American Players Theatre, Arcadia Books, and Wisconsin Weekends

Every single year, since 2010, I spend one weekend in Spring Green, Wisconsin. There's an incredible theatre there called the American Players Theatre that performs everything from classic Shakespeare to cutting-edge intimate plays. It's my absolute favorite theatre and one of the only places I've been where you can see professional Shakespeare under the stars. 

The tiny town of Spring Green includes a wonderful bookstore called Arcadia Books that I always visit while I'm there. I am never disappointed by their collection and I always leave with at least one (usually more) books. 

The town also happens to be home to Taliesin, Frank Lloyd Wright's architecture studio and a current architecture school. House on the Rock is also located there (and plays a big part in Neil Gaiman's American Gods).

It's in the middle of nowhere, but the strange collection of attractions means there's a constant stream of people visiting. If you're ever in the Midwest you should definitely take time to visit! It's only about 3 hours from Chicago and even just seeing one of the plays makes the trip worth while! 

A few of my reviews of APT shows: 
2010 
2011
2012 
2013 
2014 
2015 

APT photo from here, bookstore photos by me. 

R.I.P VIII Wrap Up

This year's R.I.P. Challenge, hosted by Carl at Stainless Steel Droppings, went so well for me! Of the books listed on my original post, I read all but one. Below is the complete list of what I read and links to my reviews. This challenge is so much fun every year. I love reading mysteries, but I rarely devote a whole month to it. 

1) Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers
2) Faithful Place by Tana French
3) The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith
4) The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins (still reading this one)
5) The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton
6) Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
7) American Gods by Neil Gaiman 
8) Misery by Stephen King 
9) A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore 
10) The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King
11) The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield 
12) M is for Malice by Sue Grafton 

American Gods

American Gods

by Neil Gaiman

★★★★☆

I have an odd relationship with this book. I first read it in 2007 after Stephen King recommended it in Entertainment Weekly. I’d never heard of Gaiman before and I thought I’d check it out. Whoa.

So as most people who have read Gaiman before might know, American Gods might not be the best place to start with his work. It is dense and complex. It has weird plot lines and skips across the entire country. And yet there’s something about it that just hooks you. After reading it I went on to devour Neverwhere, Anansi Boys, Coraline, Stardust, The Graveyard Book, Good Omens and Fragile Things.

The first time I read the book I think I was so distracted by the strangeness of the plot that I missed the depth of the story. There's so much to take in and it's such a wild tale that I couldn't appreciate it fully until the second time. Part mystery, part fantasy, part character study, American Gods is a mixture of so many things. There are too many characters to mention, but each one is more creatively drawn than the last.

A man name Shadow finds out his wife has died in a car crash only days before he’s being released from prison. Soon he meets a man named Wednesday and against his better judgment he agrees to work for him. The rest of the plot defies explanation, but rest assured it’s a wonderful ride. Whether Shadow is exploring the ineffable world of The House on the Rock or he’s hunkered down in a sleepy town of Lakeside, it’s hard not to root for him.

BOTTOM LINE: Weird and wonderful, Gaiman manages to infuse his love of fantasy into an epic road trip novel. Re-reading this one doubled my appreciation for both the novel and the author. I was able to focus more on the overall story and less on the odd elements this time. This is not the best novel to read if you aren’t sure if you’ll like Gaiman. Read it when you already love his work and only if you like fantasy and aren’t easily offended.

I read this for the R.I.P. Challenge hosted by Stainless Steel Droppings.

A to Z Reader Survey

Authors you've read the most books from:

Douglas Adams, Jane Austen, Ray Bradbury, Roald Dahl, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Neil Gaiman, C.S. Lewis, L.M. Montgomery, and William Shakespeare

Best sequel ever:

All of the Harry Potter sequels (I know that’s cheating)

Currently reading:

Arrowsmith, The Cuckoo’s Calling and Grimm’s Fairy Tales

Drink of choice while reading:

Usually either coffee or red wine.

Ereader or physical book:

Physical books all the way, but I’m finally used to occasionally reading on my kindle.

Fictional character that you probably would have dated in high school:

Quentin in Paper Towns or Arthur Dent in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, I love the quiet guys.

Glad you gave this book a chance:

The Sparrow, seriously it’s so good and the description of it makes it sound awful.

Hidden Gem book:

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, shows the true meaning of endurance.

Important moment in your reading life:

Reading Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil in high school and realizing how fantastic nonfiction could be.

Just Finished:

Re-reading American Gods

Kind of books you won't read:

Romance novels and modern political whining

Longest book you read:

Probably The Count of Monte Cristo or War and Peace.

Major book hangover because of:

The Harry Potter series, every time I read it I don’t want to read anything else.

Number of bookcases you own:

Oh man, nine bookcases including two massive ones that take up a whole wall.

One book you've read multiple times:

Ender’s Game

Preferred place to read:

Curled up on the couch with my pup.

Quote that inspires you:

“Let me be something every minute of every hour of my life…And when I sleep, let me dream all the time so that not one little piece of living is ever lost.” — A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Reading Regret:

Not getting the chance to visit Oscar Wilde’s grave when I was in Paris.

Series you started and need to finish:

Sue Grafton’s alphabet series, I read one whenever I need a break from another book.

Three of your all-time favorite books:

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Unapologetic fangirl for:

Neil Gaiman and Harry Potter

Very excited for this release:

New Salinger books!

Worst bookish habit:

Buying all of the books!

