King Lear by Shakespeare

King Lear wound up being the only Shakespeare work I got to in January. It is an incredible work, albeit occasionally hard to follow for me. I remember in high school I had these great versions of Shakespeare that had modern text on the left and the original text on the right. The version I have on my Kindle doesn't even have footnotes so there are a few things that didn't make sense. However, even with certain passages opaque to me, the brilliance is tangible.

King Lear begins with an old king deciding to bequeath his kingdom to his three daughters. The first two essentially suck up to him, telling him about all his admirable qualities, but his youngest, Cordelia, states that she cannot express her love for him. Lear, falsely swayed by his other daughters' flattery, banishes Cordelia, who fortunately manages to catch the King of France as her husband, and gives his kingdom to his other two daughters and their husbands. These daughters then abandon their father, while also getting involved with Edmund, an illegitimate son of the Duke of Gloucester, who has his own underhanded plan of overthrowing the heir and taking over the land for himself. Because it is Shakespeare, there is disguise, putting out of eyes, real madness, false madness, and poisoning followed by suicide. I kept forgetting that it was a tragedy and had the sense that it would all come right in the end... until it didn't. However, it was beautifully written. The thing I love most about Shakespeare these days are his keen observations of human nature -- the way he truly nailed the way we as a species behave on the head. I wonder what it must have been like to live with a person like that.

This review is not really a review at this point but a series of musings on King Lear. But there you have it. One of the more lengthy, complicated Shakespearean plays I've read, but definitely a worthwhile investment of time and mental energy.

4 stars

Warnings: Puns that are beyond my understanding, violence

Shakespeare Month, 2 mini-reviews, and hey, it's been a while

So... blogging. It's not so much been happening lately. The sad thing is I can trace the demise of my blogging life to when I started working night shifts. The good news is that I am back on days soon, hopefully for a long while, and it is New Year's Day, harbinger of all the best intentions. I can't promise I'll be perfectly consistent, but I'm not throwing in the towel yet, even if my "currently reading" button hasn't changed in over a year. (I'm still reading tons, just not writing on it).

I'm not going to be terribly organized about this because to be honest, the most important thing to me is to just keep going when I can. So this post is going to be random and all over the place.

First off, The Classics Club is hosting Shakespeare in January, a celebration of the Bard and his works. I have the best of intentions of reading all of his works at some point in my life, so I am looking forward to jumping head-first into this. I'd like to read/listen to 3 Shakespeare plays. I have an audiobook version of Hamlet and would also like to read King Lear and Richard II. They will be hosting a different event every month and while I don't plan on participating in every event, many of them appeal to me so plan on seeing more of that.

Finally, I finished two books today so I'm going to review them. I can't always keep up with blogging about all the books I read -- I read too many and have so many other obligations that sometimes they fall by the wayside. However, I have been fortunate enough to receive many great books from publishers and NetGalley and I want to attempt to review as many as I can. So... on with that.

Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh

First of all, have you ever read the blog Hyperbole and a Half? I have been reading it for years and it is hilarious. She writes about her memories and simple every day emotions and events with a humor and bluntness that is refreshing and laugh-out-loud funny. I was very excited to see that Allie Brosh was writing a book from her blog; however, I was disappointed at how much of her content was simply repeated in the book. I was hoping to see more new stories. While there were some scattered throughout the book, they didn't quite live up to the original blog posts. Honestly, I'd recommend simply visiting her blog -- you could easily spend hours there (I have). However, if you want to get to the best-of posts quickly, the book is the way to go.

3 stars

Insurgent by Veronica Roth (Divergent #2)

I read Divergent about 18 months ago, and I liked it decently, although to me it didn't measure up to The Hunger Games, to which it is frequently compared. While I liked it, I wasn't overly excited to dive into the remaining books in the trilogy. However, with the final book finally out and the buzz surrounding the movie, I decided it was finally time to finish this series. I found Insurgent to be more compelling than Divergent. The characters and their choices are more complex than I sometimes see in YA and especially dystopian YA -- there are so many nuances to each decision. In that sense, Insurgent reminded me of Mockingjay. A war is being fought but there are more than just two sides, and each side has many flaws as well as merits. The adventure of the story kept me invested, and the many twists kept me reeling. While Insurgent is not a book that shattered my illusions or had a lasting impact on me, it was an entertaining read.

