13 January 2011

Imprint Extra: Brush Up Your Shakespeare and Giveaway

Earlier this week I raved about reviewed Eleanor Brown's wonderful The Weird Sisters, which has a strong Shakespeare connection. There are many reasons to love the novel, and as I said on Monday, you don't have to be a student of the Bard to appreciate the story. I, however, had a personal reason for wanting to read about the three daughters who grew up listening to their father quote Shakespeare.

No, my dad is not a professor of Elizabethan drama. And the only Shakespeare quotes in our house were the lame ones, such as "Out damned spot," said when washing something. But my father is currently fulfilling a life-long dream of his: To read the complete works of Shakespeare.

My dad retired when he was about eighty-one, and a few years later he began his project. Now at the age of eighty-six, he has read all the sonnets and poems, a short biography, and the vast majority of the plays. This week he's finishing up Cymbeline, and then he'll have just five plays left, all in the history group and all about kings.

But what if you wish you knew just a little bit more about Shakespeare but weren't quite ready to retire and join my dad in his reading adventure? Well, today is your lucky day because author Eleanor Brown has a fantastic solution. Take a look:

Occasionally, when people hear The Weird Sisters contains Shakespearean references, they give me a wide-eyed look of horror. Don't panic! If you're a Shakespeare lover already, you'll have a great time with Rosalind, Bianca, and Cordelia. But if you've had a bad experience with Shakespeare in the past--maybe someone attacked you with a twenty-pound copy of The Riverside Shakespeare, or maybe you just had a teacher who made one of the plays feel like hard work--you don't have to worry! No Shakespearean expertise is required.

And to prove that the ol' Bard can be fun, I'm giving away a special prize pack to one lucky Beth Fish Reads reader: a signed copy of The Weird Sisters, a set of Shakespearean magnetic poetry (perfect for livening up a dull refrigerator), and a DVD of the Reduced Shakespeare Company's The Complete Works of William Shakespeare: Abridged, so you can brush up on 37 plays in under 2 hours. Hours of fun for Shakespeare lovers and fearers alike! --Eleanor
Thanks so much to Eleanor for providing such a terrific Shakespeare-inspired giveaway. Yeah, you read it correctly: One person will get a signed book, a Shakespeare DVD, and a Shakespeare magnet set. What a great giveaway! Thanks again to Eleanor for putting the prize together, and thanks to the wonderful people at Amy Einhorn Books for all their help.

All you have to do to enter the giveaway is to fill out the form. Please note that the giveaway is for United States and Canada mailing addresses only. If you live elsewhere, ask a blogging friend to be a go-between for you. I'll pick a winner via a random number generator on January 20, the official publication date for The Weird Sisters.



Just for fun, let me leave you with the Muppets' version of "Brush Up Your Shakespeare." The short video is a little bittersweet, however, because it stars a young Christopher Reeve.


Amy Einhorn Books is a featured imprint on Beth Fish Reads. For more information about the imprint, please read Amy Einhorn's open letter posted here on January 25, 2010, or click the Amy Einhorn tab below my banner photo. To join the Amy Einhorn Books Reading Challenge, click the link.

The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown
Published by Putnam
/ Amy Einhorn Books, January 2011
ISBN-13: 9780399157226

27 comments:

Unknown 1/13/11, 6:27 AM  

Great giveaway! Thanks so much. I also loved The Weird Sisters.

Eva 1/13/11, 7:26 AM  

What fun! I've entered, but I'm glad I'm high up on the holds list for Weird Sisters in case I don't win. ;)

Mary (Bookfan) 1/13/11, 8:02 AM  

Fantastic giveaway. Thanks!

Nicole (Linus's Blanket) 1/13/11, 9:22 AM  

Your Dad is dedicated! What a wonderful connection to have to the story.

Veens 1/13/11, 9:38 AM  

Your Dad is awesomely dedicated to take on such an intimidating author! That is such an awesome giveaway!

