Reflecting on My First 20 Books

July 22, 2020July 22, 2020 / Jacqueline / 12 Comments

As a former engineer, data and numbers speak to me. Being 20% of the way through my reading project, it seemed as good a time of ever to reflect on the journey thus far.

I had gotten this idea from Jenni at SprainedBrain who chronicles her book statistics often. She does a great job at it – you can see the statistics she looks at here! I didn’t base my statistics off of hers, so check out which data points she takes too! Thanks, Jenni!

Word Counts

Of my 12,327,956 word journey, I have read 2,041,953 words. A mere 16.5%. It’s mind blowing to think that I’ve read the two longest books on the list – Atlas Shrugged and Les Miserables – and I’ve still got so far to go!

Of those books, I wanted to look at a distribution of the word counts of each. Looking at this data surprised me, I definitely have a preference.

In my defense, the two books over 150,000 words were both over 500,000 words… but I digress. I have a problem. Maybe it’s because I know that shorter books are less of an investment and I can get them done faster. Either way, I’m hoping to read some longer books in these next 20.

Readjusting Ratings

Over the past 6 months, I’ve noticed that my opinions on certain books has changed. Having a little more perspective on my reading preferences, I feel like my ratings, particularly for the earlier books, were not so great. I thought I’d take a moment to adjust my ratings.

Book	Old Rating	New Rating	Change
Lolita	6.5	5	-1.5
Treasure Island	9	8	-1
The Prince	5	4	-1
The Call of the Wild	8.5	8	-0.5
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde	8	7.5	-0.5
Atlas Shrugged	9	9.5	0.5
The Arabian Nights	5.5	5.5	0
Murder on the Orient Express	9	9	0
A Clockwork Orange	3.5	3.5	0
The Time Machine	5.5	5.5	0
The Art of War	7	6.5	-0.5
Animal Farm	9	9	0
All’s Well That Ends Well	5	4	-1
Alice in Wonderland	6	6	0
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory	7	6.5	-0.5
Fahrenheit 451	6	6	0
Les Miserables	9	9	0
Journey to the Center of the Earth	5	5	0
Beowulf	6	6	0
Of Mice and Men	5	5	0

The reason I find this so particularly helpful is because I really want to be able to put a larger spread to differentiate between books. This doesn’t mean that I didn’t enjoy a book with a rating under 5, it just means that I believe it’s not a groundbreaking book.

Taking this data and cute little Excel chart, I was able to split hairs to really figure out which books I feel are necessary to recommend to others.

My Favorites

Looking back, I have clear favorites. Allow me to share.

Atlas Shrugged: Okay, I’ll be outright here. You probably won’t agree with all of the thoughts and ideas Ayn Rand shares in this book. But it is going to challenge you to ask yourself why you disagree. On top of that, the story itself is really wonderful. I think this is a book everyone must read.

Les Misérables: Please, whatever you do. Read this book someday. It’s such a profound story with characters that will leave you so attached. If you’ve seen the musical or any other adaptation, you’re missing the essence of the story – the motivations, the desires, and the thoughts of these characters that are so real they follow you for days. (Besides, my favorite scene in the book is not included in the adaptations because it involves so much backstory).

My Least Favorites

My least favorites are far less clear. I wouldn’t say I really disliked any of these books. I mean, I finished them, right? But if I had to pick, these are the two that just didn’t do it for me:

A Clockwork Orange: I still feel the same way I did about this book when I finished it: I personally didn’t like it, but I can understand why someone would. The teenage angst on a forgettable character is a little off-putting to me. Plus, the book uses it’s own slang which makes it difficult to follow.

All’s Well That Ends Well: I think I was a little too nice with my original review. This story is forgettable to me. In fact, I had to read the plot that I wrote just to remember it. I completely understand why this is one of Shakespeare’s lesser-performed plays.

