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This thread is to discuss The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Be prepared for spoilers.


Synopsis:
A portrait of the Jazz Age in all of its decadence and excess, The Great Gatsby captured the spirit of the author's generation and earned itself a permanent place in American mythology. Self-made, self-invented millionaire Jay Gatsby embodies some of Fitzgerald's--and his country's--most abiding obsessions: money, ambition, greed, and the promise of new beginnings. "Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matter--tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther.... And one fine morning--"Gatsby's rise to glory and eventual fall from grace becomes a kind of cautionary tale about the American Dream.

It's also a love story, of sorts, the narrative of Gatsby's quixotic passion for Daisy Buchanan. The pair meet five years before the novel begins, when Daisy is a legendary young Louisville beauty and Gatsby an impoverished officer. They fall in love, but while Gatsby serves overseas, Daisy marries the brutal, bullying, but extremely rich Tom Buchanan. After the war, Gatsby devotes himself blindly to the pursuit of wealth by whatever means--and to the pursuit of Daisy, which amounts to the same thing. "Her voice is full of money," Gatsby says admiringly. His millions made, Gatsby buys a mansion across Long Island Sound from Daisy's patrician East Egg address, throws lavish parties, and waits for her to appear. When she does, events unfold with detached, cynical neighbor Nick Carraway acting as chorus throughout.

Chapter Breakdown
Date Chapters PPDQs
Dec 20 1-3 Sarah
Dec 21 4-6 Taryn
Dec 22 7-9 Kim Karen

Discussion Question volunteers:

Karen (river sprites)
Amanda (Poisonous Toadstools)
Taryn (Elves of Deep Shadow)
Sarah (Misty Mountain Trolls) - Day 1
Shannon (Serpents of the sea)
Kelly (Spirit Weavers)
Kim (Army Ants)
Zee (Mordor Seekers) - towards the end
J.A
Jennfier (Fire Drakes)


NOTE: We will accept one team member per book per team for writing a days DQs. If, by three days prior to the BOM starting, we don't have enough volunteers to write all DQs, then we will let more than one team member per team write questions. If we have more people than days sign up (prior to 3 days before start date) we will randomise the volunteers to determine those who can write DQs

I'll do a re-read of this and volunteer for writing DQs (River Sprites)

I'll volunteer to write DQs (Poisonous Toadstools).

Hi! I would love, love, love to do the DQs for this book! I've read this book four times just because it baffled me in the beginning why anyone would like it. But halfway through the third time, I understood the magic. Sometimes when you have to work hard at a book, it becomes even more rewarding.

(I am on the Elves of Deep Shadow team)

Wow Taryn, that's commitment! I enjoyed the recent movie adaption more than the book so I figure I should read it again!

Did not like this book in highschool, so I will do a RE listen and do an audio. I will volunteer for a set of DQ's - I prefer the first day if no one else has yet. Wonder if I will feel differently after loving the movie and being much older.

...I typically do not do RE reads. But it has been over 20 years and my brain was not yet matured.

Karen wrote: "Wow Taryn, that's commitment! I enjoyed the recent movie adaption more than the book so I figure I should read it again!"

Not so much commitment as curiosity. Here was a book that has been heralded as one of the best written of all time. And I had read Zelda (the story of F. Scott Fitzgerald's wife- and some about him), which made me really intrigued by the author. Still, the first two times I read it, I just couldn't wrap my head around it. There didn't seem to be anything special about the book at all. But I did some research, read some Sparknotes, did some background reading on the time period, and it started coming together. And, I have to admit, the language is just beautiful.

Oh hell no, this cannot possibly be one of the best books ever written. During our discussion Taryn, maybe you can share some of your background with enlightening me/us on what is so prestigious about it or just help enrich the discussion anyway.

Sarah wrote: "Oh hell no, this cannot possibly be one of the best books ever written. During our discussion Tatum, maybe you can share some of your background with enlightening me/us on what is so prestigious a..."

I agree. If this one is one of the best books ever written, I'll feel happy and be very proud of reading "literary garbage".

Sarah wrote: "Oh hell no, this cannot possibly be one of the best books ever written."

lol That was literally my thought the first couple of times I read it. It's why I kept re-reading. But look:











etc. I literally find it on every list of greatest literature, and it's usually in the top 5, if it's not #1.

I will also join in for this one. I didn't like it at all when I read it the first time. I haven't seen the movie but would like to see what made it to the list of so many all time best novels lists.

Hopefully, I would also be able to discern the magic in it this time, given that I am much older than I was when I first read this one!

Taryn wrote: "Sarah wrote: "Oh hell no, this cannot possibly be one of the best books ever written."

lol That was literally my thought the first couple of times I read it. It's why I kept re-reading. But look:
..."

Popularity doesn't necessarily mean quality. There are a lot of things that are popular but that I think is overrated :)

I don't think I've read this since high school. I'm in.

I can do DQs if you've still got any open spots.

(Serpents of the Sea)

Sonia wrote: "Sarah wrote: "Oh hell no, this cannot possibly be one of the best books ever written. During our discussion Tatum, maybe you can share some of your background with enlightening me/us on what is so..."

I think some of the "greatest books of all time" lists are kindof like the Emmy's where books/movies are awarded for things other than entertainment value such as "literary merit" and those types of things.

It's the opposite side of the coin I think from Harry Potter which isn't probably one of the best books written literary wise but makes almost everyone love it and makes millions of kids read more. So arguing about greatest books of all time is odd since there's so many different levels to measure that on.

(I'm not really a classics fan so that probably influences my opinions on this.)

I'll volunteer for questions though. Don't want to break my BOM streak :P

Add me to the list of volunteers (Army Ants).

