Are you new to Chunksters? Please introduce yourself :)

[Ellen]

My name is Ellen. I finished reading 'War and Peace' and now started reading 'Anna Karenina'. I have had problems connecting with my friends with these books and have decided to expand to the internet to find people to talk to about them. Thank you.

[Katie]

i am just joining, I am personally reading quite chunky books.
I have started a bookclub that is now down to only two active members. I have my own personal conquest to read the classics; why I ever started the endeavor I don't know... but as I have gone for the last couple years, I find myself loving them more and more. I was educated in a private christian school (which was fantastic, wouldn't trade it for anything!) but we didn't read the things most highschoolers read and i have been trying to catch up. I adored Les miserables by the end... it was hard to get through. I enjoyed Moby Dick and am still working down my list. I would love to have more people to join and discuss in these books!

[Laurel]

Hello - playing catch up here. I'm not new, just mostly lurking and months behind. I'm a public librarian (adult services) in Minnesota, so most of my time seems to be spent reading about books rather than actually reading them. My average is about 36 a year. I manage 4 book clubs for the library, so that's another reason I lurk a lot.

I read just about anything, although I get bored with romance and the fluffier cozy mysteries. I like literary fiction, well-researched historical fiction, especially medieval and anything Celtic. I also read non-fiction, fantasy and sci fi, and thrillers. I like to create challenges for myself, like reading 10 titles within a year with birds in the title (The Goldfinch, The Nightingale, Red Sparrow, Cuckoo's Calling....) or Wife titles (Ahab's Wife, The Headhunter's Wife, The Time Travelers Wife...), things like that. The trouble is, some of these "themes" never end. I will be putting "wife" titles on my TBR forever now...

I'm currently reading Yseult by Ruth Nestvold which my Kindle app says is 579 pages, so I guess that is a chunkster, and it is book 1 of a trilogy.

Summertime is gardening time for me, but I'm hoping to get caught back up soon...

[Agnes]

Hello,
My name is Branka, and I'm from Serbia. I've just started War and Peace, and althrough I loved Anna Karenina, I'm having kind of hard time getting into this one.
I hope you guys might be able to help me - it would be great if I had somebody who would read it alongside with me :)

[Brian E]

Penney wrote: "Hello to all,
I started reading Middlemarch as a bit of a joke..."

I've been meaning to comment for months that you must have a very interesting sense of humor.

[XI]

Branka wrote: "Hello,
My name is Branka, and I'm from Serbia. I've just started War and Peace, and althrough I loved Anna Karenina, I'm having kind of hard time getting into this one.
I hope you guys might be abl..."
hello branka, i'm also reading war and peace, currently on the third part of the second volume. if we're not far off, i'd equally like to read along and discuss the ideas of the book with someone.

[Harry]

I joined a month or so back but didn't introduce myself. My name is Harry and I love big books. I love an author who takes the time and the pages to really explore his subject.
I have read a few 1000+ page books and cannot wait to read more.
My favorite modern chunkster is Thomas Pynchon's "Against the Day". The chunkster I want to read next is either William Gass's "The Tunnel" or Paul Auster's "4 3 2 1".
Nice to meet you all.

[Joseph]

I was a member previously, then just recently rejoined.

[Marie]

Hello everyone, I found this group the other day because I have been reading Gone With the Wind and I was inspired to look for a group where there might be other people interested in discussing the complexities of it. I found the discussion about Gone With the Wind that I have been browsing for the last couple days, and just about every book that has been chosen by this group is a book I have loved so I thought I would join. I read Anna karanina and les miserables years ago so this seems like the perfect place for me.

I am 36 years old. I have a boy and a girl who are entering their teenage years. I love to cook, crochet, read. I am also working on finishing a bachelor’s in computer science right now, so I am looking forward to enjoying some books that aren’t textbooks and can be appreciated as art. Looking forward to getting to know other people here.

[Carol]

Hi! I'm Carol, from central Canada, where the summers are full of mosquitos and the winters are as colder than you would ever know, unless you live here! This winter is supposed to be long, cold, a teeth-chattering cold they are predicting! Looks like it's going to be a great winter to delve into some Chunksters, cups of hot chocolate and snuggled with my 2 long haired mini dachshunds. I love reading, raised by readers, read all my life. Not afraid to try any genre! Looking forward to participating in this group!

[Brian E]

Winnipeg, Manitoba. Wow, Carol. I'm copying the text of an answer I posted last week in a Name the Book thread in another Goodreads group:

The Diviners by Margaret Laurence
(not the Libba Bray novel of the same name)

I'm on a Manitoba roll the past 24 hours. This book takes place in Manitoba and, in another NTLTRC thread, Samantha just mentioned Bachman Turner Overdrive who come from Winnipeg, Manitoba.
And last night I started watching the movie Goodbye Christopher Robin and found out that Winnie the Pooh is named after a Canadian black bear at the London zoo and is short for "Winnipeg."

