37 Comments

Waiting for my copy to arrive but should have it today in time to dig in! Excited for this!!

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Finally got my copy and ready to start it. Are we including all the prefaces in the introduction section?

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I wasn’t too excited to dive in - I have the 2008 edition which includes about 50 pages of introductory material and the print is small and dark on not so white pages - until I read Beth’s notes a few weeks back. She inspired me to pick up the book (I started with the preface to 2008 and read all of those intro pages) and I’m surprised how readable it is. I’m also amazed at how relevant and/or prescient this 1985 book is for what we are seeing play out today. I can’t wait for the discussion!

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Could you link to her notes?

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No way. Robert Bellah was one of my professors in college (I was a Sociology major at Berkeley in the late 80s). Very much looking forward to this.

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Are we reading the Preface(s) or skipping? I think depending on the version there are one or more.

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I haven't bought it yet, but am trying to plan. How many pages are in the introduction?

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Is there a way to see the schedule for the Democracy in America read? I'd like to slow read that, too, since I missed it last year

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Just ordered it!

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I’m excited for this! It’ll be my first slow read with the PP community!

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I was already excited about this, but then I took my copy off my shelf and realized that 21 year old me made lots of notes in it when I read it for a philosophy class in college. Now I'm super psyched (and maybe a little bit terrified?) to see what young me thought and how it compares to 47 year old me! So glad you're doing this. ❤️

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This is so fun. I hope you keep us posted!

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Oh! That's going to be fun to revisit! I love catching a glimpse of 'young me' and looking at the world through her eyes! -Maggie

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Just got my secondhand copy in the mail! Excited to do this as only made it to page 100 of democracy last year.

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I just requested this from my library, had to go through inter-library loan (or is it intra-library?). Hard to believe the whole city of Dayton, OH didn't have a copy.

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My county library doesn’t have it either! Weird. Maybe we’ll cause enough demand they buy a new copy :)

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It's interlibrary loan (fun fact about me: my favorite job in college was working in my university's interlibrary loan office) -Maggie

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This tracks 🥰

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I could never land a library job in college (my grades were terrible, so…) and it’s one of my wished I could’ve’s in life.

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first time here and hope I can hang...

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Jan 13Edited

Heads up if you are buying a used copy online. I thought I had seen this book kicking around my house, and my husband indeed has a copy. It is the 1986 Harper & Row 1986 edition with a maroon cover and white and tan text. I don't know if paper was super expensive in the 1980s or what, but the font is much smaller than what I usually see in books today. When I pulled the book off our shelf, I thought, "This doesn't seem like a candidate for a slow read." Changed my mind when I opened the pages.

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Is part two way longer than the other sections? The "quarters" are like 2 months except that one.

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I mostly did it that way because of summer!

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Would you recommend reading all of Democracy in America prior?

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I am not an official PP voice, but I say no need to read Democracy in America first. They are very different books.

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Co-sign!

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