William Shakespeare

The State of the Reader: 10/21/20

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<–The State of the Reader: 10/7/20         The State of the Reader: 11/4/20–>

A biweekly post updated every other Wednesday detailing my current reading projects and what new titles I’ve added to my to-read list.  Title links go to Goodreads, and if you have an account there feel free to friend me!  I’d love to see what you’re reading and/or planning to read.

Purchased: 3

Title: The Snow Queen
Series Title: The Snow Queen Cycle
Author: Joan D. Vinge
Date Added: December 11, 2014
Date Started: September 22, 2020

Cover of the Snow Queen by Joan D. VingeMedia: Hardback (Library)
Progress: 46%

I’ve renewed this once and I have one more before I have to return it.  I plan to purchase this book anyway, probably along with it’s sequel.  The more I read the sadder I am that it was never made into a movie or rather series.  I’m already thinking of my dream cast.  Maybe Emilia Clarke for Moon/Arienrhod, but that could just be because she’s done the silver-blonde thing before with Danaerys, so I’m just stuck on that.  Obviously, the same actress would play the two characters since Moon is a clone of the queen (it’s in the blurb so it’s not a spoiler), though I suppose if you found two similar looking people or twins that would work, too.  I haven’t hashed everything out yet lol.

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The State of the Reader: 10/7/20

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<–The State of the Reader: 9/23/20         The State of the Reader: 10/21/20–>

A biweekly post updated every other Wednesday detailing my current reading projects and what new titles I’ve added to my to-read list.  Title links go to Goodreads, and if you have an account there feel free to friend me!  I’d love to see what you’re reading and/or planning to read.

Purchased: 5

Title: The Snow Queen
Series Title: The Snow Queen Cycle
Author: Joan D. Vinge
Date Added: December 11, 2014
Date Started: September 22, 2020

Cover of the Snow Queen by Joan D. VingeMedia: Hardback (Library)
Progress: 26%

I’m getting really into this.  It reminds me of Dune, but with a more interesting and female main character lol.  I’ve been talking to the friend who lugged this book around with her all through high school, and she had a friendly “I told you so” about my Dune observations (it’s also another reason why she has no interest in Dune).  I’ve read Dune, which I enjoyed, but I wish I’d been into sci-fi back in high school because I would’ve loved this.

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The State of the Reader: 9/23/20

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<–The State of the Reader: 9/9/20         The State of the Reader: 10/7/20–>

A biweekly post updated every other Wednesday detailing my current reading projects and what new titles I’ve added to my to-read list.  Title links go to Goodreads, and if you have an account there feel free to friend me!  I’d love to see what you’re reading and/or planning to read.

Purchased: 3

Finished: 2

Title: The Twisted Ones
Author: T. Kingfisher
Date Added: August 26, 2020
Date Started: September 7, 2020
Date Finished: September 15, 2020

Cover of The Twisted Ones by T. KingfisherMedia: eBook/Kindle

Holy shit, I couldn’t put this down, but I had to at night because I’m a fraidy cat.  Foxy is the greatest fucking character ever written, and this is up for my Book of the Year competing with Pestilence.  I did not understand why this has a rating under 4 stars on Goodreads, and reading the comments, I still don’t understand.  Apparently, some people found the mood whiplash to be unrealistic, like how Mouse would be making jokes in the most dire of circumstances.  Do these chuckle fucks not understand morbid/gallows humor?!!  That is EXACTLY how my terrified ass would be acting!  I am definitely reading more T. Kingfisher.

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The State of the Reader: 9/9/20

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<–The State of the Reader: 8/26/20         The State of the Reader: 9/23/20–>

A biweekly post updated every other Wednesday detailing my current reading projects and what new titles I’ve added to my to-read list.  Title links go to Goodreads, and if you have an account there feel free to friend me!  I’d love to see what you’re reading and/or planning to read.

Purchased: 2

Finished: 2

Title: Dracula
Author: Bram Stoker
Date Added: May 16, 2015
Date Started: February 13, 2020
Date Finished: August 30, 2020
Reading Duration: 199 Days

Cover of DraculaMedia: eBook/Kindle

Definitely see how this could’ve inspired/influenced GRRM’s Night King along with other malicious hive-minded entities that could have your friends spying for the enemy.  This novel was wild from start to finish in all the best ways possible, and its cultural influence cannot be understated.

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The Books of 2019

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Goodreads Challenge: 20
Books Finished: 20
Books DNF: 5

I lowered my challenge from 50 books to 20 in 2019, and I think this was a good idea.  I’m keeping that same energy in 2020, plus it goes with the number.  I still have book reviews from 2018 to write, so the lower number theoretically helps bring that down, too (not…really).

Because I only read 20 books, I’m going to list them all here in no particular order at first then the Top 10 after.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald (Classic)

You really have to keep your present sensibilities in check in order to garner what Fitzgerald was after.  It’s not a bad message about how we treat the very young vs. the very old, but it comes with a whole bunch of yikes.

Antony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare (Classic)

The question of Cleopatra’s betrayal is still up in the air, and the ruminations on the concept are far more fascinating than the answer.

The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux (Classic)

Oh my fucking god, this was almost laughably bad in so many ways.  I’m glad I read it, but it was dry and plodding for so many chapters.  The most interesting parts involved the Persian who doesn’t even get a name.  Raoul’s character as well as Eric’s were greatly improved by Andrew Lloyd Weber’s musical, which greatly improved upon many aspects of Leroux’s work.

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The State of the Reader: 2/27/19

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<–The State of the Reader: 2/13/19         The State of the Reader: 3/13/19–>

A weekly post updated every other Wednesday detailing my current reading projects and what new titles I’ve added to my to-read list.  Title links go to Goodreads, and if you have an account there feel free to friend me!  I’d love to see what you’re reading and/or planning to read.

