Hamlet in Pick-a-Shelf

Aug 23, 2010 Barbara rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: read-multiple-times, shakespeare, plays, in-denmark, elsinore, group-brain-pain, rereading

I love Shakespeare, and Hamlet is my favorite of his work (although I am passionately in love with MANY of his other plays as well.)

I've lost count of the amount of times I've read Hamlet. I usually keep a paperback copy of this play in a place where I can easily grab it, because I love the writing so much and sometimes I like to just pick up the book and flip open to a random page and just read a few lines here and there. In fact, when I travel, I always throw a copy of Hamlet into my bag along I love Shakespeare, and Hamlet is my favorite of his work (although I am passionately in love with MANY of his other plays as well.)

I've lost count of the amount of times I've read Hamlet. I usually keep a paperback copy of this play in a place where I can easily grab it, because I love the writing so much and sometimes I like to just pick up the book and flip open to a random page and just read a few lines here and there. In fact, when I travel, I always throw a copy of Hamlet into my bag along with the other novels or books I'm currently reading. Sometimes if I'm on a long flight and I've been reading a novel or non-fiction for a while, I like to take a break from my current book and just browse through Hamlet and read a soliloquy or two (or more) or some dialogue.

This play is filled with some of the most brilliant soliloquies and speeches of all time. The language, the poetry, the art, the beauty, the brilliance, the MEANING, the WORDS -- just stunning, magnificent, inspiring, (and at times like this I realize I need to expand my vocabulary, because I just can't come up with strong enough words to describe it.)

I like the Folger editions of Shakespeare's plays, but now that I have a Nook I wanted to read it on the Nook, so I found the Signet Classics edition there. (The Nook doesn't seem to have any of the Folger editions, but maybe they'll eventually have them.)

I just reread Hamlet (my first time reading it on the Nook, which was a nice change). In the Goodreads Group, Brain Pain, we're currently reading Infinite Jest, and the moderator of the group suggested that we read Hamlet along with (or prior to) Infinite Jest so that we can discuss some similarities.

I'm not far enough into Infinite Jest to be able to recognize any parallels or similarities yet, but I think it was a great idea of Jim, the moderator, to suggest Hamlet along with Infinite Jest. Infinite Jest is known to be a very difficult (and VERY long -- almost 1100 pages) novel, so if there are comparisons to various parts of Hamlet, it's possible that I will "get" IJ (or enjoy it more), with the help of Hamlet. ...more

5 likes · Like · see review

Jun 01, 2010 surfmadpig rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-english, own

Sure, Hamlet is very important as the first anti-hero, blah blah. But the play is terribly overrated, especially compared to the rest of shakespeare's plays. ...more

Like · see review