I am currently working my way through the following books. As I am somewhat vision impaired, I do all of my "reading" via audiobooks.
This Russian novel is widely considered to be one of the greatest and most important books ever written. If you want to join me in mispronouncing the author's name as Dusty-evsky, I will not be unpleased.
- By: Fyodor Dostoevsky, Constance Garnett – translator
- Narrated by: Anthony Heald
- Length: 20 hrs and 28 mins
The Audible Publisher's Summary of this book is as follows:
PUBLISHER'S SUMMARY
In this intense detective thriller instilled with philosophical, religious, and social commentary, Dostoevsky studies the psychological impact upon a desperate and impoverished student when he murders a despicable pawnbroker, transgressing moral law to ultimately "benefit humanity".
©1866 Public Domain (P)2007 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Here is the Wikipedia summary and I will warn that it includes some spoilers:
Crime and Punishment (pre-reform Russian: Преступленіе и наказаніе; post-reform Russian: Преступление и наказание, tr. Prestupleniye i nakazaniye, IPA: [prʲɪstʊˈplʲenʲɪje ɪ nəkɐˈzanʲɪje]) is a novel by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. It was first published in the literary journal The Russian Messenger in twelve monthly installments during 1866. It was later published in a single volume. It is the second of Dostoevsky's full-length novels following his return from ten years of exile in Siberia. Crime and Punishment is considered the first great novel of his mature period of writing and is often cited as one of the greatest works of world literature.
Crime and Punishment follows the mental anguish and moral dilemmas of Rodion Raskolnikov, an impoverished ex-student in Saint Petersburg who plans to kill an unscrupulous pawnbroker, an old woman who stores money and valuable objects in her flat. He theorises that with the money he could liberate himself from poverty and go on to perform great deeds, and seeks to convince himself that certain crimes are justifiable if they are committed in order to remove obstacles to the higher goals of 'extraordinary' men. Once the deed is done, however, he finds himself wracked with confusion, paranoia, and disgust. His theoretical justifications lose all their power as he struggles with guilt and horror and is confronted with both internal and external consequences of his deed.
Current Progress: 50%
In this book, Hancock makes the case for an advanced civilization in the Americas that ended at the end of the most recent Ice Age.
- Narrated by: Graham Hancock
- Length: 17 hrs and 17 mins
PUBLISHER'S SUMMARY
This program is read by the author.
Was an advanced civilization lost to history in the global cataclysm that ended the last Ice Age? Graham Hancock, the internationally best-selling author, has made it his life's work to find out – and in America Before, he draws on the latest archaeological and DNA evidence to bring his quest to a stunning conclusion.
We've been taught that North and South America were empty of humans until around 13,000 years ago – among the last great landmasses on earth to have been settled by our ancestors. But new discoveries have radically reshaped this long-established picture, and we know now that the Americas were first peopled more than 130,000 years ago – many tens of thousands of years before human settlements became established elsewhere.
Hancock's research takes us on a series of journeys and encounters with the scientists responsible for the recent extraordinary breakthroughs. In the process, from the Mississippi Valley to the Amazon rain forest, he reveals that ancient "New World" cultures share a legacy of advanced scientific knowledge and sophisticated spiritual beliefs with supposedly unconnected "Old World" cultures. Have archaeologists focused for too long only on the "Old World" in their search for the origins of civilization while failing to consider the revolutionary possibility that those origins might in fact be found in the "New World"?
America Before: The Key to Earth's Lost Civilization is the culmination of everything that millions of people have loved in Hancock's body of work over the past decades, namely a mind-dilating exploration of the mysteries of the past, amazing archaeological discoveries, and profound implications for how we lead our lives today.
©2019 Graham Hancock (P)2019 Hodder & Stoughton Ltd.
Unabridged Audiobook
Current Progress: 15%
My Wheel of Time re-read efforts charge forward. I have been working through recap and reaction posts for each chapter, of each book, in this very lengthy series. You can find my previous Wheel of Time posts HERE:
The Fires of Heaven is a fantasy novel by American writer Robert Jordan, the fifth book in his series The Wheel of Time. It was published by Tor Books and released on October 15, 1993.
I currently have published recap and reaction posts through Chapter 47. There are fifty-six chapters in total. I think I will finish the book at the end of April.
I am not sure what I will be reading next, when these are off my plate. I am leaning toward another history book in the realm of non-fiction and something much lighter and warmer after I finish Dostoevsky. I'm not built for an extended Russian winter.
My completed book reviews are HERE:
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