Reading the Chunksters discussion

Whether you have introduced yourself in the past or not, consider this a new chunksters and please introduce yourself if you are so inclined! Would love this to be a tight knit group and for us to get to know each other. And welcome!!

Hello. I'm a former member and when I saw the new streamlined look of the group I decided to rejoin. There are a few people here that I read with regularly, which is always nice.

I am going to pitch in and read whenever I can. I actually just reread Fingersmith a couple of weeks ago so I'll have to pop in and check the discussion.

Happy reading, everyone!

Hi there! I am a single mom of two young girls (5 and 8) and they are wild and smart and wonderful. I am an investment management lawyer by day and live in the philly burbs. Besides reading I like yoga, running, spin, camping, hiking, attempting complicated recipes and playing guitar (newbie). I mostly read classics and love active book discussions so that is my goal for this group. Thank you for being here with us, and look forward to your comments on our books!

Sarah Anne wrote: "Hello. I'm a former member and when I saw the new streamlined look of the group I decided to rejoin. There are a few people here that I read with regularly, which is always nice.

I am going to pit..."

Sarah Anne great to see you here, welcome back!!

Hi, I'm RC and based in London. I have eclectic reading tastes including classics, contemporary literature, poetry, and crime fiction. And I love a big book to sink into!

Looking forward to reading with you...

Hello, I'm Sofia. I live in London. I love Russian, French, African, and Black literature. I tend to read in bursts – I'm chronically ill and during flareups I find it impossible to read. So if I'm quiet on GR for a bit, this is why. I am a freelance writer and I write about women's rights issues in conflict zones.

Look forward to discussions on here! :)

I'm Christopher or Chris- I only became active on GR when the Amazon forums folded.

I do most of my reading on Kindle, but my New Year's resolution is to read some of my DT books.

Last chunkster read: Cultural Amnesia: Necessary Memories from History and the Arts

Hi, I am a book addict and a life long learner. I love the classics, well researched historical fiction and non fiction, mysteries and female authors. I have a few groups on here but they are mainly just lists of challenges and authors of the genres I am interested in for others who have similar interests. I am a holistic healthcare professional but have a chronic disabling illness which varies my reading ability and typing from day to day so my input does vary on Goodreads. Some days are better than others. This summer I had to quit my job and am slowly recovering from total health breakdown. I now spend my time reading and working on recovering health whilst living on a very much reduced income. Life is not so bad with a good book and a great free library system.
I am Yorkshire born and emigrated to Canada when I was 36. My reading challenge next year will be fewer books but reading in more depth and more chunksters. Here's to a better year for all of us...

Hi all!

I’m Amanda. I live in Knoxville TN with my husband and 3 dogs. I’ve been absent from this group for a while but really hope to join some 2018 reads. I definitely love chunksters. I’m happy to see that this is going to be a mix of classics and contemporary while I do love classics I’m more likely to participate in contemporary reads at this point in my reading life.

It’s great to see so many familiar faces.

Good Morning from a very cold and snowy UK. However, where I live in the Lake District there is no snow! My name is Julie and I have been on Goodreads for more years than I care to remember, reading a very eclectic mix of books.

I am Hugh, I also live in the UK, in Nottingham. Most of my reading is modern literary fiction, and I know a few of you from other groups where I am more active. I have been a member of the group for a couple of years but have not managed to participate much, mostly because the books I most want to read keep failing to win the polls, but also because I have too many other groups and reading commitments. I hope to be able to contribute more next year, but I am not making any rash promises.

Hello! I'm also in the UK. I'm working on the "1001 books to read before you die" list so I'm particularly interested in the chunksters on that. I've read a lot of the better known ones already, so I probably only join in with a group read once a year or less. But when I do, I love having the group to support me through it!

When I'm tackling a big book I like to break it down into manageable chunks like 10-40 pages a day depending on the book. Then it doesn't feel like a massive daunting task, I know I will get through it within a month or two, and I can read something lighter at the same time.

The last one I read with this group was Kristin Lavransdatter. Before that ... maybe Infinite Jest? Or there might have been another in between. Right now I've just started 2666 by Roberto Bolaño.

Hello, I'm Pamela, another UK member. Having worked in IT for many years, I am now once again a student, working towards a Masters in Translation Studies.

I love reading of course, mainly crime fiction, classics and literary fiction. Only joined the old Chunksters fairly recently but enjoyed the experience of reading and discussing big books with the group, and having a sensible schedule helps someone like me who always over commits on group reads. Looking forward to the 2018 Chunksters!

Hi Everyone!

