Sipped Ink vol 6 issue 0.5

The Blind Assassin — Introduction

Hello, welcome to Sipped Ink, and thank you for signing up to read along with us over the next few weeks. The purpose of this introductory email is simply for me to say hi (👋🏻) and to let you know how this thing is going to play out.

Let’s get the important business out of the way first. The novel we’re reading is — as I hope you know by now — The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood. In its current UK paperback iteration (Virago, 2009) the text of the novel ends on page 637. There have, however, been at least three paperback editions since the novel’s publication in 2000, as well as a hardback edition — I haven’t been able to check pagination on those because… all the libraries and bookshops are closed. With this in mind — and because I know we have some readers with ebook editions, and even audiobooks — I’ve worked out a seven week schedule that provides format-agnostic milestones.

Please note that the email newsletters you’ll receive on the listed dates will discuss the novel up to the end of the named chapter; the page numbers provided in parentheses correspond to that previously-mentioned paperback edition.

If you’d like to, you can download a copy of the schedule here to use as a bookmark, take to a tattooist, or stick on your fridge.

As you can see, we’re working to a pace of roughly 100 pages per week, which has proven to be about right in previous years. (There’s always some people that find it too slow, and others who struggle to keep up at times; 100 pages per week has proven to be the closest thing to a Goldilocks spot.) This brings us to the one and only rule of Sipped Ink participation: please don’t discuss the novel beyond the week’s reading milestone. I’m not in the business of discouraging people from reading, and if you just can’t stop you are free to speed ahead in the book, I only ask that you please be considerate of others’ reading experiences.

Speaking of discussing the novel: if you’re active on any social networks feel free to use #sippedink on posts, and you can talk to @sippedink on Twitter. You can also just hit reply on these emails. Send me your thoughts and feelings about the book, photos of where you’re reading, and anything else you like. With your permission I’ll likely include some contributions in the weekly newsletters for everyone’s benefit. (You can also send any questions you might have, and I’ll try my best to answer them.)

That’s all for now. I’ll see you back here on Sunday 7 June to talk about the first 102 pages of the book. I sincerely hope you enjoy the week’s reading, and the beginning of the novel.

— Adam