Shakespeare by Bill Bryson

You must blame Steve Donoghue for my venture into non-fiction!


This was a very interesting read, and to my surprise (and relief), it was a fun read too. As I have a degree in English, I had heard a lot about Shakespeare. There were things that I assumed were accurate and true. Shakespeare's recognisable portrait, for example. I never knew that we do not actually know what he looked like. Or how he spelt his name? Apparently there are six (I think it was six) records where Shakespeare signed his name, and not one of them was spelt the same, and NONE of them were spelt the way we spell it today! I did not realise just how much of a mystery Shakespeare was.

“We don’t know if he ever left England. We don’t know who his principal companions were or how he amused himself. His sexuality is an irreconcilable mystery. On only a handful of days in his life can we say with absolute certainty where he was.”

― Bill Bryson, Shakespeare: The World as Stage

I found this book extremely readable. At no point did I have flashbacks of wading through textbooks with obscure language, sentences the length of paragraphs, and missing foundations as a result of assumptions that the reader already would know it. Instead, this was humorous, relevant and gave a good grounding of the setting in which Shakespeare lived. In fact, the background was perhaps the bit where the facts were, as there is historical record about Queen Elizabeth.

“All that is missing to connect her with Shakespeare is anything to connect her with Shakespeare.”

― Bill Bryson, Shakespeare: The World as Stage

The process of the first folio and putting it together really interested me too. It was an impressive feat, and while I would guess that many high school students are quietly damning them for their efforts, it has to make literature lovers appreciate just how close we came to never having read Shakespeare at all.

“Shakespeare 'never owned a book,' a writer for the New York Times gravely informed readers in one doubting article in 2002. The statement cannot actually be refuted, for we know nothing about his incidental possessions. But the writer might just as well have suggested that Shakespeare never owned a pair of shoes or pants. For all the evidence tells us, he spent his life naked from the waist down, as well as bookless, but it is probably that what is lacking is the evidence, not the apparel or the books.”

― Bill Bryson, Shakespeare: The World as Stage

 I have found myself referring to this in class ever since I began reading it. I think English teacher's should really give this one a read, as it is packed full of interesting snippets which could invgorate a class.

I will definitely pick up another Bryson book. I gave this 4 stars on Goodreads.

(Note regarding rating: I have not read much non-fiction, so I do not feel very qualified to offer this a rating in comparison to other books. I enjoyed it for what it was, hence the rating. Whether this is actually a good biography is not really for me to decide.)

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

So John Green, according to his Crash Course series on Youtube, does not like this book. John Green and I disagree. I set this as the setwork book for my Grade 10s this year, and they loved it.

In case you are not aware, Lord of the Flies is a thought experiment of what would happen should a bunch of school boys crash on a deserted island. Now, before you think of some gorgeously romantic island getaway, sit down and remember your school days. What happened when the teacher left the classroom? Did everyone sit down, nose to the books, pen in hand and do some work? I bet you are raising your eyebrows at the silly question - unless you went to an all girls' school, in which case, I wouldn't know.

“We've got to have rules and obey them. After all, we're not savages. We're English, and the English are best at everything.”

― William Golding, Lord of the Flies

This novel was both written and set after World War 2 (the novel set during a nuclear war shortly after World War 2.). Golding was in the navy during the war, and I think that had a huge effect on him and his understanding of human nature. This was the war that saw the first nuclear attack. This was the war that saw genocide and the horrors of concentration camps. Can anyone really blame Golding for thinking man was capable of immense evil? He had just seen it! This leads me to the main premise of this novel: the evil is within us.

“What are we? Humans? Or animals? Or savages?”

― William Golding, Lord of the Flies

The language in this is spectacular. The imagery is fantastically dark. It does not let the reader have a moment to relax as it fills one's head with murder and danger. The vocab is a bit advanced for school going kids, but that is why dictionaries were invented, right!

