A Sneak Peek at 2023!
Hello everyone!
For paid subscribers, I have to give a huge thanks for the support this year! It’s been incredible to see and I can’t say how thankful I am and how much fun I’m having.
For free subscribers, it’s perhaps been a while since you’ve heard from me. I’ve been doing a few things:
1. I’ve been working on my other newsletter, What to Read Next, which I send out every Friday morning, totally free of charge. Subscribe if you haven’t already!
2. I’ve been guiding this year’s cohort of The Big Read: War and Peace. We have over 250 people reading Tolstoy’s classic! It’s been great fun, but I’ve decided to shake things up a little in 2023, which brings to me to . . .
3. I’ve been picking books for The Big Read of the future! Instead of just one book, we’re going to tackle a handful of big-time classics (updated with final picks):
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry (January-March)
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith (April-May)
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (June-September)
Dracula by Bram Stoker (October, for Halloween!)
East of Eden by John Steinbeck (November-December)
I’ve read these books and love them, and I’m already incredibly excited to read them again with you next year.
A couple of those are very long, but as with War and Peace, the idea is still to break it up into manageable chunks. You’ll never be reading more than ~75 pages a week, which averages out to just ~11 pages per day. Totally doable.
Just like the first two years of The Big Read, I’ll be providing weekly commentary, background and contextual information, additional resources, and discussion opportunities for paid subscribers.
I know I’ve already said it, but I’m so excited about these new books.
More books means more chances to jump into The Big Read, as well as more opportunity for a buffet-style subscription, if you’d like — take some, leave some, sub/unsub at will.
Okay, what’s next? Don’t pay for a subscription just yet. (Unless you feel like joining in on War and Peace, which is certainly possible — I’ve had a handful join just this week.) Be patient and stay tuned; I’ll send a few more emails this calendar year with some goodies, but I mostly wanted you to be aware of what’s happenin’ next year. These are some of my favorite books of all-time and I couldn’t wait to tell you about my plans!
Questions? Comments? I’d love to hear! Please don’t hesitate to email me back.
-Jeremy
I am really enjoying War & Peace especially given world events. I bought the book after Putin's invasion and then felt daunted by its sheer size when I went to start it. I fortuitously Googled 'why should you read War & Peace' and stumbled across your post of nearly the same name. I signed up in April and had quite a lot of catching up to do, but it was totally doable given the pace of the assignment. I'm now up to date and really enjoying the weekly posts which give great insight, observations and historical context (more links welcome in that area!). I would definitely pursue this project again with another book. I have never read "Frankenstein" and with all the recent political references, that would top my list, but the others all seem good as well. Thank you Jeremy!
I like the idea of multiple books throughout the year and would sign up again next year for The Big Read! What are the options for the book you are undecided on? You could always send out a poll to the current Big Read Subscribers to see what book would be preferred out of a list of options you have curated? Added benefit to those already subscribed!