Surfing Ruined My Life

Book XXII: Othello, by William Shakespeare, 1604, 127 pages

“Forth of my heart those charms, thine eyes, are blotted.  Thy bed, lust stained, shall with lust’s blood be spotted.” Ah there are few works more disparaging then a Shakespearean tragedy.  It seems every four novels or so I find myself picking up a work by the master playwright.  Othello is considered by many critics to be one of Shakespeare’s greatest of his tragedies.  Somehow our great public education system allowed me to fall through the cracks on this one, never reading in either high school or college.  Luckily I found  a copy at a thrift shop a while back for 75 cents.  It seems almost a crime that a Michael Connelly work was going for $3.  Then again no one reads anymore anyway.

A story of love, deception and honor Othello does not fail to appeal to one’s own struggles in life on some level or another.  For me it was the lesson of always trust your own personal feelings and instincts over those of another and do not be rash to act until all the facts have been laid out.  Overall I found Othello to be a rather entertaining work although far from my favorite of Shakespeare’s.  That being said it is a decent read and well worth your time.

For Book XXIII lets move back in to modern British literature with Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier.  The book was gift from a dear friend of mine in an early edition hard cover no less and was also highly recommended by the special lady in my life.  So if you missed Othello pick it up and give it a read or grab a copy of Rebecca and read along with me.  Or just turn on the TV and watch some pointless trash.  The choice is yours.  Don’t buy into the hype.