The characters were not stagnant. They developed throughout the story, and watching their growth or degeneration was gripping. The three main characters are Ralph, Jack and Piggy with Simon coming in closely behind them. All the characters are flawed - even those that we were rooting for. Ralph was initially a bit of a bully, Jack was on a power trip, Piggy was lazy. Simon was physically weak and was unable to express himself - which was really unfortunate.

I do agree with John Green, however, that Golding's references to tribal life being savage were unfounded. While I think he was aiming at a generalised opinion, it was not a fact, and therefore the argument does flounder. But the reason it is not a fact is because tribal societies are societies with rules and expectations which means that they are civilised.

If you enjoyed Lord of the Flies, I would suggest reading Beauty Queens by Libba Bray. It is a very similar setting, but with girls. Her novel is completely satirical, so read it for the message, not necessarily the plot.

I have bumped my rating up to 5 stars for this book. The more often I read it, the more I appreciate it. Or maybe it was that this particular class got so involved and invested in the story that

The Wind In The Willows by Kenneth Grahame

I will admit it. I bought The Wind in the Willows because it was pretty. Guilty as charged. You see all that yellow on the cover? It is actually a beautiful shiny gold. (Yes, like all readers out there, I also like pretty books.)

Simply explained, this is a children's book about woodland creatures: Rat, Toad, Mole and Badger; and their adventures. But it is also more than that. It is a tale of friendship, responsibility and friendship (friendship features a lot, because friendship involves more than just enjoying another person's company).

After buying it, I attempted it twice and just couldn't get into it. It wasn't because of the quality of the story, but just because I am not a child, and the thought of reading a book about Rat, Mole, Toad and Badger just seemed childish. This time, I read enough to get into it. And I must say, I ended up really enjoying this. It wasn't a book aimed solely at children, but for the parents reading the book too.

I am surprised at the vocabulary in this book aimed at young children! I find it quite shocking as to how drastically vocabulary has diminished over the years. I also had to laugh at the actions that were considered appropriate in the days this book was written. The characters smoked, one wielded a sword and guns, and I am not even going to get into all the things Toad did.

The characters were really well flushed out. While Toad irritated me the most, he was the most interesting character. I did find it a bit annoying as to how wonderful the rest of them were. People I have met are not that perfect. But if that is the only flaw I can find in this, then it was pretty good.

But this was enjoyable. For some reason, I had a Neil Gaiman-ey feeling while reading parts of this.
I gave this 4 stars on Goodreads, and that was only because I am a bit old to get lost in this story.

The Bone Collector by Jeffery Deaver

I had this book on my TBR pile for AGES! And by AGES, I mean YEARS! Close to 10 years to be precise! It began with a battered and tattered copy my cousin left behind, which was then replaced with a new copy (bought at a super discounted price). And there it sat. I will explain why below.

The Bone Collector is the first book in the Lincoln Rhyme series by Jeffery Deaver. In this book a serial killer is on the loose, leaving clues to torment the police into trying to save the next victim before it is too late. There is only one man the city police can turn to: Lincoln Rhyme. A quadriplegic who can move nothing but his little finger - a little.

Someone had told me many years ago that this book was graphic with violence. That was the reason I put off reading it for so many years (who wants to go to bed with that in one's head?). But to be honest, this one was actually quite tame for a forensic crime novel.

I completely fell for the concept behind this. The genius forensic investigator, a quadriplegic. The just-past-rookie patrol woman who he takes as his eyes and legs. He was understandably cranky. She was not a cliche. And talk about an exciting story! It has been a long time since a crime novel grabbed me (I have been finding them boring or 'nothing special' of late) to the point that I stayed awake into the early hours to read. I would sum this book up as gripping, exciting and un-put-downable.

The plot was very intricately done. While I do not think I will be as surprised as I was in future books I read by Deaver, I must admit that I was blind-sided a few times reading this. I did enjoy the fact that there were enough clues for the reader to take a good guess at solving the crime, but it was not one of those where the reader is going to feel certain about their guesses.

