I've finished reading the "Childhood" section of Elena Ferrante's My Brilliant Friend for the second time, and I've begun my post on it, likely to be up by Sunday, but I want to pause and ask what readers think of the ReadAlong so far. As I wrote earlier, this is the first time I've ever tried something like this, and I'm very happy with what's happening here so far, but I'd love to get a bit of feedback from you at this stage.
First of all, are there still a few new readers just beginning the novel, trying your best to catch up with the rest of us? Feel free to comment anonymously, but I'd love a quick Hello from you if you're not too shy.
Next, as we're at different stages of our reading (some have finished the novel already; some are reading it for the second time; some are halfway through, gobbling it down, and not keen on slowing down to listen to our conversation about chapters they read last week) -- how is the pacing for you so far? If I continue to post at this rate -- approximately ten chapters per post discussion, about two posts (so twenty chapters) per week, does that work for you or would you prefer faster or slower, bigger chunks at a time or smaller?
Is the discussion format adequate? I'm thrilled to see the conversation emerging via the comments section, and I love that you're giving each other feedback. I'm going to do my best to continue facilitating the Comments discussion, but I'm trying to relax a bit about taking responsibility for it (although, of course, I will never relinquish my responsibility to keep the discussion civil). But I'd love to know whether or not the conversation is meeting (or exceeding) your expectations or if there are suggestions for how we could improve it. The one thing I worry about sometimes is that because some of us have been meeting like this for at least a year, the conversation might feel a bit too chummy to join, if you're shy. I hope it's clear that we're all very keen to welcome new voices and to entertain new perspectives, but let me know what you think.
If you're not comfortable at all in commenting right now, or perhaps ever, that's fine too, absolutely. But even if you're probably going to remain a lurker, if you could pipe up bravely just enough to say whether or not you are finding the posts or the comments helpful to your own understanding of MBF, I'd love to hear that.
I think that's it, for now. I'll be busy writing our next post, but I'll check in later and see what you're thinking. (and your comments on the earlier posts/earlier chapters are still very welcome as well)
Wishing you a good weekend -- Happy Reading!
First of all, are there still a few new readers just beginning the novel, trying your best to catch up with the rest of us? Feel free to comment anonymously, but I'd love a quick Hello from you if you're not too shy.
Next, as we're at different stages of our reading (some have finished the novel already; some are reading it for the second time; some are halfway through, gobbling it down, and not keen on slowing down to listen to our conversation about chapters they read last week) -- how is the pacing for you so far? If I continue to post at this rate -- approximately ten chapters per post discussion, about two posts (so twenty chapters) per week, does that work for you or would you prefer faster or slower, bigger chunks at a time or smaller?
Is the discussion format adequate? I'm thrilled to see the conversation emerging via the comments section, and I love that you're giving each other feedback. I'm going to do my best to continue facilitating the Comments discussion, but I'm trying to relax a bit about taking responsibility for it (although, of course, I will never relinquish my responsibility to keep the discussion civil). But I'd love to know whether or not the conversation is meeting (or exceeding) your expectations or if there are suggestions for how we could improve it. The one thing I worry about sometimes is that because some of us have been meeting like this for at least a year, the conversation might feel a bit too chummy to join, if you're shy. I hope it's clear that we're all very keen to welcome new voices and to entertain new perspectives, but let me know what you think.
If you're not comfortable at all in commenting right now, or perhaps ever, that's fine too, absolutely. But even if you're probably going to remain a lurker, if you could pipe up bravely just enough to say whether or not you are finding the posts or the comments helpful to your own understanding of MBF, I'd love to hear that.
I think that's it, for now. I'll be busy writing our next post, but I'll check in later and see what you're thinking. (and your comments on the earlier posts/earlier chapters are still very welcome as well)
Wishing you a good weekend -- Happy Reading!