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| 12.04 - Effy looks how I feel. |
Master post for the Dead White Guys Readathon.
Sunday, 4th March, 23.56
That readathon, man... That was intense. A brief summary (trying to skim over the breaks, of which I had way too many!):
My "tentative list". Well, I meant well, and I did stick to it until around midnight. I read Sense and Sensibility, which I am so happy about (not because I enjoyed it, oh no, I didn't enjoy it, it's just I've been meaning to read it for an age. I think I've had my copy for twenty years, maybe less. I'm sure my Gran bought me it when I started Middle School). I'll be posting on it very soon for Allie's Group Reads. I also read Between The Acts, which is another book I've had a bit of a block about. I've decided I'm going to read The Years, the last novel by Woolf that I haven't read (not the last of her novels, mind) before I write a post on the Woolf-revisit. After this, I read Three Guineas, also by Woolf, which meant I could tick it off my Woolf list. And here, things started falling apart. I just was not enjoying it, and between Between the Acts and Three Guineas, I had a two hour break in which I had to go to Jedburgh with Big C, so I was feeling like it just wasn't working out. I had not enjoyed any books so far. So, when we came back and ate our tea, I decided to read Notes from a Small Island, which I had started the night before (got about 70 pages or so in) and found hysterical. When I read it last night? Well, it was fine, I did like it, but it confirmed to me that I was in An Odd Mood.
At one point during Notes from a Small Island, there is a bit where Bryson clearly doesn't understand something that is being said to him: he cannot understand the accent. As it happens, I didn't get the joke either, and I kept reading out what the man had said to Bryson, written phonetically (never figured it out). At this point, I wondered: was this the key to reading Finnegans Wake? Read it out loud in the best Irish accent I could manage? I thought not, I thought it was silly and I made a joke on Twitter. And then, Notes was finished and I picked up another book.
When I say I picked it up, I did just that and no more. I had Finnegans Wake firmly in my head. And thank God, because I finished it an hour ago! I'm going to do a post on it, perhaps tonight (though it is getting late and I've barely slept, the readathon turning from 24 hours to 36 for me (to be fair, I slept between 10.30am and 3pm, so it's not as bad as I'm making out).
So, I'll take this opportunity to give my very warm and heartfelt thanks to DWGs for the readathon, because it made me read three books I've had a block with for centuries!
09.29 - Signing off... Mind destroyed by many hours of Finnegans Wake. Am on page 349 of 628, so after some sleep I will battle through til the end. For now, I bid you farewell...
08.01 Twenty minutes ago, I heard a cock crowing, and I looked out the window and it was... not as dark. Now, it's almost light (not quite light enough to switch off the final lamp), the cock's still crowing, and I can hear dogs barking as they go for their walk. Looking out the window now, people's downstairs lights are on. People are getting up (yes, at 8am on a Sunday, that's the country for you). This means: the end is in sight.
Just finished the first chapter in the second part of Finnegan's Wake. I'm on page 260 of 628, and getting to the end of the second chapter of part two will get me half way through: exactly where I want to be before I go to sleep.
But, well, the light has energised me slightly, so I think I'm going to try and make it to 12pm. That said, this next chapter is very long, so we'll see! I'll make it to the end of the chapter, I'm sure. As for beyond, well, we will see....