I loved the science in this. I have read so many forensic crime novels that I find myself knowing the steps needed. I love having my ego boosted as I announce 'use the fumes from super glue' aloud, only to have the smart detective say it two lines farther down. (I need the ego boost every now and again. Just let me indulge here.) It was situations like that that made me feel that the methods being used in the book were reliable.

I mentioned Amelia Sachs very briefly above (without even the decency to mention her name). I REALLY liked her character. While she was definitely insecure with what she was doing (and who wouldn't be, being thrown into that for the first time), she had enough brains and common sense to make me really like her and find her believable. I think I would have reacted like her had I found myself in that situation (you know, if I wasn't the cop polluting the crime scene with vomit, which is probably far more likely) and that made me identify with her. I like her cool head, her logic, AND (and this is important) her ability to actually listen and take the advice of people who knew more than she did. (Wow, do I get annoyed with characters who don't do that.)

If I had to gripe about one thing, I will say that the very ending had me rolling my eyes with disbelief. I mean, come on! But I will take the unrealistic, unbuyable ending over the more realistic alternative.

I gave this 4 stars on Goodreads. If I were just judging this as a crime novel, I would probably have awarded it 5 stars, but I felt the language, although perfectly adequate and acceptable for the genre, was nothing really worth writing home about. Lovers of crime novels, especially crime novels relying on science, will probably love this one.

Killing my TBR Classics pile: #6 Emma by Jane Austen

I really wanted to get to Emma. Although I can't say I was embarrassed by not having read this, as I have read everything else by Jane Austen, I did feel that it was a book I would enjoy. It would also close the 'Killing my TBR Classics pile' with a book with perhaps a similar feeling to the one which started the whole project - Middlemarch by George Eliot. So with at least a few expectations of enjoying this one, I ventured into the world of Emma.

I was not disappointed. Although I had tempted this one unsuccessfully in the past, I managed to power through the first chapter. And that was all it took to get me involved in the goings on.

Emma was an interesting character. While she was not the most likeable of characters I have ever read about, I still found myself wanting her to be happy. The characters that bugged her, bugged me - even though I could sense a few similarities between them and Emma. At least I could forgive Emma. This story is, very basically, the story of her growing: growing in wisdom and growing within herself. She handled her mistakes gracefully, and grew from them. I appreciated that.

But what I loved most about Emma was Mr Knightley. Yes folks. Darcy has been dethroned as my favourite Austen male. I adored his sense of humour. I liked his compassion. I liked how he was able to compromise. Mr Knightley was perfect. I even respected him for being able to tell Emma the truth and pick her out when she did unkind things.

The book was not plot driven. There were a few puzzles here and there to keep the reader guessing. But on the whole, it was character driven. This is where Austen excels. She can really create characters that walk off the page and into one's head (and heart).

I gave this 5 stars on Goodreads. It was a great classic, and I was thrilled to end my classics marathon on such a good note.

I only have a handful of classics to go. I think I might try this again in my next holiday. I think classics read better when they aren't nibbled at, but consumed in one sitting (or as close to one sitting as possible).

Payment in Blood (Inspector Lynley #2) by Elizabeth George

I had heard about Elizabeth George on Steve Donoghue's Booktube channel. (Steve being my current favourite booktuber.) While this was not the book he recommended by George, it was a book in the series, and the only one I could get my hands on. Beggars can't be choosers and all that. Payment in Blood is the second book in the Inspector Lynley series.

A play writer has been murdered in Scotland. The folks at the guest house where the murder took place are all people of note: either of noble birth or famous in the positions they have in life. Lynley is sent out to solve the crime because he is 'one of them'.

Personally, I would have preferred starting with the first book, but Steve said that one did not need to read them in order, and he was right. I do not know if the first book in the series answered some of the questions I had from reading this book; questions about his past with Simon St. James, his past with Helen... I am intrigued and therefore have reason to pick up other books in the series. But let me get on talking about this one.