I've had this on my TBR list a while. I'm in for this one.

I'm in on this one too. And I'll volunteer for some DQs, as I think I've figured out what that involves now :-P In the second half though, preferably.

Taryn wrote: "Sarah wrote: "Oh hell no, this cannot possibly be one of the best books ever written."

lol That was literally my thought the first couple of times I read it. It's why I kept re-reading. But look:
..."

I checked out one of the lists - simply hog wash, where is some Dostoyevsky or Les Miserables.

I am joining up on this one. I've been wanting to read it for a while. I'm from Fire Drakes and I also volunteer to write questions.

I'm joining for this one!

Can I get Day 2 or 3?

One of my favorite books ever!
I would like to take a set of DQs if you still need someone. I'm on Lightning Crafter.

I'm in for this one. And I'll volunteer for DQs if it's required. I belong to the Misty Mountain Trolls team.

I told myself I wouldn't join any BR's or BOM's unless I owned the book and people keep choosing things I own! I'm going to try to squeeze this in. Playing it by ear.

Hi!
I'm new to the group, hoping to find new books to read and discuss them as well.
I'm excited to try to re-read this book. I loved it in high school, but i tried re-reading it again recently and found it's hard to do without someone explaining it, but I want to give it another go.

I do have a question, and I'm having trouble finding the answer in other sections.
Do I have to be on a team to partake in the discussion questions? Or can I just jump on in when they happen?

@Corinne: No team needed! You can feel free to join in answering questions, or sign up for a day to write if you feel like an over achiever ;-). The questions will be posted each day for the section. You can answer as many or as few as you'd like. Or just discuss whatever comes to mind being aware of spoilers if you read ahead.

Hope that helps!

@Jex

Thank you so much! That really helped :)

Very excited to be joining in on this!

I'm looking forward to finally reading this book! Has anyone listened to an audio edition? Audible sells one narrated by Jake Gyllenhaal, but my library carries an edition narrated by Anthony Heald. Any opinions on the narration of either of them? (The narration seems to make all the difference in audio books.) Then again, it's a relatively short book so I may just decide to pick up a print edition.

I adore this book. I am definitely looking forward to discussing it with you all.

If I watch the movie doesn't it count as reading? hehe j/k. Although I have been wanting to watch this too so maybe I'll do that after our read through.

Sarah wrote: "Taryn wrote: "Sarah wrote: "Oh hell no, this cannot possibly be one of the best books ever written."

lol That was literally my thought the first couple of times I read it. It's why I kept re-readi..."

Lol Obviously I didn't write them. And it was more just to say that lots of people think highly of The Great Gatsby, not to declare that it "is" the greatest book of all time. Again, obviously, it's a subjective term. There just happen to be tons of people touting it as a great literary work. (The Brothers Karamazov is my favorite book of all time.)

I first read this when I was about the same age Fitzgerald was when he penned this book. I got terribly caught up in the whole mysteriousness of his wealth, the apparent disconnect between his patrician manner and the source of his riches. His life seemed so exotic and desirable, regardless of where he got his gold. When I read it again recently, a few decades down the road, Jay's pleasantry struck me as mere posturing. He seemed from the start a rather odious guy. I was reminded of Hemingway's response to Fitzgerald's comment that 'the rich are different than you and me' - 'yes, they have more money'. Some suggest the recent film version of the tale wallowed in that excess, appealing to that younger version of me. But I tend to believe that Scorcese really did wish to mock the pretensions of wealth by his over the top treatment. My only quibble is I'm not sure that's what Fitzgerald really wanted.

Oops. I see I posted that comment a bit too early. 'scuse me.

Hi everyone! I'm new to the group and thrilled to see you're reading Gatsby. I heard this podcast on NPR recently & it gave some great background for understanding Gatsby & Fitzgerald for anyone who is interested (heads up - listen AFTER you read because the podcast is full of spoilers!). Here's the link:

I'm in.

Oh man, I've been meaning to read this one for a long while. I'm not a huge fan of American Lit, and I didn't like it when I was younger, but I've been wanting to give it a second chance.

I've been meaning to read this book forever and I already own a copy so I'll be reading along!

So excited to read this book.. Never really had the pleasure :)

There will only be 3 days of reading because the book is so small.
In about 48 hours we will randomise the current DQ writing volunteers (listed in this post. So if you'd like to volunteer, or if I have missed you in that post, please let me know within the next 48 hours

Looking forward to what kind of questions come up in the discussion. It was one of the books I had to read for high school as well, and definitely one I enjoyed reading.

Hi everyone! This is such perfect timing for my first read with the group as I've got a few days off. I'd be happy to write some DQs if needed (though I'm not on a team yet if that matters). Do we just log on at any time on the dates listed for the discussions, or are there certain times I should be shooting for?
Looking forward to chatting with you all!

Sounds good!

You forgot to put me in the list.
I would like to do daily questions, and I'm from Fire Drakes.

Added you J.A and Jennifer!

J.A - we just post some DQs for the allocated chapter numbers on the days listed in message 2. You can chose to answer some, or all, or just make your own comments about those chapters. The DQs are just there to facilitate discussion. You don't need to be on a team to join ; those who are get extra points is all ;)

Moderators of NBRC wrote: "Added you J.A and Jennifer!

J.A - we just post some DQs for the allocated chapter numbers on the days listed in message 2. You can chose to answer some, or all, or just make your own comments abou..."

Sounds great, thanks!

Moderators of NBRC wrote: "Added you J.A and Jennifer!

J.A - we just post some DQs for the allocated chapter numbers on the days listed in message 2. You can chose to answer some, or all, or just make your own comments abou..."

Thank you very much!