been around for a long time and i never knew what it was about and if it’s about books i would like to read it; i had assumed that it was some sort of repetitive social drama, which i usually avoid (in that case, i hear you asking, what do you read books for?)… well, a multi-faceted question; i wonder about that myself from time to time… have a nice day; i hope you get some down time from your busy job…
Bill Bryson is a favorite of mine so this might be a bit prejudiced! The thing about this book is that it talks more of the world that Shakespeare lived in than actually him and there is a good reason for that. At the very onset, Bryson points out on the very scanty primary sources of information that is available regarding The Bard and how most writings about him is a conjecture. What you get in this book is the life and times Shakespeare had “potentially” led and I found that quite enlightening instead of presumptive “This-is-how-he-lived”. I think Shakespeare lived in an era of great writers and while who is the best may be an important dialogue, I really think Marlowe, Shakespeare and later Ben Jonson, brought thier own brand of brilliance to the table, enriching English Literature in their own way! (P.S. Back in college, I did think Marlowe was more talented, a feeling I have not completely gotten rid off). A Tree in Brooklyn is a social drama; overworked mother and drunk but brilliant father etching out their lives in turn of century Brooklyn, However there is a lot of fun, empathy and deep understanding of human nature, that makes this book a worthwhile read. Give it shot, when you can! Why we read? Whatever reasons work for us personally is good enough for me, as long as we keep reading! 😀
tx, C… i think a lot of Marlowe, also; he’s quite brilliant in spots, but i have to go with S for overall spectacularity… i find that my reading has narrowed it’s focus over the years; part of the aging thing, i guess…