Today, I found an hour for myself. I just received my order for "The Thousand Nights and One Night", the 4 volume English translation by Powys Mathers. A quick glance reveals that each of the 1001 nights is clearly identified. I like this - it appeals to the bean-counting aspect of my personality.

I plan to take this book in the original spirit, namely one short story each day. This will take about 3 years. Seems reasonable. I may allude to this activity from time to time, but it will not be a regular feature of the Year of Learning.

The beginning sets the scene. A young girl, to avoid being beheaded, begins a tale and then stops at a critical point, so the King must prolong her life so he can find out how the tale ends. And so begins the first of 1001 nights. The girl's name is Shahrazad, and she becomes deservedly famous as one of literature's great heroines.

I am as intrigued with this story as I was a few years ago when I encountered "The Tale of Genji" which is one of Japan's most famous works of literature. It is a very pleasant way to absorb the history and culture of civilizations I know very litte about.

However the main activity today was to continue reading Marcel Proust's Swann's Way. I am now over 200 pages into the first volume.