🕯️Wuthering Heights: schedule + getting started

Everything you need to jumpstart into our first read of 2026

Happy New Year and welcome to the Closely Reading book club, where we closely read classic literature together and discuss assigned chapters each week. Our first read of 2026 is Emily Brontë’s 1847 novel, Wuthering Heights.

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Schedule (with updated chapters!)

Note: Based on the edition of the novel you have, you may see a “Biographical Notice of Ellis and Acton Bell” before Chapter 1. You may also have an “Editor’s Preface to the New [1850] Edition of Wuthering Heights.” I recommend reading these after completing the novel, as each will contain minor to major plot spoilers.

→ Also based on the edition of the novel you have, you may find the novel broken into chapters (34) or into 2 volumes (14 + 20 chapters). The reading assignments below have been updated to note which parts you should read each week, based on your version.

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Schedule is as follows:

Week 1: January 5 | Volume 1, Chapter 1
During this week, read chapter 1 of the novel (yes, that’s all!)
Read it at least twice, with particular emphasis on the first paragraph. Practice your annotation skills. Try using a ruler. Write in your reading journal. (Try those new habits you want to build!)

Week 2: January 12 | Volume 1, Chapters 2-7
During this week, read chapters 2 through 7 in volume 1.

Week 3: January 19 | Volume 1, Chapters 8-14
During this week, read chapters 8-14.
In some editions, this marks the end of volume 1.

Week 4: January 26 | Volume 2, Chapters 1-7
During this week, read through chapter 7 of volume 2.
If your novel’s version does not break into volumes or otherwise has continuous chapters, you’ll be reading chapters 15-22.

Week 5: February 2 | Volume 2, Chapters 8-14.
During this week, read through chapter 14 of volume 2.
If your novel’s version does not break into volumes or otherwise has continuous chapters, you’ll be reading chapters 23-29.

Week 6: February 9 | Volume 2, Chapters 15-20. (END)
During this week, finish the novel.
If your novel’s version does not break into volumes or otherwise has continuous chapters, you’ll be reading chapters 30-34.

Week 7: February 16 | Recommended readings
During this week, read recommended articles I share out during the read-a-long. I’ll also share a few open-access picks from JSTOR as I get into the research side of things, and hopefully a few pieces about the new film.

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Prepare for reading

Create tabs | If you’re reading a physical copy (which I recommend), take time to tab each reading section in the above schedule—so you can physically see the pacing of the novel and what pages you’re assigned to read each week. If you don’t have small book tabs, I recommend these or making your own out of washi tape (I am always running out of this one!).

You can see how I’ve used tabs here, to mark sections of Middlemarch. I also use fresh chapter pages or breaks to add my notes (and page numbers) of where I see certain themes developing.

Try using some different pens | If you’re going to be writing in your novel as we closely read together, I highly recommend testing out a few pen options. I love a simple ballpoint pen (← I buy this one in bulk) to make most of my marks. Watch out for pens that bleed through and make it hard to read the next page. Highlighters are great for marking scenes or sections you love. (I love the subtle color of these!)

🎨 Don’t overthink it!

Crayons and colored pencils work great, too. Crayons, especially, can be super effective for “shading” large passages of text, while colored pencils make it easy to use color-coded symbols or iconography in the margins. Use the empty extra pages at the back of your book to test pens for bleed-through and to see how different colors work together.

Grab a ruler! | This is my life-hack of all life-hacks. A simple, plastic 6-inch ruler makes a fantastic bookmark and allows you to make incredibly tidy lines as you underline favorite scenes and quotes. These are exactly what you need. I’ve also had luck finding these rules for cheap in university bookstores.

Look at those clean lines! Ignore my printer ink for running out!

Pick a time | Rather than hold yourself to the same exact reading window each week (which can get so hard when life gets busy), I like to instead choose one 15-minute window during the week where I check-in with myself and make a plan for that week, given all its shifting deadlines and meetings and appointments.

Getting it done at the same time every week without ever needing a break or a change in routine is not necessary.

I aim for a weekly café date with myself. If that’s not possible, I’ll emulate the experience at home (my lattes aren’t as good, though).

Find your pace | As you adjust to reading the Victorian voice of this novel, give yourself grace. While 15 pages may take you 5 minutes to read in another style of writing, reading a single page of an “old classic” may take a full, frustrating 10 minutes as we get started. That’s normal. You’re not bad at reading. You’re finding your pace.

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