For those who are looking at branching into the world of art. This book is an excellent primer for some of the better quality work which is no longer around today. If you like this time period you can try other illustrators like Trina Schart Hyman, Edward-Burne Jones, or Alphonse Mucha. While all of Barker's artwork is not on this level, this book is and makes enjoyable eye-candy for the artist or artist-at-heart.

Ciss Berry is actin

The book, The Actor and the Text, by Cicely Berry, is an excellent book which opens actors up to the idea of studying the text of the play rather than the action. Ms.Berry's book specifically focuses on the text of William Shakespeare's plays. She gives detailed examples of exercises that can be very useful to actors attempting to decipher the language of Shakespeare. Personally as an actor, I found this book to be extremely helpful not only for Shakespeare, but for all plays. The book really made me look at plays entirely differently. In the past when first reading a play, I would simply read through it and think about where my character starts out in the beginning of the play and where he would end up at the end of the play. When I read a play now I really pay a lot more attention to the words and the language that the author chose. Once again, Cicely Berry's book is an excellent reference for all actors who are looking to make a personal improvement towards their acting skills and also their interpretation of language.