The Readers Review: Literature from 1714 to 1910 discussion

Reading Schedule for the read of the biography by Claire Tomalin

Sorry for the first comment. This was the first time I have created a topic on Goodreads (and with my iPod which does not allow all the features).

I have looked into a possible reading schedule and was wondering when you would like to start.
Here is my suggestion of splitting up the read into 8 sections/ weeks:

- Chapter 1-3 (incl. prologue)
- Chapter 4-7
- Chapter 8-10
- Chapter 11-13
- Chapter 14-17
- Chapter 18-20
- Chapter 21-23
- Chapter 24-27

If we started on Feb 9th we would finish by Apr 5th, but if you need another week we could also start on the 16th instead.

Zulfiya, I hope this suits you and I did this right so far with regards to setting up this new topic. I do not want to mess things up.

It is very close to mine:-) The only difference is in the first section. My original plan is prologue and chapters 1 and 2.

I will add the dates and I think we will be ready to go. I found spoilers once, concerning The Old Curiosity Shop, in chapter 8. :-(


02/08 - Chapter 1-3 (incl. prologue)
02/15- Chapter 4-7
02/22- Chapter 8-10 (The Old Curiosity Shop - Spoilers!)
03/01- Chapter 11-13
03/08- Chapter 14-17
03/15- Chapter 18-20
03/22- Chapter 21-23
03/29- Chapter 24-27

Shall we wait till February 08? I know that most of us have already purchased or obtained a copy, but what about other participants. It is not a free book, so do you think it is worth waiting for a while (9-10 days) or shall we start ASAP?

P.S. Thank you so much, Hedi!

:-)

I think we should maybe wait till the 8th, as I thought we had talked about a 2-3 week break between David Copperfield and this.

As you mentioned the TOCS spoiler I am wondering how many spoilers related to our outstanding reads we will find, hopefully not too many. ;-)

I vote for waiting until the 8th, personally. Thanks for the heads-up about the spoiler! Hope we don't find any more!

I'm ok with waiting to the 8th

8th is fine with me as well.

Thanks Zulfiya and Hedi!!!

Hi. Does that mean the plan is to read the first section from Feb. 1-8 and start chatting on the 8th?

Gad! I'm such a Virgo! I want to map it out on my calendar.

Renee wrote: "Hi. Does that mean the plan is to read the first section from Feb. 1-8 and start chatting on the 8th?

Gad! I'm such a Virgo! I want to map it out on my calendar."
Renee, yes, we will start the discussion of the first section on the 8th and continue on the 15th with the next chapters. However, it depends a little on your own schedule when you will read the chapters. Do not worry! :-)
I sometimes fall behind and finish the chapters when you all have already started the discussion.

Thank you, Hedi.
I think you have summed it up nicely.

Renee, feel free to start when you want. I know that Lynnm started reading some time ago, but do not forget to take notes.

I will open the first discussion thread on February 08, and officially it will be open for a week; unofficially, post whenever you want after February 08.

Thanks so much. Although I bought the book when I first heard we were reading it, I haven't begun yet. Very excited to start, though. I've heard it's terrific.

I did start it, but then decided to wait - better to stay on schedule.

Hi I'm Carol and I just picked up Claire Tomalin's Charles Dickens. I would very much like to join the discussion. ( I also just finished reading The Invisible Woman by Tomalin, great read.)

Hi Renee!

Hello, Carol! I am sure you will enjoy the discussion of this biography. Thank you for joining the project!

So far I've read through chapter 7, and there are some spoilers regarding Dickens's novels, as with Oliver Twist, Dombey and Son, David Copperfield and, as Zulfiya mentioned, The Old Curiosity Shop. When I come across these for any of the novels I haven't read, I skip over it. Other than that, though, I'm really enjoying this biography!

I have read first four chapters, and there are spoilers, but we have read so many novels that they do not look like spoilers, and if there are spoilers for the future reads, they are mostly cursory and one-liners without revealing much of the plot, but when the chapter is named 'Killing Nell', that is the one that is glaring at you:-)

Oh, Carol! Lovely, lovely post with wonderful insightful statements, but I hate saying what I am going to say now :-((((

The discussion starts on February 08 (it is in message 3 in this thread) and each week there will be a separate thread. Would you mind posting the same post again when the discussion begins. I hate being mean here, but ...

