All the books I read in October and November and what I thought of them

I would apologize to my readership (for obvious reasons), but I'm not actually sorry. The readers of my blog have not experienced a semester during which they had to write four papers in two weeks on two separate occasions. This may be why I have forgotten how to read. Nevertheless, I am still going to smash my Goodreads reading challenge.

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Bakkhai by Euripides

rating⁚ ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I really enjoy Greek tragedy because, for the first time in my life, ancient Greeks seem to me to have feelings. It was not actually obvious to me before my classical mythology professor made us read Greek tragedy that ancient Greeks love their parents and their kids. You might say, but Clara, she rips her son to pieces; how is it obvious that she cares about him? You can tell Euripides loves his kids because he writes a tragedy where the sad part is a mom going crazy and ripping apart her kids. This entire paragraph notwithstanding, in this play, I'm a partisan of Dionysus. If a stranger does supernatural activities, it should be obvious to you that the stranger is a god, and if you keep treating the stranger poorly, you are stupid and deserve whatever happens to you.

Impostures by al-Hariri

rating⁚ ⭐⭐⭐⭐

My professor kindly recommended this book translated by his former classmate. His former classmate is almost unbearably clever, but the reading experience is still very enjoyable. This book is about a con man who talks cleverly and scams people out of their money on fifty occasions. On every occasion, my professor's former classmate translates the book into a different style of English. The ideal way to read this book is in the library, so you can go find a book written by whatever author my professor's former classmate is imitating before you actually read the chapter. I love when I have to walk somewhere to acquire information. I feel like it gives scholarship real-world relevance.

The Bad Girl by Mario Vargas Llosa

rating⁚ ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is a retelling of Madame Bovary, and I liked it a lot better than Madame Bovary. I said Madame Bovary would be more interesting in the modern day, and I was right. The best thing about living now and not earlier in history is that women are allowed to be crazy now. I really like when women say something so wild and indefensible that you just have to nod your head and say, ''ok.'' Usually it is men behaving this way. The modern world has opened up so many great opportunities for women. 

At first, I thought the protagonist of this book was pathetic for caring about the bad girl more than anything, even his own well being, even when she treats him badly, but Mario Vargas Llosa is obsessed with Madame Bovary, too, and I'm obsessed with a lot of books, so I guess it makes sense. You just keep coming back to great books. Also, the bad girl is really iconic, so I guess there are worse idiots to be down bad for. 

Somewhere Beyond the Sea by T.J. Klune

rating⁚ ⭐⭐⭐

Every time I read a book by T.J. Klune, I like his writing less. Increasingly, his books feel like a middle-aged liberal's wish fulfillment fantasy. The entire book is a manic pixie dream girl. Nevertheless, he writes some of the most genuinely funny dialogue I have ever read, and this book made me giggle almost constantly.

Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

rating⁚ ⭐⭐⭐

I identify very strongly with Robinson because he longs for the ocean, and I long for the ocean. I brought PJ with me to the Super 88 to buy a bowl because I wrote 4 papers in two weeks, and I deserve a bowl for that. And they had a plate that said ''we like adventure at the ocean'' and he told me I had to buy it. So now I have a plate that says ''we like adventure at the ocean'' and it reminds me of Robinson Crusoe. My whole class was brainwashed by the anti-Robinson agenda, but no one could ever make me hate him. He's just a little guy. He likes counting. Some people like counting. I always graph candy that comes in different colors, but I can't tell you which ones I'm specifically thinking of because my ampersand key doesn't work. My shift key also doesn't work, so I have to press caps lock every time I want to write a capital letter. Anyway, some people like counting. It doesn't imply anything broader about their personality.

Showdown at Gucci Gulch by Jeffrey Birnbaum

rating⁚ ⭐⭐

I struggle to have an opinion on this book because I really don't care about tax policy, and I don't think you should either. Well, if someone just really loves tax policy, who am I to decide they should be deprived of their great joy?