If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler Readalong

Friday, October 18, 2013


Who is ready for a fall readalong? Care’s Online Book Club and I are co-hosting a laid back readalong of Italo Calvino’s masterpiece, If On a Winter’s Night a Traveler. I’ve been hearing about Calvino’s work for years and I can’t help but feel curious. I think this one will be great to read as a group because it will probably help us catch things we might otherwise miss.

A few other reasons you should join in the fun:

1) Entertainment Weekly named it one of their Top 100 All-Time Greatest Books, describing it as…
“A fleet-footed entertainment about the high-intensity sport that is reading. Calvino was a stellar stylist, and this astonishingly inventive novel proved there was no sentence he could not write.”

2) It’s only 260 pages!

3) This fantastic article with David Mitchell’s thoughts about the book. He starts with…
“You are about to begin reading Italo Calvino's new novel, If on a winter's night a traveller. Relax. Let the world around you fade.”

4) It’s a book about someone trying to read a book.

5) It’s on the 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die List.

So if you’d like to join in, here are a few details. We’ll be tweeting about it with #ReadCalvino. We’re going to start reading on Nov. 1st and try to finish by the end of the month. We’ll post one mid-way post and another wrap up post. Feel free to post in the middle or at the end or just as you go along.

17 comments:

Fanda Classiclit said...

Aww...I have planned to join TCC's David Copperfield Sync Read on Nov, otherwise I'd be glad to join you. I've ben curious too about this book. Well, good luck, then, with the readalong, I'll just wait for your posts and review on this book.

Sandy Nawrot said...

I have too many other books lined up I think, but you have definitely made me want to read it! I'll really look forward to hearing more about it!

Anonymous said...

WOO HOO!!! I'll attempt a post on this today or tomorrow, too.

Melissa (Avid Reader) said...

Fanda - Can't wait to hear your thoughts on David Copperfield, it's one of my favorites!

Sandy - There are always more than enough books to read!

bkclubcare - Can't wait to start!

Anonymous said...

good for you, this is an amazing book! I Love Calvino, but have already read this one and Invisible Cities. If you do another read-along on one of his other novels, I'll definitely join. no time right now to re-read books, even though I enjoyed this one so much

JoAnn said...

I've got a copy - I'm in! Have to admit I've always been a little intimidated by this book and Calvino in general, so it will be good to read with friends :)

Bybee said...

Thinking about it. Very tempted.

Anonymous said...

I'm really looking forward to this. It's my first readalong.

I enjoyed Invisible Cities so hopefully this one is just as good (if not better!)

Anonymous said...

I have this lined up for November, so it will be lovely to have company.

Melissa (Avid Reader) said...

wordsandpeace.com - I hope you'll swing by and share your thoughts on the book from when you read it!

JoAnn - I'm intimidated as well, but I think that those kinds of books make the best readalong books. It makes you stick with it and think about the work in new ways!

Bybee - Do it! It's going to be fun.

Reading Renegade - Woo hoo! I'm so glad we'll have someone on board who has read Calvino before.

fleurfisher - What perfect timing!

Arenel said...

It took me long to decide, as I don't have much time to read lately, but I simply can't resist it! :) Count me in! :)

Melissa (Avid Reader) said...

Ekaterina Egorova - Yay! If you have a twitter handle let us know what it is (email me or leave it in a comment here) and we'll add you into the conversation. If you don't then just join in the blog posts! So glad you caved!

Arenel said...

My twitter handle is @InMyBookBlog, but I'll be joining in the comments too :)

Bybee said...

I'm in!

Melissa (Avid Reader) said...

Ekaterina Egorova - Perfect, thanks!

Bybee - Yay!

Amy said...

I have this book on my couch waiting-to-be-read pile. I've never done a read-a-long. Sounds interesting. My twitter name is @amyrabbitt.

Melissa (Avid Reader) said...

Amy - Great! Welcome to the readalong! They are such a great way to tackle books that have been on your TBR for a long time.