Summer reading is always tricky for me: just when I have time to read, I can't think of anything to read. This summer, in characteristic over-achiever style, I've decided that aimless lack-of-summer-reading cannot be allowed to continue. I need goals. I need a plan, and I need metrics to measure success and failure!
So I set myself some goals: reading the complete works of Honoré de Balzac, the most prolific French novelist of the 19th century. I might not actually read everything he ever wrote - since there's a lot of it, but I'm giving it a try.
Accomplished so far: Old Goriot, The House of Nucingen, The Vendetta and Colonel Chabert. I started The Lilly of the Valley, but it wasn't much good. Up next: A Harlot High and Low.
Balzac's novels might be nearing their 200th birthdays, but the portrait of high society - ambitious, full of intrigue and gossip, petty jealousies and daring schemes - is completely contemporary. Highly recommended.
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