Anyone can have their own MargaretAtwoodReadingMonth, really—chose a month and read—but it’s so lovely to have company. Many thanks to all who have participated and are planning to do so once more.

When last November wrapped up, a few MARMers shared their favourite flip-box quotes from the seventh event.

“Every ending is arbitrary,” was a favourite of both Reese and Sue. But Reese also chose “Ignoring isn’t the same as ignorance…” (Yes, this is like being asked to choose a favourite book…it’s hard. Maybe impossible.)

Brona chose: “Better never means better for everyone… It always means worse, for some.”

And MmeBee went for blood: “Canadians are fond of a good disaster, especially if it has ice, water, or snow in it. You thought the national flag was about a leaf, didn’t you? Look harder. It’s where someone got axed in the snow.”

Perhaps MARM itself would be an exception to the arbitrary endings, I thought: November ends.

But, there is the matter of time zones and the nature of (oh…this is too much) time itself…an arbitrary system. And the more personal question of the energy required to host—without it, that would feel like an arbitrary ending. (This year, the posts will be shorter than usual—about 500 words.)

MARM 2025 PLANS

Launch (November 1)
Old Babes in the Wood, “Death by Clamshell” (November 4)
The Blind Assassin Parts I-IV (November 6)
Week Two: Update and Check-In (November 8)
Old Babes in the Wood, “Freeforall” (November 11)
The Blind Assassin Parts V-VI (November 13)
Week Three: Update and Check-In (November 15)
Margaret Atwood’s 86th Birthday (November 18)
Old Babes in the Wood, “Metepsychosis” (November 18)
The Blind Assassin Parts VII-IX (November 20)
Week Four: Update and Check-In (November 22)
Old Babes in the Wood, “Airborne: A Symposium” (November 25)
The Blind Assassin Parts X-XV (November 27)
Wrap-Up (November 30)

So I reread the sentence yet again—thinking yes, yes…that’s exactly how endings are.

Which is also how MARM works for me. Atwood’s books and stories, observations and remarks make me think  and re-think. And she makes it fun (or, at least—rewarding).

And I enjoy thinking about MARM through the year, finding passages as in Elaine Feeney’s How to Build a Boat, where one of the characters says his wife reads Atwood but it’s not his thing. Tess asks how he knows, and he’s confused. She persists: if he’s never read them, how does he know it’s not his thing. Good point, he laughs. [She guesses it was The Edible Woman his wife read, and decides he wasn’t paying attention.]

I felt a sense of kinship with one of the characters in Jazmina Barrera’s novel Cross Stitch (2021; Trans. Christina MacSweeney) who buys a second copy of Cat’s Eye because the new edition is beautiful. (I’ve never done this, but I have admired many a reissue.)

For this eighth MARM, I’m planning to reread The Blind Assassin (it’s the 25th anniversary, for those who celebrate book birthdays), the next four stories in Old Babes in the Woods, some of last year’s collected poems (Paper Boat), and her new memoir. (Posting schedule pictured.)

In summary—and here are some easy snips for you, Paula, with sincere thanks for your loyal Wind-Up shares:

Everyone is welcome to participate in Margaret Atwood Reading Month: read something, watch something, think something. Some MARMers have a confirmed habit, returning annually. Some return as November’s busy-ness allows, casually drawing from her oeuvre when the mood strikes. Sometimes there’s a particular Atwood novel that’s intrigued a reader to sample MARM once or twice. And occasionally a reader has caught wind of MARM and decided to read Atwood for the first time.

In three weeks, #MARM2025 begins. If you link, I’ll add participants’ posts to the project page (my notifications for pings are unreliable).

If you choose to read privately, just think the hashtag real hard: you are not alone.

Happy MARMing!