A Weighty Tome: 2022 Challenge: The Pillars of the Earth

[Moderators of NBRC, Challenger-in-Chief]

Over in the Cleaning out the closet challenge in 2018 we started talking...

Your know those MASSIVE books that you want to read, but everything else gets in the way?

Well we decided that perhaps the best way to tackle this problem is to pick a book and read it together over a year. So 2019 was the year of Les Misérables, 2020 was War and Peace and 2021 we tackled Gone with the Wind!

After nominating books and then voting for 2022, the winner is The Pillars of the Earth!

Anyone is welcome to join. This is essentially an extremely long buddy read :)

There is a reading schedule below to show which chapters to read over a two month period and we will also have two break months ; meaning the read will last the whole year.


To participate, all you need to do is come on over and give your thoughts for the section you are reading. Please make it clear which section you are referring to, and if you are reading ahead of the schedule, put your comments in spoiler tags.

c.1000 pages? 40+ hours of audio?! Meh! We got this! Let the Reading Begin!

[Moderators of NBRC, Challenger-in-Chief]

If you are interested in the full results of the voting, it is available here:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...

[Moderators of NBRC, Challenger-in-Chief]

READING SCHEDULE

January & February 2022

Part 1
Chapters 1-4


March & April 2022

Part 2
Chapters 5-7


==BREAK / CATCH UP MONTH==

June & July 2022

Part 3
Chapters 8-10


August & September 2022

Part 4
Chapters 11-13



==BREAK / CATCH UP MONTH==

November & December 2022

Parts 5 & 6
Chapters 14-18

[Moderators of NBRC, Challenger-in-Chief]

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[Moderators of NBRC, Challenger-in-Chief]

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[Moderators of NBRC, Challenger-in-Chief]

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[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

We just need to get a copy of the book to do a breakdown. Does anyone happen to have one handy?

[Cordelia]

I do! What do you want to know, number of chapters?

It's broken up into 6 parts. Part 1 is page 15-283 in my copy. There are technically 4 chapters plus a prologue but it's split up so it's like chapter 1, II, III, Chapter 2, II, III, Chapter 3, II, III. Part 2 includes pages 287-435 and chapters 5-7 including the same broken into parts section for each chapter although the numbers seem to vary and I didn't make a note of every parts ordering system. Part 3 is 441-595, 8-10. Part 4 is 599-765, chapters 11-13. Part 5 is 769-901, chapters 14-16. Part 6 is 905-969, chapters 17-18 with chapter 18 being 4 parts and chapter 17 just including chapter 17. I haven't checked to see if any other parts have differences in how the chapter subsections are split up.

[Eldarwen]

I'll have to go hunt down my mum's copy then for next year hehe :-)

[Judy]

Love this pick - I started it like... four? five? years ago at this point on audio and never made it past page 150. It's finally time!

[Sammy]

I'll see if I can locate a copy before the new year :)

[Audrey Jane]

Eldarwen wrote: "I'll have to go hunt down my mum's copy then for next year hehe :-)"

Same :) She owns the entire series and kept talking about it when she was reading it.

Will be joining the group read. I've watched the tv series, don't know how faithful to the book it is. I might try to squeeze the prequel The Evening and the Morning before though.

[Keli]

READING SCHEDULE

January & February 2022

Part 1
Chapters 1-4


March & April 2022

Part 2
Chapters 5-7


==BREAK / CATCH UP MONTH==

June & July 2022

Part 3
Chapters 8-10


August & September 2022

Part 4
Chapters 11-13



==BREAK / CATCH UP MONTH==

November & December 2022

Parts 5 & 6
Chapters 14-18

[Katy]

I'll have to see if I still have my old copy available! I'll join and reread this one again. Such a great book (and miniseries!)!

[Teri]

Got this from my brother in law a few years back, definitely going to try to keep up, hopefully this coming year will go better for reading!

[Keely]

I used an Audible credit for this. I may end up finishing it real quick as I'm starting a new job in the new year than I should be able to listen to things at. If they dont let me then I will make slow progress like normal

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

Thanks Cordelia that is helpful! I managed to get the ebook from the library so I can see the parts and chapters you have so I’ll put a schedule together tomorrow. Looks like we may do the first five parts as separate sections and then the final two as one 👍

[Judy]

Took me a while to find it but turns out I do in fact have the ebook of this! Guess that means I'm ready...

[Alisha]

I got the audiobook. Looking forward to joining in this year!

[Moderators of NBRC, Challenger-in-Chief]

Reading schedule added :)
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

[Marie (UK)]

Will try this

[Sophie, The other one]

The schedule looks manageable, but if past years are anything to go by, I'm unlikely to actually stick to it.

[Athira]

This book has been on my list for a while so I am going to make an attempt to read this with the group. That said, I may also have overcommitted on how many fantasy/historical tomes I'm reading next year so as long as I'm not confusing myself between different books lol, I'm in.

[Cordelia]

I have been meaning to read this book for a decade! I own this and the companion novel but am always intimidated by it. So happy to attempt this this year!

[Tina Reads]

Reserving my spot

[Rosina]

I started reading this book over 10 years ago and got about 1/3 done....I remember that it was quite good... I only had a huge copy I think the Oprah one....I put it aside and always meant to get back to it....Once the series continued I also got those copies...knowing that one day I would make the time to continue it...I believe I have Pillars in paperback & ebook...
I think I have watched the TV series but dont remember much...