I see some new and familiar faces here. I'm Linda and I live in Seattle, WA with my hubby, son (11), daughter (6) and two kitties (Bea and Baby Lucy). This was my first and only GR group I participated in when I first discovered groups a few years ago. I'm also slowly making my way through the "1001 books" list, and some of those first great big books I read with this group - Don Quixote, Les Misérables, Infinite Jest, among others. The last book I read with the group was By Gaslight. I'm looking forward to the revamped Chunksters group and will try to participate as best I can.

Rosemary - 2666 is a beast of a book! I read that two years ago, I think. Good luck with it. :)

Hugh wrote: "I am Hugh, I also live in the UK, in Nottingham. Most of my reading is modern literary fiction, and I know a few of you from other groups where I am more active. I have been a member of the group f..."

Hi Hugh, I went to the University in Nottingham back in the 80's. Loved the city. :)

Julie wrote: "Good Morning from a very cold and snowy UK. However, where I live in the Lake District there is no snow! My name is Julie and I have been on Goodreads for more years than I care to remember, readin..."

Funny that it is cold there and here in Canada it is unseasonably warm and no snow.

Hi everyone, I'm Jen. I live in eastern Canada. I moved here about 7 yrs ago from London UK after my kids (twins) were born. I grew up here, my husband is from New Zealand. It's a good life, with family living near by, happy kids, lots of books for everyone.

I read a couple of group reads here in 2017 and look forward to move in 2018 I'm more drawn to short books so need a bit of group mojo to tackle the big ones!

Jen wrote: "Hi everyone, I'm Jen. I live in eastern Canada. I moved here about 7 yrs ago from London UK after my kids (twins) were born. I grew up here, my husband is from New Zealand. It's a good life, with f..."

Hi Jen, I am in Alberta. Nice to see another Canadian on here :) I haven't read many chunksters either so this group will be a great support for me too.

Hi Everyone, I'm Paula. After living in the Washington D.C. area for over 30 years, I moved to Utah to be closer to family (my older daughter is a professor at BYU) after my younger daughter moved to Florida to begin her PhD at Florida State.

It's been a crazy year. Last year, I met a wonderful man who I married in June of this year. And...we bought a house. And...my company merged with another company. And...I now have a 12-year-old stepdaughter - which is very hectic at my age. I mean, I have grandchildren who are younger than she is. It's daunting to be back in the saddle of parenting an adolescent.

I'm a Director of Finance and Accounting for a large IT company. I work from a home office, which is great because I work long hours and the business travel wears me out sometimes.

I'm really looking forward to participating. Like Hugh, I haven't been as active as I'd like because the books I'm interested in generally don't come out on top in the polls. I will participate for a book I've already read if it's a book I feel invested in enough to do so, but with so many amazing, unread books staring at me from my bookshelves, I'm pretty ruthless about budgeting my time for a repeat. So many books, so little time :).

Anyway, I'm looking forward to reading with everyone!

Lorna wrote: "My name is lorna. I am now living in central Illinois (from Minnesota) and have 3 girls. Thank goodness my favorite color is pink! I spent 9 and 1/2 years in the Army and now work for the state. Th..."

Lorna,

Persuasion is an excellent choice for favorite book.

Tracey wrote: "Jen wrote: "Hi everyone, I'm Jen. I live in eastern Canada. I moved here about 7 yrs ago from London UK after my kids (twins) were born. I grew up here, my husband is from New Zealand. It's a good ..."

Waving to you Tracey from across 6/7 provinces!

Jen wrote: "Tracey wrote: "Jen wrote: "Hi everyone, I'm Jen. I live in eastern Canada. I moved here about 7 yrs ago from London UK after my kids (twins) were born. I grew up here, my husband is from New Zealan..."

Got my binoculars out and waving back and doing semaphore with flags :)

Hi everyone, my name is Nina and I'm from Denmark, currently living in Copenhagen after 3,5 years in London, UK. I am a project manager in a dubbing company (we don't usually dub tv-shows in Denmark, but we don't expect little children to be able to read subtitles:) ) and I got my yoga teacher certificate earlier this year. I have had problems with my back, hip and shoulders for many years, but yoga and running keeps me painfree.

I love the classics but have ventured more into contemporary literature recently. Jane Austen will always be on top of my list of favourite authors and in an effort to convince my friends that she is brilliant, I have started a mini-book club with two of them and we are reading Persuasion at the moment :)

Roman Clodia wrote: "Hi, I'm RC and based in London. I have eclectic reading tastes including classics, contemporary literature, poetry, and crime fiction. And I love a big book to sink into!

Looking forward to readi..."

likewise and welcome roman clodia!

Sofia wrote: "Hello, I'm Sofia. I live in London. I love Russian, French, African, and Black literature. I tend to read in bursts – I'm chronically ill and during flareups I find it impossible to read. So if I'm..."

what a fascinating job sofia! I hope that you are well enough to join us often! Perhaps I will set up a general chat thread so those that are not joining a book discussion can still chat with the group. What have you written about most recently?

