Yes I have done something similar on a bigger scale. I've participated in a reading/discussion circle that spanned about 200+ people in different countries. We've all read a philosophical book and there were cards that had most of the chapters' contents on them, so you didn't necessarily need the book. We were encouraged to find a reading partner close by to discuss a chapter per week. I still meet up with my reading partner regularly even months after the project ended.

It was the only way I would have worked through the complex book. I wouldn't have done it alone.

Oh I love this idea. It's this a private group or open to newcomers? Do you think something like that would work here on lemmy?

I like the idea of having one big book to read in a year. I have done that with East of Eden and the Glass Bead Game. Both of which are meaty epic books. I tackled them initially as a rebellion against the short attention span world we live in. Even in reading niches, I all too often see reading challenges that set # of book goals. I think it's absurd to claim that someone has read 20 books in a year that are short, verses one long book. The former is often applauded while the latter is not.

Karamazov has been one that I've been wanting to read all my life, so maybe I'll attempt it in 2024 myself.

Non linear writing is a struggle for me, but I try to challenge myself with it. I'm currently reading The Waves by Virginia Woolf which is incredibly abstract but beautiful. I assume Gravity's Rainbow to be similar. But it's a thick book too.

To throw another recommendation into the mix: Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. Currently my favorite book and could certainly take a year to read

I would suggest The Brothers Karamazov. I read it recently and it's become one of my favourite books. However, I read it over a period of just over a month. So not sure about the whole year thing.