It’s finally here! May felt like a very long month, despite being on vacation and time usually going by very quickly when you’re on vacation. Maybe it’s because I wrote only one blog post the entire 21 days that I was away? Who knows. I also wanted to say thank you for picking my choice for the May theme as your favourite! It was a very pleasant surprise and definitely made me smile! Now, this month’s Calendar Girls theme is all best Shakespeare play! Yes! I’m an English Literature major and I tried to take as many Shakespeare-focused courses as I could. So yes, I really like Shakespeare! But before I let myself get carried away with Shakespeare rambles, I will just say yay, and that I’m curious and excited to see which of you will pick which plays!
(Also, if you’re confused about why this Calendar Girls post went up on the 1st Monday of the month, in stead of the 1st Wednesday, please check out the updates we have made to the reading event here!)
For those of you new to Calendar Girls, it’s a new blog event which I am co-hosting with my friend Melanie, and is inspired by Neil Sedaka’s 1961 song Calendar Girl. Just like in the song, we decided to use a specific theme for each month and choose a book based on these themes! The event is meant to incite discussions with other bloggers about books we’ve read and loved, is meant to help bloggers meet other bloggers, and also for bloggers and readers to find out about blogs which they normally may not have come across!
If this sounds like your cup of tea, please check out Melanie’s or my launch post for more info, and sign up if you are still interested after reading everything. Also, if you would like to see examples of past posts, you can look at Melanie and I’s January posts here and here, where the posts of other participants will also be listed. We’d love to have you join in the fun!
And now…without further ado, here is my choice for June’s theme…
– Best Shakespeare Play-
A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare
I don’t think that we were taught this play in high school, but that I went out and read it on my own. Then I watched the 1999 film on VHS (wow, so long ago!) and fell in love with the story even more! Even though I get upset when women’s rights (or lack thereof) are mentioned in Shakespeare plays, and women are not treated the best in this play (or any of his plays really), I remind myself that it’s just a reflection of how things were in Elizabethan England, and I tell myself to just focus on the story as entertainment. And A Midsummer Night’s Dream is definitely quite entertaining! I may just have to re-read it now!
Other Participants:
Melanie -> A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare
Shanah @ Bionic Book Work -> The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare
Deanna @ Deanna Writs About… -> Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Mandy @ Book Princess Reviews -> Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare
Lauren @ Two Birds, One Blog -> Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
Thai @ Read Breath Repeat -> A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare
Darque Dreamer Reads -> A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare
Sophie @ Beware of the Reader -> Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
And now for the July theme which
you picked through the use of the poll
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the July theme is
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THANK YOU FOR READING MY CALENDAR GIRLS POST! HAVE YOU EVER READ THIS PLAY OR SEEN IT PERFORMED? IF SO, WHAT DID YOU THINK? AND IF YOU HAVEN’T READ OR SEEN IT YET, DO YOU WANT TO, OR NOT? HOW COME? IF YOU ARE A CALENDAR GIRLS PARTICIPANT (AND EVEN IF YOU ARE NOT), YOU ARE WELCOME TO COMMENT ON ANYTHING REGARDING MY POST BELOW! ALSO, WE WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT ALTHOUGH THE EVEN HAS THE WORD “GIRLS” IN THE TITLE, THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT ALL GENDERS, SEXUALITIES, ETC. ARE NOT WELCOME! ALL ARE WELCOME! I LOOK FORWARD TO READING ALL OF YOUR COMMENTS!
[…] – A Midsummer Night’s Dream Shanah – The Merchant of […]
Great choice! 😉
Thanks so much! And thanks for being a part of Calendar Girls! 😀
Thank you for sharing this awesome book club with us! I am enjoying it!
Aweeee I’m so glad you are! We’re so happy you heard about us and joined! 😀
[…] means (and if you don’t, go check out these two fabulous ladies and their fantastic blogs: Flavia and […]
Aweee yay! Glad we both did that because that makes us awesome 😉 hehe
Thanks for participating!! 😀
I don’t know about Shakespeare so much. But I know some his pieces such as the Romeo and Juliet. It’s really famous! But after I read your articles, I was interested in him more.
Yes, it’s hard to become exposed to Shakespeare unless you major in English or something. But I’m glad that you are more interested in him now! Also thank you for reading and commenting! 😀
Hehe no problem, it’s my job as host 😉 and it does look that way! But we won’t know until the votes are all in! Hehe
Awe that’s so nice of you! And I’ll go read your blog later today for sure 🙂
Thank you ! Happy to hear that! Looking forward to your comment!
I have always enjoyed a Midsummer night’s dream too it’s definitely one of my top 3 favourites. I read it for the first time in grade 9 and loved how nuts it was. I keep trying to thnk how one would do a modern day retelling and the closest I can come is a bad acid trip or something haha. I actually can’t think of anyone who has tried writing a modern day retelling of this one like they have with so many other of the Bard’s plays – can you think of any?
Hehe so glad that you like this one too, Lauren! It’s so much fun. And while looking for images for this post, I actually came across a modern-ish film adaptation for this play, haha. But it’s modern as in…there are still fairies, but the humans live in the modern world (or that’s what I got from the images anyway). And thank you, because you made me look into it again haha. Turns out it was a BBC tv movie? And I may just have to watch it now ;P here’s the link to the trailer! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHwS3Yb5p4I
Also, a modern modern version? With no magic? I would agree with you that psychedelic drugs would be necessary to make it believable! Or if you wanted to turn it into a psychological experiment film…or book….maybe something to do with hypnosis? I think a modern take would be interesting, no matter how they go about it 😉
Maybe I’ll give it a shot for Nanowrimo this year hah
Ohhhh! You should!!!
[…] Flavia – A Midsummer Night’s Dream Melanie – A Midsummer Night’s Dream Darque Dreamer – A Midsummer Night’s Dream Shanah – The Merchant of Venice Mandy – Much Ado About Nothing Thai – A Midsummer Night’s Dream Sophie – Romeo & Juliet Lauren – Twelfth Night Deanna – Hamlet Hahahaha! Flavia and I were quite sure there would be duplicates this month. However, we presumed they would be Romeo & Juliet or perhaps Macbeth (which wasn’t even chosen, by the way! ) Still, there was a range from comedy to tragedy and a wide spectrum of versatility among the choices! So, if you haven’t read much Shakespeare, this list might be a good place to start. By the way, if you haven’t had the chance to comment and discuss with other Calendar Girls about their pick, you can go and do so now. Just click a book cover or link above and it will take you right to that blogger’s post where you can leave a comment! Remember: It’s never too late to discuss books! ^.^ […]
[…] Calendar Girls #6 / March 2017 […]
[…] would like to see examples of past posts, you can look at Melanie and I’s June posts here and here, where the posts of other participants will also be listed. We’d love to have you join in the […]