On second thought, I have no problems opening the discussion thread now, but there is another question on the agenda. What do we want to discuss? Dickens biography? How is his life reflected in his most autobiographical novel DC? Allusions to previous novels we read? Historical or cultural allusions?

Everyone's input is appreciated. Pretty please.

Carol, if I open the thread now instead of February 08, would you mind deleting this post and reposting it there?

Carol, I just sent a message to all members. I will wait for their feedback, and as soon as I get an approval, I will open a thread. It is only a matter of hours. This turmoil is my fault entirely. I should have broadcast a general message reminding about the date when we start and should have closed the thread.

I hope this snafu will not discourage you from your intended participation. We are quite friendly here :-)

I hope this is the correct thread... I rec'd a message in my email but the link/thread wasn't there - so, I am hoping this is the one we were supposed to respond to.

I say this kindly, perhaps a set reading schedule for each reading of Dickens should be in place. For example, our library has one reading per month and one group gathering date. As we are online, we can post whenever but perhaps, a set reading timeframe would be helpful. Just a thought...

I'm ok with early. I'm snowed in and only have one more chapter to go.

No problem.
I forgot that it starts on February 8th.
I deleted it here, and I will post it on Saturday.

That is so weird. I checked mine, and it send me to Zafon's books. I like Zafon, but I never meant to send you there. I was not even on that page :-)

I wonder why I still have hope in artificial intelligence.

Sorry for the technical idiocy!

Carol, if Dickens folks want to start early, I will let you know here. Grrr, sorry for the mess!

Hi Linda,
You will find the reading schedule on the top of this thread in message 3. We have planned to read 3-4 chapters per week.
The threads for every week usually get opened on the first day of the section to be discussed.

I hope this information helps you in your planning.

Zulfiya,
I have no problems with you opening the first thread earlier. However, I have not started with the book yet and will not get to it so soon, as I had not anticipated my workload in the office this week.
So I will probably not be able to post anything before Sunday.

Hedi, do not worry about it.

It is just a technical glitch. If it happens, it is only for the first week.

I understood that, Zulfiya, just wanted all of you to know that.

Regarding the discussion topics, I am quite open. It might depend a little on the focus of the book itself, too.

I'm ok with opening the thread early for the first week. Since I'm bogged down with other projects at present, I would prefer to stick to the schedule for the rest of the discussion, however, which it sounds like we would be doing. :-)

Zulfiya wrote: "That is so weird. I checked mine, and it send me to Zafon's books. I like Zafon, but I never meant to send you there. I was not even on that page :-)

I wonder why I still have hope in artificial..."

I love Zafon.

Opening the first week's thread early is fine by me. And it will only be a couple days early.

"You're Tearing Me Apart!"

Sorry. James Dean yells in my head sometimes. :)

Z-
Open the thread whenever you darn well please. Moderators prerogative. I've committed to about 15 books this month so I'll post when I can and promise not to whine. Promise.

See you all there!

Want to say hello. It has been awhile since I've participated with the group (Oliver Twist? Jane Erye?) I was given this book two years ago for Christmas and am excited the group is reading it.

Zulfiya wrote: "The discussion starts on February 08 (it is in message 3 in this thread) and each week there will be a separate thread. Would you mind posting the same post again when the discussion begins."

It's February 8th -- where are we discussing the book?

Lol! I peeked here, too, when I woke up this morning, but I figured I was in the wrong time zone or something. I'm so looking forward to this conversation! :D

I'm sure it's a time zone thing. Zulfiya is one of the best.

Absolutely! I've been in her discussions before. She's wonderful. We're just excited. The bio is terrific so far.

Carol wrote: "I also learned some "quirky" things.

Charles Dickens was . . .


. . . an obsessive-compulsive person.

In the prologue, it states that when we went to the hotel, he said, "Of course I arranged..."

Great list! How I would love to find a secret door in my house, particularly one that led to a library! :-D

Carol wrote: "I also learned some "quirky" things.

Charles Dickens was . . .


. . . an obsessive-compulsive person.

In the prologue, it states that when we went to the hotel, he said, "Of course I arranged..."

We need a 'like' button for this post!

Thanks, Carol!

He was also afraid of the dark.

I put the posts on the other site --
Charles Dickens - A Life - Prologue to Chapter 3

FYI -- I just picked up Charles Dickens Sketches of Young Gentlemen and Young Couples by Edward Caswall.

Great!