[Renee]

Lorna wrote: "Carol wrote: "Hi! I'm Carol, from central Canada, where the summers are full of mosquitos and the winters are as colder than you would ever know, unless you live here! This winter is supposed to be..."

I don't remember seeing Middlemarch selected as a group read. I would have been more interested in that one.

[Pamela]

Renee wrote: " I don't remember seeing Middlemarch selected as a group read. I would have been more interested in that one...."

Renee, we are reading Middlemarch as a Buddy Read, and you would be very welcome to join us. Although we have a provisional schedule and are about half way through it, it is a more informal read than a group read, so people are taking it at whatever speed suits them and contributing to the threads when they can.

The Middlemarch discussion threads have been set up in the Buddy Reads folder and the schedule thread is here https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/... if you'd like to take a look

[Kathleen]

Hi. I am a retired Vermont nurse, lactation consultant, as well as a mom of 3, wife for 38 years, and grammie to 4. I am interested in finding someone to read War and Peace with. I need a reading buddy who is as passionate about this as I am. My lovely professor from Vassar had read this book four times, and it was the last novel he read before he passed. . I studied literature, mostly British and Russian novels in my work in college..and loved every minute of it. If you want to readalong with me, let me know! KATHLEEN IN VERMONT

[Kathleen]

Hi. I live in Vermont, am a retired nurse, and a grammie of four, mom to 3, and wife to one for 38 years. Pup and Siamese also. I studied literature at Vassar, most of it Russian and British, major focus on Dickens and on Tolstoy and Dostoevsky.

I want to find a READING PARTNER for my first time through War and Peace. I have started it three times, and this time I am doing it. I am using Alymer Maud's translation, but am open to better translations if you feel there are any. Thanks. Kathleen

[Renee]

Kathleen wrote: "Hi. I live in Vermont, am a retired nurse, and a grammie of four, mom to 3, and wife to one for 38 years. Pup and Siamese also. I studied literature at Vassar, most of it Russian and British, major..."

Welcome Kathleen! I would love to join you in reading War and Peace. I'm sure we could get a few others to join also. I'm planning a tackling a few more Russian novels next year, but hadn't decided which ones yet. A buddy read of this would be great!

I also share your love of Dickens. I haven't read all of his novels yet, but I plan to eventually. There are just so many others authors to read, that I usually only get to maybe 1 a year since most of them are fairly long.

[Kathleen]

Thank you so much I am really excited to find this group. I haven’t found a book group that I liked because no one seems to be very interested in reading the large classic novels. I have been interested in Charles Dickens since I was 12 years old and the first book I ever bought with my own money was a copy of the Christmas Carol. I’m looking forward to getting involved with this group thank you so much for being so welcoming ❤️

[Kathleen]

I am so happy that you want to read Renee. Horton PS has been on my bucket list for a long time. I don’t really know how this group works so I will listen in and comment if I can and you and I can talk about it and if anybody else is interested in reading War and Peace...maybe starting after Christmas, that would be wonderful. I’m glad to be here -thank you all

[Kathleen]

War and Peace I meant

[Tammy Dayton]

I have only recently learned of "chunkster" from the Litsy app. Each year, I make it a goal to get through challenging classics. This group, I hope will make it easier. My goal for 2019 is to at least read 5 chunksters. My question: Do all five have to be a classic or do I read what the majority of the vote wants to read?

[Tammy Dayton]

Thank you Lorna. Litsy is a community, similar to Goodreads and Instagram combined.

[Nike]

Hi! My name is Nike and I live in Sweden. I'm new in this group which I believe is a group that suits me wonderful since I love reading the classics. Currently I'm reading "Bel-Ami" by Guy de Maupassant. I can't find a thread of what you are reading together now in January though and I would love to know. Thank you!

[[deleted user]]

Hi Everyone! I recognise some of the names from other groups I'm in. I really wanted to join this group as I've recently become a fan of reading chunksters.

I heard a snippet of a radio adaptation of Daniel Deronda a few weeks ago and really got into the story so I'll be joining you for this read.

Looking forward to having lots of interesting discussions with you!

[Dianne]

Nike wrote: "Hi! My name is Nike and I live in Sweden. I'm new in this group which I believe is a group that suits me wonderful since I love reading the classics. Currently I'm reading "Bel-Ami" by Guy de Maupa..."

Welcome Nike! We are reading Daniel Deronda by George Eliot in January, the discussion of the first 70 pages or so will begin January 13. Hope you can join us!!