Plot wise, this was OK. I must say that I am more accustomed to detectives being a little less flawed in their thinking, and this book has given me a lot to think about regarding my expectations. In the real world, I would be fairly surprised to have the police solve all the crimes that come their way, so why am I feeling a bit let down about parts of this book? I will try another Lynley before I make up my mind, and also review my own thoughts on this phenomenon - a not-so-perfect detective. Maybe it was just this book. Maybe he will be flawed in others too. One way or another, I think I respected this decision. If nothing else, Lynley seems human.

On to my favourite character. Unusually for me, as I generally find myself preferring the main protagonist, I quite enjoyed Barbara Havers. Although she does appear to have a bit of a chip on her shoulder, she seems a realistic character with a realistic home life. In fact, after hearing about Lynley and his noble upbringing, I found her less than perfect home life far more realistic. While I am far better off than she is (for now), I could appreciate what she had to deal with more than I could understand what it would be like coming home to a butler. There were many trait that I appreciated and respected with regards to her character too.

One thing I had to appreciate was George's writing style. She had some quaint descriptions. I also appreciated how she could bring a character to life in just a few sentences, just by mentioning a few very human and relatable traits - at least with the the 'extras'. I found myself grinning with pleasure over her word choice in the first chapter, and knew I was in for an enjoyable ride.

I gave this a 3 star rating on Goodreads and a 3.5 on my own. In other words, I enjoyed it, but wasn't blown away. Maybe this is my preference for more science-based crime novels or maybe it was just not a blow-me-away book. It wasn't a bad read though, and for giving me a time out from heavy thoughts and real life, it did its job perfectly. I think this would be a good book for lovers of crime novels - especially of crime novels that come from an older age than the one we live in.

The Middlemarch Readalong Week 6

I am SO SORRY! I really wanted to post every week, but life just got the better of me. The third term has begun with a bang. At the moment, I have exactly 2 weeks of teaching left before our Matrics leave to begin the spiral of exams that will bring them to the end of their school careers. On top of that, for the past 3 weeks, I have been juggling parent meetings, external moderation and all the other joys that arrive with the beginning of a new term (I even had a wonderful 13 hour day at school!). I'm sorry. But had I decided to post something it would have read like this: I thought Lydgate was errrrrrrr... what did I think? Who was I thinking about? I know I had a thought... lkrjdghkwjsbhfjhghdvasdv zbnc (me falling asleep on my keyboard). (All the posts that have been popping up on my blog were posted more than 3 weeks ago and set on a timer. I was sorry to see that my prediction of this insanity was right.)

So, my thoughts on the end of Middlemarch. Be warned. Spoilers everywhere! I really enjoyed it. And from what I have read of other comments, I am unusual in liking the finale. No, not everyone lived long lives, not everyone got the ending they deserved. But I liked that it felt conclusive - even though I was very fond of Lydgate.

Although Rosamond had me fuming and stomping around, and venting to my mom (who is now four chapters from the end, as I type this), I 'forgave' her a bit by the end. Yes, she still remained horrifically shallow, but at least she wasn't going around ruining Lydgate's chances of getting out of debt - the debt she helped put him in! (That chapter ... I could have spat blood!)

I was really pleased that Dorothea ended up with Will. She seemed happy in the end. (I am still a bit convinced that she would have made a good wife to Lydgate though. Just saying.) Someone, somewhere in the comments of one of the earlier posts, commented that Eliot was showing the reader how harmful an unhappy marriage could be in those times. I think Will was a much better match for her than Casaubon. (But then, most people would have been a better match than him.) I also enjoyed James's reaction to her marrying Will in the end. (I wondered when I read this whether Featherstone's will was foreshadowing the negatives that could come out of Casaubon's will. Just a thought.)

