Literally Blogging

As we rest and retire for the weekend, let us pause and think about whether or not we will return to work on Monday. To facilitate this inner dialogue, let Shakespeare’s Hamlet guide us with its famous lines….
To be, or not to be, —that is the question:—
Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? —To die, —to sleep,—
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heartache, and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to, —’tis a consummation
Devoutly to be …read more

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Okay, you’ve had time to give it the ol’ college try! How did you do?

Little Red Riding Hood had a ‘real’ first name. What was it?
 A: Biddy

In Beauty and the Beast, beauty ends up in married bliss, but what is the fate of her two evil sisters?
A: They are turned into statues. And they deserved it, the hags!

A mega-famous fairy tale character is known in different lands as Rashin Coatie (Scotland), Aschenputtel (Germany), Zezolla (Italy), and Yeh-hsien (China). What name do we know this character by?
A: Cinderella

In the story Snow White, what was strange—and rather icky—about her stepmother considering Snow …read more

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Are there such things as fairies? Of course, duh. That’s not up for debate. What is in question is your knowledge of fairy tales! Not those stupid saccharine Disney versions either…the real world of literary fairy tales, full of darkness and depravity and gore.

Give it a try, if you dare! Answers will appear tomorrow.

Little Red Riding Hood had a ‘real’ first name. What was it?

In Beauty and the Beast, beauty ends up in married bliss, but what is the fate of her two evil sisters?

A mega-famous fairy tale character is known in different lands as Rashin Coatie (Scotland), Aschenputtel …read more

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Thank you all so much for your patience. I’ve been dealing with a myriad of personal crises and family matters, some of which required far-away traveling. But the literature lover is back!
Here are the answers to our last Lit Triv challenge. How did you do?
1. d.
2. h.
3. e.
4. b.
5. a.
6. j.
7. i.
8. f.
9. g.
10. c.

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What if your favorite book—or a book everyone has heard of—were called something else? A surprising number of famous tomes almost got stuck with a pretty bad title.
Test your lit triv skills now!
The numbered list contains the books’ current titles. The lettered list contains the books’ original titles. Can you match them up? Good luck!
The current titles:

1. Pride and Prejudice

2. Treasure Island

3. War and Peace

4. David Copperfield

5. The Great Gatsby

6. Lady Chatterley’s Lover

7. Gone With the Wind

8. Roots

9. Jaws

10. Of Mice and Men

And the originals:

a. The High-Bouncing Lover

b. The Copperfield Survey of the World As It Rolled

c. Something That Happened

d. …read more

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Here are the answers for our first volume of Lit Triv! Good job… no fair peeking until you’ve at least tried to guess!
And if there’s a book on the list you haven’t read…tsktsk! Get crackin’!

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Okay, time to wake up those brains after all that holiday loafing!
Below are some famous quotes/excerpts from well-known works of literature and/or authors. How well-read are you?
Give it a try, and post your answers in the Comments section. The winners get…respect and admiration!
1. It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to, than I have ever known.
2. Be great in act, as you have been in thought.
3. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, …read more

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