Happy Birthday Leo Tolstoy!

Who?

Well, Leo Tolstoy was this Russian dude who wrote this mammoth book called War and Peace. He wrote a lot of other stuff too but War and Peace was really his claim to fame. It's not really the kind of book that your English teacher would give you for homework. Let's just say that. However... if you are one of those super excelling, uber-achiever students that can't get enough literature, I think you will really meet your match with this one. Good luck!

In fact, Alicia, Audra, and I tried reading it last January. Some of us were more successful than others but none of us got past page 100. Which is to say, I suppose, that we all failed. :(

Well, we're not about to pick it up again right now, but if you can get through to page 101, you will have beaten us royally! And you know what? That's TOTALLY worth a prize of some sort!

A PRIZE?!?

Well, literature, in and of itself is its own reward. But in this case, I think we can make an exception. Here's the official rules of this nutty contest:

If you are a boy or girl between the ages of 10 and 16 and you can successfully get to page 101 of War and Peace AND ... here's the kicker ... email us any thoughts you have about the story up until this point in the novel, you will win a READ T-Shirt. Woo hoo! The T-shirts are pretty cool actually, I have one myself and wear it to work every day. Oh wait, these rules are supposed to be official. Right. Email your War & Peace thoughts and revelations to word@weeklyreader.com. Put "Tolstoy Challenge" in the subject line. If we get yours first and it makes some kind of coherent sense, the T-shirt is yours to flaunt in the faces of all your literary nemesis*... like this guy...

*Actually, the plural of nemesis is nemesises... but I hate that so I'm changing it. Don't tell Webster.