I must confess that besides my outright hated for Rosamond, the other character that I ended up not really caring for was Dorothea's sister. While her heart might have been in the right place, I found her forgettable (I can't even remember her name), and I thought that her ways to help Dorothea were more self-serving and more to her liking than her sister's. Possibly it is just that she didn't understand her sister. But coming from the reader, who by the end of the book knew many of the people in Middlemarch almost intimately, I thought her choices silly.

Fred and Mary! I was so happy for them. They were the couple that might not have been, and they ended up working out better than all the others. Perhaps Eliot was suggesting that working hard for a relationship, and not relying on just a pretty face, are likely to be far more effective methods of choosing a life partner. (Ahhh! If only Lydgate had learnt from his first 'love'!)

Since I haven't posted in the past 3 weeks, I also just want to add how unexpected I found the angle with Ruffles, Bullstrode and Will. I didn't see any intrigue coming and I found it a pleasant surprise.

OK. That is me. I know I really do have a lot more to say, but it is late and I have work tomorrow, and I still need to prep Hamlet before I hit the sack. Nighty night all. And An Armchair By The Sea, thank you for hosting this readalong. I really enjoyed the book you picked, and I enjoyed seeing what everyone thought.

Killing my TBR Classics pile: #5 The 39 Steps by John Buchan

Still fuming after reading Dracula, I decided to venture into something short. Basically, I was on the verge of abandoning the project while I was so near the end. Only one book really to go! ( I was doing this over my holiday, and there was not much time left. While I definitely have more than one classic left on my TBR pile, there was only one more I really wanted to get to this holiday.) So I decided to pick up a copy of The 39 Steps by John Buchan. It only came in at 109 pages.

There was something about The 39 Steps that rang a bell to my youth. I have a vague memory of it being connected to my dad, but I have no way on knowing whether it was the movie we might have watched together, or whether he mentioned the book (my dad read when he was young, but never in my lifetime) and encouraged me to read it. Anyway, I knew that if there was a connection with my dad, it was not likely to be a long winding piece of prose filled to the brim with description. It would be plot driven. And it was, mostly!

The 39 Steps was enjoyable. I think it can be described as a typical spy thrilled, even if it was  not as thrilling as other spy novels I have read. (If you want to read exciting spy thrillers, I would suggest Robert Ludlum. But I suppose technology has really made a huge difference with regards to the thrilling aspect of spy novels.) We have an unsuspecting protagonist who is thrown into a situation of life and death - of a nation; there is a code that needs breaking; there are people on the hunt. Yip! A rather pleasant premise.

There were elements of this that I found unrealistic. There was no way that I could agree with the premise put forward regarding disguise. At least, not to the extent in this novella. And there were a few too many coincidences. What are the odds of actually walking into the backyard of the guy you are running from? But that aside, my only other complaint was that there was a lot of traipsing around in the beginning, which had little bearing on the story on the whole - if we ignore all the coincidences. But I can't say I was bored. I was keen enough for Richard Hannay to avoid capture and save the day - which means that I was emotionally invested at least to some degree in the novel. (I would say the length - or the lack of length - made it a bit difficult to get completely immersed, as there is not enough time to really build that connection with a character.)

I also have to add that I enjoyed all the references to South Africa and Zimbabwe. The fact that Hannay kept referring to my own countries history made him seem that little more real.

I gave this 3 stars. It was enjoyable for the length, but nothing spectacular.

Killing my TBR Classics pile: #4 Dracula by Bram Stoker

Yes. I had been chickening out of reading the 'big' books. I will confess to being shallow, and concerned about that silly thing called reading stats. But I decided, as I had got my stats back to the place where they should be (which is far ahead of schedule, but still!), I would venture into another large book. Dracula it was to be. And oh, how excited I was for this one.

And oh, how disappointed I was.