3 stars

Mini-Reviews: Classics

A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway

This was my Classics Spin #2 read, and I loved it. I miss Paris every summer since my study abroad five years ago, and I have been meaning to read A Moveable Feast for  years. It is Hemingway's memoir of his life in Paris. Being Hemingway, he is rather sparse on the details and definitely focuses more on his relationships with people in Paris, rather than the city itself, but I still loved the atmosphere that peeked through Hemingway's experiences, as well as learning how he felt about his writing. Hemingway seems to be a hate-him-or-love-him type of author, and while I didn't enjoy him in high school, I have come to really appreciate his clear, direct style of writing. I tend to associate different writing styles with the way I feel after eating certain types of food (weird, yes?). Hemingway tastes like good steel cut oats with no sugar added but with some good fruit stirred in. Not a ton of flavor, but nourishing and hearty. 

4 stars

Warnings: None

Paradise Lost by John Milton

Paradise Lost is another book I've been meaning to read for years (seems I feel that way about many of the classics). I felt that I should read it because it has influenced so many authors, but I never expected to love it -- I just perceived it as one of those obligatory must-read-to-be-a-literate-book-lover things. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this retelling of the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, told in epic poetry style. It definitely took some patience at times, and I didn't get all of the mythological references, having read the cheapy version on my Kindle instead of a footnoted edition, but the beauty of the writing frequently took my breath away. While I don't agree doctrinally with everything in Milton's narrative, I enjoyed the story and was swept away by his fantastic writing.

4 stars

Warnings: Some thematic material but basically clean

Emma by Jane Austen

Emma was a reread for me. I read the book in high school or middle school and was largely unimpressed. At that point I'd read Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice and seen the movies, and I was disappointed in the lack of sweeping romance that I saw in Emma. It was longer than the other Jane Austen novels and the heroine was frequently aggravating. I decided it was just a miss for me and moved on.

However, a few months ago I watched Clueless and loved it even more than I had remembered. I started to wonder how well it followed Emma and decided to attempt a reread. This time, I adored the book. I'm not sure if I understand it better or if my sense of humor has matured, but I found Emma's schemes and character flaws to be endearing. Yes, she was imperfect and nosy and at times judgmental, but she was also genuinely kind, albeit frequently misguided. And the way the romance slowly swelled appeals to me now that I am past my hormonal teenage angst. I loved it.

5 stars

Warnings: None

A Midsummer Night's Dream

A Midsummer Night's Dream is also a reread for me. I read it for the Once Upon a Time Challenge. I've always loved this story, but I think now that I am older I can really appreciate Shakespeare's writing. Being significantly less eloquent than the Bard, I don't have the most articulate way to pinpoint the quality that I love about his work. It is just good. It's poignant and apt about human nature and I love it. Hooray for Shakespeare!

5 stars

Warnings: Innuendo

The Shakespeare Project

I don't have much in the way of literary training. I write a book blog because I read a lot of books and recommend a lot of books to a lot of people. I dabble in almost every genre, and heavily in the classics. 

However, I feel like to really be considered a connoisseur of the English language, one has to read everything available by William Shakespeare. 

So that is my quest -- read the complete works of Shakespeare by... the time I die. 

I toyed with reading them all in some type of organized fashion, but I think that would burn me out too quickly, so I'm just going to do it haphazardly. As you can tell, this project isn't especially organized. But it should be fun. :)

YA Friday: Kissing Shakespeare by Pamela Mingle

Title: Kissing Shakespeare
Author: Pamela Mingle
Genre: YA, fantasy
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 2012
Source: NetGalley
Read for: Review

Miranda feels as if she is stuck in her mother's shadow. Her mother is a famous Shakespearean actress, and after Miranda's dismal performance as Kate in Taming of the Shrew, she is ready to give up, tired of the comparisons. However, her life is turned upside down when a fellow actor in Taming of the Shrew pulls her aside and tells her he requires her -- and promptly removes her to sixteenth century Great Britain. Her task? To seduce Shakespeare in order to prevent him from joining the Jesuits, thus resulting in his great works never being written.

