Summer Reading

I'm saving money during the Kindle Era, and not just because e-books tend to be cheaper: because there's so rarely a reason to buy an e-book before the minute I'm ready to start reading it, I spend far less on books I don't get around to. Here are the books I'm in the middle of right now:

Light in August, Faulkner: Not since Pride and Prejudice (so December 2006) has an experiment in reading an unexplored Big Name turned out so well. The prose is gorgeous--exotic, but it hits you right in the gut.

Dollar Sign on the Muscle, Kevin Kerrane: Recommended by the ne plus ultra of baseball podcasts (this one) as the ne plus ultra of books on baseball scouting. I'm only 5% through it, but pleasantly surprised: the prose is readable and competent, effort is made to separate fact and fiction, and the subject is fascinating.

The Professional Poker Dealer's Handbook: Paymar, Harris, and Malmuth: This is research for an article I'm writing for Subject: Poker about cheating in live poker. (Short version: there's very little, but cardroom management is getting sloppy enough that favorable conditions for cheats now exist in some places.) The book is good so far: it's full of quality information, or at least people I trust say so; moreover, this might be the best prose of any book published by Two Plus Two.

Introduction to Attic Greek, Donald J. Mastronarde: I'm using this book for self-study as I improve my Greek (which is necessary in order for me to write a competent dissertation). I'm thrilled with it so far, though my only comparison is Hansen and Quinn's Greek: An Intensive Introduction. Mastronarde emphasizes phonology and linguistic history, and makes slightly more intelligible some topics which I had thought required pure memorization. I'm also learning the benefits of using two textbooks in tandem.