Brantome, Manzoni, Cannetti, Chretien de Troyes

Since my last post, I've finished Canetti's Crowds, which was interesting in that it used a concept and explored it in a variety of social settings. I also read Manzoni's Betrothed, which was an easy read but which was not very interesting. Then I read, almost inadvertently, the complete works of Chretien de Troyes, one of the great medieval writers, but translated into modern French. I hadn't realized that the story of Lancelot existed in French as well as English. I also read with interest the essays of Brantome on several historical figures (Mary Queen of Scots, Catherine de Medicis, Anne de Lorraine, Marguerite de Valois) about which I had read quite a bit. His contemporary's take on the various virtues or otherwise really was interesting. The French was not as old as Chretien, so I could read it relatively easily.

And, of course, I read some magazines: Eclectic Reading, The Economist, which included a mind-boggling report on information management, and The National Enquirer's learned report on the best and worst beach bods among entertainment celebrities. Quite a range.