During October we’ll be reading Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen for our Read-a-Long. Who’s in?
*** These are sign ups for the Read-a-Long, and also for leading discussion. If you’ve been reading with us for a bit, PLEASE consider leading a discussion! I know this will be a short read-a-long, so I’ll only use a couple of you, but if you’re willing to help please include the date which you’d like to lead in your comment and I’ll e-mail you with instructions. Thank you so much in advance for helping our read-a-longs continue! *** I have all of the helpers I need for this one, thank you!!
Quick Facts About the Read-a-Long:
- You do not have to be a book blogger to join.
- We will be reading the book in October (four weeks), with the first discussion happening on Monday, October 7th. The book is about 219 pages (depending on which edition you read) so that’s roughly 55 pages a week; about 8 pages a day.
- Don’t be intimidated. We will be going at a slow pace and discussing the book throughout our reading. The discussions are quite fun, and make the reading process very enjoyable!
What is Northanger Abbey about?
A wonderfully entertaining coming-of-age story, Northanger Abbey is often referred to as Jane Austen’s “Gothic parody.” Decrepit castles, locked rooms, mysterious chests, cryptic notes, and tyrannical fathers give the story an uncanny air, but one with a decidedly satirical twist.
The story’s unlikely heroine is Catherine Morland, a remarkably innocent seventeen-year-old woman from a country parsonage. While spending a few weeks in Bath with a family friend, Catherine meets and falls in love with Henry Tilney, who invites her to visit his family estate, Northanger Abbey. Once there, Catherine, a great reader of Gothic thrillers, lets the shadowy atmosphere of the old mansion fill her mind with terrible suspicions. What is the mystery surrounding the death of Henry’s mother? Is the family concealing a terrible secret within the elegant rooms of the Abbey? Can she trust Henry, or is he part of an evil conspiracy? Catherine finds dreadful portents in the most prosaic events, until Henry persuades her to see the peril in confusing life with art.. (via goodreads)
About the author, Jane Austen:
Jane Austen was born on December 16, 1775, in Steventon, Hampshire, England. While not widely known in her own time, Austen’s comic novels of love among the landed gentry gained popularity after 1869, and her reputation skyrocketed in the 20th century. Her novels, including Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility, are considered literary classics, bridging the gap between romance and realism. (more…)
Please let me know in the comments section of this post if you are interested! Hope you’ll join us, the more the merrier! Below is a break down of the reading schedule. Our first discussion will start next Monday, October 7th). Please take care to sign up with the EXACT name you are using for the rest of the read-a-long (meaning, you will be commenting using that name only for the rest of the read-a-long, see below in “How it Works” for information on why that is important).
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The following is the reading and posting schedule for this read-a-long. Please note, we will be reading roughly 55 pages per week (about 8 pages a day). Because it is always easier for us to stop at chapters (rather than on page numbers, because of different editions), I’ve had to round to the nearest chapter each week. Please look at the week’s page amount to best plan your reading in order to keep up.
Schedule:
Beginning Tuesday, October 1st, and ending Monday, October 28th.
READING SCHEDULE:
Week #/ Where to Stop (For example, in week one STOP and place your bookmark at Chapter VI.)
Week One/ Volume 1, Chapter X
Week Two/ Volume 2, Chapter I
Week Three/ Volume 2, Chapter IX
Week Four/ The End
POSTING SCHEDULE:
Post #/ date discussion post will be up on blog:
Start-Up Post/ Today!
Week One/ October 7th
Week Two/ October 14th
Week Three/ October 21st
Week Four/ October 28th (Final Review)
** Please don’t forget to come to this blog each week to share your thoughts in the comments section of the weekly Read-a-Long discussion (see below for more information).**
How it Works:
- Each week, on Monday (we’ve now switched to Mondays), I will post my thoughts about the week’s reading. You will have from Monday through the following Sunday to post yours. If you are stuck on what to comment about, you can respond to my post or others’ comments. Regardless, you MUST check in each week (two weeks without a response and you will be taken off of the list — see below for details on why). You may have only one “off week” (which may not be the last week of reading for obvious reasons) and still be kept on the list, but you must let me know in the comment section by saying something like, “This is my off week — I am catching up!” Please note that, in order to be counted, your offering to the discussion must be about the current weeks’ reading, not about past weeks. ***For all week’s discussions please refrain from posting ahead, even if you have read ahead, as to not spoil the book for others***
- As these Read-a-Longs grow, so do the amount of people who participate – yay, all the more fun!!! Also, all the more keeping track of who is still reading. As you know – if you have been absent from discussion for two weeks, you will be removed from the list. However, now, in order to get back on the list, you need to a.) Have missed no more than two weeks of discussion, b.) Let me know you would like to be on the list again, and c.) Consistently be part of the discussion for the next two weeks after requesting to be put back on the list. Am I trying to be mean? Absolutely not! I LOVE having you all read a long. It is, however, a lot of work to keep track of who’s still reading. To keep taking names off and putting them back on the list becomes tedious. Most importantly though, consistency is good for the group; we tend to get to know each other through discussions and rely on the conversation to keep us reading. Since I don’t do these read-a-longs to gain followers (I do them because the benefit of reading certain books with a group of dedicated people is often superior to reading them alone), I prefer to have a committed group – even if it is smaller. Reading with undedicated people is worst of all, which is why I care less about numbers and more about dedication to the book and the discussions.
- If you are a blogger, feel free to post a link to your blog if you are posting about each of the each week’s reading. If I, or other readers, have extra time we will gladly try to visit your blog; however, you must make sure to share your thoughts here on this blog, and be part of the main conversation or your comment will not be counted. This is to make sure that our conversation is easily accessible to everyone who is reading, and also to keep it from becoming disjointed.
- Comments from the previous week’s reading will be closing Sunday afternoon (before the next discussion takes place on Monday). If you would like to be part of the discussion, please remember to comment before then.
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At dinner with some girlfriends two nights ago, one friend said she was reading Buddhist books. I asked her which ones and why. Apparently, she wakes up, fixes her morning tea, and then reads out of one of these books. It’s a way that’s helped her get her day started right. This makes a lot of sense… people do yoga when they wake up, they pray, they read a devotional, an affirmation, or anything else you can think of that gets a day started out on a positive note; why not a Buddhist book?
