King Crusoe > Recent Status Updates

Book Eleven is like the prime example of perhaps my main issue with this: the pacing and shifts in narrative focus are not great. Most of these books should be split into 2 books because their front halves and latter halves are almost entirely separate, and reading these long books all at once gets exhausting when suddenly the topic changes. 11’s title only tells of the last like 400 lines - out of nearly 1100.

At last! As far as the Iliadic side of the tale goes, Book 10 just about reaches the poetic heights of Homer’s battles. Not quite, but just about.

Overall really enjoyed this book tho it did run overlong, as many of them have up to this point.

I could technically finish today but I think I’m gonna hold off from that kind of binge. Book 8 followed the trend and was pretty great. Book 9 was good in its actual battle stuff, but not up to the levels of the Iliad for me.

I’m noticing a trend where the even-numbered books are great and the odd-numbered ones left notably more tedious.

Book 6 and the trek through hell was great, including how it lowkey “foreshadows” what Dante will later do in the Divine Comedy.

Book 7 was…fine? First half was engaging, second half I found myself bored by.

Book Five was definitely a bit slower with the funeral games. Entertaining in their way but I also didn’t fully care tbh.

Got through some more of Part 3, continuing to be great. Hope to finish this part soon, though at this point I'm not sure when that will be. Middle of next week maybe?

Started Part 3 finally today, and honestly it's so good. Peterson actually going into some of his psychologically roots more fully now to explain the disposition of and the reflection upon humanity that the Cain and Abel story is.

Fascinating thus far, and I'm not even 1/3 of the way through yet (hell, Peterson has only actually gotten through the introduction of those 2 characters at this point lol)

Book 4 was actually super brilliant. The dramatic dynamic between Aeneas and Dido, and all the events that subsequently unfold are easily the best part of this thing so far.

(Huge page count jump because of including endnotes and other back-matter material I've read today on top of Books 3-4 themselves.

Rick Riordan will never not be a soft spot for me 😄

Good Odyssey-like recounting of more journeys, maybe a bit too derivative tho.

Book Two down: funny that the recounting of the Trojan Horse story comes from this one and not from The Iliad haha

This imprisonment arc has been so fucking tense dude. Like I haven't seen a single decision or reveal here coming so far. 10 Chapters into the arc, 8 chapters left, (10 chapters left in this volume), and I'm so excited to continue.

I might very well end up binding this by the end of the month, despite the lack of time to do so.

Read most of the introduction. Skipped some parts to avoid the more explicit "spoilers" of the poem. But some of the context of Virgil's life of his other work was nice to get.

First half of the volume down; now only 7 chapters left in this Prague arc…really massive and crazy revelations and twists in this part lmao

I started The Aeneid this morning; I skipped the introduction of this edition for now, tho I intend to return to it later.

But since I skipped the introduction, I’m tracking progress for now by subtracting its 40 pages from wherever I’m actually at.

There’s sometimes a method to my madness.

Anyway, Book One was good. Took a while to get oriented, but looking forward to the backstory of Books 2-3!

Finally finished Part 2 after massive delay. Really liked Part 2.6 especially. Had a specific sentence so accurately depict how I felt through high school it was almost disorienting 😅

So I finished this morning. Chapter 17 was beautiful and poignant; Chapter 18 started questionable but came around near the end. I definitely have some thoughts, and no idea how long it'll take to compose them. This was a fantastic jounrney.

(The last 22 pages of this edition are a preview of The Evening and the Morning so that's why I only updated through 1070 lol)

Evidentially I forgot to add my Chapter 15 progress yesterday, but that’s okay. I read 16 today, finishing Part Five. This chapter…well, *insert “They had us in the first half, not gonna lie” gif here* 😂

Anyway, final part & last two chapters to be read tomorrow 😁

"Only" read 50 pages today. Just slept in for once so didn't get much done in the morning, which is fine!

I'll be finished on Sunday though. Only 4 chapters left, all of them on the shorter side, so it's looking good. Excited to be nearing the end.

Finished Part Four. Phenomenal book tbh. Chapter 12, the first chapter I read today, in particular was staggeringly good.

Once again, my investment in this is much higher than I had anticipated, and I had high hopes for it. Somehow it’s exceeding that.

I am way more invested then I feel I have any right to be. The last few chapters have been absolutely breathtaking. I feel myself being hopeful and excited and despairing and all the rest just as the characters. Some incredibly depressing developments all around, but I just can't stop reading D:

Read another 140 pages today…somehow more than yesterday??

This book is INCREDIBLY gripping, and also reads super fast even for me. Frankly insane that I’m over halfway done in just 8 days at my speed 😄

Well 120 pages in 1 morning feels great! These first couple chapters of Part Two were REALLY good, and especially Chapter 6. Aliena is maybe my second favorite POV just after this single chapter with her.

A little over halfway through Part Two, and things are expanding a bit. It's fun to read and to write notes summarizing the posits being made and put my interpretation on them. Will finish Part Two within a day or two.

(Going to be going slower on this through the month, however, because I'm going to try to plow through Pillars of the Earth before the New Year).

Forgot to update that I read Chapter 4 yesterday. Book is very good so far, and does NOT feel like it’s been 300 pages at all.

Also, Phillip is the best character 🥹

Read Chapter 3 over the last couple days. (Could've been done with part 1 by now if not for snow ruining morning reading time before work.)

Really really enjoying this. Super immersive and gripping despite next to nothing about it screaming that it should be that way.

All of Chapter 2 read today. Wasn’t quite expecting the stark POV change, but I’d say it was quite gripping nonetheless! A lot of great tension - interpersonal and “political”, and I can’t wait to read more 🔥

Read all of Chapter 1 this morning (surprisingly; read rather quickly even compared to other "faster" reads I've had the past several months). Already been on a rollercoaster. Had some great character work and interactions, and some good emotional buildup to allow for some great story developments soon.

A little surprised I got through all of Part 1 today. Not too much forward-moving points made to surprise the reader at this point, as it seems to be primarily dealing with the bedding of what the rest of the book is going to expand upon. Part 2 especially seems it's going to go much deeper on the ideas introduced "in the beginning". Part 1 seems a laying down of terms, so I'm excited to see where it goes from here.

Only the Prologue so far...I'm intrigued. Not gonna try to brute-force my way through this, but it'll take me a couple months probably.

Hopefully it winds up flying by and I get through it quickly though!