

The Lord of the Rings fit well into my continued focus on history, as its fantasy vocabulary is very similar to that found in the books I’m reading about medieval history and that of the period pieces that I’m watching. I also find his writing fairly left wing, especially compared to someone like José Javier Esparza (who calls the generation who came of age under Franco the greatest Spanish generation ever )). This has been the case with the chapter I’ve read of Alatriste as well. I think Arturo Pérez Reverte must be some kind of literary writer because there were a ton of constructs/jokes/cultural references that I didn’t understand. Una Historia de España was extremely difficult to get through.

I am currently reading Africanus, La Gran Aventura del Reino de Asturias, the first Alatriste book and El Retorno del Rey. In terms of pure reading since my last update, I finished Una Historia de España and the first two Lord of the Rings translations. I have not done as much reading since last time, due to a shift in my focus to audiobooks- which scratch the same itch as books but help to improve my listening (more on that in the listening section).
