Reading the Chunksters discussion

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

Reading Schedule

October 2 - Week 1: Chapters 1-6, pages 1-53
October 9 - Week 2: Chapters 7-10, pages 54-108
October 16 - Week 3: Chapters 11-14, pages 109-153
October 23 - Week 4: Chapters 15-18, pages 154-214
October 30 - Week 5: Chapters, 19-22, pages 215-270
November 6 - Week 6: Chapters 23-26, pages 273-330
November 13 - Week 7: Chapters 27-30, pages 331-377
November 20 - Week 8: Chapters 31-36, pages 378-427
November 27 - Week 9: Chapters 37-41, pages 428-479
December 4 - Week 10: Chapters 42-48, pages 480-528
December 11 - Week 11: Chapter 49-end, pages 529-601

Based on this edition:

This looks great Loretta! I think we are missing the 5 in 53 for week one.

Oops, yes, thanks.

No biggie...lo I was just thinking that would be an easy first week then I noticed the 5 was missing RATS...hahah

They overlap. We usually do one classic and one contemporary simultaneously.

Looks good to me, Loretta

Loretta wrote: "They overlap. We usually do one classic and one contemporary simultaneously."

So when does EoE start?

I'm thinking October 2.

I'm excited!

October 2 would be good for me.

This looks great, Loretta, and I like the October 2 start date as well. I'm excited to read this in a group - I'm not usually a fan of Steinbeck's work, so having others reading along will encourage me to get through it :)

This is great - looking forward to reading and discussing EoE with you all :)

Amanda wrote: "I am so excited that one of the books I voted on actually won! Maybe I will be better about keeping up with the readings. So far I have been falling behind after the second or third week and then..."

It is so hard to keep up with them sometimes, Amanda. I have done the same thing with a few.

Can't wait to get started!

This looks great! Fabulous job Loretta!

Really hope I can join in. I read Of Mice and Men years back and was blown away by its power and effectiveness. It's about time I read some more Steinbeck and these groups are always helpful and informative.

I am such a huge Steinbeck fan! This is not my favorite one, but it is certainly a Chunkster. I might just have to re-read along with you guys. It's been long enough, it would be like reading anew.

Hi- I'm Joell from Southern USA. I'm a fan of classic lit, and I love a good long book. I'm new to this site. I am currently reading Cannery Row/Sweet Thursday. Can't wait for EoE!

So I'm giving myself until Oct 2 to finish Vanity Fair...hahah I need some push to get through this one, I love classics so I don't know why VF is such a struggle for me.

Andrea wrote: "So I'm giving myself until Oct 2 to finish Vanity Fair...hahah I need some push to get through this one, I love classics so I don't know why VF is such a struggle for me."

i agree on all counts! :D
and, the only thing i can guess is that these people aren't really three-dimensional characters, but allegorical representations...so, while it's long it isn't really a story at all, but the world's longest lecture on what happens if i'm not morally upright. in most books even bad characters have redeeming qualities that make them real...it seems that thackeray maked sure that none of his characters had anything worth redeeming, i don't care about them and therefore i don't care about what happens to them or in the book. :)

I think you might be surprised if you keep reading, Stephanie. I agree it is a bit of a moralistic tale, which isn't usually my thing (though I suspect that Thackery is actually making fun of moralistic writings whilst adding to the tradition himself), but I felt that the final chapters really paid off for me!

Stephanie wrote: "the only thing i can guess is that these people aren't really three-dimensional characters, but allegorical representations"

My review of the book, under my profile, makes a similar point.

I read this book and plan to contribute to the discussion.

Andrea wrote: "So I'm giving myself until Oct 2 to finish Vanity Fair...hahah I need some push to get through this one, I love classics so I don't know why VF is such a struggle for me."

I completely agree...I can usually read anything but this book is killing me!

I will finish it though and am excited to start East of Eden on 10/2.

Thanks for sharing in my misery Denise! I really feel like I am the kind or reader who will read anything and find it enjoyable. This book is pushing me over the edge...hahah I'm starting to think that I will be lucky to finish it buy the end of the year.

oh dear, now I'm dreading it even more!

Denae, I think a lot of people that read it really got into it and easily finished the book. Denise and I are just fragging it kicking and screaming...lol Don't let our silly issues keep you from reading it! :)

It's on the list, I'll get there eventually. Besides, I have Finnegan's Wake on the slate for November and am 71% of the way through Gravity's Rainbow, so dreading a book hasn't scared me off yet!

Everyone, please see the original post in this thread for the update/finalized schedule, with dates

It's coming up soon. Hope everyone has their copies ready to go. :)

I don't think I'll make it either :(

I'm really struggling with what I've already taken on and I've started studying again. Disappointingly, I think I'm going to have to give this one a miss.

Andrea wrote: "Thanks for sharing in my misery Denise! I really feel like I am the kind or reader who will read anything and find it enjoyable. This book is pushing me over the edge...hahah I'm starting to think ..."

I am almost done...only 25 more pages (but that is with skimming the last 300 pages or so) LOL!

Ah, I just got the GR email about this book. I'm excited, since I've always wanted to read this book (and really enjoyed Grapes of Wrath) but I barely have time to read easy 200 page novels without trying to tackle a chunkster now too. :( Thats the not so happy part.

I'll try and keep up, though.

This should be a fun read!

Looking forward to joining this group read!

I just bought EoE last night off Amazon, hope I get it in time.
I finished Uncle Silas this week-end because I'm also participating in Three Musketeers and I don't think I can juggle three books at the same time. I had a difficult time doing it with just the two, but Three Musketeers will end a couple of weeks into EoE.

Juliette wrote: "I just bought EoE last night off Amazon, hope I get it in time.
I finished Uncle Silas this week-end because I'm also participating in Three Musketeers and I don't think I can juggle three books at..."

I have plans to finish Pillars of the Earth this week for the same reason.

Just picked up my copy and I'm ready to get started!

I finished this book last week so will contribute, but as I don't remember what happened in which chapter, I'll just respond rather than stating anything new until I know better what was covered.

Loretta wrote: "East of Eden by John Steinbeck

Reading Schedule

October 2 - Week 1: Chapters 1-6, pages 1-53..."

Loretta -- can you fit EoE on the Group Home page as a currently being read book? Or isn't there room for five?

I'd forgotten to move it over to the "currently reading" shelf, which I just did.

It still doesn't fit on the front page though... I think that's just a Goodreads default, though it comes up when you click on the "More books this group is currently reading" link.

It should appear on the first page when we finish one of our other reads. I think Uncle Silas is supposed to be done this coming weekend.

I just got my book, I should start reading it in a day or two. I hope I can catch up with the current schedule.

I have fallen way behind. I just finished the other book that had me side tracked and hope to get caught up soon!

I'm way behind as well. I hope this week end will give me some time to catch up!

How are you finding that, Amanda? I saw it advertised on the london underground and thought it was a bit of a divergence from his usual style of novel.

I am a bit behind right now..but I'm really loving this book, so I expect I should be able to catch up soon! :)