05.10 Yep, still here, just couldn't get on Blogger. Got on Twitter, though. Must admit not read a huge amount: finished both Three Guineas and Notes from a Small Island, and then, at 01.30 I decided, "Hell, I'm going to read Finnegans Wake". And, to my credit, I am, but I must admit I've not read since 04.30, and after each chapter of FW I had to have a break. And I did have to. I'm just over 100 pages in now. I know I won't finish before midday, and I can't say that I will still be here at midday, but plan now: I'm going to catch up with a few blogs, then at about 05.30 get back into FW. Observations so far: you need to read it aloud. You really do. It's not that horrific if you read it out loud. And, as someone advised me: do not even try to understand it all, that's not the point. So, right now, I'm reading it aloud and letting it all wash over me, getting very excited (indecently so) when I understand a part. I will post on this in full at a later date. I will finish this, but not today. I'm aiming to get to 07.00, and I would like to get to about 250 or so pages. Ideally I would like to read until I'm half way, so about 315 pages. But it is exhausting. The rhythm of it is an absolute assault, and I'm at the stage where I find the odd sentence in clear English with perfect grammar very jarring. Probably the point! But yes, get to between 250 - 315 pages then get some sleep, then over Sunday, Monday, and possibly Tuesday (as Sunday is going to be spent sleeping and Monday will be spent seeing my mammy), I aim to finish Finnegans Wake.
Enough of the rambles! On with the readathon!
20.00 That break was a little longer than expected owing to car troubles! But I'm back. Big C needs the computer, so I'll be updating on Twitter. Going to now read Three Guineas (another one not on my list!).
17.46 Eeegads. Guys? This isn't going well. I have just read the first Virginia Woolf that I didn't like. What on earth...? I'm wondering if I'm in a strange mood today or something, or maybe Sense and Sensibility has put me into a bit of a funk or something. But Between the Acts just bored me, it utterly bored me.
So, here's the plan: I'm going to ring my mammy because I haven't spoken to her all day, then I'm going out for 40 mins or so (the local shop is a twenty five mile round trip), and then I'm either going to read anything on my pile, or I'm going to finish Notes from a Small Island, which I started last night and found hysterical. In short: mammy, the shop trip, or Bryson will cure me, I'm just not sure which.
Also, random - those Penguin Greats? I thought it would be fun to work through them all. I have 40, and they're all a little over a hundred pages or so, so I've decided to make a list (with other challenges at top of the page) and cross them off as I go. Some people look down on abridged books, I, however, don't and I say, "Hell, whatever gets you in."
So, then. Going to get myself out of the funk.
15.52 Just finished my first book, Sense and Sensibility. I've said before, I've had a block with it, so I am really pleased I've finally read it. I will say, though (and perhaps disappoint everyone) I simply did not care for it. It wasn't bad, I didn't hate it, reading it, mostly, was fine. But, and I'll expand at a later date, I just wasn't that interested, and as I said on Twitter, the constant mention of money (which I'm sure was necessary) grew to be a profound source of iritation.
And now, a ten minute break. I've added a few books to my pile from the Penguin Great Ideas collection: little, abridged versions of various non-fiction. I'm sure a few of you will think of these as cheat books, but I would like to get through this collection, as well as the Penguin Great Loves collection, so I have no guilt! Besides, they're a good introduction and I rarely read non-fiction these days.
After my break... either the second series of The Common Reader or Between the Acts, I've not decided!
12.11 - OK, really am getting started now. Readathon starts now, at12.12 12.13.
Sunday, 4th March, 23.56
That readathon, man... That was intense. A brief summary (trying to skim over the breaks, of which I had way too many!):
My "tentative list". Well, I meant well, and I did stick to it until around midnight. I read Sense and Sensibility, which I am so happy about (not because I enjoyed it, oh no, I didn't enjoy it, it's just I've been meaning to read it for an age. I think I've had my copy for twenty years, maybe less. I'm sure my Gran bought me it when I started Middle School). I'll be posting on it very soon for Allie's Group Reads. I also read Between The Acts, which is another book I've had a bit of a block about. I've decided I'm going to read The Years, the last novel by Woolf that I haven't read (not the last of her novels, mind) before I write a post on the Woolf-revisit. After this, I read Three Guineas, also by Woolf, which meant I could tick it off my Woolf list. And here, things started falling apart. I just was not enjoying it, and between Between the Acts and Three Guineas, I had a two hour break in which I had to go to Jedburgh with Big C, so I was feeling like it just wasn't working out. I had not enjoyed any books so far. So, when we came back and ate our tea, I decided to read Notes from a Small Island, which I had started the night before (got about 70 pages or so in) and found hysterical. When I read it last night? Well, it was fine, I did like it, but it confirmed to me that I was in An Odd Mood.
