Name of the Rose Readalong

Last November I told you of my plans to re-read The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco, and some of you said you might join in…

Well I’m ready!

I shall be reading my Folio Society edition, which is the original translation by William Weaver, but with some glorious extra artwork by Neil Packer to illuminate the senses.

I’m planning to take most of January to read the book without a particular timetable in mind. However, I will read it in several chunks. I aim to read the first two ‘days’ (178 pages in the Folio edition, which is about 1/3rd of the book) and report back next week.

Whether you’re planning to readalong, or just see how we’re getting on, your comments will be very welcome, but please don’t spoil in the early stages. If you are reading along, please leave a comment so I can pull any posts you make together at the end of the month.

I shall leave you with a tempting quotation from the book:

“books always speak of other books, and every story tells a story that has already been told”

17 thoughts on “Name of the Rose Readalong

  1. Kaggsysbookishramblings says:

    Sooooo tempting…. If I wasn’t so deeply involved in a large book for Shiny I’d love to do this…

  2. MarinaSofia says:

    You do tempt me, dear Madame, but I will resist. I do love The Name of the Rose though (and Foucault’s Pendulum). Those were my YA books, back in the days when I was YA age.

    • AnnaBookBel says:

      Foucault’s Pendulum is another I want to re-read. I was a little older than YA, and obsessed with alchemy and the illuminati at that time so that book went down really well for me – (as did Lindsay Clarke’s The Chymical Wedding – have you read that?).

  3. Rebecca Foster says:

    I have the Picador copy, Weaver translation out from the university library. I will try to start it soon and let you know how I get on — it will likely be a whole-month project for me as well.

  4. Debbie Rodgers @Exurbanis says:

    I’ve been meaning to read this for years and I’m hoping the read-along is the kick I need to get into it. I might be a little slow out of the gate because I have some library books to get through, but I have canceled all my library reserves for the rest of the month so I can read The Name of the Rose. My copy is, sadly, a Kindle edition but it is Weaver’s translation.

  5. Helen says:

    I’ll be joining in – and it fits in with my plan to do lots of re-reading this year! I know I didn’t fully appreciate the book the first time I read it, so I’m looking forward to reading it again.

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