Upcoming Reading Envy Readalong

The last episode of the Reading Envy Podcast included a brief announcement of the next Reading Envy Readalong title: Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann. (Join in on the weekly conversations in the Reading Envy Readers Goodreads Group.)

Buy me on Amazon
Buy me on Audible (45 hours)
Find me on Hoopla (as of this posting, a bonus download)
Order from Bookshop.org (linking to one of my local stores)
Order from Malaprops (another favorite local store)

You may wonder, why this book?

For one thing, it is massive, at 1040 pages. I need a group to help me through! And I understand it to be very few sentences, and it just goes on in a stream of consciousness style. It's written by a female author, it's about a woman, it's in the woman's head.

For another thing, it received a lot of acclaim. Shortlisted for the Booker Prize (I expected it to win!), winner of the Goldsmiths Prize, listed on year-end lists for many publications not to mention the New Yorker, the New York Times, and Time Magazine.

I also understand it to be the internal dialogue of a very busy woman who is juggling children and housework while feeling deep concern for the political landscape and more. In some ways it seemed like this might be a good read while we are all feeling extra domestic.

A few items you can look at to further acquaint yourself:


The Guardian Books Podcast Interview with Lucy Ellmann (I was charmed!)

WhatKamilReads review of the book (one of my favorite BookTube accounts)

LitHub Interview with the author, 2019 (calls her the Great American Novelist, but she moved to the UK in 1970)
Vogue interview about the Twitter controversy over her comments on motherhood (ooh, controversy!)

Reading Schedule

This is a hard one but I'm going to push us a little harder than we pushed on The Odyssey. Since you just have to jab a bookmark in and interrupt the flow regardless, you might as well immerse into the narrative 175 pages at a time. Right? Right!

April 19-25 1-174
April 26-May 2 175-349
May 3-9 350-524
May 10-16 525-659
May 17-23 700-824
May 24-30 825-1040 (just slip those last few pages in here)

I'm hoping we can record a readalong discussion on the 31st. I feel we waited too long with The Odyssey and I want us all to be fresh. I hope you can join in! Details for the online discussion will be in the Goodreads group.