Shakespeare is a legend, and his legendary characters and dialogues deserve to be a part of your inner world. From delectable romances to laugh-out-loud comedies, themes that explore the darker side of the human mind to tear-jerking tragedies– this list of Shakespeare books recommendations has got it all!
#1 The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare
About the book:
Title: The Merchant of Venice
Author: William Shakespeare
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Publisher: Folger Shakespeare Library
Type: Standalone
Pages: 337
Goodreads rating: 3.79/5
Antonio and Bassanio are best buds, and their love is so strong that Antonio will do anything for Bassanio. Bassanio is to travel far away from Venice to win the beautiful princess Portia’s hand and is in dire need of finances. Antonio swoops in to help, and when he says he’ll do anything for his friend, he’ll do anything. Even loan money from his arch nemesis Shylock. Shylock agrees to give him the amount, but on one condition. If Antonio isn’t able to return the money in time, Shylock will be eligible to take a pound of Antonio’s flesh from anywhere on his body. Will Antonio have to succumb to such a deadly bond? And is Shylock as much a villain as he seems?
Why should you read this play?
Read this play in any language—old English, modern English, not English—and you’re sure to be bowled over by the character Portia. Shakespeare has ensured that if there’s a “hero” in this story–it is her. The play also features one of the most moving speeches ever written in history, delivered by the so-called villain Shylock.
To buy/gift The Merchant of Venice, click on the below link:
#2 A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare
About the book:
Title: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Author: William Shakespeare
Genre: Romantic Comedy, Fantasy
Publisher: Folger Shakespeare Library
Type: Standalone
Pages: 240
Goodreads rating: 3.95/5
Hermia and Lysander wish to elope, so she doesn’t have to marry the vain Demetrius. Unfortunately, Hermia’s best friend, Helena, loves Demetrius enough to tell him his fiancé is running away. While the mortals are entangled in a love quadrangle, the king and queen of fairyland have run into marital troubles themselves. A love potion spell that was supposed to be for the fairy queen is also to be applied to Demetrius—to make him fall in love with poor Helena. Chaos ensues when it is mistakenly used on Lysander, and he falls in love with Helena. What will be the solution to this imbroglio? Will the characters get their happily ever after?
Why should you read this play?
A thoroughly magical and frivolous affair that is frivolous only superficially. The more you read between the lines, the more you understand the fickle nature of human behavior. A rib-tickling and fascinating plot with quirky characters thrown around will surely make for excellent reading.
To buy/gift A Midsummer Night’s Dream, click on the below link:
#3 The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare
About the book:
Title: The Comedy of Errors
Author: William Shakespeare
Genre: Comedy
Publisher: NTC
Type: Standalone
Pages: 112
Goodreads rating: 3.72/5
When Antipholus and his helper Dromio of Syracuse travel to the land of Ephesus, little do they know their long-lost twins, with the same names, live there. Because they look and sound the same, the families on the island often confuse them for each other. This leads to some hilarious situational comedy while the twins discover that they’re related to each other. But, their meeting has been orchestrated by their father for a reason. What is it?
Why should you read this play?
If not for anything else, read this play to find out where the term ‘comedy of errors’ originates. The plot is insane, to say the least, and yet wholly believable, made possible by Shakespeare’s comic timing. It is an enjoyable read.
To buy/gift The Comedy of Errors, click on the below link:
#4 Hamlet by William Shakespeare
About the book:
Title: Hamlet
Author: William Shakespeare
Genre: Tragedy, Drama
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Type: Standalone
Pages: 289
Goodreads rating: 4.03/5
Hamlet returns home after a long while to find his beloved father missing. He also comes back to witness his mother—with whom he shares a strange relationship; all loved up with her brother-in-law. His mental breakdown is further catalyzed when his mother and uncle get married. Yet, he never gives up on the search for his father. Slowly, the ground is pulled from under his feet when he realizes the people closest to him might have a hand in his father’s disappearance. What does he find out, and can he bring his father back?
Why should you read this play?
When Shakespeare goes over to the dark side, can he go dark? In today’s terminology, Hamlet would be labeled a dark psychological thriller. As Hamlet begins losing his mind, the world around him crumbles even more. It is a deep dive into human trauma, deceit, and the ever-confusing Oedipal complex. This is one of the best Shakespeare books.
To buy/gift Hamlet, click on the below link:
#5 The Tempest by William Shakespeare
About the book:
Title: The Tempest
Author: William Shakespeare
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Folger Shakespeare Library
Type: Standalone
Pages: 218
Goodreads rating: 3.80/5
What happens when your power-hungry, sociopathic brother designs a coup to oust you from your dukedom? Do you survive the lone island you’ve been dumped on along with your infant daughter? If you’re Prospero–the rightful Duke of Milan, you stay and mastermind even bigger revenge. The Tempest, created by Prospero’s magical abilities, manages to capsize the boat his brother Antonio and his subordinates are on. They swim to the island, looking for help, and Prospero’s plan unravels. He will stop at nothing to make them suffer, but the question remains—what will he achieve out of this? Will he be able to reconquer his dukedom?
Why should you read this play?