Kissing Shakespeare was ultimately a fun, light read with a kiss of romance. However, I had issues with the book initially. Miranda was unbearably immature at first, and as the book is written in first person, I was constantly irritated. The writing seemed as if it was coming from a young teen, but the subject matter was rather mature, so the two circumstances seemed incongruent. In addition, Miranda (or Olivia, as she was called in the sixteenth century, posing as her captor, Stephen's, sister) seemed so blatantly modern that the whole premise of the story implausible. In addition to her modern way of speaking, which no one really seemed to question, Miranda is caught in her bra and underwear by her maid, who accepts easily that they are simply from foreign lands. There is also a scene where Miranda wants to confront her "uncle." Stephen tells her no, that women generally do not participate in such conversations during that era, but when Miranda protests, he simply gives in. It all seemed a little too easy and unlikely.

However, with that said, there were many aspects of the story that I enjoyed. I found the plot fairly enjoyable, although much of the mystery aspect was predictable and left me frustrated with the characters for dimly not seeing the truth. What was most interesting to me were the little details of life that colored the time period, such as the clothing worn by the characters, the type of food they ate, and the way they spent their time, as well as the conflict between the Church of England and the forbidden practice of Catholicism. I don't know much about the Elizabethan era, but it seemed that Pamela Mingle had done her research and was well-versed in the time period.

I also found myself genuinely enjoying the romance that unfolded in Kissing Shakespeare. I was invested in the quarrels and sweet moments between the characters, and found myself rooting for them to succeed as obstacles occurred. As seems to be common in time travel stories, the ending was wrenching and had me aching for the characters. The love story definitely had its share of sweetness and romantic gestures, as any novel featuring Shakespeare should.

While Kissing Shakespeare had its flaws, I did find the story sweet and interesting. For a light read featuring time-travel and the Elizabethan era, Kissing Shakespeare will provide a few hours of enjoyment.

3 stars

Warnings: Some profanity (no f-bombs), disturbing scene of violence, heavy making out, discussion of seduction

Henry VIII by William Shakespeare

'Tis the season for hurried blog posts, I'm afraid -- also known as finals week. In all honesty, it isn't finals week for me, just for my husband. It is the last week of classes, though, also known as the week of everything being due and many extra projects on top of normal programming. I should probably just take a blogging break and post reviews starting next week, when my spare time is abundant; however, I am so far behind that I just want to keep up. Overall this blog is not a place to be perfectly polished -- it is a place to record my reading excursions. So. This one will be short and sweet.

Henry VIII by William Shakespeare follows Henry VIII during his falling out with Cardinal Wolsey, his growing closeness with Oliver Cromwell, and his marriage to and coronation of Anne Boleyn (known as Anne Bullen in my version). I read it because after reading Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, I was completely enthralled with every aspect of that era (anyone excited for Bring Up the Bodies? It comes out in like two weeks!). I had never read a Shakespeare history and thought that this one, placed in an era I am already familiar with and already enjoy reading about, would be perfect.

I was somewhat wrong. Don't get me wrong -- Shakespeare's writing always makes me happy. There is something very satisfying in any phrase he pens. However, for an era that has inspired so much excellent literature, the play itself was somewhat bland. I liked it, but it didn't offer me anything that I didn't already have. Which, I suppose, isn't really fair, because it came along before anything else did.

One thing I do appreciate is the fact that it is about Elizabeth I's family -- it ends with her birth. It is interesting that the play was written in her time and therefore really had to be presentable before her. If Wikipedia steers me correctly, it was written for Princess Elizabeth's (not the queen) marriage celebrations.

So -- to sum up, it is Shakespeare, so it's good, but as far as Shakespeare and Tudor England tales go, it is only mediocre. It was interesting to me in a historical sense but the actual reading experience wasn't stellar.

3 stars

Warnings: Dirty Shakespeare jokes that you have to be smart to get.

