It took me thirty years to finish reading Anna Karenina. I started on the Amtrak train from Boston to DC when I was an 18-year-old college student and I finished as a 48-year-old mother of 5 children. It was an interesting experience to read a book that slowly, with long absences in between. But it made for a beautiful and incredibly unique reading adventure because I was a different reader (as a woman at a different stage of life) at different times of the novel. I had to rewind back and reread and re-experience. Ah... anyway I should write an essay about this or something.
What a wonderful adventure! I love how we grow with books and they stay with us through so many experiences. I like how you can remember where you started reading it.
Since the story is so well known the ending was somewhat expected. As an 18yo I thought it was amusing to begin where I knew the story would end. However, it’s the drama in between that is the real story, both in my life and Anna’s. And in the beginning of a young adult life it is so easy to think of the world only through your own perspective but as you grow older you realize the complexity and interconnected nature of other peoples lives. Levin, Dolly, Vronsky, Seryozha, and everyone else. The title is Anna but it is everyone and everything. That’s the power of not only a long read, but a novel that lends itself to a long read. Let’s face it, we can’t do this decades long reading with just any old novel.
It's funny, I still come across people who don't know how AK ends! And I fear I may have spoilt the ending once or twice. But you're right, it's the journey more than the destination. And a book much wider than just Anna. It's also interesting because Tolstoy underwent a transformation while writing it, and the novel reflects this – his own personal judgement of Anna shifts in the writing. Anna, truth, human nature, answer back to him. The book is alive, and so it feels right to spend so much time, growing along side it.
I love stories when writers are transformed by the books they are writing... I am thinking Graham Greene and Sigrid Undset. Currently doing a long read if Kristin Lavransdatter right now. Knowing that the process of researching and writing KL converted her into the Catholic Church is fascinating to me.
John - the slow read is a magical thing. I believe that Middlemarch was originally released in serial format forcing a slower read before being published as a whole. In any case, you have picked a good one with Simon. I had been following along his slow read on IG since the beginning of the year and he is the one who inspired me to make the move to Substack. Love this platform and community. I am also excited about the Wolf Crawl although for me this will be a first time read.
Thanks John! Great to find a kindred spirit in you and a wonderful place to share our love of literature. To clarify, I've only just moved into substack and the readalong was mostly on IG. So hoping to make a much richer experience on this platform in the next year.
I'm sometimes reading three or four books at a time--so the slow read has to be the answer, unless one catches and holds me like Austen, who always did and Colm Tóibín who continues to do so though I have to admit to not yet quite getting to the end of _The Magician--but here it sits on my desk and I keep pick it up and going over it. You. John Holbrook define generosity.
I love the idea of having a slow-reading project, John! I recently did something similar with “A Passage to India,” and I’ve been thinking about re-reading “Howards End” as well as “Middlemarch” - I think along with slowing down the pace there’s the pleasure of re-reading a great novel at a different time period in my own life.
I enjoyed seeing the mutual reinforcement of two stellar Substackers in this post. I'm nearly 50 and going thru a Renaissance of reading; I took a very long break from reading (16 years long; same age as my oldest child). And now that I am finally returning, I feel the need to CRAM it all in. So I appreciated the aperitif, slow savor concept of enjoying a few chapters (pages?) before bedtime. Why do I forget to do this? Likely because I'm up late trying to write (NaNoWriMo!) Question: how do you balance your desire to consume volumes of literature with the very real time constraints and limitations of life? I listen to books in the car, I read them while I'm on the stationary bike. But I still have an obsession with trying to "fit it all in." I know I won't ever... I think I can be okay with that. I'm a James Clear fan, so if the advice is just read 15 minutes a day and build from there, I get it. I've done that; I'm doing it and more. But if there is any other mind or perspective shift you would suggest, please share! In the meantime I will hope for lots of snow this winter (I'm in Massachusetts) so I can get my reads in.
I love it that you have reclaimed your reading habit. I’m not sure what advice I can offer, since I teach and write about literature for a living. It’s not really useful advice to say “become an English professor.” That said, I do all of the things that you mention to make more reading time. But the main thing I would say is that you should keep doing what you are doing, and enjoy the moment without worrying about getting to all of the unread books. I read books for a living, and I will *never* get to all of the books that I want to read, but I have come to realize that this is actually a good thing. I mean, it would be terrible to get to a point at which you had run out of good books to read. Enjoy the journey! Be “finifugal.”
Love the message and your highlight of Simon’s work.
Middlemarch is such a nice one to linger on. Last time I read it was during a snowstorm at my parents’ house in New England. Although it only lasted days, they were long days of slow reading vs a consuming binge of text.
