Penguin Books Blog » The Madness Continues

John Van De Ruit Prepares To Launch His Third Book Spud – Learning To Fly

admin — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 08:23:14 +0000

John van de Ruit, author of Spud and Spud ~ The Madness Continuesâ€¦, will soon be launching his third book titled Spud ~ Learning to Fly on the 10th June. This time Spud returns to take on one of Shakespeareâ€™s most popular comedies, A Midsummer Nightâ€™s Dream. This much anticipated book promises to be as wickedly funny, entertaining and engaging as his first two books.

Penguin Books has re-launched the Spud micro-site which now features a Travel Blog by John van de Ruit. The blog chronicles Johnâ€™s current back-packing travels through Asia by means of journal entries for bloggers to enjoy, make comments about and track his travels. The micro-site also features a link to a Facebook Group called Spud- The Official Group. This is where Spud fans and friends can share posts, pictures and participate in discussions while being kept up to date of all the latest developments.

To visit the Spud micro-site go to www.spud.penguinbooks.co.za

To read Johnâ€™s Travel Blog click here

John van de Ruit – Spud Learning to Fly Book Launch ...
John van de Ruit launches Spud- Learning to Fly to a cold but cheerful crowd! Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â The Pre-Publication launch of John van de Ruit’s book...
A letter from Spud author John van de Ruit 12 January 2011 A THOUSAND MILES WITH HENRY CHARLES BUKOWSKI...

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John van de Ruit – Journal Entry – April 1

admin — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 10:09:48 +0000

KUALA LUMPUR (Malaysia) 1st APRIL

71 DAYS to launch

Happy April fools day y’all! SinceÂ my job is to make people laugh and to distract them from their daily lives with idiotic nonsense, i shall therefore desist from attempting an April fool’s joke about myself. Options i considered were:

I’m not coming back.

I’m having a sex change.

I’m racing in Sunday’s Malaysian Grand Prix

I’ve plagiarised Spud, Learning to Fly.

Penguin Books has gone bankrupt.

I’ve bought a brothel.

Macaulay Culkin is playing Spud in the movie!

So back to Malaysia.Â I find myself in the steamy equatorial capital of KL! Okay i thought Durban in February was worth moaning about, but this is a whole different ball game! The taxi driver who ferried us from the airport to the centre of the city yesterday morning was a lively character. He told Julia and I that we were extremely pale Africans and tried to out us as dinkum Aussies! Luckily we found some common ground discussing the Cape Malay culture and the evils of the global economy. He refused to open up about Malaysian politics, which made me immediately suspicious that he may be an undercover Malaysian booktrade operative. When he finally asked me what i did for a living to allow for a 2 month holiday, this is what followed.

MEÂ Â I write books

TAXIÂ Â Â What books?

MEÂ Â Funny books.

TAXI (Laughing hysterically for no apparent reason) Oh funny books!

MEÂ Â It’s set in a boarding school.

TAXIÂ Â Oh Harry Potter!

MEÂ Â Â Except without the magic.

TAXIÂ No magic?

MEÂ Â None.

TAXIÂ Â Nothing?

ME No magic.

The taxi driver doesn’t look impressed and falls silent for the remainder of the journey.

So there we were last night sittingÂ at a sidewalk cafe, drinking Tiger beer, and devouring beef cantonese whilst watching the passing trade ofÂ this bustling Asian city. I love this place. I love cruising the streets at night with no other goal but to drink it all in. The foot massage was also a triumph – i could feel the stress and tension of a year behind the laptop leaving my body. It kind of made me want to whistleÂ or perhaps sing a loud hymn in the streets. Unfortunately my sleeping times are shot being 6hrs ahead of SA and all. I only fell asleep at 4am this morning and awoke at 1400. Hopefully that rectifies itself soon because i’m losing out on free breakfasts.

So tonight it’s into Chinatown to check out theÂ throbbing underbelly of KL. On Friday morning we leave for Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia where our backpacking begins in earnest. I’ll catch up with you there, and hopefully shall have some exciting news about Spud the Movie to share with you.

You all be good
love
J

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John van de Ruit

admin — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 07:28:00 +0000

John van de Ruit was born in Durban and educated at Michaelhouse and the University of Natal (now KwaZulu-Natal) where he completed his Masters Degree (Cum laude) in Drama and Performance studies. John has performed in a number of productions and highlights which include title roles in Hamlet and Master Haroldâ€¦ and the Boys and appearing in his own play War Cry for which he received a best actor FNB VITA award nomination. He has also been seen in Greig Coetzee’s Seeing Red and Athol Fugard’s, People are Living There, for which he received a FNB VITA award nomination.

He has also starred in an independent film called, I Shot Lucy and an ABC docudrama Global Health, due to be screened in America. Together with actor Ben Voss he received the Johannesburg Naledi award for best comedy performance for Green Mamba (2004). Most recently, together with Ben Voss, he has been nominated for best performance in a comedy or revue for his performance in Black Mamba.

As a writer, John has won a number of awards including an FNB VITA award for best script and the Noupoort award for new writing, both for his play War Cry. He has also won two awards for his co-writing of Green Mamba. In 2004 he directed, produced and wrote his second full length play Crooked which premiÃ¨red at the 2004 Hilton Festival. The long awaited Mamba sequel opened in July 2005 when Black Mamba premiered at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown to both critical and popular acclaim. In May 2006, Black Mamba toured The Liberty Theatre in Johannesburg, The National Arts Festival in Grahamstown the Heritage Theatre in Hillcrest before embarking on a tour to London.

His first novel, Spud, published by Penguin Books and launched nationally in September 2005, became an instant bestseller. The book was selected for the Exclusive Books Publishersâ€™ Choice Campaign 2005 and in August 2006, Spud won the prestigious Booksellers’ Choice Award.

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