Are you intimidated by reading the "classics"? I am. Most classics are really long books, so I worry about ever finishing them. I worry that they're difficult to read and understand. What if I don't 'get' them? What if I think they're boring?I recently watched the movie trailer for the upcoming film adaptation of Anna Karenina by Leo Toltoy [Thanks for the heads up, Brie!] and knew straight away that I wanted to see this film when it hits theaters in November. I was instantly swept away by the scenery, costumes and of course, the romantic drama. I had no idea! I admit I don't know very much about the time and place in which this story takes place, but I'm willing to learn!
Like any good bibliophile, however, I know I ought to read the book before seeing the film adaptation. I tweeted that I was considering reading Anna Karenina before the movie comes out and chatted with a few people about it. One of these people was Fay who blogs at Blog A Book Etc... Fay was having the same thoughts about Anna Karenina, so right away we thought of reading it together. We figure we can't be the only two readers interested in reading Anna Karenina but hesitant to dive in for one reason or another, so voilá! We're co-hosting an Anna Karenina Read-Along! Talk about commitment, right? [Fay is wonderfully enthusiastic.. ]
We would love it if you would join us as we read and chat about Anna Karenina between now and Dec. 22, 2012. The movie adaptation releases in theaters throughout the US on November 9, 2012. Not quite enough time to finish a read-along of the book before then, but let's get started and see how it goes.
Our suggested reading schedule below is based on the eight sections of the book, about 100 pages each. Of course, you are free to read at your own pace and join in on the discussion when you can, but if you do read ahead, we ask that you refrain from discussing anything in the book beyond what the schedule dictates in each weekly discussion post. It wouldn't be cool to spoil the reading experience for everyone else.
Part I Oct 28-Nov 3
Part II Nov 4-Nov 10
Part III Nov 11 - Nov 17
Part IV Nov 18 - Nov 24
Part V Nov 25 - Dec 1
Part VI Dec 2 - Dec 8
Part VII Dec 8 - Dec 15
Part VIII Dec 16 - Dec 22
If you have a blog, it would be great if you could make an announcement post on your blog to help spread the word. Otherwise, feel free to join in by leaving a comment below and include any links to where we can find you--goodreads, twitter, etc.
Feel free to grab one of the Read-Along buttons Faye and I have created [we used PicMonkey.com] to post on your blog. We're still working out how we're going to host the weekly discussion posts, but we'll likely alternate weeks on our respective blogs.
AND.. .for those of you on goodreads, we have an Anna-Karenina Read-Along Group there, open to anyone. Did I mention Fay is enthusiastic? ;)
We hope you'll join us!
Follow along with us on twitter using the hashtag #AnnaKareninaRA
Have you read Anna Karenina?
ooh a read a long sounds like fun! Count me in!!
ReplyDeleteYay!!! Sarai, I'm so excited you're joining!!! :))
ReplyDeleteYeah just found it on the kindle and I am doing a reading of the hobbit so that will be a nice switch back and forth LOL heavy and then light. I thought I would put my post on My Favorite Things and hope that it becomes one
ReplyDelete:P I haven't read Anna Karenina since I was 13 - I went through a Russian phase when I was in the eight grade and I read some Tolstoi and Dostoyevsky - and I mostly remember it was long. LOL And very vague stuff from the movie from the mid-nineties.
ReplyDelete:D good luck with the read- along, it does seem like it'll be more fun that way.
Christine, how wonderful! My first encounter with Anna Karenina was as a child. Back in the old country (lol) I heard the whole story as a dramatized radio program. Then later, I read it during my Tolstoy, Pasternak (Dr. Zhivago) Kafka etc... reading years, but it has been a long time! I hope you enjoy it. :D I still have War and Peace by Tolstoy in my book shelves, but have NOT read it... LOL!
ReplyDeleteSara Oh I read The Hobbit graphic novel earlier this year, so I'm all set for the movie release. LOL! What? At least it was all original text. ;)
ReplyDeleteAlex At least you read it! When you were 13, no less! Impressive. Anna Karenina is very long but at least it's broken up into sections. Hopefully it'll be captivating enough, but if not, I'll take it section by section.
Hils A dramatized radio program of Anna Karenina... sounds wonderful. Even better than tody's audio books. I hope I like it. I am pretty nervous to read it!
Yay-this is just what I wanted to prepare for the movie!
ReplyDeleteOK ... I miss being in a book club, being able to discuss different books with other people who love books. I'm going to try to keep up with this - I'm going to be on vacation for the first "deadline," but I'll try to catch up for the second one.
ReplyDeleteBookworm1858 and Clio's Musings SO HAPPY to have you participating in the Anna Karenina Read Along with us!!!
ReplyDeleteSo sorry for the delay. .. Hurricane Sandy has thrown my community for quite a loop in the last week. We are among the lucky to have not sustained any power outages or major loss of property. Yet so many in my community are still without power almost a week later. The kids haven't been in school ALL WEEK and THREE schools in town are STILL without power! Yikes! We have opened our home all week to friends without power who need a warm place to stay, charge their devices, check email, do laundry, take showers, coffee, meals, and even two of my friends have food in my freezer! (We have an extra freezer in the basement.)
Anyway, I am a little behind in posting the read-along discussion. I did finish reading Part One last night and wanted to post something today, but I may not get to it until the morning. I hope you have been reading--it's really good so far!!! yay!
How are you all doing?