The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces Book

So, here's how it happened. You know how there's all the coverage of Hillary-supporters-turned-McCain-supporters? Well, I read some interesting feminist commentary on the issue, and the media coverage thereof, which made me nostalgic for all of those fantastic, tragic, bat$hit crazy female characters I read/loved in college. So, needless to say, I started to crave Medea. One thing lead to another, and I dusted off the old Norton Anthology. Just reading the table of contents brought back a flood of memories of hours spent fighting through painful reading assignments, but now I have the pleasant knowledge that this time I was reading for fun, for my own personal growth and enjoyment, and I don't have to stay up late doing it if I don't want to. Well, I guess that's true of Humanities assignments, but regardless, I had a moment. Anyhoo, this collection is absolutely fantastic, and I plan on exploring it for many, many years. Maybe I'll actually read the full-length masterpieces some day, but for now the abridged versions are perfect for my needs - I like the stories and the language, but am not so ambitious as to want to read the entire Bhagavad Gita right now. The introductions provide a sufficient summary of the historical and cultural contexts, and the footnotes bring you right up to speed with all of the exiles, murders, wars, and prophesies you missed in the edited sections.