I think I hear laughing in the distance, and I bet you that it belongs to Adam. I was very gung-ho about this whole shebang before it started, and I tried to be very encouraging.
I was probably over-confident, and now I am kicking myself since I am lagging very far behind where I should be.
If I was at the halfway point, like I should be, I should be closing in on page 750 or so....I'm only around page 200. Yes, pathetic.
But now that I am caught up on school readings and lesson-planning, I will be spending every spare moment of my time cramming in more of Clarissa. I am determined to finish it BEFORE the end of the month.
Anyway, I thought that it would be fun to photo-chronicle my read through the book to check my progress. The first picture, up at the top, is of me starting the book at Detroit-Metro Airport. People walking by gave me funny looks as I tried to begin the book.The second picture is when we were on vacation. I banished myself to the back of the van in attempts to get some reading done. I was only semi-successful...something about reading super tiny print in a bouncy car just doesn't appeal to my stomach. It didn't help that my brother and his friend were picking on me. :)
This next one is from last night, where I was trying to prop the book open in bed. My hands struggle with keeping the book open unless I am sitting up, but I wanted to be cozy in bed, so this was my solution. It worked a little...I'm really enjoying the story so far, and now that I am diving into it a little more whole-heartedly, I think that the pages will start to fly by. I mean, the print IS tiny, and the pages are ginormous, so the pages take a little longer to flip. But I really like the expository style, and while some of it is repetitive, I'm still pretty engaged in what's going on. I feel for Clarissa, and I wonder what will become of her in the future...
Anyway, I hope that when I update again, I'll have a few more locations to share with you, as well as a few hundred more pages. :) If all else fails, I know what I will be focusing on during the upcoming Readathon.
What are your tips for getting through long, chunky books? Do you set daily page goals?
For some reason, I only find chunky books intimidating if the content is difficult, and I find small books with difficult content just as intimidating. When it comes to books that are easier to read, or more appealing/fun to me, I fly through them. Regardless, either way, I have never been able to take more than three weeks to read a physical copy of a book. If I try to spread it out any longer than that, near the end of the third week I'll get really annoyed and just force myself to read until it's done.
ReplyDeleteI kind of agree with you. Sometimes big books are easier than small ones-it does all come down to content.
DeleteAnd, I'm like you. I hit a point where enough it enough and I have to finish the darn thing. That's what happened with Atlas Shrugged last year and what I'm starting to feel now.
If the book wasn't so repetitive, it would be good. It's certainly written well and the plot is interesting (terrifying, really)... but the first 200 pages were the same thing over and over and over. I'm not very far in, either - Jillian is definitely kicking our behinds.
ReplyDeleteBut I plan on taking a couple of personal days near the end of the month, to give myself a long weekend, and I'm going to do nothing but read Clarissa during that time.
I kind of want Clarissa to get to the point, you know? ;) she just goes on, and on, and on...I wonder, does her hand hurt from writing so darn much? ;)
DeleteMuscle through them! LOL I love your photo updates! :)
ReplyDeleteLol thanks! I will keep taking photos!
DeleteUm... yeah. I made it to page 500 (and loved the story), but I think I'm done for now. Having to read just this one book for so many days in a row really soured me on reading. And I think that's the opposite of what these community reading events are supposed to do. It made me want to quit my reading project altogether! So, I'm done with this challenge, though I absolutely intend to finish the book eventually (and I truly do like it!) Ugh. This event leaves me experiencing a mental shudder. I felt all secluded and cluastrophobic!! Very best of luck to you and Adam and whoever else finishes!! :D
ReplyDeleteThanks Jillian. I know what you mean. I took a breather last week to read a couple other things, so now I'm ready to devote myself to Ms. Harlowe. I hope you do find time to finish it! :)
DeleteI had to read The Faerie Queene for my Elizabethan lit class, so I can definitely sympathize with chunkster fatigue! I'm sure you'll get through Clarissa though and I'm enjoying the picture updates!
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like reading Clarissa is just as adventurous as being Clarissa :D I couldn't find the book, and I didn't want to read it on my computer, so I gave up on it. I'll read it when I find it, but it's not part of my April goals anymore. Good luck with it though, I really hope you'll finish it before the end of the month :)
ReplyDeleteGood luck Allie! I love your photo depiction of your progress, very very clever! I cannot wait to read your next post and I applaud you for your courage for Clarissa :) I am not there yet, maybe in 5 years time :P
ReplyDeleteThe only way I seem to get through big books is by checking them out from the library, picking away here and there until I'm out of renewals and up against a deadline and read the bulk of the book in the last day or two before it's due. Which I suppose is why I haven't been too good at reading long books lately...
ReplyDeleteGood luck, I hope you continue to enjoy it and not feel overwhelmed with trying to finish!
What a great idea for updates on a long book, those pictures!
ReplyDelete