Congratulations on your achievement! I've recently joined Simon's read-a-long group and looking at my copy of War & Peace right now! I'll be able to also say I've read it this time next year! :)
Yes, I did both! And found my year immeasurably enriched by both experiences. Simon Haisell's weekly posts provide context and insight. He's a brilliant writer and thinker. Without his posts & the group's chat threads, I'd have been likely to tear through the Cromwell trilogy, gulping it down, and I doubt I'd have stuck with Tolstoy long enough to fall fully in love. Knowing I had a whole year to slowly savor the novels removed any kind of internal pressure, and the riches offered in the weekly posts (and for Tolstoy, the daily chat threads) kept me engaged despite a year full of distractions. I didn't post in the daily chats—I have to save writing time for my work—but I looked forward to reading them after my W&P chapter each morning. I'm going to read this year's new picks with F&T (beginning in Jan with The Siege of Krishnapur, I think), as well as the War and Peace readalong once again. I *think* I'll take a year off Cromwell? Feeling rather raw about him. (In a good way—gosh what a feat those books are!)
Plus there's the fun of discovering what's in store in the Frizzlit Book Club!
Ok. You have inspired me. Someday I’d like to do a War and Peace read along, but this is not that season.
I’m still iffy on Wolf Hall, though. I got mad at the character assassination of my beloved Thomas More the first time I tried to read the book and I just couldn’t go on.
I’m jumping into the Wolf Crawl for 2025. I tried reading Wolf Hall years ago and the timing wasn’t right…adding in the historical context and group reading (not to mention not being in the thick of homeschooling!) is definitely giving me more hope for success. Looking forward to it and thanks for sharing about this! I’m a sucker for a deep read and discussion (only wish I had realized this in college…really missed out on taking more liberal arts classes!)
Thank you, Melissa, for trumpeting the WAR AND PEACE slow read at F&T. I have just started and gifted subscriptions to some family members, which makes it even sweeter. I’ll also read TOLSTOY TOGETHER. I’m also reading THE ILIAD and ODYSSEY with Matthew Long’s Deep Reads Book Club. The suggested translation was in my son’s pile of abandoned books and I took it as a sign. If I learned anything reading MIDDLEMARCH @ Frizzlit with you, it’s that reading slowly with equally invested readers is the only way to go. I wanted to pass on something that you might find of interest, if you don’t already know about it: the Catherine Project. The deadline for Spring 2025 has passed, but check it out. Happy 2025!
Congratulations on your achievement! I've recently joined Simon's read-a-long group and looking at my copy of War & Peace right now! I'll be able to also say I've read it this time next year! :)
Congratulations! I am thinking about doing it in 2025. But weren’t you doing the Wolfcrawl, too?
Yes, I did both! And found my year immeasurably enriched by both experiences. Simon Haisell's weekly posts provide context and insight. He's a brilliant writer and thinker. Without his posts & the group's chat threads, I'd have been likely to tear through the Cromwell trilogy, gulping it down, and I doubt I'd have stuck with Tolstoy long enough to fall fully in love. Knowing I had a whole year to slowly savor the novels removed any kind of internal pressure, and the riches offered in the weekly posts (and for Tolstoy, the daily chat threads) kept me engaged despite a year full of distractions. I didn't post in the daily chats—I have to save writing time for my work—but I looked forward to reading them after my W&P chapter each morning. I'm going to read this year's new picks with F&T (beginning in Jan with The Siege of Krishnapur, I think), as well as the War and Peace readalong once again. I *think* I'll take a year off Cromwell? Feeling rather raw about him. (In a good way—gosh what a feat those books are!)
Plus there's the fun of discovering what's in store in the Frizzlit Book Club!
Ok. You have inspired me. Someday I’d like to do a War and Peace read along, but this is not that season.
I’m still iffy on Wolf Hall, though. I got mad at the character assassination of my beloved Thomas More the first time I tried to read the book and I just couldn’t go on.
I’m impressed! Pretty sure I would read it at a Snoopy pace 😂
I’m jumping into the Wolf Crawl for 2025. I tried reading Wolf Hall years ago and the timing wasn’t right…adding in the historical context and group reading (not to mention not being in the thick of homeschooling!) is definitely giving me more hope for success. Looking forward to it and thanks for sharing about this! I’m a sucker for a deep read and discussion (only wish I had realized this in college…really missed out on taking more liberal arts classes!)
Thank you, Melissa, for trumpeting the WAR AND PEACE slow read at F&T. I have just started and gifted subscriptions to some family members, which makes it even sweeter. I’ll also read TOLSTOY TOGETHER. I’m also reading THE ILIAD and ODYSSEY with Matthew Long’s Deep Reads Book Club. The suggested translation was in my son’s pile of abandoned books and I took it as a sign. If I learned anything reading MIDDLEMARCH @ Frizzlit with you, it’s that reading slowly with equally invested readers is the only way to go. I wanted to pass on something that you might find of interest, if you don’t already know about it: the Catherine Project. The deadline for Spring 2025 has passed, but check it out. Happy 2025!