![The Bell Jar](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1576419547l/25851562._SX98_.jpg)
Friday 31 December 2021
The world itself is the bad dream
![The Bell Jar](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1576419547l/25851562._SX98_.jpg)
Saturday 25 December 2021
Our Christmas: a poem for 2021
Our Christmas
It's bacon for breakfast then coffee and chocs,70s and 80s on Top of the Pops.
No church, no kids, no wrapping to do,
No Mum, no Dad now, just me, just you,
Two pigeons and Paxo, roast spuds, red wine,
Panettone and champers, and then there's just time
For a nostalgic film and a warm single malt.
That's it. Merry Christmas, and love to you all.
Monday 20 December 2021
A child's Christmas in...
![A Child's Christmas in Wales](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1488640021l/34461417._SX98_.jpg)
If you want something to get you in the mood for a merry Christmas, you could do no better than to pick up a copy of Dylan Thomas's A Child's Christmas in Wales. It's so short you can read it in less than an hour.
Saturday 11 December 2021
Everyone thought I was rather a strange child
![Convenience Store Woman](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1565303269l/51031906._SX98_SY160_.jpg)
Monday 6 December 2021
Permissive, modern, challenging, gappy, frustrating, moving, attenuated, beautiful, ambiguous, resourceful, provoking, necessary. Yours.
![This Is Shakespeare](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1544997392l/43249677._SX98_.jpg)
Although written by a Shakespeare scholar, the writing style is accessible and engaging. Each chapter discusses one of the Bard's plays, but there's no need to read them in order. You can pick the book up and delve right into a comedy or tragedy that you know, then investigate those you may not be familiar with later. I started with favourite movie adaptations: Sir Ian McKellen as Richard III, Ben Whishaw as Richard II, Baz Luhrman's Romeo and Juliet, and The Taming of the Shrew aka Ten Things I Hate About You or Kiss Me Kate.
One of the most memorable chapters dealt with A Midsummer Night's Dream, which I'd never seen and knew little about. I'd thought it was just a fairy story, but it turns out that it "really isn’t a play for children". I've subsequently enjoyed the 1999 film version with Kevin Kline as Bottom. Other adaptations are available.
Like many, my introduction to Shakespeare was at school, but when I studied Twelfth Night aged 15 its cross-dressing characters merely seemed to be a plot device to set up some humorous misunderstandings. Now, in a world of LGBTQ+ rights the play takes on a new relevance. This is the value of Emma Smith's book. It shows how over the past 500 years, for each generation Shakespeare "can resonate in particular circumstances, and how we can bring to the plays our own emotional, political, ideological and creative energies."
More stuff
Friday 12 November 2021
I read it in the Daily Mail so it must be true
![We Need New Stories: Challenging the Toxic Myths Behind Our Age of Discontent](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1567642127l/52849333._SX98_SY160_.jpg)
Thursday 11 November 2021
Latin, cockney slang, and teenage argot
![The Emperor's Babe](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1588551952l/53322117._SX98_.jpg)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Labels
art
(2)
Art & music & misc reviews
(11)
Book reviews
(201)
bookclub
(40)
books
(2)
christmas
(2)
concerts
(2)
creative-writing
(11)
essays
(3)
events
(1)
exhibitions
(3)
fiction
(156)
France
(1)
humour
(1)
Italy
(2)
Japan
(2)
journeys
(9)
limericks
(6)
music
(7)
musings
(3)
My stories
(3)
My verse & poetry
(15)
non-fiction
(38)
photography
(1)
poetry
(4)
restaurants
(2)
Riviera
(1)
Russia
(1)
short-stories
(3)
South Africa
(1)
Sweden
(1)