The Pickwick Club discussion

Are you currently reading a Dickens? Which one? Do you like it?

I am at the very beginning of Barnaby Rudge - it's too early to tell if I'm going to like it.

I'm reading Martin Chuzzlewit and the more I read, the more I like it. I'm almost half-way through and Dickens is certainly showing the Americans in a ridiculous light. On one hand I can't think it quite fair and on the other hand, I just have to laugh. The scene with the Watertoast Association was particularly funny. And again, his characters are so lively!

Also, I've just received The Pickwick Papers so I'm hoping to catch up with the group read.

As a Proud American, I love Dickens more than the Land of the Free, therefore, he can say whatever the hell he wants to about my homeland, past or present. Although, I do not see how he can say anything about its present state of degradation.

Right now, the only book by Dickens I am reading is the Pickwick Papers. So far, I find it incredibly amusing and better than I supposed it would be, falling in between Sketches and Oliver Twist. As far as I am concerned it far outshines them both.

I've gotten away from my Dickens reading, but am hoping to finish Little Dorrit and read The Pickwick Papers.

Oh no! The university down the road from where I live is offering an Independent Authors course this summer based on the works of Dickens & Gaskell. I would love to audit it but it runs for only one week, the classes being 8 hours per day. I'm not sure if you could do either author justice in one week, plus at the end of it my brain would probably be fried.

But such temptation! :-D

Cleo wrote: "Oh no! The university down the road from where I live is offering an Independent Authors course this summer based on the works of Dickens & Gaskell. I would love to audit it but it runs for only ..."

Goodness! That sounds like fun, but it wouldn't work for people with jobs. Maybe after I retire. Assuming that happens.

Richard ~ I'm really thinking about it. I once took an English course that was a one week retreat and swore that I'd never do that again; too much rush and not enough time to enjoy what you're learning. However the double whammy of Dickens and Gaskell might entice me to change my mind.

Christine ~ perhaps you could d something like this if you took a week vacation ----- I hope you get vacation! I always worry that if I wait until the retirement years, I won't be able to remember anything. :-(

I just finished A Tale of Two Cities. It was such an amazing book!! I look forward to reading it again.

Pam wrote: "I just finished A Tale of Tow Cities. It was such an amazing book!! I look forward to reading it again."

That was the first Dickens that I read. I enjoyed it immensely and have not been let down by any of his works since.

Jonathan wrote: "Pam wrote: "I just finished A Tale of Tow Cities. It was such an amazing book!! I look forward to reading it again."

That was the first Dickens that I read. I enjoyed it immensely and have not be..."

What is your favorite Dickens book?

Great Expectations. After that it is between Martin Chuzzlewit and David Copperfield.

Cleo wrote: "I'm reading Martin Chuzzlewit and the more I read, the more I like it. I'm almost half-way through and Dickens is certainly showing the Americans in a ridiculous light. On one hand I can't think ..."

I am currently reading Martin Chuzzlewit too with "The Readers Review" group. I hope to fold into this group with the upcoming "Oliver Twist". I am also finding Martin Chuzzlewit hilarious!

Kathy wrote: "Cleo wrote: "I'm reading Martin Chuzzlewit and the more I read, the more I like it. I'm almost half-way through and Dickens is certainly showing the Americans in a ridiculous light. On one hand I..."

That's great, Kathy. Who is your favourite character so far? And least favourite?

I really love Tom Pinch. He is such a nice, sweet, simple person. If there were more people like him around, the world would be a better place. However, I am completely disgusted with Pecksniff. And how Dickens has portrayed him ...... the perceived high moral standards, the fake politeness contrasted with the scheming and threats just makes my blood boil!

I went to the second hand store with my 10 year old son and we were looking through the unsorted books on the shelves and my eyes fell on an ancient looking book. The only portion of the title I could discern from the spine of the book was A Child's History... My first thought was "there is no way". But, after I picked up the book, I found that there was a way and I was holding in my hands a 113 year old copy (first printing of that particular U.S. edition) of Dickens' A Child's History of England. After the cashier rung us up, Alex scolded me, "Dad, I can't believe you bought that book here. If you would have got it at the Goodwill Store you could have gotten it for 50 cents or a dollar." He was right. I did pay more than I usually pay for used books; it carried a wallet drenching price tag of $2.95. This is not exactly my current Dickensian read, but it is the newest member of my Dickensian collection, and the most prized of all my books because of its author and its age.

What a find!! And looks like you're raising a smart book shopper. :-) He'll understand the exorbitant price of this find when he's older.

Ooooo, I'm envious. Congratulations, Jonathan!

