Books, theatre, and the end of the era :')
Just in case you think this is going to be some terribly highbrow post... um... it's not. XD
First, this Wednesday's book run-down:
What I've just finished reading
Same as last week, I'm afraid. Last book I read was Broke and the Shannon. I still have to do a write-up for my book blog, since it's been a whole week now since I finished it, but I spent most of last week sitting out in the garden doing absolutely nothing at all. XD And most of my attempts to write it this week have followed the same pattern: 1) write paragraph, 2) flick through book to find some pertinent quote, 3) get waylaid by feels. But I'm determined to get it done tonight!
What I'm reading now
I've still got about 130-odd pages of The Ionian Mission to read. My grand plan to finish it today didn't go so well, because I managed to doze off this afternoon. Twice. >.> Though, I hasten to add, that's got nothing to do with the book, which is brilliant as ever! :D
Also my copy of BBC History magazine arrived this morning, so I'm thumbing through that as well. The article on Mary, Queen of Scots reminds me that I should think about getting round to seeing the exhibition through at the National Museum of Scotland at some point, though it's on till November, so it's not like there's a massive rush. Must see if I can find someone to go with. *looks pointedly at amine-eyes*
What I'm reading next
I've decided on Kidnapped. I don't really know why I have this mad urge to read it all of a sudden, but there you go! Looked out our volume of all four of Stevenson's Scottish novels today, since if I'm going to read Kidnapped, I might as well read Catriona, too. :) I'm going away for the weekend, so they should see me through the train journeys!
And as for theatre, the sis and I have decided to catch Bard in the Botanics this year, since we always seem to forget it's on till it's over. XD But since we caught the Reduced Shakespeare Company in Stirling last month, we're in the mood for some more of the Bard. ;) We've missed Othello, sadly, but there's still Much Ado and Julius Caesar. We're booking one each, so neither of our wallets cry too much. XD
So we're going to see Much Ado tomorrow. Sis is keen to see it, but I have to admit, I'm in two minds about it. According to their blurb, this production has changed Beatrice to "Bertram". I mean, on the one hand, it's always cool to see LGBT interpretations and genderswitching in my Shakespeare, but the other half of my brain is just screeching, "But BEATRIIIIIICE!!" DD: She's one of the strongest, awesomest women in the Shakespeare canon, and basically my heroine forever and ever, and - I dunno - I'm just worried that making Beatrice a man will take away what makes her special, if that makes sense. :\ It's not like Shakespeare's plays are exactly short of cool, independent, snarky male characters, after all. But I'll see how I feel when I actually see it. I may even do a write-up here (but I'm very lazy, so don't hold your breath XD).
Fingers crossed the weather'll stay decent for it. There's an inherent risk in outdoor theatre in Scotland, which last year resulted in irony that Shakey himself would've approved of when The Tempest was cancelled "due to inclement weather". ;)
On the other hand, in their Julius Caesar, apparently their Cassius is a woman, and I am always in favour of fem!Cassius. :D We're seeing that next week, after I get back from Middlesbrough. :)
And it was the last episode of Horrible Histories yesterday. I definitely teared up a little at the end of the final song. :') I don't want to make a big gushy post about this, but I'm definitely emotional. I grew up with the books, and the show is definitely one of my favourite TV series of all time. Apart from that, it's always been the perfect mood-lightener when I've been going through a bad patch (when series three aired, it would be on the same day as my counselling appointments, so it gave me something to unwind with after bawling my eyes out in the morning X'D), and I've met some really great people through the fandom. :')
So, yeah, I'm sad the series is ending, but at the same time, I'm glad it ended on such a high note. And we've always got the DVDs. And I'm definitely looking forward to Yonderland and Bill!
First, this Wednesday's book run-down:
What I've just finished reading
Same as last week, I'm afraid. Last book I read was Broke and the Shannon. I still have to do a write-up for my book blog, since it's been a whole week now since I finished it, but I spent most of last week sitting out in the garden doing absolutely nothing at all. XD And most of my attempts to write it this week have followed the same pattern: 1) write paragraph, 2) flick through book to find some pertinent quote, 3) get waylaid by feels. But I'm determined to get it done tonight!
What I'm reading now
I've still got about 130-odd pages of The Ionian Mission to read. My grand plan to finish it today didn't go so well, because I managed to doze off this afternoon. Twice. >.> Though, I hasten to add, that's got nothing to do with the book, which is brilliant as ever! :D
Also my copy of BBC History magazine arrived this morning, so I'm thumbing through that as well. The article on Mary, Queen of Scots reminds me that I should think about getting round to seeing the exhibition through at the National Museum of Scotland at some point, though it's on till November, so it's not like there's a massive rush. Must see if I can find someone to go with. *looks pointedly at amine-eyes*
What I'm reading next
I've decided on Kidnapped. I don't really know why I have this mad urge to read it all of a sudden, but there you go! Looked out our volume of all four of Stevenson's Scottish novels today, since if I'm going to read Kidnapped, I might as well read Catriona, too. :) I'm going away for the weekend, so they should see me through the train journeys!
And as for theatre, the sis and I have decided to catch Bard in the Botanics this year, since we always seem to forget it's on till it's over. XD But since we caught the Reduced Shakespeare Company in Stirling last month, we're in the mood for some more of the Bard. ;) We've missed Othello, sadly, but there's still Much Ado and Julius Caesar. We're booking one each, so neither of our wallets cry too much. XD
So we're going to see Much Ado tomorrow. Sis is keen to see it, but I have to admit, I'm in two minds about it. According to their blurb, this production has changed Beatrice to "Bertram". I mean, on the one hand, it's always cool to see LGBT interpretations and genderswitching in my Shakespeare, but the other half of my brain is just screeching, "But BEATRIIIIIICE!!" DD: She's one of the strongest, awesomest women in the Shakespeare canon, and basically my heroine forever and ever, and - I dunno - I'm just worried that making Beatrice a man will take away what makes her special, if that makes sense. :\ It's not like Shakespeare's plays are exactly short of cool, independent, snarky male characters, after all. But I'll see how I feel when I actually see it. I may even do a write-up here (but I'm very lazy, so don't hold your breath XD).
Fingers crossed the weather'll stay decent for it. There's an inherent risk in outdoor theatre in Scotland, which last year resulted in irony that Shakey himself would've approved of when The Tempest was cancelled "due to inclement weather". ;)
On the other hand, in their Julius Caesar, apparently their Cassius is a woman, and I am always in favour of fem!Cassius. :D We're seeing that next week, after I get back from Middlesbrough. :)
And it was the last episode of Horrible Histories yesterday. I definitely teared up a little at the end of the final song. :') I don't want to make a big gushy post about this, but I'm definitely emotional. I grew up with the books, and the show is definitely one of my favourite TV series of all time. Apart from that, it's always been the perfect mood-lightener when I've been going through a bad patch (when series three aired, it would be on the same day as my counselling appointments, so it gave me something to unwind with after bawling my eyes out in the morning X'D), and I've met some really great people through the fandom. :')
So, yeah, I'm sad the series is ending, but at the same time, I'm glad it ended on such a high note. And we've always got the DVDs. And I'm definitely looking forward to Yonderland and Bill!