Sofa Spotlight - The Merry Wives of Windsor, William Shakespeare

I think this might be the first one that hasn’t annoyed me in some way, and it might even have made me chuckle. Which is something I’ve been waiting to happen since I started reading these comedies! The basic plot follows Falstaff, a knight who is short on money. To solve his money problems he decides to court two married women, who are fairly wealthy. He sends them letters that are almost identical, and somehow not only do both the women work out his plan, but so do their husbands.

The wives lead Falstaff on a merry dance that ends up with him being attacked by fairies and all being put right at the end.  This was the first play where I was interested to find out what would happen. Full points for that, and I like plots that involve someone being hoist by their own petard, as it were. So this may not be the strongest of Shakespeare’s plays but I liked it, even if the characters may not have been the most morally upright.

Sofa Spotlight - And the Shofar Blew, Francine Rivers

 I don’t often read Christian fiction, and when I do, I don’t review it. So, this is a first for me. But there was something about this book that made me want to talk about it. When it comes to Francine Rivers I’ve not read much, in fact only the Mark of the Lion series, which was very different to this.

My biggest concern when I started reading this was that it would be dated and, if I’m honest, cringey. The book centres around Paul, the pastor of a mega church in the US, and his family. Paul starts off wanting to take a small, struggling church and use it to reach as many people as he can for God. Along the way he gets more than distracted and the focus shifts from building up God’s people to building his own reputation.

It didn’t take long for my opinion to change. And yes the book has a strong 90’s feel to it, and it’s American, but its message is bigger than those things. It gets to grips with the real struggles of pastoring a church and also how Christians do and should respond to inconsistencies that they see in the church and their pastor.

I thought this was a very well written, challenging novel. It doesn’t shy away from the nastier side of the church and provides a strong warning. I would put it down as a must read. Still not sure I like the title though!

Sofa Spotlight - Much Ado About Nothing, William Shakespeare

I’m in two minds about how I feel about my Shakespeare journey. Just when I think that I’m starting to enjoy his plays I meet ones that just baffle me and leave me regretting my decision. Much Ado about Nothing is one of those plays.

The plot follows to sets of lovers, Claudio and Hero and Beatrice and Benedick. Beatrice and Benedick are the more interesting of the two because they have decided to not marry ever but then it’s fun watching them fall in love. Claudio, on the other hand, seemed to be a bit of muppet when it comes to believing people, he should know better than to trust.

 But it all comes right in the end even for Claudio, who I don’t think didn’t really appreciate Hero enough. I didn’t enjoy this play as it seemed to be on the stressful side. But I could follow it so that puts it slightly higher in my estimation. Not sure I liked it enough to recommend it.

Sofa Spotlight - Love's Labour's Lost, William Shakespeare

So this one had very little effect on me. I apologise if you particularly love this play and I’m open to changing my mind if you can convince that I should pay it more attention. But honestly I didn’t really get what was going on, it was a bit hard to follow.

From what I understand it’s about a King and three of his friends decided that they are going to concentrate on studying for three years and therefore not have anything to do with women, and possibly they swear some kind of oath to this effect. It’s a case of speaking too soon though because all four of them manage to fall in love. Thankfully with different women. But there’s still the major confusion of who loves who, and who is saying what to who.

Like I say, not my favourite play so far on this journey. But maybe the next on will better. Also way too many apostrophes in the title.

Sofa Spotlight - The Comedy of Errors, William Shakespeare

Yet another of Shakespeare’s plays bites the dust. And this one I think would have been great if I could have bought into it. But I just didn’t find it that believable, and maybe the point is that you shouldn’t find it believable. If that’s the case it really was lost on me.

So the plot revolves around two sets of twins who don’t know that their corresponding twin exists. And just to add to the confusion they have the same name. So there is Antipholus of Ephesus and Antipholus of Syracuse and they each have a servant called Dromio and their servants are also, unknowingly, twins. The fun really starts when Antipholus of Syracuse shows up in Ephesus and then there’s loads of mistaken identity and everyone gets mad at each other and the Dromio brothers definitely get the short end of the deal. Of course it all gets sorted out in the end but it’s a bit of a farce, which is probably the point.

It comes in as one of the shortest plays Shakespeare wrote and all this drama takes place in just one day. Think I would recommend a read just for fun.

Sofa Spotlight - A Midsummer Night's Dream, William Shakespeare

Found this to be the most ridiculous play I’ve read yet. I know it has a lot going for it, but when you bring in fairies that are holding grudges and dragging humans into their squabbles, I get a bit put off. Bottom has the worst deal in my opinion.

Once again love triangles feature and then the fairies get involved and everything is up in the air. Hermia and Lysander want to get married, but there are complications. Demetrius also loves Hermia and Hermia’s father would quite like Demetrius to marry Hermia. But then Hermia’s friend Helena likes Demetrius, but of course he isn’t interested. And that’s just one of four plot lines that intersect at various points.

To be honest this wasn’t my favourite. It was alright but I didn’t really like any of the characters, other than maybe Puck. But it’s another one off my list and taken care of. Looks like I might be able achieve my goal this year. And the more I read of them the easier they are to understand. Maybe they improve on a second reading.

Sofa Spotlight - As You Like It, William Shakespeare

I think my head was spinning by the time I got to the end of this play. Everyone seems to get themselves into a bit of a pickle and thankfully it all comes right in the end. This play involves Frederick who has stolen the kingdom from his brother and exiled him (but has let his niece stay because she’s friends with his daughter). Which is how much of the trouble start.

There is also another pair of unhappy brothers; Oliver and Orlando. Rosalind is the beforementioned niece and she isn’t overly happy either. So, all the unhappy characters seem to run away to the forest of Arden and fall in love with one another, sometimes not realising who it is that they have fallen in love with.

This was another play that I enjoyed because it’s so ridiculous that of course it is funny. But there were also some great lines to be enjoyed (but it’s Shakespeare so no surprises there). As I work my way through these plays I have been enjoying recognising quotes that get used in everyday language. But the word play is clever and that I think is what I love about Shakespeare.