Chunkster Challenge Wrap-up

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The Chunkster Challenge people say:
It’s December which means this year’s Chunkster Challenge is coming to an end. If you wrote a wrap-up post or plan to, please use Mr. Linky below to link up to your post. If you don’t have a blog, leave a comment in the comments section telling us how you did with this challenge. We would all love to know what your favorite chunkster was this year. Was there a chunkster you didn’t enjoy? Let us know that too. 
I think this may be my best challenge of the year, in that it got me to read some of the most rewarding books.  I said a couple of days ago that Anna Karenina, A Suitable Boy, and In the First Circle were some of my best books for 2013.  I also really enjoyed nearly all my other picks, except for one.  Pamela started off well but went downhill, especially in the second volume.  I should have just read the first one.

Here are the books I read:


  1.  Anna Karenina, by Lev Tolstoy (963 pages)
  2.  Portrait of a Lady, by Henry James (789 pages)
  3. Zaremba, or Love and the Rule of Law, by Michelle Granas (518 pages)
  4. Pamela, by Samuel Richardson (926 pages) 
  5. In the First Circle, by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (741 pages) 
  6. A Suitable Boy, by Vikram Seth (1474 pages) 
  7. The Doll, by Boleslaw Prus (680 pages) 
  8. The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas (1274 pages)
I finished November 20, and I actually have another chunkster in the works right now, so in the end it will be 9.  

I will be doing this challenge again in 2014, so you'll see a sign-up post soon.   I'm even thinking of doing a Les Miserables read-along, maybe over the summer--anybody interested?

Comments

  1. CleoDecember 8, 2013 at 11:01 PM

    If it's over the summer I will definitely be interested in re-reading Les Miserables. It is one of my favourites! While I love Jean Valjean, I think my favourite character is the bishop, M. Myriel. I will add this possibility to my ever-expanding list for 2014!

    ReplyDelete
  2. ArenelDecember 9, 2013 at 4:53 AM

    Great work here! I also like challenges that make me read daunting books, but unfortunately this one forbids ebooks for some reason :(

    ReplyDelete
  3. JeanDecember 9, 2013 at 8:18 AM

    Go take a look--the rules are changing to allow e-books now.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ruth @ with freedom and booksDecember 10, 2013 at 12:03 PM

    Now I know what you mean about A Suitable Boy (1474 pages)!

    Well, speaking of chunksters, I was hoping to read a couple of epic reads in 2014, like Les Mis and War and Peace, so I would definitely join you in doing a Les Mis read-along next summer.

    ReplyDelete
  5. JeanDecember 10, 2013 at 12:29 PM

    Neat, I will see if I can do a Les Mis read-along then! Hm, I'm pondering War and Peace as well...though how to host two giant read-alongs is more than I can figure out.

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  6. CleoDecember 10, 2013 at 1:01 PM

    I'm just finishing up War and Peace so I could probably join in for the discussion but I wouldn't read it again. I'm finding that the further you read in the book, the more insight you get into what you have read before. Tolstoy is just amazing. I know I'll still be thinking about this book months after I've completed it.

    ReplyDelete
  7. VasillyDecember 14, 2013 at 8:34 AM

    Congratulations on finishing the challenge! If you host a Les Miserables read-along, let me know. I'll put up a post on the Chunkster blog.

    ReplyDelete

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