Only a librarian would call Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 a “classic horror novel.”
Only a librarian would call Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 a “classic horror novel.”
1) Yesterday, I played Rock Band at work. Yes, it was awesome. Yes, I let the teens play. I promise.
2) No blogging about running, you ask? I have not been running a lot lately. This whole being an adult and trying to negotiate a schedule that accommodates a 35 hour work week (plus online teaching) is exhausting and difficult. I’m slowly figuring out how to balance things again, which is including an acceptance of the things I can and cannot do.
3) My massive sunburn (earned on July 1st) is now gone for the most part. I’m done peeling and am only left with a bit of an itch. If I don’t think about it (which I obviously current am), then it is fine. When I think about it, it’s like trying not to think of pink elephants.
4) There are too many books about vampires out right now geared toward a young adult audience. No, this is not me taking a stand on the quality of subject matter available to young readers. It is me attempting to compile a list so people who are obsessed with Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series can find something else to read until a) their holds come in or b) the next book comes out.
5) Right now I’m wearing a Robin Hood “esque” hat. I’m not kidding. It’s mad hatter day at work. The other day, I had on groucho glasses. What worries me, however, is the following: a patron comes by and starts asking a question. She comments on my colleague’s hat, who points out I am wearing one too. The patron looks at me and remarks “Oh. I didn’t notice. The hat looks quite natural on you.” Thank you, dear patron. I’m off to put on green tights, dust off my bow and arrow, and steal from the rich.
6) Because it just happened: a bunch of well-dressed, attractive, business-type men just walked by. Yes, I still have the hat on. While I am not ashamed, these are the moments when I feel just a little ridiculous…and the moment is gone.
7) I am not a huge fan of even numbers, so really number seven has no point beyond me stating that fact.
Lately, I’ve been catching up on some much needed professional development (PD to all fellow library-journal (not LJ) junkies). It is surprising to note all of the changes in the library community (in North America and beyond) that I have been missing out on: mergers, acquisitions, bankruptcies, layoffs, staffing changes (why does it seem like so many major, public systems are looking for CEOs right now – and why can I not apply? J). Before we go any further, let’s establish that, yes, I know I am a geek.
Anyway, this morning, I was skimming through ALA’s American Libraries, and I came across an article about No Fear Shakespeare. Essentially, the idea of the site is to “translate” Shakespeare into “plain English.” Initially, the site seemed like a good idea to me. I’m really trying to embrace this “no everyone is not an English major” thing, and I’d like to be more accepting of the fact that a lot of people do not understand/get/enjoy the same types of literature that I do. I eagerly went to the site to check it out (after all, if I’m going to recommend it to anyone, I should probably look at it first). Since Romeo and Juliet is mentioned in the article, I thought I’d check it out first (no bad library-related pun intended):
The grammar is terrible. I won’t even bother going into detail. As promised, things are indeed loosely translated into plain English. That being said, I don’t know which version of English the delightful people at Spark Notes are using. The English language, as we know it now, lacks the proper words to fully articulate the sentiment of a Shakespearean play. I’m sorry, but “There was never a story more full of pain than the story of Romeo and Juliet” is not the same as “For never was a story of more woe/Than this of Juliet and her Romeo,” nor is “oh my!” and adequate substitute for “ay me!” Translating Shakespeare seems to me more than just a test of one’s ability to use a thesaurus. I know, I know…what did I expect from something put out by Spark Notes.
I just looked at one of Macbeth’s famous soliloquies. No more. This is ridiculous. Seriously, have a read. Yikes! The translation makes even less sense than the original?!?!?!? WHY?!?!?!?!? I need to stop.
Would I recommend this resource to a patron? I don’t know. I don’t trust that if I did recommend it that someone would sit down and pay attention to the Shakespearean lines, and something is really lost in the alleged translation. Perhaps it could be recommended with a HUGE FLASHING WARNING SIGN and a reminder that this is not Shakespeare. Good on the people at Spark Notes for trying. A solid boourns to them for not trying harder.
