This was the first new—meaning one I'd not read before—book I've read since at least October 2008. I'd fooled myself into believing that the voluminous amount of daily intake from the Internet had somehow become a reasonable substitute for indulgences in novels. It wasn't long after starting Victor Hugo's seminal work that I realized just how wrong I'd been.
The book itself is fantastic; after all, there's a reason for its high regard as a work of literature. I found some of the chapters a little long-winded, as Hugo tended to set up his dramatic moments by relating long passages of history. In the end, though, everything comes together in this epic tale.
I've never seen any of the musical adaptations, and after reading the source material I'm not certain I want to. I can't imagine how any other interpretation could possibly "properly" encapsulate the grandeur of the original.
This is the first book of 100 that I've sworn to read, part of a new year's resolution for 2015. I hadn't realized how lengthy of a novel that Les Misérables was, in fact it's one of the longest books out there. It took fifty-five days (an hour or two each evening) to finish reading.
The above was entered into Goodreads on January 6, 2015. There are a couple of corrections: I'd read ten books since 2008, though perhaps nowhere near as closely and as carefully as I read today. Also, in 2015 I only read two other books. Knowing the pace at which I read now, it's unlikely I would ever be able to "properly" consume a hundred books in a single calendar year. Though I suppose that would depend on the quality, length, and my interest in said books.