[Dianne]

Catriona wrote: "Hi Everyone! I recognise some of the names from other groups I'm in. I really wanted to join this group as I've recently become a fan of reading chunksters.

I heard a snippet of a radio adaptatio..."

Welcome Catriona! Wonderful to see you here!

[Lauren]

Hi everyone. It's nice to see quite a few familiar names here. My name is Lauren, and I'm a software developer in Southern California. I'll be honest and admit that I tend towards shorter books, but I've been meaning to tackle Daniel Deronda for a while and it'll be great to have company.

[Dianne]

Wonderful to see you here Lauren, welcome and so happy you are joining!

[Naomi's]

Hello everyone!
My name is Naomi. I live in Canada and love all kinds of books. I have about 10 huge classics on my shelves that I think I will love but I am scared of the size. I am hoping to buddy read a few like Anna Karenina and Vanity Fair. If I buddy read, I will be able to pick them up and start.

[Karen Michele]

Hello everyone! I’ve been retired and reading like crazy for about 5 years now. Before that, I was a high school librarian and I taught elementary school music before getting my library credentials. I read almost anything when it comes to genre and audience as long as the writing is solid. I have two grown children and my husband and I live in beautiful Washington State. I’m planning to join in here as much as I can and I have already enjoyed reading through the group posts. I always appreciate the wonderful discussions on Goodreads! I saw that the group was in the process of reading Daniel Deronda which was on my "read soon" list, so I decided it was a good time to jump in. I look forward to catching up with the discussions.

[Jen]

Lauren wrote: "Hi everyone. It's nice to see quite a few familiar names here. My name is Lauren, and I'm a software developer in Southern California. I'll be honest and admit that I tend towards shorter books, bu..."

Happy belated Hello, Lauren!
And more recent hellos to Naomi, Lorna, and Karen Michelle!

[Jack]

Hi there,

I am looking forward to joining the next read. I found this group when I was reading Daniel Deronda by searching, and I realize this group reads a lot of the books I've been reading or wanted to read. I'm an engineer in Falls Church, Virginia and I like to read in my spare time. Looks you all have some terrific members and I am impressed by the book selections!

[Jack]

Thanks Lorna. Where is the voting? I can't seem to find the discussion thread for the contemporary read.

[Rachel]

I am a retired librarian and have a always preferred chunksters. I am currently rereading War and Peace (but in a better translation). Read it the first time when i was 13. 66 now

[Karen Michele]

Welcome to the newer members than me:) Rachel, I'm a 66 year old retired librarian, too!

[Rachel]

wow small world

[Jazzy]

Long time reader, first time poster. Since January this year I have read 50 books:
(the brick) Les Misérables - Victor Hugo (My favourite!)
and a few other 'chunksters'
Don Quixote - Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
I Am a Cat - Three Volumes in One - Sōseki Natsume
Wagner, the Wehr-Wolf - George W.M. Reynolds

I am currently reading these 'chunksters'
The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
Road to Calvary - Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy
Penny Dreadfuls: Sensational Tales of Terror by Various authors, includes Frankenstein, Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde etc

I was a librarian in a former life, i miss those card catalogs! And I used to read for the Bookmobile and make a list of any 'triggers' parents might want to know about as well as a short synopsis of the new books.

[Jazzy]

I'm trying to read as many classics as I can, let's read them together!
You know, I'm positive that I can look up books faster in a card catalog than on a computer. ;)
I may well join you in June - I'm not too keen on contemporary books, but I'll give it a go, Thank you Lorna!

[Nidhi]

Hello
I am Nidhi from India. I like chunksters but i keep on postponing reading them so its good to have a group for that. I have read War and Peace, Anna Kerenina, A Suitable Boy, Resurrection, currently i am reading Les Miserables with a group. My Favorite big book is David Copperfield. Dickens is my all time favourite.

[Nidhi]

I left that book at 3 rd chapter around 2 yrs ago due to family reasons now I will read it with this group. There is a long list of chunksters and series books which I am looking forward to read with this group..🤗

[Hummingbirder]

Hello! I haven't been here since Les Miz. A lot of stuff happened. I'm sorry I missed Cryptonomicon (I did, didn't I?). One of my favorites. I'm not sure where to look for what's next when the group finishes A Fine Balance. But I wanted to poke my nose in and maybe start participating again if you'll have me.

I'm completely moved to Florida. I've had a lot going on and not much time to discuss books, but I think I can now.

[Joseph]

Hello, I'm Joe from Western New York.

[Marin]

Hi, I'm Marin. I've spent last year and this year trying to catch up on some of the classics that I've been putting off and really enjoying them. Right now I'm working on Ulysses (and Arabian Nights, which I'm reading one night at a time, so that will take me a while). I'm interested to see what my next challenge should be!

