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Hello and welcome. I am
and this is a year-long slow read of Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace at Footnotes and Tangents.From 1 January, we will read War and Peace, one chapter a day. Each week, I send out a post and podcast with summaries and a discussion of the last seven chapters. Each day, we meet in the chat threads to talk about that day’s chapter.
Everything you need to know about this read-along is included in the welcome pack:
(Remember that you need to turn on notifications for 2025 War & Peace in your subscription settings.)
Today’s post is a little introduction from me and an opportunity for you to meet other readers joining us next year. If you prefer to just read along, that’s OK, too. Everyone is welcome!
In the comments below, tell us where you’re from, what inspired you to join this read-along, and perhaps one or two things that you are passionate about.
Your guide
I am
, and I’ll be your guide through War and Peace. Every Tuesday, I will send out a post with summaries and a discussion of the last seven chapters you have read.I am a writer living in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in northeast England. I was born in Sheffield, studied Social Anthropology in London and completed a PhD in Sociology in 2017. I have two small children, Zack and Mimi, who form the ever-changing centre of my own small world.
I am not a Literature scholar, nor an expert in the Russian classics, and this slow read is not an academic course. Think of it as a journey, and consider me a companion on this adventure.
There are many ways to read a book.
If you read for entertainment, you may ask yourself, am I enjoying this? If you study the craft of writing, you will ask, does this text work? And how does it work? If you read critically, you may ask questions about the value and significance of the writing, and its strengths and weaknesses as a work of art.
When I read War and Peace, I am mostly interested in what inspires me and feeds my imagination. I look for the details that pique my curiosity or send me off down a rabbit hole or along a flight of fancy. These are my footnotes and tangents.
I call this creative reading. Leo Tolstoy and the words he wrote are only part of War and Peace. Each reader brings their own story to the book and creates new meanings and fresh interpretations as they read. You will make connections between the text and the world that are unique to you.
The weekly posts here are my personal encounter with War and Peace. They reflect my interests. I hope they are helpful and illuminating, but I am not telling you how to read this book, or what War and Peace means. It will mean something different to each of us.
So this is an invitation to bring your whole being to the book and make War and Peace and the read-along your own. A slow read gives you the time and space to do this: to live within a story and make it your home.
Your chat
If you like, you can just listen to this podcast or read the post.
But if you would like to engage with the community, share your thoughts and read what others are thinking, I have created chat threads for every day and every chapter of our War and Peace journey.
You can access all of these threads from the reading schedule. You will also be able to reach them from the weekly posts. You can find the first week’s chapter threads below.
These were set up last year and already include the discussion for the 2024 slow read. When you open a thread, it usually takes you to the bottom of the conversation. But you can also use the arrow button in the chat box to find the end.
This year’s discussion will take place below this image in each thread, followed by a brief chapter synopsis and my opening thoughts:
Important: Feel free to read and benefit from last year’s discussion, but please don’t react or reply to messages posted above this image. Those readers will have moved on to other books and may not want notifications pulling them back into the chat.
Ground rules: This chat is very lightly moderated and astonishingly good-natured. Be kind, mature and respectful of others and their opinions. Our group is diverse and international, so avoid any language that may exclude others, such as slang, jargon or swearing.
My vision for this group is a safe and inclusive space, a gentle refuge from the stormy world outside, where we share our thoughts and seek to understand those of others.
Please tag or message me if you have any concerns about the chat.
This slow read is for paid subscribers to Footnotes and Tangents. A subscription costs £3.50/month or £35/year, and you can find all the details on my website and in the War and Peace slow read welcome pack:
A reminder that on 1 January, new subscriptions will rise to £5/month or £50/year. This will not affect existing subscriptions, so upgrade before New Year’s Day for the best deal.
Links to the first seven chat threads are below. For the first couple of weeks, expect the chat to be quite busy! But after the initial excitement and introductions, things settle down into a nice daily rhythm.
The first week’s chat threads
Note: The first part of War and Peace has some inconsistencies in chapter divisions in older translations, most notably Maude & Maude. I have noted the differences, but for simplicity, I recommend using one of the three most recent translations.
Wednesday 1 January
Thursday 2 January
Friday 3 January
Note: If you are reading an older translation, this chapter ends with the line: ‘Nothing is so necessary for a young man as the society of clever women.’ This is chapter 3 and the first half of chapter 4 in the original Maude translation.
Saturday 4 January
Note: If you are reading an older translation, this chapter begins ‘Anna Pavlovna smiled and promised to take Pierre in hand’ and ends ‘... and who would meet whom, and when and where.’ This is the rest of chapter 4 and all of chapter 5 in the original Maude translation.
Sunday 5 January
Note: This is chapter 6 in the original Maude translation.
Monday 6 January
Note: This is chapters 7, 8 & 9 in the original Maude translation.
Tuesday 7 January
Note: This is chapter 10 in the original Maude translation.
Thank you
And that’s all from me. I look forward to meeting everyone in the comments and the chat threads. I hope you all enjoy War and Peace and find this slow read a rich and rewarding experience.
Until 2025, I am your guide,
, and this is Footnotes and Tangents.And a happy new year to you all.
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