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#MAANreadalong
review
readinginthedark
Much Ado about Nothing for Kids | William Shakespeare, Lois Burdett
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Pickpick

Last one! Burdett wrote a sonnet for each step of the story, using some of the original wording and some of her own. Her 7 to 9-year-old students drew pictures and wrote short letters between the characters. This was really fun! The author simplified most of Shakespeare‘s language, but there‘s still some vocabulary that I think would require explanation before or during the reading. A good way to start Shakespeare at a young age! #MAANReadalong

Jess_Read_This Lol!! A forward by Denzel Washington?! What does he say? 7y
readinginthedark @Jess_Read_This He kind of talks about how lucky he was to have the chance to play Don Pedro, how much he loves Shakespeare texts, and how he feels that Shakespeare is the only author whose work can speak to so many. Pretty general, but well-written. 7y
Jess_Read_This @readinginthedark Nice! I was curious what he said about the play. 7y
readinginthedark @Jess_Read_This I returned it or I‘d quote for you directly. I think all he said specifically about MAAN was that it covered all the bases—romance, comedy, drama, etc. 7y
59 likes4 comments
blurb
readinginthedark
Much ADO about Nothing | William Shakespeare
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Movie versions I watched, clockwise from top left:
1) 2010 East Hollywood High School in Salt Lake City, modern setting—fun but super weird
2) 1993 directed by Kenneth Branagh—LOVE
3) 2005 BBC‘s Shakespeare Retold, full modern adaptation—not what I expected, but very fun!
4) 2013 modern setting—so good!
5) 2011 modern setting—I only got to see clips of this one on YouTube; guess I‘ll have to buy it! 😏#MAANReadalong #ShakespeareReadalong

merelybookish Wow! That's impressive. You must be throwing lines from MAAN into daily conversation. 7y
readinginthedark @merelybookish 😆Yes, it‘s so hard not to do that! I‘ll be doing random things, and a quote will come to mind, and I‘ll turn to share it with someone else. But the only time I actually said something, my coworker thought I was a bit crazy. I already have four versions of Hamlet on reserve from the library; I‘m sure it will be even worse with those! 7y
65 likes2 comments
review
readinginthedark
Much ADO about Nothing | William Shakespeare
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Pickpick

I know it seems like I‘ve said all I could about this play, but there isn‘t room here for everything. I love how each character plays a role and that the “main characters” are unexpected. Reading this also made me realize that reading the text (versus seeing a play performed) gives a completely different perspective. Can‘t wait to start Hamlet now! #MAANReadalong #ShakespeareReadalong

AvidReader25 One of my favorites! 7y
readinginthedark @Avidreader25 It‘s a good one! We‘re readin Hamlet next, if you‘re interested in joining. I‘ll repost the schedule tonight. 7y
AvidReader25 I️ do love reading Hamlet. If you‘ve never read Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead you definitely should! 7y
readinginthedark @Avidreader25 I haven‘t, but I don‘t remember much from back when I read Hamlet, so I need to reread that first. 😆 7y
64 likes4 comments
blurb
readinginthedark
Much ADO about Nothing | William Shakespeare
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These were the audio versions I listened to during our #MAANReadalong ! The one on the left is published by Author‘s Republic and I didn‘t make it very far with that one. It sounds less like a professional performance and more like a dull, class-required readaloud. My favorite character performance was Samantha Spiro as Beatrice in the BBC Radio version, but both that and the Arkangel production were fantastic!

review
Jess_Read_This
Much ADO about Nothing | William Shakespeare
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Pickpick

Conrade: “Away! You are an ass, you are an ass”

Solid quote. I may be using this in real life on a frequent basis... 🤔 A 5⭐️ story of humor, betrayal, love, and wit. I laughed and also got angry at the injustice. All of which point to a successful play if it can put you through a gamut of emotions. Thanks @readinginthedark for organizing the read along.

More thoughts below:
#MAANReadalong #Shakespeare #TheBard

Jess_Read_This @batsy @merelybookish I think we were talking about Margaret‘s duplicity in the last Act? I still don‘t buy into the innocence she claims. She wore Hero‘s clothes??? For what purpose? 7y
Jess_Read_This What was up with the ending?? Beatrice claiming not to love Benedick??? What just happened from earlier. Thank god he is still a smitten kitten over her.... (edited) 7y
readinginthedark The Whedon movie version puts an interesting interpretation on Margaret and Borachio‘s affair. He‘s kind of obsessed with Hero and she‘s in love with him, so she does what he asks. @batsy @merelybookish (edited) 7y
Jess_Read_This @readinginthedark Now that is an interesting interpretation! And adds a whole other layer to the plot. 7y
readinginthedark I think Beatrice was worried about how public the situation was with Benedick calling her out in front of everyone and asking before stating his own feelings, just the same way that they had to be told each other‘s feelings before declaring their own. 7y
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review
batsy
Much ADO about Nothing (New Rev) | William Shakespeare
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Pickpick

The original romcom? 🗨+️🗯️=💘 It was great to read this again with the #MAANreadalong group. Sparkling wit & absurdist humour, especially via Dogberry the constable. What I noticed this time around is how dialectical the play is, the push-&-pull of ideas between characters representing different views of the world. I was more attuned to the grimness of Hero's situation--in my film update she'd be a runaway bride. The ending was a tad abrupt.

