You’ve probably heard about Sharon Kay Penman’s The Sunne in Splendour.
It’s the book Richard Armitage mentions in the Vulpes Libris interview as one of his favorites.
This autumn and winter Fanny/iz4blue over at DistRActed musings of one ReAlity is organising a collective read of this historical fiction novel.
The group read will be accompanied by Richard III Bloggers and their ‘ fun activities‘.
Oh Dear 😉
The first deadline is:
Sept 23rd : Chapters 1 + 5 of Book One : Edward
Now, I know what many of you are thinking (I’ve had these thought too…):
Firstly, that bloke Richard III? Again?
He’s not even that good-looking!
What’s up with this obsession regarding some historical figure I don’t really know much about!
Why should I care?
Secondly, how can I possibly read an epic novels the size of a dictionary?
I don’t have the time/language skills/background knowledge to do that.
Here’s the deal.
I don’t really know anything about Richard III.
My fascination with British History starts with Henry VIII, and why couldn’t Richard Armitage and Papa Armitage be fascinated with him?
At least I’d know what the heck we’re talking about…
Then again, he’d have to be called Henry Armitage 😉
But I’d really like to learn more, as it seems like an important aspect to the Armitage fandom.
That’s why I’ve decided to set off on a quest.
And, you guessed it, I’m taking you with me!
I’m going to create a few Richard III for Dummies posts for all of you out there who (like me) haven’t got a clue!
By the end of it you still won’t be able to answer the Servetus RIII scavenger hunt questions, but maybe a little background knowledge will help with understanding The Sunne in Splendour.
That’s my second aim!
No matter if English is your native language or not, I want all of us to give the book a try.
Yes, I mean YOU!
No excuses!
That’s why I’ll be writing a post after each chapter I read to help with vocabulary, phrases etc.
Don’t get me wrong, it may be a case of the blind leading the blind, or the ignorant leading the ignorant 🙂
As the first deadline is in 15 days, that comes to roughly 1 chapter every 2 days or so.
That’s 80 pages.
I want all of us to exercise our little grey cells (as Poirot would put it).
Even if we don’t get to share our thoughts on twitter #ArmitageWatch with #RA4R3, let’s read it because we can!
Let’s do it because the Armitage Fandom knows no boundaries!
Because a thing like a language barrier shouldn’t stand in the way of knowing more!
Learning and being exposed to new things is one of the most endearing aspects of our community.
Who’s with me?
Illustration: Martin Rowson/Guardian
You can purchase this The Sunne in Splendour on Amazon, and help support an RA charity.
For more info go here.
For those who are having trouble with getting their hands on the book, for whatever reason, please email me at iwanttobeapinup[at]wp.pl
WE CAN DO THIS!!!
I Want to be a Pin Up 
I wanted to buy the book and be a part of this wonderful book circle. But I think I will have to pass. *PleaseDontHateMe* But it sounds like loads of fun! I’ve been wanting to buy and read this book since forever, but never really gotten to it, sadly.
The thing is, so many people would want to read it, but aren’t sure if they have the language skills, time etc. This is an opportunity to finally get around to it! It may turn out that I won’t manage to finish the 6 chapters by the deadline. As long as there are others who want to go through the experience with me, we’ll just take it slower 🙂
I’ve started reading it a while ago, but stopped for some reason.So it’s time to re-start! Glad you’re taking part too, Agzy! 🙂
Yahooooo! That makes two of us then, so worth doing!!! I’m so happy Judit! Now I need to provide the goods meaning get started on reading and writing posts 😉
Fantastic!! Love the banner you created! My thoughts too about that scavengers hunt 😉
LOL, I’ve been bugging poor Servetus about those questions, then I decided that instead of moaning, I could do something for people who aren’t NS, haven’t had British History at school, but would still like to be a part of the project!
BTW, it’s a brilliant idea! I’ve been meaning to read the book, but have always put it off. No excuses this time!
I’m so glad you agree, doing less chapters would prolong the read and give us less to talk about. I myself have to consciously apply myself to reading as well, immediate gratification of twitter & other social media has become a major distraction
I love my laptop, but it’s messed with my reading pattern. I used to spend each summer reading a book a day. This summer I’ve really let myself down, as I’ve spent most of my time blogging, writing, reading commenting, twitter, tumblr, the RA works! Worse still, I’ve actually had a blast!
Reblogged this on DistRActed musings of one ReAlity and commented:
To accompany our quest to accomplish The Sunne In Splendour collective reading: Richard for Dummies is visually appealing and will provide us with updates during our journey : Armitage Fandom knows no boundaries. 🙂
Official START of reading is Sept 23rd the first 5 chapters contain the most pages after that its down to 60 pg : each chapter about 20, 30 min of reading.
That’s great news. I’ll do my best to rally the troops on my end. The theme is No Excuses! Get the book and tuck in! I’ll do my best to help along the way, but I really do believe most RA fans can get through it!
Yes! I think we CAN too!
We just need to continue spreading the word, and bugging people so bad that they’ll join in just to get us off their back 😉
I’m with you Agzy ! I bought the Kindle edition two days ago and I love it. But couldn’t wait and already read some chapters. And it’s good, really very good !
I’m so happy Nadia. Once I finish my post of Richard III I’m diving straight into the book! All I can say is I like the cover, and I DO judge books by the cover, so it’s all very exciting 😉
Reblogged this on Well, There You Go … and commented:
Check out AgzyM’s great idea — Richard III for Dummies — the companion reader for The Sunne in Splendour group read project. You know it will be interesting. You know it will be informative. And you *KNOW* it will be fun! 🙂
Richard III for Dummies…ha!..finally something for me!:D
PS: mam nadzieję ze uda mi się zamówić tę książkę.
Jak nie, to są schomikowane pliki książki w wersji PDF albo do czytnika z końcówką do Sony Reader, ale o dziwo zgrało mi się na Kindla (ja go nazywam Kundel) 🙂
Więc nie ma Szanowna Pani wymówek!
😀 o.k
Well, I must confess… I’m not going to read the book… in ENGLISH!
Call me lazy, but I really like to fully understand what I’m reading. That’s why I already got the first book in spanish 🙂
BTW, I’m glad the reading starts 23th sept… that should give me time to finish The Saxon Stories.
I’m with you: Armitage Fandom knows no boundaries!
I’m with you, Agzy!
I read the first chapter, and for someone like me, whose level in English language is so far from advanced, I found it relatively easy in terms of vocabulary. Looking forward to your posts, they certainly will help me. I think it’s worth trying to learn about this subject so dear to our Rich. 🙂
I’m happy you said that Fabi, as I felt the same when I read it yesterday. It’s not bad at all. I checked a few words on my Kindle3 (the dictionary being my absolute favorite feature), I need to check up on who the characters are, and place the events in a historical guidline, but apart from that I really enjoyed reading it 🙂
I still need to figure out how I can help with the reading, but STARTING to read the book would be a huge help to me 😉
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