Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) discussion

Mine isn't doing Shakespeare, not that I know of, but our playhouse in the park has To Kill a Mockingbird through the end of this month.

Thanks everyone! I'm still deciding whether to read it first, or watch and enjoy it blind and then read it after.

I have a good local theatre, but it tends to have more live performances of bands, circus acts, kids entertainment and pantomimes. I have seen an opera and ballet there over the years, but they don't often have plays.

Darren, I didn't know you were in Manchester. For some reason I assumed you were in America. I've got to head north tomorrow, I'm buying a car from someone in Yorkshire, while I'm down in Essex, so that will be a busy day for me!

Pink wrote: "Thanks everyone, I know it's one of those bucket list sort of things to do. There are amazing places I'd like to visit all over the world, that I'll probably never get to, so it's nice to actually ..."I've read all of the bard's plays and I just missed seeing one of the rare copies of the first known "follio" edition book on tour in Seattle. As a drama major in college at the University of Washington I spent my spare time in the drama library reading plays. Once you start you can never stop. I'd read the play before the show. It gives you a clear understanding of the plot and I think "Hamlet is a tough one to bring in. And I must say I've studied hard and on my bucket list is a trip to England to reward my labor of love. Right now a show called "Kinky Boots" is playing in Seattle's 5th Ave Theatre. I would love to see it. It's a block buster from Broadway.

My kitchen is cleaned. I can get back on track and read again. Bat Cat I am thinking of you as I write this. Hope all is well.

I thought I'd celebrate Shakespeare week by starting Bill Bryson's Shakespeare: The World as a Stage. :-)

Kathleen wrote: "I thought I'd celebrate Shakespeare week by starting Bill Bryson's Shakespeare: The World as a Stage. :-)"

Excellent Kathleen!! :)

Chicago has a Shakespeare Theater that's quite outstanding. They were invited to perform at Stratford (England) one year. Usually each year we see one Shakespearean play although I would love to see one in England.

Although you can often understand a lot of the language in context, if you're unfamiliar with the language, it's a good idea to read the play first. Especially the first few you see. It will help you to enjoy it more.

Here is a rather informative article on acceptable/unacceptable rules of grammar. Enjoy!

http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2016/04/10-...

Bat-Cat wrote: "Here is a rather informative article on acceptable/unacceptable rules of grammar. Enjoy!

http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2016/04/10-..."

Interesting! I'm still firmly in the "I couldn't care less camp. (Guess I could!) Was very happy to hear about the split infinitives, since I never really got that. And for anyone else who is/has to be interested in this topic, the mentioned book Woe Is I: The Grammarphobe's Guide to Better English in Plain Englishis great. Thanks for sharing!

This topic reminds me of a quote by Joan Didion in her book, The Year of Magical Thinking. She said: "I never actually learned the rules of grammar, relying instead only on what sounded right". Even that sentence doesn't sound quite right to me. Nevertheless, she a very successful writer of novels, nonfiction, plays, and screenplays.

Kathleen wrote: "Bat-Cat wrote: "Here is a rather informative article on acceptable/unacceptable rules of grammar. Enjoy!

http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2016/04/10-......"

I liked the good/well clarification but I really resonated with the "singular pronoun they" issue. I think that in today's world a solution to that dilemma is sorely needed.

Thanks for the recommendation - yet another book to someday read!!! ;-)

Bat-Cat wrote: "Kathleen wrote: "Bat-Cat wrote: "Here is a rather informative article on acceptable/unacceptable rules of grammar. Enjoy!

http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2016/04/10-......"

I agree about they, and thought I read somewhere that it had been officially accepted, but can't find the reference now. :-(

Interesting indeed, Bat-Cat. I am a grammarian, but try not to be obsessive. I truly hate the current trend to misuse I/me. People are trying so hard to get it right and as a result get it wrong.

I am also someone who hates some of the catch phrases that everyone uses. If I could, I would ban the phrase "that being said" from the English language. If you have to express that idea, just say "however"!

Kathleen wrote: "Bat-Cat wrote: "Kathleen wrote: "Bat-Cat wrote: "Here is a rather informative article on acceptable/unacceptable rules of grammar. Enjoy!

http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2016/04/10-......"

