An adventure

The above is my photo of “A Vanitas Still Life with a Flag, Candlestick, Musical Instruments, Books, Writing Paraphernalia, Globes, and an Hourglass” (1662) by Dutch artist Edward Collier.

On Saturday morning, I received an email offering $40 seats to the Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s production of The Winter’s Tale. I had wanted to head into Chicago soon to see (again for the first time) Henry Fuseli’s “Milton Dictating to His Daughter” (1793), which had come up in both courses I recently completed on Paradise Lost. Naturally, that would be a great opportunity to revisit Raqib Shaw’s epic work, too, so I booked the tickets and headed into the city: a trip to the Art Institute, some great Indian food, then the play — good times.

Reading notes

These have already been shelved.

This week I finished reading The Burning Light of Two Stars by Laura Davis, the third of four titles we’re covering in a Roundtable course on memoirs. This somehow led me to last year’s big memoir, The Tell by Amy Griffin. I’m reading Sula in advance of another Roundtable course and Technopoly with Jared Henderson’s philosophy book club. In my quest to reread the Narnia books, I have nearly finished The Horse and His Boy.

My husband and I concluded our slow read of Oliver Ready’s translation of Crime and Punishment has concluded. Next up? All the King’s Men — yes, inspired by Barack Obama’s podcast.