Started reading Anna Karenina
The last book that I finished reading was Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen. I read the book in English. The language was a bit difficult for me in the beginning, but after a few pages, I got used to it and started enjoying the story.
After learning two foreign languages, English and German, I guess my skill at guessing the meaning of unfamiliar words from the context is quite good. There are many unfamiliar words for me whenever I open a book in either of these languages. I just keep reading without using a dictionary to look up the meaning. It interrupts my reading flow if I stop reading four or five times on each page to look up words. I believe that I understand a good deal of the text even with all the new words. I only try to go back and check a few critical words only if I feel that the last few pages were not clear and I start to lose track of the storyline.
I am able to read modern books in both languages with this strategy. But classics were an area where I did not trust my language skills enough to explore, even though I was very interested in them. I was afraid the language might be too difficult for me to understand.
Pride & Prejudice was the first classic that I read, and it was surprising to me how much fun I had reading it.
I did not have anything specific in mind last time I went to the library to borrow a new book. I explored the books to find a title that might catch my interest. Suddenly, I saw the title Anna Karenina and grabbed it to skim a few pages. This book had been on my wish list, but the same problem with classics (the language) stopped me from reading it. This one is also a really thick book, 1400 pages in German. It will take me a year to read it.
I was not sure if I would really manage to finish the book. "I'll just take it and try reading it for one or two weeks. If I really like it, then I can continue. Otherwise, I can bring it back anytime." These was my thoughts in the library.
For two weeks, I have been reading the book. Just like with Pride & Prejudice, I needed a few pages to get used to the language and writing style. I like everything about this book: the story, the writing style, and the insights into the minds of its characters, how they interpret interactions and what goes on in their heads.
I am still not sure how long it will take to finish the book, but it doesn't matter to me. I am trying to focus on the story and follow it with curiosity instead of trying to finish the book as soon as possible just to add it to my "finished" list.