The Red and the Black - Reading Schedule

[Silver]

Book One

May 1- 10: Ch. 1-10
May 11-21: Ch. 11-21
May 22-30: Ch.22-30

Book Two

May 31- June 7: Ch. 1-15
June 8-14: 16-25
June 15-22: Ch.26-35
June 23-30- Ch. 36-End

[Lily]

Is anyone else finding this reading quickly enough that they would be interested in having all the threads available for posting? I am inclined in that direction on this book -- I am finding I don't want to pace the reading so as to stay in sync with posting, although I don't know if I'll be able to sustain that view all the way to the end of June.

[Silver]

The chapters are quite short. I had considered grouping the chapters in large portions than usual, but than when I saw it was divided in two books, I thought that would make an even split to do a book a month.

But I can revise the schedule if others feel it would be better for the discussion.

[MadgeUK]

Good idea - people do not have to read ahead or encounter Spoilers if they do not wish and it would be helpful to those who are reading more quickly or who have read the book previously.

BTW can some f the older 'reads' now be sent to the archive as they are cluttering up the GR pages. Perhaps only the last 3 reads should continue to be shown?

[Silver]

MadgeUK wrote: "Good idea - people do not have to read ahead or encounter Spoilers if they do not wish and it would be helpful to those who are reading more quickly or who have read the book previously.

BTW can..."

LOL ahead of you there. This morning I created an Acrhives folder for last years, now Wings of hte Dove is the only one still up.

[MadgeUK]

Good, thanks! I hadn't seen that. (Can all The Mill on the Floss chapters be put under one heading please?)

[Lynnm]

I'm not sure if I like having the threads open early. I'm staying closer to the original reading schedule, and I'm "behind." By the time I've posted, everyone has moved on.

I don't want to hold people back for this discussion, but for the next read, I hope we go back to the old way of doing things.

Maybe have just the usual week for a certain number of chapters rather than 10 days.

[Lily]

Lynnm wrote: ",,,I'm staying closer to the original reading schedule, and I'm "behind." By the time I've posted, everyone has moved on...."

I'm sorry to hear that, i.e., that everyone has moved on by the time you post. Personally, I'd like to see all the sections posted from day one and people being free to move back and forth in response to both their reading pace and the discussion activity. Usually posted reading schedules don't work for me -- they are more posted discussion schedules. My reading is usually ahead or behind the schedule and is more dependent on the book and other things going on in my life. I dislike slowing down if the book seems to ask for a faster pace and some weeks and months I just can't sustain the requested schedule.

Further comment (not really "a spoiler"): (view spoiler)[I do consider these valuable discussions -- it seems to me they involve questions of how do we make best use of the media and structures available to us, recognizing that online is different than face-to-face, and in either case, a number of variations can be made to work well if people agree what that might take and choose to participate to make such happen. Perhaps as sad as anything to me is a rich discussion that just "dies" at the end of month, which is one of the reasons I follow a few of the book specific threads, some of which continue for months. But, the book group discussion threads are usually richer in content and I wish there were some way to get them to actually stay "active" (more than just "open") for at least a month or two after the scheduled "completion" of a book. But, I see no way of easily accomplishing such. (hide spoiler)]

[Silver]

It can certainly be difficult trying to accommodate for everyone's needs, as we all read differently naturally there is no one system that will work for everyone.

I myself have mixed feelings about structured reading schedules, I can seen bot the advantages and disadvantages to using the method, but when I was new in town here, I felt it best to just follow the structure of which it seemed this group was accustomed to using.

But new approaches can certainly be considered, and hopefully if I can get other members willing to take the lead on book discussions they can introduce and explore new ways of setting up discussions and draw upon their own ideas for what they think might work better.

[Lynnm]

@Lily - everyone has a different way of doing things. And I think that you lose people either way. If we go too slow, people either get too far ahead and stop posting. If we go too fast, people get behind and stop posting. It is hard to find the right speed. And I would think that it would also depend on the book as well.

[Lily]

Lynnm wrote: "@Lily - everyone has a different way of doing things. And I think that you lose people either way. If we go too slow, people either get too far ahead and stop posting. If we go too fast, people ..."

I agree. Like all group activities, it is necessary to negotiate something, whether by fiat or discussion or..., and then deal with the ability of the group members to live with whatever.

[Bob]

Lily wrote: "Lynnm wrote: "@Lily - everyone has a different way of doing things. And I think that you lose people either way. If we go too slow, people either get too far ahead and stop posting. If we go too..."

I'm afraid I've dropped waaayyyyy behind, and I apologize for disappearing from the discussions. I miscalculated my ability to handle two books simultaneously. I did manage to make it through Book One of R&B, but then I got busier, and had to choose between R&B here and Brothers K in "Chunksters". I'm afraid that I found R&B to be the more "put-downable" of the two. But I'm sorry to be missing what I am sure are very interesting discussions.

[MadgeUK]

Hi Bob and welcome back! Don't blame you for sticking with the Brothers K. A much more absorbing read methinks.

[Lily]

Bob -- do hope, however, that you shall have a chance to peruse R&B at some point. We have found it difficult to discuss, for some reasons or others that we can't even quite articulate. But, I did find it a read I am glad to have done, if nothing else for its descriptions of the ups and downs of emotions when one thinks one is in love. In that respect, the book reminded me of aspects of Proust's In Search of Lost Time, although much less subtle. But more fun to ask if true to read experiences in that simplification.