A Moveable Feast Read-a-Long :: Sign Ups & Starting Post
Throughout February we’ll be reading A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway for our Read-a-Long. It’s a book I have been meaning to read for a long time (and have kicked myself for not reading before going to Paris each time!). I plan to remedy this lack of reading and hope you’ll join me. Please note: at the bottom of the page, under “How it Works,” I’ve highlighted the new rules in purple… please take a moment to read them (even if you’ve done a Read-a-Long on Unputdownables before, as some are brand new).
Some Facts About the Read-a-Long:
- You do not have to be a book blogger to join.
- We will be reading the book in February (4 weeks), with the first discussion happening on Friday, February 3rd / the book is 210 pages (paperback, excluding introduction) so that’s roughly 8 pages a day.
- Don’t be intimidated. We will be going at a slow pace and discussing the book throughout our reading. The discussions are quite fun, and make the reading process very enjoyable!
What is A Moveable Feast about?
Published posthumously in 1964, A Moveable Feast remains one of Ernest Hemingway’s most beloved works. It is his classic memoir of Paris in the 1920s, filled with irreverent portraits of other expatriate luminaries such as F. Scott Fitzgerald and Gertrude Stein; tender memories of his first wife, Hadley; and insightful recollections of his own early experiments with his craft. It is a literary feast, brilliantly evoking the exuberant mood of Paris after World War I and the youthful spirit, unbridled creativity, and unquenchable enthusiasm that Hemingway himself epitomized.(description from goodreads.com)
Interesting tidbits about the author, Ernest Hemingway:
Ernest Hemingway was born in Oak Park, Illinois, in 1899, the son of a doctor and a music teacher. He began his writing career as a reporter for the Kansas City Star. At age eighteen, he volunteered to serve as a Red Cross ambulance driver in World War I and was sent to Italy, where he was badly injured by shrapnel. Hemingway later fictionalized his experience in Italy in what some consider his greatest novel, A Farewell to Arms. In 1921, Hemingway moved to Paris, where he served as a correspondent for the Toronto Daily Star. In Paris, he fell in with a group of American and English expatriate writers that included F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ezra Pound, Gertrude Stein, and Ford Madox Ford. In the early 1920s, Hemingway began to achieve fame as a chronicler of the disaffection felt by many American youth after World War I—a generation of youth whom Stein memorably dubbed the “Lost Generation.” His novels The Sun Also Rises (1926) and A Farewell to Arms (1929) established him as a dominant literary voice of his time. His spare, charged style of writing was revolutionary at the time and would be imitated, for better or for worse, by generations of young writers to come… (more) (from spark notes.com)
Please let me know in the comments section of this post if you are interested! Hope you’ll join us, the more the merrier! Below is a break down of the reading schedule. Friday, January 27th will be the official starting day for reading, so if you’re joining you’ll want to grab your books by then (as our first discussion will happen the following Friday, February 3rd). Please take care to sign up with the name you are using for the rest of the read-a-long.
If you are choosing to join us after this week, please just let me know in the comment section of the most current week, thanks! (Please note that since this is such a short read-a-long selection, you will need to be caught up with us in order to join late – as we only have four discussions.)
***
The following is the reading and posting schedule for this read-a-long. Please note, we will be reading roughly 53 pages per week (about 8 pages a day). I have excluded the introduction (as it will be different with each edition), but have included the extra chapters at the end of the newer editions (The “Additional Paris Sketches”). If your copy does not include these sketches, your reading will end after chapter 19 (which will basically be after the second week of reading). Might I encourage you to pick up a version with the extra sketches so you can enjoy more of this book? (The edition I am reading is The Restored Edition by Scribner (a division of Simon & Schuster)… the cover image shown above in this post shows the cover of this edition. You can order it by clicking on the cover in right hand column of this blog under the title ”February Read-a-Long Selection.” You will be supporting Unputdownables by doing so as I make a small commission by referring you to Barnes and Noble through that link.
Schedule:
Beginning Friday, January 27th and ending Friday, February 24th.
READING SCHEDULE:
Week #/ dates :: Place in which to STOP
Print Readers:
Week One/ January 27- February 3 :: Chapter 9
Week Two/ February 4-10:: Chapter 17
Week Three/ February 11-17 :: “Ezra Pound and His Bel Esprit”
Week Four/ February 18- 24 :: (The End)
POSTING SCHEDULE:
Post #/ date post should be up on blog:
Start up Post/ Today!
Week One/ February 3rd
Week Two/ February 10th
Week Three/ February 17th
Week Four/ February 24th (Final Review)
** Please don’t forget to come to this blog each Friday and share your thoughts in the comments section of the weekly Read-a-Long discussion (see below for more information).**
How it Works:
- Each week, on Friday, share your thoughts about the previous week’s reading. If you are stuck on what to comment about, you can respond to my post or others’ comments. Regardless, you MUST check in each week (two weeks without a response and you will be taken off of the list — see below for details on why). You may have only one “off week” (which may not be the last week of reading for obvious reasons) and still be kept on the list, but you must let me know in the comment section by saying something like, “I’m catching up,” or “I’m still reading.” ***for all week’s discussions please refrain from posting ahead, even if you have read ahead, as to not spoil the book for others***
- As these Read-a-Longs grow, so do the amount of people who participate – yay, all the more fun!!! Also, all the more keeping track of who is still reading. As you know – if you have been absent from discussion for two weeks, you will be removed from the list. However, now, in order to get back on the list, you need to a.) Have missed no more than two weeks of discussion, b.) Let me know you would like to be on the list again, and c.) Consistently be part of the discussion for the next two weeks after requesting to be put back on the list. Am I trying to be mean? Absolutely not! I LOVE having you all read a long. It is, however, a lot of work to keep track of who’s still reading, and to keep taking names off and putting them back on the list. Most importantly though, consistency is good for the group; we tend to get to know each other through discussions and rely on the conversation to keep us reading. (Plus, at the end of the year I tally those who have done read-a-longs and they get honorable mention on the Read-a-Longs page.)
