Additional Activities Forum

Wasn't sure if you meant books I want to read or books I have read.
Here are five books I have recently read and fully recommend:
- I'm Thinking of Ending Things
- One Last Stop
- Turtles All The Way Down
- They Both Die At The End
- The Henna Wars

books I would like to read:
-They Both Die in the End
-We should all be feminists
-1984
books I have read recently:
-red white and royal blue
-seven husbands of evelyn hugo
-the Binding

Review of Romeo and Juliet: The play, Romeo and Juliet, explores how the extremity of love can be so overwhelming, that it can become a brutal emotion towards individuals. This idea is evident throughout the play by the violence between the two families- the Montagues and the Capulets- as well as the death scene when Romeo drinks poison because he can’t live without Juliet. Shakespeare has made so many of us, including me, captivated by the star-crossed lovers and the story they hold. The playwright’s presentation of love through the main characters-Romeo and Juliet- juxtaposes greatly to the fantasy of couples facing no difficulties, which is obviously unachievable within society. This concept fascinated me as I watched Romeo and Juliet, because Shakespeare had written a play which falls into the category of ‘romance and love story’ however, leaving the audience unsatisfied, without a happily ever after. Due to this approach, I strongly recommend you to watch this play because it portrays just how powerful love is, and that it can hurt you as well as impacting you positively, which is a more accurate presentation of the emotion. In my opinion, the play is so successful because Shakespeare was able to show raw love; that it isn’t all fun and games, and that it is also painful and tragic.

Review of Twelfth Night- Twelfth night tells the story of Viola who due to a shipwreck ends up on the island of Illyria where she assumes the appearance of a boy in order to get a job. The rest of the play shows her working for the Duke Orsino (whom she has fallen in love with) and dealing with the attraction exhibited by Lady Olivia. Ultimately the play ends happily for most, bar Malvolio who due to the ridicule he experiences from Maria is viewed as a mad man; in some adaptations of the play, the baiting that Malvolio experiences causes the audience to wonder whether it was actually humorous at all. Considering the play was written in 1600’s, it portrays some modern themes, such as the ambiguity of Lady Olivia’s sexuality and Viola’s gender fluidity. Things like these would never have been discussed and for a playwright as famous as Shakespeare to include these ideas would have been shocking for some, however in the end everything gets resolved into something deemed appropriate by Elizabethan audiences. As one of Shakespeare’s most famous comedies, there are many instances where the audience is left laughing at the actors’ antics (mainly those of Sir Toby and Sir Andrew) but the overarching theme of the play, everyone mistaking Viola’s gender, and falling in love with the wrong person, is also highly amusing.