Riot and Frolic

a mostly ballroom dance, but also a bunch of other stuff, blog

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I own and rock people’s faces off teaching ballroom dancing at Dancers Studio in St. Paul, MN. My husband and I compete professionally in American style and wrangle eight children in our spare time. I’ve been teaching and competing in ballroom dancing for over 25 years and have lots of opinions on it. I am an expert by any means, but there are quite a few dancers who are better than me and I have a solid knowledge of basic technique, so suck it.

The Get Smart Book Club – Anna Karenina – Update

GSbc
Hey y'all, remember that book club thing?

Gah, it's going on 2 months with this epic novel (Anna Karenina) and it is still woefully under-read.  

I really enjoy reading it.  (I think I'm still recovering from those terrible Gray books.)  I expected something a bit drier and along the lines of Steinbeck's never-ending, descriptive "storytelling", but Tolstoy jumps right in with interesting, melodramatic characters and political juxtapositions.  

In my typical book club fashion, I'm about to throw in the towel and watch the movie (Cliff Notes for the cool kids).  But that's missing the point now, isn't it.  

Sigh.

At this rate, my book list will take me 30 years to finish.  But then what will I do with my retirement?!

Is anyone else reading it?  Read it already?  Chime in.  

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One year ago: IKEA cooking.  Orka borka.

 

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3 responses to “The Get Smart Book Club – Anna Karenina – Update”

  1. warren Avatar
    warren

    I agree…the Gray books were gawd awful in my opinion. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy the rewards of my wife reading them but I just couldn’t get into them. Do guys even read those books? Not sure but I tried to. Mostly I wanted to take a riding crop and somehow hang myself from the rafters with it when I was trying to read book2. I made it through book 1 only…
    Anyhow, Anna Karenina is quite a read too and perfect for winter time but sometimes those sort of books make me want to find some convenient rafters also. Good on you for continuing on!

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  2. dane Avatar
    dane

    like you, i too have stalled out with it. what i have read is very well written and the story is solid…but it’s so freaking dense. it’s not something you can pound out in a weekend but rather something you have to sip and savor over the course of a month (or longer). its the equivalent of a fine scotch, not a domestic beer.
    i will finish it at some point, but at the moment i’m in a holding pattern.

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  3. Kate Bratt Avatar
    Kate Bratt

    I’m so glad you agree that the Gray books sucked AND still finished #1 and started #2. The G keeps asking me why I read all 3 if they were that awful and I came up with 2 answers:
    1) I kept expecting something great (naughty parts, story, writing) because EVERYONE has read them. Would everyone really read something that is pure drivel? [Yes, everyone will. See the popularity of Jersey Shore.]
    2) I’m a finisher and like the stupid Twilight books [okay, I liked that first one], I HAD to finish them. Compulsion = clean house, bad reading material.
    I’m very in support of a book club that is both virtual and involves leather armchairs, silence, scotch, and reading. Can we make that happen?

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