Photo: Courtesy of Penguin Books.
It's time. It just is.
Over the years, we've given piles upon piles of book recs, debated the merits of various reading devices, marveled at new innovations around the craft of writing, lamented censorship, and so much more. But, we've never read a book together, you and us. So, it's time.
Yep, we're kicking off the R29 book club, right here, today, and we're so excited to get into hugely passionate fights discussions with you, over the course of the next month, over our first pick: Katherine Pancol's just-converted-to-English French best seller, The Yellow Eyes of Crocodiles.
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Why this book? Mostly, because we are really excited to read it. But, if you need further convincing, here are the most pertinent facts to recommend it:
- At its core, this is a story about family that promises a rich character study and beautiful local color, moving between Paris, its suburbs, and a remote farm in Kenya.
- Tatiana de Rosnay, who wrote Sarah's Key, calls Pancol "France's most irresistible writer." That's a grand promise, and we most certainly need to know if the novel lives up to it.
- One of the worst things that can happen when you pick up a new book, filled with expectation and ready to dive into something all-consuming, is that it doesn't pull you in. Sometimes, it feels like work to read that book sitting on your night stand or in your bag on the subway. But, we feel confident, after having read only one page so far, that this isn't going to be like that. The Yellow Eyes of Crocodiles has already been translated into a bazillion languages and has sold over 2.4 million copies, prior to being printed in the U.S. People who love reading really and truly love it, and we want in on that.
So, now that you're hopefully convinced, and downloading the book as we type, a few logistics. Here's how the whole thing will work. First (and most obvious), get a copy of the book and start reading. It's broken into four parts, so we'll kick off the discussion here this weekend (Tweet us your thoughts @Refinery29 with #R29bookclub in the meantime), covering Part 1 (the first three chapters). Next Friday, 1/24, we'll go over Part 2 (through the end of chapter nine), and then on Friday, 1/31, we'll finish the entire book (Parts 3 and 4), with a discussion led by the author herself.
Oh, and we're giving away a copy of the book to one of you guys, to get you started. Just comment below with the one thing you're most excited about discussing here, and we'll pick a winner by the end of the day tomorrow (Tuesday, January 14). Good luck!