The difference between obsessive readers like us and other people is that we find the idea of a snowstorm that keeps us indoors and reading for several days to be delightful. Middlemarch is a lovely place to live for a few days.
I wish I could read fast! I have always been a slow reader. This is not good for my profession. Does fast reading just come naturally to you? Anyway, I am currently reading Hans Henny Jahnn's 2000-page magnum opus *Fluß ohne Ufer* (River without Banks/Shores/Bounds, though it has not been translated into English. (I've published a couple of articles on his "short" [800 pages] unfinished novel Perrudja.) I'm on page 400. I am loving it, but I also want to cry.
Reclaiming my writing self has gone hand in hand with slow reading. I’m currently in the middle of a dozen or so books, from DeLillo’s Underworld, to Marilynn’s Robinson’s Gilead (which took me back to rereading Housekeeping), to fly fishing essays, to Thoreau, Moby Dick, Shakespeare....Thanks for the SStack recommendation. Great idea to lead a slow read through War and Peace (I’m also half way through Anna K for the second or third time)....
Loved this. It’s one reason I enjoy audiobooks while knitting. Not everyone’s cuppa, but what is? Also, that typewriter is the one I took to college as an 18-year-old. Oh, my heart!
nice typewriter there .. aint a slow reader - but can be.. indeed have many ‘readin modes & rate of
Have found here.. can skim somewhat & stop part way .. or not ! But the die is cast & I shuffle along OR ! a delicious effective 2nd read is a lock.. & a 3rd hardly uncommon for this slow learner / grasper
Your readin taste ain’t mine.. though I know the books & read most ..
Am a huge fan of Robert B Parker .. & any book on the level of ‘Cuba Libre - Elmore Leonard is my kind of read ..
It took me thirty years to finish reading Anna Karenina. I started on the Amtrak train from Boston to DC when I was an 18-year-old college student and I finished as a 48-year-old mother of 5 children. It was an interesting experience to read a book that slowly, with long absences in between. But it made for a beautiful and incredibly unique reading adventure because I was a different reader (as a woman at a different stage of life) at different times of the novel. I had to rewind back and reread and re-experience. Ah... anyway I should write an essay about this or something.
What a wonderful adventure! I love how we grow with books and they stay with us through so many experiences. I like how you can remember where you started reading it.
Since the story is so well known the ending was somewhat expected. As an 18yo I thought it was amusing to begin where I knew the story would end. However, it’s the drama in between that is the real story, both in my life and Anna’s. And in the beginning of a young adult life it is so easy to think of the world only through your own perspective but as you grow older you realize the complexity and interconnected nature of other peoples lives. Levin, Dolly, Vronsky, Seryozha, and everyone else. The title is Anna but it is everyone and everything. That’s the power of not only a long read, but a novel that lends itself to a long read. Let’s face it, we can’t do this decades long reading with just any old novel.
It's funny, I still come across people who don't know how AK ends! And I fear I may have spoilt the ending once or twice. But you're right, it's the journey more than the destination. And a book much wider than just Anna. It's also interesting because Tolstoy underwent a transformation while writing it, and the novel reflects this – his own personal judgement of Anna shifts in the writing. Anna, truth, human nature, answer back to him. The book is alive, and so it feels right to spend so much time, growing along side it.
I love stories when writers are transformed by the books they are writing... I am thinking Graham Greene and Sigrid Undset. Currently doing a long read if Kristin Lavransdatter right now. Knowing that the process of researching and writing KL converted her into the Catholic Church is fascinating to me.
Ah Greene yes! Brighton Rock! Started out one novel and turned into another. KL is a book I've been thinking of reading for a long time.
I’ve been meaning to read that too. As someone who writes about historical novels, I really should.
John - the slow read is a magical thing. I believe that Middlemarch was originally released in serial format forcing a slower read before being published as a whole. In any case, you have picked a good one with Simon. I had been following along his slow read on IG since the beginning of the year and he is the one who inspired me to make the move to Substack. Love this platform and community. I am also excited about the Wolf Crawl although for me this will be a first time read.
Fantastic! I’m glad you’re along for the ride as well.
Thanks John! Great to find a kindred spirit in you and a wonderful place to share our love of literature. To clarify, I've only just moved into substack and the readalong was mostly on IG. So hoping to make a much richer experience on this platform in the next year.
Thanks for the clarification. I wish that I could do both readalongs. Maybe I’ll try...
It was a rather eccentric decision to run both. But here we are. I've committed now!
