not in kansas anymore

I have another ridiculous life goal, so you know what that means: another spreadsheet! I present, Nanowrimo 2012:



Also, while we're on the topic of ridiculous life goals and their spreadsheets... I've kindasorta but not really still been working on that whole Read All The Things thing.



I've been trying to add stuff to the list so I can get to the big Shakespeare payoff, in the hopes that it will motivate me to read more. I also got sidetracked by my pressing need to read Pamela -- now that I'm finally done with it, maybe I can read Things that are on my list!

Yeah, I'm actually... still doing this. Mostly. Took me a LONG time to get through the Canterbury Tales, and I'm still only barely entering the 15th century, but I seem to check in on the spreadsheet and read things often enough that it's worth an update.



Turns out, most of the Canturbury tales are really long, really religious, and kinda boring. But I found Geoffrey Chaucer's tale really entertaining, and in general enjoyed learning more of the ins and outs of the work.

I've also read rather a lot of Old and Middle English religious works... today I read some Old English biblical passages (largely because they show up in the screencaps), and I must say, when I finally find a translation of something it's such a radically more enjoyable reading experience. I ended up not enjoying Pearl as much as I'd hoped I would, just because I struggled so much with the Middle English. I guess I'm just a lazy person.

I did really enjoy Handlyng Synne, though, a lot more than I'd expected; I read the Cambridge History first, and then looked up the passages it mentioned as particularly interesting, then browsed the rest of the text based on the summary titles at the top of each page. I've started to adopt this methodology in general-- when I'm so lacking in context, a bit of background and some key passages combine to make a much more informative experience than slogging through the whole thing. That's how I managed to get something out of Purity and Patience, anyway.

I've officially entered the 15th century, where apparently everybody was too distracted by the 100 Years War to write anything interesting. I might just blow through it without reading too much of anything, in order to get to the good stuff in the 16th century sooner. I'm gonna get so many points for Shakespeare, I can't wait!

I finally got my copy of Otis and Needleman's Outline History of English Literature! Now it is time to read ALL THE THINGS!

That's... a lot more self-explanatory than a reasonable person would allow it to be. The Outline History of English Literature is a two-volume outline of the history of English literature. Chronologically, it lists... everything. There are roughly five to ten items per page, with three or four of those items identified as "major works". My goal for my 'gap year' is to familiarize myself with everything listed, and to read as many of the major works as I can manage.

I have, naturally, created a spreadsheet. As I work my way through the Outline History, I'll note all of the major works mentioned, and whether or not I have read them. As I read the works, I'll update their status. My spreadsheet has, at the top, a ring displaying the percentage of read vs. unread works as of that day. To the side, it has a chart of the read/unread totals over time. (The "unread" numbers will be going up as I add entries, after all!) The percentage ring is just there to be immediately satisfying, but the chart will get WAY more interesting over time. There are also some numbers wandering around to make everything work. Here's what it looks like right now:



As you can (hopefully) see, I'd already read Beowulf when I started, but I read a couple other short Anglo-Saxon poems this morning. I would never have heard of these poems-- let alone voluntarily read them!-- if it weren't for this project, but it was incredibly satisfying to be doing "real" reading again. I don't think I've read anything but fanfic and Temeraire novels since finishing my thesis in March!

I'm also really enjoying Otis and Needleman as authors. My copy is from 1952, but the book was originally written in 1936-- like all old criticism, I find it endlessly endearing. None of this postmodern, post-textual deconstructionist shit! Just on page 14: "The Fates of the Apostles is insignificant as poetry." BAM! "Juliana: Unpoetic, unemotional; tendency to wordy speeches." POW! Nothing more to be said!

But also-- I am endlessly charmed by their old-fashioned willingness to express adoration. Also on page 14: "Andreas: Explosive descriptions of man's titanic struggle with the tempest." "The Dream of the Rood: Probably the noblest and most imaginative of all Anglo-Saxon poems. ...Broodingly emotional, lyrically passionate, intensely imaginative, deeply religious." Nobody allows themselves to get so earnest these days.

Sure, there is a place for more modern, "sophisticated" criticism-- that's the kind of criticism I myself write, after all, since I don't live in 1936-- but in my heart, I will always believe that literature is meant to inspire enthusiasm.

So, I think I prefer to be embarking on this quest with two endearing antiquarians as my guides. It'll be more fun.

And now-- to read!