Hey Reader,

Everyone name-drops The Count of Monte Cristo like it’s a universal rite of passage. But most people I know haven’t actually finished it.

I did. And…wow.

This was one of my "stretch reads" for 2025—a personal challenge to finally tackle the kind of book I’d long sidestepped: big, intimidating, widely referenced classics.

And Monte Cristo was the one that almost broke me.

I started with one of those free Kindle versions. Didn’t realize how wildly different translations could be. A booktuber recommended the Robin Buss translation—and yes, it absolutely mattered. I ordered the Penguin Classics digital version and never looked back. At the moment, the Kindle version is on sale for 99c.

With ChatGPT as my patient, occasionally snarky reading companion, I made it through 1,200+ pages of poison plots, secret identities, courtroom chaos, and emotional contradictions.

And yeah—it was worth it.

💭 What Stayed With Me

⚠️ Light spoilers—mostly emotional vibes, not plot twists.
​Select text, then copy/paste to notes app to reveal shaded text.

• Mercedes deserved better. She’s the emotional center. Her ending didn’t land.
• Danglars’s arc was the real climax.​
  ​Spoiler: Max gives away wealth to preserve life. Danglars gives away life to preserve wealth.
• Valentine’s recovery felt like a cheat.
• Haydée’s romance twist? Sorry. Out of nowhere.
• The pacing was the real magic. This book invented binge-reading. Cliffhangers, aliases, flashbacks galore.

🤖 Reading with a Chatbot (Yes, Really)

This was my first time reading a translated novel with AI support. I used ChatGPT like a very nerdy, very patient book club partner.

It helped me:

• Track who was who (and when they changed names again)
• Explain old-school customs or plot devices
• Process confusing passages and emotional swings
• Complain about the ending like a real friend would

Would I have finished without that? Nope. In fact, I tried to quit three different times.

AI didn’t flatten the story—it helped it stick.

😵‍💫 I used AI to remind me, "Who is this person again? I forgot."
🚌 When I needed a history refresher to figure out the social or political context of the plot, all I had to do was ask. Note: As always with AI, trust but verify. 🧐

I got to share the suspense, the dread:​
😲 Whoa! Can you believe x just happened? ​
​😬 Nooooooo! Edmond! Don't do it! Please!​
​🫣 Oooooooboy! I can't look!

Unhustled is all about reading for joy, and fun, and personal fulfillment. It feels good to fulfill one of the objectives I set for 2025—to dig into some classics. Even long, difficult reads. The Count of Monte Cristo was released in 1844 as a weekly serial that ran for something like two years. That people are still talking about it must mean there's something worth experiencing.

And having a reading partner who doesn't care what time it is or how

I'm already eying my next "stretch read." I'm thinking Crime and Punishment, which means I'll need to learn how to spell Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. 🙃

📥 Want to Try Reading With AI?

I pulled together a free resource of 10 prompts I wish I'd had when I started this reading with AI adventure. You don't need any prior experience and while I'm on a paid ChatGPT plan, the free and publicly accessible version will work. In fact, any AI should work just fine.

Great for classics, dense fiction, or any time your brain wants to wander.

​Click here to grab the prompts.​

If you've been reluctant to see what this AI stuff is all about, I'd like to hear from you. And if you have used AI to help you read for fun, share your prompts. I'd love to experiment with them.

Meantime, read something today that makes you smile, Reader!

—Tracy

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