The Readers Review: Literature from 1714 to 1910 discussion

Hello, dear reading folks. Our French adventure is set to continue with the next novel in the Zola epic series about one particular family, Les Rougon-Maquart. December 01 is the day when we start reading novel 6, His Excellence (Eugene Rougon). The participants of the first read in the series decided that we would follow the recommended order, mainly because it would be easier to follow the plot lines and because this is the order recommended by its author, Emile Zola.

Here is the tentative schedule. You are free to express your suggestions, and I will be happy to accommodate your requests.

Chapters I and II - December 01 - December 07 (ONE WEEK)

Chapters III and IV - December 08 - December 14 (ONE WEEK)

Chapters V, VI, VII - December 15 - December 29 (TWO WEEKS) Yay, Christmas reading! Aren't we all looking forward to it?

Chapters VIII and IX - December 30 - January 08 (TEN DAYS)

Chapters X and XI - January 09 - January 18 (TEN DAYS)

Chapters XII, XIII, XIV - January 19 - January 31 (TWO WEEKS)


The length of chapters vary, so the schedule is not straightforward, and sometimes we will have a week to discuss the chapters, sometimes we will need more time up to two weeks, but I hope it will work for us.

I will also try to open several posts in case there will be readers who read quickly and or there are some who will join the discussion but have already read the novel.

To sum it up, I hope the holiday season will only help us to read more and with true pleasure.

Does anyone know where I can get an inexpensive copy of this?

I googled the second-hand book stores, and unfortunately paper versions are not cheap, but if you have any ereader, the free copies are available.

I don't but it may be time to buy one. I've held back because I just don't know which to buy. I don't even have a smart phone.

You can have a free software installed in your computer: it might be either Kindle software or Kobo software or Nook software, you can read in your browser on your computer screen. It might be an option for you if you are willing to sit in front of the screen. But then what about the pleasure of reading in a rocking chair or in bed ...

I just checked Project Gutenberg which has works to read online or download to your computer and there are many Zola works but not this one. This seems to be one of the least read.

Maybe someone you know has an e-reader they don't use all the time that you could borrow for a while?

Thank you for your input.

If it's possible for you to use iTunes, they list a variety of editions of Zola's works including this novel, or this entire series collected in one volume.

I just downloaded a free copy from Archive.org:
https://archive.org/details/hisexcell...

They offer a choice of formats: epub, kindle, pdf, you name it. You can even read online, in your browser. A dedicated e-paper device is much more comfortable though.

PS: On closer inspection it turns out that the full-text, epub and mobi versions all derive from a scan that has been OCRed without proofreading. Riddled therefore with ‘typos’. The PDF link on the other hand leads to Google Books, a dead end.
The online version is a clear (non-OCRed) scan, so this may be the best option in the public domain after all. Making us appreciate the great work done by all those volunteer proofreaders preparing texts for Gutenberg.org and its likes!

@Dagny, I didn't know this about Zola. It's possible to read the Monietur universel online. Pretty nice. Thank you.