February Prompt -- A Classics Challenge

This month's prompt for A Classics Challenge (hosted by November's Autumn... beautiful name!) is on character. I am a little disappointed that I am not reading a classic I am more involved in, because character is the most important aspect of a book for me. However, maybe it will help me appreciate the book I am reading more if I focus in on the characters.

I am reading Shakespeare's Henry VIII. Lately I have become very interested in Henry and his assorted spouses, fueled initially by Phillippa Gregory novels and enriched further by Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall (which you -- all of you -- should read immediately if you haven't). As I haven't read any Shakespeare histories before and I wanted to read a play for Shakespeare Reading Month and another classics challenge, I thought this was the perfect choice. However, I have been slowly creeping through it, and am still not extremely involved with the characters.

However, one thing that is interesting about these characters is that they take on different personas and attributes as they are interpreted through the minds of different authors. While I am not very deep into Henry VIII yet, my perceptions of the characters are colored by my experiences with them in other books. One thing I have noticed that differs in Shakespeare's treatment of the characters is that Anne Boleyn (called Anne Bullen in the play), who normally is the dominant woman, takes a back seat to Catherine of Aragon, Princess of Wales and Queen of England. Catherine is given much more stage time and much more character.

So to get into the actual prompts...

Level 1
What phrases has the author used to introduce this character? What are your first impressions of them? Find a portrait or photograph that closely embodies how you imagine them. 


I am far too lazy to look up actual phrases used by Shakespeare to describe Catherine (a full week of school will do that to anyone), but my first impression of her in this particular play is that she is strong, despite the fact that she is being beaten down by her husband's rejection and the varying opinions of her people. There is a scene where she begs Henry to consider her, but it doesn't strike me as weak -- rather than begging, it seems as if she is taking him to task for not honoring her as he should. 

I tried to give credit for this source and my computer went kamikaze on me and I lost the website. So, be aware that I myself did not create this image, but some exceptionally talented person.

Although Catherine is supposed to be large by the time these events take place, and although I doubt she is really that pretty at that point in her life, I love this painting, and it is how I picture her. 

Level 2
How has the character changed? Has your opinion of them altered? Are there aspects of their character you aspire to? or hope never to be? What are their strengths and faults? Do you find them believable? If not, how could they have been molded so? Would you want to meet them?

Well, in this retelling in particular, I think Catherine is stronger. While she is a character that I have respected throughout all the stories about her, I think in Shakespeare's version she is more dignified. I would love to meet her.

Level 3
Try writing a short (four sentences +) note or letter as the character, addressed to you, another character, the author, anyone.

So, because I was intrigued by the scene when she begs Henry to consider her, I am going to write a note from her to Henry. I am worried I'll be a little cheesy, so bear with me. 

Dearest Henry,

It pains me that you are pursuing this errant course, and I cannot imagine why you have chosen it. There have been other women before, but they have never threatened our marriage. And in threatening  marriage between the two of us, the most visible couple in our world, you are threatening marriage for all of England. You are showing the gentlemen of England that if they find someone prettier or richer or in any other way better than they perceive their wives to be, they have license to cast her off, with no thought of decency, commitment, or persistence. And aside from the wider issues at stake, I am surprised that the years of our marriage mean so little to you. I have produced a son before -- it is no judgment upon us that he did not live. Children die frequently, and heartbreaking as it is, there is no one to blame. We can produce an heir together. Keep your self-respect and mine intact. Do not do this.

Queen Catherine

Poetry Corner: Shakespeare's Sonnet 52

So am I as the rich, whose blessed key 

Can bring him to his sweet up-locked treasure,

The which he will not every hour survey, 

For blunting the fine point of seldom pleasure.

Therefore are feasts so solemn and so rare, 

Since, seldom coming, in the long year set, 

Like stones of worth they thinly placed are, 

Or captain jewels in the carcanet. 

So is the time that keeps you as my chest,

Or as the wardrobe which the robe doth hide, 

To make some special instant special blest, 

By new unfolding his imprison'd pride. 

   Blessed are you, whose worthiness gives scope,

   Being had, to triumph, being lack'd, to hope.