[Lorna]

Hello! I'm new to the group. I'm a librarian living in Egypt. I try to read one classic novel a month (along with some non-fiction and shorter contemporary fiction). When I choose a chunkster it sometimes takes me a while to finish... I've been working on Gone with the Wind since June. Maybe I can pick up the pace a bit by joining this group. BTW some of my all-time favorite books have been on the chunky side : Les Miserables, Foucault's Pendulum, Moby Dick, The Silver Darlings, Independent People, Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Return of the Native. Would love to read Don Quixote, War & Peace, Ulysses.

[Rachel]

I am a retired librarian, that has loved long books since i read War and Peace at the age of 13 ( for the fun of it). i am rereading it now, in a better translation.

[Greg]

Marin wrote: "Hi, I'm Marin. I've spent last year and this year trying to catch up on some of the classics that I've been putting off and really enjoying them. Right now I'm working on Ulysses (and Arabian Night..."

Marin, same here, reading Arabian nights one story a day or so. And about Ulysses, I read it from about 1970 to 2017 (traveled with it, it was always nearby) 4 times. Finally decided to read it one page at a time and savour it: it's probably the funniest book I;ve ever read. I'm now in year 3 of "Finnegan's wake", much more difficult and really too challenging to be fun, imo,

[Greg]

Ellen wrote: "My name is Ellen. I finished reading 'War and Peace' and now started reading 'Anna Karenina'. I have had problems connecting with my friends with these books and have decided to expand to the inter..."

Hi Ellen! Oh how I loved Anna K. and found it far better than war and peace! Although, in reflection, Anna is at war all the time, her country-character equivalent, the happy farmer, is at peace just being a farmer. So I loved how the 2 books are sort of alike in that way.

[Greg]

Rachel wrote: "I am a retired librarian and have a always preferred chunksters. I am currently rereading War and Peace (but in a better translation). Read it the first time when i was 13. 66 now"

Hi Rachel, you know, there are a lot of people that read a lot of very adult books at very young ages. Sometimes I mention I read "ulysses' in the 6th grade and although I didn't get most of it, it was a springboard to the world for me. (Teacher would not accept book report, gave me a failing grade, called my parents in for an 'intervention', as in "why are you letting your child read such a book." Parents: "because we allow our kids to read anything, and that's a battle not worth fighting, and Greg has already read everything on your reading list." Teacher "but have you read his report? The spelling is horrible." Me: "Joyce made up words and so did I." Parents, "we think the important thing is this: have you, Mrs. Cox, read the book?" Teacher: "No..." Parents: "Please do, and let's have another meeting next month." Teacher "After consideration, I'll give Greg a passing grade for the report." Mrs. Cox wasn't about to read "Ulysses." Most people just don't after a few pages.

[Greg]

All, I've been on goodreads for years. I've tried buddy reads. I've read a few chunksters along with everyone else. BUT, I admit it, I am not very good at buddy reads. I think it's a great idea for most people. Not me. I'm not sure why: I think it is that I feel like I am the odd reader out. Take, for example, "Gone With the Wind". I loved it, but it seemed to me that Margaret Mitchell had just read "war and Peace" and thought to herself she could write an American version, AND a better book, and I think she did. So many similarities. Tolstoy keeps stepping into "w and p' with history lessons that are to me rather dry. Mitchell doesn't do that in Gone with the wind. Yet, many people feel "wind" is just sort of soapy, and Tolstoy's book far better. I rated 'w and p' 2 stars: I was pretty much bored to tears. And no one would enter a discussion that Pierre just gave up on the ladies, focused his energy and money on rebuilding Moscow, and hung around ONLY with guys after that, Yea, Pierre gay, as was Hamlet, obviously. so, see, that's why I'm not good at buddy reads: I like to find perspectives that I see as 'hidden."

[Greg]

Harry wrote: "I joined a month or so back but didn't introduce myself. My name is Harry and I love big books. I love an author who takes the time and the pages to really explore his subject.
I have read a few 1..."

I LOVED 1-2-3-4, the world's first literary (although fictional) study of epigenetics.

[Greg]

Branka wrote: "Hello,
My name is Branka, and I'm from Serbia. I've just started War and Peace, and althrough I loved Anna Karenina, I'm having kind of hard time getting into this one.
I hope you guys might be abl..."

Branka, I'm glad I read Anna K after "war and peace" because Anna K is far superior and I'm not sure I would have even bothered with finishing the other book. Anna K my favorite Russian novel, BUT, I haven't read Brothers Karamazov, which I'm pretty sure I'm going to love, given that I enjoyed "Idiot" immensely and enjoyed "Crime and Punishment" up until the absolutely unbelievable, out of place 'epilogue' which had nothing to do with the story or the character arc at all.