- Feel free to post reviews of the each week’s reading on your own blog (if you are a blogger), and to visit each other’s links. If I, or other readers, have extra time we will gladly try to visit your blog if you also leave a link to your post about this book. However, please make sure to share your thoughts here on this blog, as this is where the main conversation will be happening.
- Comments from the previous week’s reading will be closing Thursday afternoon (before the next discussion takes place on Friday). If you would like to be part of the discussion, please remember to comment before then.
Trackbacks
- A Moveable Feast Read-a-Long Getting Ready to Start! | ButteryBooks.com
- A Moveable Feast :: Week One « Unputdownables
- A Moveable Feast :: Week Two « Unputdownables
- A Moveable Feast :: Week Three « Unputdownables
- A Moveable Feast Read-A-Long: Week 3 | { Trees and Ink }
- A Moveable Feast :: Final Review « Unputdownables
- A Moveable Feast Read-A-Long: Final Post | { Trees and Ink }
I’d like to participate – I’ve been meaning to read this one. Thanks for hosting.
Diane@Bibliophile By the Sea
I’m in! Ever since I read The Paris Wife last year, I’ve been wanting to read this one. So glad you are hosting a read along for it
Me, too! Looking forward to a Febdiary in lieu of trip to Paris reading :>)
Oh, spellcheck! I meant February
I’m in! My book just came in last week and I’m ready to read
I am in! Going to read this through iBooks – a first! I, too, loved The Paris Wife and got to hear the author speak at the beginning of January. Made me even more excited to read this book! Yay for organizing this, Wallace!
Count me in! I’ve had this book forever! No more excuses!
I read this one a few years ago and loved it. It’s the only Hemingway that I haven’t hurled against the wall (besides his short stories).
I’d been thinking a lot about it since watching Midnight in Paris. Yay!
I’m in too. Like Nadia, The Paris Wife made me curious about this book!
I want to read this one too, but as soon as I sign up for a read along, it feels like work to me. I will pass on the read along but I do hope to read it sometime this year.
I would like to participate in The Moveable Feast Read A Long..not a book blogger just a reader…Thanks!
This book is part of my London/Paris Project, so I’m totally in. And this time around, the holidays won’t throw me off track. (I’m determined to finish Anna Karenina!)
I’m in! I bought my ebook through your link and am looking forward to the sketches!
Thank you, I appreciate it!
Please count me in as well! I am so enjoying Gatsby and all your comments!
I’m getting my book Saturday..count me in!
Staci
I’m in, although I’m very negatively influenced when it comes to Hemingway… but I should finally read some and see for myself.
I’m in, too! I read this in 8th grade and I KNOW that I didn’t get it then (poorly chosen summer reading, definitely not age-appropriate). I took a Hemingway class in college and didn’t cover this one, so I’m excited to reread it with the insight I gained in that course.
I’d like to participate!
Meg @ A Bookish Affair
I’m in! I’ve never read any Hemingway except for a short story in undergrad and I can’t remember anything about it. Looking forward to this one!
Jill
Yay! I’m in! I always wanted to read this one! Hemingway is an author I found very “unexciting” when I was in high school. Somehow I believe I can enjoy him more now!
Wow…great timing. I just found out about this and want to join. I finished The Paris Wife a couple weeks ago, and just got this book from the library yesterday. So please count me in. One of my goals is to read more memoirs this year, so this fits right in.
Sign me up!! ‘Sbeen so long it’ll feel like the first time.
I’m in – got my copy from the library already and have marked up my sections – the first two look very long compared to the last two. Should I be stopping at the end of Chapter 9 (how I have interpreted your instructions), or at the end of Chapter 8 i.e. stop when you can see the Chapter 9 chapter heading?
You stop AT chapter 9 (so don’t read chapter 9 for the first week).
I want to join in with A Moveable Feast. It’s been on my to-read list for forever. This read-a-long is a good incentive to read it NOW. Thanks for hosting.
I’m a tad bit confused, and it may have to do with my crazy e-book I downloaded from NOOK. I looked at the schedule and this week, I think I see what’s cooking:
On Feb 3rd (tomorrow) we’ll be discussing Chapters 1 thru 9 (9 is Ford Madox Ford..)
On Feb 10th, (the end of week 2) are we only discussing Chapter 17? Or are we reading from 10- 17? I think I’m confused by the way it’s posted. In my edition, Chapter 10 is “With Pascin at the Dome” and Chapter 17 is “Scott Fitzgerald”……So exactly what are we reading that second week?
On Feb 17th it says “Ezra Pound and his Bel…” I assume that means we read to the end of that section (in my book page 149.)
Then on Feb 24th, we go from 150 “On writing in the First Person” to the end.
Also I think I’ve got the same edition you spoke about- the Restored Edition put out by Scribner, but my NOOK book is missing all the illustrations!!! I’ve complained to B& N and they are looking into this. Love what I’m reading and will post something tomorrow….at least I think I’m clear on the first part. Can’t wait.
For tomorrow we stop at Chapter 9. Each week I’ve posted the stopping point (meaning, read up to the chapter I’ve mentioned… Stop when you get to the chapter I’ve mentioned.). Does that make sense?
I’m so excited I found this group! Hope it’s not too late to join, I just started A Moveable Feast and would love the chance to discuss and see what others think.
I am late joining, but will catch up. Read the Paris Wife, Paula McLain and am hooked to read the book.