I think the main reason this sonnet appealed to me is because I am a savorer -- I like things to last. If a book is amazing, I don't want to finish it -- I'll cut down to a few pages a day because I don't want it to end. I could relate to the metaphor of the rich man not surveying his treasure constantly due to the desire to keep it a rare and special pleasure. And I think this idea does translate well into love -- while I am always happy to be with my husband, I definitely appreciate and crave his company more when I have been away from him all day. I love the image of moments with the poet's love being placed in a chest as jewels carefully preserved, to be looked at only on special occasions but dreamt of and savored always. 

For more posts about Shakespeare, check out Allie's Shakespeare Month. 

Sunday Salon: Challenge FRENZY

SHappy pre-Thanksgiving, Americans, and happy almost-Christmastime, people who celebrate Christmas, and happy winter, everyone else. I started that sentence out wanting to be so very politically correct but it came back and bit me in the butt, as usual. I am looking forward to this week -- I plan on going home to Boise for Thanksgiving, if the weather cooperates. My parents are hosting Thanksgiving at our house for the first time ever, and we are excited to be in control of a few things. Mostly, the fact that we are having dinner at 2pm instead of 6pm.

Remember how a few weeks ago, I was feeling so wishy-washy about challenges and how I wasn't sure if I wanted to do them anymore since I couldn't possibly finish them all this year? Well, about that... so many interesting challenges have popped up this month that I want to join them all. Le sigh. So here are all the ones that I am interested in. Will I finish them all? Assuredly not. Will I enjoy tracking down the books I want to read for them and then ignoring them completely? Of course.

The Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge. Because, as evidenced by the madness that went on during R.I.P. VI, I am very much a seasonal reader. I'm just planning on doing two rereads this year, so the level is Mistletoe:

:: Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher - Comfort reading at its best. I'm pretty into comfort reading right now, as I'm sure you'll be seeing on the blog in a couple of weeks, so this fits right in.

:: Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan - Loved this one last year, and I've dipped into it a few times since last year. I'm excited to revisit, probably on my lovely CRUISE!

Shakespeare Reading Month. I love The Bard, and it's been way too long since I've read any of his plays. I went through a phase in high school when I read most of the comedies, but I've never touched the histories, so I am going to pick up either Henry VIII or Richard III. I'll also continue my slow trek through the sonnets.

The 2012 Harry Potter Reading Challenge is too perfect for me -- I was planning on rereading all of the Harry Potters and then watching the movies next year, probably in the summer, although I've had a hankering lately and might cave sooner. I might do all audiobooks this time, we will see.

November's Autumn is hosting a classics challenge that is a little different. You read seven different classics, and then on the fourth of each month you return to the webpage and answer a question about the classic that you read. This overlaps perfectly with the other classics challenges I am participating in, and I love the idea of everyone answering a prompt about the classic they are reading, so I couldn't resist. {And also, how gorgeous is the name November's Autumn? It made me feel like Anne of Green Gables, geeking out about it.}

And then, as an eclectic blogger, how could I resist Ellie's Mixing it Up Challenge?  The premise of this one is to read books in different genres. Ellie lists sixteen, and I am going for the level of the Mixing Bowl, meaning I will try from 9-12 different categories. Many of them will be categories I am used to, just because that is the nature of the beast, but I am going to try a graphic novel, some humor, and maybe even a travelogue -- all things I haven't experienced before. Hooray!

And then, this morning, I stumbled across the New Adult Challenge. So many people have been saying they wish there were books about adults in their early twenties, and I couldn't agree more, being in that range myself and working on a novel that fits into that range. So I am going to try out this challenge at the Just Graduated level and read 3 books. I am probably going to read The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons and get my little fingers on the Jessica Darling books. Or possibly read The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta, because Jellicoe Road was fantastic.

Okay, and finally, finally, {unless I forgot someone}, the Wolf Hall readalong. I have been wanting to read this baby, and was happy to see this excuse for it. I love readalongs, and haven't been participating in any but my own for months. The schedule is:
{November 28} - Open the book.
{December 4} - Post about parts 1 and 2
{December 11} - Post about parts 3 and 4
{December 18} - Post about parts 5 and 6

I might cheat and post on Saturday, because I like my Sunday Salon posts and I don't like double-posting. We'll see.