That's good to hear - even without the article link. Now I need to start practicing incorporating it into my writing. :-)

Sara wrote: "Interesting indeed, Bat-Cat. I am a grammarian, but try not to be obsessive. I truly hate the current trend to misuse I/me. People are trying so hard to get it right and as a result get it wrong.

..."

That's really cool, a real life grammarian!!! You are the first one I have ever met. When I have grammatical questions I always ask my sister who is a Classics professor and author but now I have a backup if needed. ;-)

Sara wrote: "Interesting indeed, Bat-Cat. I am a grammarian, but try not to be obsessive. I truly hate the current trend to misuse I/me. People are trying so hard to get it right and as a result get it wrong.

..."

Oh Sara--"that being said." My pet peeve of all time. It's just so overused! Glad to hear I'm not alone. :-)

OH MY NO, I just meant grammarian in the non-professional, stickler for good grammar usage, sense of the word. I am just a frustrated English major who had some great teachers and tries to get it right when I can. I'm unused to being taken too literally, Bat-Cat, didn't mean to mislead anyone. :)

Sara wrote: "OH MY NO, I just meant grammarian in the non-professional, stickler for good grammar usage, sense of the word. I am just a frustrated English major who had some great teachers and tries to get it r..."

No problem, Sara. I am still impressed. ;-)

Me too, Sara. My kids call me the grammar police. All I want is for them to talk respectably. I even made up a song for them to the tune of the Pink Panther, " no likes, no ums, no pauses in your sentences." Unfortunately, few people abide this, and it leaves me peeved as I attempt to rid people of using too many likes, one kid at a time.

Bully for you, Brina. When people use too many likes in conversation, they tend to sound ignorant or uninformed regardless of how intelligent the point they are making might be. It takes practice to eliminate that kind of habit. Your kids will be happy that you made them do it, though. I am now sitting here with The Pink Panther theme playing in my head. lol.

That's an interesting article, Bat-Cat!

I also go by the rule of whatever sounds best but I suppose that's not much of a guarantee because English is not my first language. So feel free to correct my grammar mistakes if you like.

Pink, I was wondering, did you enjoy the Hamlet performance you were attending this weekend?

Nathalie, yes I did thank you! I found it really wonderful. There were 10 minute screenings of all 37 Shakespeare plays along the Southbank for his 400th anniversary, so I walked along and watched a few of these first. The Globe was fabulous, exactly as the pictures I'd seen, but maybe smaller and more intimate than I expected. Hamlet itself was brilliant. I decided not to read it first, as I'm of the belief that plays are meant to be watched, not read, even though I read them too! I've actually picked the book up since then and it's great to read through it remembering the scenes that I saw performed. My one surprise was how much humour was in it. I expected this of Shakespeare's other plays but didn't realise Hamlet was so full of comic scenes, as well as the more dramatic and famous soliloquies.

Pink wrote: "Nathalie, yes I did thank you! I found it really wonderful. There were 10 minute screenings of all 37 Shakespeare plays along the Southbank for his 400th anniversary, so I walked along and watched ..."

Oh, I am glad you did! I think it's really nice that they've put up such an effort for Shakespeare's anniversary. It must have been a really special experience. And by reading it afterwards you get to relive it all again.

I just want to take this opportunity to wish all of you for whom it applies a very Happy Mother's Day!!!!! Your jobs are most important ones and should definitely be honored and celebrated. ;-)

Wanted to share a comment from my review of Mockingbird. That the classics we read in school were forced on us and we did not necessarily want to read them. Now as adults we are interested in the classics and reading them for enjoyment.

Brina wrote: "Wanted to share a comment from my review of Mockingbird. That the classics we read in school were forced on us and we did not necessarily want to read them. Now as adults we are interested in the c..."

You are so right. I am a certified English teacher although I am not currently teaching. But when I did, the most common complaint from students is that classics are boring. Of course it is impossible to pick a novel of any kind that everyone will like. But classics are tough for many young readers because they are not typically action packed and may be very descriptive and lighter on dialogue. But I have hopes that some of those young people will learn to love and appreciate classics some day.

Just wondering-has anyone read books through openlibrary.com? I downloaded one last week and cannot figure out how to hold my place. Every time I read I have to scroll through to the page I am on. Thanks in advance!

MKay wrote: "Just wondering-has anyone read books through openlibrary.com? I downloaded one last week and cannot figure out how to hold my place. Every time I read I have to scroll through to the page I am on. ..."

