Monday, May 1, 2017

"The Great Gatsby" Read-Along -- Official Announcement


Just to officially alert you... I will be hosting a read-along of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald right here on this blog beginning June 1.  You'll notice that the buttons all say "June 1-30," and that is because I'm convinced we can read and discuss the whole book in one month.


If you've never participated in one of my read-alongs and are curious about how they work, basically I will write a post for each individual chapter.  Each post will contain my own thoughts on the chapter, some favorite lines, and a discussion question or two that I think people might want to ponder.  All participants are then invited to discuss the chapter in the comments, both with me and with each other.  You don't have to stick to the questions I ask!


You are hereby invited to join me!  Whether you've read Gatsby a time or twelve, or never read it.  Whether you read it and liked it, or read it and hated it.  I welcome all comers who are here to read and discuss and learn!

There is no "sign up" process for this, but if you want to share a button on your own blog, or leave me a comment saying you plan to participate, go right ahead!


I tend to celebrate the end of a read-along with some sort of give-away, just so you know...

31 comments:

  1. *does a happy dance*
    I'm so excited! I have never read it before so it will be super fun!!!! :)

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    1. MC, that's great! I hope you have a great experience discussing it :-)

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  2. I thought I read this recently, but Goodreads says 2012, and I don't think I've reread it. I marked it 2 stars, but my sister and so many others liked it and its short, so I want to give in another try, so at least I will be able to remember more about it and articulate why I didn't like it or to at least discuss it. It can be interesting to dislike a book, I just want to be able to discuss a book. I think the worst kind of book oftentimes is one that cannot even be discussed, it is so inane.

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    1. Livia, it so happens that I greatly disliked Gatsby the first time I read it, sometime in my early 20s. It was a huge disappointment to me. Second time around, it entranced me. This will be my third -- we'll see what I think this time! At least we'll have plenty to discuss, whether we like or dislike it.

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  3. Argh, this is soooo tempting! I'm starting Plato's Republic in June and want to do a thorough read of it and I'm not sure with my other reads I'll have time. I'll think about it ...... It would be a shame to miss it though. I haven't missed many of your read-alongs since discovering your blog. Hmmm ...... *** pondering ***** .....

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    1. Cleopatra, ooooooh, I can understand your dilemma! Well, nothing says that you can't read this ahead of time and then chime in on the discussions.

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  4. This is so fun! I'm looking forward to it! :)

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  5. Sounds great!!
    I read it once a couple of years ago but this seems like the perfect forum for a reread:)

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  6. This looks like such fun!

    Question: would there be any language/other inappropriate content in this that would make you (knowing at least a little of what Mom does/doesn't let me read) think I should hold off on reading this for a while? If not, I'm totally in. :)

    ~Eva

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    1. Eva, it's been 4 years since I reread it, so I don't have any clear memory of the content, but in my review from then, I rated it PG for "alcohol use and innuendo." There's a LOT of drinking, this being all about parties during Prohibition, and there's a married character having an affair with another woman, two other characters who may or may not sleep together (it's vague either way), and some violence. I don't recall any bad language, though if there is some, it would be very mild.

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    2. In other words, I think you would be fine.

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    3. Thanks for letting me know. I'm so in now. :)

      ~Eva

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  7. I love the way you set up a readathon! I read this novel recently, so I won't be joining on this one, but I'll be following along. :)

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  8. Oh, how exciting! I had just been thinking today that I was overdue for a reread of this, and a rewatch of the 2013 adaptation, too. How fun! I can't wait for this to start. :-)

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    1. Claire, what perfect timing, then! I actually haven't seen the 2013 version yet... but I will be watching it before the read-along begins!

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  9. Eeeeeeee!!!!! I love The Great Gatsby! Excellent excuse to read it yet again! :D

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  10. Definitely in!
    Just waiting for my copy of Careless People to arrive, then I would be settled for one of the most exciting readalongs I've ever had! woohoo!!

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    1. Fanda, yay! I'm happy to hear you'll be joining us. I actually just picked up Careless People at the library yesterday myself! And I got So We Read On too. I don't know if I'll get through them before it starts, but at least I'll have them on hand :-)

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    2. I was so curious with Careless People, so I read the Preface. Just to know what kind of book it is, which I have planned to read after The Great Gatsby. It turned out to be very interesting!! Sarah Churchwell weaves her investigation into a kind of story. And it develops parallelly with The Great Gatsby. Even its chapter follows Gatsby's--she titled her chapters according to Fitz's outline list for the eight chapters of Gatsby. I believe it's best to read Careless People parallelly with Gatsby.

      And so... permission to start this readalong earlier, please! :) since I would be moving into new apartement during June, I don't think I can finish them on schedule if I wait till 1st June. :) #veryexcited

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    3. Fanda, I've started reading So We Read On, and it's also super cool. Haven't cracked Careless People yet, but I'll keep your suggestion in mind!

      You can definitely start reading early! I will not dock your grade. Especially since I don't give grades. Good luck with your move!

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  11. I can't wait for this read-along! Thankfully, I won't have any school that will get in the way of read-along. :-)

    I had to read "The Great Gatsby" during my junior year, and I really enjoyed learning about the symbolism. I can't wait to see what your thoughts about the book are!

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    1. Ekaterina, exactly -- I won't be teaching school in June, most people won't be in school, and it should all-around be good timing, I thought.

      I'll be interested to hear some of your thoughts on symbolism in it!

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