I'm not even going to tell myself no more, because that just seems to invite me to give in on more and more challenges. Even though I know I'm going crazy, I can't wait for all of these. I love thinking about the new year and what I will read. I love thinking about books, period. I hope that I possibly inspired you to check out something new. Now I have to go update my sadly abandoned challenge page!

Poetry Corner: Sonnet 28 by Shakespeare

Painting by P. Eric Keys

How can I then return in happy plight

That am debarred the benefit of rest?

When day's oppression is not eased by night,

But day by night and night by day oppressed. 

And each (though enemies to either's reign)

Do in consent shake hands to torture me,

The one by toil, the other to complain

How far I toil, still farther off from thee.

I tell the day to please him thou art bright,

And dost him grace when clouds do blot the heaven:

So flatter I the swart-complexioned night, 

When sparkling stars twire not thou gild'st the even

But day doth daily draw my sorrows longer,

And night doth nightly make grief's length seem stronger. 

- Shakespeare

I related to this sonnet immediately, not so much due to the heartbreak aspect - I am quite happy with my love life - but the insomnia aspect. For as long as I can remember I have had episodes where I can't fall asleep at night, and while they have decreased as I've grown up, it is still one of my least favorite feelings in the world. I was amazed at how this poem nailed my exact feelings, despite the 400 year difference.

Poetry Corner: Sonnet XV by Shakespeare

Image Source

When I consider every thing that grows

Holds in perfection but a little moment,

That this huge stage presenteth nought but shows

Whereon the stars in secret influence comment;

When I perceive that men as plants increase,

Cheered and cheque'd even by the self-same sky,

Vaunt in their youthful sap, at height decrease,

And wear their brave state out of memory;

Then the conceit of this inconstant stay

Sets you most rich in youth before my sight,

Where wasteful Time debateth with Decay,

To change your day of youth to sullied night;

And all in war with Time for love of you,

As he takes from you, I engraft you new.

- Shakespeare

This is the point of writing about love - to beat the war with Time. The nature of the world is for everything to be in constant flux, but art, whether it be a novel, a painting, a dance, or a song, allows those moments to be preserved and revisited.

The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown

Title: The Weird Sisters

Author: Eleanor Brown

Genre: Contemporary fiction

Publisher: Amy Einhorn Books/Putnam, 2011

Source: Purchased on Kindle

Rose, Bean, and Cordy (aka Rosalind, Bianca, and Cordelia) live with a Shakespeare fanatic. Their early lives consist of their father's quotations and their strained relationships with each other. Once they reach adulthood, they all lead very separate lives, until their mother's breast cancer brings them all back home. Are they going to get through the experience by tolerating each other, or will they make some kind of peace?

Okay, first of all, kudos to Eleanor Brown for taking a concept that could have been really gimmicky and making it work. I am a Shakespeare novice, but still an avid admirer thanks to an awesome middle school teacher that took us to the Boise Shakespeare Festival every year. I loved the quotes the sisters' father used to answer questions, and I loved the parallels drawn between the sisters and the characters they were named for - Rose's lifelong search for an Orlando, Bean's need to escape the shadow of her older sister, and Cordy's place in their father's affections. The concept was well executed. Second of all, the cover is beautiful. Can I get that font somewhere?

