WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN LIFE THROWS YOU A CURVE BALL?

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

At War with War and Peace

Some of you may have read my post regarding a flip (yet untenable) promise I made to friends that I would join them in their pursuit of reading (and finishing) War and Peace. If you need a reminder, check out that blog post here: Keeping Promises.

I have good news and bad news. The good news is that I'm almost in the 500's! The bad news is that I'm only *almost in the 500's!

More good news: I believe the bicep on my right arm - the arm that I usually use to hold this 1200-plus page novel while I read on the subway, has gotten bigger since I cracked the book open.

More bad news: My left bicep is just as wimpy as it was a little over a month ago when I began my Tolstoy pursuit.

I have to admit, there have been days when I purposefully left the book at home. I needed a break. I needed to feel the lightness - both intellectually and physically - of my Itouch. My friend gave me an out when I mentioned my W&P hiatus, but I knew my break was only a temporary respite. If I don't finish it now, I know it'll always feel like a lost goal - like never being able to do a proper handspring, for example. So other than my occasional break, I still spend my commute absorbing Tolstoy's world of words... his many, many words.

I remain the runt of my book club litter though - far behind my friends (one has even finished!). I'm still in this race though and actually, for the most part, am enjoying the experience. I've never read Tolstoy before and I can say, in my humble opinion, that I now understand why he is considered one of the greats. He may never be considered one of the concise greats, but certainly he is one of the greats. His passage about the night... yowza! I read that passage twice just to experience it again.

So if you happen to ride the NYC subways and spot a short, lopsided girl reading a very thick, very heavy book, stop and say hello. If nothing else, it will give my eyes a rest from some very small type. And if you've read W&P, I'd love to hear from you. What'd you think?

1 comment:

ashclt said...

Very impressed Julie! I somehow managed to avoid W&P en route to my English degree - needs to go on the reading "bucket" list.