Group Reading

[Bloodfalcon he/him]

Hey, I decided that as much as I would like to, I will not have time to read Words of Radiance all in one night. After coming to terms with that idea, and the fact that I would then have to be off the forums for the duration of the read, I decided I would post an alternate solution, and propose it to 17thSharders as well. 

I think it would really be a great time if a group did the reading "together" over the course of say.... 2 weeks? I don't know, it is flexible, but the idea is that every night, we read 2 or 3 or x chapters, then come on the forums to discuss what we are thinking without moving along. It would really be fun to see peoples end-of-chapter or end-of-part  reactions instead of just the thoughts we see when book-long arcs are finally concluded. It would be like watching episodes of your favorite tv show and talking to your friends while you wait for the next episode.

 

PLUS: On a night that you just can not wait, you can read, post your reactions, and then continue reading but not post until the next day. It would take a good amount of self control, but I think it would be worth it for those of us who can't finish it in a night or two anyway. 

If anyone finds this idea interesting, I'm game for it, just let me know.

Edited October 23, 2013 by bloodfalcon2

[Kurkistan he/him]

I seriously doubt that I have the self-control for that.

[Bloodfalcon he/him]

I seriously doubt that I have the self-control for that.

Hahah, it is not for everyone, and I wouldn't do it if I thought I could realistically get that book finished in a couple days. It would be a great time though.

[Argent he/him]

I seriously doubt that I have the self-control for that.

 

I know I don't. In fact, I'll probably take a day or two off work.

[Bloodfalcon he/him]

haha, maybe if I have enough "sick" days....

[cem he/him]

Two weeks? I will finish it in two days max then start my first reread.

[Bloodfalcon he/him]

Two weeks? I will finish it in two days max then start my first reread.

Note: "Flexible"

Note: Clearly not the target audience of this post.

[hoser he/him]

If you find your group, I say go for it. 

 

I really like part of this idea.  As-we-go annotations seems interesting.  If I could read a chapter or several, then read what people got out of it and maybe contribute something before moving on, that might be an interesting way to read.  We could maybe even have a subforum with a topic for each chapter or two. 

 

This assumes that I preorder and have it in hand on Day 1, which would not be a hardship.

[Argent he/him]

I might do a liveblog or something and then join the discussion here by posting only my impressions that match the group's schedule. But there is no way I am going to show the self-restraint needed for reading under 100-200 pages a day.

[Bloodfalcon he/him]

Yeah, you know what, I'm going to try to pull this off with myself and a friend regardless, but if anyone else can bring themselves to be distracted for a moment, it might be very beneficial to see a log of your thoughts as you go through the first time. It will really put a filter on what is new information when you look back on it. It may expose a clue or two.

[hoser he/him]

What I really like about this idea is that I think it will emphasize the things that I brush past and only catch on rereading, so my first reading might be fuller.  What I don't want is to have the rest of the book spoiled, so I would want to finish a chapter, then only read comments from people who hadn't read further when they made the comments.  I am with Kurkistan and others, in that I doubt I would have the discipline to synchronize my reading. 

[Argent he/him]

No need to be zesty about it, it's not like we are bashing your idea

[karaokeang she/her]

I like the idea but it may be better to do it on a reread.  I will probably zip through it in the first day or two and then go back and do a slow re-read to catch all the details I miss.

[deddinty]

I would agree with the majority that I would love to do this on a re-read, maybe starting four or five days after the book comes out.  Because I know it will take me two-three days max to finish and I'll be hopping right back in to re-read.

[Bloodfalcon he/him]

No need to be zesty about it, it's not like we are bashing your idea

Hah, I didn't mean to be overly zesty. There is a certain feeling among internet forum users that participation is mandatory. I meant for this thread to be an invitation, not an RSVP.  If I could delete all the posts that discouraged people, I would do so, but not to say that I take offense, just so that others come to the idea with an open mind rather than seeing "This is something I don't want to do." Those posts add nothing.

That said - I could have been much clearer on the type of post I intended this to be. I didn't really even expect responses, good or bad, so I apologize for snippiness. 

Also, if this gets turned into an organized reread that can still keep the same format, hell, I could just start then on a 2 day delay

Edited October 24, 2013 by bloodfalcon2

[Ethrien he/him]

Hmm I certainly like the sound of it, but as people have said it'll be difficult to organize the timing between shipping delays and readers that don't want to wait. Since I'm in Australia I'll probably be waiting at least 2 weeks if I order an American Edition. Maybe instead we could set up a series of separate forum posts for discussing the book up to a designated chapter/part i.e. one topic for everything before the first set of interludes, one for everything before the second etc. It gives everyone an area to discuss information and opinions from other people while avoiding spoilers on future sections.

[Thorontir he/him]

Sounds interesting to me, Bloodfalcon2, but as has been said, for those not in the USA probably starting on day 1 is not possible.