BW2: Literary Legends: The Tale of Genji

 

Happy Sunday! One of my goals this year is to do a deep dive into classics and other books. While wandering down a rabbit hole the other day, I came across The Well Read Podcast. After watching 9 Mind Blowing Philosophy Books for Beginners  adding a few books to my TBR, ahem, wish list, and immersing myself in a few of his other videos, including Why Reading Slowly Makes You Smarter, a plan bloomed.  

Amidst the planning, I stumbled upon Benjamin McEvoy's Podcast on How to Read the Tale of Genji.  McEvoy leads you on deep dive into the life and times of the story and the era which is absolutely fascinating and well worth the watch. 

The Tale of Genji came to my attention in 2014 when I read the first volume for our 52 Book Centuries challenge. When I decided to revisit the tale, I purchased the chunky Penguin Classic translated by Royall Tyler which is one of two translations McEvoy recommends. 

Synchronicity was hard at work, especially since The Tale of Genji is our January Literary Legend. Murasaki Shikibu's stories turned into a 12th Century Japanese novel of court life in medieval Japan.  Shikibu was a lady in waiting, poet, and author during the Heian period dating from 794 to 1195.    

I was very impressed with McEvey so much so that I joined his Patreon Hard Core Literature Book Club and went down another rabbit hole before surfacing with a few new book ideas.  Plus they are starting the year with Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove who is our April Literary Legend. I'm looking forward to his deep dive into the story to pass on to you all. I considered flipping the script and switching McMurtry to now and saving Genji for April so let me know what you think. 

Our letter of the week is B and I'm currently reading Steve Berry's The Paris Vendetta, book 5 in his Cotton Malone series which is full of fascinating historical tidbits including the search for Rommel's Gold, Napoleon, and more.  

Plus the main character in another story I'm currently listening to is Clara Bishop in The Fire Concerto by Sarah Landenwich and the narration is absolutely amazing. 

"A debut novel about a former concert pianist, Clara Bishop, whose career was ended by a fire, and her journey to uncover a historical mystery involving a 19th-century female composer, a murdered composer, and a mysterious metronome. The story weaves together the lives of three women across time, exploring themes of loss, redemption, and the secrets hidden within musical history, as Clara investigates a scandal that echoes her own past."

B also stands for Biography which is non fiction so which book should I start with?

Trevor Noah's Born a Crime, Joan Didion's Slouching Towards Bethlehem, or something entirely different such as John Berendt's Midnight in the Garden and Evil.  Help me choose!