I saw this challenge a loooonnnggg time ago but I couldn’t decide which books to read for this challenge. Despite the insanely long deliberation with myself over which books to pick, I ended up going for the lowest level – Inferno. That means I will be reading four books from four different genres that was provided JNCL over at The Beauty of Eclecticism.
However, I’m also gonna list some of the other books that I am interested in reading (in italics). The books that I am sure to read are the ones that are in bold font.
Allegory:
- The Divine Comedy, by Dante Alighieri. I actually read this this year. However, I also want to read this while also reading some of the other texts referred to in the Comedy. I might be doing this for this challenge. :)
Biography
- The Confessions, by St. Augustine of Hippo. I’ve always been interested to read this so I’ll see if I can sneak this one in.
Literature
- Beowulf. This was actually discussed when I was in high school and I think it would be fun to reread it again.
- The Canterbury Tales, by Geoffrey Chaucer. I bought the Canterbury Tales this year and have not got around to reading it which is why this the book that I am reading for this genre. :)
- The Decameron, by Giovanni Boccaccio. I’m kinda wishing I could get a printed copy of this one but for now the only copy I have is the free EPUB from Project Gutenberg.
- The Lay of El Cid. I’ve always heard about this yet I have never read the text. :)
- Mabinogion. Same with El Cid, I’ve heard about this but I have never read the text.
- Nibelungenlied. I heard about this because this was mentioned as one of Tolkien’s influences. I thought it would be nice to read about his inspirations for his body of work.
- Njal’s Saga. I actually have the book which I bought at a second hand bookstore. I never got around to reading it so I do hope I could sneak this in.
- Poetic Edda. I’ve heard about this and I’m very interested in reading about the mythologies of other nations.
- Prose Edda. Same with the Poetic Edda. :)
- The Song of Roland. This work has been mentioned loads of times and it would be nice if I could also sneak this in.
Philosophy
- The Consolations of Philosophy, by Boethius. I heard about this and in fear of sounding like a broken record, wish to sneak this into my reading next year. :)
- The Prince, by Niccolo Macchiaveli. I’ve always wanted to read this but could never get my hands on a copy. I currently have the EPUB version from Project Gutenberg but I am saving to purchase a printed copy. :)
Religion
- Summa Theologica, by Thomas Aquinas. This work is mentioned in the Notes section of The Divine Comedy so it would be nice to read about texts that were referenced in the Comedy.
Romance
- Le Morte de Arthur, by Sir Thomas Mallory. This was tackled in my World Literature class in college BUT not the entire work. So, it would be fun to read it again in its entirety. :)
- Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Heard a lot about this and hopefully I could sneak this in.
Those are the books that I am reading for this challenge. I sure do hope to read more than what I put in bold here. :)
