Summer Reads, Part 1: The Three Musketeers
One of my summer projects is to catch up on my readings. The fickle-minded and multi-tasking me embarked on my ‘to-read’ list with the following three summer reads, in parallel.
I want to read the original text of The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas. Why? We happened to come across the book during a random pop-in to the Orsay bookstore. And it’s a book I have heard of since I was a kiddo. Hence, the start of my reading journey of this 1000-page classic French literature. I vaguely remember watching a show about this book when I was a kid. It was a cartoon that cast the protagonists as anthropomorphised dogs. Knowing my taste in literature, Silviu recommended that I read this book (he read it in Romanian years ago). I decided to challenge myself in reading this classic in French, hoping to finish the book by end 2018.
At the time of writing this post, I am close to finishing half of the book. I am pleasantly surprised that the language used is not as hard as I thought it would be. Perhaps Dumas’ mid-19th century French had already modernised quite a bit by the time he published it in 1844. Compare that to the 18th century French of Abbé Prévost’s 1731 novel, L’histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut. The chivalrous adventures of the four protagonists and the dry humorous prose of the author make this a pleasurable read.
Always interested in history, I would google, from time to time, the historical background of the story. For instance, the arch-enemy Cardinal Richelieu, easily-manipulated King Louis XIII, and the otiose 1st Duke of Buckingham all show up.
Summer Reads, Part 2: A Short History of Nearly Everything
I came across A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson in Silviu’s old bedroom in Serbes. I have heard of this best seller, but never gotten the opportunity to read it. Again, recommended by Silviu, I decided to give it a go. Frankly, when he mentioned that it was a book about science, I was in two minds. Should I even start it? Science and I don’t go too well together. In fact, my O and A Levels’ results in Chemistry and Physics could testify to that.
I am now half way through the book, and am glad to have started it. Bryson did a very good job of simplifying the worlds of physics, chemistry, geology and astronomy. He adeptly blended them into an easy-to-read, and even witty, historical narration. At least now, I know how old our Earth and Universe are. I also know what supernovas, quarks, and the Big Bang Theory are.
Like with The Three Musketeers, I google the various subjects mentioned in A Short History of Nearly Everything. Perhaps a good read is simply any reading material that sparks your intellectual curiosity. It encourages you to find out more about the subject.
Summer Reads, Part 3: A Race for Madmen
Another good read I am onto now… I know, I know, 3 books at the same time. You must be wondering whether I’ll ever finish any of them. A good book is not an easy find. Once you discover one, you have to start it — even if that means juggling three at once. This one is A Race for Madmen by Chris Sidwells. I found this e-book on the Singapore National Library Board application. It relates the history of the Tour de France, which, I was surprised to learn, dates back to 1903.
The book also answers my trivial questions — like why organisers picked ‘yellow’ for the famous yellow jersey. It also explains why the mountain classification leader wears a polka-dot jersey. It reveals some of the adversities faced by the TDF pioneers, too. Do you know that some villagers tried sabotaging the cyclists by placing nails on the route? At one stage, riders faced up to 125kg of nails. Do you know that competitors had to repair their own bikes? They carried the spare and broken bike parts with them throughout the whole stage. Through a Google search, I saw photos showing rubber tubes hung on the necks of the cyclists!
Tour de France
Silviu re-introduced me to cycling when we moved to France two years ago. Naturally, Cycling + France = Following the Tour de France, the key event in the cycling world. I am not as avid a TDF fan as Silviu. However, I do enjoy watching the annual 3-week, 21-stage road cycling race, which covers 3500 km, predominantly in France. My adrenaline surges just by watching competitors conquering the relentlessly long and steep road climbs in the mountain stages. I’m a mountain lover, and also an amateur endurance athlete and biking newbie. These cyclists’ sheer physical and mental tenacity always awes me. How do you feel when you see a cyclist crash and flip over a road guardrail? Within minutes, he’s back on the saddle, blood dripping from his limbs, pedalling furiously to catch up with the rest.
And you? Have you managed to catch up on your ‘to-read’ summer reads? What are some of the books you read?