
Kathryn Harkup: Death by Shakespeare
Hmmm. After having read and liked — though not loved — Harkup’s book on Agatha Christie’s use of poisons in her mysteries (A Is for Arsenic), it took the Shakespeare fan in me about a millisecond to snatch up this third book of hers when I came across it earlier this year … only to […]
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Royalty Moonlighting as Commoners in Fiction
24 Festive Tasks: Door 10 – Russian Mothers’ Day, Task 2: Towards the end of the 17th century, there was a Russian apprentice carpenter and shipwright going by the name Peter Mikhailov in the Dutch town of Zaandam (and later in Amsterdam), who eventually turned out to be none other than Tsar Peter the Great, […]
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Ross Are Red, Violets Are Blue: Shakespeare, Much Ado
24 Festive Tasks: Door 3 – Melbourne Cup Day, Task 2: Write your own “Roses are Red, Violets are Blue” poem for one of your favorite or most hated books of all time. Roses are red, violets are blue; Shakespeare nailed it without Much Ado. (Well, OK, this is more of a tribute to […]
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My Personal Literary Canon, Part 2: “Veteran” Readership
24 Festive Tasks, Door 5, Task 3: Tell us: What author’s books would you consider yourself a veteran of (i.e., by author have you read particularly many books – or maybe even all of them)? The authors by whom I’ve read the most books don’t coincide exactly, but substantially with those that I’d also […]
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A Book Stack / Scales Festivus Feat of Strength
24 Festive Tasks: Door 19 – Festivus, Task 3: Have your household scales perform a feat of strength: Place 10 of your heaviest books in a stack on your scales and tell us what their total weight comes to. The books I picked for this task: * My hardcover boxed set of Thomas Mann’s […]
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Bibliomancy
24 Festive Tasks: Door 18 – Winter Solstice / Yuletide, Task 1: Bibliomancy: Grab one of your larger books and flip to the indicated page and line number to answer the following questions – then post those answers for us: Will I read all the books on my TBR? (page 378, line 29) Will any […]
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William Shakespeare’s Epitaph
24 Festive Tasks: Door 1 – Día de los Muertos, Task 2: Share your favorite gravestone epitaph (you know you have one). To a Shakespeare fan, there can be only one … Good friend for Jesus’ sake forbeare, To dig the dust enclosed here. Blessed be the man that spares these stones, And […]
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16 Tasks of the Festive Season: Final Tally
The Markers: Stack of Books: Books read Red Bows and Ribbons: Other Tasks completed Joker cards used: The Squares, Books and Other Tasks: Square 1: November 1st: All Saints Day / Día de los Muertos & Calan Gaeaf Book themes for Día de Muertos and All Saint’s Day: A book that […]
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16 Tasks of the Festive Season: Updates / Blackout
I’ve yet to read at least one book for some of the squares, but I’ve completed a minimum of either one book or one task for all of the squares, and in several cases, more. The Markers: Stack of Books: Books read Red Bows and Ribbons: Other Tasks completed […]
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Gregory Doran & Antony Sher: Woza Shakespeare — Titus Andronicus in South Africa
Man, what a trip. Titus Andronicus is not, and never will be my favorite play by William Shakespeare, but having read this book, I’d give anything to be able to watch a recording of this particular production. In the 1980s (when Apartheid was still in full swing) Gregory Doran (later: Artistic Director of the Royal […]
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2017: Favorite and Least Favorite Books of the Year
16 Tasks of the Festive Season: Square 10 – Pancha Ganapti – and Square 12 – Festivus Tasks for Pancha Ganapati: Post about your 5 favourite books this year and why you appreciated them so much. Tasks for Festivus: […] –OR– Perform the Airing of Grievances: name 5 books you’ve read this year that have […]
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Jackie Bennett & Andrew Lawson: Shakespeare’s Gardens
A lavishly illustrated coffee table book-sized guide to the gardens Shakespeare knew (or might have known) both in Stratford / Warwickshire and in London, as well as an introduction to the gardens of the five Shakespeare-related houses in and around Stratford, with an introductory chapter on Tudor gardening in general. The find of several great […]
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