Thursday, August 20, 2015

Hobbits and Hamlet: Coming Soon to a Precipice Near You

I've got two blog events coming up in the next two months, and it's time to start talking about them, I expect.



First up is my third annual Tolkien Blog Party of Special Magnificence, running September 22-28 as usual.  I'm starting to work on lining up prizes and figuring out games and such.  Visit this page to find the buttons and banners you can use on your own blogs.




Second is the read-along of Hamlet:  Prince of Denmark that I'll be hosting beginning on October 1st.  It'll work just like my previous read-alongs, with one post for each scene, every 2 or 3 days.  Whether you're a Shakespeare junkie like me or have never read one of the Bard's plays (or never read Hamlet), you're welcome to join me as we delve into my favorite play and figure out some of what's going on inside it.  I'll be asking for guest posts in another post next month some time -- specifically if anyone has a favorite movie version and would like to post about that, so keep that in mind if you're interested.  Here are a couple more buttons for that read-along if you'd like to help spread the word:






29 comments:

  1. I have been waiting and waiting for Hamlet! :-) I'll do a post for it on my blog in the next few days. I simply cannot wait!

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  2. The Hamlet read-along sounds really interesting, but how exactly does a read-along work? Do I just write about Hamlet a scene at a time and then link to everyone else's posts at the bottom of mine? Will there be any sorts of deadlines for those posts? Thanks. :-)

    -Hanna

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    1. Hanna, how my read-alongs work is I post about each chapter/scene individually here, one every couple of days. I post a quick recap of what happens in it, my own thoughts on it, some favorite lines, and a question or two I think people might want to discuss. Then participants can comment on each post and discuss the chapter there in the comments.

      Sometimes people do choose to do their own posts on each chapter on their own blogs, and that's totally fine too, but that's not required.

      Sometimes at the end I do a link-up if people are interested in doing a post about it on their own blogs and linking them all up. I also usually do a small giveaway at the end to celebrate us completing the journey.

      If you want to get a feel for exactly how they work, you can check out my Previous Read-Alongs page. I've got links there to the index posts for each of the previous read-alongs I've hosted. The index posts link to each individual chapter post and any bonus posts.

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  3. Oooooh, I can't wait for the Hamlet read-along! :) I've read a few of Shakespeare's works over the past couple of years, but not that one.

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    1. Eva, I'm so excited you'll be joining in!!! This is gonna be really (dare I say it?) fun!

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  4. I should do this read-along. I've never read a Shakespeare play before, and that's just not right.

    Also, that's a fantastic picture of David Tennant. :D

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    1. Sarah, wow, your first Shakespeare play? Nifty!

      And yeah, how could I not use that shot of Tennant?

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  5. So excited for Hamlet as you already know! And I'm dying to claim Olivier's version and Jacobi's if I could do two. But I'll officially ask in a month or so. :) Posting the button on my blog now!

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    1. Carissa, that would be excellent, because I don't own either of those, and I've only seen them once each!!! Um, if Jacobi's is the one where Patrick Stewart is playing Claudius, and they're all in tights on stage? From like the '80s?

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  6. The Hamlet read-along sounds so exciting! I've never read Hamlet (it is quite a daunting task), but it sounds like a perfect occasion to remedy that.
    Can't wait!

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    1. Rose, I aim to make Hamlet as undaunting as possible :-) Glad you can join in!

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  7. Aaaaack, another Tolkien blog party!!!! I'm pretty darn sure I'll be joining;)

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    1. Aaaaack! Yes! Glad you'll be joining, Olivia :-) Bilbo's birthday is one month from today!!!

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  8. YAY! Sign up for the next war, erm, blog events! :D

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  9. Hope I can join both events. I've read Hamlet just last year, and I have some other Shakespeare's on my list. If not rereading it, joining the discussion here is a must. I'm so excited!

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    1. Bzee, that sounds great! I'll welcome your input into the discussions :-)

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  10. Okay, here is my post: http://cleoclassical.blogspot.ca/2015/08/hamlet-read-along.html

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  11. As I noted in your most recent posting, I'll try to join the read-along. I warn you, though, that I am a _Hamlet_ junkie, and I've been a serious student of the play off-and-on since 1965. Egads! That's like another geologic epoch! Yes, I am a dinosaur. And even worse: I used to be a teacher of literature and drama! But none of that means much when it comes to my knowledge of Shakespeare's plays. It is just as Bloom said, the poem unlimited, and we will never explore and solve all of the plays challenges. v/r R.T.
    http://beyondeastrod.blogspot.com/

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    1. Hi, RT! I"m glad to have you aboard :-) I've only been a fan of the play since 1997, so you've got several decades on me there.

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  12. He Hamlette, I was wondering if you could explain to me how I put a box with a link code below a banner. Like you have in your side bar, but I want to put them below my watch-along banner in my latest post. I have done it last year as well for my previous watch-along, but can't for the life of me remember how....

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    1. Birdie, I can't find the instructions I used before, but this place looks super helpful! I pretty much just googled for "how to make a blog button to share" until I found out how.

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    2. So I did ask you last year as well. Oh dear... Double thanks then! I'll definitely bookmark this page now so I can't forget it! It's just that for some reason I can't open the page, but maybe it's just my computer right now.

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    3. No, I meant I couldn't find the webpage that had the instructions I used myself when I made my button sharing boxes -- I don't remember you asking this before. I mean, maybe you did and I just forgot? Anyway, like I said, if all else fails, just google for it -- there are plenty of websites explaining how to do it.

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  13. I will have to do the Hamlet read-along if I can! I haven't visited my tome of Shakespeare (always on my bedside table, of course) for a bit, so I'm due for some delving.

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    1. WONDERFUL! I'm scrambling to get my ducks in rows this week for that to begin next week -- and it's going to be so delicious. My heart fills with joy when I think of it!

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