I think that Shakespeare is food for thought. This daily collection of daily quotes gives a chance to taste the power, wit, and wisdom of WS's poems and plays. The idea is to cover areas of life that are significant for all of us and are expressed in language that is always striking, effective, and memorable. We can chew on a single daily quotation in context every day, or we can also browse through book at random. Whichever choice the student or the simple reader will find something that will inspire, intrigue and amuse.

As a Shakespeare lover, I adore the concept of this book. It’s a book I could easily see myself keeping on the side of my desk or on a coffee table, reaching for it during that time of day when I suddenly remember, “Oh! What is today’s Shakespeare quote?” I could also see it working well as a memorization tool for Shakespeare fans; selecting one quote a day to read and focus on is a great way to build up one’s arsenal of reference quotes over time. People who love Shakespeare can appreciate this book as a tool for that. It reminded me of a similar book called A YEAR AND A DAY OF EVERYDAY WITCHCRAFT, which assigns a “witchy” element or trivia to each day of the year for a reader to apply and reflect on.

The introductory pages felt a bit long-winded, particularly the “discovery on every page” section. I found myself wanting more economy of writing and less extensive explanation regarding how the layout of the book functions, how poetry functions. “We believe the quotes on these pages can speak for themselves.” So let them, no? I also wondered if putting the passages about each month’s themes BEFORE each month might have worked better than lumping them all together in the introduction. But I guess that comes down to one’s preference regarding how a book is organized, how information is organized.

I really liked the little insights and explanations that the writers provided on each page below the quote. They always felt generous and to the point. The only thing I could have done without was the occasional “plug” of another quote(s) inside the interpretation. I felt those other quotes and play references pulled focus from the featured quote. At times, the extended explanations leaned too academic in tone, which I feel might turn off certain readers who just want to absorb the featured quote at face value, to absorb the suggested interpretation and leave the rest up to the reader’s thoughts and imagination. The pages I enjoyed most were the ones that kept it simple: the quote, a brief interpretation, and the context provided at the bottom of the page. I love that the authors left some quotes to speak for themselves with no explanation. That white space held a nice silence, a space to reflect and trigger one’s private interpretations.

If I saw this book in a store, I would buy it. I love Shakespeare, and I LOVE the idea of what this book is offering to Shakespeare fans.