Category: Archived DMs

Folks who’ve made it through the previous deathmarches can attest to the fact this one has been exceptionally botched on my end, but you’ve all done a great job putting up with it. And it looks like collectively the group is spitting in the eye of math — 19 comments this near the end is mighty mighty.
If you’ve missed commenting one week because of the jumble, not to fear. Everyone gets one mulligan on this ‘march. Post on all but one, finish the book, and verily ye shall be magnetized.
This here would be the place to comment on everything up to Part III, chapter 2 (e — you were right about that error in last week’s target….).
Wednesday Nov 29: Let’s meet up at the back cover of the book for a wrap party, replete with “extreme fatigue.”

Who was the maroon who scheduled a Deathmarch right in the middle of election season? Oh yeah, I was the maroon. Sorry to all excellent Deathmarchers. I’ve really punked it up this week, missing Week 4 on Wednesday and remaining behind on my reading. But heck, I’m just one marcher. Fortunately, there are a lotta the rest of youse doing a great job staying up-to-date or near it. So let’s charge on. With only two weeks to go, hopefully I can get my act together by next Wednesday.
Comment-wise, this would now be the place to post on anything up to the end of Part I.
And speaking of next Wednesday: I hope to see ya at the end of Chapter II, Part II, just past “an extraordinary face!”

Never let it be said that I didn’t post the thread for Week 3 before midnight on Wednesday.
Never!
Still, this is really just a placeholder. Life — what with elections , Halloween, and all the time I’ve had to spend anticipating the release of the Borat movie — has overflowed into my Deathmarching time a tad, so this will be an unacceptably thin soup of an entry, hopefully replaced tomorrow with heartier fare. I will say this: loving the book. And this: digging the conversation this week — especially the back and forth re Mr. Ramsay.
Next Wednesday: Let’s meet at the end of Part I, where rumor has it she’s triumphed again.

Welcome to Week 2…. Looks like we’ve got an excellent bunch of ‘marchers onboard. And yes, a part of me fears I’ll be bankrupted by all them magnets. But then I’m reminded of that old wax devil math. Good old math.
Since some folks are new, here’s a quick word about what to post when: At the start of a new thread, post about the previous week. That is, you’d post about the first week’s reading right here. As the week and the thread roll on, people tend to start posting about the current week’s reading. And that’s fine too. Really, there’s no hard and fast rule about this. We’re all just just trying to avoid dropping accidental spoilers by jumping ahead of the pack.
That bit o’ business aside, let me say: golly I enjoyed this week’s reading. This is my first brush with Woolf. I expected there’d be leaping in and out of people’s heads. But I didn’t expect anything as goofy-great as Mr. Ramsay’s heroic efforts to conquer R. Or anything as vivid as that selfsame Mr. taking his leave “with a movement which oddly reminded his wife of the great sea lion at the Zoo tumbling backwards after swallowing his fish and walloping off so that the water in the tank washes from side to side…” All this and the repeated refrain from Tennyson’s Charge of the Light Brigade — “stormed at by shot and shell, boldly we rode and well….”
I’m sold. It’s a great start, and I’m looking forward to seeing where it takes us. See ya on the trail,
-Cecil
Next Wednesday: One more relatively short hop, and then we’ll start to pick up speed. Let’s meet at the end of Chapter XVI where we can “assemble in the dining-room for dinner.”

Welcome to “The Deathmarch to the Lighthouse” — a group read of Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse.
I think we have something like 15 or 20 people planning to read this go-around — a nice solid number. Simple math, however, tells us only that two will finish, and I won’t be one of of them. Still, as my Italian nanny used to say: “il per la matematica è una cosa della cera ed i numeri sono fatti della cera.” Which means (roughly) “math is a wax thing, and numbers are made of wax.” She was a crazy old coot.
For anyone new, here’s how it works: every Wednesday I post an entry saying how far we’re reading that week. Folks drop by and comment over the next seven days.
But Are There Prizes?
Yes! There are prizes! Finish the book and comment each week, and you’ll receive a genuine To-the-Lighthouse-themed talisman hand-imbued with a fractional sampling of the raw power wielded by Magneto, Master of Magnetism. (on the off-chance we get more people than we’re expecting, let’s cap that at 30 hand-imbued talismans)
Be sure to shout out in the comments (click on “Whaddya Think” below) if you’re on the ‘march, both to stay talisman-qualified, and so’s we can get a headcount. Don’t sweat it if you fall a little behind on the reading — “I’m so far behind!” actually counts as a legitimate comment. And of course, If you’ve read the book before, try to keep comments from getting ahead of the weekly reading.
And that’s it. Mostly, it’s just a chance to read a great book, share thoughts and questions, and shake a fist at that old wax devil, math, by making it through to the end.
See ya on the trail,
-Cecil
Next Wednesday: We meet at the end of Book 1, Chapter 7, where someone’s about to say nothing and take opium.