With that, the first chapter of my journey comes to a close. But there’s so, so much more ahead. Looking forward to my next reads – and sharing them all!

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Of Mice and Men – Book No. 20

July 17, 2020July 17, 2020 / Jacqueline / 1 Comment

This book review is a part of Reading Week. To read more reviews, click here!

84. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (1937)

Dates: 7/16/20 – 7/17/20 (1 day)

Plot: The story of two migrant ranch workers with no one but each other.

Experience Before Reading: I had to read it in high school 8 years ago. (Woah, sudden realization that I’m old…)

Takeaway: I’m actually very lost on this one. The first time I read it as a teenager, I felt very sorry for Lennie. Today, I don’t know how I feel. My perspective of disabilities has changed. As a child, I felt sorry mentally disabled people were unable to see the world in the way most people do. Today, I realize that disability doesn’t equal inferiority.

That being said, Steinbeck complicates the matter by writing Lennie in some unflattering, yet sympathetic ways. The nuances made me uncomfortable, which maybe is the point Steinbeck was trying to make. I struggled to figure out what I really felt.

There’s an overwhelming aura of hopelessness with all of these characters which makes it tough to read. Although they do all have dreams and ambitions. I’m not sure if that makes it a happier or sadder story.

Regardless, I’m left torn with every piece of this novella. I’d love to hear other thoughts – have you read this book? Let’s chat about it. I’m open to other interpretations and ideas.

Would I Recommend It?: Maybe. It seems like it’s a story most people know.

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Beowulf – Book No. 19

July 16, 2020July 16, 2020 / Jacqueline / Leave a comment

This book review is a part of Reading Week. To read more reviews, click here!

2. Beowulf from the Cotton MS Vitellius A. xv (c. 975-1010 AD)

Dates: 5/18/20 – 7/16/20 (59 days)

Plot: An epic poem telling the tale of Beowulf who slays the monster Grendel (and also a dragon).

Experience Before Reading: None.

Takeaway: I kept thinking about how this story is over 1000 years old and yet, so modern? The hero’s journey is a beloved story that has been around much longer than we have. To think that this is one of the first (that we know of) is pretty wild to wrap your head around.

Personally, I prefer the historic context and the impact of this work to the actual poem. The poem itself is hard to understand. You can get a sense of what is happening, but get lost in the details. You might have noticed the actual poem took me 59 days to read – practically a hero’s journey worth just to get through. It’s short too, so I don’t really have an excuse.

Without Beowulf, it’s unlikely works like The Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones would have been made. The impact of this work is something to be admired. The fact that the story is one we all inherently know shows how it’s radiated into our cultural zeitgeist.

Also, I mentioned yesterday that I was a fan of Scandinavia in general. Bonus points from me.

Would I Recommend It?: To those who like epics.

Abbey’s Review

Dates: 3/9/20 (2 hours)

Experience Before Reading: I read this book when I was a Junior in high school and was actually quite fond of it. I am a massive Tolkien fan, and The Hobbit is largely based off of Beowulf.

Takeaway: The main takeaway from this story is that it’s better to go through life and to die young with courage, than to die cowardly at an old age. Beowulf is the quintessential warrior that we read about in nearly every adventure book. It shows that even at the time Beowulf was written (somewhere between the 8th and 11th century) honor, loyalty, and courage were admirable traits.

Would I Recommend It?: If you enjoy The Iliad and The Odyssey, you will like this work. Beowulf is an epic poem orated in ancient Anglo-Saxon

Look at this video of it being spoken it’s totally crazy! So it has the same feel as those works.

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Journey to the Center of the Earth – Book No. 18

July 15, 2020July 15, 2020 / Jacqueline / Leave a comment

This book review is a part of Reading Week. To read more reviews, click here!

80. Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne (1864)

Dates: 7/14/20 – 7/15/20 (1 day)

Plot: After deciphering a message left in an ancient book, a professor, his nephew, and a guide head to Iceland where there’s a hole to the center of the Earth.

