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Megan K

Megan K

I go to St. John's College. All reading, all the time.

"It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, or who had ever been alive." (James Baldwin) more »
  • member since May 25 2009

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Megan K’s last login was 2 days ago. show recent activity »

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Public Notes

  • Peach

    Peach says

    Hmm... I’ve been trying to finish the Aeneid for a long time, and I don’t like it as much as the Iliad. For one thing, I think Virgil died before he got to revise the Aeneid, so although he might have been the greatest poet of his time, I’m sure there are passages in it that he would have changed given the chance. Additionally, the Iliad and the Odyssey are stories that were told for the sake of being heard. The Aeneid was supposed to be “serious literature” and I think the actual story is less interesting as a result. And, just personally.... I don’t like Aeneas and I don’t even really see the story as being about him. The Iliad is about the “rage of Achilles,” the Odyssey is about the “man of twists and turns,” but the Aeneid seems to be about the founding of Rome. Aeneas has some good points, but he’s just not as interesting to me as Achilles or Odysseus.

    posted 3 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Frabjous Day

    Frabjous Day says

    Please, 'tisn't snark; it's cultivated cantankerousness.

    posted 4 months ago. ( send a note )
  • James

    James says

    Well, maybe I'll skip the Romans after Aristotle and move on to less boring writers ;p Caesar's Civil War is an extraordinary struggle that I've been dipping into for months now-! Plus, it isn't even that long.Thanks for the link, I'll defo check it out soon!

    Saw the Iliad on your favourites and was wondering whether you have read the Odyssey? I one of those few(ish) who prefer the Iliad to the Odyssey and I'm always curious to see what other people think...

    A note on Nausea: Saw it on your plan to read and felt it was a duty to advise you to not to pick up...unless of course you want the same feeling that the title suggests! Sartre's plays (which I'm reading right now) are a hell of a lot more enjoyable and I've taken more out of them. (Huis Clois is fabulous.)

    posted 4 months ago. ( send a note )
  • T. Patrick Snyder

    T. Patrick Snyder says

    I only have three about the history of England.

    posted 4 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Andi K / Lady Klemm

    Andi K / Lady Klemm says

    Welcome to Classical Re-education, we can't wait to hear what you have to say about the books as we read. Is St. John's that classical college? If so, I wouldn't mind having a list of all your required reading as well.

    posted 4 months ago. ( send a note )
  • James

    James says

    Thanks for the advice, I was planning on moving towards Aristotle once I have had my fill of Plato's dialogues (I was going to try and read all of Plato before Aristotle but it seems like I can't acquire every single peice.) I've never heard of Thaetetus, thanks for the recommendation, is it one of his lesser known? Timaeus was such a bore and I only brought it because it contained Critias in the collection...

    I would have been clicking plan-to-read a lot of times whilst perusing your shelf as well if I didn't stop myself (by now my plan-to-read would be massive if I did so.) After Aristotle I thought I would move on to a Roman but haven't made a decision on who, I thought maybe Cicero (enjoyed Nature of the Gods) but his other works seem a bit more political - I've almost completely abandoned a hope for a political career... maybe if I have another go at Hobbes (got about ten pages into him last time and found it a drag) it will rekindle lost passions, do you think Hobbes was worth it?

    Maybe you can put books which you've "read some of it" on your "I own" shelf?

    Is St. John's College, Cambridge? I'm guessing you are doing Philosophy? I was hoping on going there, but am afraid I may not get the grades.

    posted 4 months ago. ( send a note )
  • jenn o

    jenn o says

    Great Baldwin quote.

    posted 4 months ago. ( send a note )
  • T. Patrick Snyder

    T. Patrick Snyder says

    There's a book called, The Anglo-Saxon Age: A Very Short Introduction, but it's kind of a summary of all that goes on. The Beginnings of English Society, by Dorothy Whitelock which has some interesting cultural knowledge. The Anglo-Saxons, edited by James Campbell, is all about the archaeology of Anglo-Saxon England. There are more about the language and literature as well.

    posted 4 months ago. ( send a note )
  • T. Patrick Snyder

    T. Patrick Snyder says

    It´s not going to be the same. There are cultural differences which are good. I have set in a brief time of peace during the reign of Ælfred the Great. It centers on a noble family in the town of Bath, because that was in the Wessex area, which was the standard written dialect of Old English. I´m not going to make it as long as the Ecce Romani series, and I´m doing a bit of cramming, but I can cover all of Old English grammar in one volume, which they really couldn´t do for Latin.

    posted 4 months ago. ( send a note )
  • T. Patrick Snyder

    T. Patrick Snyder says

    The Old English era is from the first written forms we have in English (maybe around 700 CE) to 1066 CE, after which it is the considered the Middle English era. That was when the Norman French conquered England.

    posted 4 months ago. ( send a note )
  • T. Patrick Snyder

    T. Patrick Snyder says

    That's because Ecce Romani is awesome. It even inspired me to write a book for Old English in a similar story style!

    posted 4 months ago. ( send a note )
  • uplandpoet

    uplandpoet says

    Welcome to Better than Starbucks! Look around, make yourself at home, start a new thread or dig up an old one or just read and jump in on the more active ones.

    We are honored to be one of your first groups!

    posted 4 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Marie

    Marie says

    I hadn't seen the cover for "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" until now. I wonder if it will be like "Shaun of the Dead" (it had better be).

    posted 6 months ago. ( send a note )


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