NEW SHAKESPEARE CHALLENGE FOR 2009

I am going to host a new Shakespeare challenge using the exact same rules as the last challenge.

The rules are simple - you can read anything about or related to shakespeare - fiction or non fiction, straight bio or authorship debate - and you can read the plays and sonnets as well.

This time instead of 6 months, I'm going to make this one 12 months (a whole year) and you need to read 6 books instead of 4. That way you read an average of 1 book every 2 months. That shouldn't be too hard.

Starts January 1st 2009
Ends December 31st 2009

The reason I am doing this is...
1 - because I picked up a biography of Christopher Marlow in November and that got me reminiscing about Shakespeare, and
2 - I did not finish the last challenge and it was my own challenge. This time I have to finish it.

Also there are several bloggers names still listed as contributors.
If you want to do this challenge again, then just tell me and do nothing further until January 1st when it starts.
If you want your name to be removed, send me an email and tell me, and I will remove it.
And if you want to do this challenge and you did not do the last one - then send me an email and I will send you an invite.

Robin's List

(All the World's A Stage, by James C. Christensen)

I'm so excited to be participating in this 2009 challenge!  Here's the list of books I'd like to read for it.  I'm also planning on reading, listening to, and watching King Lear for this challenge.  My husband and I like to take on a new play each year, and experience it in as many different forms as possible. We did that last year with The Tempest, the year before with A Midsummer Night's Dream, so in 2009 it will be King Lear.  I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone will be reading, and to reading the many reviews!  Thanks, Historia!

1. Shakespeare's Wife, by Germaine Greer
2. Shakespeare Sketchbook, by Renwick St. James; artwork by James C. Christensen
3. Shakespeare Alive!, by Joseph Papp
4. A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare: 1599, by James Shapiro
5. Introduction to Shakespeare, by Marchette Chute
6. Shakespeare, by Anthony Burgess

Lynda's list

Hi
Thanks for inviting me to join this challenge.

My list is as follows:
1 Roman Shakespeare: Warriors, Wounds and Women (Feminist Readings of Shakespeare) by Coppelia Kahn
2 Shakespeare's Wife by Germaine Greer
3 Shakespeare Revealed: A Biography by Rene Weis
4 Shakespeare and Renaissance Politics (Arden Critical Companion) by Andrew Hadfield
5Shakespeare's English Kings: History, Chronicle and Drama by Peter Saccio
6 Shadowplay: The Hidden Beliefs and Coded Politics of William Shakespeare by Clare Asquith

I also intend to read:
7 Henry IV, Part 1
8 Henry IV, Part 2
9 Henry V
10 Henry VI, Part 1
11 Henry VI, Part 2
12 Henry VI, Part 3

What a great site, Historia! Thanks for hosting such a fun challenge!

This is what I had in mind for this challenge - to read 12 plays by the bard as follows:

January, 2009 - The Tempest
February, 2009 - Two Gentlemen of Verona
March, 2009 - Merry Wives of Windsor
April, 2009 - Twelfth Night
May, 2009 - Measure for Measure
June, 2009 - Much Ado About Nothing
July, 2009 - A Midsummer Night's Dream
August, 2009 - Love's Labour's Lost
September, 2009 - The Merchant of Venice
October, 2009 - As You Like It
November, 2009 - All's Well That Ends Well
December, 2009 - The Taming of the Shrew

Jan (in Edmonds) http://jottingsfromjan.blogspot.com

Books I want to read for the 2009 Challenge

I was not able to complete the 2008 Shakespeare challenge. So I will be trying to read these books next year for the 2009 Challenge.

Shakespeare's Face - by Stephanie Nolen
Shakespeare & Co - by Stanley Wells
Alias Shakespeare - by John Sobran
History Play - by Rodney Bolt
A Year in the life of William Shakespeare - by James Shapiro
Shakespeare by Another Name - by Mark Anderson
Shakespeare the Biography - by Peter Ackroyd
The Great Shakespeare Fraud - by Patricia Pearce

What is the Reduced Shakespeare Company

4 minutes
Thanks to Shakespeare Geek for this clip.

Shakespeare Challenges ends today.

Today is the last day of the Shakespeare Challenge. Thank you all for joining and participating.

I personally did not finish my challenge. I had too many other things happening in my life, and probably too many other challenges as well. But I am glad that others made better progress than I did. If there is any interest, I might run this again next year, but we will see.

I have picked up a few more books on Shakespeare.
One is called Alias Shakespeare by John Sobran, who seems to support the theory that Edward de Vere (Oxford) was the true author of the sonnets and plays.
Another is Shakespeare the Biography by Peter Ackroyd.