2012 Reading Progress - January

To kick off 2012 we allowed Shakespeare to thoroughly invade Two Bibliomaniacs.  6 plays in 31 days felt like an impossible task, but we’re happy to report victory!  Or at least continued existence and more than a couple of battle scars...  Actually, we have a new respect for the Bard of Avon and next time we come face to face with Shakey we promise not to run screaming in the other direction!     

As we return to our normal scheduled programming we have a ton to look forward to this year.  At this particular moment, nothing really comes to mind, but we’ll think of something soon.  Instead, sit back, relax and reflect on some of our favorite reviews throughout the month (Don’t for get to check out our groundbreaking Graphic Review of Anya’s Ghost)!

Here are some of our favorite reviews that we posted in January.

Anya’s Ghost – Vera Brosgol

Hamlet – William Shakespeare

Othello – William Shakespeare

A Midsummer Night’s Dream – William Shakespeare

As You Like It – William Shakespeare

Macbeth – William Shakespeare

Unbroken – Laura Hillenbrand

Here’s an update on our 2011 Challenges.  All the thrilling details can be found HERE.

Mount TBR Reading Challenge – 7/40

Back to the Classics – 2/9

Terry Pratchett Reading Challenge – 0/5

Good Reads 2012 Reading Challenge – 17/101

Looking ahead into February we have all kinds of good stuff waiting for us:  To Say Nothing of the Dog, The Art of Fielding, Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, and The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana. 

How did everyone else do in their January reading endeavors?  Send us a link so we can check out your progress!

We Have a Winner!!!

It’s with unmanageable excitement that we get to announce the winner of Start Something That Matters!!!

Drum roll if you please.......

Congratulations to Jennifer O. over at Lit Endeavors!!!  We apologize for the complete lack of confetti and noise makers to help set the mood for this momentous occasion. 

Thanks again to everyone who participated!

Top 10 Books We Think Would Make Great Read-Alongs!

Question:  Top 10 Books We Think Would Make Great Read-Along Picks.

Answer:  Sorry, but we’re hijacking this week’s topic and turning it into an appeal for more read-alongs!  Yes, we’re taking a hard look internally as well, but we’d love to be involved in more read-alongs in 2012!  Below are the books we have on our radar that we think would be fun (less painful) to experience with other readers.  To be really clear, if we just so happened to come came across any events with the below titles included, we’d be forced to sign up..........

1.      The Hobbit (J.R.R. Tolkien) – With the movie coming out later this year, a reread over the summer is a must.  What better way to visit Middle Earth than with a few friends. 

2.      House of Leaves (Mark K. Danielewski) – *Gulp* Our knees are shaking with this one and it would be helpful to utilize the whole strength in numbers thing for this read...

3.      Men at Arms (Terry Pratchett) – This one might be a little short for a read-along, but the Discworld is way too exciting to visit alone.  Any number of titles would work as we’re hoping to make several return trips to the Discworld this year.

4.      For Whom the Bell Tolls (Ernest Hemingway) – Anything by Hemingway has a menacing stigma attached to it, at least for us.  Plus, we’ve heard this book has plenty of weighty themes to discuss.   

5.      Dandelion Wine (Ray Bradbury) – We’ve been told time and again that this novel is a perfect spring read.  We’ve marked our calendars for April (in pencil) to host some kind of read-along... Yipeee!

6.      Insomnia (Stephen King) – We found this one at our local bookstore a couple months ago and lugging it home nearly gave us a hernia.  There’s got to be all kinds of good stuff to debate within this one.   

7.      The Adventures of Don Quixote (Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra) – We really, really want to check this one off our list in 2012.  We know there’re windmills, but that’s it.  We’d be a lot less intimidated going through this with a group.

8.      Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte) – The first time we read this novel our blood was boiling so much that we apparently missed all the “love” radiating from the main characters.    We’re quite frustrated with ourselves for missing a really fun read-along last year.  Nevertheless, we may need to partake in some serious Heathcliff venting when the time comes.

9.      Cold Comfort Farm (Stella Gibbons) – This book’s supposed to have us rolling on the floor laughing.  Laughing alone, while fun, is kind of weird...

10.  Wolf Hall (Hilary Mantel) – The female Bibliomaniac did not like this one.  At all.  Like, she didn’t even finish it and it sent her off on a tailspin of book depression.  It could be very difficult for the male Bibliomaniac to try this one without large numbers... the whole misery loves company thing.

So what else?  We’re anxious to see if any other titles need to be added to our list.  Have a great week and head on over to The Broke and the Bookish to join the fun!

King Lear

King Lear – William Shakespeare

Evan’s ESS = 6 out of 10

Erin’s ESS =  out of 10

Content = PG (Adult Content, Violence, Conspiring, Poor Decision Making, Madness)

“Child Rowland to the dark tower came,
His word was still 'Fie, foh, and fum
I smell the blood of a British man.”

Why:  Okay, so before we get started we need to get something on the table all nice and pretty like.  We’ll just say it.  The male Bibliomaniac could be dealing with a touch of PTSS (Post Traumatic Shakespeare Syndrome).  Six books in 25ish days is a lot for someone who made a specific pact not to touch Shakespeare with a 10 foot stick post college.  Our opinions relating to King Lear may or may not be compromised due to our PTSS...

King Lear makes a bad decision when he decides to split up his inheritance based on the level of flattery expressed by each of his three daughters.  To make matters even worse, he decides to cut off his youngest daughter when she decides not to take part in his foolish game.  Pretty much everything goes down from there.  Scheming and conniving transpires at every turn, primarily led by a guy named Edmund.  Honestly, there’s not much reason for optimism when everything is all said and done...   

