Announcing the 2021 Chapter-a-Day Read-Along

This is the official sign-up post for the 2021 Chapter-a-Day Read-along. This marks the fourth year of the read-along, and we are once again back to reading several books instead of just one. As you might remember, there aren’t too many books that have exactly 365 chapters, and we’ve already read the most well known: Les Misérables and War and Peace. So, like we did in 2019, for 2021 we will be reading several different books whose chapters add up to 365. By joining along in reading one a chapter a day in 2021, you will finish five classic works of literature this year. But if you can only join in for some of the books, that’s fine, too. As with all these challenges, read what you can when you can. The beauty of a chapter-a-day read-along is that if you miss a few days it’s relatively easy to catch up. The chapters this year may be a little longer than you’re used to in our past read-alongs, but I think they will still be manageable in 15-20 minutes a day.

How to Participate in the 2021 Chapter-a-Day Read-along

• Leave a comment on this post telling everyone that you’ll be reading along and why.
• Get a copy of each of the five books listed below. Or read them online. All of them are available at Project Gutenberg at the links found in the descriptions below.
• Download the daily schedule: Nick’s 2021 Chapter-a-Day Read-along Reading Schedule
• Commit to reading a chapter a day, starting on January 1, 2021. If you get behind or race ahead, no worries. As 2020 taught us so well, life happens.
• If you feel like it, post a line a day from the current chapter on social media, using the hashtags listed below. I’ll be posting to Twitter and Facebook each day and I would love to read your thoughts, too. When you post, I would ask that you please respect the reading experience of those who may not know the full story. In other words, no spoilers!
• You will find the official 2021 read-along graphic at the bottom of this post. Feel free to use it on your website if you wish.
• Subscribe to One Catholic Life so you don’t miss any read-along posts throughout the year. You can get updates via email by using the form in the right-hand sidebar or you can subscribe via RSS and read them in your favorite blog reader.

The goal of these chapter-a-day read-alongs is to encourage people to read classic books they might not otherwise read because of their length or age. With that in mind, I chose five classic novels that I think fit that description well. They come from four different countries and several of the books are some of my absolute favorites. So, without further ado, here’s what’s on tap for 2021:

The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri

We begin the year with one of the most profound and beloved works of literature humanity has ever produced, The Divine Comedy. Dante’s masterwork will be a challenge, but it is definitely worth the effort. Written in Italy in the fourteenth century, The Divine Comedy is available in many translations and editions, so I encourage you to take some time and find one that suits you. Though it was written in the form of an epic poem, it is also available in prose.

I have read The Divine Comedy once, over ten years ago, but I sped right through it, so I am looking forward to a more meditative reading. My first experience with it was the translation by Mark Musa in The Portable Dante published by Penguin Books. I haven’t decided which edition I will read this time. I have a Kindle edition translated by John Ciardi which gets good reviews and I also have an older translation by Charles Eliot Norton that is part of the Great Books of the Western World set that I have. While Ciardi’s translation is more recent, Norton translated the poem into prose, which intrigues me. I have some time to decide, and I’ll let you know which one I finally settle on. Maybe I’ll end up moving back and forth between them.

We will be reading The Divine Comedy from the beginning of the year through Lent and into the first week of the Easter season. I’ll put together an introductory post later this month to get us ready for this literary work of art. Hashtag: #divinecomedyreadalong

Quo Vadis: A Narrative of the Time of Nero  by Henryk Sienkiewicz

We next move from an Italian author to a Polish author, Henryk Sienkiewicz, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1905. His novel Quo Vadis, published in 1896, takes place in first century Rome and features famous historical figures like the Emperor Nero as well as Saints Peter and Paul.

This is another of my favorite books, and I read it most recently in 2013, so it’s been awhile. The online text at Project Gutenberg features a translation by Jeremiah Curtin. That edition will serve if it is your only option, but if you can find the translation by W. S. Kuniczak I recommend picking it up, even if you have to search on Ebay. The Kuniczak translation seems much more readable, at least as far as I can tell from the short excerpt I read online and based on comments from others who have read it. That’s the translation I plan on using for the read-along this year. I previously read the Curtin translation in a slightly adapted and abridged form by James Bell, which is still available for the Kindle. and also on Apple Books app. You can also find a free audiobook version on Librivox.

