A Year in Books/Day 196: The Columbia Dictionary of Quotations from Shakespeare

Title: The Columbia Dictionary of Quotations from Shakespeare
Editors: Mary and Reginald Foakes
Year Published: 1998 (Columbia University Press)/This Edition: 2000 (Barnes & Noble Books)
Year Purchased: Early 2000s
Source: Barnes & Noble clearance rack
About: There is something off about heading to the Internet for your Shakespeare needs. If any writer cries out for an old-fashioned hard copy experience, it is the Bard of Avon. I will take this cheap clearance book over a Google search box every time. If you cannot find the quote you are looking for-or a suitable one you do not yet know exists-then you are a terrible, terrible contrarian in need of a scolding. Nearly 4000 quotations have been cross-indexed under a dizzying array of topics. The kicker? It was a labor of love by scholar Reginald Foakes and his wife, Mary (who died before it reached publication). How very Shakespearean.
Motivation: A dictionary + quotes + Shakespeare? This book practically screamed my name.
Times Read: Only as a reference tool, never cover-to-cover (it feels odd typing those words).
English: Title page of Shakespeare’s Sonnets (1609) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Random Excerpt/Page 83: “Well you deserve. They well deserve to have That know the strong’st and surest way to get.”
Happiness Scale: 10

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