There's no better time to read War and Peace. Really.

Reading groups like Tolstoy Together are making lemonade out of coronavirus' lemons

War and Peace.
(Image credit: Illustrated | iStock)

There's nothing stronger than those two warriors, Patience and Time, Leo Tolstoy wrote — and he would know. The Russians might have used both to defeat Napoleon in the Patriotic War of 1812 (spoiler alert?), but they're also prerequisites for reading the author's gargantuan epic, War and Peace. Still, I'm willing to bet that these days, you've got the "time" part under control.

Thankfully for those of us starved of social interactions under coronavirus quarantine, you don't have to find the patience to read War and Peace alone, either. A Public Space, an independent publisher and literary magazine based in Brooklyn, is hosting Tolstoy Together, a "free virtual book club" that allows for "a moment each day when we can gather together as a community." And if you've already read War and Peace, or don't have any interest in a 1,200-page historical treatise masquerading as an aristocratic romance novel (what's wrong with you?), then there are all sorts of other book clubs popping up to help you tackle the doorstopper you've always wanted to read, but been too intimidated to start before now.

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.