Quo Vadis is 73 chapters long with an epilogue, and we will be reading a great deal of it in the Easter season from April 11 to June 23. Hashtag: #quovadisreadalong

The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (Notre-Dame de Paris) by Victor Hugo

Those of you who have been with the chapter-a-day read-along from the very beginning will remember that we started in 2018 with Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables. For 2021 we will take on another of Victor Hugo’s famous novels, Notre Dame de Paris, or as it is better known in English-speaking countries, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. Though I have read Les Misérables countless times, I have never actually read Notre-Dame de Paris, nor have I seen any movies based on the story. I have some vague idea of the plot, but I will be coming to this novel mostly fresh, and I can’t wait. Like many in the world, I watched in shock as the beautiful cathedral succumbed to fire in April of 2019, and I want to read this book in tribute to its magnificence.

I own an old paperback of the novel that I purchased new about thirty years ago that has been sitting on a bookshelf all these years. It is a 1964 translation by Walter J. Cobb, but I think it is going to have to sit there even longer because I will be reading the Oxford Classics translation by Alban J. Krailsheimer, which I hear is the best available, though the Cobb translation is highly regarded, as is a translation by John Sturrock. You can also find Notre-Dame de Paris at Project Gutenberg and in audio book form at Librivox.

Notre-Dame de Paris is 53 chapters long and this will be our summer read-along, from June 24 to August 21. Hashtag: #hunchbackreadalong

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

Our third book takes us to England and to the book Charles Dickens called his favorite, David Copperfield:

Of all my books, I like this the best. It will be easily believed that I am a fond parent to every child of my fancy, and that no one can ever love that family as dearly as I love them. But, like many fond parents, I have in my heart of hearts a favourite child. And his name is David Copperfield.

Published in 1850, many people consider this novel the turning point between his earlier works and his more mature works. It was after Dickens wrote David Copperfield that he wrote Bleak House, A Tale of Two Cities, and Great Expectations. It’s definitely one of my favorite novels, as you can tell by its appearance in the header image of this blog. However, it’s been at least fifteen years since I last read it, and I am very curious to see if I still like it as much as I did when I last read it.

For English-speaking readers there is no worry about finding a good translation since it was written in English. There are many free copies available online, including one at Project Gutenberg. There is also an audiobook version on Librivox. I’ll be reading the Penguin Classics Kindle edition for its copious footnotes. We start David Copperfield on August 22, just as school is about to start and we will end the book on October 24. Hashtag: #davidcopperfieldreadalong

The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas

Finally, we will end our read-along journey back in France with a book that I would likely place in my top five most enjoyable books of all time, The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas, published in 1844. It’s hero, d’Artagnan, is one of my all-time favorite characters, right up there with Sancho Panza, Samwise Gamgee, and Captain Jack Aubrey.

I’ve selected The Three Musketeers for three reasons: first, it’s a book I can’t get enough of, and I want to encourage others to read it; second, so many people enjoyed The Count of Monte Cristo during our 2019 read-along that I thought another Dumas book would be appreciated; and I am going to keep the third reason to myself for the time being and reveal it sometime before we start reading it in late October.

As far as editions of the book go, I have the comfortable old Penguin Classics edition that you see pictured here and that also appears in the header image of this blog. It’s a copy I picked up in the mid-1980’s and the translation is by Lord Sudley from 1952. It fits my hand like a glove and is one of my favorite paperbacks to hold. But it doesn’t have any footnotes, so for this read-along I’ve chosen to read the Oxford Classics Kindle edition. Like the other books for 2021, you can find The Three Musketeers online at Project Gutenberg, as well as on Librivox as an audio book.

We will start reading The Three Musketeers on October 25, and it will take us through to the end of the year. Hashtag: #dartagnanreadalong

 The 2021 Chapter-a-Day Reading Schedule

To recap, here is the broad outline of the year:

• The Divine Comedy: January 1 to April 10 (100 cantos, or chapters= 100 days)
• Quo Vadis: April 11 to June 23 (73 chapters and an epilogue = 74 days)
• The Hunchback of Notre Dame: June 24 to August 21 (59 chapters)
• David Copperfield: August 22 to October 24 (64 chapters = 64 days)
• The Three Musketeers: October 25 to December 31 (67 chapters and an epilogue = 68 days)

So, 100+74+59+64+68 = 365 days. You can download a pdf of the entire year’s schedule in detail here: Nick’s 2021 Chapter-a-Day Read-along Reading Schedule

Of course, I hope you read all five books with me, but you’re welcome to participate as much or as little as you like. I will try to write more often this year than I did last year, and I will continue to post a line a day on social media. I’ll be using the various hashtags to tag my posts on Twitter and Facebook.

Stay tuned for my introductory post for The Divine Comedy toward the end of December, and leave a comment to let me know if you’re participating.

Here is the official 2021 graphic you can use for your website if you choose: