The Odyssey

I can't tell you how many times I have actual read this epic poem. Seriously, I'm not sure. But, I can tell you that it never gets old for me. I love Greek mythology. I love the way there is action and cultural enlightenment on almost every page. It moves quickly and is, well, an adventure.
This time I was reading along with my husband and talked about things together. I think this makes reading literature even more enjoyable. To share it with someone is great, but to share it as husband and wife is even greater.
I do have to say that there are some translations that are incredibly lacking. I can see their value as far as exposure, but it loses so much when put into the "modern" system of paragraphs and language. No, I've never read it in the original, but getting things as close to the original as possible is always going to be more true to the author's originality than the modern translations to make it easier on the mass market's eye.
I didn't get to peruse the copy we purchased at Barnes and Nobel as it was wrapped in cellophane. Dumb. It's a hardbound copy and has both the Iliad and the Odyssey in it, so we'll keep it around (Eric needed something to get started with while he waited for his Norton Anthology to arrive in the mail). It will allow younger children to better grasp what is going on, but it lacks so much. Oh well, at least there's a copy in our home that gives the general sense of this classic.