2025 Reading Challenge discussion

This thread is to discuss Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup.

Pages: 363 pages

Length: 1 month (April)

Participants: Beth, LinaVer

Everyone reads at their own pace during a Buddy Read. Because participants can be at different parts of the book at different times, it is extremely important to mark spoilers so that the book is not ruined for someone who is not as far along as others!!!

Mark spoilers by placing {spoiler} before the text and {/spoiler} after the text but use the < and > instead of the { and }.

Here are some questions to help get the conversation started! Feel free to look up discussion questions specific to this book or come up with your own. Just make sure any questions that contain spoilers are under spoiler tags.
Discussion questions are not required but may be a fun way to talk about the book and get to know each other!

Prior to starting:
What prompted you to join this buddy read?
Have you read this author before? What do you think of their other books?

Mid-read:
What character or ideas do you relate to the most and why?
Do you have any favorite quotes or scenes?

After reading:
What was enjoyable or not-so-enjoyable about this book?
Did this book change your perception about anything, either within the book (character development) or in real life?

Hey Beth (and anyone else who decides to join), please let me know when you start this one, I will try to also start it at similar time, so the discussion is nicely timed. :)

Hi Lina! I'm starting today. It seems fairly short so I'll probably finish it tomorrow. Thanks!

Great, I’ll start today too then! 🙂
Edit: I will be reading not listening to it, so I don’t think I’ll be able to finish it in a day.

No worries. My day has been a bit distracted, so I won’t finish today.

I'm switching to audio as well, so I should be a bit faster but it will still take me a few days, as I'm finding the language a bit harder to focus on because it's so old-school (if you can say so).

Well, honestly, I haven't started yet. I had some other books due at the library before this one so I had to reprioritize. I will *definitely* start today!

I'm in chapter 4 now. I'm having a hard time focusing because of the way it's written (and English is not my first language, so that does not help). Despite that, the story is already bloodcurdling and chilling. I can already see it will break my heart many times over.

In chapter 15, somewhat halfway in the book. I am happy I switched to audiobook, as not only does it help with focus and faster progress, but it also keeps me slightly detached from the story and protects my heart a bit. I made a mistake and watched the movie last night because my husband said it was a good one. Holy cow, was that sad 😭

I've never seen the movie. The book is about all I can handle; I can't imagine watching it played out. (Titanic is another movie like that for me; I've never seen it.)

I finished today. What a life; what a story. As an older, white woman I know that I can never truly understand what the enslaved people went through. When such experiences appear in fictionalized works, it's easier to feel distanced even more than time allows. But reading this first-hand account really makes the experience real. And hearing it on audiobook enhances that experience and, if possible, makes it even more harrowing.

(view spoiler)[I found it surprising if not outright touching in the passage when Northup discusses one of his enslaver's son's behavior. At 10 years old, this child was treating the enslaved people as cruelly as his own father. Northup tells us that he understands... when you raise a child exposed to cruelty, the child will become cruel.

My heart really went out to Patsy, the enslaved woman who was beaten by the enslaver because he lusted after her and by the enslaver's wife because she was jealous. (hide spoiler)]

I'm so glad I read this book. Everything I can read that helps educate me about this cruel and painful time of our country's history helps me better understand some of the racial issues still facing our nation.

I'm in chapter 19 now. Not sure how many chapters there are, but I have slightly more than two hours of listening, so I might be able to finish it this week.

Surprisingly, it is the first audiobook ever that keeps my attention while running or sewing without my mind wandering away (like it usually does).

Like you, Beth, I also found the behavior of the 10 yo enslaver's son heart breaking. I don't know if I could react in a similar manner to Northup.

I finished listening to it in the evening, while doing some chores. I agree wholeheartedly with you that it is a very important book to read, especially in these times. I really like that (view spoiler)[at the end they provided all the letters/documents that were needed to free him (hide spoiler)] because that just brings it home very well that in fact this is a real story, a testament to the horrid experiences of thousands of people. Thank you for reading this with me, Beth!