Reading Shakespeare: The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare

by Carol3 Comments
I have mixed reactions when it comes to The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare. The story is a framed as a play put on for the amusement of a drunkard that has been convinced he is a nobleman. In the play, Baptisat Minola has two daughters, the older is Katherina, a shrew whose temper is notorious and it is assumed no one would want to marry her. The younger daughter, Bianca, is beautiful and gentle and has several suitors, but Baptista insists that the older daughter be married first.  Petruchio arrives in Padua and is recruited by one of Bianca's admirers to woo and marry Katherina, holding up Kate's money as a legimate reason to marry her. Petruchio courts Kate with reverse psychology, pretending that every harsh thing she says or does is kind and gentle, while he himself is just mean and nasty to everyone but her. Kate and Petruchio are married in a ridiculous ceremony where he dresses like a clown, hits the priest,...
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Review: Singing in the Shrouds by Ngaio Marsh

by Carol7 Comments
In Singing in the Shrouds, Ngaoi Marsh gives us another mystery with a group of individuals, the killer and potential victims, trapped together., in this case on a boat. When the police found a corpse on a wharf in the Pool of London, her body covered with flower petals and pearls, they know she is the latest victim of the Flower Murder. Once again, the killer walked away, singing. Within the hour he was safe at sea, aboard the Carpe Farewll, a cargo ship bound for South Africa, one of nine passengers. Inspector Roderick Alleyn joins the voyage undercover, to both discover the murderer's identity and protect the women on board. The passengers include a TV talk show star, a middle-aged femme fatale, a crotchety, retired schoolmaster, and a sad spinster. There's also a young couple who get to fall in love and a priest who I was unsure of through the whole story. The characters are rather two-dimensional, but I enjoy Marsh's...
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Flash Fiction: Home Is Rarely Safe

by Carol9 Comments
"Home Is Rarely Safe" Leah leaned against the cool wall and closed her eyes, letting the tension melt from her shoulders. The parade was over. The annual pageant was a tradition, a display of the Emperor's power and wealth, his army marched down the main boulevard from the city gate to the palace, followed by the huge, self-propelled chariots, the gears clanking in rhythm, small cannons glinting from their sides. The citizens lining the route cheered, but she had seen fear mixed with the pride in their eyes. The soldiers alone were an impressive group, young men, each carrying his weapon of choice but moving as one, well-trained, eyes straight ahead but missing nothing. Her own group, the elite guard, had worn their traditional armor, striking but essentially useless in battle. As the wives' guards, though, her women were rarely called to war; their battle was closer to home, guarding against assassins, against enemies both foreign and those inside the walls....
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Thursday’s Tale: The Legend of Nian

by Carol11 Comments
Folks celebrated Chinese New Year earlier this week, so I thought it would be appropriate to share the Legend of Nian. In ancient China there lived a ferocious monster, Nian (Year), who rose out of the sea each New Year's Eve to eat livestock, crops and villagers. Accordingly, each New Year's Eve all the people would flee to the remote mountains, taking the old and the young, to avoid the monster. One New Year's Eve day, a beggar entered the village of Peach Blossom. The villagers were too busy packing, locking doors, getting ready to head to the mountains to take any notice of the beggar. Only one older woman gave him a bite of food and warned him to leave the town. The beggar told her that if she would allow him to stay in her house for the night, he would force the monster to leave. The woman had doubts, but had no choice but to run for the mountains...
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Guest Post: Fiona Ingram, author of The Secret of the Sacred Scarab

by Carol10 Comments
I am delighted to have Fiona Ingram, author of The Secret of the Sacred Scarab, guest posting at my notebook today. My regular readers know how much I value reading with my daughter and Fiona has the same outlook. By the way, Amber and I read Fiona's book together; look for a review on Feb 7. How Reading Draws Families Together By Fiona Ingram Carol’s motto at the top of her blog ‘The end of reading is not more books but more life’ made me think about how reading can draw families together. Reading with your child, or sharing activities that involve reading is a wonderful pastime with so many benefits. Not only does this special ‘together time’ strengthen the bond between you and your child, but it enables you to monitor your child’s progress. You’ll see the growth of your child’s vocabulary, awareness of the world, social behavior skills, listening skills, confidence, and many other developmental aspects. However, in a busy day filled...
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Reading Shakespeare: Shakespeare by Bill Bryson

by Carol9 Comments
It is because we have so much of Shakespeare's work that we can appreciate how little we know of him as a person. If we had only his comedies, we would think him a frothy soul. If we had just the sonnets, he would be a man of darkest passions. From a selection of his other works, we might think him variously courtly, cerebral, metaphysical, melancholic, Machiavellian, neurotic, lighthearted, loving, and much more. Shakespeare was of course all these things—as a writer. We hardly know what he was as a person. (19) I've read several of Shakespeare's plays this month, so I though it was about time I read a biography of the man himself. Shakespeare: The World as Stage by Bill Bryson is a slim book, which makes sense, since, as Bryson explains, we actually know very little about Shakespeare the man. Bryson does a good job at giving us the facts that we do know about Shakespeare's life, and...
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