Will Shakes

Book 8 - A nonfiction book

 

The Treasures of William Shakespeare by Catherine M S Alexander

 

If you didn't already suspect, I am not normally a nonfiction reader. I am usually more of a fictional kinda person, but the book challenge called for a nonfiction book; so I read a nonfiction book.

In my many years of reading I have not read a lot of nonfiction books outside of the textbooks I have been forced to read in class. However, I have been able to find enjoyment in some nonfiction books as a result of assignments where I was able to choose the topic. With pages about Charles Dickens, Henry Ford or Greek mythology how can one not enjoy a nonfiction book?

You may be wondering why I have such a nonfictional book on my shelf, and feel inclined to tell you that I didn`t purchase it to be put upon a shelf of rather fictional origins. I was graced with the presence of this nonfictional book at Christmas time as a gift from my broski and his dearest girlfriend. As it was a gift, I at first felt the need to read it, even though it is a nonfiction book, but then I found out that the book challenge called for it. That's when things changed.

Alas, I would much rather be immersed in a novel of the fictional kind; if historical characters, settings or events happen show up, that's fine, but the storyline had better be fictional in the end.

Anywho, this book is about the great Will Shakes.

The first time I was introduced to Mr. Shakespeare was in high school when we were forced to read Romeo and Juliet as part of our English class. Since then I have been privy to the written ideas involved in The Merchant of Venice, Macbeth, King Lear and Hamlet, along with Twelfth Night and As You Like It as performances at the Stratford Festival. I think, after all that Shakespeare, I still like King Lear  the best. That may have something to do with the fact that I actually read the play the whole way through and didn't just see the stage performance, but I`m not so sure.

This book travels through the life and times of William Shakespeare; the time period he was born in and what theatre was like at the time he began writing. Over the course of the book, we are taken on a journey through the different plays that Mr. Shakespeare wrote, the changes in the theatre life, and how the plays have been changed from the performances on the stage in the 1700s to the films created in the 21st century.

I was quite excited to learn that there are four pouches in the book that each have copies of documents that were somehow closely connected to Mr. Shakespeare. There are tickets and brochures from significant performances, birth announcements of the Shakespeare twins, and even a copy of William Shakespeare's will.

After everything that I learned I wish that I had read more of the plays before reading. There were so many references to all the plays that I would like to read at some point in my life. I guess I`ll have to reread this book after I`ve taken the Shakespeare challenge and read them all.

In any case, if you take a liking to Mr. Shakespeare, read this book, it will tell you all you need to know.

Can't believe I'm saying this, read a nonfiction once in a while. You may just learn something fantastic about this world.

 

this is t-bear signing off