Mimi28 Great review!! 7y
batsy @Mimi28 Thanks! ❤️ 7y
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merelybookish I still have to finish. 😬 This is why I'm reading Hamlet straight through in one sitting. Poor Heron certainly deserves better than Claudio. 🙄 7y
merelybookish *Hero 7y
readinginthedark You‘re welcome! I‘m having so much fun with it! 7y
readinginthedark @merelybookish Whatever works for you! 😉 7y
merelybookish @readinginthedark Thanks! ☺️ Btw, is your brother is doing the Cymbeline production in KCMO? I just got an email promotion today. If I still lived in KC, I would go! 7y
readinginthedark @merelybookish Yes! 😊 It will be so amazing; I wish I could go, too! 7y
batsy @merelybookish Definitely! And he doesn't really have to suffer or repent all that much. Hmph. 7y
batsy @readinginthedark 😀 I love that you're watching the film versions to supplement the reading; I should try to do that before our next assignment 😉 7y
readinginthedark My husband keeps making fun of me for watching “the same thing” over and over, but it‘s giving me some interesting insight into different characters and scenes! 7y
batsy @readinginthedark BTW, I realised I never answered your question about why Don Pedro helps Claudio woo Hero. I thought I remembered a part where Don Pedro claims that he did it to prove his friendship. Upon rereading I realised that no such interaction exists! 😆 I'm not sure why I remembered something that wasn't there... Maybe I was just thinking about something I'd read. Was it Shakespeare fan fiction? 🤔😂 7y
readinginthedark Maybe because it started with Claudio asking for help from Don Pedro? Hm...I don‘t know. It seemed very middle/high school-ish! 😆 7y
batsy @readinginthedark Haha, yes. Disguise and false identity keep cropping up in his plays! Maybe it was just a way to easily amuse the crowd. Or perhaps back then social stratification was so entrenched that pretending to be another really felt subversive. 7y
readinginthedark Interesting! I wonder if the inspiration for Cyrano de Bergerac came from this ~300 years later? 7y
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blurb
readinginthedark
Much ADO about Nothing | William Shakespeare
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I forgot to post about Act 5! What did everyone think? For some reason, I didn‘t realize before now that Shakespeare was sometimes using poetry and sometimes prose throughout the play. Does anyone have ideas about when he does each? I can‘t figure it out. I‘m also curious how you all felt about Claudio‘s part in this act. He seems too merry initially. I notice he was drunk at this point in two of the movie versions—very interesting! #MAANReadalong

tpixie Love the photo! 7y
batsy I saw that, about verse and prose, and for the life of me I can't make out the difference! I thought the final act seemed a little more abrupt than I remembered, and in a contemporary novel Claudio would probably come off a bit of a sociopath, maybe 😬 That's also due to how much our ideas about marriage and male entitlement over women have changed. 7y
readinginthedark @tpixie I know! I wish I had that copy; I‘ve been taking cover pictures off Pinterest. 7y
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readinginthedark @batsy I thought maybe the poetry was for monologues, but that‘s not necessarily true. Maybe when emotions are high? Yeah, Claudio‘s a bit crazy. The beginning of Act 5 where I noticed a big difference in how Claudio seems based on the medium of presentation. Shakespeare Retold has a good modern interpretation! 7y
Jess_Read_This @batsy @readinginthedark Sorry for my delay! Real life got in the way of my Litsy and reading time. I feel so let down Claudio got off on this whole debacle and still gets to marry the girl... who is far more forgiving than me!! 😑😡😡😡 7y
readinginthedark @Jess_Read_This No problem! I think having the week in-between is handy to catch-up on everything. 7y
readinginthedark @Jess_Read_This And yes, I know what you mean about Claudio. It‘s interesting to me that neither more modern movie versions I watched have Hero ending up with him! But Whedon‘s version made me consider the fact that she‘s a politician‘s daughter, and as we‘ve seen with the proposal process itself, it‘s more her father‘s decision than her own. 7y
60 likes7 comments
blurb
readinginthedark
Much ADO about Nothing | William Shakespeare
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I started feeling kind of sick and can‘t read right now. But the good news is that my husband moved our TV and XBox up to the bedroom so I can watch some of my Much Ado About Nothing adaptations while resting! Three down...I think two to go? #MAANReadalong #litsypartyofone

Blueberry That one might be my favorite. 7y
Dragon Hope you feel better soon! 💐 7y
batsy Take care, I hope you feel better soon. (Is that the Joss Whedon adaptation? I haven't watched that one!) 7y
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MaleficentBookDragon Hope you feel better! 7y
AmandaL Feel better! 7y
mabell I hope you feel better soon! 7y
Redwritinghood I hope you feel better soon! 7y
Jas16 Hope you feel better soon 7y
readinginthedark @Blueberry @batsy Yep, it‘s the Whedon one. It‘s so good!!! 7y
Dragon 👍😀🐉 7y
58 likes11 comments
review
readinginthedark
Much ADO about Nothing | Richard Appignanesi
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Pickpick

I haven‘t read much manga, but this was really fun! There was some simplification and exaggeration of the storyline and characters, so the effect fell somewhere between the written play and a performance. ❤️❤️❤️ #MAANReadalong

blurb
merelybookish
Mrs Dalloway | Virginia Woolf
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Some of my #bookhaul from the library book sale. I tried to be good. Added to my Woolf and Spark collection. (💓 that Mrs. Dalloway cover.) Added to my writing advice collection. Picked up some nature writing books.(I guess I'll give Walden a go.) Got some Rumer Godden to try. And a cheap copy of Hamlet in prep for the #MAANreadalong follow-up.

HardcoverHearts That Mrs. Dalloway cover is sublime! 7y
LeahBergen @HardcoverHearts I SERIOUSLY was going to write the exact same thing. 😂😂 7y
batsy Omg that cover 😍 What a great haul! 7y
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Christine Truly an excellent cover! 7y
quietlycuriouskate Excellent haul! 📚 7y
Bloomingjen I have that copy. I got it used at Powell's. 7y
readinginthedark I love everything about this post! ❤️❤️❤️ 7y
81 likes8 comments