Below is the reading schedule. Since the chapters aren’t numbered and there have been many different printings of this book, I am posting lines from the beginning and end of the cutoff spots. These haven’t been chosen for any significance to the plot, but for being roughly a good amount of pages apart in the sixteenth printing, my January 1977 Berkley Medallion Edition. The reading is roughly 6-8 pages a day during December (to build in some catchup time for those busy with school, the holidays, etc.) and 11-12 pages a day during January. Some of the beginning and ending quotes are not the exact beginning and ending of the chapters–I’ve tried to cut out anything that could be considered a spoiler.

Book I: DUNE

Dec 1 – 7
Starts with: The beginning of the book.
Ends with: “Why did they choose me for their abomination?”

Dec 8 – 14
Starts with: “How do we approach the study of Muad’Dib’s father?”
Ends with: “He breathed a sigh of relief when the lift swallowed him…”

Dec 15 – 20
Starts with: “Over the exit of the Arrakeen landing field…”
Ends with: “Against his own will and all previous judgements…”

Dec 21 – 27
Starts with: “Greatness is a transitory experience.”
Ends with: “Cool remoteness spread upward…”

Dec 28 – Jan 3
Starts with: “There should be a science of discontent.”
Ends with: The end of book one.

Book II: MUAD’DIB

Jan 4 – 11
Starts with: Beginning of book 2.
Ends with: “Even the hawks could appreciate these facts.”

Jan 12 – 18
Starts with: “Prophecy and prescience…”
Ends with: End of book 2.

Book III: THE PROPHET

Jan 19 – 25
Starts with: Beginning of book 3.
Ends with: “His body had slowly acquired a certain…”

Jan 26 – Feb 1
Starts with: “And it came to pass in the third year…”
Ends with: End of the appendix. (This means you’ll finish the book on or around January 29, with a couple of days to read through the appendix.)

Remember – the reading pace is a suggestion! If you read ahead, that’s fine. If you get behind and read a couple weeks’ pages in one sitdown, that’s cool too.

Welcome to Dunecember.

THE IDEA: Read Dune, starting December 1, ending January 31.

Why Dune? It’s a stone-cold science fiction classic, considered among the top of the genre. It’s had several filmic adaptations, all of which are considered vastly inferior to the book. And most of the people I know either read it quite a while ago or have meant to read it for a while. It’s also a not-quite-400-page book, which makes this endeavor much less intimidating than some other inspirational internet book clubs.

Reading’s going to be about 8 pages a day, which works out to roughly 56 pages a week for nine weeks. This does include the appendices, but the glossary you’ll want to reference as you read.

If you don’t have a copy of the book, there are several cheap places to look: Your local library should have a copy. Your local library bookstore, used bookseller or thrift store might even have a copy or two, as this book has been around for a while. Besides that, there’s always the chain bookstores or the internet. (that’s an amazon affiliate link–if you buy from there, I might get a nickel or something)

So check out the #Dunecember hashtag, and ask someone on there about access to the Dunecember Wave. If there’s enough demand, we’ll put up a forum here and start some serious discussions.

Please tweet using the hashtag, vote on Google Wave, or comment on this post if you’re reading along!

THE SPICE MUST FLOW