After waiting for weeks for the next Song of Ice and Fire series book (#2) to show up on BookMooch.com, it finally did and I requested it on April 19th. The owner accepted my request, but I still haven't gotten the book, and I'm REALLY bummed and worried about forgetting details of the previous book. She never emailed me at any point, either. I really hope she didn't rip me off. She's a new user like me. This was the first book I requested, too, and I've sent out THREE to others. Really not fair. I sent her a polite email inquiring if and when she sent the book, as she's in NH so it's ridiculous that it would take so long.

In other book news, I recently read The Development of Arthurian Romance by Roger Sherman Loomis. A rather slender book at just under 200 pages, it analysed the development of Arthurian literature from a combined historical and literary perspective, covering the earliest Welsh and Irish mythological contributions, The Mabinogion, Geoffrey of Monmouth and his 'historical' texts, Chretien de Troyes (some of whose works I read in my women in medieval lit class), Parzival, the varied versions of Tristan and Isolt's tale (I've read a couple), the Vulgate Cycle (a massive conglomeration of various texts which forms the basis for most of the great later legends and texts), Joseph of Arimathea and Glastonbury, Merlin myths, rimed and alliterative English texts (with which I have some scattered previous familiarity), and lastly, Sir Thomas Malory. Loomis views the last with great respect and as the ultimate editor of the many threads of legend which he intertwined and enhanced, and praises him so highly that I will probably read the medieval knight's Book of King Arthur and His Noble Nights, as he initially titled it (often erroneously called Le Morte d'Arthur).

While I have always loved Arthurian legends, I had no deep knowledge and had read very few of the older or modern classics. I knew a bit of the history from the aforementioned class, and I took AP European history once upon a time, but none focused at all on Arthurian matters specifically. To an extent, my ignorance made me less able to fully appreciate Loomis's study, because he clearly wrote it for readers much more familiar with Arthurian legends and medieval literature than I. But his elegant style, thorough and logical analyses, and inclusion of small excerpts from discussed texts allowed me to enjoyably learn a great deal nonetheless. At times, I even found Loomis so entertaining and witty I laughed aloud, and I have rarely read literary analysis, or such intellectually critical writing so eloquent. I learned several new terms and many new words, and I think the examination of virtues and flaws in fiction generally shall be very useful to my own writing, as Loomis made observations that are universally relevant.

Though pleasant and interesting to read throughout, I would not call it 'light' or 'easy' reading, and someone completely lacking a background in the material discussed would probably not enjoy the work at all; I don't think even a strong interest would substitute sufficiently. Thorough yet concise and extremely well written, it is quite specifically focused on the development of Arthurian literature, and not at all a general overview of it. Still, if you have some background and a strong interest, and enjoy literary analysis and history generally, I do recommend it.