War and Peace

     From the title, it may sound like I'm going to give some sort of review of the book listed above. As it turns out, I'm not, I'm just writing those who decide to follow this blog that I've started reading War and Peace since yesterday. I'm discovering, more and more, a desire to read classic literature. As of yet I'm not very far into it, and my interest is already held by Mr. Tolstoy. One of my thoughts about why I decided to buy this book as compared to others is "Why not?". A second reason (and something of a justification) is that if I can read a 1,200 page book and finish it, I will prove to myself that reading much of anything else is, though cliche, a "piece of cake". My third, and most compelling reason (to me) is that I want to study classic literature; by reading the best, my subconscious can analyze it and be able to improve my own writing.
     From what I understand so far, the book looks at the personal lives of the Russian aristocracy during the early 19th century to get a glimpse of the times. This is during the period where Napoleon Bonaparte has visions of world conquest. One thing that confused me, at first, led to this question; "If France is trying to take over the world and, at the time, is a possible threat to Russia, why are the aristocrats speaking French? I looked it up online and, as it turns out, French was a popular language among the aristocrats because it sounded more refined than speaking Russian, their native language. Apparently, from what I read, one of the characters actually has to take Russian lessons to learn her native language! This shows how prevalent culture can be, influencing people of one nationality to take up the language of another.
     Of course the book is well written, and I do find it interesting. I would challenge you, whether it's War and Peace, the Bible, some book by Stephen King (as his seem to be, invariably, excessively long) to try reading something that you think is too long to hold your interest. Even if it's a chapter a day, introducing yourself to the possibility or idea of reading something of that length, I think, would be an encouragement.
     By the way, I'm not necessarily endorsing Stephen King's novels. I just threw them in as I know that they tend to be very long as compared to most novels out there. The Bible is a good one, though, especially to take a chapter at a time. Or several chapters at a time, whichever you prefer.
     As both a note and a piece of advice; if you do end up reading War and Peace, I might suggest buying it rather than renting it from a library, unless you read a lot at one time. This will take some of the pressure of having to finish it before your two or three weeks is up, unless you plan specifically to read it in that period of time. The edition that I got, Barnes and Noble Classics (paperback, much less expensive than any hardcover) has a list of characters in the front which I am immensely grateful for. Tracking a bunch of people with foreign names and intersecting yet separate stories is somewhat intimidating to me, which is why I'm so grateful for it. (I actually put a small sticky note there, for easy reference.)
     Above all else, one of my main reasons for reading is to learn as a writer. Most read for entertainment, so this book may not be your first choice, unless you want to study the structure of an epic, or to read selections of the worlds best literature. In any case I would encourage you to read; reading in and of itself develops the mind. You can learn from the mistakes of characters in what you read. Asking yourself "What would I do if I was in this situation?" can create some great sessions of thought or discussion, if not both.
 
   God Bless,
                   Jack