Learning Company Great Courses

I am a long-time fan of the Great Courses and have listened to many courses over the past 20+ years. I first discovered them in my local library when I was commuting 40 miles to work and couldn't find an audio book on the shelves that I hadn't listened to already. Those were the days of CDs, and I have many fond memories of mostly history and literature courses that I listened to.

Most recently, I listened to a marvelous course on How to Listen to and Understand Opera, taught by the funny, enthusiastic, and insightful Robert Greenberg, music historian and so much more. Thirty lectures and 24 hours later, I feel like I have just skimmed the surface but also know that I have a richer understanding and appreciation for opera. I grew up listening to it as both parents were fans, but I never had the context for understanding the development of this art form. My favorite section was, of course, Mozart and the in-depth discussion of The Marriage of Figaro, followed closely by Rossini and The Barber of Seville. 

If you want a taste of Greenberg's style, this YouTube short video provides the first part of the introductory lecture.

My current course is Gary Gallagher's The American Civil War--we're talking 48 lectures and 19 hours, but Gallagher is a leading expert on the Civil War and is a first-class instructor.

I am taking a bit of a break from audio novels while I wait for the current ones I have on hold at the library to become available, so this is a wonderful way to dive into topics that are particularly interesting to me.

Final note - many Great Courses (including the two I just plugged) are free to active Audible listeners, which is just incredible, imo.

Any other fans of the Great Courses out there? Any courses you can recommend?

Catching Up

Sorry for being AWOL, but I have been reading and listening and need to get back on track. The past couple of months have been characterized by WWII, opera, and LA lawyering. 

Let's start with the LA lawyer--I've been listening to Michael Connelly's Lincoln Lawyer series with my husband on our car trips. Listening to the first book in the series, The Lincoln Lawyer in Maine in September, then the second book, The Brass Verdict in Victoria, BC in October, and most recently, The Reversal on a trip across the mountains and back last week. I really love this series--Mickey Haller is a great character and I am fascinated by the details of the courtroom and defense and prosecution approaches. I know nothing about lawyering beyond The Good Wife, so this is really fun and interesting.

Now for opera. Opera? you ask. Yes, I grew up with opera and it never really left me. Colorado Opera in Denver started pinging me on social media with ads for their fall production of Verdi's Rigoletto. I decided to treat myself for my birthday--my husband had knee replacement surgery in October (so begged off with an ironclad excuse)--and decided I needed a refresher course. So, I ordered the libretto (Italian/English side by side), watched a YouTube video of Pavarotti's movie version, and listened to a 24-hour long, 32-lecture Great Course on the life and operas of Guiseppe Verdi, delivered by Professor Robert Greenberg of San Francisco. All of it was fantastic. The Pavarotti music with libretto in hand, the live production in Denver, and the detailed analysis of the opera with biographical context (there were 4 lectures on Rigoletto alone!). I finished the course yesterday, which culminated with 6 lectures on Verdi's last opera, Falstaff, based on Shakespeare's Merry Wives of Windsor. Greenberg has another Great Course on how to listen to opera, which I will probably do in 2023. 

On to WWII. Another Great Course, World War II: A Political and Social History, delivered by Professor Thomas Childers, followed by The Knight, Death, and the Devil, a fictionalized biography of Hermann Goring by Ella Leffland--this was a reread, but since I read it over 30 years ago, it was like reading for the first time. I also listened to two other related Great Courses: The Berlin Wall: A World Divided and Europe and Western Civilization in the Modern Age.

Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season. Thanksgiving was fun and relaxing (we dined out!), and I started transforming the house to its Christmas wardrobe today. Next weekend, the tree.

Looking forward to visiting all my favorite blogs and catching up with what you all have been up to.

Mid-August Roundup - Reading, Walking, Learning

Dog days of summer--lots of rain in Colorado (hurrah!), a bit cooler weather, still no tomatoes. What's up with that? But don't you love my sunflower garden? The teddy bear sunflowers are finally coming out, and they are adorable!

Lots of walking. I've been closing my circles on my Apple Watch every day since Jan 1, and accomplished the July challenge (average 60 minutes of exercise per day), and I 'm track to do the August challenge (average burn 668 calories from exercise per day). Am I proud of this? You bet!

In addition to reading, I've been listening to Great Courses on Audible. Here's what I've listened to so far:

• The Vikings, by Kenneth Harl - a 36-lecture course on the history and impact of the Vikings in medieval Europe. Absolutely, wonderful. The net-net is that Harl believes that the Viking raids, settlements, and assumption of power in certain areas was a major force in shaping Christian Europe. The Normans who invaded England in 1066 were essentially Vikings who had settled in Normandy and took control of the area. I did not realize that!
• A History of Hilter's Empire, by Thomas Childers - a 12-lecture course that outlined the development of the Nazi party, its rise and fall. Again, incredibly interesting.
• World War II: A Military and Social History, by Thomas Childers - I am just over half-way through this 30 lecture course. While I am getting more comfortable with the chronology and key points of the war in Europe, I am getting information that is largely new to me about the war in the Pacific and North Africa and the southern Mediterranean.

