Pages read so far - 65
Confidence level - 5/5: At this pace I should remain on track!
Words I have had to look up:
Approbation - Approval or praise
Comments - Well the read-a-long has officially begun so we're off and running. I have until this time next week to read up to page 124 which shouldn't be too much of a drama. Two interesting things I noted during my reading this week: (1) It seems an international truth that young people plus alcohol equals stupidity. Strapping a policeman to a bear's back? Really??! and (2) They sure hook up young in this book. Running around making promises to be married at 12 years old, making it official at 16... wow. Although there are some things that never seem to change no matter where you are, this one is not one of them. I thought it was an interesting contrast.
Also I saw on an episode of Oprah that there's a movie called The Last Station about Tolstoy's life. Has anyone seen this and was it interesting? I read an article in the London Book Review not too long ago about the madness that was Tolstoy's relationship with his wife and how it drove him to his death so with that and reading this I'm curious. Thoughts?
Oh, and is anyone else joining me on this quest? Go on, you know you want to!!
Looking forward to keeping up with your quest. Continued luck! (I plan to tackle this Everest later this year...)
ReplyDeleteThanks Greg! I have to have this weekly update (that I've already told everyone about) or I just won't keep on top of it. Good to know someone is keeping tabs!
ReplyDeleteGreat blog Kathy- I'll be keeping up to date. Tolstoy is an interesting one, but I think my favourites are Sophie Tolstoy's diaries. She suffered post-natal depression but spent most of her life pregnant and nursing. Her musings on motherhood, and having a genius for a husband are brilliant "herstory".
ReplyDeleteIt's also interesting that he tried to be chaste and then beat himself up for constantly ravaging and impregnating her. Not an easy marriage.
It's Rosie by the way ;)
I'm glad that your confidence is up! You'll finish it. That drunk scene was kind of crazy. I thought someone was going to end up dead. The bear thing was pretty random.
ReplyDeleteI'm about 650 pages in and I would definitely recommend keeping up the momentum. It's worth it! I watched The Last Station a few months ago and it was really interesting. I had no idea about his relationship with his wife. It would be incredibly hard to live with someone like that.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to hearing more on your thoughts on War and Peace! It's a very rewarding work! The background information you're reading about now does go a long way toward understanding the relationships later on! Keep reading on, it does get easier!
ReplyDeleteRosie - Hello!! Glad you like it! I think I need to read the diaries of Sophie Tolstoy so I can get both sides of the story (plan on watching The Station too). Thanks for dropping by and leaving a comment. Come back soon!
ReplyDeleteKristi - I was definitely waiting for someone to end up dead in the drunk scene and I felt really sorry for the poor bear! Thanks for the encouragement!
Avid Reader - So many people are telling me it's worth it and I'm so glad to hear that. It's definitely making being motivated to read it a lot easier - thank you! I'm going to go on a mission to find The Last Station. In Taiwan. Could be interesting...!
Usafbrat - Thanks for the comment! I'm getting a sense that the intricate relationships I'm reading about now will be very important later on. Someone on the Facebook read-a-long group I'm a part of for this suggested a character map would be useful for keeping track of everyone. I think I'll get one and fold it into the back of the book for reference so I don't get lost.
Congrats on the great start!
ReplyDeleteThanks Lisa!! Now to keep it going....
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