Audiobooks

I finally finished listening to How to Live, or A life of Montaigne in one question and twenty attempts at an answer and thoroughly enjoyed it. A mix of Montaigne's biography and review of his works, it made my commute much more pleasurable. Now the only question is what version of the Essays to start with. See the link for a series of posts by the author on her book.

While at the library I saw an audiobook version of Zachary Mason's The Lost Books of the Odyssey. I enjoyed reading it (see this post for more detail and links) and wanted something short (4 discs) and sweet. It was both. Since the book contains purported missing chapters or versions of the Odyssey, many of them self-contradictory, I'm not sure how well this works in audiobook format. The same could be said for the book, though. Some people will enjoy it straight through while others may want to take a chapter or two at a time. I'm happy to say that it was well worth the re-visit, which is why I'm mentioning it.

Speaking of short (2 hours) and sweet (OK, this one is closer to bitter), I also checked out the L.A. Theatre Works production of Friedrich Schiller's Mary Stuart. It turns out to be a very good production of the emblematic (but not necessarily historical) play. Since the play is focusing on a critique and contrast of ideas, it lends itself well to an audio-only version. The text of the play can be found at Project Gutenberg.