Krieg und Frieden | 
“When an apple ripens and falls— what makes it fall? Is it that it is attracted to the ground, is it that the stem withers, is it that the sun has dried it up, that it has grown heavier, that the wind shakes it, that the boy standing underneath wants to eat it?
No one thing is the cause. All this is only a coincidence of conditions under every organic, elemental event of life is accomplished.”
“I‘m alive and it‘s not my fault, which means I must somehow go on living the best I can, without bothering anybody, until I die.”
The fascination Tolstoy has in describing all of his female characters with “beautiful faces and tiny mustaches” is kind of beyond me. Things no one tells you about War and Peace…. #tolstoy #warandpeace #classiclit #canonlit #catsandbooks #cats #catsoflitsy
Started today. How long will this epic take me?
pick16 May-20 Jun 22 (audiobook)
A true epic at 60 hours. Continuing to listen to intimidatingly long books I read when I was young and cannot see myself returning to in print.
Thandiwe Newtown‘s narration is amazing - her ability to voice dozens of characters is astounding. She could not make the long treatise about the nature of war interesting though. I far prefer his story writing and character arcs to his rants about history and war.
Congratulations, Helen! Great job persevering to the end. (I agree with your assessment: the peace parts were better than the war parts, ;) )
#ChunksterChallenge2022
@squirrelbrain
janeycanuck, MaureenMc, Megabooks, rockpools, Riveted_Reader_Melissa, melissajayne, Lindy, erzascarletbookgasm, Lcsmcat, AmyG, CarolynM, Smarkies, Lizpixie, Texreader, BookNAround, Caroline2, catiewithac, Andrea313, CoverToCoverGirl, slategreyskies, JenReadsAlot, Bookwormjillk, zezeki, Mollyanna, Nessavamusic, GinaKButler, mandarchy, Butterfinger, Patchshank, Kelly326, TheAromaofBooks, Tineke, ChaoticMissAdventures, Blackink_WhitePaper, Dostoyes, ncsufoxes, JuniperWilde, tokorowilliamwallace
so-so#chunksterchallenge
Its certainly a chunkster and, unfortunately, I found it rather a challenge!
I can‘t say I enjoyed much of it, but at least I can now say I‘ve read it! (All 1440 pages of small writing)
I didn‘t mind the ‘peace‘ bits so much, and some of the ‘war‘ bits were OK too, but a lot of the war stuff was a bit tedious.
Thanks for the push to get it finished! @Caroline2
The strongest of all warriors are these two — Time and Patience.
Way to go, Caroline! I love that you used Serial Reader to help you conquer this chunkster. Well done! :)
#ChunksterChallenge2022
@Caroline2
janeycanuck, MaureenMc, Megabooks, rockpools, Riveted_Reader_Melissa, melissajayne, Lindy, erzascarletbookgasm, Lcsmcat, AmyG, CarolynM, Smarkies, Lizpixie, Texreader, BookNAround, catiewithac, Andrea313, CoverToCoverGirl, slategreyskies, JenReadsAlot, Bookwormjillk, zezeki, squirrelbrain, Mollyanna, Nessavamusic, GinaKButler, mandarchy, Butterfinger, Patchshank, Kelly326, TheAromaofBooks, Tineke, ChaoticMissAdventures, Blackink_WhitePaper, Dostoyes, ncsufoxes, JuniperWilde, tokorowilliamwallace
pickI‘ve finally finished! A soft pick. I loved some of it, other parts felt like a slog. I defo prefer Anna Karenina. But sooo glad to have finished at last! #chunksterchallenge #buddyread
Slowly chipping away at this masterpiece. 🇷🇺
Woo hoo! I‘ve finally reached the halfway mark! 💪🏼 #chunksterchallenge
Well, I‘ve finally decided I‘m going to commit to reading War and Peace for #chunksterchallenge2022.
Did you know there are 361 chapters in this book?! 😱 Some of them are as short as 4 pages though - phew!
I‘ve made a spreadsheet for 1 chapter a day but hope to read ahead so that if I miss a few days it won‘t matter.
I‘m also hoping to read A Suitable Boy as well this year - I‘ll have room on my shelves for so many more books!
pickFinished reading War and Peace one chapter a day in 2021. I especially enjoyed this edition of Tolstoy's masterpiece. I liked the translation and the historical notes that were included. There is also a glossary of people and places. War and Peace is in my top 5 all time novels.
pickLong time, no update. But finally finishing War and Peace couldn't go without comment!! #TolstoyTogether
Cheers to a happy new year, Littens! 🎉🎆
Three cheers for @Crinoline_Laphroaig for completing her personal #Ayearofwarandpeace challenge and the #chunksterchallenge2021! Good job sticking with it for the entire year! An impressive and inspirational accomplishment. 👍 👍
Amybooklover43, MaureenMc, Airykah13, bibliobliss, Megabooks, Daisey, rockpools, Riveted_Reader_Melissa, BarkingMadRun, Crazeedi, erzascarletbookgasm, Lcsmcat, CarolynM, Wife, Texreader, TheBookDream, Leftcoastzen, BookNAround, shortsarahrose, catiewithac, Kdgordon88, mom2bugnbee, EclecticBookLover, CoverToCoverGirl, slategreyskies, rjsthumbelina, JenReadsAlot, Bookwormjillk, BeckyWithTheGoodBooks, Bookishlie, zezeki, squirrelbrain, Cathythoughts, JamieArc, Mollyanna, Ash.on.the.line, Liz_M, Nessavamusic, GinaKButler, IndoorDame, Freespirit, sblbooks, Patchshank, tenar, jewright, Kelly326, TheAromaofBooks, Jess861, Tineke, Dostoyes, JuniperWilde
pickAnd I'm finished ‼ @Amiable
Switched between Print and Audible. Occasionally taking a break and then catching up. In November Audible released a new Free to Members Edition narrated by Thandiwe Newton. She has such a beautiful voice and really brought the story to life. After that I stuck with audio. Except today when I sat and read the last Chapter.
#chunksterchallenge2021
#ayearofwarandpeace
#myyearinbooks
⬇️
pick5⭐️ This novel looks super intimidating given its size, but it‘s worth the effort. I like the war part better, especially the battle of Borodino. The peace part is interesting as Tolstoy shares a glimpse of the life of Russian aristocrats. It‘s the one book that I‘d bring with me if I were to be alone on an island. I can see myself rereading this again and again 🤘🏻
I'm back to listening to War and Peace and everytime Borodino is mentioned I think of this scene from What A Girl Wants.
https://youtu.be/MPu6DXTG2ps
#ayearofwarandpeace
Progress report. Out of the battle of Borodino, I‘m now inside the abandoned Moscow.
I just passed the 1000 page mark, and I think it‘s amazing that I have not encountered one boring part in this novel. This is the best $22 I‘ve spent on a book!
I‘m inside the Battle of Borodino now 🙀 I can literally hear the poof poof and the boom boom of the cannons. God bless us all, let there be no more wars on this earth!
How to even pronounce this?! 😆
Just finished Volume II 🥳
After a very busy week, I've spent the bulk of this glorious day off reading on the patio. Fall arrived in Louisiana this weekend!
I'm still a few days behind but hopefully will be caught up by this evening. Most of my reading time last week was with Phoebe Robinson's second essay collection and Dolly Alderton. Fingers crossed I can get reviews up for those two today.
Slow progress 🐌🐌🐌
I‘m enjoying the battle scene in War and Peace. I can now understand why Stalingrad/Life and Fate are the modern version of War and Peace 🥰 Tolstoy and Grossman are both excellent writers. I‘m so happy that I get to read their works 💕
Reading date with Jen. We are together in the Chunkster Book Club, and we are reading War and Peace
Just started this super chonky book 🦾 It‘s surprisingly easy to read! I think I picked the right translation for me (Anthony Briggs)
It‘s time for the encore of #TolstoyTogether! I‘m going in, anyone else coming?
You can find the schedule and details here: https://apublicspace.org/news/detail/tolstoy-together-2021
I missed out on this last year but they are doing another “Tolstoy together” in which a community of readers reads and discusses about 15 pgs of War and Peace a day. This year there is the companion book about the experience last time. I‘ve been meaning to reread this book so I will definitely be participating. It starts on September 15. More info is here: https://apublicspace.org/news/detail/tolstoy-together-2021. #tolstoytogether
24 hours of reading! Past the halfway point in this book. Appreciate the challenge
#mbcreadathon
#mbcbookfrogsreadathon13
Question is silence or background music when reading?
Usually silence. Sometimes I like classical music. Always classical.
#mbcreadathon
#mbcbookfrogsreadathon11
18 hours and 700 pages into War and Peace.
Going to make the 24 hour challenge today!
#mbcreadathon
#mbcbookfrogsreadathon11
Still going strong...about 1/4 of the way through and really enjoying it!
#mbcreadathon
#mbcbookfrogsreadathon7
#mbcreadathon
#mbcbookfrogsreadathon5
Making a dent in this tome- 250 pages in, about 1100 to go...
I've made it about 1/2 through War and Peace. Pausing until the release of this on September 9th. Summertime requires something lighter.
#ayearofwarandpeace
#chunksterchallenge2021
@Lcsmcat
The Vintage Classics Russian Series is a great example of effective use of #patterns for cover design. #curiouscovers @Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
After I went to Box Hill with @sprainedbrain #Pemberlittens and #emmaeveryday I went on to Russia. How cool! My #ayearofwarandpeace Readalong was here on June 12th. 🤓
