Montaigne's writing is surprisingly more accessible than I had originally anticipated. I was expecting something along the lines of the complexity of Lamb for some reason, but what I got was something simple, understandable, and not unenjoyable. It shocked me how small my vocabulary expansion list was for this author, at least so far -- this certainly does not detract from the writing, as I appreciate artful simplicity. I was not able to make any progress into "Virgil," but his other essays are fairly memorable.
I thought "On a Monstrous Child" was an interesting perspective on Siamese twins. It was unusual, in the context of this day and age, to read a less "tolerant" of an individual with a birth defect. In contrast, there was a strange innocent tone, almost, that accompanied what might today be considered medical ignorance.
"On Books" was a good account of the literature at the time. Montaigne obviously felt strongly about reading and it definitely shows. My favorite part was when he mentioned "attacking" books, and how if after two attacks he didn't fully grasp the text, he simply moved on to the next portion. It is an odd thing to have impressed upon me, but as a book lover with a surprisingly slow reading pace and perhaps a bit poor comprehension, I could definitely relate.
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