"Verbiage By the Pound" by James A. Michener....

Not really; I finally finished reading "The Source". I've nibbled at it when I didn't have anything else to read, since last October--give or take a month of bronchitis. I looked forward to reading about an archaeology dig in Israel, fictitious or not. Elements of the historical segments were very interesting--the Crusaders, the Turks, etc. The present-time "frame story" of the modern archaeologists seemed light and silly. I should remember the book was written in the 1960's; maybe a bit dated by now. Could have used another edit. Also, the characters of the book seemed mostly flat and monochromatic; even with a long novel of 1,000+ pages, this is not necessary. "Lonesome Dove" by Larry McMurtry, for example. The goal was to finish a Michener novel; I accomplished that, now I can move on to more entertaining books.

The Source: Part 1...

Recently I mentioned I started reading "The Source", a 1960's saga by James A. Michener. Today I finished the first long chapter. The plot centers on an archaeology dig in Israel in the 1960's; and this author plays it pretty straight. No Indiana Jones stunts. Main characters are introduced, the dig has begun and artifacts are discovered. Presumably, these artifacts will figure later in the book as the history of the site is revealed in later chapters. Two things I'm not enjoying so far: the elementary level treatment of the Nation of Israel and the Jewish people, religion and culture; and the marginalization of women. Maybe because the book is somewhat dated. Truth is, I tried a Michener novel years ago (Alaska) and couldn't finish it. Why am I doing this to myself?