I have used openlibrary, but I haven't had any issues with losing my place. What app are you using? I download the epub version to my Overdrive app and it works fine.

Laurie wrote: "MKay wrote: "Just wondering-has anyone read books through openlibrary.com? I downloaded one last week and cannot figure out how to hold my place. Every time I read I have to scroll through to the p..."

Hmm... no app, just downloaded it to my Kindle.

Having a bookmark feature somewhere sounds a likely option, unless there's a glitch making it lose its place. I don't use it myself so can't offer much advice I'm afraid.

MKay wrote: "Laurie wrote: "MKay wrote: "Just wondering-has anyone read books through openlibrary.com? I downloaded one last week and cannot figure out how to hold my place. Every time I read I have to scroll t..."

I download to my Kindle too but when I open the download, it automatically opens in my Overdrive app. So I guess I am not any help since our Kindles are working differently on this.

@Dan, I'm about to read Pyongyang, which is a graphic novel by Guy Delisle (sorry I cannot add the link to the book since I'm using the App)!

No, but I recently read three books about life in South Korea all by the same author Kyung-Sook Shin. "Please Look After Mom", "I'll Be Right There" and "The Girl Who Wrote Loneliness." They gave a wonderful picture of life there.

Dan, by far the best thing I've read about North Korea has been Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick. It's a very good book, following the story of several different people and their lives in North Korea, their struggles to escape and their situations afterwards.

Dan wrote: "Super-duper random, but has anyone read anything about life in North Korea?"

I read The Girl with Seven Names: A North Korean Defector’s Story and it was really good.

No problem, I've read some non fiction and personal biographies about North Korea, but that ones my favourite and a great starting place.

Gene wrote: "I notice that this seems to all be fiction. Is that on purpose? Does anyone have an interest in literary non-fiction. I'm thinking Plato or Herodotus or Barbara Tuchman."

I probably would if I seriously tried to read it. Wonder which fiction titles incorporate Plato etal? Suspect more than we realize.

Kathy wrote: "BTW to all. If I seem a bit quieter this week, I am out of town. So I'll check in, but probably won't have time to add much to the conversations."

Yes, safe travel.

I just counted from my special notebook how many picture books, children's, middle grade and YA books/comics I've read this year already and counted over 100 already. I've made notes from 89 of them, because some of the picture books were part of a larger series and I decided they only need one long entry to cover them all.

So no wonder I feel like I don't have time for my other books and also how my head is about to explode for the amount of stuff I've read so far. I don't count those books as part of my GR reading challenge, so it only features adult novels and a few children/YA books that I've selected to be a part of my challenges in this group. And I've read some adult comics as well this year, but I haven't counted them anywhere officially. I've reviewed some of them and also all of them have a GR private note stating the date I've read the comic book in question this year.

For any Lovcraft or comedy fans, i just thought i'd recommend these really well produced parodies of Lovecraft stories.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...

Just two so far but they may be doing more down the line.

Wreade1872 wrote: "For any Lovcraft or comedy fans, i just thought i'd recommend these really well produced parodies of Lovecraft stories.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...

Jus..."

These look fun!

To those of you in the US, I wish you a safe, happy, and restful Memorial Day.

Laurie wrote: "To those of you in the US, I wish you a safe, happy, and restful Memorial Day."

The same to you Laurie! :)

Thank you, Laurie. I hope everyone will take a moment to remember why we have a long weekend and the cost of freedom.

Sara wrote: "Thank you, Laurie. I hope everyone will take a moment to remember why we have a long weekend and the cost of freedom."

Amen to that Sara! :)

Sara wrote: "Thank you, Laurie. I hope everyone will take a moment to remember why we have a long weekend and the cost of freedom."

Absolutely. Thank you to our service members who gave their lives to preserve our freedom and to those who came home as well. And a big thanks to the families of of our military members. We honor all of you this weekend for your sacrifices.

Just want to say a big thank you to Bob, Christine, Kathy, and Pink. This is the most organized group on GoodReads in terms of nominating, polls, and buddy reads, and transitioning from one month to the next in a timely fashion.

Brina wrote: "Just want to say a big thank you to Bob, Christine, Kathy, and Pink. This is the most organized group on GoodReads in terms of nominating, polls, and buddy reads, and transitioning from one month t..."

I second that. They really do a fantastic job and it is greatly appreciated!!! ;-)