Would love a copy of this Magnus.

Glad to see you are enjoying life Magnus. Would love to have a copy of this book. Please enter me in the draw.

Please add my name to the list of hopefuls.

Hope I'm not too late to enter?

Sounds like a wonderful read for the summer.

Hi Magnus please enter me in the draw.

I love short stories and am currently reading "Dear Life" short stories by Alice Munro. Now that the weather is improving here they are perfect for reading in between jaunts to the garden to do some spring clean-up. Hope to win a copy of this book.

Would love to read this. My sister-in-law quilts and loves to read too so would definitely pass it on to her. I enjoyed Girl with a Pearl Earring when our library book club read it.

Please add my name to the list of hopefuls.

Please enter me in the draw and thank you for introducing me to Angela Carter whose writings I am definitely going to explore after reading about her here on your blog.

A guide to reading Dickens would be amazing. I remember reading "A Tale of Two Cities " in high school and being so surprised by the ending. A Christmas Carol is an annual event in our house.

Hoping to make the deadline this time for the contest. I want to thank you for the recommendation of Oxford World Classics edition. I took your advice and purchased the Oxford edition of War&Peace for last years group read and loved the translation. Should I need to purchase a copy of Middlemarch I will again follow your suggestion.

Probably too late but just saw this. Would love a copy.

With strong recommendations from you and Kevin this is a must read for me. Thanks for the opportunity to win a copy.

I'll join in too. My daughter is a big fan of GE so Middlemarch sounds perfect. W&P was my first year long group read and I really enjoyed it. Did get in a bit of a panic at the end when I had fallen quite behind. Looking forward to the 2012 read.

I was one of the readers who fell off and then climbed back on. I finished W&P the end of August and so have had time to mull over my impressions of the book. While the battle scenes were tedious reading for me at first as I progressed through the book I came to appreciate them more. I was a bit fed up by the end with the melodrama in the drawing rooms and have to say thoroughly detested Pierre throughout the book. As for the epilogue whew! I thank you DGR though for a very enjoyable experience of my first group read. Looking forward to seeing what will be determined for the next year's read.

What a great opportunity. Please count me in.

For me the outstanding section was the visit to Uncle's after the hunt. The images still float in my mind of that spontaneous gathering, Uncle playing folk songs on his guitar with Natasha dancing while he played. What a contrast to the usual scenes of formal gatherings we have been exposed to so far. In Chapter II we see the family visit dressed as mummers Pelageya Danilovna Melyukova. It is here that Nicholai finally 'makes up his mind ' about Sonya and determines to marry her. I must admit to finding Pierre quite tedious by the end of this reading and hoping that he fades into the background in the next section. At the same time I was hoping for the reappearance of Denisov. As others have stated I have concerns for Marya and her aspirations. As for Pierre and Natasha I can't help but wonder about the outcome of this May/December romance. I continue to find that completing the readings in chunks nearer to the 9th of the month works best for me although I find that when I get to the end of a section I always want to keep reading and am loathe to put the book away again.

I continue to be amazed at how much more I'm getting out of W&P this time round. I ran a little behind last month but am caught up at last. It was Nikolai's allegiance to the Tsar that really caught my attention in this read. The actual appearance of Napoleon this early in the book was a complete surprise for me. I did not expect to be treated to his appearance on the battlefield. Thanks doveygreyreader for the heads up of a slightly longer read this month. Given I fell behind I shall start sooner I think, perhaps right after Christmas. I find I'm reading slower so as to savour the detail in Tolstoy's writing. Merry Christmas all.

At our house the passion is kayaking and I so identify with your description of having to appear enthralled.Here I find myself studying the latest sail rigging should I venture into the office while research is underway. I wish I knew someone interested in fishing as this looks like the perfect gift for the fishing enthusiast. Congratulations to Bookhound and Fred Buller.

I received my OUP copy of W&P in mid October and am so glad that I decided to order it. I am finding that the notes are adding a richness to this read for me by providing background information I wasn't privy to the first time I read the book. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Tolstoy's vivid descriptions of the battle when he describes the troops being so close during the truce that they could see the faces of the enemy and after the battle Prince Andrei passing the poor horse by the canons writhing on the ground and screaming in pain. I have to agree with everyone who feels that by reading this in chunks this month I felt more connected to the story and am looking forward to this month's read with great anticipation.

A day late starting but better late than never.The temptation to surge ahead was great but I closed the book after reading 35 pages. I'm really enjoying everyone's comments and thanks so much for the wonderful book mark.