The Home Reading Guide and Introduction to '1984'

Well today I cheated.  I got 1984 out of a different library so I could start it earlier.  So the date is set, dears.  Tomorrow we start. 

Now, for those of you who intend to follow I am making a casual reading plan so you can stick with me as we read together:

The book is divided into three parts:
Part 1 containing eight chapters.
Part 2 containing ten chapters.
Part 3 containing six chapters.

I think it would be sustainable for most of you to read one Part a week, and so finish the book in three weeks. 

I think that my intentions are to share my opinions and what I liked about the book with you, and then hear from you what your thoughts and favourite parts are.  Let's give it a go, hey?  It's casual and personal, so maybe you can enjoy it.  And of course, if you're not reading along, I'm sure you can still enjoy hearing about the book and responding to my opinions. 

For those who want to read along, (and those who are innocently interested), here is a brief and spiffy introduction to 1984 (which, by the way, I have not read before, and so am on a level playing field!):

The blurb on the back of the Penguin Books edition:
"Newspeak, Doublethink, Big Brother, the Thought Police - George Orwell's world-famous novel coined new and potent words of warning for us all.  Alive with Swiftian wit and passion, it is one of the most brilliant satires on totalitarianism and the power-hungry ever written." 

George Orwell, born 1903, was a classic English author whose famous works included Nineteen Eighty-Four (published 1949) and Animal Farm (published 1945), both of which are unique and powerful political satires.  As a child, he was inspired by H. G. Wells' Modern Utopia, and thought he would like to write a similar sort of book.  Now what excited me most about this is the web of textual references which intertwine authors!  H. G. Wells, authors of War of the Worlds and The Time Machine, inspired George Orwell, the great, to write books that inspired so many others!  I love stuff like that. 

Anyway, here are your introductions and the Home Reading Guide, so get ready to enjoy, or read too, if you're game.