Christopher wrote: "I'm Christopher or Chris- I only became active on GR when the Amazon forums folded.

I do most of my reading on Kindle, but my New Year's resolution is to read some of my DT books.

Last chunkster ..."

hi Chris! How was cultural amnesia?

Tracey wrote: "Hi, I am a book addict and a life long learner. I love the classics, well researched historical fiction and non fiction, mysteries and female authors. I have a few groups on here but they are mainl..."

yay for chunksters! Sounds like it was a rough year for you Tracey and you know you are present, you are engaged, you are with us, and we are here for you. I hope this group provides a pleasant escape for you, and wish you better health in the year to come :)

Amanda wrote: "Hi all!

I’m Amanda. I live in Knoxville TN with my husband and 3 dogs. I’ve been absent from this group for a while but really hope to join some 2018 reads. I definitely love chunksters. I’m happ..."

Amanda I have missed you! You are such a warm bright spirit and so happy to see you here. We know you love the contemporary books so I am thrilled to see you try MD with us!

Julie wrote: "Good Morning from a very cold and snowy UK. However, where I live in the Lake District there is no snow! My name is Julie and I have been on Goodreads for more years than I care to remember, readin..."

ah but more years is more books! Very happy to have you Julie. It snowed where I live in the philly area yesterday but was just a dusting. I was happy because I didn't have to plow out my car!

Hugh wrote: "I am Hugh, I also live in the UK, in Nottingham. Most of my reading is modern literary fiction, and I know a few of you from other groups where I am more active. I have been a member of the group f..."

Hugh you are a bookaholic! We all know it :) I love following you on 21st literature and I am guilty of not keeping up over there, but do appreciate all of your insights. Hope you can join us now and again!

Rosemary wrote: "Hello! I'm also in the UK. I'm working on the "1001 books to read before you die" list so I'm particularly interested in the chunksters on that. I've read a lot of the better known ones already, so..."

Hi rosemary! I know you have read most of the classic chunksters but would love to have you when you can join! how is bolano? I own that book but have not read it yet.

Pamela wrote: "Hello, I'm Pamela, another UK member. Having worked in IT for many years, I am now once again a student, working towards a Masters in Translation Studies.

I love reading of course, mainly crime f..."

so happy to have you pamela! remind me what languages you know? What exactly do you do for your job - it sounds fascinating! I couldn't believe it when you said you could read in italian. Jealous!

Linda wrote: "Hi Everyone!

I see some new and familiar faces here. I'm Linda and I live in Seattle, WA with my hubby, son (11), daughter (6) and two kitties (Bea and Baby Lucy). This was my first and only GR g..."

Hi Linda! Very happy to see you here. You have been with the group a long time! Will be fun to read some of the big chunksters together :)

Jen wrote: "Hi everyone, I'm Jen. I live in eastern Canada. I moved here about 7 yrs ago from London UK after my kids (twins) were born. I grew up here, my husband is from New Zealand. It's a good life, with f..."

Hi Jen! We will totally pester you to leave those horrid short books alone and join us!

Paula wrote: "Hi Everyone, I'm Paula. After living in the Washington D.C. area for over 30 years, I moved to Utah to be closer to family (my older daughter is a professor at BYU) after my younger daughter moved ..."

Congratulations Paula! That's so great to hear about your life and your successes. My parents keep saying my life will become 'settled...someday'. Sigh. But hey, I have more time for books! I can only wonder about how intelligent you must be if your kids are a professor and a PhD - impressive!

Lorna wrote: "My name is lorna. I am now living in central Illinois (from Minnesota) and have 3 girls. Thank goodness my favorite color is pink! I spent 9 and 1/2 years in the Army and now work for the state. Th..."

welcome lorna! What a great way to turn a long commute into a great experience - you will have to tell us if you have any audiobook recommendations in particular - some are WAY better than others!

Nina wrote: "Hi everyone, my name is Nina and I'm from Denmark, currently living in Copenhagen after 3,5 years in London, UK. I am a project manager in a dubbing company (we don't usually dub tv-shows in Denmar..."

welcome nina! I think your job is very cool partly because I always watch tv with captions :) your yoga story is also amazing, I had the same experience in the past when dealing with chronic pain at the time - yoga and massage worked when medication did not!

Dianne wrote: "what a fascinating job sofia! I hope that you are well enough to join us often! Perhaps I will set up a general chat thread so those that are not joining a book discussion can still chat with the group. What have you written about most recently? "

Thanks Dianne! Love the idea of a general chat thread!! I'm slowly working on a violence against women in conflict profile for the Central African Republic at the moment.

