As I was discussing our “real time” read of #Clarissa with my husband he said “What if the letters aren‘t in order? Are you going to go back in time?” I told him the Penguin blog had suggested this reading strategy, so I was sure they were in order. (https://www.penguin.co.uk/articles/2021/03/how-to-make-time-to-read-the-classics ) Some of us were discussing how we didn‘t know the dates until we turned the page, so I decided to list them out. And?
Lcsmcat He was right. It was incredibly complex and they don‘t stay in order. 🤦🏻♀️ I‘ve put each letter on a calendar which I‘ll mail to anyone who sends their email address to mischalynx AT msn DOT com. At first I thought we could go to each Saturday and discuss a week‘s batch, but in some places (April, & late June/ early July in particular) they jump more than that. November & December have only 2 letters each. Aug 23 has 8 letters. 1y
Lcsmcat So it‘s not as simple as Penguin made it seem. We could agree on a set number of letters per day or week, or read in order knowing some letters will be from dates in the past. Thoughts? In the meantime, here‘s a cool introductory video on reading Clarissa with no real spoilers https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wnk0FYFxjPI 1y
Lcsmcat @hazel2019, @jerdencon, @annececilie, @tamra, @amiable, @daisey, @sarahbellum, @llwheeler, @liz_m, @slategreyskies, @covertocovergirl, @librarybelle, @localtxlibrarian, @cewilf, @dd42500, @hilded, @bookwormM, @mamareading, @jewright, @lauraisntwilder, @leahbergen, @jenniferp, @rubyslippersreads, @currey, @theelliemo, @indoordame, @ann_reads, @barbarajean, @batsy 1y
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TheBookHippie I just bought the book to join and catch up if that‘s ok. 👀 1y
Lcsmcat @TheBookHippie Of course. We‘ve read the first six letters so far, and the next is February 20th. But see above for the complication. 😀 1y
Tamra The simplest is to read as printed - I don‘t mind. My life has too many moving parts to keep track of anything else. 😜 I‘ll plan on that for myself, but I‘m very happy to follow & read Litsy commentary on the book regardless. (edited) 1y
Lcsmcat @Tamra I absolutely want to read the letters in the order Richardson wrote them! The main question I guess is the timing of discussions? 1y
TheBookHippie @Lcsmcat OY vey. I‘ll go along with whatever. Simple is best I imagine but 🤷🏻♀️ 1y
Tamra @Lcsmcat ahhhh, yes I see. Perhaps monthly? I am willing to follow whatever prompts you post. Whatever is most convenient for everyone, especially you. Low stress! (edited) 1y
IndoorDame I‘m also voting for simple and in order. Monthly makes some sense to me since it‘s so sporadic sometimes, but I‘ll happily go along with whatever schedule the group decides. 1y
Currey @Lcsmcat Same here. I would like to read them in the order written and would like the plan to be straightforward. Maybe once every two week prompts? Once a month doesn‘t feel like enough for such a large book. 1y
batsy I'm with the rest in going with whatever is the least amount of stress for you in terms of posting discussion prompts and what is most straightforward for the group read schedule. I've sent you an email and will check out that video soon—thanks for sharing! Tbh when I read it the first time I did not pay attention to the dates at all 😆 1y
Lcsmcat @Currey I agree that monthly seems too far apart. I‘ll wait til Feb. 20th for the next post since I already announced that. But as we go along we might revisit how often we discuss? 1y
BarbaraJean Oh noooo! I didn‘t even think about the fact that they might skip around as far as timing. I also definitely want to read them in the order as presented in the book. I‘m up for doing discussions however is simplest for you and the group, and I‘m okay with foregoing the “real time” strategy if that would make it simpler—maybe doing a certain number of letters each week. 1y
Lcsmcat @batsy I just sent you the calendar. 1y
Jerdencon @Lcsmcat I will email you for the calendar and I agree with whatever is simplest for you. 1y
Lcsmcat @Jerdencon Just sent you the calendar. 1y
Librarybelle Whatever is the simplest works for me! 1y
batsy Thanks for the calendar. I see what you mean. If we do the real time schedule it gets messy because we'll have to jump ahead to letters at certain points. And that interferes with the narrative. Perhaps then we should forego the real time schedule and read along with a number of letters assigned per day till the end of the year? 1y
Daisey I‘m so glad you checked this. I was beginning to wonder just a bit with some comments I had read and the number of Serial Reader issues with so few through January & February. I‘ll go along with whatever, but I think every 2 weeks or monthly for discussions might be most workable. 1y
hilded Thanks for compiling the data, I sent you an e-mail now. I have no preference, but from what you and @batsy are saying, agreeing on a number of letters per day/week/month might work? 1y
Lcsmcat @Daisey @hilded I just sent you each the calendar. I‘m still pondering the frequency of posts, but whatever we decide will be flexible. The point is to have fun getting through this door stop. 😀 1y
hilded Thanks, sounds good:) 1y
JenniferP I'm good with anything! I just want some company to get through this book. 1y
lauraisntwilder As @Daisey said, I'm so glad you checked. Emailing you now. I wish we knew why they aren't printed in order, but there's probably a good reason. 1y
Liz_M There are 537 letters. Reading each on it's day might have been unsustainable -- it looks like there are about 90 letters written in May and again in July! I'd prefer to forgo the “read it on it's date“ and instead read 11 letters a week, which means we'd be done right around Christmas time (up to letter 534 on Dec. 23rd). I'd prefer to have discussions more often than monthly. 1y
Lcsmcat @lauraisntwilder I just sent you the calendar. I agree that Richardson must have had a reason for the order. 1y
Lcsmcat @Liz_M The article that suggested reading that way also mentioned reading Ulysses in one day, so maybe not too practical. But I‘m going to try to at least keep the season appropriate. I‘ll put something out after everyone has had a chance to weigh in and I have a chance to study the calendar. 1y
Lcsmcat If anyone emailed me but didn‘t get a reply, let me know here. A few have ended up in my junk file and I don‘t want to accidentally miss someone. 1y
rubyslippersreads I‘ll email you for the calendar. I like @batsy ‘s idea of reading an assigned number of letters per day, in the order they appear in the book. 1y
rubyslippersreads Thanks for sending the calendar. (So nice to see someone using Pages instead of Word. 😃) 1y
Lcsmcat @rubyslippersreads I‘m bi-software: Windows at work and Mac at home. 😂 1y
Amiable Just emailed you! I'm fine with whatever is easiest for all. When I'm reading my annual super-chunksters, I set a specific page goal per week. So I'm totally fine with setting a goal of a certain number of letters per week/month and reading/discussing those on a schedule. 1y
Lcsmcat @Amiable Just emailed you the calendar. 1y
IndoorDame I actually emailed you but didn‘t get the calendar. Should I resend? 1y
Lcsmcat @IndoorDame No need. I searched my spam folder again and found it. The calendar is on its way. 1y
IndoorDame @Lcsmcat awesome! Thanks! 1y
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