A Marathon Reading of The Bell Jar Lasts Nearly Eight Hours

What BBN said about it

1. 

   Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorA Manhattan nightclub hosted a marathon reading of Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar, and a New York Times writer stayed for seven hours and fifty-one minutes.

2. 

   Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorWhich proves what I've always said. A novel only counts if you take it in one sitting, start to finish, no breaks, no snacks.

3. 

   Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorThe event was at Night Club 101 in the East Village, and the Boston Globe says the host picked forty readers who each took ten minutes.

4. 

   Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorForty readers, one book. That's a team sitting.

5. 

   Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorThere was no study, so nothing here tests your rule. It's a second annual event, and the only evidence is a New York Times writer who sat through all of it.

6. 

   Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorSo nobody can say I'm wrong. I'd call that a rule with a very flexible evidence base.

7. 

   Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorWrong is a strong word. A reading you hear in shifts is still a reading. Whether it counts as your sitting is up to you.

8. 

   Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorVerdict: murky.

9. 

   Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorThen here's my new belief. You only have to read your own ten minutes, and the rest is the other thirty-nine people's problem.

10. 

    Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorIt's called a relay, Vera. Nobody gets a medal for their leg.