Reading Recap: June 2026
Arthur • Plato • Books Purchased • Bookish Adventures
June 2026 Reading
King Arthur • Lewis • Plato
I usually take a break from The Great Books during July, but I bumped my break up a month to read about the Legends of King Arthur. I did this because I was asked if I would be interested in interviewing Malcolm Guite about the first of four volumes of his epic Arthuriad, Galahad and the Grail. As a general rule, I try not to turn down opportunities to speak with epic poets, so I spent the beginning of June prepping for that episode, which you can watch here.
I am an Arthurian newbie. Until a few weeks ago, I lacked the most basic parts of the storyline. Here’s what I read this past month:
I started with Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte Darthur to get my feet wet. I read the first 50+ pages about Arthur and then skipped to the parts dealing with Galahad. I did not read this entire book but just portions of it.
Next, I read Galahad and the Grail in preparation for my conversation with Malcolm. I was amazed. It truly feels like we’re witnessing the release of an epic poem that will be around for generations. I loved this and the poetry would ring in my head after reading.
Then, I read Roger Lancelyn Green’s King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table. This is written for young adults and was very helpful in getting a relatively quick overview of the main stories of the legend of King Arthur. The Malory edition can be a bit long-winded and contradictory, but Green does a wonderful job of consolidation. He was also a friend of C.S. Lewis.
I closed out my Arthurian Month with The Fall of Arthur by J.R.R. Tolkien. This is an unfinished poem and was neat to see Tolkien’s interaction with the legend. His son wrote a very helpful and informative afterward. I recommend this to Arthur fans.
After Arthur, I read Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis. This is the July book for the Short Great Books reading group I lead in Franklin, TN. I’m going to be reading it one more time before the July 6th meeting. I’m still processing the first read-through.
After Lewis, I dove back into Plato as I prepare for a podcast conversation I will be having later this week about the Ion dialogue. This is a short dialogue dealing with artistic inspiration. Here are the books I’ve been consulting for this deep dive:
Plato: Complete Works - I usually start here with Plato’s dialogues to do a read-through for the overall picture. This version of Ion was translated by Paul Woodruff.
Plato: Early Socratic Dialogues - Intro to & Translation of Ion by Trevor Saunders
Plato: On Poetry - Intro to Ion by Penelope Murray (not pictured)
Ion - translation by Allan Bloom
An Interpretation of Plato’s Ion - by Allan Bloom - an article that has been very helpful in thinking about Ion.
Classical Literary Criticism - Intro and Translation by Penelope Murray - I enjoyed this introduction.
By the time the podcast conversation occurs this Thursday, I’ll have read Ion at least 5 times. Some of these Great Books take me a long time to understand, but it’s been fun to see my understanding increase with each subsequent reading.
One quick note to close out June - I read the full books of about half of those listed above. For the others, I read small portions for intros or different translations, or I’m working my way through the entire work (as in the case of Plato’s Complete Works).
July 2026 Reading Plan
Back to the Great Books
From July - November, I’ll be reading the dialogues of Plato. I’ve read about a third of them so far and am going to attempt to finish all of them by the end of the year. That will include a deep dive at some point into The Republic. I’ll want to read that one at least two times, maybe more.
Podcast Episodes
I filmed two delightful podcast episodes during June around the Galahad and the Grail epic poem:
I first interviewed the author and poet, Malcolm Guite. We talked about the Arthurian threads back to Ancient Greece, his collaboration with illustrator Stephen Crotts, and the theme of unveiling.
After that, I interviewed the illustrator of Galahad and the Grail, Stephen Crotts. I asked Stephen about his design process, how he got into the Arthur stories, and how we should approach his artwork.
Recently Acquired
June Book Purchases
My book buying is out of hand. These books fall into a few main buckets:
King Arthur - I really got into the Legends of King Arthur this past month and books would keep pointing to other books that I wanted to explore. The Apocryphal Gospels (particularly, the Gospel of Nicodemus) relates to Arthur as well.
Till We Have Faces - I’m leading a discussion on this book next week and want to be well-prepared, so I purchased some books for that purpose. The story is based upon the Cupid & Psyche myth found in Apuleius’ Golden Ass, the reason for that purchase.
Plato - I want to understand the Ion dialogue well before I discuss it this week on a podcast.
Others:
I rearranged my shelves this past month and bought some books to fill in some Great Books gaps that I have coming up (Tao Te Ching, Sun Tzu, and Zhuāngzǐ.
The Yearling - I saw Andrew Peterson in concert and he talked about this book for quite a while. It really impacted him, so I bought it for the future.
The Hidden Life of Trees - I’m going to spend December reading about trees, so I’m building my arsenal.
Bookish Adventures
Here’s some book-related fun I had during June:
Each year, thriller writer Brad Thor signs and personalizes his latest book for our customers at Landmark Booksellers. It’s a joy to get to speak to him each year as he signs books.
My office/study mid-shelf rearrangement.
An event at Landmark Booksellers with Former United States Secretary of Education Lamar Alexander.
Catching an Andrew Peterson concert at the Ryman where his backdrop was shelves of books.
In-person interview with Stephen Crotts, illustrator of Galahad and the Grail.
An event with Steven Curtis and Mary Beth Chapman at Landmark Booksellers. I have listened to his music for many years, so it was neat to get to meet him.
I set aside one post per month to highlight my reading life. Books of Titans is a reading project aimed at seeking the ancient paths by reading The Great Books by 200 Authors chronologically over the next 40 years. Thank you for following my journey.