tragicomedy shakespeare rosencrantz guildenstern

books:

Beowulf: A New Verse Translation (Bilingual Edition)

238 reviews

W. W. Norton & Company, 2001

Wow
This was incredible. Why wasn't I assigned to read this in high school? I want to read more like this. This is up there with Homer. This new translation is a very easy-to-read one, I sat down and pretty much read this straight through. I really enjoyed looking back and forth at the old English vs. the contemporary. This was really really great.

Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America

129 reviews
James Webb

Broadway, 2005

Should be required reading before graduation from college
Webb's book is a landmark treatise that puts Griffin's silly works into the trash heap. Like anyone who is 1/8th black is called "black", anyone 1/8 Scotch-Irish is Scotch-Irish (or Scots-Irish or Scot-Irish) if you prefer. He could have chosen to use Teddy Kennedy as an example of New England paternalism of blacks using the Scotch-Irish as the cause for all their misery, but he was above that. ...

This Charming Man: A Novel

1 review
Marian Keyes

William Morrow, 2008

Deeply Satisfying Read (Giggle AND tear producing!)
I preordered this from the UK as soon as it came out, and I wasn't disappointed. Marian Keyes always deals with serious issues, using humor by poking fun at human flaws. In This Charming Man, she focuses on domestic violence (and even cross-dressing, which was actually hysterically eye-opening). The characters are fully developed and you grow to know them, understand them, and love them. Her ...

Macbeth (Folger Shakespeare Library)

15 reviews
William Shakespeare

Washington Square Press, 2003

Yale's may be the best edition of Macbeth
Virtually all editions of Macbeth will have at least some annotations. Rummaging through five different editions, I preferred the Yale University Press version, edited by Burton Raffel, as having the most comprehensive and comprehensible notes, as well as an excellent introduction to Shakespeare's play. Raffel not only explains the meanings of obscure words, but also gives brief notes pertaining ...

The Gathering (Man Booker Prize)

97 reviews
Anne Enright

Grove Press, Black Cat, 2007

Raw but riveting...
This story gives the reader an up close and personal view of one woman's grieving process. It is raw, because grief is raw. The story is disjointed and at times erratic, because grief can be disjointed and erratic. I think this book is brilliant. The author takes you through the hurricane of grieving, takes a few momnets of respite in the eye, and then catapults the reader back into the ...

The Reapers: A Thriller

9 reviews
John Connolly

Atria, 2008

Another masterpiece from John Connolly
Angel and Louis are partners in crime, and life partners. Their love for each other doesn't make them less menacing, but their love gives them humanity. Their association with Charlie 'Bird' Parker in previous books has been accompanied not only by violence but supernatural pulls between Light and Dark Forces. Who will win? Sometimes it's a toss-up. We have never known the story of Angel and ...

The Children of Henry VIII

64 reviews
Alison Weir

Ballantine Books, 1997

The first of many more!
This was my first voluntary non fiction historical read. I am impressed! This story was very easy reading. I don't think I really had any idea what was going on back then, the English "subjects" must have been completely at a loss as to what religion to practice. I was disappointed that the book didn't go more into Elizabeth's reign but I now understand that there is another book out there ...

The King James Bible (with book and chapter navigation)

6 reviews

Diana Mecum DianaDoesIt.com, 2008

Fantastic Navigation Feature!
This was one of the easiest books to navigate through that I have ever seen because it emulates the hardcopy. In fact, it's better because I don't have to keep paging and paging to get to where I want to read. Instead, each chapter or individual book is just a click away. This decreases my frustration which increases my enjoyment. Thank you, it's fantastic.

The Six Wives of Henry VIII

129 reviews
Alison Weir

Grove Press, 1991

Impressive book, riveting story
What I liked most about this book is also what since distresses me most about films circulating on this topic. Weir so thoroughly researches the profusion of biographic material available (besides Britain, courts throughout Europe had documention on the wives of Henry and him) that it is clear there is no need to fictionalise this fascinating story (you wouldn't even try to imagine it). And ...

Hamlet (The New Folger Library Shakespeare)

33 reviews
William Shakespeare

Washington Square Press, 2003

If you want to read Shakespeare its has to be The new folger Library
If you ever thought about reading Shakespeare but was turned off or intimidated by the old english, not so with the new folger editions. Your basically reading the play on all the right sided pages , with the left pages reserved for all the definitions and explanations of the sayings and words that might be dificult to understand. This makes it very easy and enjoyable to read.