In my mind, there is a fine line between chick lit and good literary fiction written mainly about women's relationships. I read both genres, but chick lit is more of a guilty pleasure, something to peruse when I need a break from life, and literary fiction about women is more nourishing and less stereotypical. I wasn't sure which I would be getting with The Weird Sisters. There are elements of both, but I think it leans more strongly to the literary fiction side. Reasoning: while it does abound in drama and there are a few scandalous situations, in general the point of the book is to explore the deeper meaning of sisterhood and self-fulfillment as a woman. (Another example of a book that straddles this self-invented line in my mind and falls off on the more intellectual side is The Help by Kathryn Stockett). I am getting a bit off topic. My point is that this story explored some terrain worthy of extra thought. One of the story lines that most interested me was Rose's journey to assuming she needed to do everything for everybody to wondering if that drive was really an insecurity related to the fear that people wouldn't like her for any reason other than her competency. (This struck a chord with me because almost everything about Rose spoke to me - I am definitely the Rose in the family, minus the homebody tendencies). Cordy experiences the question in reverse - can she be accepted and live a life in her hometown instead of running away from the expectations and potential disapproval? Bean's line of exploration asks how she can redeem herself from the somewhat criminal life she lived before returning home. They each find answers to these questions, but with some major setbacks along the way.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the characters, given that they all had some very unlikeable traits. I genuinely had the emotional reaction to them that Brown was trying to elicit. Sometimes in books, I know that I am supposed to hate X character because they did Y horrible thing, or that I should love Handsome Prince number 1 because he possesses Excellent Quality number 87, but often that desired emotional response never gets past my intellect. With The Weird Sisters, I not only knew that Cordy was the lovable, fun sister - I liked her instinctively, even though she had some flaws that really bothered me. I especially reacted to Rose, again, because I felt a kinship with her. I am the oldest of three siblings as well, although we have a brother thrown in, and I am known in the family as the goody goody. I broke curfew once in high school and I think I only skipped class once. As a result, like Rose, I am sometimes left out of the loop while the younger siblings whisper secrets to each other. And I'm sure, like Rose, I come off as bossy and controlling at times (although I try to minimize that as much as possible). It was interesting to read about a character who had so many of the same responses to life as I did (although magnified in Rose). I think this book is about learning who you are and then learning to both transcend and accept that person. This is how Father Aidan, the town priest, sums it up:

We all have stories we tell ourselves. We tell ourselves we are too fat, or too ugly, or too old, or too foolish. We tell ourselves these stories because they allow us to excuse our actions, and they allow us to pass off the responsibility for things we have done - maybe to something within our control, but anything other than the decisions we have made.

Maybe it was because of the characters and how real they seemed that I didn't hate the "we" narration. I loathed it in The Jane Austen Book Club and felt pretty uncertain about The Weird Sisters once I learned it was used in that book as well. However, it brought a feeling of solidarity to the story - despite the fact that the three sisters were so different and butted heads so often, they were telling it together. They influenced each other and helped each other to grow, and I don't think the story would have worked as well if it had been told in the third person or alternating first person.

This post is getting too long, but I have to share one more aspect of this book that I adored. It is getting to be a theme in my reviews, and I'm sure you've already guessed - bookishness. The Andreas family is obsessed with reading, and their book perusal is a delightful piece of the story. "How can we explain what books and reading mean to our family, the gift of libraries, of pages?" Bean in particular seems to love books, and I have so many quotes underlined it is hard to choose which one to share (I am saving up some of them for my Quotables feature). The one I'm including might shock my mom a little bit, but it made me laugh at loud -

She had long ago given up being offended by men who compulsively showered after sex. It was an excellent time to get a little reading done without anyone trying to talk to her.

Baha. For me, prime reading time is when my husband brushes his teeth (not quite so scandalous) - it takes him almost five minutes and is the perfect chance to swallow a chapter.

Overall, I had a great experience with this book. It had the lightness and fun of a chick lit book with a more serious exploration of self and family.

4 stars

Warnings for the sensitive reader: Some swearing with a few scattered f-bombs, non-graphic sexy scenes, and one random incident involving pot.

Poetry Corner: Sonnet II by Shakespeare

I have lately decided that I need to start reading more Shakespeare. I went through a phase in high school where I read tons of the plays one summer, but I didn't get much out of the experience because I had no idea what I was reading. Because I'm pretty sure I will still have no idea what I am reading, I am working my ways through the sonnets before I attempt anything else. I've only read two so far, and this is Sonnet 2. I had to include it because my brother has been trying to convince me for years to get married and have children (he really wants to be an uncle). I should mention at this point that I am 23 - my biological clock isn't ticking too loudly yet. I just married in to nieces and nephews - I have ten, all from my husband's family. Sorry Jace, I won't be having any kids just yet. But I dedicate this poem to you.

