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Fictionista, Foodie, Feline-lover

Thursday, June 5, 2014

Maya Angelou on Shakespeare

"Shakespeare must be a Black Girl."
--Maya Angelou

Illustration from William Shakespeare Things
I read that quote years ago and have never forgotten it. Over on the William Shakespeare Things blog, there's a clarification of what Angelou meant.  It seems appropriate to revisit the quote even as the memorial service for America's poet laureate is underway.

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Darknight, Book 2 of the Witches of Cleopatra Hill by Christine Pope



Christine Pope’s new novel Darknight (the second in her Witches of Cleopatra Hill trilogy) takes up one page after Darkangel left off. Angela McAllister, newly minted prima of the McAllister witch clan is in the hands of a rival clan, and the only thing she knows for certain is that the consort she’s bonded with is the brother of her clan’s fiercest enemy.

It’s complicated.

For Angela, biology is destiny and she and Connor Wilcox are fated to be together despite decades of enmity between the McAllisters and the Wilcoxes, a feud that has affected every witch clan in Arizona. Connor is equally eager to let bygones be bygones, and as the yule season approaches, the bond between him and Angela deepens. But that doesn’t mean that their respective families are happy about it or ready to play Secret Santa with each other.

The plot thickens in this book and the danger and tension is ratcheted up several notches as a dire plot unfolds that could destroy the consort connection.  It’s not just witches that live in Cleopatra Hill and in this book we meet some shape-shifters and witches too. 

As always with Pope’s novels, the setting is just as important as the characters and if a reader ever visits Jerome, they could do worse than take the Darknight tour of local eateries (and wineries). With an engaging cast (both normal and paranormal), Darknight is a satisfying read and will whet your appetite for the concluding book in the trilogy. (And speaking of whetting your appetite, I defy you to read some of the chapters without your mouth watering from Pope’s vivid description.)

Pope has a number of giveaways scheduled for the book's launch. Here's a link to the contest running on GoodReads.



Shakespeare for Slackers

I was on the Library Thing site this afternoon, looking over the new list of books available for early review and spotted Shakespeare for Slackers: Romeo and Juliet. Turns out it's part of a series that also includes Macbeth.(And I would bet that the next book in the series will be Julius Caesar because those three plays are the ones most read in high school. (And if you ask me, having to read Julius Caesar is one of the things that turns students away from Shakespeare. But that's just me. I also think it's a bad idea to read Moby Dick in high school. I didn't read it until I was in college and I loved it but if I'd had to read it sooner, I probably would have hated it as much as everyone else.)

Guillermo del Toro's Book of Life

I am not a huge fan of animation. I grew up with Disney of course, and am a big fan of what Pixar is doing, although I was bored by Brave.  (Mostly I just kept thinking that the princess looked like a troll doll, but then, I'm several years past the demographic that movie was targeting. Frozen in on my "to be viewed" list, mostly because everyone tells me it's a great story about female empowerment but I'm having a hard time working up the enthusiasm. But today I saw the trailler for Guillermo del Toro's new movie, Book of Life, an animated, Day of the Dead story that looks...magical. If you haven't seen the trailer, you're in for a treat.

For the Shakespeare Summer reading list...Dark Lady of Hollywood

Diane Haithman's Dark Lady of Hollywood offers Shakespeare and snark. Could you ask for anything more? I was tipped to this book by Shakespeare in L.A. and it's already on my To Be Read Bookcase.  (The "to be read" pile long ago outgrew mere pile status.) The book is reviewed o the Shakespeare in L.A. site, and on Amazon the book has13 five- and four-star reviews so far. You can read the review here. I'll have my own review up later in the summer.

Monday, June 2, 2014

Free French Fiction!

Well, not quite, but close. Gastien, the cost of a dream, free on Kindle today. Part of a series. (And don't we all love series?) Eye-catching cover. I always like seeing the Eiffel Tower on a cover. And free offers on books with a lot of good reviews.  (History! Sex! Artistic dreams!)  Author Caddy Rowland is a painter herself, and I love the way she describes painting ("Making love to the color.")