Experience Before Reading: This seems to be a story most people are somewhat familiar with – myself included. There’s exciting things inside the Earth, but I couldn’t tell you exactly what was there until I actually read it myself.

Takeaway: As an adventure lover, I was really looking forward to this book. Yet it left me incredibly indifferent. I’m neither upset to have read the book nor am I grateful I took the time to read it.

I have read other Jules Verne stories in the past (and will be re-reading them in the future). But this one just didn’t do it for me.

I know I always go on about how characters are written, so I won’t spend too much time unpacking this – but these characters aren’t very relatable or attachable. The quirky scientist, the skeptic boy, and the stoic Icelandic hunter. I don’t know how inventive that was when the book was published, but to a modern-day ear, it’s been overdone. For that reason, I’m not going to be too critical here.

SPOILERS AHEAD: Almost a third of the book is about the preparations for the journey, which includes a trip to Copenhagen and then a long journey in Iceland. The funny thing about it is those are two of my favorite places in the entire world. Reading about them in this setting felt a little funny. I was eagerly awaiting the actual journey that I just didn’t care about the train ride to Zealand or the voyage on the ship through the North Sea.

Although, I will concede that these drawn out parts did make the world seem realistic and plausible. There was careful attention to Victorian-era science that I appreciated. The tools they use to monitor their surroundings and the “calculations” they do seem realistic. Obviously as they get deeper and deeper underground, the science falls more and more apart, but I can set aside my convictions for a bit. But how they exit their subterranean journey…

Anyway, I appreciate the imagination and creativity it took to craft this story. The concept of ancient eras still flourishing today is surely worthy of a book. But even so, it was lacking somewhere and I just can’t quite put my finger on it. Has anyone read this book? I want to know other’s opinions on it… am I missing something? I want to love it, I really do.

Would I Recommend It?: Probably not.

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Les Misérables – Book No. 17

July 14, 2020July 14, 2020 / Jacqueline / 5 Comments

This book review is a part of Reading Week. To read more reviews, click here!

72. Les Misérables by Victor Hugo (1862)

Dates: 6/1/20 – 7/14/20 (43 days)

Plot: A French historical novel that follows the lives of several, seemingly unconnected characters throughout the years following the French Revolution.

Experience Before Reading: I saw the 2012 movie, but didn’t remember too much. Other than Do You Hear the People Sing?.

Takeaway: This is a classic. Forget what I’ve said about most of my other reviews, this is a book that everyone needs to read.

I don’t know what it is either. Maybe it’s because the book is so long (it’s the longest on our list!) that you become so attached to the characters. Maybe it’s because the brilliant intertwining of each character’s journey with another. Maybe it’s the way Hugo spirals and rambles about seemingly nothing to capture the zeitgeist of the French Revolution. But seriously, this book should be read by everyone.

My only criticism – because really, you’ll never love everything – is that Hugo’s tangents can result in chapters of nothing related to the plotline. Histories of the French sewers, practically a full reenactment of the Battle of Waterloo, an aside on slang and linguistics. It’s everything. There’s a rumor Victor Hugo was paid by word – which I couldn’t back up with evidence – but my oh my, does it go on forever. According to Wikipedia alone, nearly a quarter of the novel is spent on digressions. When you consider how long the entire book is, it’s like you’re reading several 30,000 word books within Les Mis.

Which brings me to one of my most important points: listen to it as an audiobook. This was my first ever audiobook. While the audiobook is 60 hours, I promise it’s worth your time. I was hesitant about audiobooks, since I can be a distracted listener, but the experience was heightened from listening to it, I think. Plus, it saves your sanity from some of those digressions.

As much as I’d love to go on and on about the characters, I don’t want to ruin it. What I will say, is I found these characters well-written. Maybe not as much so as Atlas Shrugged, but still so vivid. Especially Jean Valjean. I feel like I understand him as a character and can very clearly delineate his values.

