tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027299943447728658.post2733791802583577078..comments2023-10-10T20:43:00.969-04:00Comments on Books and Chocolate: Short vs. Long BooksKaren K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13483190930383406559noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027299943447728658.post-57401268498157380342011-05-14T02:39:21.139-04:002011-05-14T02:39:21.139-04:00People want books as an escape. Shame. Thet won...People want books as an escape. Shame. Thet won't give short books a try. That's bad for authors like me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027299943447728658.post-33164436748154407222010-06-29T12:43:18.882-04:002010-06-29T12:43:18.882-04:00How could you cover an 800 book in one posting any...<i>How could you cover an 800 book in one posting anyway?</i><br /><br />More importantly (to me), why would you want to? When I read a rich book, I don't want to tie it up and set it back on the shelf. I want to linger, wander around, see what I missed.<br /><br />My week-long postings about books are my solution to the problem Rebecca is talking about. I write about a book until I run out of things to say. Meanwhile, I've been reading other things.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027299943447728658.post-22989043536389639022010-06-24T10:32:05.462-04:002010-06-24T10:32:05.462-04:00You read Moby Dick in TWO WEEKS? Wow. I've r...You read Moby Dick in TWO WEEKS? Wow. I've read some fat books the past few years, but most of them have taken up a whole month, like Anna Karenina and The Woman in White (I wouldn't have finished AK except I was on a bus trip and the traffic was terrible).<br /><br />I never thought about the blogging aspect -- it's true. I have seen some bloggers post about their progress in long books, and I think it's a good idea. How could you cover an 800 book in one posting anyway?<br /><br />And I hope you love Wives & Daughters, one of my favorites. It's long but I found it a really absorbing and fast read.Karen K.https://www.blogger.com/profile/13483190930383406559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027299943447728658.post-80797814797646222282010-06-24T08:39:33.818-04:002010-06-24T08:39:33.818-04:00I think it's a blogging thing: once I started ...I think it's a blogging thing: once I started blogging, I found it incredibly hard to read longer works. I'm trying to get out of the blogging habit, to be honest, and it's letting me be OK about reading longer works. Currently in progress: Armadale by Wilkie Collins (almost 700 pages) and Wives and Daughters (almost 800 pages).<br /><br />I LOVED Moby Dick. I had to read it for school and I had two weeks so I wish I had time to enjoy going slow. Maybe I'll have to reread it this or next year.Rebecca Reidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06062252252301802298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027299943447728658.post-16785317966297013462010-06-24T06:19:50.890-04:002010-06-24T06:19:50.890-04:00Amanda -- thanks for the info about the Brothers K...Amanda -- thanks for the info about the Brothers K readalong. I read the first chapter online and rather liked it, so I'm giving it a try. <br /><br />JoAnn -- Gone with the Wind is a really fast, easy read. It's long but there's nothing difficult about it. A great story but I don't really know if it counts as literature. And your is the second recommendation for A Suitable Boy so I may have to add it to my to-read list. I swear it's the longest book in the world. Sigh.Karenlibrarianhttp://karensbooksandchocolate.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027299943447728658.post-34008603860800233092010-06-23T08:58:33.201-04:002010-06-23T08:58:33.201-04:00I seem to be shying away from big fat books lately...I seem to be shying away from big fat books lately, too. A couple I think would make great summer reads are East of Eden or A Suitable Boy - loved them both! I've never read Gone with the Wind, but I'll get to it one of these summers!JoAnnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13691864361197071517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027299943447728658.post-86472541877835707192010-06-22T21:46:30.398-04:002010-06-22T21:46:30.398-04:00Hi Karen!
I definitely go through phases in my re...Hi Karen!<br /><br />I definitely go through phases in my reading (I'll actually be talking about that in my Sunday Salon in a few weeks) and I go through periods where I'm really ahead on reviews and want to read a long book or a harder book. This year so far I've surprisingly read 12 books over 450 pages, though 3 of those are Harry Potter books so they hardly count. I've spent some time reading some longer, harder books in June because i was so far ahead. I like being able to do that, mixing them up that way.<br /><br />I can't say I'm enthusiastic at all about Moby Dick, however there's actually a blogger's group doing a long-term readalong of The Brothers Karamazov starting in July. They'll probably do a couple chapters a week and post/discuss their thoughts. It's on Jill's blog at Fizzy Thoughts if you're interested. She's got some information in this post: http://www.fizzythoughts.com/2010/06/sunday-salon-a-little-bit-of-this-a-little-bit-of-that.htmlAmandahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07026099426503180472noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027299943447728658.post-17715068373200362022010-06-22T20:42:04.428-04:002010-06-22T20:42:04.428-04:00Nicole, that's exactly how I feel! When I cons...Nicole, that's exactly how I feel! When I consider reading a long book I just keep thinking about all the shorter books I could be reading instead. But some of them are so, so wonderful, they're worth it, like The Forsyte Saga, Middlemarch, or The Way We Live Now (I kept sneaking off to read just one more chapter!)<br /><br />And I love Gone with the Wind. I also have East of Eden on my to read shelf. I feel so guilty that I haven't read some of them yet. Sigh.Karen K.https://www.blogger.com/profile/13483190930383406559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027299943447728658.post-89785700420756484532010-06-22T16:23:08.019-04:002010-06-22T16:23:08.019-04:00I have been steering clear of the long ones becaus...I have been steering clear of the long ones because they make me antsy. I think that might be because I have so much that I feel I should be reading. Long books make me nervous, but I am working on changing that up so that I will have less to read for review.<br /><br />I am working my way through Gone With the Wind and I would like to maybe tackle East of Eden before the year is out.Nicole (Linus's Blanket)https://www.blogger.com/profile/12473607646939202824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027299943447728658.post-53679322447669526952010-06-22T14:27:40.669-04:002010-06-22T14:27:40.669-04:00Hannah, I know what you mean about alternating lon...Hannah, I know what you mean about alternating long and short books -- the last thing I want after a big fat book is another, it's too daunting. Last summer I was simultaneously reading David Copperfield AND An American Tragedy, which was a terrible idea. I've read Possession and loved it, I have The Children's Book waiting on my to-read shelf.<br /><br />A Room with a View is one of my favorites! And the movie is so good. I will definitely look for your other recommendations. A Suitable Boy might have to wait a bit, though.Karenlibrarianhttp://karensbooksandchocolate.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027299943447728658.post-2028330839404381332010-06-22T14:07:39.078-04:002010-06-22T14:07:39.078-04:00OK - I am not sure what you have already read but ...OK - I am not sure what you have already read but I think that big fat books for summer could be:<br /><br />A Suitable Boy (warning, very fat)<br />A Room with a view (less fat but for me this will always be such a summer read)<br />Possession by AS Byatt<br /><br />Fast summer reads:<br /><br />Several Perceptions by Angela Carter<br />Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead by Barbara Comyns<br />The Aspern Papers by Henry James<br />...<br /><br />I am sure that I will think of some more later. <br /><br />I try to combine books of different lengths - I can't really hack having more than two thumping big novels one after another so I try to intersperse them with little ones. <br /><br />Good luck with your choices!<br /><br />HannahHannah Stonehamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11139146341592918233noreply@blogger.com