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When forty winters shall beseige thy brow,
And dig deep trenches in thy beauty's field,
Thy youth's proud livery, so gazed on now,
Will be a tatter'd weed, of small worth held:
Then being ask'd where all thy beauty lies,
Where all the treasure of thy lusty days,
To say, within thine own deep-sunken eyes,
Were an all-eating shame and thriftless praise.
How much more praise deserved thy beauty's use,
If thou couldst answer 'This fair child of mine
Shall sum my count and make my old excuse,'
Proving his beauty by succession thine!
This were to be new made when thou art old,
And see thy blood warm when thou feel'st it cold.

Literary Blog Hop: Last Words

Today's literary blog hop, hosted by The Blue Bookcase, asks the question:

What one literary work must you read before you die?

As pointed out by Christina, who answered the question on the hosting site, there are two ways to interpret the question. Which work do I think you should read before you die, and which work should I read before I die?

I think you should read Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham. This book spoke to me on a level I have rarely experienced with any novel. Philip's romantic struggles, indecision about life decisions, and overall growth as a person were moving and close to my heart.

As for myself, lately I have been thinking a lot about Shakespeare. I made my way through most of his comedies in high school (with limited understanding, I'm afraid) and I want to at some point in the future read everything attributed to him, for a few reasons. First of all, his characters and stories are amazing. Second of all, it is a family rumor that we are related to him. I don't know if this is true or not - I should probably try and figure it out at some point. Third of all, I would just feel very accomplished to have read the complete works of Shakespeare. There was actually a play at the Boise Shakespeare Festival that I went to in middle school called "The Compleat Wks. of Wm. Shakespear" that included references to every play. It was very irreverent and very funny. But I'd like to experience it in the uncondensed version.

What about you? What books do you think I should read before I die?

Haha.

It is Literary Blog Hop time once again! Hosted by The Blue Bookcase, The Literary Blog Hop is an opportunity for literary book bloggers to answer literary questions about literature. It's all very literary.

This week's question is from Gilion at Rose City Reader. She poses the question:

Can literature be funny? What is your favorite humorous literary book?

The answer to this question for me is a resounding yes. However, in my mind there are two categories of humor. There is dumb humor, which can be quite hilarious but has no deeper meaning behind it except evoking a laugh.

Then there's this comic, which I think is just generally amusing...


Then there's intelligent humor - humor with a punch behind it. It's funny but it has a point to make. I think a literary character that exemplifies this humor is Mercutio of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. He is constantly making puns and jokes throughout the play, even as he lies dying ("Ask for me tomorrow, and you shall find me a grave man") but his jokes often have a barb of truth to them. Yes, he makes us laugh, but he also makes us pay attention.

Another example that I've recently discovered is my dear Mr. Charles Dickens, who I hated all through middle school and high school and finally picked up last month. I would find myself laughing aloud at Oliver Twist in public places, and then being appalled that I was laughing. Mr. Dickens was poking fun at poor, pure, innocent little Oliver and making light of the villains who made his life difficult, but he phrased those situations in such wry, subtle words that they seemed ridiculous even while being heart-wrenching. My favorite character was the pompous and awful Mr. Bumble, and my favorite quote is this passage about his wife crying -

But tears were not the things to find their way to Mr. Bumble's soul; his heart was waterproof. Like washable beaver hats that improve with rain, his nerves were rendered stouter and more vigorous, by showers of tears, which, being tokens of weakness, and so far tacit admissions of his own power, pleased and exalted him. He eyed his good lady with looks of great satisfaction, and begged, in an encouraging manner, that she should cry her hardest: the exercise being looked upon, by the faculty, as strongly conducive to health. 'It opens the lungs, washes the countenance, exercises the eyes, and softens down the temper,' said Mr. Bumble. 'So cry away.'

What a jerk, right? But very witty.

I also enjoyed this very true evaluation of a good sense of humor in The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton:

She had a sense of humor (chiefly proved by her laughing at HIS jokes).

Isn't that the truth? Anyway, my point is, literature can be funny, and I think it is often better for it. What about you? Any favorite funny literature?