As with the other big reads I tend to burn out or push them aside...hoping I can finish this one...

[Kate]

I have started this several times - have it in hard copy, kindle, and audible....... I'm in.

[Gabby]

I may give this a go as it seems interesting. I may not be able to stick to the timetable as often I dip in and out of books but will definitely pop my head in occasionally as things go or if I manage to finish the parts along with.

[Daniel]

Hello. New here. This seems like an interesting way to read a big book. I’m not usually one to put a book down after a few chapters and wait a bit to read what’s next, but I’ll give it a shot.

[Helen]

Hi, I'm in!

This method will be new for me, too!

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

Welcome all!

Well it is NYE here so I just need to finish my current audio (Rule of Wolves) and then I am going to get stuck into this.
Because UNO starts in Feb, I need to get through all of part 1 in January :o

I watched the TV adaptration of this book a few years ago and really enjoyed it, but I've not read any of Follett's books and so don't know what to expect in terms of writing style. Looking forward to this!

[Cat]

If I recall correctly I first read this age about 14, the same summer hol that I read War and Peace and Decline and Fall.
Yes. I was that obnoxious teen!

Anyway, I enjoyed it very much and have read it at least once since that summer as well as watching the mini series

Follet I find to be a decent writer. He covers similar sort of approach to that of Jeffrey Archer (family saga with villains) but better

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

Haha that is an awesome reading list for a 14 year old.

I was into Anna Karenina and Dune. Also “back then” books were expensive so we’d just read the same books over and over - usually classics from my grandmother’s bookshelves or anything we were given for birthdays/Christmas

[Rosina]

Karen ⊰✿ wrote: "Haha that is an awesome reading list for a 14 year old.

I was into Anna Karenina and Dune. Also “back then” books were expensive so we’d just read the same books over and over - usually classics f..."

When I was 15 read The Stand, my mom got it for me and said it should keep me busy over the Christmas holidays....5 days later I was done and that began my love for Stephen King...

[Rosina]

Cat wrote: "If I recall correctly I first read this age about 14, the same summer hol that I read War and Peace and Decline and Fall.
Yes. I was that obnoxious teen!

Anyway, I enjoyed..."

I really enjoy Follett's writing....I've read all his books prior to The Pillars of the Earth...I really enjoyed his spy novels...his writing is good....

[Amber-Louise]

I've actually had this on my shelf for years along side the other larger series I own (looking at you GoT)... this may actually finally be achievable 🤭

[Amy]

I am in.

[Sammy]

Cat wrote: "If I recall correctly I first read this age about 14, the same summer hol that I read War and Peace and Decline and Fall.
Yes. I was that obnoxious teen!

Anyway, I enjoyed..."

Hahaha... it was Anna Karenina, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame and a half dozen or so Dickens novels for me at that age, lol.

In my defense, we had just moved to the back of beyond, where the nearest village (which consisted of two chickens, a cow, and a huge 5 star hotel) was 5 miles away, and the nearest place there was *anything* for a teenager to do a little over 40.
Good thing I loved books! lol.

[Storm]

Time to buy my copy!

[Sophie, The other one]

I've started the year off on a positive step with this.

The prologue is certainly something! Will be interested to see how it links to the main story and what the repercussions are.

[Sammy]

i don't have a copy yet either! Planning a trip to town over the weekend, in the meantime I should probably finish Gone with the Wind, lol.

[Keli]

I ordered mine friday but won't get it until next week. I'm looking forward to this. I bought last year's tome and didn't get past page 20. Not because it wasn't good, just everything else got in the way. I really want to keep up with this year's read.

[Eldarwen]

I'm going to start this once I'm done with Gone with the Wind. So it will probably be after Uno... hehe. But that's what the catch-up month is for after all ;-)

[Melissa (ladybug)]

I am looking forward to tackling this book. :)

[Stacy]

Hi, I'd like to join in with this one :-)

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

I started this yesterday and I have the ebook and audiobook.

It started with a long author's note about how and why Follett decided to write the book ; convince it to be published ; and then discovered how successful it had become.
It was really interesting!

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

Part 1, Chapter 1

So far I am really enjoying this. The character development and the descriptions are great. I love reading HF when you feel like you are back there with them. It really brought home how different our lives are now.
I was trying to imagine walking for days from town to town with my family while pregnant and my husband asks for work. :o
Also the references to how one pig would feed the family for the whole winter.! I know we eat a tremendous amount of meat these days, but that was really a striking difference to me.

I thought Ellen was probably one of the most interesting characters in this chapter! (view spoiler)[ Although the "relationship" with her and Tom was extremely sudden and interestingly timed. :o (hide spoiler)]
And when they go to town and try to find the thief (view spoiler)[ and then for all that time, work and violence get nothing... I could feel their despair and frustration (hide spoiler)]

[Tina Reads]

I got my book today! Hopefully I'll get to start in a week or so.

[Teri]

I'm on page 122
(view spoiler)[ I don't like Tom *cries* and I felt this whole situation with Ellen was very suspiciously timed! I am liking the parts about the priest more right now. (hide spoiler)]

[Daniel]

William = the worst so far. I’m in Chapter 3 and I find myself repeatedly putting my kindle down and picking up my phone instead of reading more of his POV. Aliena, girl I am with you 100%.