Review originally posted on my blog

I really enjoyed this. I read it straight through in one evening and found myself laughing out loud a few times. I didn’t realize, when I started reading, that this whole thing actually started online (on tumblr, if I’m not mistaken) and was then published later.

I haven’t heard every song, but most, and the ones I’m more familiar with were the ones I would read the first line or two from and almost bounce up off my chair to shout the name of it. (I’m only a little ashamed of the fact that sometimes I read like I’m on a game show.) I think this book would be great to break out with some friends and take turns reading out loud to see who can guess the song. A few are really, really obvious because of a distinctive name or something, but there were a couple I had to re-read to get because I didn’t remember the lyrics of the song well enough.

I like poetry, I like sonnets, and I like music. This book was perfect for the mood I was in and I hope to see more of these in the future. I highly recommend this one, and I’m probably going to buy a physical copy because I feel like it deserves a place on my poetry shelf.

*I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review from Net Galley and the publisher*

Brilliant!
I love Shakespeare, and when you mash it up with pop music, it makes for some enthralling reading.
I can't believe how much I loved this collection though.  My favorite sonnet was a Bruno Mars adaption of Just The Way You Are. It was beautiful. I read it aloud to the hubby and he even agreed. When I read the adaption of Red Hot Chili Peppers song, Under The Bridge, I felt the melancholy so much deeper. It was beautiful. When I read the adaption of The Animals House of the Rising Sun, it felt more dark and powerful. It was beautiful.
I couldn't see why anyone wouldn't enjoy this ditty. It's quite a unique spin on already fantastic lines.

 

 

I really liked this one. It started with just the idea, combining Shakespearian poetry and modern pop song lyrics, and, perhaps a little bit to my own surprise, it worked really well.

 

It's a great mix of new and older songs, so I think everyone will at least be able to recognize the poems for some of the songs. I personally also really liked to search the songs I didn't immediately recognized and to listen to them while reading the poems.

 

I'd not previously heard of the Tumblr account that post a poem a week, but most of poems are pretty clever and it's not just a nice idea. The executions is good as well. The only thing is obviously that you must like Shakespeare, or else this is going to be an awkward read.

 

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I won't this in a Booklikes giveaway.   I wasn't required to review, much less write a positive review.

 

What if Shakespeare had written The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air?   Iron Man?   The Gambler?   All You Need Is Love?   Ice, Ice Baby?   I Kissed a Girl?   It's Raining Men?  I've never thought about this, but clearly Erik Didriksen has.   He has, in fact, put a lot of thought into this, and other pop sonnets.   

 

And they're funny.   They're short, and clever, and I laughed out loud a lot reading this.   That being said, some worked extremely well and others not so much.   Although I still think 'the winter of our disco tent' is the cleverest line by far in this book after finishing it. 

 

The sonnets aren't the full songs, and there isn't much - or any - variety in the way they were written.   They all follow the same pattern, but they don't need to have different cadences to be fun.    It's all about how the words are used, staying true both to the songs they're parodying, and Shakespeare's style.   They more than often blend perfectly, although one half star off for the rare parody that felt a bit forced or awkward. 

 

Still, funny, and something I'll probably reread when have a spare hour or two.   It was fun enough to come back to in a bit. (I tend not to reread anything for a year or two in general, but yes, I could easily see myself rereading this every couple of years.)

 

"Now was the winter of our disco tent"

 

I don't know if there's enough win in the world for this line.