- Want Now: Ok, so this one is a little out of my normal reading zone, but that’s good to do every once in a while yes? So, after reading some great reviews I think I’ll get my hands on this and see what I think.
Even if I don’t like it I can pass it off to my hubby who absolutely just loves stuff like this. Hey, it’s recycling right!? But we all know the story of Beowulf, or we think we do so going back to a better translation and something that is new and updated seems worth my time!
- Want to read: Beowulf, A new verse translation
- Series: —
- Author: Seamus Heaney
- No of Pages: 213
- Published February 17th 2001
Seamus Heaney, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature and considered by many to be the greatest living poet writing in English, has produced a new work that will be one of the most significant literary events of the year. This meditation on fame, blood feuds, and the culture of war, already awarded the Whitbread Prize for poetry and named the Whitbread Book of the Year, addresses some of the most important issues of our world at the turn of the millennium. The trouble is, it was written in the first millennium, more than a thousand years ago: Heaney’s latest offering is not a collection of original poems or essays, but a modern English verse translation of that greatest of heroic epics, Beowulf.
Heaney’s project is to save Beowulf and what he calls its status as a work of “the greatest imaginative vitality” from the tedium of required English courses in high schools and universities. Because of its arcane language, this gripping and beautifully wrought story is largely impenetrable to modern audiences. What’s more, just as Beowulf‘s language and structure paved the way for modern English and its literary devices, its themes of fame and warrior cultures can tell us a lot about the world we now inhabit, where fame is viewed as perhaps the only thing worth achieving, and intractable ethnic conflicts wreak havoc on humankind. Some things never change — or, as Heaney puts it, BEOWULF “lives in its own continuous present, equal to our knowledge of reality in the present time.” — More at Goodreads
- Want Soon: Oh! Oh YAY! Finally right around the corner is July 10th! The expected publication for Shadow of Night the All Souls Trilogy Part 2 by Deborah Harkness! Now, to be honest I haven’t read the first, A Discovery of Witches since it was published because I knew in the back of my cluttered head somewhere that the publication date for part two was out there somewhere but not HERE. I absolutely loved part one. It is
amazing and I’m planning on rereading it prior to July 10 and will be at the front door of the book store when it opens that morning. Plus probably ready for a coffee or two.
- Want to read: Shadow of Night
- Series: Night of All Souls #2
- Author: Deborah Harkness
- No of Pages: 584
- Expected publication: July 10th 2012
- “Together we lifted our feet and stepped into the unknown”—the thrilling sequel to the New York Times bestseller A Discovery of WitchesDeborah Harkness exploded onto the literary scene with her debut novel, A Discovery of Witches, Book One of the magical All Souls Trilogyand an international publishing phenomenon. The novel introduced Diana Bishop, Oxford scholar and reluctant witch, and the handsome geneticist and vampire Matthew Clairmont; together they found themselves at the center of a supernatural battle over an enchanted manuscript known as Ashmole 782.Now, picking up from A Discovery of Witches’ cliffhanger ending, Shadow of Nightplunges Diana and Matthew into Elizabethan London, a world of spies, subterfuge, and a coterie of Matthew’s old friends, the mysterious School of Night that includes Christopher Marlowe and Walter Raleigh. Here, Diana must locate a witch to tutor her in magic, Matthew is forced to confront a past he thought he had put to rest, and the mystery of Ashmole 782 deepens.Deborah Harkness has crafted a gripping journey through a world of alchemy, time travel, and magical discoveries, delivering one of the most hotly anticipated novels of the season. — Goodreads
- Want Someday: No cover for this one, YET! But it sounds so deliciously interesting that I just can not wait. Cainsville Omens and Shadows #1 by Kelley Armstrong.
- Want to read: Cainsville
- Series: Omens & Shadows #1
- Author: Kelley Armstrong
- No of Pages:
- Expected publication: 2013
“The main character is 24-year-old young woman who has led a very privileged life, until she discovers she was adopted…and her birth parents are convicted serial killers. Her birth mother convinces her to investigate one of the old murders to prove their innocence. There are paranormal aspects, but they’re different than the Otherworld–second sight, omen & portents etc rather than werewolves & witches.” — Goodreads
Want more? Visit Ruby’s Reads (who is currently moving to WordPress. I will have the link updated as soon as she does!).
Related articles
- Beowulf: A New Translation (a.k.a. Beowulf: A New Verse Translation), Unknown, Translation by Seamus Heaney (Faber and Faber, 1999) (sophyanempire.wordpress.com)
- Book Giveaway: SHADOW OF NIGHT by Deborah Harkness (popculturenerd.com)
- Book Review: A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness (lonelyowlbooks.wordpress.com)
- A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness (nightlyreading.wordpress.com)
My Seryniti 
I hadn’t heard of Kelley Armstrongs new series yet! And A Discovery of Witches is one I’ve been thinking of and with the release of the second book it’s been on my mind a bit. I haven’t read Beowulf yet either and an updated version sounds good!
Cainsville didn’t even have much of a synopsis but what it did have was intriguing! I can’t find anything else on it! Which of course just entices me more. 😀 I’m thinking of getting Beowulf for the hubby and then stealing it to read. I’m really curious about it now! And of course the second in the series! YAY! And that comes out on July 10th, just enough time to reread A Discovery of Witches and get familiar with the characters again. 😀