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Erika (17789 KP) rated Shakespeare's Sonnets, Retold in Books

Nov 21, 2018

I received a copy of this book courtesy of the Penguin First to Read program in exchange for an honest review.
I remember in high school that Shakespeare was the bane of my existence. For some reason, high schools in the US only choose to have you read Romeo and Juliet (woof). I had read a few sonnets then, just for fun, and was completely befuddled.
Luckily, this book has come along. The format is great, the original sonnet is on one page, and the reinterpretation is on the other. I thought the first section of procreation sonnets was... bizarre and I hope I never read them again. I enjoyed the 'Dark Lady' sonnets at the end. This book is definitely a must-read if you've ever been interested in the sonnets, but can't wade through the original text with ease.

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David McK (3623 KP) rated A Ship of the Line in Books

Jun 30, 2019

A Ship of the Line

C.S. Forester | 1938 | Fiction & Poetry

8.0

(1 Ratings)

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2nd published but chronologically number 7 in CS Foresters Hornblower series, that sees Horatio Hornblower in command of his first ship-of-the-line, the 74 gun HMS Sutherland.

A ship-of-the-line, by the way, is simply that: a naval ship of 2+ decks of guns that was designed to stand in the line of battle back in the days when they largely sailed astern of each other, and when the battles devolved into firing broadsides at each other.

Under the command of Admiral Leighton, who has married Hornblower's extramarital flame from the previous novel (Lady Barbara Wellesley), Hornblower finds himself sailing the coast of Catalonia (Spain) and getting - as per usual - involved in all sorts of missions both on and off land, ending with a cliff-hanger ending when he and his ship fights alone against 4 enemy vessels.