Lastly, I want to talk about the way these characters co-exist together. The way some of these characters foil is remarkable. The way their paths cross and blur the lines of enemy and friend is beautiful. It’s almost Shakespearean at times. Don’t believe me? Read the end of book two and tell me it’s not like a comedy. (Note: There are five “books” within the novel).

I’m looking forward to checking out the musicals this weekend. While personally I’m not a musical fan, I have seen the 2012 movie and did enjoy that – some of those songs are really, really catchy.

Would I Recommend It?: Yes.

Abbey’s Review

Dates: 5/18/20 – 5/31/20 (14 days)

Experience Before Reading: I am very familiar with this work. I have seen the musical multiple times (it’s incredible), I have seen the movies multiple times (skip the 1990s one), I have watched the miniseries once, and last year while working in the office doing mind-numbing paperwork I listened to the entirety of the novel in a week. Since I am currently working from home in a quiet apartment, I decided to make the most of my work hours and listen to Les Mis again!

Takeaway: This is truly such a wonderful work of literature that focuses on the importance of sharing love and spreading goodness to the people around you. This novel and subsequent adaptations have inspired revolutions and songs from the musical can often be heard at protests around the globe. A life changing work of literature.

Would I Recommend It?: I feel like I have rated this lower than it deserves, but I think since I am so familiar with the story, it doesn’t hit me as strongly as it once did. However, I still feel that this is a must-read work – it is so ingrained in our culture. The message of the novel is simple and lovely. But remember to prepare yourself for some long winded descriptions that are mildly infuriating. I find it helps to remember that Victor Hugo was paid per word for his book, so can you really blame the man for that chapter about the sewer system?

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Fahrenheit 451 – Book No. 16

July 13, 2020July 13, 2020 / Jacqueline / Leave a comment

This book review is a part of Reading Week. To read more reviews, click here!

27. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (1953)

Dates: 7/6/20 – 7/12/20 (6 days)

Plot: In a dystopian future where firemen start fires instead of putting them out, one of the firemen becomes cognizant of the horrors of what they’re actually doing: burning books.

Experience Before Reading: I was assigned this book in 10th grade and I detested it. A little strange seeing as I definitely agreed with the themes – but we should never claim to understand high schoolers. It was probably cool to hate it at the time. Either way, I didn’t finish it back then.

Takeaway: This book hits differently years later. I enjoyed it this time around. Ray Bradbury expresses his thoughts so well on abstract issues, I thought it would be most impactful to take some of the themes I noticed and give you some quotes that really resonated with me:

Mass Media and Condensation of Information:

Digest-digests, digest-digest-digests. Politics? One column, two sentences, a headline! Then, in midair, all vanishes! Whirl man’s mind around about so fast under the pumping hands of publishers, exploiters, broadcasters that the centrifuge flings off all unnecessary, time-wasting thought!
p.55

Ignorance is Bliss:

We must all be alike. Not everyone born free and equal, as the Constitution says, but everyone made equal. Each man the image of every other; then all are happy, for there are no mountains to make them cower, to judge themselves against. So! A book is a loaded gun in the house next door. Burn it.
p.58

Impacting and Absorbing the Human Experience:

The difference between the man who just cuts lawns and a real gardener is in the touching, he said. The lawn-cutter might just as well not have been there at all; the gardener will be there a lifetime.
p.157

‘Stuff your eyes with wonder,’ he said, ‘live as if you’d drop dead in ten seconds.’
p.157

He’s so eloquent, it really makes you think. Several of these passages made me stop just to really make sure I felt each and every word. I’m not sure to what extent I believe his messages, surely I find some element of truth – but I want to digest(-digest-digest!) these words before I make a definitive call on what I believe.

