Happy 2026, Ruff Readers!
To those of you who read along with us every season, welcome back! And to those who are just learning about Ruff Reads now, we hope you’ll join us!
This spring we’ll be reading through and discussing a selection of books that examine the themes and ideas found in Shakespeare’s As You Like It and our upcoming summer adaptation by Ho Ka Kei (Jeff Ho).
First up in March is Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell. We’ve been fans of this book for ages and love that the movie is bringing so much more attention to it! Have you read the book? Seen the film? Or the play? Let’s talk about it!
In April we’ll cozy up with Dating Dr. Dil, the first book in Nisha Sharma’s If Shakespeare Were An Auntie series. The first romance novel in Ruff Reads history! And perfect for our “season of love”.
Up next in May will be Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu, diving into the themes of Asian representation explored in our summer production of As You Like It.
Exile plays a key role in As You, and we’ll wrap up our Ruff Reads season in June with The Displaced: Refugee Writers on Refugee Lives, a collection of essays edited by Viet Thanh Nguyen.
Once again, Ruff Reads is thrilled to be partnering with our favourite east end bookshop, Queen Books. Stop by to pick up your copies and receive 10% off with the code RUFFREADS. All titles are also available as e-books, audiobooks, and through the Toronto Public Library,
Ruff Reads meets monthly on Zoom on (usually!) the last Thursday as the month, and we share additional content and ancillary reads through our Instagram account, @shakesruffreads. Give us a follow! And email christine@shakespeareintheruff.com to receive reminders and Zoom links for meetings.
Happy reading, everyone!
PS: Ruff Reads is currently reading As You Like It to gear up for the season! If you’d like to read along with us, an excellent digital edition is available through the Folger Shakespeare Library website.