From the Bookshelf of Catching up on Classics (and lots more!)…

The Count of Monte Cristo

Alexandre Dumas

Start date: January 1, 2015

Finish date: March 31, 2015

Why we're reading this: 1st Quarter 2015 Long Read

Pervious Group Reads:
Old School Classic Group Read, Jan/Feb 2013
[close] 1st Quarter 2015 Long Read

Pervious Group Reads:
Old School Classic Group Read, Jan/Feb 2013

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What Members Thought

May 31, 2011 Haze rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2011-books-read, 2019-books-read, haze-s-1000-list, audiobook, 2022-books-read, 2024-books-read, 52bookclub-2024-challenge

2024 April:I’ve loved this book a long time, but reading it with my online book club is a whole other experience. I loved reading along and seeing new details I didn’t notice before, and having things pointed out to me by others as well. I loved sharing my thoughts and listening to others’ thoughts and opinions. Even the opposing ones. Especially the opposing ones. We had some heated discussions and I enjoyed them all. I also have a new appreciation for certain scenes I never paid much attention 2024 April:I’ve loved this book a long time, but reading it with my online book club is a whole other experience. I loved reading along and seeing new details I didn’t notice before, and having things pointed out to me by others as well. I loved sharing my thoughts and listening to others’ thoughts and opinions. Even the opposing ones. Especially the opposing ones. We had some heated discussions and I enjoyed them all. I also have a new appreciation for certain scenes I never paid much attention to before.

My thoughts about the book itself – I’ll write an essay one day, but for now, I’ll keep it simple. I love the story and the storytelling. I love that this story doesn’t get old for me no matter how many times I’ve read it (although the first time was the most intense!). I love the characters, the journey, the way you see each and every single one of them change over time. I love the karma, the intricacies, the way things came a full circle. And the fact that it was originally serialized, and that it’s so massive, how incredible this story is and how much skill Dumas had in writing it. I love it and I love it and I love it a thousand times!

2022 Sep: Reread again. Love it as much as ever, maybe even more! I'm seeing things I never noticed before because now I can pay attention to the details. I also took my time with it this time because I was in no hurry. I finished it Sep 21, and restarted all over again, this time I intend to go really slow and make notes.

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Just finished listening to The Count of Monte Cristo on audiobook - 48 hours of it (finally found an unabridged version!) - in one week.

I have a massive book hangover and I no longer know what to do with myself. 😭

Some background: The Count of Monte Cristo is one of my favorite books and one of the most intense books I've ever read. The first time I read it - on paperback - I finished it in a 3-day school weekend, 1100 pages of it, only coming out of my room for meals and pretty much ignoring everything else. Trust me when I say it is *really* intense, and it gets more and more intense the further you get into it. I could not put it down, literally, I kept reading even as I was eating my meals. I fell asleep with the lights on and the book still in my hands. I'm not sure that I showered that weekend. 😅

When I went to watch the movie after, I hated it so much! Not anywhere near as good as the book, not even close! I mean, now that I think about it, it's not fair to judge too harshly, there's no way to fit 1100 pages/48 hours of a book into a 2-hour movie and expect it to be good. (How about a mini-series, powers-that-be? 😉) But yeah, the movie was a huge disappointment.

So I'd been wanting to read it again for a long time, but I knew how engrossing it would be and thought that maybe an audiobook would be a better idea so I could pace myself and get things done while listening to it. Yeah, no.

48 hours in a week comes up to more than 6 hours a day. I did get *some* things done, but more often than not, I was just (intensely!) listening to the book and staring blankly into space pretending to do chores.

I finished the book last night. And I feel completely lost today. ...more

18 likes · Like · see review

Jun 02, 2011 Rachel rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fiction, classics, 1001-books-to-read-before-you-die

I was amused that in the introduction it said that there was not an ounce of literary merit to this novel, just pure swashbuckling fun. What a blatant attempt to get kids to read it. Which they should, since I can't imagine anyone not loving this book. It's exciting and easy to read, which is not often the case with older classics. ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Apr 18, 2007 Suvi rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: cities_paris, novels, 1800s, _book-shelf, _france, _to-reread

I haven't opened this for several months, so the count has to move to the to-read shelf for now. I haven't given up, though, because I actually love the story more than the first time. I'd just rather continue reading every once in a while with the book on my nightstand instead of letting it rot on my main page. Way too distracting when it's constantly reminding me how slow I am. I'm more drawn to other classics at the moment anyway. ...more

1 like · Like · see review