TIOLI - Group Read - The Possessed

This is a thread for those participating in the Group Read for The Possessed: Adventures with Russian Books and the People Who Read Them

Here is the TIOLI thread for February
Challenge #7 - Read a Book with a 12 Word Title

http://www.librarything.com/topic/108561

I just picked up my copy from the library. I was a Russian Area Studies minor in college, so I've read a fair share of Russian authors, but by no means am I an expert. I'm looking forward to the book

I'm still waiting my turn at the library, but I plan to read along with the group (I might need to play catch-up for a bit). I've been intrigued by the way readers do get "possessed" by the great Russian novels. I haven't completed any yet (I made it about a third of the way into Anna Karenina), but just got Doctor Zhivago and want to dive into it.

Karen O.

I'll be starting this as soon as I finish my current nonfiction read.

I finished American Bee tonight so I'll start this one in the morning

I'm well into the second essay. I am liking this very much. I will be quiet though, until a few more people have read some.

I started this this morning on the train -- just finished the introduction. I haven't read any Russian novels myself, so this isn't the sort of book I would have been likely to pick up on my own.

Short version of why I'm reading it: Christmas gift from my brother.

Long version: Every year my brothers and I do a book exchange, where we give each other one of our favorite books from the past year. One of the first years we did this, my youngest brother was on a Russian kick, but rather than giving us a novel he gave us a very big and very boring biography of Kruschchev. (Neither my other brother nor I were able to get more than about twenty pages in; we finally admitted this a couple years ago.) So I think that this was a bit of my youngest brother poking fun at himself.

#2--Me too (Russian Area Studies minor) and this book intrigued me.

I've read a lot of Russian literature, but not for awhile, and am currently rereading Anna Karenina. I have The Possessed but haven't started reading it yet. When it showed up on the challenge list it seemed like a good idea to read it in February--so I plan to start it within the next few days.

Has anyone else started this yet? I finished it today, but would be happy to hold off on talking about it until someone else reads more.

I started it, but admit it wasn't really what I had expected. So I'm reading it in sections - I needed to offset it with something lighter - and have only finished the first chapter

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I found the "Summer in Samarkand" parts much easier going than the rest, so in a way it alternates with itself.

This book looks fascinating. I just put in an ILL request from the library. These usually take a week or so to take effect. I'll have to read quickly to count it for TIOLI this month.

#9 I am 3/4 of the way through - you can visit me and we can talk...

I'm in a hold pattern because I'm on a list to get the book from my library. I'm in position 2, so I'm hopeful that it won't take long. Speaking for myself, I wouldn't mind reading some comments by those who are currently reading it.

Karen O.

I think the author did herself a dis-service by starting with the Babel chapter. It took me a long time to get through it, and that chapter in particular seems to be setting up an "academic" analysis of the authors. But by the second half of the chapter the writing loosened up, and the next two chapters are actually enjoyable.

I'm still struggling with how this is dealing with "the people who read them" - it seems to be just about her and her immediate circle - but at least now the writing seems to be more in line with the comic style cover art, and I'm actually enjoying it.

Still hoping to get to this during Feb. I bought the book last month (Kindle), got about 50 pages into it, stalled and moved on to something else. C'est la vie...

I'm about 100 pgs in but won't finish this month. I got caught up in the earthquake coverage this past week and just didn't feel like picking up this particular book at the time.

I just finished it last night. Overall, I would have to say I am disappointed. I feel both the title and the cover did not accurately depict the book's content. It had less to do with "the people who love them" than the day in the life of the author as she loves them. But given that 3 of the chapters were about Uzbekistan and explaining how they are NOT Russian, I don't really understand how they even fit in.

I stuck with it - more to see if it got better - and some of her writing was humorous enough, and the history she included (at least some of it) was interesting. I guess it just falls under the heading of "Not what I was expecting". I'll probaby give it 3 stars

I finished it last week, and while I did enjoy it most of the time, the parts I liked had little to do with Russian books. I most enjoyed her stay in Uzbekistan. The only part that really was about people who read Russian literature (other than herself) was the Tolstoy conference. That was pretty bizarre. Probably many people who have spent a lot of time studying in a really focused area could write a similar book. My book would be "how to identify roadkill - and the people who can", thanks to a really exuberant vertebrate zoology prof.

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I agree about the part in Uzbekistan being the most interesting (and my brother did too, so it doesn't seem to be an uncommon reaction.) I'd be interested to see if people who do read a lot of Russian literature feel the same way!

I am still waiting to get a copy from my library--someone is sitting on the one copy that we have (probably a librarian!) I still plan to read the book, but it didn't work out for this group read. I really appreciate the comments, however, and will return to this thread when I actually have the book in hand.

Karen O.

I got the book late so can't use it for the TIOLI challenge. Parts of it are interesting, but *yawn* I found myself skimming that first chapter. I think I'd rather be reading actual literature by a Russian author.