Chris Nicholson's Writing Weblog
February 16, 2008 • Saturday
This week I finished reading Bill Bryson's new book, "Shakespeare: The World as Stage."
I didn't (and don't) have any strong interest in William Shakespeare. But Bryson is probably my favorite contemporary writer, so I'll read pretty much anything he writes; I enjoy his style, and I've come trust that he'll make any topic interesting to me.
As he did with Will.
In reading the book, I was mostly fascinated with how little we actually know of our language's finest writer. I'm amazed at how much information can be lost in just 400 years. I also found interesting the sections about how words and writing and theatre have changed in four centuries, and at how many words Shakespeare used for the first time in written English — or that he altogether coined.
It's a good book, worth the gift card I spent on it.
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