However, I do have to criticize this book a little bit because I thought that the world-building and character development was really lacking. This is a crazy dystopian world that could have been unpacked and it wasn’t. It’s just assumed to be normal. The characters aren’t anything to get attached to either. The main character just one day wakes up and sees everything around him. There’s no build-up at all. This was all such a missed opportunity.

This book has had a strange history. A novel that harps on the dangers of censorship, saw censorship itself. Schools have blacklisted the book from English classes. The publisher even made a censored version. In some ways the ironic boycotts may have even fueled popularity for the book. It really does hammer home Bradbury’s point, does it?

Also, just as an aside, I want to really commend Bradbury for predicting so much of the future. In this book, which was written in the 1950s, there’s flat-screen TVs, wireless headphones, and hand-held tablets. Whether he meant to predict or not, I was very surprised at how the technology did mirror present day.

All in all, there’s so much to like here, but it wasn’t wrapped up in a pretty little package. It seemed like an essay of someone’s convictions with a plot line loosely added to make it a “book.” That being said, it is a good essay.

Would I Recommend It?: Yes. In fact, I already did. Maybe I’ll update this post after my boyfriend reads it.

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Announcing Reading Week! (Again)

July 7, 2020July 7, 2020 / Jacqueline / 2 Comments

Okay, let’s face it. I’ve sucked at reading in the past month. Actually, I haven’t finished a single book this month. It’s mostly due to starting a new job, I haven’t entirely found my rhythm. Some nights I come home and immediately crash.

So in the most DJ Khaled way, I’d like to announce a reading week next week. Anotha one! From July 13 to July 17, there will be a new book review every single day!

Don’t worry, I’m not completely unprepared. It’s not like I haven’t read at all this month, I’ve got a few books that are partially complete. I’ll finish them all and deliver the good (or bad) news to you!

It’ll definitely be a challenge, since the first reading week was filled with the shortest books on the list, whereas this one has some longer reads. In fact, why not just announce it now? I’m almost finished with the longest book on the list: Les Miserables.

As for Abbey, I’ve picked a few books that she’s already read, but work has been busy for her too. She hasn’t promised anything, but there will definitely be a few of her reviews present too next week.

I would announce the books, but frankly, I’m not entirely sure which ones will make it and which ones won’t, so I’ll let it be a surprise for all of us! I suppose I’m open to recommendations, which classics should I read for next week?

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Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Book No. 15

May 22, 2020June 28, 2020 / Jacqueline / 2 Comments

71. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl (1964)

Dates: 5/21/20 – 5/22/20 (2.5 hours)

Plot: Fantastic confectioner and inventor, Willy Wonka, invites 5 children – chosen by his famous Golden Ticket system – to tour his chocolate factory.

Experience Before Reading: As a child, Roald Dahl was one of my favorite authors. I’ve read most of his books and took the stories with me well into adulthood.

Takeaway: Maybe it’s because I just finished Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland that I felt the need to read another English children’s classic. I’m not sure. But I’m glad I did. It’s just as whimsical as I remember. Roald Dahl has a unique writing style in that he almost writes like a child, rambling on like only a child would:

And what a palace it was! It had one hundred rooms, and everything was made of either dark or light chocolate! The bricks were chocolate, and the cement holding them together was chocolate, and the windows were chocolate, and all the walls and ceilings were made of chocolate, so were the carpets and the pictures and the furniture and the beds; and when you turned on the taps in the bathroom, hot chocolate came pouring out.
Chapter 3

Additionally, Dahl shows and doesn’t tell. The story moves quickly. Willy Wonka himself picks up the pace by telling his guests that they need to hurry up. There’s never a moment to digest the craziness, it’s just a plethora of ideas.

These impossible ideas are thrown at you from every direction – on the tour they pass rooms with fantastical names that they just walk (or run) right on by. I absolutely loved the absurdity of some of these rooms. I won’t spoil them for you, read them for yourself with an absolute grin on your face.