Anonymous,  1/13/11, 10:14 AM  

Your dad rocks. I have always thought I would do this at some point and this gives me encouragement. I've entered because I really want to read this book but also because we LOVE the Reduced Shakespeare Company is our house. We saw them live last October and they were just fantastic.

Dee DeTarsio 1/13/11, 10:21 AM  

What a perfect giveaway--and I'm looking forward to reading The Weird Sisters (even if I don't win!!)!

Rebecca Rasmussen 1/13/11, 10:21 AM  

Yay !!! This is such a fun fun giveaway!!! xoxoxo

Cassandra 1/13/11, 10:26 AM  

This is a great giveaway. I had already added this book to my TBR after reading your review.

Janet,  1/13/11, 11:11 AM  

Awesome! I'm really looking forward to this book coming out. And yes, I'm one of those who had the bad Shakespeare experience! (oh and love the Muppets!)

Wendi 1/13/11, 11:30 AM  

Thanks for the great giveaway!! :)

kayerj 1/13/11, 12:29 PM  

this book made the kindle's best sellers list in January. It must be good.

Mandy 1/13/11, 1:17 PM  

I am dying to read The Weird Sisters & what a great giveaway!
I am a Shakespeare fanatic. I took multiple courses back in undergrad on Shakespeare's comedies and romances and I used to run a Shakespeare After School program back when I was still teaching.
Love the Muppet video!

Melissa (Avid Reader) 1/13/11, 2:01 PM  

I love this! I want to read The Weird Sisters and I've been lusting after the Shakespeare poetry magnets since I first saw them a few years ago. Great giveaway!

bermudaonion 1/13/11, 2:04 PM  

What a great giveaway! I need to get one of those magnet sets for Vance - he loves Shakespeare. He took 2 Shakespeare classes in college and has his girlfriend reading some of his plays now.

Sandy Nawrot 1/13/11, 4:54 PM  

WAY impressed with your dad! And I will throw my name in the hat as your token Shakespeare idiot!!!

Amy 1/13/11, 5:23 PM  

What a great giveaway!

Jenners 1/13/11, 8:45 PM  

What a neat giveaway! Thanks!!!!

And what a terrific project that your dad took on! It reminds me of something my dad would do. I love it!

Anonymous,  1/13/11, 10:30 PM  

Dang, I'm totally impressed with your dad!

Tribute Books 1/14/11, 10:57 AM  

Thank you so much for such a great giveaway.

I remember taking a Shakespeare course in college. We were required to listen to one audio recording a week of a different Shakespearean play. The professor (rightly) felt that while the plays can be read, nothing beats hearing/seeing them acted out.

Kudos to your dad - I hope he is enjoying his quest.

Best wishes,
Nicole
Tribute Books

Jenna 1/14/11, 1:39 PM  

Wonderful giveaway- thanks for the chance! Loved that Muppets video too!!

Margie Hillebrecht,  1/14/11, 1:55 PM  

Loved the book. Read and reviewed but would love a signed copy.

Hannah 1/14/11, 5:20 PM  

Reduced Shakespeare is one of my favorites, and one of my 11yo sons huge loves as well. We've almost worn out the library VHS version over the years and should really invest in the DVD!

Dawn @ sheIsTooFondOfBooks 1/15/11, 10:06 AM  

very impressed with your father - I think I'd need to read the works as part of a class, not on my own (to get more out of them... I don't have the stick-to-it-iveness on my own)

We had a Shakespeare convo over dinner a few weeks ago (prompted by my reading of the utterly fabulous THE WEIRD SISTERS). Older son was in Hamlet a few years ago and really remembers the story and many of the lines that have crept into our lexicon.

Anonymous,  1/16/11, 7:46 PM  

Thank you for the video - it was indeed very bittersweet.

PB

Audra 1/19/11, 11:03 AM  

wonderful giveaway -- your review has me very excited about this book -- saw some early buzz and was curious but now out and out eager!

dog eared copy 1/19/11, 3:35 PM  

LOL, "Don't be mad, I'm acting!"

Fun giveaway! I had this odd idea that TWS was about something else and hadn't been particularly interested; but now I can't wait for it's release :-)

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