Waiting for Godot: A Tragicomedy in Two Acts

159 reviews
Samuel Beckett

Grove Press, 1994

Masterpiece of Nothingness
Many parts of this play are comically driven - many are not. And, the majority are neither - or so Beckett may have said as part of his stylistic prank on the reader. Beckett had a target, and he would smile at his target as much as permitted. His dripping dialogue is often interpreted with misinterpretation, misidentification, miscue. That part of the play is resoundingly great. To not have ...

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead

80 reviews
Tom Stoppard

Grove Press, 1994

Absurdly Tragic, Tragically Absurd
This play is such a gem. It has entertained me for years (30 years I believe). I cannot recommend it to enough people.

The Canterbury Tales (Penguin Classics)

29 reviews
Geoffrey Chaucer

Penguin Classics, 2003

The strength of Chaucer's verse shines through....
Chaucer was a master story teller. He was a master poet. He was a master writer. He was just blessed, gifted... there aren't enough words to express the depth of Chaucer's talent... his gift. This collection reminds me why I fell in love with Chaucer's work back in college. It's one of the more complete collections and I thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to end. I will read it a ...

North and South (Oxford World's Classics)

36 reviews
Elizabeth Gaskell

Oxford University Press, USA, 1998

Surprisingly modern tale of class conflict, management theory, and of course, love
I read the book, like many other reviewers here, after I had watched the brilliant BBC miniseries starring Richard Armitage and Daniela Denby-Ashe. I definitely agree with the comments of many reviewers here that you somehow seem to develop a finer appreciation of the nuances of both after doing that. A lot of reviewers have covered the ground admirably on the story itself, so I won't go into ...

Heart of Darkness (Norton Critical Editions)

11 reviews
Joseph Conrad

W. W. Norton, 2005

"Mistah Kurtz--he dead." An influential work on five 20th century seminal works
I read this book for a graduate Humanities course. Buy this edition, it is the best with great critical essays. Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, written in 1899 is a seminal work about the ills of colonialism, as well as a postmodern look at the subject of mankind. Conrad's book had a crucial influence on five important works of the twentieth century: J. G. Frazier's book The Golden Bough. ...

PS, I Love You Movie Tie-In Edition

237 reviews
Cecelia Ahern

Hyperion, 2007

P. S. I LOVE YOU
Loved the book, love the movie. First thought that Hilary Swank would be a mis-cast, NO WAY, she was wonderful! I watch it over and again. Just one of those love stories that actually are spot on. Right up there with "Love Actually", "You've got Mail" "The Holiday".

How the Irish Saved Civilization (Hinges of History)

255 reviews
Thomas Cahill

Anchor, 1996

perfect title, entertaining read
The title gives a good feel for the tone of the book. It's clever, informative, and very entertaining. You learn without feeling like you hit the history books, and you're left thinking about lessons for the future -- the most important reason to look back at the past. Very much enjoyed it.

Paradise Lost (Penguin Classics)

22 reviews
John Milton

Penguin Classics, 2003

The Greatest Writing in the English Language
There's enough already said about why and how Milton wrote this book, so I don't have anything to say about that. It's a story most people will be familiar with, and any surprises will involve the beauty of the language or a random, surprising insight into a character's motivation. In the end, Milton deserves to be called the greatest writer in English because of the pure strength and beauty of ...

Othello (Folger Shakespeare Library)

11 reviews
William Shakespeare

Washington Square Press, 2004

Villainy as art
The most beautiful aspect of the play is Iago's ingenious deception of Othello. In every phrase, Iago knows just what to say to swing his Moor closer to the belief in Desdemona's infidelity. The subtle strategist to his general (and the puppeteer to Roderigo and Cassio), Iago is in full glory practicing his art of insinuation. Iago is the master of duplicity: "Divinity of hell! When devils ...

The Pilgrim's Progress (Dover Thrift Editions)

18 reviews
John Bunyan

Dover Publications, 2003

Pilgrim'a Progress
This is a time honored book, of which I am using as a text book in my adult Sunday School Class. I am using Maureen L. Bradley's "Study Guide" as an outline to the study. I have only one criticism of the book; they left out the scriptural references, which are found in earlier publication and/or by other publisher's. The book itself was received in excellent condition, and in a timely manner.

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civilization, guildenstern, rosencrantz, shakespeare, tragicomedy

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