Books Obtained: 0

Books Finished: 1

Title: Antony and Cleopatra
Author: William Shakespeare
Date Added: January 16, 2019
Date Started: January 17, 2019
Date Finished: February 18, 2019

Antony and Cleopatra coverMedia: eBook/Kindle

I enjoyed this much better than All’s Well That Ends Well and did absorb most of the major points of it.  I checked Wikipedia afterwards for a summary/synopsis, and while I missed a few things (e.g. Lepidus being one of the triumvirates along with Caesar and Antony, and Caesar imprisoning him after they betray Pompey), I did pick up the potential that Cleopatra might have betrayed Antony, though that seems to be more of an implication as opposed to a matter of fact.  It could go either way, and I wonder if Shakes meant to do that.  This is considered one of his problem plays.  I do like that it’s a direct sequel to Julius Caesar, which I plan to reread in this Bard project of mine.

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The State of the Reader: 2/13/19

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<–The State of the Reader: 1/30/19          The State of the Reader: 2/27/19–>

A weekly post updated every other Wednesday detailing my current reading projects and what new titles I’ve added to my to-read list.  Title links go to Goodreads, and if you have an account there feel free to friend me!  I’d love to see what you’re reading and/or planning to read.

Books Obtained: 0

Books Finished: 0

Currently Reading

Title: Antony and Cleopatra
Author: William Shakespeare
Date Added: January 16, 2019
Date Started: January 17, 2019

Antony and Cleopatra coverMedia: eBook/Kindle
Progress: Act 5 Scene V

I was hoping to finish this today, but if wishes were fishes, there’d be more in the sea. Maybe tomorrow.  Then I can look up notes on it to see how good my interpretation of Shakespearean English is.  I actually read this at lunch to take a brain break :p

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The State of the Reader: 1/30/19

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 2 Comments

<–The State of the Reader: 1/16/19          The State of the Reader: 2/13/19–>

A weekly post updated every other Wednesday detailing my current reading projects and what new titles I’ve added to my to-read list.  Title links go to Goodreads, and if you have an account there feel free to friend me!  I’d love to see what you’re reading and/or planning to read.

Books Obtained: 1

  • Hard Day’s Knight by John G. Hartness – $2.99 @ Amazon

Books Finished: 0

Currently Reading

Title: Antony and Cleopatra
Author: William Shakespeare
Date Added: January 16, 2019
Date Started: January 17, 2019

Antony and Cleopatra coverMedia: eBook/Kindle
Progress: Act 1 Scene VII

I’m recording the progress a little different since I have no way of easily telling how far along I am in the play percentage-wise.  I’m reading it from a compendium of all the Bard’s works so it’s only giving me the percentage of the entire thing I’ve finished.

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The State of the Writer: 1/27/19

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<–The State of the Writer: 1/13/18          The State of the Writer: 2/10/19–>

A post updated every other Sunday discussing my current writing projects and any completed the prior two weeks.

Finished Projects: 2

Project: Story
Title: The Broken Rose
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Type: Fanfiction (FFVII) Novel
Current Word Count: 255,229
Prior Word Count: 255,627
Word Difference: -398
Status: Editing
Progress: Chapter 14 First Edit

Aeris in a pink ballgown with white ruffles going up steps. She's looking over her shoulderI’m still working my way through this extensive chapter, but I’m nearing the end.  I may end up splitting it after I finish the first edit, depending on if there’s a natural place to do so; however, I’ll still post all of it at once.  It’ll just be two chapters at a time instead of my typical one.

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All’s Well That End’s Well by William Shakespeare (DNF)

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Title: All’s Well That End’s Well
Author: William Shakespeare
Date Added: September 15, 2017
Date Started: January 26, 2018
Date DNF: March 3, 2018
Genre: Play, Classic, Drama

All's Well That End's Well coverPages: 336
Publication Date: 1602
Publisher: Latus ePublishing
Media: eBook/Kindle

Helena, a ward of the Countess of Rousillion, falls in love with the Countess’s son, Bertram. Daughter of a famous doctor, and a skilled physician in her own right, Helena cures the King of France-who feared he was dying-and he grants her Bertram’s hand as a reward. Bertram, however, offended by the inequality of the marriage, sets off for war, swearing he will not live with his wife until she can present him with a son, and with his own ring-two tasks which he believes impossible. However with the aid of a bed trick, Helena fulfils his tasks, Bertram realises the error of his ways, and they are reconciled.

This was the first play I finished in my goal to read/reread all of the Bard’s plays.  I didn’t finish it because it annoyed me, but apparently I also didn’t review it either, which is odd, since I usually still review literature I DNF.

Bertram, the son of a countess, is a snobbish ass and Helena, the low-born ward of the same countess, could do so much better.  He refuses her marriage offer even after the king of France says he’ll fix any title issues Bertram has with the union, which seems to be the only problem: he doesn’t want to marry below his station.  Helena has fulfilled her promise to the French monarch in healing him, and the king has the power to raise her beyond her “low breeding as a physician’s daughter,” which is (ironically for that judgment) the reason she was able to cure him in the first place!  Granted, at this point in history, doctors weren’t looked up in high regard, so this assessment wasn’t inaccurate.  If this is Bertram’s only reason for not wishing to wed Helena, it’s a poor one at that.  Obviously, no one should be compelled to marry against their will, regardless the cause, and that’s exactly what the king forces Bertram to do.  While he weds her, he doesn’t bed her, instead sending his unwanted bride back to his estate and informing his mother how much he hates her.

Excuse me what the fuck meme with very wiggly, grey guyI became bored with the story at this point and decided to DNF it, but thanks to the internet I know what else happens, and yes, it is twisted.

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