At one point during Notes from a Small Island, there is a bit where Bryson clearly doesn't understand something that is being said to him: he cannot understand the accent. As it happens, I didn't get the joke either, and I kept reading out what the man had said to Bryson, written phonetically (never figured it out). At this point, I wondered: was this the key to reading Finnegans Wake? Read it out loud in the best Irish accent I could manage? I thought not, I thought it was silly and I made a joke on Twitter. And then, Notes was finished and I picked up another book.
When I say I picked it up, I did just that and no more. I had Finnegans Wake firmly in my head. And thank God, because I finished it an hour ago! I'm going to do a post on it, perhaps tonight (though it is getting late and I've barely slept, the readathon turning from 24 hours to 36 for me (to be fair, I slept between 10.30am and 3pm, so it's not as bad as I'm making out).
So, I'll take this opportunity to give my very warm and heartfelt thanks to DWGs for the readathon, because it made me read three books I've had a block with for centuries!
09.29 - Signing off... Mind destroyed by many hours of Finnegans Wake. Am on page 349 of 628, so after some sleep I will battle through til the end. For now, I bid you farewell...
08.01 Twenty minutes ago, I heard a cock crowing, and I looked out the window and it was... not as dark. Now, it's almost light (not quite light enough to switch off the final lamp), the cock's still crowing, and I can hear dogs barking as they go for their walk. Looking out the window now, people's downstairs lights are on. People are getting up (yes, at 8am on a Sunday, that's the country for you). This means: the end is in sight.
Just finished the first chapter in the second part of Finnegan's Wake. I'm on page 260 of 628, and getting to the end of the second chapter of part two will get me half way through: exactly where I want to be before I go to sleep.
But, well, the light has energised me slightly, so I think I'm going to try and make it to 12pm. That said, this next chapter is very long, so we'll see! I'll make it to the end of the chapter, I'm sure. As for beyond, well, we will see....
05.10 Yep, still here, just couldn't get on Blogger. Got on Twitter, though. Must admit not read a huge amount: finished both Three Guineas and Notes from a Small Island, and then, at 01.30 I decided, "Hell, I'm going to read Finnegans Wake". And, to my credit, I am, but I must admit I've not read since 04.30, and after each chapter of FW I had to have a break. And I did have to. I'm just over 100 pages in now. I know I won't finish before midday, and I can't say that I will still be here at midday, but plan now: I'm going to catch up with a few blogs, then at about 05.30 get back into FW. Observations so far: you need to read it aloud. You really do. It's not that horrific if you read it out loud. And, as someone advised me: do not even try to understand it all, that's not the point. So, right now, I'm reading it aloud and letting it all wash over me, getting very excited (indecently so) when I understand a part. I will post on this in full at a later date. I will finish this, but not today. I'm aiming to get to 07.00, and I would like to get to about 250 or so pages. Ideally I would like to read until I'm half way, so about 315 pages. But it is exhausting. The rhythm of it is an absolute assault, and I'm at the stage where I find the odd sentence in clear English with perfect grammar very jarring. Probably the point! But yes, get to between 250 - 315 pages then get some sleep, then over Sunday, Monday, and possibly Tuesday (as Sunday is going to be spent sleeping and Monday will be spent seeing my mammy), I aim to finish Finnegans Wake.
Enough of the rambles! On with the readathon!
20.00 That break was a little longer than expected owing to car troubles! But I'm back. Big C needs the computer, so I'll be updating on Twitter. Going to now read Three Guineas (another one not on my list!).
17.46 Eeegads. Guys? This isn't going well. I have just read the first Virginia Woolf that I didn't like. What on earth...? I'm wondering if I'm in a strange mood today or something, or maybe Sense and Sensibility has put me into a bit of a funk or something. But Between the Acts just bored me, it utterly bored me.
