Shakespeare Reading Month: Coming January 2012.

"Blow, blow, thou winter wind
Thou art not so unkind,
As man's ingratitude." (As You Like It: Act II, Scene vii).

I am extremely excited to announce an event that I have been planning for a few weeks; a Shakespeare reading month taking place in January 2012!

I am a huge fan of the Bard and have been since I started reading his plays in high school. And while I certainly agree that there is nothing like seeing one of his plays performed, I love being able to sink my teeth into the language of his plays. There is something about seeing the words, reading them, and absorbing them that gets me every time.

And, since I have a big chunk of Shakespeare's plays on my list, I have been pulling my hair out trying to come up with a way to read a larger chunk of them (considering how many are on my list (16), I am a little behind in my reading). Since I failed at reading a bunch of his plays for the readathon, I figured a themed month would be best. And what time would be better to curl up with the Bard and his lovely language than in winter? After pitching the event on twitter, well, here we are!

As you can see by my bookshelf at right, I have a lot of Shakespeare's works in single volumes (and yes, the shelf above houses my Penguin clothbounds). I am close to owning every play in a single edition in my quest to read all of his works.

Yes, I take my Shakespeare very seriously.

But, I need company in reading some of his plays, so this is where you come in.

Here is the plan for the event that will start January 1:

I am going to host sign-ups here, on this post, until December 31. To sign-up, all you have to do is comment below saying that you want in. A post on your blog discussing the event, or a tweet would be wonderful too! I will make a list with bloggers participating at the bottom of the post.

If you sign up before December 15, you will be entered to win the following prize (seen here):

Folger's edition of As You Like It
Folger's edition of The Comedy of Errors

Both are brand new editions I picked up somewhere (I have a habit of buying doubles). This would be a great way to add to your own collection of Shakespearean works as well as having two more plays to read in January!

I will still accept sign-ups after December 15, but you will not be entered to win the two books above (mainly because I want time to mail them out to the winner before January).

Then, during the month of January, all you have to do is read anything Shakespeare! Besides his plays, you can read some of his sonnets, a biography, a book about Elizabethan times, or even a play by one of his contemporaries (Marlowe, anyone?). The goal is to learn more about one of the greatest English writers and spread the knowledge. I will have posts throughout the month on the plays I am reading, as well as trivia, jokes, Shakespearean insults, quizzes, etc.

The best part will be the master post for all of the bloggers participating. Each time you finish a work by Shakespeare, or about him and his time period, you will link to the master post. And each time you link, well, you are entered to win a final grand prize.

At the end of the month, I will choose a random number from the posts submitted, and the winner will receive a beautiful Penguin Clothbound of Shakespeare's Sonnets and A Lover's Complaint (my own edition is seen at right).

So, the more you read, the more chances you'll have to win!

I hope you'll think long and hard about participating. It is going to be a wonderful time, with lots of good reading!

To recap:

• Comment here with your intentions to participate.
• Write a post or tweet (if you wish) about the event.
• Sign-up before December 15 to win copies of As You Like It and The Comedy of Errors
• Read anything and everything pertaining to Shakespeare in the month of January
  
• Link your Shakespeare themed posts to the master post here
• At the end of the month, cross your fingers for a chance to win a Penguin clothbound of Shakespeare's Sonnets and A Lover's Complaint!

"Winter, which, being full of care, makes summer's welcome thrice more wish'd, more rare." (Sonnet LVI).