The Count of Monte Cristo

Now that it's been a week since Rhett, Andrew and I started our book club, I wanted to tell you how it went.  After discussing the books on each of our lists (and casting lots), we came to the consensus that we would read a classic romantic novel written by Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo.

To be honest, I was a little uneasy at first because I've never really been one who enjoys reading books and The Count of Monte Cristo is very long.  I always assumed that I could maximize my utility by playing sports and being active rather than delving into a "good" book.  It was time to put reading to the test and see how much utility I could actually get from reading.

After we decided what book we would read, it was time to get reading.  In order to get a general overview,  I went to sparknotes.com and then began reading the abridged version.  I was a bit overwhelmed by the 396 pages but I didn't want to let my group down because I knew that they were depending on me to be able to talk about what I learned from this experience.  The following are a few things that I learned from reading The Count of Monte Cristo:

1. Reading is a great source of utility.  

2. Understanding the historical context/ background of a book helps the book make a lot more sense.  As I thought about romanticism and how its themes and ideas were displayed throughout the book, I found myself getting more and more involved in the book.

After we read the book, Andrew, Rhett and I met together and created a short video about a few of our thoughts and ideas about The Count of Monte Cristo.  (Listen to this audio clip if you are interested in hearing more about what I learned.)  The image on my sound note has nothing to do with the clip.  While trying to figure out how to post the sound clip I just chose a random image.  Pretend that the image is of Edmund Dantes.