Moby Dick Read-A-Long Introductory Post

As you can see, I have entered in on another read-a-long of a yet another long book.  But fortunately the chapters, while there are a lot of them, are fairly short.  I know its nuts of me to read another long book while I am still reading something like War & Peace, but considering that it is on my Classic Club list, I thought I would give it a go.  And hey, its half the size of War & Peace.  Reading in Bed has more information on her blog and you can by going to Reading in Bed to sign up.

Here is the schedule:

• Start date and Introductory Post: Monday, May 20th, 2013. 
• Etymology + Chapters 1-15: May 27th
• Chapters 16-30: June 3
• Chapters 31-45: June 10
• Chapters 46-60: June 17
• Chapters 61-75: June 24
• Chapters 76-90: July 1
• Chapters 91-105: July 8
• Chapters 106-120: July 15
• Chapters 121-136 + Epilogue : July 22

I hope you can join me as I read this.

Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Title: Crime and Punishment
Author: Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Pages: 720
Published: 203 (first published 1866)
Genre: Classics
Challenges: Book Blogger Recommendations, Chunkster, Embarrassment of Riches, Off the Shelf, Tea & Books
Edition: Paperback
Source: Personal

Description: 'Crime? What crime?...My killing a loathsome, harmful louse, a filthy old moneylender woman...and you call that a crime?'

Raskolnikov, a destitute and desperate former student, wanders through the slums of St Petersburg and commits a random murder without remorse or regret. He imagines himself to be a great man, a Napoleon: acting for a higher purpose beyond conventional moral law. But as he embarks on a dangerous game of cat and mouse with a suspicious police investigator, Raskolnikov is pursued by the growing voice of his conscience and finds the noose of his own guilt tightening around his neck. Only Sonya, a downtrodden prostitute, can offer the chance of redemption. (via Goodreads)

Thoughts: So glad that this book is done!!  I first started this book about a year and a half ago for a bookclub that I belong to and I wasn't able to finish the book, no matter how much I tried to get the book completed.  I don't know what it was, but it probably had to do with the fact that I was running out of time to complete the book at the time and I was at the point when Raskolnikov was at his lowest and the novel was at its darkest.  But when Wallace at Unputdownables put it up for a readalong, I knew I had to do it.  I always knew it was a matter of not if, but when I would complete the book. 

And quite honestly, I was glad I did read the book.  True a lot of the book is about Raskolnikov and his descent into madness, but it also about how those around Raskolnikov are affected by his descent and how his health deteriorates as a result of his descent.  And quite honestly it is a book that I can rest to bed and may pick up later, but I highly doubt it.

Bottom line: Its a long and dark book and if you aren't into that type of book, I would probably avoid it, but if you like books that are dark and deep, I would recommend this to you.  You may want to quit reading the book and feel like you are descending in the same way that Raskolnikov does and that is quite natural, but it is an interesting study on the human condition and how sometimes just the smallest thing can set a person off.  Highly recommended.

Rating: 4/5

Pages for 2013: 5814

The Hobbit Readalong

(if you click on the photo, it clicks to the sign up page)

Wallace over at The Unputdownables is hosting a readalong for The Hobbit.  This has been a book that I have been wanting to read for quite some time, which I think was right around the time that the LOTR movies came out about 10 years ago.  At the time, new editions of the 3 book set, along with the rest of Tolkien's books came out and couldn't resist getting the new editions (I have the full set of LOTR books, but they are still unread).

I am going to post what she has posted over on her site and please read the ENTIRE post.  Its actually quite a doable book, as most copies of the book are between 300-400 pages (mine is about 310) and has less than 40 chapters.  I hope you can join me (the information posted below can be found at The Unputdownables)

Schedule:

Beginning Friday, November 3rd and ending Friday, December 28th. 

READING SCHEDULE:

Week #/ Where to Stop (For example, in week one STOP and place your bookmark at Chapter III.)

Week One/ Chapter III
Week Two/ Chapter VI
Week Three/ Chapter VII
Week Four/ Chapter IX
Week Five/ Chapter XI
Week Six/ Chapter XIII
Week Seven/ Chapter XVI
Week Eight/ The End

POSTING SCHEDULE:

Post #/ date post should be up on blog:

Start up Post/ Today!
Week One/ November 9th
Week Two/ November 16th
Week Three/ November 23rd
Week Four/ November 30th
Week Five/ December 7th
Week Six/ December 14th
Week Seven/ December 21st
Week Eight/ December 28th (Final Review)

** Please don’t forget to come to this blog each week to share your thoughts in the comments section of the weekly Read-a-Long discussion (see below for more information).**

