Remember this book? I knew it would be a carryover from 2016 to 2017 but it has been sitting and waiting for me to get back to the story. I've been reading part seven since early in December. It is definitely time for a jump start.
The problem, you see, is it is a very very chunky book. I like epic reads, there's more to love, right? But I am finding the book itself to be very unwieldy. When I pick it up to read I enjoy it and fall back into the story without hesitation. The problem is every time I look at my reading pile with the intention of choosing something to read I look past it for something I can easily slip into my bookbag or prop on the treadmill, and A Suitable Boy is jut not a suitable book for ease of carrying around.
Now, see that section there--about 300 pages or so? That is approximately the length of your average book give or take a few pages. I keep thinking how nice it would be if this book was split into sections and then housed in a nice slipcase. Or, if I could read an ebook (which if I was in the UK, I could, but there is not one available to US readers it seems).
So I have done the unthinkable. I feel like I need to apologize to someone for doing what I did, and indeed it did pain me as I literally took a very sharp knife, pressed open the book at 300-ish page intervals and sliced each section away from its peers. The first cut was the worst, but by the last I was amazed at how easy it came. (Don't worry, I have no intention of turning my long reads into more manageable bite size pieces).
Gah. Yes, here it is. Or . . . here they are. Five sections so very compact and easy to carry. I can just about slip each section into a pocket, to say nothing about my bookbag without making the load interminably heavy.
And do you know . . . here it is and I have been reading away. The second of five sections. I am having visions of reading one section a week or so and finishing the whole 1474 page tome (easily?) by the end of February. And just in time to join in with Stefanie with my next big read, Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. My copy weighs in at just a few pages over 1100, and curiously while slightly larger than ASB seems to actually weigh less. My copy of ASB is somewhat compact but quite dense and heavy! I just was not enjoying carrying it about. But now, I will have it in hand frequently. And when I am done it will get taped or rubber banded together again. Who knows, now that it is in parts I might even pick it up for a reread someday.