So, here's the plan: I'm going to ring my mammy because I haven't spoken to her all day, then I'm going out for 40 mins or so (the local shop is a twenty five mile round trip), and then I'm either going to read anything on my pile, or I'm going to finish Notes from a Small Island, which I started last night and found hysterical. In short: mammy, the shop trip, or Bryson will cure me, I'm just not sure which.
Also, random - those Penguin Greats? I thought it would be fun to work through them all. I have 40, and they're all a little over a hundred pages or so, so I've decided to make a list (with other challenges at top of the page) and cross them off as I go. Some people look down on abridged books, I, however, don't and I say, "Hell, whatever gets you in."
So, then. Going to get myself out of the funk.
15.52 Just finished my first book, Sense and Sensibility. I've said before, I've had a block with it, so I am really pleased I've finally read it. I will say, though (and perhaps disappoint everyone) I simply did not care for it. It wasn't bad, I didn't hate it, reading it, mostly, was fine. But, and I'll expand at a later date, I just wasn't that interested, and as I said on Twitter, the constant mention of money (which I'm sure was necessary) grew to be a profound source of iritation.
And now, a ten minute break. I've added a few books to my pile from the Penguin Great Ideas collection: little, abridged versions of various non-fiction. I'm sure a few of you will think of these as cheat books, but I would like to get through this collection, as well as the Penguin Great Loves collection, so I have no guilt! Besides, they're a good introduction and I rarely read non-fiction these days.
After my break... either the second series of The Common Reader or Between the Acts, I've not decided!
12.11 - OK, really am getting started now. Readathon starts now, at
12.07 - I'm 7 minutes late and counting, so no prelims, here I am with a bed head and slightly bleary eyes, ready to start Sense and Sensibility, the book I have had a block with for at least ten years. I will not be updating until I finish. Oh, ok then, I'll update on my Twitter. I'll be back later, and I may even put a more appropriate picture up than Effy looking pissed off.
12.03 - Gah! Just woke up! That's not a 7am start!
I'm glad you finished it! I barely remember it from my first read, so I am curious to see what I make of it.
ReplyDeleteI don't think those are cheat books: no way! Particularly because I am not naturally a non-fiction reader myself...I have to work at it. Grats on finishing a book (even if you weren't crazy about it)...good for momentum for the rest of your read-a-thon-ing!
ReplyDeleteAllie - it needs some thought - I don't think I disliked it as much as I am saying, I did fairly enjoy the first half. But after... Eh.
ReplyDeleteBuried in Print - Thank you! :) You know, I think I've only read 2 non-fiction books this year...
I love Bill Bryson but I haven't read Notes on a Small Island yet. Have you read A Walk in the Woods? That's my favorite by him.
ReplyDeleteI bet Bryson would be a good readalong companion! Happy reading!
PS. Your cat is SO CUTE.
No, this is my first Bryson, looking forward to reading the rest, though :)
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you, that's Effy, the cat I found this summer. She's huge now, but she was so skinny they wanted to put her to sleep. She's enormous now and we need a crane to lift her :)
Yah, I know what you mean. All the books that are *not* on my stack are looking like the best books ever right about now. Heh.
ReplyDeleteYou read a lot today! I pretty much failed at reading since I was sidetracked all day, then the husband took me out with him to watch football for hours and hours and hours at the bar. I did read some of James' Portrait of a Lady, but not enough to put a dent in it. :/
ReplyDeleteThere is always tomorrow!
Good luck with FW.
Thanks, I need it!
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to read Sense and Sensibility at the moment, I got into it a bit last night, but it is the first Austen I've struggled to care about. Hmm. Well done with FW so far, I liked your description about letting it wash over you and not trying to understand it. Joyce is completely beyond me.
ReplyDeleteWell, I just finished reading FW and the vast majority of it was beyond me, too! :)
ReplyDelete