The Big Read 2021: War and Peace

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

Hello readers! How are we doing after our first week of reading? Right out of the gate, I was reminded how utterly unique this book is. Starting with etymology and “extracts” (basically a super long epigraph) showed us the level of detail — and obsession — that we can expect in this book. The style is unlike anything else. It’s lyrical and poetic, but also stilted, verbose, and not grammatically correct at times. I don’t even quite understand it in places. And yet it works beautifully.

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

Hello readers! Welcome to our group reading of Herman Melville’s epic seafaring story. This week we’re reading Chapters 1-7 and your first recap will come next Sunday. Published in 1851, Moby-Dick is the classic literary example of a work of art that goes unappreciated in its creator’s lifetime. Inspired by the real-life story of the Essex whaler, and drawing on his experience as a sailor in the early 1840s, Melville wrote his door-stopping masterpiece in just 18 months.

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

This newsletter is for both free and paid subscribers. Few books have endured in American history in the same way as Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick. Published in 1851, it’s admittedly a weird and long book, but its rewards make it well worth the journey — and then some. For the next three and a half months or so, we’ll sail our way through this all-time classic story. Read below for more on this novel’s importance, how to get signed up, and our reading schedule.

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

Hello readers! We’ve reached the end of Huck Finn, which again took a couple of interesting twists and turns this week. Overall, I very much enjoyed the novel and it will definitely stick with me much more than when I read it in high school. As I mentioned over on Read More Books, I’m in the middle of a cross-country move this week, so I’m going to keep things short and sweet to wrap up this book.

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

Hello readers!We have just one week left in this all-time great American story and I’m enthralled by Huck’s journey. His maturation over the course of this novel is admirable — and Twain’s approach to Jim and slavery is remarkable given the era. I enjoyed this week’s story line, in which we got a good dose of introspection as well as some plain old fun …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.