• Early Medieval Art: Carolingian, Ottonian, Romanesque - John Beckwith

The World of Art series is always ify. Their books have a lot of good information, but the authors frequently get too wordy for the typical person to understand. Even with a background in Art History there are moments when I'll reread something since I had no clue what work they were talking about. As with most art books, pictures should be placed on the same page as the description. This would help tremendously. Also, they should talk about the images in order rather than mentioning image 101 before 98. I never understood why they do that. If the book changed just these two things, I'd suggest it to anyone who has studied these periods in history and art before. However, since the author frequently leaves out deffinitions for basic art historical terms I wouldn't suggest it to someone who hasn't studied art before.

• April Blood: Florence and the Plot Against the Medici - Lauro Martines

I finally got to finish this book! Apparently I was 150 pages away from finishing it when I droped it and not 50 pages. It took me a few days to get back into, but I did.
I really liked this book. Sometimes the organization of the chapters seemed a little awkward, but I understood why they were set up that way so I got over it. The information in the text more than maked up for that. This is probably the most thourough explaination of the Pazzi Conspiracy I've read to date. Martines goes into the political background that led to the events, the different stages of the planning, the histories of the conspirators, their confessions, punishments, and of course a detailed explaination of how the assassination of Giuliano and the attempt on Lorenzo changed the course of Florentine history.
At the end, Martines tries to summorize the overall effects and the future of Florence. The information was helpful, but you could tell that the author was trying to conclude the book toward the end of chapter 13 and through all of chapter 14. I started thinking he was rushing to finally be done with the book, but again, the information more than made up for that. Also, the book does not idealize Lorenzo de' Medici, which is rare. Martines presents the positives and the negatives. It took some getting use to after The Agony and the Ecstasy depicts him as the type of father figure you'd love to have.

I've kind of made it a tradition to re-read The Agony and the Ecstasy at least every other year. Do you think I should keep this up? I know that I could be learning more from another book on Michelangelo, but am I actually wasting time by re-reading? Or am I just solidifying my knowledge in a memoriable, historical-fiction way?

• The Name of the Rose - Umberto Eco

I really liked this book. I thought that the story was interesting, but more importantly I loved the historical quality of it. Umberto Eco did a lot of research before writing the book and he goes to great lengths to establish the aura of the era. He sticks you in the middle of of a monastary in the middle ages, and he does so rather accurately. While some people may not enjoy the random tangent into ancient texts and medicinal herbs I was delighted by the fact that the author did not stray away from these additions. Most authors assume they are writing for the masses, and that the typical person would get lost, while Umberto Eco includes it because it is true to the era. He takes a leap of faith and hopes that his reader will be intelligent enough to understand it, rather than neglect the additions at the expense of the setting. The book is rampant with symbolism and quotes on knowledge, faith, the ancients, monastic life, inquisitors, etc. I don't think that this book is for everyone, but I enjoyed it.

• Mesopotamia: The Invention of the City - Gwendolyn Leick

This book discusses 10 Mesopotamian cities (Eridu, Uruk, Shuruppak, Akkad, Ur, Nippur, Sippar, Ashur, Nineveh, and Babylon) as it describes the development of the city in the Near East from an archeological stand point. The author continually refers to architectural sites, statues, and writings from the era.
Leick's book is meant for someone who at least has a background knowledge of Mesopotamia and the battles between the Assyrians and Babylonians. Also, I suggest the reader stop between chapters to reflect on that particular city, or else keep a reading log of some sort so as not to mix up the cities. Overall I enjoyed the book, but I wish Leick would have included more photographs and that some would be in color. It's difficult to grasp the beauty of the Ishtar Gate in black and white. Also, it would have been nice to have seen the entire Ishtar Gate rather than just the dragonish creature since she spends so much time talking about it being shipped to Germany and its reconstruction.

• Girl in Hyacinth Blue - Susan Vreeland

This book is definately a quick read. It begins with a guy who owns a Vermeer, but cannot authenticate the artist because the painting would be taken away from him. He received it from his father who had taken it from the home of a Jewish family during World War II after rounding the family up for the trains on Black Thursday. Then, each chapter tells the story of the previous owner, how they obtained the painting and how the painting passed to the next person. It's a little awkward to work your way back along the timeline, randomly picking up in the middle of someone's life, but it's an interesting technique. I was entertained, but I'd recommend The Passion of Artimisia over this one.

• A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole

How do I even begin... This is one of those books you'll either love or hate. I don't think there's much middle ground.
Honestly, the best way to describe it is for me to quote a review from the Chicago Sun-Times on the back of the book. Henry Kisor wrote, "A Confederacy of Dunces is an American comic masterpiece. John Kennedy Toole's hero is one Ignatius J. Reilly, 'huge, obese, fractious, fastidious, a latter-day Gargantua, a Don Quixote of the French Quarter. His story burst with wholly original characters, a denizen of New Orleans' lower depths, incredibly true-to life dialogue, and the zaniest series of high and low comic adventures.'"
I found myself wondering how it was all going to come together in the end, but he managed to tie the characters together in a series of odd events. I think it's safe to assume that you'll never read a book quite like this one.

• Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books - Azar Nafisi

This was a wonderful book. It provides an interesting perspective of life in Tehran from the perspective of women. A group of women, led by Nafisi, delve into literary works such as The Great Gatsby and Pride and Prejudice. The book discusses how college students interpreted these works, why they were so radical to be teaching under the Islamic rulers, the role and treatement of women, lost freedoms, internal conflict, and aspects of daily life. I passionately recommend this one. (Thanks for the rec. Nicole).