We got lost in some bad stuff.  No, like some really bad stuff.  Even the cliff notes for this play made our eyes cross.  There were so many people plotting and wearing disguises that it was impossible to keep up.  Yet, of all the plays we experienced this month it felt like King Lear had the most to say.  We just couldn’t figure out what it was.

Really, the most interesting thing we encountered in King Lear was the quote listed above.  The first line gave us shivers and got us really, really excited to continue our journey through Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series.  It was also entertaining to watch King Lear slowly lose his mind and he had some pretty great lines the further down the rabbit hole he fell.  Cordelia was a great character and should be acknowledged for her honesty and the perseverance that Edgar displayed through so many murder plots was impressive.  Otherwise the play was very dark and depressing and not our favorite.  Sorry.    

Don’t forget to head on over to A Literary Odyssey for all your January Shakespeare needs!

Macbeth

Macbeth – William Shakespeare

Evan’s ESS = 7 out of 10

Erin’s ESS =  out of 10

Content = PG (Adult Content, Violence, High Death Counts, Hand Washing)

“By the pricking of my thumbs,

Something wicked this way comes.”

Why:  Macbeth or MacLOONY?   Both Macbeth and his wife were certified nut-jobs.  Fortunately, nut-jobs often make the most interesting characters to read about....

The play really gets going when a group of three witches make a Trelawney-like prophecy regarding the fate of the main character (our people are currently searching the hall of prophecies for the original).  When Macbeth hears of his fate, several events are set in motion; all that will leave blood on the hands of the two main characters – literally and figuratively.  Like Lord Voldemort, Macbeth’s downfall comes through a whole lot of misplaced ambition and a simple misinterpretation of the prophecy. 

Okay, so that was probably the worst summary of Macbeth ever.  Ever.  Still, we’ve read, listened to, and watched more Shakespeare in the past weeks than we ever dreamed, and our mental state is very delicate right now.  Actually, Macbeth was another solid play.  The characters were once again superb and we still can’t get over the image of Lady Macbeth trying to scrub all the blood from her hands.  The Three Witches were also excellent and their presence at the beginning of the play really set the tone for all the chaos that followed.       

This play was a bit disturbing at times and similar to Othello in that it showed what a few misplaced ideas can do to a person.  The killing authorized and carried out on MacBeth’s behalf was horrible and made it hard not to do a little old fashion reveling in his demise.  We’re not suggesting any kind of choreographed number here, but maybe a well timed jig or a quick Discount Double Check.  Anywho, Macbeth didn’t make our top three, but was still a worthwhile play that we’d love to see performed on stage.      

Oh, and don’t forget to head on over to A Literary Odyssey for all your January Shakespeare needs!

Editor’s Note:  Yes, we did make several Harry Potter references in our review of Shakespeare.  Don’t hate us cus’ we’re play’azzz!!!

Editor Editor’s Note:  Sorry, the above was a very lame attempt to relate to a younger demographic.  We promise to keep these types of thoughts to ourselves in the future.

As You Like It

As You Like It – William Shakespeare

Evan’s ESS = 9.9 out of 10

Erin’s ESS = out of 10

Content = PG (Banishment, Mild Adult Content, Feats of Strength) 

“All the world’s a stage.”

“The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.”

Why:  Oh, we like it!  In fact, we like it a lot!!!

Upon suffering an unjust banishment, Rosalind and her best friend decided to flee to the Forest of Arden.  They solicit the help of the friendly court jester and mask their true identities before setting out on the road.  In the forest the two women encounter various sheep herders and other banished individuals, including Rosalind’s primary love interest.  Her path is hardly conventional but in the end love triumphs... or does it.    

We’re back above the surface with Shakespeare!  In fact, our first reaction is to brand As You Like it as our favorite Shakespeare to date.  Not exactly sure why this one in particular had such an impact, but we found ourselves really getting into the plot.  Talk about a super-duper happy ending!  The characters of Rosalind and Orlando were our favorites and the element of disguise in their forest encounter was a nice touch and maybe a wee bit weird.  Plus, not many people could pull off Orlando’s excuse for standing up Rosalind: Lion attack.  That would never work for us.  Seriously, honey, this huge flippin lion came along and, um, I had to wrestle it and ya, that’s why I’m late.  Um, why are you looking at me like that...  seriously, here’s a bloody handkerchief to prove it.

Also, we’re not sure if a court jester would be our first selection for protection on the road, but Touchstone was quite impressive.  At one point he proclaimed in the name of love that: I will kill thee a hundred and fifty ways.  We didn’t even know there were that many different ways to exterminate an individual. 

Tragedy or Comedy? That IS the question (sorry for that).  Still, As You Like it might just have tipped the scales...  The 2006 film directed by Kenneth Branagh is being added to our Netflix queue immediately and local theatre companies within a 50-75 mile radius are being searched!

Oh, and don’t forget to head on over to A Literary Odyssey for all your January Shakespeare needs!

BOOK GIVEWAY - Start Something That Matters!!!

By definition a bibliomaniac has a terribly difficult time parting with a book in their possession.  And with two in the picture... hopefully you can see our crisis.

Yet, after thirty-six straight hours of intense shock therapy and three large bowls of double fudge ice cream (and a second copy generously donated from the author) we can joyfully announce our Start Something that Matters by Blake Mycoskie giveaway.  The rules are so simple that even a non-reader can do it.

1.       Provide a comment below stating your interest in participating.

2.       Provide an e-mail address where you can be contacted in the event of winning

The deadline for signing up will be February 1^st at which time a name will be drawn by means of some kind of random number generator thingy.  Ya, get excited!

Click anywhere on this sentence for our review of Start Something that Matters.  Good luck and don’t forget to tell your peeps!