Over the last year or two, a loose cabal of aliased co-conspirators has been using this site to tackle challenging books en masse — everything from the dread pirate Gravity’s Rainbow to the surprisingly Spanish Don Quixote. We call these experiences “Deathmarches,” despite the increasingly rabid protestation of my erstwhile nemesis, Itto Ottagami.
The fifth in this series — “The To the Lighthouse Deathmarch” — is comin’ ’round the bend, and I thought I’d take this moment to extend an open invitation.
How It Works
As you may have guessed, this time out we’re reading Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse. (More specifically, I’ll be reading the HBJ hardcover edition, available on Amazon.)
We do this in small bites — 40-60 pages a week. Every Wednesday starting 10/18, I’ll post an entry up here on ye olde cecilvortex.com letting folks know how far we’re aiming to read that week. In the days that follow, folks comment on the thread. These comments range from “I like donuts” to “[insert sophisticated literary analysis here].” And are all comments are viewed as equal in the eyes of el cabal.
Up to 30 Deathmarchers who make it to the end of the book and post a comment every week get prizes — in this case, prizes that tap the awesome power of magnetic energy. I can’t tell you more than that because it’s a really big surprise. OK. I give. They’re magnets.
So, all that said, if reading a book by Virginia Woolf and quite possibly gaining partial control over one of the most powerful forces in nature has any appeal to you, you’ve almost certainly come to the right place. Any questions, just drop me a line at deathmarch@cecilvortex.com.
Hope to see you out on the trail,
-Cecil

Which relates to the adventure of the enchanted blog, as well as other foolishness that must be recounted. Apologies for the late post this week — real life intruded. I’m still about 65 pages from the finish line my own self — just got through the enchanted head section.
“…this is enough for me to realize, O head, that you know everything.”
In terms of satisying sentences sent forth to us over 4 centuries, really, what more could we ask for than that?
Thanks to all for taking the ‘march, ye many who began, and yes, ye mighty who are wrapping it up. Definitely a book I’m glad I read. And definitely one I wouldn’t have finished without the push. There was a great flurry of comments these last few weeks — much enjoyed and appreciated. And special thanks to So-Called Bill for suggesting DQ in the first place.
Please use this week’s thread to talk freely about the end of the book — those of us still flipping through the last centimeter or so will just tread with caution. And speaking of us stragglers — please do shout out when you wrap, and let me know if mug or magnet be your preference (with apologies to SC Bill for lack of true mugnet ™ technology).
I hope y’all had a good time. We’ll definitely be tackling the new Pynchon in December or January. And if we can find the collective stamina, we may well try a mini Woolf-march in the Fall, with either Mrs. Dalloway or To the Lighthouse.
May your horse be lean and your sidekick full of aphorisms,
-Cecil

Which describes the condition of the famous marchers as they skip and/or stumble toward the far side of this escapade. And yes, perhaps, like me, you’ve fallen a little behind again. But with so little food left on your plate, surely you’ve got appetite enough to pop this wee remaining morself?
Some will finish in the next few days. Others will likely finish next week in the wrap up post. As you cross the line, be sure to shout out and stake your claim to glory. Mug or magnet? Which will it be?
Next Wednesday: on to victory! (aka page 940 Grossman) where we will “undoubtedly fall to the ground.”

Regarding the troubled end and conclusion of week 16. Puff puff puff — almost there, almost there. As we near the close of this adventure, my question this week is, what’s next for you? I know a lot of folks read other books while they deathmarch, but I’ve pretty much been reading just this, with the exception of a brief dive into “Dean and Me (A Love Story)” by Jerry Lewis.
It’s looking like my next book — not next deathmarch, just the next thing I’m hoping to read — will be “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance,” which I somehow never got around to. A friend picked up a copy recently, and I think I’m gonna tag along. The other contender is an interesting bit of recent history called “The Nightingale’s Song” that one of my brothers lent me for a couple of lawn-chair page-flips when I was away on vacation.
How about you — anything in the on-deck circle?
Next Wednesday: let’s meet up at the end of Chapter LXV (892 Grossman), just before what may well be my favorite italic chapter opening line yet (is there a technical term for that feature?): “Which recounts what will be seen by whoever reads it, or heard by whoever listens to it being read.).

Concerning what befell the marchers on their way to Week 16. As ever, I’m one week behind. Good meaty section, I thought. And there’s the thrill of holding a thin slice of a big book in your right hand, which never gets old.
Hit one of my most favoritist moments in the book so far on page 726, whence Sancho regales the Duchess and co. thusly:
“Without saying anything to anybody, not even my master, very quietly and gently I got down from Clavileno and I played with the nanny goats, and they’re as sweet as gilly flowers, for almost three-quarters of an hour….”
What’s better than Sancho letting himself pretend that he stopped time and played with nanny goats in the sky?
Other miscellaneous notes:
(1) When it comes to the whole proverb thing, I’m pretty sure Sancho has a medical condition.
(2) I was struck by Cervantes prophetic vision on 716 — after all, here in the 21st century, you can’t throw a rock without hitting an air-propelled wooden horse controlled by forehead pegs. How could he have known that? How?!
(3) A dozen bearded duennas? I will admit, that twist took me by surprise.
(4) A trio of favorite DQ lines: “God endures the wicked, but not forever.” “I won’t remember them any more than I do yesterday’s clouds.” “…the first thing I recommend is that you keep clean, and that you trim your nails and not allow them to grow, as some men do whose ignorance has led them to believe that long nails beautify their hands, as if those superfluous growths that they refuse to cut were nails, when they are actually the claws of a lizard-eating kestrel: a filthy and extraordinary abuse.”
Next Wednesday: Catch ya at the end of Chapter LVIII (842 Grossman), whence someone’s experiencing “more shame than pleasure.”