Two takes on Shakes.

Shakespeare, that is.

Obvs.

Anyway, a couple of days ago, a guy came in looking for the complete works of Shakespeare, so I asked him if he wanted the Riverside, or the other one.

He decided to take them both.

So, as I was checking them out, we had this exchange:

Him: Ah, the Riverside. I studied under the editor when I was At Harvard. [You could totally hear the capitalization, I swear. He worked Studying At Oxford in there, too, but I forget how.]
Me: That's neat. I'm looking forward to Julie Taymor's new film adaptation of The Tempest.
Him: What? Who?
Me: Julie Taymor. She's filming a new version of The Tempest, except Prospero will be Prospera, and played by Helen Mirren.
Him: UGH. I suppose the FEMINISTS will enjoy it. I don't believe in changing Shakespeare.

I attempted to pull out the old New Adaptations of Shakespeare Get People Interested in the Plays Who May Not Have Otherwise Ever Explored Them argument -- as well as Shakespeare's Language and the Stories are Strong Enough to Stand A Bit of Creative Casting/Staging -- but he wasn't having it.

So I was wishing he'd been here this morning when ANOTHER patron came in and said,

Him: Oh, Leila, I'm glad you're here! We watched the first half of the David Tennant Hamlet last night, and this morning, my 12-year-old daughter asked me, "Dad? Is Hamlet going to go crazy at the end?"
Me: That's AWESOME.
Him: I KNOW! My 12-year-old daughter is INTERESTED IN SHAKESPEARE!!

HA! Take that, crusty dude! I WIN!