Updating my review because I just reread Hamlet. This second reading was fantastic. I did get a lot more from the reading even though it still took me a good number of days to read. This was mainly because i spent time reading and thinking about it all. I expect a future read will be even better, but I really loved this.

This is the second reading of a Shakespeare play following on from Macbeth.
As others have said, my school reading of Shakespeare put me off for 43 years. And during that time I honestly thought I would never read Shakespeare despite being given a truly beautiful set of Folio Society Shakespeare books some time ago.
Having been encouraged to give him another try by the Hardcore Literature group (on YouTube, Patreon and iTunes) and listening to Sir Patrick Steward readings of the sonnets, I have to say I feel I have wasted 43 years of reading time. This was 100% fantastic.
I just hadn’t realised how Shakespearean language and the plays structure our language, society and ideas today. I kept coming across sections or sentences that made me stop and just realign myself in the universe. Just an amazing read.
I know people say these plays should be seen and not read. But I disagree. I watched this in both the Kenneth Branagh film and in various YouTube performances before I read the play. Then I read the play, carefully, line by line making sure I understood each sentence before continuing. Then I watched the play performed again. Knowing exactly what each sentence meant really changed and amplified my appreciation beyond all description. Reading the play was a wonderful experience. It took me a few weeks but it was a pleasure to settle down and do this.
I used No Fear Shakespeare study guides and myshakespeare.com to help me when I was stuck and recommend doing that because context alone does not unlock some parts.