Doctor Who: The Shakespeare Notebooks byJustin Richards

"Newly discovered entries and drawings in William Shakespeare’s journals reveal for the first time the astounding relationship between the great Bard and the Doctor.

Since his first adventure in 1963, the Doctor has enjoyed many encounters with William Shakespeare. Now, BBC Books has rediscovered notebooks, long thought lost, compiled by the Bard in which he divulges the influential role the Doctor played in his creative life. Here are the original notes for Hamlet, including a very different appearance by the ghost; early versions of great lines (“To reverse or not to reverse the polarity of the neutron flow”); the true story of how the faeries of A Midsummer Night’s Dream were first imagined; stage directions for plays adjusted to remove references to a mysterious blue box; and much, much more."

I am both a fan of Shakespeare and Doctor Who. So when I received this book for my birthday I was over the moon. Some of my favorite things put into one book! And did I laugh! If you are expecting a serious book than you will be sadly mistaken here. The author combined these two themes together in a great way. 

The book was a quick read, which sometimes is the best way to have these kinds of mash-up books. The only part of the book that I did not like was the "Academic Notes" it seemed to drag on, and I could not follow what Richards was trying to do. over all though I loved the book. 

So if you are a "hardcore/naturalist" Shakespeare lover, than steer clear of this book. But if you like to laugh, like Shakespeare and/or Doctor Who, than by all means pick this book up!

I gave this book a four out of five stars.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

"It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still.

Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement. "

I have read quite allot of books that are about/based in the time of WWII/Nazi Germany. My mother was always adamant that I know what happened so that something like this may never happen again. So I know allot about that time period. So when I was told about this book, I was intrigued to read it. And to be honest, I was less than underwhelmed by it. It was talked up so much, and then they made a movie about it; I was ready for an amazing book. But I wasn't amazed. It was a good book, and aspects of the writing and story were interested, but  I did not see what the author was trying to tell us. I feel that if you are going to write a story about this heavy topic, you need to have a lesson that was or needs to be learned. I didn't learn anything. I was sad, and that was all.

What I did like about it is how Zusak used Death as the narrator. I felt that it made it more poignant. I also liked how it was set up. It had sections within sections, and made it an "easy read". What made it a long read was that there was a lot of time wasted on non important parts of the story and on the little things in life, and made the story drag on. 

If you like unique points of view, life struggles, difficulties to over come, and WWII than I would recommend this book to you. I give this book a generous three out of five stars.