Thank you, Dianne for all the hard work you've put into this group!

Sofia wrote: "Dianne wrote: "what a fascinating job sofia! I hope that you are well enough to join us often! Perhaps I will set up a general chat thread so those that are not joining a book discussion can still ..."

wow. that is amazingly cool. i won't describe how much less interesting my job is!

Dianne wrote: "how is bolano? I own that book but have not read it yet."

2666 is an easier read than I expected. I started thinking I would read 25 pages a day and so far I've actually read 50 a day, so that's a sign. I'm coming up to half way now.

The size of it is daunting, especially as it's pretty small print, but I got into it within about 20 pages. The style isn't difficult except that the paragraphs are long.

I just wonder where he is going with the different strands, especially in the first part, which seemed to have nothing to do with the story I was expecting for a long time, but you have to not worry about that and assume everything will meet up in the end.

Thanks rosemary!’

Dianne wrote: "Nina wrote: "Hi everyone, my name is Nina and I'm from Denmark, currently living in Copenhagen after 3,5 years in London, UK. I am a project manager in a dubbing company (we don't usually dub tv-sh..."

Thank you, Dianne. Yes, it's wonderful when you discover that your chronic pain doesn't have to be chronic:)

Dianne wrote: "Thanks rosemary!’"

Maybe should add I just reached the part about all the killings and some of the descriptions are upsetting.

I am a currently a part time labor arbitrator, living in Springfield, Illinois, U.S. A. but grew up in Chicago, having retired from directing a state government labor relations agency in 2003.
Part time work leaves me plenty of reading time. I read a combination of modern and classics, have a non-fiction and fiction going at a time, averaging 30 fiction and 6 non-fiction per year.
I try to always have at least one Kindle, for dark place reading, and 1 real book, for coffee shop reading so I don't worry about I-Pad stealing when leaving my seat. I love owning real books and have often purchased both a cheap or free Kindle and a used hard copy of the same book, for my collection. They are my precious.
I joined this group for the Kristin Lavransdatter read and will participate in other Chunksters, but I read Moby Dick about 6 years ago and do not desire a re-read, I'm whale-oiled out, though I really wish I had read it in this group.

Hi, I'm Greg, and I live in Florida, and I am thinking about moving to another country, so if anyone has a nice townhouse for sell in downtown Dublin, and at my price point, let me know. (Yes, there are no downtown townhouses in Dublin at my price point.) But, I will read Anything, any length, from anywhere on Earth (as long as it's translated into English), any author, etc. I still prefer regular hardbacks, but have listened to audio and through that medium have learned to enjoy Shakespeare. I prefer to read books I haven't read yet, as there are so many great ones, but again will read anything. (Well, anything other than goodreads book award winners, that's my only qualification, unless I happened to have read it before the votes started. And if I liked it, I'll question my taste in literature.)

Greg wrote: "Hi, I'm Greg, and I live in Florida, and I am thinking about moving to another country, so if anyone has a nice townhouse for sell in downtown Dublin, and at my price point, let me know. (Yes, ther..."

Ireland is one of my favourite places I have ever visited.

Greg wrote: "Hi, I'm Greg, and I live in Florida, and I am thinking about moving to another country, so if anyone has a nice townhouse for sell in downtown Dublin, and at my price point, let me know. (Yes, ther..."

Closest I'll get is moving to Dublin, Ohio, though it does have good golf courses.

When I took a Shakespeare course in college, I found I understood the plays much better if I listened to a record of it at the library while I read it. That was before modern gadgets.

Brian wrote: "Greg wrote: "Hi, I'm Greg, and I live in Florida, and I am thinking about moving to another country, so if anyone has a nice townhouse for sell in downtown Dublin, and at my price point, let me kno..."

I am hoping listening is going to get me through a whale of a tale...I have noticed that I can engage with a story sometimes when other senses are used if the story is unfamiliar territory to me. I never understood Shakespeare until I saw an amateur production. Not sure I understood much then but at least I started to recognize similarities between myself and these people who seemed to speak an unknown language.

Brian wrote: "Greg wrote: "Hi, I'm Greg, and I live in Florida, and I am thinking about moving to another country, so if anyone has a nice townhouse for sell in downtown Dublin, and at my price point, let me kno..."

So funny.. I also got through most or all of Shakespeare by listening to records. My public library had a good selection. I can't remember what the series were called, but there were two different ones that put out all the plays in box sets.

Here's a complete "RSC" performance of Twelfth Night:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wi3FU...

Nina wrote: "Dianne wrote: "Nina wrote: "Hi everyone, my name is Nina and I'm from Denmark, currently living in Copenhagen after 3,5 years in London, UK. I am a project manager in a dubbing company (we don't us..."

I had the same experience! It is life changing.