I have a first edition Pickwick Papers that is my pride and joy. It has four plates missing though, so at the time, it was about 1/5 of the price of a complete copy. Pricey, but still affordable. I love leafing through it and wondering about all the hands that it has passed through and how it made its way to North America.

First edition Pickwick Papers? That has to be worth a small fortune. Rightfully, it is your pride and joy.

I'm currently reading Dickens' Hard Times and just like all his books and novels, I'm loving everything about it, which is a common element when reading any of his books!

You get the full reading experience!

Two weeks ago I had my first Dickens experience since childhood (A Christmas Carol) and read A Tale of Two Cities, which apart from a couple of dreary Paris based chapters ranks as one of my favourite ever books. After a step away from Dickens last week, this week I have picked up David Copperfield which so far I'm finding to be excellent. Hadn't really expected any humour from Dickens, but have had a good few chuckles so far (c.100 pages in), which clearly has added to my enjoyment. Very much looking forward to the rest of it, and eventually the rest of his offerings.

David Copperfield was excellent. Great Characters and a very interesting story.

Scott wrote: "Two weeks ago I had my first Dickens experience since childhood (A Christmas Carol) and read A Tale of Two Cities, which apart from a couple of dreary Paris based chapters ranks as one of my favour..."

A Tale of Two Cities is probably not the most light-hearted of Dickens's novels, but generally they are full of humour and satire, especially the earlier ones. But even his later novels abound in comedy, which became subtler and subtler as he grew older, and maybe to some extent, more disillusioned.

Adam wrote: "David Copperfield is certainly among his best works, along with Oliver Twist and Great Expectations. By comparison I found A Tale of Two Cities less engaging, perhaps too political for my taste. "

I agree about ATOTC. It's more dramatic than most of his other works, but not, for me, as powerful.

I recently joined the group so I'm currently reading Nicholas Nickleby so I can keep up with the group read. Sorry to have missed out on Oliver Twist. Unfortunately I came in near the end of that read.

After reading "Bleak House" again after maybe 20 years, I have to admit that this novel, which Dickens published in the middle of his career, appears to me like one of his very best works ever. It seems to be a work, in which he wanted to reassure himself of his potential as a writer.

On the very other side there is "A Tale of Two Cities" which I like. But it appears like some kind of commercial work - a history novel, for a work by Dickens a very small staff and all in all the look of an adventure story. And just by the way it shows a conservative side of a liberal mind...

Hi, I just joined this group. So I haven't read Nicholas Nickleby and am not sure I will be able to since you all are so far into it. However, I am currently beginning The Old Curiosity Shop which I am very excited about. Has anybody else read it? I'm so glad others like Dickens too!

Hello Grace,

welcome to the Pickwick Club! Like you, I am always glad to meet other people who love Dickens's marvellous novels.

I don't know if you are a quick reader, but maybe you will manage catching up with us after all. After the official end of a group read there is usually a little bit of leeway before the next novel is coming on. So maybe it's worthwhile starting on Nicholas Nickleby after all?

I hope you are going to enjoy our discussions.

We will be discussing Nickleby until the end of September and probably longer. It would be great if you could join in. The schedule is just a blueprint. As a group, we are about 2 weeks behind. At two chapters a day, you could finish by Oct. 1, when the group will begin The Old Curiosity Shop. Welcome to the Pickwick Club! We are all glad to have you, I am sure.

Grace wrote: "Hi, I just joined this group. So I haven't read Nicholas Nickleby and am not sure I will be able to since you all are so far into it. However, I am currently beginning The Old Curiosity Shop which ..."

Hi Grace, welcome! Just thought I'd let you know that, yes, I've read The Old Curiosity Shop and I loved it. Of course I've read all his novels and I think I've loved them all!! But The Old Curiosity Shop is one of my favorites.:}

Kim,

Glad to hear it. I am looking forward to it, and some of the humbugs around here, I won't mention any names, but let's just say he is one of the two moderators, says it's Dickens' worst. We'll see who's right. I haven't read it.

FINALLY finished Little Dorrit! Definitely not my favorite Dickens, but I'm glad I finally read it. Now back to NN.

Jonathan wrote: "Kim,

Glad to hear it. I am looking forward to it, and some of the humbugs around here, I won't mention any names, but let's just say he is one of the two moderators, says it's Dickens' worst. We'..."


Well, I really must say that there was a lot about TOCS that bored and / or annoyed me, but when I say that it is Dickens's worst, it is, of course, still understood that the worst Dickens is still head and shoulders above the best written by many other authors (I would name Thackeray here, who has never fascinated me the way Dickens did).

