EPIC Dark Tower Read-a-Long--Important Update

I wanted to post this update, first as an apology to those who are still participating for my being so behind on discussion posts, and second because I want to restructure the way we do the read-a-long discussions.  I'm just finding that keeping up with the weekly discussions/check-ins is way too hard with the way my real life and reading schedule is.  So this is how we're going to do things from now on.

•  For the books that we are discussing in a month's time, we will have two discussions.  The first half of the book, the discussion will be posted at the middle of the month.  The second half of the book, the discussion post will go up on the last day of the month.
• For the books which require two months because of their length, since there are basically 60 days (give or take) in two months, we will have a discussion post every 20 days.  I will schedule accordingly the parts of the book when the time comes.  Our first two month discussion will be in December/January for Wizard and Glass, Book 4.

I hope this meets with everyone's approval and that you will forgive me for being so behind.  I will have the discussion up for The Drawing of the Three, through page 277, on Sunday.  Hope to see you then!

EPIC Dark Tower Read-a-Long: Drawing of the Three Reading Schedule

Details: 

• Start reading on Mondays (except for the first week because of a late start), discussion posts will be posted on Sundays, with the exception of the last one, which will post on Wednesday, October 31.
• You can do a post and leave your link in the comments, or you can just post your thoughts in the comments of the week's discussion post.

Reading schedule:
I realize that you may be reading from a different edition than me so the page numbers may be off.  

• Week One (October 1 - 6)  Page 11 - 84 (end on p. 84 or before starting the Ch. 4, The Tower) 
• Week Two (October 8 - 13) Page 85 - 182 (end on p. 182 before The Lady of Shadows)   
• Week Three (October 15 - 20)  Page 183 - 277 (end on p. 277 before Reshuffle)
• Week Four (October 22 - 30)  Page 279 - 399 (end, except for the Afterword page)

Posting Schedule:
Date the post will be live here (God willing!)

• October 7--Week One
• October 14--Week Two 
• October 21--Week Three
• October 31--Week Four

Be aware that if you have not read to the end of the scheduled reading sections each week, there will most probably be spoilers in the discussion posts.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments or email me at 
truebookaddictATgmailDOTcom

***Note:  One of the participants had mentioned us reading The Eyes of the Dragon, which is a prelude to The Dark Tower series, and/or The Little Sisters of Eluria, which is The Dark Tower 0.5 along with this read-a-long.  Frankly, I don't really have the extra time to add them, but if you would like to, feel free.  I will link to your post(s) about them during the weekly postings.  Just let me know if you do.***

The Gunslinger--Week Four and Final Discussion

Late again with this.  I'm hoping that everyone else (or, at least, some) are as behind as me! As I mentioned, this book was a re-read for me and I have to say, I liked it better the second time around.  I think my mind is more ready for it than it was before.

Here are some final questions for thought.  You can answer them or describe your thoughts in your own way.

1. Why does the man in black refer to Jake as the gunslinger's "Isaac"? What is he referencing here, and what are the implications of his insinuation? 
2. How can we make the argument that Jake comes to represent to Roland a kind of symbolic son? Reread the passage following Roland's sacrifice of Jake. How does the episode affect the gunslinger?
3. Unpack the loaded final section of The Gunslinger, where King performs a head-spinning metaphysical riff on the cosmos and the notion of "Size," and then reveals a range of vital information about the Beast guarding the Tower, the Ageless Stranger (Maerlyn), and other elements of the adventure that awaits the gunslinger. 
4. Based on the words of the man in black, what do you expect from the The Drawing of the Three?

1.  The man in black is referencing the biblical story of Abraham sacrificing Isaac at God's order.  However, Abraham did not go through with it because an angel of God stopped him.  I'm not sure what the implications of his insinuation are because Roland does sacrifice Jake.  I guess the fact that he was willing to do it is significant.

2.  At the very end of the book, Roland says, "I loved you, Jake."  That, in itself, shows us how he felt about the boy.  I think it will affect him for the rest of his life.  He will never be able to forget what he did, or the boy's face.  He says he will become the boy.  I'm not sure what that means, but perhaps it will be revealed.

3.  I'm actually not sure what this is asking, but I thought the entire metaphysical section was spectacular.  It reminds us that we are all just a smaller part of something much bigger.  The foreshadowing of things to come with the Beast (ooooh) and Maerlyn (strangely similar to Merlin--am I sensing a Arthurian slant here?) have me really excited to move on with the series!

4.  Well, it seems pretty obvious that Roland will go to sea and he will have the power of the drawing, but the power is already in him.  The man in black confuses the hell out of me sometimes!

*********

The reading schedule for The Drawing of the Three will also be posted.  I'm going to make this first week's reading section shorter because of my late start.