Cleo’s Comments (group member since Apr 12, 2016)

Cleo’s comments from the Reading Classics, Chronologically Through the Ages group.

Hi Kirk! Welcome to the group! That's so inspiring to hear that you've become such an avid reader. Please join the discussion of Don Quixote if you feel inclined. I've sort of stalled around chapter 32 at the moment and am not finding tons to say, but perhaps someone else might inject some liveliness into the conversation! :-)

I probably don't have much useful help for you,Kendra. When I was homeschooling, my daughter worked regularly through subjects, but as an adult, with life, responsibilities and so many commitments, it seems almost impossible to stick to something for a long period of time. I've dabble in learning Latin, Greek, Algebra, French, Philosophy, etc. but I've had a hard time sticking to it. Fortunately the base I've developed in most of them seems to be sticking, or at least sticking enough for me to be irregular with my studies but still keep adding to my knowledge. It's very slow-going though.

I would encourage you not to think too big though. My daughter started learning ancient Greek by only committing 10-15 min per day, 4 days per week to it. She's now basically fluent in it (of course, as she got older she devoted MUCH more time to it though). So even with such a short time commitment, you can start to see surprising results with a regular routine.

As for rabbit trails, I usually don't go off on them; instead I write them down and try to get to them later.

Best of luck in your quest to expand your knowledge, Kendra, and please let us know how it goes!

That's too bad, Kenia, as I've really enjoyed your blog. That said, we all have different expectations and needs and if you feel you are getting more interaction on Goodreads and other places, it make sense to spend your time there.

For me, I not only enjoy blogging, but I find I get deeper discussions and have made closer friendships on my blog than on Goodreads. There are at least 3 other bloggers who I've connected with in a personal way and we would keep in touch even without blogs (and, in fact, do) so blogging has been more meaningful for me. Mind you, my blog is 3-4 years old so I've spent time cultivating these friendships, but I've spent more time on Goodreads and while I value the in-depth conversations I've had, there isn't the closeness that my blog seems to create.

You are right, blogging does take time, but I also feel that much of that time is thinking about what I've read, or discussing what I've read, or fine-tuning my writing, so it's time well spent.

In any case, I'll look forward to how you feel in a couple of months and learning about where you manage to use up your saved blogging time. All the best! :-)

Julie, I found Dorothy Mills The Book of the Ancient Greeks invaluable for anchoring basic Greek history and locations. I believe it's high school level but it is very comprehensive in basic sort of way, if you know what I mean. However, I've read other Greek literature so that has helped me as well and the Landmark The Histories edition has so many maps for reference that I'm able to follow along.

I am getting used to Herodotus' jumping around. He's talking about a story, then he jumps to terrain and then to customs and back again. Yet while I find it a little disjointed, it is like talking to someone which I find very refreshing. I'm quite enjoying our first historian! :-)

I read all of Austen's main works in 2015; you're going to have lots of reading fun!

I've kind of stalled on my Great Ideas project .... I need to get back to it.

Great to see your list, Kenia, and I'm looking forward to watching your progress! I'm staying tuned ... :-)

Tracey wrote: "Cleo wrote: "my son says that when he marries and has children he would like his children home schooled. ..."

That's great to hear! :-)

Welcome to the group, Tracey! I homeschool my daughter too!

Kenia wrote: "Just make it glorious, Cleo. Make it glorious.

;-D"

LOL! You've given me my big laugh for the day! ;-)

Kenia wrote: "That all looks so exciting! Out of the 2017 starting gate at full speed!"

LOL! I just hope that I don't crash! ;-)

Reading Plans:

January 2017

WEM Histories:
The Histories by Herodotus
The Republic by Plato

Read-Alongs:
Don Quixote by Cervantes (with Bookstooge)
The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens (with O)
The Faerie Queene by Edmund Spenser

Challenges:
Trollope: The Small House at Allington
Deal Me In: Vulgarity-Chesterton, A Little Woman-Kafka, Le Horla-Maupassant, etc.
Russian Lit: Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak; The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov (possibles)
Great Ideas: The Difference Between Knowledge and Opinion; Opinion and Human Freedom

Book Group:
Wounded by Love

I'm hoping that it will help me stay on track to lay out my month reading plans. Focus, focus, focus!

Deanna wrote: "What do you think? ..."

The more I read of this, the more I think it mirrors life, but Cervantes has it do so in a more hyperbolic sense. How many times have you tried to do good and your actions have been misunderstood? I can think of a number of examples in my own life recently. And Sancho is often blinded to reality by greed from Don Quixote's promises. Does reality get obscured for us by our personal wishes, hopes and expectations? It's worth thinking about. :-)

I think where the subtlety breaks down for me is that Don Quixote never seems to learn from his own actions.

Kendra wrote: "As contradictory as it sounds, I am actually an outgoing introvert. I'm very outgoing and social but I am drained after social interaction. I just frequently get to the point where I would rather s..."

As strange as it sounds, I think I'm the same. On one hand, I love people and interaction, and then on the other I like being by myself. It's nice to know that I'm not alone ... ;-)

Best of luck with your reading in 2017, Kendra! You've inspired me to try to at least target some books for my challenges in 2017. Usually I like to fly by the seat of my pants but I'm getting the feeling that it won't be wise this coming year. Hmmm .... I'll have to do some thinking ....

Thanks for the link, Kendra. I would love to have some guidance. I can see the general parody within the story, but other than the footnotes, I don't have specific references. Perhaps it's simply a funny tale and nothing more than that.

Thanks, Kenia! :-)

Hey Kenia, I've noted that the group rules box comes up whenever I post. It's supposed to disappear when a member makes their first post, so I'm wondering if there is something that could be changed in the settings? Thanks!

How are you doing with this one, Deanna? I'm on Chapter 24 and find I don't have much to say. It's a romp but that's about it so far. I found that his defence of Marcella, the shepherdess, was as sane as I've seen him --- in essence, the shepherds were blind to her feeling, yet DQ understood the situation. Otherwise, he seems blind in all others. Perhaps it's a lesson that unless we see situations through the eyes of others, it's hopeless to understand them ...... I don't know ..... I'm grasping ..... :-Z

Thanks, Kenia! :-)

Kenia, is it possible to open up a folder for some of the WEM books (or others) that we might like read together. Deanna and I are both reading Don Quixote and would love to have a thread to discuss it. Thanks!

Deanna wrote: " I think I'll just write throughout the year instead of trying to cram it all in one month. ..."

That sounds extremely sensible! :-)