The whole book is just fun. It makes sense why it has survived all these years: Dahl has the imagination of a child. As adults, our brains often strike down ideas that we believe to be impossible, but Roald Dahl embraces this and pushes his creativity to come up with such crazy notions. When paired with actual lessons and commentaries from why television rots children’s brains to how resisting temptation may lead to rewards, it becomes a book that children of every era can enjoy.

I’ll end this review with the best review of the book I saw. I think it sums up my experience well:

I responded to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory because it respected the fact that children can be adults.
Tim Burton

Would I Recommend It?: To every child, whether they’re “grown-up” or not.

Abbey’s Review

Dates: 5/31/20 (2 hours)

Experience Before Reading: I read this book as a child and remembered thinking it was a bit too weird for my tastes. Obviously I watched the movie(s) – let’s not talk about the Johnny Depp one. In addition to being vastly underwhelming, it is the source of an embarrassing moment when my brother mentioned he thought it was a dark film and I responded, “I agree, it was kind of hard to see a lot of it.” His subsequent laughter has haunted me to this day. I’ve never liked the movie and this may be part of it. I would like to say in my defense that I was 10, so cut me some slack.

Takeaway: People always give Grandpa Joe sh*t for being in bed and then when suddenly presented a golden ticket he’s fine to go out, but like he’s 96. My grandma can barely get out of her chair, but I’ve seen her walk nearly a mile to get to a “lucky” slot machine and she’s 88. Give Grandpa Joe a break! Also why is gum chewing so bad?

Important Note: While tasting the wallpaper, Willy Wonka says to try the snozzberries. In a later work, Roald Dahl uses snozzberry to refer to, well, Roald’s little Dahl. Thought this was important for all readers to know. Also, the fact that Roald Dahl wrote an erotic novel is ludicrous. I heard he was a big sult actually. (Not sult shaming, just sult surprised)

Would I Recommend It?: If you liked Alice in Wonderland, I would totally recommend this. It has the same sort of nonsensical fun that children always enjoy. I think I probably liked this better than I did as a child. I am definitely going to be watching Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory tonight!

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Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland – Book No. 14

May 15, 2020June 28, 2020 / Jacqueline / Leave a comment

This book review is a part of Reading Week. To read more reviews, click here!

78. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (1865)

Dates: 5/9/20 – 5/10/20 (3 hours)

Plot: Poor young little Alice wanders into a rabbit hole where she falls into Wonderland. She ends up exploring a crazy world filled with nonsense.

Experience Before Reading: I’ve seen the Disney movie once or twice and was fairly familiar with the plot.

Takeaway: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is an absolute fever dream. I’ll admit that once I finished, I wasn’t really sure what the message was – was it to remain a kid forever? Or maybe to nourish your imagination? But then I realized that that was exactly the point: it’s whatever you want it to be.

Just like many other artistic mediums, it serves whatever purpose you need it to. Named a work of “literary nonsense” (apparently this is an actual genre!), it takes a while for the reader to realize that Wonderland has no real rules. I know this is something I often hate on – see my Time Machine review – but since here it was the whole point, I appreciated the wackiness in all its glory.

It also made my research quite fun. As humans we look for meaning when there appears to be none, from chaos theory to entropy we like even our disorder to have some semblance of order. I read theories about how the entire piece was riddled with mathematical references (Carroll himself was a mathematician), theories about how to solve the Mad Hatter’s riddle, and whether the book was actually about drugs.

I think sometimes it’s okay to accept that there really was no meaning. Just because this story doesn’t follow our normal conventions doesn’t make it any less valid – it was a fun journey to Wonderland while it lasted. Let the journey take you where you need it to go. And to those who can’t stand the madness: just remember we’re all mad here.

Would I Recommend It?: Yes. Be sure to have the pictures too!

Abbey’s Review

Dates: 5/9/20 (1 hour)

Plot: Alice follows a rabbit down a rabbit hole and into the peculiar world of Wonderland.