By the way, what about a poll on selecting your least favourite Dickens book? Or would you think this might spark off too many battles?

Tristram wrote: "By the way, what about a poll on selecting your least favourite Dickens book? Or would you think this might spark off too many battles? "

A poll doesn't give any scope for explaining why it is the least favorite book. If we are going to engage in trashing Dickens [g], I think the better way is to set up a thread for "My least favorite Dickens Book" and let people talk about why, not just vote on which.

That said, I have several candidates which I place much higher (lower?) on the "worst Dickens book" scale than TOCS. But this isn't the thread for saying what or why.

Hello joy! Did you read the TOCS thread? It's funny! Providing you don't mind the spoiler fact. I never care re: classics. They actually help me have a better experience.

DC is my favorite. Do you read other classic?

Do try it. Like a book in its own right. You could publish it like a Bridget jones diary. Better than Kelsey grammer as Scrooge! I will never know the end of that one!

Kim, perhaps we should encourage Joy. At least for the holidays as Joy suits the decor.

Well

But we are in the business of reacting to your judgment. Buyer beware!

Kim wrote: "Christine wrote: "Do try it. Like a book in its own right. You could publish it like a Bridget jones diary. Better than Kelsey grammer as Scrooge! I will never know the end of that one!"

It's on a..."
How embarrassing for KG! I am going to DVR it. Just to make people laugh. :-D

Kim wrote: "In chapter 35 when the mysterious lodger invites Dick into his room this happens:

Without another word spoken on either side, the lodger took from his great trunk, a kind of temple, shining as of ..."

OMG. I thought the same thing. I have an aversion to sloven dirtyness, rotten food, etc. Early spam perhaps? Jerky? It was a strange time.

Did you ever see LOST IN AUSTIN? Lizzy dashwood and a modern girl switch places. And Darcy or no. Lizzy WON'T go back. One flush and she was sold at all cost!

No, I never saw it. I don't watch many movies, but I'm sure if I was transported back to Dickens times, although there are things I would love about it, bath tubs and bathrooms would bring me back. Not to mention air conditioning. Other than that, I'd stay and read. :-}

LOST IN AUSTIN is a bbc mini series. It is great! The switch, of course, changes who loves who etc in the past. Chic tries to keep things glued together, set things back to rights. Vast most of the story is the past. So it appeals to Victorianites. Meanwhile. Lizzy here in the future ain't goin back. She locks the other girl into the past and gets on with life on 20.... Without hesitation!! Worth netflixin. I bought it on Amazon. 11$. Ovation channel runs it once in a while. This month is pride & prejudice. BBC. Love love love this production.

I could only visit back then for the above said reasons. But if I was there and knew no different I would be on the cutting edge for the time. So I'd be ok. I don't stem from pioneers. My ancestors were Philadelphians since 1701. We landed and set up shop. Never ventured onto the wilderness. LOL. so of course I see myself surrounded by opulence. There are people to remove my chamber pot.

Kim wrote: "Someone invited you to this group? Was it someone you liked? You might not like them anymore once you're here with us for awhile. We've got some grumps in here. (Just kidding guys). :-} "

Grumps? In this group? Well, I never ... ;-)

Tristram wrote: "Grumps? In this group? Well, I never ... ;-)

Yes, actually, real life grumps. How are you doing keeping up with reading TOCS by the way? Grump. :-]

Kim wrote: "Yes, actually, real life grumps. How are you doing keeping up with reading TOCS by the way? Grump. :-]"

Well, let me put it as ungrumpily as I possibly can: From the moment I did not start it again I have not read a single passage that displeased me in any way, and my reading pace has not slowed down a bit.

Hello, I'm new to this group. There are huge holes in my Dickens reading which I am trying to fill. I'm currently listening to the audio book of Nicholas Nickleby for an in-person book group. There are parts when I'm enjoying it very much and parts when I'm quite bored. That seems to be the case whenever I read a Dickens novel though. What keeps me going is there's usually a payoff by the end that makes me glad I stayed with it. I haven't read the threads from when you all read it as a group, and will wait until I finish so I don't accidentally read any spoilers.

Hi Kathy

Welcome. No need to worry as we all have our own "huge holes" to fill and it's more fun with a group as we each offer a few loads with our own shovels.

We are beginning Barnaby Rudge in January so please join us.

Hi Kathy! Our next book , barnaby

.... Rudge. Is long and descriptive. If you want to do audio there is a free version by Mil Nicholson that is great!! She really holds your attention.

I the order they were published is what I understand. BARNABY RUDGE is next. No schedule yet.