’The angry
librarian’ is one of my favourite Facebook pages and I just have to share this
with you, posted by Fredrik Smeds: A man came into the library and asked to
borrow a book by Shakespeare. ‘OK,’ said the librarian. ‘Which one?’ After a
long silence: ‘William.’
With that, I
start this monthly report. The world of Shakespeare is awakening slowly from
its winter hibernation, so this report is just a bit longer than recent ones have
been.
As always, I
start with a promo for the book Shakespeare calling – the book. I do so
hope you will help me. Thank you.
The book is available for those of you in
Great Britain and parts of Europe on this site:
Also
available on http://www.amazon.com/Shakespeare-Calling-book-Ruby-Jand/dp/9163782626/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1436073737&sr=1-1&keywords=Ruby+Jand+shakespeare+calling
Or
in Sweden
or
Adlibris. Or contact the publisher info@vulkan.se
Shakespeare sightings:
- In the novel The Spinning Heart by Donal Ryan one of the narrators claims to have been clever in school, understanding Lear far better than the others.
- In Naomi Klein’s No Logo Professor Mark Edmundson is quoted: ‘I’m disturbed by the serene belief that my function – and more important… Shakespeare’s… - is to divert, entertain and interest.’
- In the novel Wonder Woman by Leigh Bardugo, one of the characters had been cast with two classmates as Macbeth’s three witches and their classmates bullied them about it. Later Diana (Wonder Woman herself) says that she prefers Beatrice and Benedick to Romeo and Juliet.
- One of the characters in Deborah Moggach’s The Carer quotes the ‘That time of year thou mayst in me behold’ sonnet (73).
Films with a Shakespeare connection seen this month:
- Velvet Goldmine. Shakespeare connection: a very young Christian Bale played the Boy in Branagh's 'Henry V' http://rubyjandsfilmblog.blogspot.com/2020/01/velvet-goldmine.html
- Annihilation. Shakespeare connection (very tenuous): Jason Leigh was in A Thousand Acres, a spin-off of King Lear http://rubyjandsfilmblog.blogspot.com/2020/01/annihilation.html
- The Thirteenth Tale. Shakespeare connections: Colman in ‘Much Ado about Nothing' Re-Told. Redgrave in 'Coriolanus'. Goodman-Hill and Pugh in 'The Hollow Crown'. Mackintosh in 'Twelfth Night'. http://rubyjandsfilmblog.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-thirteenth-tale.html
- Johnny English. Shakespeare connection: James Pigott-Smith – Henry IV Part One, Measure for Measure. John Malkovich – wasn’t there a lot of Richard III in Being John Malkovich? http://rubyjandsfilmblog.blogspot.com/2020/02/johnny-english.html
Further since last time:
- Read aloud with Hal: Dunbar by Edward St Aubyn, a Hogarth spin-off of Lear. It was amusing but not the best of the series.
- Started reading aloud Stephen Greenblatt’s Tyrant – Shakespeare on politics. It’s brilliant so far!
Posted this month
- This report
Shakespeare Calling – the book is promoted by
Read more about my alter ego’s
books, in one of which Shakespeare appears live and in person, on:
- https://themerlinchronicles.wordpress.com/ruby-and-shakespeare/shakespeare-calling-the-book/
- https://themerlinchronicles.wordpress.com/ruby-and-shakespeare/spoiler-merlin-and-shakespeare/
