Kicking off with Tolstoy

Time to start the fun bit - working down the list.  I thought I would start with a big one, an epic, to get the ball rolling.


Following the maxim "go large, or go home" I decided to kick off with Tolstoy's 'War and Peace'.


I already have a copy of the book, but it is currently in a cardboard box along with everything else in my bookshelf, as we bought a house in June and we move house in 2 days time.  I realise that I may not have mountains of free time for reading and bubble baths (my absolute favourite place to unwind with a good book) in the foreseeable future, so I have also made use of my audible account to buy the unabridged audiobook too, narrated by Frederick Davidson and published by Blackstone Audio Inc.  The translation of this version is by Louise and Aylmer Maude.  I know that there is always furious debate about which translations give the most authentic interpretation of Tolstoy's own nuances and connotations, so I will use my book (when it get's unpacked) as a cross reference for my own benefit.


The audiobook weighs in at 10 mins shy of 61 hours of listening time, so this should keep me occupied in the coming weeks as I pack up my life into boxes, clean the rented house from top to bottom, make umpteen trips back and forth between my old place and the new place (40 minutes in the car each way).


I will be starting tonight as I cook, I will dock my ipod n the kitchen and get started on the journey into Tolstoy's story about the French invasion of Russia in the 1800's and effect that the Napoleonic era had on Tsarist Russian society.  Really looking forward to it!