Hey guys, I hope everyone has had time to get a copy of 2666. As previously mentioned, we will be discussing each part until the book is finished. Then, we'll discuss part five and the book as a whole.
So, the book breaks down like this (page numbers may vary, but should be approximately the same:
Part 1: p.3-159 (156 pages)
Part 2: p.163-228 (65 pages)
Part 3: p.231-349 (118 pages)
Part 4: p.353-633 (280 pages)
Part 5: p.637-893 (256 pages)
For the sake of momentum, I think it might work best if we were to combine Part 2 with Part 3. This way, it will give us four solid sections to discuss at fairly regular intervals. I don't know how many WPM you guys read at/how much free time to reasonably expect from each person, but if each person could manage a 30 minute reading period per day at about 30 pages per reading period, we could perhaps finish this book in a month.
What I'd like to do is use this Part 1 as a kind of testing period to see how it goes. So with that in mind, let's say that on August 18th, people should be ready to discuss Part 1 of 2666.
If you've got any suggestions or questions please let me know!
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Woke up in the middle of the night and read through about fifty or so pages of a fresh copy (the one I almost-finished is in a past life), and there's way more comedy in how the academics are handled in the first section (or first fifty pages) than I remember, likely due to the fact that when I read the book (or attempted to) initially, I was closer to 'academia' (in the most distant sense of the word) and therefore related sympathetically to the characters, especially Espinoza, much more so than I do now. I don't re-read many books but I'm glad to be re-reading this one.
Finally got my copy this afternoon. I'm looking forward to getting down to it.
I know you've likely already thought of this, but try your local library. I literally just returned from mine and while it was out of stock, it's in stock at the "south" library. They're going to have it brought over to my library and it should be ready to pick up by Monday. -Libraries rule.
My library had it out of stock. I'm thinking I might have to walk down to Barnes and Noble. Unless my local bookshop has it....
Maybe if you wait out back of a Barnes and Noble long enough they'll throw a damaged copy in the dumpster. -Sorry couldn't resist.
Har har har very funny :-) I just remembered to check my school library. They had it, I'll grab it tomorrow.
I'd say we should extend part one a little bit longer. I know I'm still waiting on my copy despite ordering with Amazon Prime, and it does take a bit for people to get started. Maybe another week for part one so everyone can really get caught up, then we go with a shorter schedule for part 2/3, 4, and 5... although part 4 and 5 are quite a bit longer.
I may have to sit this one out - 2666 seems interesting, but I really need to work on my thesis.
Uh-oh, I'm sorry to hear about that combo. Been in a similar situation myself. You're still in school right? I don't know when classes start, but at least you'll have access to the library soon. It seems like most people haven't received their copies just yet, plus it'll take some time to actually read the first part, so that should bring us pretty close to when a lot of classes resume. I appreciate you letting me know the situation though. Hope your situation improves soon!
I'd like to give people some time to see this post and to give some feedback on how they're feeling about the format, so we won't begin for at least a day or two. It's likely that others are in the same boat as Meriadoc and are waiting for their copies to arrive. Another reason I think breaking up the pages is so that there's more opportunity for participants to let us know if more time is needed, etc. If we could set the starting date for Sunday, August 11th, I think that would be great. I was thinking a week for Part 1, but it seems already that more time might be needed to let everyone read it and be ready to participate. I think once we see how that goes, it'll be easier to come up with a workable structure for the rest of the reading and discussion.
They usually break down in the same way as the book. For instance: Track 1 will be chapter 1 etc. I don't use audible, although I should, I've only ever used itunes.
Yeah, I saw that audio length too. That's quite a lot. I have a couple of 12 hour drives ahead of me though. May be worth reading and listening simultaneously. I did that for The Fountainhead and it worked well.