How it Works:

1. Each week, on Friday, I will post my thoughts about the week’s reading. You will have from Friday through the following Thursday to post yours. If you are stuck on what to comment about, you can respond to my post or others’ comments. Regardless, you MUST check in each week (two weeks without a response and you will be taken off of the list — see below for details on why). You may have only one “off week” (which may not be the last week of reading for obvious reasons) and still be kept on the list, but you must let me know in the comment section by saying something like, “This is my off week — I am catching up!” Please note that, in order to be counted, your offering to the discussion must be about the current weeks’ reading, not about past weeks. ***For all week’s discussions please refrain from posting ahead, even if you have read ahead, as to not spoil the book for others***
2. As these Read-a-Longs grow, so do the amount of people who participate – yay, all the more fun!!! Also, all the more keeping track of who is still reading. As you know – if you have been absent from discussion for two weeks, you will be removed from the list. However, now, in order to get back on the list, you need to a.) Have missed no more than two weeks of discussion, b.) Let me know you would like to be on the list again, and c.) Consistently be part of the discussion for the next two weeks after requesting to be put back on the list. Am I trying to be mean? Absolutely not! I LOVE having you all read a long. It is, however, a lot of work to keep track of who’s still reading, and to keep taking names off and putting them back on the list. Most importantly though,  consistency is good for the group; we tend to get to know each other through discussions and rely on the conversation to keep us reading. I don’t do these read-a-longs to gain followers; I do them because the benefit of reading certain books with a group of dedicated people is often superior to reading them alone. But reading with undedicated people is worst of all, which is why I care less about numbers and more about dedication to the book and the discussions. (Bonus, at the end of the year I tally those who have done multiple read-a-longs and they get honorable mention on the Read-a-Longs page and a chance to enter for the 2012 Read-a-Long Prize — it’s going to be GOOD!.)
3. If you are a blogger you may post a link to your blog if you are posting about each of the each week’s reading. If I, or other readers, have extra time we will gladly try to visit your blog; however, you must make sure to share your thoughts here on this blog, and be part of the main conversation or your comment will not be counted.
4. Comments from the previous week’s reading will be closing Thursday afternoon (before the next discussion takes place on Friday). If you would like to be part of the discussion, please remember to comment before then.

Happy reading

Wuthering Heights Readalong

I am doing a readalong for September and October through Unputdownables.  Its actually pretty an easy reading schedule, which I am going to post below.  If you wish to join, you can click the cover and sign up.  Be sure to read through the ENTIRE post, as they mention some things about the readalong that you will want to take note of. I hope that you will join me.

Schedule:

Beginning Friday, September 1st and ending Friday, October 26th. 

READING SCHEDULE:

Week #/ Where to Stop (For example, in week one STOP and place your bookmark at Chapter V.)

Week One/ Chapter V
Week Two/ Chapter X
Week Three/ Chapter XII
Week Four/ Chapter XVI
Week Five/ Chapter XX
Week Six/ Chapter XXIV
Week Seven/ Chapter XXX
Week Eight/ The End

Post #/ date post should be up on blog:

Start up Post/ Today!
Week One/ September 7th
Week Two/ September 14th
Week Three/ September 21st
Week Four/ September 28th
Week Five/ October 5th
Week Six/ October 12th
Week Seven/ October 19th
Week Eight/ October 26th (Final Review)

Bleak House Read-Along Starting Post

I got an email yesterday about a readalong for Bleak House and didn't know what to do because I am also supposed to be reading other stuff for other challenges and have yet to get reading them.  I suppose it doesn't help that I have been trying to get ebooks from the library (and regular books as well) completed. So hence I was a little hesitant to start yet another one.

I have been wanting to read Bleak House for a while and after a few hours away from the computer, I thought I would do it after all.  I am going to be reading the etext from Gutenburg, but marking my progress with the Penguin Classics version (pictured next to the text).  Here is a quick synopsis of the book from unputdownables.net:

Often considered Charles Dickens’s masterpiece, Bleak House blends together several literary genres—detective fiction, romance, melodrama, and satire—to create an unforgettable portrait of the decay and corruption at the heart of English law and society in the Victorian era.

Opening in the swirling mists of London, the novel revolves around a court case that has dragged on for decades—the infamous Jarndyce and Jarndyce lawsuit, in which an inheritance is gradually devoured by legal costs. As Dickens takes us through the case’s history, he presents a cast of characters as idiosyncratic and memorable as any he ever created, including the beautiful Lady Dedlock, who hides a shocking secret about an illegitimate child and a long-lost love; Mr. Bucket, one of the first detectives to appear in English fiction; and the hilarious Mrs. Jellyby, whose endless philanthropy has left her utterly unconcerned about her own family.

