October 2011 Group Read: Inferno by Dante.

"Abandon every hope, all you who enter," (89).

Wow. What a work.

I'm not sure what I was expecting when I began reading Dante's Inferno. Maybe I thought I would get a lot of religious doctrine shoved at me. Maybe I thought that it would be a pleasant description of the place I really don't want to end up in...or maybe I expected something completely different.

I was surprised by everything as I read this. I was surprised that the Cantos were so easy to read and understand (although, every time I read an "old" classic, I am always surprised at how much more readable they are than say....Dickens). I was surprised by the level of description and mood. And I was surprised by just how gruesome Dante made hell seem. And really, I don't want to go there. Visiting it with Dante was more than enough

Inferno is essentially about Dante (the character, not the writer) and his trip through hell. The rest of The Divine Comedy (which I am reading in November and December) will take us through purgatory and paradise. But this one seems to more widely read than the other two...perhaps because it is so disturbing? Yeah, I'll go with that.

Dante is visiting hell with a guide, the poet Virgil, and the two descend the levels of hell to witness not only the people who are there, but also the level of punishment for each sin. I was absolutely fascinated by the descriptions of the rings of hell, the crimes, and what the punishments entailed. Here is a great image to illustrate what I am going to talk about:

Dante, the character not the writer, explains to us as he descends the levels of hell and what it means to be closer to the bottom (or the smaller rings-however you want to picture it). Those souls near the top and wider rings are sinners who committed lesser sins. Those in limbo are those who never found God in their earthly lives. As you move down, or further into the rings, you find sinners with worse crimes and punishments.

What was most interesting was the perspective on where Dante placed certain sins on terms of this scale. Those near the very center, closest to Satan, were those sinners who seemed to really go with their free will. As I understand it, Dante explains that God gave humanity free will. To violate that will and violate the trust God placed in you as a human being means that you find yourself in a far worse predicament than if you committed a crime of passion (like those in the lust circle, close to the top (outside). I could be interpreting that completely wrong, but that is what I saw.

Anyway, I was completely absorbed in every piece of the journey to the center, and to Satan encased in ice. I loved that Dante met famous people from history-like Helen of Troy, Achilles, and even Popes. It makes you think where these people did end up and why. It makes you question your decisions, and made me wonder who I'll meet in purgatory and paradise. :)

One thing I should mention to those of you who haven't read this is to read the notes. In my edition, translated by Mark Musa, there are extensive notes after each of the cantos. These were amazing. Because while Dante meets people you recognize, there are also a lot of smaller references that will pass you by. Some of those include some of Dante's political enemies and figures I have never heard of, so yes, read the notes.

Now that I am finished walking through hell with Dante and Virgil, I am heading to Purgatory. I hope that you'll decide to join in, even if you didn't join for this group read! (we'll be reading Paradiso in December as well).

*I also want to apologize for posting this...well, almost 2 and a half weeks late. Life got the best of me and this has been sitting in my drafts for weeks*

October 2011 Group Read Link-In Post: Dante's Inferno.

Welcome to the Group Read Link-In post for Dante's Inferno!

I hope you all enjoyed your read of the first chunk of Dante's The Divine Comedy and might consider signing up for the next two as well (no pressure!).

At the time of writing this, I am still working my way through hell with Dante, so my link will be up later this week. Be sure to check back often to see who else has posted-it is always fun to see what others had to say about a book!

Please fill out the Mr. Linky with a link to your post, your name, and comment below! I would appreciate any suggestions, criticisms, or hurrahs. :)

Hope to see you in November for Purgatorio!!

Announcing October 2011 Group Reads.

Group reads? What am I doing over here?

Well, since I stopped hosting readalongs back in June, I have missed them. I really enjoy reading as a community, but they were becoming slightly overwhelming (I blame the Atlas Shrugged readalong in particular). A lot of work goes on behind the scenes, and I was starting to pull my hair out. Also, a lot of people would sign up, and only a handful would finish by the reading dates. It became incredibly frustrating to host, and when I fell WAY behind in my Vanity Fair readalong, I knew I needed a long break.

But I miss them. I know that the process needs to be revamped. If I was feeling overwhelmed, I am sure that some of you participating did as well. I think the problem stems from the multiple scheduled posts that have to take place. For me, multiple posts are comfortable and easy to write, since I write in that format all the time. But I can see how stopping to write a post, scheduling a post ahead, etc, can be incredibly annoying for those not used to it.

So, I have a solution. Rather than call them "readalongs," it is easier to refer to them as Group Reads. The same fundamental idea still applies-we all read and post on the same book-but instead of checkpoints, we'll all post on the same day, weekend, or week to get rid of some of that stress.

On twitter and in some bloggy conversations, I have mentioned that there are two titles in particular that I want to read this fall. Both of them qualify for the R.I.P. challenge as well, so if you are participating in that, these might be right up your alley.

Here are the details:

Group Read #1: Bram Stoker's Dracula

The first novel I have chosen for a group read is Bram Stoker's Dracula. I have been trying to read it every fall since I started my project (that makes it sound longer than it is....only two years), but I really want to get through this one this year. I read this once before, as a junior in high school for a class, but I barely remember it (I do remember the worst project EVER for class. Our group dressed up like the characters from the book and "hunted" Dracula all over our downtown area).

To participate in this group read, all you need to do is leave me a comment below saying you want in. Then, you read the book. Then, you post anywhere from October 16-22 and link back here to my master post (see? I am the only one getting stressed out here, since I need to have that master post up).

During the week, as posts are linked up, you can visit and comment on other participants' posts to see what they thought of this horrifying vampire.

Again, to sign up, all you need to do is comment below, and maybe swipe my little graphic and spread the word.

Group Read #2: Dante's Inferno

The second book for our group read is Dante's Inferno. I attempted to read this one last summer in a readalong, but I honestly just forgot and haven't gotten around to it since. I am also going to get to books 2 and 3, but that's for a later time.

Like the Dracula group read, signing up is easy and so is participating. To sign up, all you need to do is comment below saying you want in. Then read the book! When you are finished, make a post any time between October 23 and 29. Link that post back here on my master post, and you are all set! Of course you can look back here over the course of the week to see what everyone else thought, but I was force you (it does make it WAY more fun).



So those are my October Group Reads! I hope you will think about joining in on one or both of them! Spread the word and Read On!!