"I have never read a single book from Shakespeare, completely."

So I had an interesting conversation with a coworker yesterday when he discovered this blog.  The above quote is his.  I wasn’t quite sure how to follow that.  He is in fact from a different country (India), but still, I think I was under the impression that just about every modern school system in the world had some exposure to Shakespeare. So, what would you say?  I don’t think it’s appropriate to just jump in and say “Oh, well then, it’s Romeo and Juliet for you!  Right now, get started!  Come back when you can discuss Queen Mab.”  Especially not without the benefit of a teacher who is going to stop you after every scene, answer your questions, and make sure you’re getting the general idea.  I suggested he make it a point to go see some Shakespeare, and showed him Bard in Boston as a great place to start.  And I lent him my copy of Bryson’s Shakespeare biography.  If he likes that, I’ve got plenty of others to show him….