As a question of inheritance becomes a question of murder, the novel’s heroine, Esther Summerson, struggles to discover the truth about her birth and her unknown mother’s tragic life. Can the resilience of her love transform a bleak house? And—more devastatingly—will justice prevail? (via goodreads.com)

My intent is to post every Friday my thoughts on the reading.  Here’s the reading schedule for the read-along:

Week #/ dates :: Place in which to STOP
Week One/ February 24- March 1 :: Chapter 6
Week Two/ March 2-8 :: Chapter 10
Week Three/ March 9-15 ::Chapter 15
Week Four/ March 16-22 :: Chapter 20
Week Five/ March 23- 29 :: Chapter 24
Week Six/ March 30- April 5 :: Chapter 30
Week Seven/ April 6-12 :: Chapter 34
Week Eight/ April 13-19 :: Chapter 39
Week Nine/ April 20-26 :: Chapter 45
Week Ten/ April 27- May 3 :: Chapter 51
Week Eleven/ May 4- 10 :: Chapter 56
Week Twelve/ May 11-17 :: Chapter 61
Week Thirteen/ May 18-24 :: The End

If you’d like to sign up for this read-along, please visit the starting post here!

The Great Gatsby Readalong - Sign up post

I wasn't going to do this, but when trying to set up my various heavier books for the year so that I can get them out of the way as soon as possible, I thought maybe I would get this one out of the way asap, especially since the book is on a number of my reading challenges for the year.

Here are the details for the readalong:

From Unputdownables:

The following is the reading and posting schedule for this read-a-long. Please note, we will be reading roughly 45 pages per week (about 6 pages a day). Unfortunately, there are not very clean breaks (i.e. ending at chapter breaks) this time, so we’ll always be ending in the middle of chapters… feel free to read ahead if you are on a roll, or at least read to the next natural breaking point. That said, please note that not everyone will be doing so, and I ask that you do not comment on things that happen outside of the scheduled reading (i.e. no spoilers, please). Thanks!

Schedule:

Beginning Thursday, December 29th and ending Friday, January 27th.
READING SCHEDULE:

Week #/ dates :: Place in which to STOP
Week One/ December 29- January 5 :: page 45
Week Two/ January 6- 12 :: page 90
Week Three/ January 13- 19 :: page 135
Week Four/ January 20- 27 :: page 180 (The End)
POSTING SCHEDULE:
Post #/ date post should be up on blog:
Start up Post/ Today!
Week One/ January 6th
Week Two/ January 13th
Week Three/ January 20th
Week Four/ January 27th (Final Review)

How it Works:

1. Each week, on Friday, share your thoughts about the previous week’s reading. If you are stuck on what to comment about, you can respond to my post or others’ comments. Regardless, you MUST check in each week, even if to say you are behind in the reading
2. Feel free to post reviews of the each week’s reading on your own blog (if you are a blogger), and to visit each other’s links. If I, or other readers, have extra time we will gladly try to visit your blog if you also leave a link to your post about this book. However, please make sure to share your thoughts here on this blog, as this is where the main conversation will be happening.

 This will be my first time reading the book.

Chunkster Readalong - Les Miserables, 2012

As some of you are aware, I am a sucker for challenges, especially reading challenges and this one appealed to me on a number of levels, but mostly because Les Miserables is on my TBR list (and has been for a number of years, basically almost 2 decades) and I have planned to read it during the year and quite honestly, I really do need to get it out of the way and crossed off the list.  So this is the perfect way to get it off the list.

If you wish to join (I have seen the reading schedule and quite honestly its doable), you can click Cosette and sign up over at Kate's Library.  

Every week I will be updating my thoughts about the 20 pages that I have read.  Hope you join up.

Bag of Bones read-a-long

Michelle from Castle Macabre is hosting it in anticipation of the A&E mini series on the book that will start in December.   I have never read a Stephen King book, so this will be my first Stephen King book; hopefully I won't get too many nightmares.

If you wish to sign up, you can do so here.  Here is the reading schedule:

• November 13-19--Chapter 1 - 9
• November 20-26--Chapter 10 - 15
• November 27-December 3--Chapter 16 - 21
• December 4-10--Chapter 22 - End

It basically amounts to about 125 pages a week.  More information is on the site.  Hope you can join.  I am going to see how much I can read, due to the fact that I have a ton of 2-week books coming in from the library in the next few days and have to read Crime and Punishment, but we'll see how far I can get.