My thought for the Tilting at Windmills blog was that people would choose their own reading schedules to finish the book whenever works best for them, but I also thought I’d share my own plans, and perhaps participants can post theirs in the comments or in a separate post. Or not — we’re all about flexibility here. But for me, setting a goal and making it public works pretty well. It’s worked very well for my Proust reading — I’m still reading about 50 pages of Proust a week and I have been since last July. I suppose I’m nothing if not methodical.
So I thought 50 pages a week of Don Quixote would work well too; with my edition (the Edith Grossman one) of about 950 pages of text and my plan to begin reading around May 1st, that would take me up into the first week in September. For long novels that pace works well for me because it gives me plenty of time for other books so I don’t get to feeling bogged down, and it keeps me immersed enough in the book to stay interested and to feel I’m making steady progress.
So — feel free to post whenever you like and on whatever you like, as long as it’s at least loosely DQ-related, and let’s have fun!
April 24, 2007 at 1:24 am |
The nice thing about DQ having so many chapters is that there are convenient breaks about every 50 pages. Parts 1 and 2 make appropriate chunks, and Part 3 makes two chunks. But what are we going to call these sections? In Grossman’s table of contents there is a “Part Two” and a “Second Part” (same deal in Spanish). To add to the confusion, the second part (which I believe was published as a separate volume) has no “parts” and starts the chapter numbering over again. And shall we use roman or arabic numerals? I suppose all we need is to designate book and chapter and forget the “parts.” Shame on Cervantes for not structuring his work better!
April 24, 2007 at 2:03 pm |
I’ll be following your lead Dorothy – 50 pages a week. But I think I might add some extra-curricular reading as well. I have a list of my library’s books on DQ and am thinking of reading an article or chapter of criticism a week as an accompaniment.
DQ is a book that I really want to appreciate in a rounded way – emotionally and academically. I can’t wait.
April 24, 2007 at 5:04 pm |
I too will follow your lead Dorothy. It’s so big and intimidating, I think little bits at the time will help, as will the discussion. I can’t wait to get started!
April 24, 2007 at 8:41 pm |
Ooh, I read and adored DQ last summer (I was staying in Cervantes’ birthplace at the time, so it seemed the thing to do
). I look forward to reliving it through your posts!
April 24, 2007 at 9:48 pm |
I think you’re right, Sylvia, that we’ll need to refer to the first and second parts (or books) and after that the chapter number. That should work pretty well.
I’m looking forward to hearing about your extra-curricular reading, Victoria.
Heather — I agree! I’m always ready to break something big into smaller chunks to make it seem more manageable.
What a wonderful way to read DQ, Nic! I’m quite jealous.
April 26, 2007 at 2:53 pm |
Count me in as another who’ll try to follow your lead Dorothy!
April 26, 2007 at 9:37 pm |
I’m so glad you’ll be joining us Iliana!