There's a reason why Shakespeare is considreed one of the greatest writers of all time. A lovely read; quite funny. ( )

Though I was already familiar with the storyline, I thought it wouldn't hurt at all to read my children's retold versions to start. The Lambs' "Tales From Shakespeare" fit the bill. It gave an accurate rendering and wet my whistle for the real thing. By the end of Act I, Scene I of the actual play the theologian watched me float through the room with a pleasant smile across my face. With several distractions to interrupt my enjoyment I still managed to read it in a couple of hours time. I spent a pleasant evening remembering the movie version, the one with Michelle Pfeiffer that I had just watched a few months ago. It was a little modernized(by that I mean sexualized) but it really captured the magic of the fairy wood. Once everyone else was in bed I pulled out "Shakespeare Stories" by Leon Garfield and fell in love all over again. The Garfield retelling is fantastic.

It sounds odd but I feel like I've just discovered Shakespeare for the first time. I have discovered a sensation in my soul that will always require me to be reading something by Shakespeare on a regular basis. I am already thinking about how fun it will be to introduce the Bard of Avon to my children. At least one of them I'm sure will be in raptures as I am. And I want to talk about it with everyone I come in contact with. ( )

Bottom stands just a couple of steps below Iago, Othello, and Falstaff among the beings created by Shakespeare. Not a "rutting" donkey, but an innocent, good-natured, modern man who knows that the world has gone made, but who is too gentle and nice to tell that to the characters that surround him. His is the play's true story, the rest is a comic masque designed to delight some of the most powerful in England - including the Queen. Obregon's speech in the Queen's honor is some of Shakespeare's best writing. ( )

Great romantic comedy. ( )

A lovely book containing some of Rackham's best work. ( )