So why all this learning about WWII? My daughter and I are planning a trip to Germany in March/April. Because we are both interested in WWII, we want to visit a lot of the museums and historical sites from that time and the Cold War, so I wanted to do some pre-trip learning. I am also learning some German via Duolingo.

Now on to what I've been reading. 

The Midcoast, by Adam White - we're headed back to Maine for 10 days in September, so I wanted to read another novel set in Maine, and I saw this on a few blogs and thought I would give it a try. It was a solid 4-star novel, a debut novel, set in a very small town in Maine with an interesting story. Basically, the main character, Andrew, is a lot like Nick in The Great Gatsby in that he observes the rise and shattering fall of a family and how the facade of money and power can crumble when pushed even a little. The main character is an observer, not a player, without having much of a storyline himself. Not sure how this novel is doing overall in the market, but I think it could definitely use a better title, which I found dull and not enticing at all.

City of Vengeance, by D.V. Bishop - this is the first in a mystery series set in 16th century Florence and featuring Cesare Aldo, an officer working for the criminal courts in Florence, which bascially makes this a cop mystery. Absolutely loved the setting and Cesare is a great character with lots of potential for future stories. The writing was good and the mystery was interesting. Will definitely read the second in the series. Interestingly, I thought at the beginning of the book that it was going to be a take on The Merchant of Venice, as the first section deals with a gruff Jewish moneylender and his wayward daughter. The story didn't end up paralleling Merchant at all, but I was afraid we were straying into stereotypical grounds. Glad the author pulled back and told his own story without riding on Shakespeare's coattails. At 416 pages, this books squeaks under the wire to qualify for the Big Book Summer challenge.

The Diamond Eye, by Kate Quinn - WOW! I loved this book about a female, Russian sharpshooter during WWII. Not quite as good as The Rose Code, but wonderful nevertheless. I especially enjoyed the first part of the book, where Mila (aka Lady Death) is learning to be a soldier and developing her leadership skills (she eventually commands a platoon). The second part of the book deals with her visit to the US, Canada, and Great Britiain to drum up support for the US to aid the Allies and fight the Nazis. Mila Pavlichenko was a real person who wrote a memoir about her time in the Red Army and her trip to the US. The Author's Notes at the end is critical to enjoying/understanding the book, in my opinion, as she explains that 90% of the characters in the book are real people, and the only parts that she really fabricated were the larger story of Mila's estranged husband and the stalker who is trying to kill Roosevelt while she is visiting the White House. I particularly loved Mila's relationship with Eleanor Roosevelt, of whom I am a big fan! Reading this book while listening to the WWII Great Courses lectures was a perfect pairing.

Clocking in at 435 pages, this book also qualifies for the Big Book Summer challenge. 

Hope everyone has a good rest-of-August and happy reading, walking, and learning!

March Roundup

With April literally just around the corner, arriving mid-week, it's time to give some mini-reviews of my March reading.

Americanah, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - most definitely a 5-star novel from 2013. This is the story of Ifemelu, a young woman from Nigeria who immigrates to the US as a college student and then returns to Nigeria after 13 years. I listened to the audio of this book and recommend it as I think hearing the accents and the cadence of the dialogue enriched the experience for me. The stories of Ifemelu and her friends, family, lovers, and co-workers were powerful and eye-opening and consciousness raising, but they also provided connection points for someone like me, who knows little outside my own little sphere, to recognize feelings and emotions that I can relate to. Loved this book and have found myself thinking about it a lot after finishing it.

Adichie's website is definitely worth visiting: https://www.chimamanda.com/welcome/

In particular, I loved seeing Ifemelu's blog, which features prominently in her life in the US and when she returns to Nigeria. 

Three Junes, by Julia Glass - an interesting novel that provides two short stories and one longer story from within a single family. The first story is about a man on a tour of the Greek islands shortly after the death of his wife. The middle, longer story is about one of his sons and the issues and traumas of his life. And the final short story, is still about the son but a bit later. This is all rather vague because I don't want to give spoilers, but it is a poignant look at the tragedy of AIDS. I cannot say I loved the book, but it was interesting and well-written and I'm glad I read it.

Quietly in Their Sleep, by Donna Leon - this was a reread of #6 in Leon's fabulous Guido Brunetti series that takes place in Venice. I am rereading the series and enjoying every step of the way as Guido walks through Venice, solving crimes and dealing with the intricacies of life in Venice. This one involved assisted living facilities, nuns, and Opus Dei. Needless to say, it was great.

After listening to Americanah, I was at a loss for what to listen to next as I have a couple of books on hold at the library and I think my turn at them is coming soon. I scanned my library of Audible titles on my phone and discovered that I have a Great Courses lecture series on the Early Middle Ages, taught by Philip Daileader, of the College of William and Mary. What a treat! Part I was all about the decline and fall of the Roman Empire, and now I'm into Part II and hearing about the rise of Islam and the rise of the Carolingian dynasty in France. I am absolutely loving it. I enjoy reading historical fiction about the Middle Ages and I am gearing up to read a bio of the Medici family, so getting some good grounding in the backstory will pay off in understanding down the road.