The Big Read 2021: War and Peace

5 days ago | thebigread.substack.com | Jeremy Anderberg

Hello, readers! Part of what I enjoy doing when reading classic books is simply trying to observe where my natural interest and attention waxes and wanes over the course of the story. In the first half of the book, what was so compelling to me was Huck and Jim’s relationship and their escape down the river. The Mighty Mississippi is as much of a well-wr…Keep reading with a 7-day free trialSubscribe to The Big Read to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.

1 week ago | thebigread.substack.com | Jeremy Anderberg

Hello, readers! We’re about 150 pages into Huck Finn (at least in my edition) and I’m amazed at how much depth this story has — especially compared to what I was expecting based on high school reading of it. We’re seeing Huck grow up, we’re seeing the complex interplay of race and friendship, and we’re seeing Twain’s cynical view of the gilded and hypoc…Keep reading with a 7-day free trialSubscribe to The Big Read to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.

2 weeks ago | thebigread.substack.com | Jeremy Anderberg

Hi there readers, I loved seeing your comments on last week’s recap; it seems that many of you are in the same boat as me and either read it years ago in high school or haven’t read it at all before this month. While the style took some getting used to, the depth of the story has quickly become apparent amidst the youthful adventures of Huck’s escape. L…Keep reading with a 7-day free trialSubscribe to The Big Read to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.

3 weeks ago | thebigread.substack.com | Jeremy Anderberg

Hello, readers! I’m so glad you’re here as we start in on Mark Twain’s all-time American classic, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. I read this book in high school and didn’t love it (which was the case for most of the assigned reading of my teenage years) — and, frankly, I’ve kinda written it off since then. Jumping back into it this week has been a bit of a revelation.

1 month ago | thebigread.substack.com | Jeremy Anderberg

Hello readers and welcome to our group read of Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn! Wrapped in a YA story, it would be easy to see the attitude and rebellion of Twain’s characters as little more than youthful defiance. But reading the likes of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn as an adult creates a richer, deeper perspective.