The Complete Works of William Shakespeare [Abriaged] - Adam Long, Daniel Singer, & Jess Winfield

To begin this post ... I guess I should admit my overly ambitious nature. I was entirely planning to read all 6 Jane Austen novels for the month of February. And I had a good start when I read Sense & Sensibility and Northanger Abbey in essentially a weekend. Then I got tired of reading after that. I didn't pick up a book until two weeks latter. I am in the middle of Emma but I soon realized that I was not going to finish 3 more books, let alone 4 books in a matter of days when most days I had previous engagements already planned.

So I went to plan B.

I read 3 plays. I love these plays so it was good. Theater is one of my true loves. I remember for 10 years we would go to the Shakespearean Festival in Stratford, Canada. Usually it was for weekend trips, but some years we only went to one play. But I loved it. I was 8 when we first started. I can still see in my minds eye the beautiful sets of The King and I, the costumes of A Midsummer Night's Dream, and the cast of A Much Ado About Nothing. And those are just the first ones that come to my mind. I grew up on theater. It helped that my mom got her Master's in Theater while I was in middle school. Me and my sister use to go with her to Eastern Michigan University to her classes. We played theater games for FHE. It's in my blood.

And this play ... well, I don't know how I first got introduced to it. I think it was a conversation once that I had with an aunt maybe. Where they mentioned that there was a group who did something like a shortened Shakespeare play. That was the first I heard of it. And then I think one of my high schools did it as a school play. Anyway ... flash forward to when I am at school. For some reason, this play comes back to my mind and I buy it on a whim.

I love this book - because it is more of a diving board of ideas than anything else. It is one example of how to have fun with Shakespeare. At times it gets a little raunchy, a little gory - but what Shakespeare play isn't?!?! The first time I read it I thought how funny it would be to do it at BYU ... with a Mormon twist. I love this play just because it is the beginning step to a whole lot of ideas. It's an inspiration. It's a really quick read (one of the reasons I chose to read it. I got it out in a baby sitting appointment).

Final Score: 4 out of 5 stars