I'm sometimes reading three or four books at a time--so the slow read has to be the answer, unless one catches and holds me like Austen, who always did and Colm Tóibín who continues to do so though I have to admit to not yet quite getting to the end of _The Magician--but here it sits on my desk and I keep pick it up and going over it. You. John Holbrook define generosity.
Thank you--you do too, Mary! ❤️
Lovely stuff. I’ll be joining you on Simon’s slow read of Wolf Hall, my first read of it. Here’s to *slow*
Hear hear!
I love the idea of having a slow-reading project, John! I recently did something similar with “A Passage to India,” and I’ve been thinking about re-reading “Howards End” as well as “Middlemarch” - I think along with slowing down the pace there’s the pleasure of re-reading a great novel at a different time period in my own life.
Yes, it becomes an entirely different book!
I enjoyed seeing the mutual reinforcement of two stellar Substackers in this post. I'm nearly 50 and going thru a Renaissance of reading; I took a very long break from reading (16 years long; same age as my oldest child). And now that I am finally returning, I feel the need to CRAM it all in. So I appreciated the aperitif, slow savor concept of enjoying a few chapters (pages?) before bedtime. Why do I forget to do this? Likely because I'm up late trying to write (NaNoWriMo!) Question: how do you balance your desire to consume volumes of literature with the very real time constraints and limitations of life? I listen to books in the car, I read them while I'm on the stationary bike. But I still have an obsession with trying to "fit it all in." I know I won't ever... I think I can be okay with that. I'm a James Clear fan, so if the advice is just read 15 minutes a day and build from there, I get it. I've done that; I'm doing it and more. But if there is any other mind or perspective shift you would suggest, please share! In the meantime I will hope for lots of snow this winter (I'm in Massachusetts) so I can get my reads in.
I love it that you have reclaimed your reading habit. I’m not sure what advice I can offer, since I teach and write about literature for a living. It’s not really useful advice to say “become an English professor.” That said, I do all of the things that you mention to make more reading time. But the main thing I would say is that you should keep doing what you are doing, and enjoy the moment without worrying about getting to all of the unread books. I read books for a living, and I will *never* get to all of the books that I want to read, but I have come to realize that this is actually a good thing. I mean, it would be terrible to get to a point at which you had run out of good books to read. Enjoy the journey! Be “finifugal.”
Thank you for this! Slow reading definitely is something I will try to practice more so I can savor!
Love the message and your highlight of Simon’s work.
Middlemarch is such a nice one to linger on. Last time I read it was during a snowstorm at my parents’ house in New England. Although it only lasted days, they were long days of slow reading vs a consuming binge of text.
The difference between obsessive readers like us and other people is that we find the idea of a snowstorm that keeps us indoors and reading for several days to be delightful. Middlemarch is a lovely place to live for a few days.
Yes, I admit it, too - I'm an obsessive reader! Part of the reason I like winter so much.
I wish I could read fast! I have always been a slow reader. This is not good for my profession. Does fast reading just come naturally to you? Anyway, I am currently reading Hans Henny Jahnn's 2000-page magnum opus *Fluß ohne Ufer* (River without Banks/Shores/Bounds, though it has not been translated into English. (I've published a couple of articles on his "short" [800 pages] unfinished novel Perrudja.) I'm on page 400. I am loving it, but I also want to cry.
I have various reading gears. My tendency is to read fast, but when I make myself downshift, I get a lot more out of it.
Reclaiming my writing self has gone hand in hand with slow reading. I’m currently in the middle of a dozen or so books, from DeLillo’s Underworld, to Marilynn’s Robinson’s Gilead (which took me back to rereading Housekeeping), to fly fishing essays, to Thoreau, Moby Dick, Shakespeare....Thanks for the SStack recommendation. Great idea to lead a slow read through War and Peace (I’m also half way through Anna K for the second or third time)....
That’s a terrific range of reading.
Loved this. It’s one reason I enjoy audiobooks while knitting. Not everyone’s cuppa, but what is? Also, that typewriter is the one I took to college as an 18-year-old. Oh, my heart!
.
nice typewriter there .. aint a slow reader - but can be.. indeed have many ‘readin modes & rate of
Have found here.. can skim somewhat & stop part way .. or not ! But the die is cast & I shuffle along OR ! a delicious effective 2nd read is a lock.. & a 3rd hardly uncommon for this slow learner / grasper
Your readin taste ain’t mine.. though I know the books & read most ..
Am a huge fan of Robert B Parker .. & any book on the level of ‘Cuba Libre - Elmore Leonard is my kind of read ..