Xmarks the spot! Start at the top left of your shelf and pick the 27th book:

The Portable Dorothy Parker

Your last bookish purchase:

A gorgeous 1916 copy of A Girl of the Limberlost from Half Priced Books.

Zzz-snactcher. Which book kept you up way to late:

The Night Circus

Photo by moi. 

The House on the Rock and Neil Gaiman

(The world's largest carousel and 3-story sea monster) 

In Neil Gaiman’s epic novel American Gods he sets an important scene in Spring Green, Wisconsin (Chapter 5 page 117- 141.) That tiny town is home to one of the strangest roadside attractions in America.

When I read the novel back in 2007 I assumed the House on the Rock was completely fictional. It wasn’t until 4 years later when I started making an annual trip to Spring Green to see a Shakespeare company perform that I made the connection. Just like in the book, you drive through a little town called Black Earth and you begin to see signs advertising the attraction.

 (The Infinity Room- a view from the outside and inside 

and one of the interior rooms of the original house)

So during this year’s Spring Green pilgrimage my friend and I finally went to the House of the Rock and toured its wild exhibits. I re-read the scene from American Gods right before going and I couldn’t believe how accurate his descriptions were! Not only were the big things correct, but every detail was the same. There was a fortune telling machine right at the end of the road in the Streets of Yesterday section. The Infinity Room, the sea monster, the carousel, it was all there in vivid detail.  

(The Streets of Yesterday and the Mikado Room)

The whole place has an incredibly creepy vibe. There are walls of antique marionettes and porcelain dolls. We couldn’t help but be surprised that a horror movie has never been filmed there. The labyrinthine home has low ceilings, carpet everywhere and the eerie cast of red light shines on everything. It feels surreal, like you’ve walked into a strange dream (or nightmare).

(The Japanese Garden and the Carousel) 

The man who created the original house must have been an obsessive collector. You can almost see where his interests switched from object to object. There’s a collection of model ships that spans three floors! Another collection of antique guns, then airplanes, then model toys, then Japanese items; it just doesn’t end. I kept wondering what would possess someone to create something this elaborate in the middle of nowhere.

(The coin operated "Drunkard Dream" in action and the fortune teller)

It’s a complete sensory overload and when you finally make your way back outside you feel like you’re reeling from the noise and color of each new room. The excessiveness of the place is almost obscene. There’s not just one room with a huge collection of instruments that play themselves, there are about four! There is a peaceful Japanese Garden outside of the main warehouses and it’s a much-needed respite for people after they finish their tours.

If you’re a fan of American Gods or of roadside attractions I would highly recommend visiting the House of the Rock. It’s a weird experience to be sure, but not one you’re likely to forget!

Photos by moi. 

Top Ten Books For People Who Like Neil Gaiman

This week's Top Ten from The Broke and the Bookish asks for top ten books for people who like a specific author. I’m going to pick Neil Gaiman, but Gaiman’s work is so varied depending on what you read. He writes young adult novels, graphic novels, children’s books, etc.

So instead of listing ten books you might like, I’m going to list ten of his books and then provide a recommendation for each book. This should work in reverse as well. If you’ve never read Gaiman and would like to try him, pick one of the books in the second column that you already know you like and then try the recommended Gaiman book.

1) Stardust – The Princess Bride 

2) Neverwhere – The Book of Lost Things 

3) American Gods – The Stand 

4) Good Omens – The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy 

5) The Graveyard Book – The Jungle Book 

6) Coraline – The Golden Compass 

7) Anansi Boys – Big Fish

8) Instructions – The Little Prince 

9) Sandman Chronicles – The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen 

10) Fragile Things – Edgar Allan Poe or H.P. Lovecraft’s short stories

BONUS: The Doctor’s Wife (BBC episode) – All of Doctor Who!

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books I Want To Reread

I love the question from this week's Top Ten list at The Broke and the Bookish. I think blogging makes me read books differently in some ways. I take note of the things I love about a book in a more concrete way and think critically about what worked and didn't work. There are so many books I read before I started blogging and I'd love to reread them now with that new mindset.

1) The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: I loved this whole series the first time I read it, but it's been almost 10 years. I'm curious to see if I'd find it as funny as a reread.


These three are just amazing and I wish I could read them for the first time again. I think I will reread them for years to come.

2) The Thirteenth Tale

3) The History of Love

4) The Shadow of the Wind


5) Gone with the Wind: I loved it when I read it back in 2003. When I started blogging I saw this one every where and people talked about how much they loved it. Then I read this book about the story behind Gone With the Wind and have been dying to read it again ever since.

6) Persuasion: I've read all of Jane Austen's major works and some of her minor works and Persuasion was my favorite. I'd love to reread it and see if I still feel that way.

7) Ender's Game: I adore this book, but after reading it I went on to read all 8 of the sequels and companion books. I want to start from the beginning and read the book that had such a big impact on me the first time around.


8) And Then There Were None: My first and favorite Agatha Christie book. I recommend this one constantly and it's been too long since I've read it myself.

9) The Perks of Being a Wallflower: I was a freshman in college when I read this and I thought it was so beautiful. Now there's a movie coming out and I want to reread it before then.

10) American Gods: My very first Gaiman, read back in 2007. It's not a great place to start with him. Since reading this I've read almost everything else he has written and have grown to love his work and dark sense of humor. Now that I appreciate his style more, I think I would get a lot more out of his masterpiece. Plus the HBO series based on the book is coming out sometime in the next year or two.