The first four chapters were magnificent! What a setting! What an atmosphere! What brilliance! Following Jonathan Harker's diary as he ventured INTO Dracula's castle! I could not have asked for more! There were wolves howling, it was cold, everything was creepy! And then... blah! The novel is not written solely from the point of view of Jonathan Harker. No, we get the point of view from most involved. But instead of it reading as a thrilling story (as it did in Harker's diary), it ended up feeling like a collection of minutes from meetings. I suppose that while I found this disappointing, it might have added to the sense of reality. Newspaper reports, telegram messages, and the diaries of the key players definitely should have made this seem more like a factual account of an event than a fictitious story. But it just didn't do that for me. Instead of living in the action, most of it was told about. In fact, so much of this was diarised accounts of meetings, I got bored. I wanted action, danger, vampires! Not a bloody reminder (actually, very little blood was involved) of the one thing I was glad to escape, meetings, being on holiday at the time! I suppose that what I am trying to say is that while the format worked brilliantly in the beginning, it ended up distancing me from the story, not immersing me in it.

"“Do you not think that there are things which you cannot understand, and yet which are; that some people see things that others cannot? But there are things old and new which must not be contemplate by men´s eyes, because they know -or think they know- some things which other men have told them. Ah, it is the fault of our science that it wants to explain all; and if it explain not, then it says there is nothing to explain.”"

― Bram Stoker, Dracula

That was not the only thing that disappointed. There were 'pet hates' in here that I find hard to forgive. Here you have Van Helsing, the only person who knows what is going on (someone has just died) NOT telling John Seward, the person who tried to keep previously mentioned dead person alive, what was going on (duh - vampire!). No! He must just trust him! Honestly! If you suspect a vampire lurking in my neighbourhood, I would much appreciate the warning in very specific terms! And THEN, after having one person die on them, they don't even twig when another person LIVING IN THE SAME HOUSE AS THEM is under the same threat with EXACTLY THE SAME SYMPTOMS! How can I forgive this? It is idiotic! They were DOCTORS! Once bitten twice shy, not twice BLIND! (Hmmm... I think I am venturing into the territory of using the caplocks of rage! And I haven't even got onto the treatment of the women by the men in this!) How these men treated Mina was insane! In the beginning she was magnificently helpful. She put all the separate diary entries together so that everyone was on the same page. She was the secretary at their meetings, taking the minutes. (Of course she learnt shorthand and typing to please and help her husband!!!) And then, all of a sudden, they decide to keep her out of it for her protection! Nope! She could no longer even hear what they were discussing for fear of alarming or upsetting her. You're bloody kidding me, right! What would be considered more torture? Being involved in the beginning and knowing the danger that lurks and then not knowing anything else, or being involved and at least knowing that steps are being made to sort out the problem, perhaps even adding to the plan? AHHHHHHH!!! I hated that! AND THEN! After she is reinstated, when they actually have reason to keep something from her, wow! The lamenting that followed! My poor, dear Mina who would be in such agony for not knowing! INCONSISTENCY ANYONE?! They didn't give a bloody toss the first time round! And they were forever telling her to go to bed, to sleep! PFFT! I dare a bloke to tell me to go to bed. I dare him. Just try it!

I am going to stop here. I think everyone can see exactly where this review is going. I did not like this (surprised?). (It has been a long time since I had a temper tantrum in type! It was quite fun. I feel like I have got a load off!)

Pan's recommendation on how to read Dracula:

(You will need a few bottles of the alcohol of your preference.)

• Every time you read "my dear" have a swig.
• Every time you read "my dear *Mina*" (or any variant of her name) have two swigs. (By this point you have already had over 100 swigs - seriously. "My dear" appears 83 times.) 
• Have a sip every time God is asked to do something (you will need to sip; there are near 200 of these)
• Every time a man tells a woman what to do, e.g. go to bed, down your glass.

Why do this? It will put you in a pleasant haze, and you might not remember the annoyances.

I gave this two stars. Why two and not one since it apparently irritated the hell out of me? I don't know. Maybe those first four chapters saved it. Maybe it was that the bare bones of the story was decent. Maybe I liked the words "my dear".