Experience Before Reading: I have never read this book before, but did know the plot of it, most likely from movies adaptations which I do not remember seeing, but am sure I did at one point.

Takeaway: This is a wonderful portrayal of a child’s imagination. I loved how Carroll wrote Alice to be uncouth in her meetings with the citizens of Wonderland, since children often say what they think without filter. In the end, this book tries to convey the importance of holding onto your childhood, and though I have never read it, left me with a feeling of nostalgia.

Would I Recommend It?: I so wish that I would have read this book as a child, because I can tell it would have made lasting marks. As it is, I can’t wait for my brothers to have children, so I can read this with them and have some incredibly aptly themed tea parties (a favorite pastime of mine as a child).

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All’s Well That Ends Well – Book No. 13

May 14, 2020July 4, 2020 / Jacqueline / Leave a comment

This book review is a part of Reading Week. To read more reviews, click here!

43. All’s Well That Ends Well by William Shakespeare (1623)

Dates: 5/9/20 (1.5 hours)

Plot: A young woman is given the opportunity by the king to marry who she wants. She chooses the man she’s in love with and he gives her conditions for his love. Oh, also it’s a play.

Experience Before Reading: Nothing really. Besides the infamous prose of Shakespeare, I was unfamiliar with the plot.

Takeaway: Okay, Shakespeare is just not my thing. It’s also not Abbey’s thing. When creating our list, we went for one that neither of us knew anything about. I’m glad we did that because I really did enjoy the plot of the play.

All’s Well That Ends Well gets a lot of heat because the leading lady is allowed to choose her husband and she chooses a man that’s a bit unlovable. Initially, I really enjoyed watching the woman have a little power, something that especially wasn’t common in earlier Western literature. However, when you realize just how unlikable her man is, you wonder why she picks him.

This could be a byproduct of it being a play. it’s difficult to read a play without context because it feels like you’re only presented with part of the story. You miss the narration that you’d otherwise see in a theatre. The lack of these stimuli make it difficult to contextualize the story. Maybe in some of the productions her man has a little personality.

I don’t think context was the only thing that went over my head though. As always, I did research once I finished. I remember some things from high school from Shakespeare – a little iambic pentameter anyone? – but not a lot. Some things most definitely go over my head: I’m not really sure why Helena’s lines rhymed when she was talking to the King and I’m not really sure I understood all the jokes. Doing research didn’t make it much clearer either. And for that reason, I had to take some points off.

Criticism aside, I know that there are people who enjoy Shakespeare’s work and I completely understand why. The story is creative and as a comedy it’s quite funny (if you can decode the language). I really liked the story and it’s not one I’ve heard before. It’s crazy to think that this story hasn’t been done over and over again like the likes of Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet. But then again, this is why Abbey and I chose this: it’s not one of his more well-known plays.

Would I Recommend It?: Probably not unless you like other Shakespearean stories.

Abbey’s Review

Dates: 5/9/20 (1.5 hours)

Plot: Helena, a poor maid, is in love with the Countess’s son. After a favor to the king she asks to marry the Countess’s son, but must bear him a child and wear his family ring before he relents to marrying her.

Experience Before Reading: None. I have read many Shakespeare plays when I was in high school, but it has been a long time since I have cracked one open.

Takeaway: This is certainly not one of Shakespeare’s best plays. When I was in school I read three of his tragedies and two of his comedies, and I find this play to be lacking. I think the main conflict setup was a stretch, and the change of heart of Bertram seems very sudden. At least I got a great new insult out of it: “Your old virginity is a withered pear” is a new favorite line of mine.

Would I Recommend It?: Honestly if you are new to Shakespeare, don’t start here. This is one of his lesser know works, clearly for a reason. I don’t feel that his characters were as fully developed as his others (I loved the characters in Much Ado About Nothing and honestly would recommend that far over this play.) However, it should be said that since this is a play, much of the characterization I am missing would come out in the actors portrayals.