Famously known as the very last play Shakespeare ever penned, it acts like an ode and a goodbye to his audience. Prospero personifies Shakespeare, and often when Prospero speaks his dialogues, it seems like Shakespeare is talking through him to the audience. The play may not have the most satisfying or logical ending, but it is worth a read because of the way Shakespeare has employed the concept of magic to convey so many themes. This is one of the best Shakespeare books.
To buy/gift The Tempest, click on the below link:
#6 Othello by William Shakespeare
About the book:
Title: Othello
Author: William Shakespeare
Genre: Tragedy, Drama
Publisher: Folger Shakespeare Library
Type: Standalone
Pages: 314
Goodreads rating: 3.90/5
There was once a king; there was once a queen. They both died, and their story became something that once had been. You could summarise Othello like this, but this would be doing its depth a disservice. The “king” in question here is Othello–a celebrated army general, and the “queen” is Desdemona–a senator’s daughter. They fall in love, but against her father’s and society’s wishes because Othello is, after all, a moor—a black man. When Othello decides not to promote Iago–his right-hand man—to the position of his chief lieutenant, his jealousy turns him into a green-eyed monster.
Why should you read this play?
One of my favorite works of literature, Othello, is the definition of tragedy. Iago’s character has been masterfully written, and the schemes he comes up with to wreak havoc make him one of the vilest villains. Othello and Desdemona’s love is pure and sweet but insecure. And it is heart-wrenching to see their romance suffer the way it does. You are sure to shed a tear or two when the book ends, so—keep a box of chocolates handy!
To buy/gift Othello, click on the below link:
#7 Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
About the book:
Title: Romeo and Juliet
Author: William Shakespeare
Genre: Romance, Drama, Tragedy
Publisher: Folger Shakespeare Library
Type: Standalone
Pages: 281
Goodreads rating: 3.74/5
Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet belong to families with a legacy of hateful rivalry. They meet serendipitously, and their love affair famously begins via a rose-laden balcony. But trouble awaits in paradise when their families do everything they can to separate them. Romeo and Juliet fight against the odds, but for how long? Can they escape their determined fate? And what exactly is engraved in their future—only tragedy or love?
Why should you read this play?
What can be said about the ones who’ve never read Shakespeare and know its story inside out? The play is iconic and has some of the most beautiful lines of love poetry. Read it to discover what actually transpired between Romeo and Juliet and indulge in critiquing it unabashedly if you want. What are two thirteen-year-olds doing falling and dying in love?! This is one of the best Shakespeare books.
To buy/gift Romeo and Juliet, click on the below link:
#8 Sonnet 18: Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day by William Shakespeare
About the book:
Title: Shakespeare’s Sonnets
Author: William Shakespeare
Genre: Poetry
Publisher: Arden Shakespeare
Type: Standalone
Pages: 488
Goodreads rating:4.25/5
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date;
Sometimes too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm’d;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm’d;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st;
Nor shall death brag thou wander’st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
Why should you read this sonnet?
A sonnet that compares the poet’s muse to not just a summer day–but something far more perennial than that, is all things romantic and mushy. This is one of the best Shakespeare books.
To buy/gift Shakespeare’s Sonnets, click on the below link:
#9 Sonnet 130: My Mistress’ Eyes are Nothing Like the Sun by William Shakespeare
About the book:
Title: Shakespeare’s Sonnets
Author: William Shakespeare
Genre: Poetry
Publisher: Arden Shakespeare
Type: Standalone
Pages: 488
Goodreads rating:4.25/5
My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips’ red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damasked, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground.
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare.
Why should you read this sonnet?
Another poem that attempts to explain the off-beat beauty of the poet’s lover might just be more about the poet and his perceptions of love rather than the love of his life. This is one of the best Shakespeare books.
To buy/gift Shakespeare’s Sonnets, click on the below link:
#10 Sonnet 116: Let Me Not to the Marriage of Two Minds by William Shakespeare
About the book:
Title: Shakespeare’s Sonnets
Author: William Shakespeare
Genre: Poetry
Publisher: Arden Shakespeare
Type: Standalone
Pages: 488
Goodreads rating:4.25/5
Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove.
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wand’ring bark,
Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken.
Love’s not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle’s compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me prov’d,
I never writ, nor no man ever lov’d.
Why should you read this sonnet?
A brave outlook on what real love entails, this is another brilliant insight into what Shakespeare perceived love to be. Love that is steadfast and all-encompassing!
To buy/gift Shakespeare’s Sonnets, click on the below link:
So to conclude, here’s a list of best Shakespeare Books
| 1. | The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare | Buy Now |
| 2. | A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare | Buy Now |
| 3. | The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare | Buy Now |
| 4. | Hamlet by William Shakespeare | Buy Now |
| 5. | The Tempest by William Shakespeare | Buy Now |
| 6. | Othello by William Shakespeare | Buy Now |
| 7. | Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare | Buy Now |
| 8. | Shakespeare’s Sonnets by William Shakespeare | Buy Now |
| 9. | Shakespeare’s Sonnets by William Shakespeare | Buy Now |
| 10. | Shakespeare’s Sonnets by William Shakespeare | Buy Now |
Read every book on this list. I am sure it won’t disappoint you.
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