Old Books, New Readers discussion

A great writer by all accounts.

The only thing I've read of his was Great Expectations, and I didn't like it, at all. But it was the story and the characters that irritated me, not the writing. I want to read A Tale of Two Cities and Oliver Twist though.

A Tale of Two Cities was really good! I had to read it for English. It took me three try's to get past the beginning but once I got going it was very enjoyable. I got a little lost among all the charters and the reading it felt like I was swimming in syrup for some reason. Although the book is not big, if felt thick, and hard to read. I have "David Copperfield" sitting on my bookshelf, I need to read it.

I know. I haven't read anything of his yet, because I know I'm going to have to be solely focused on getting through and understanding the book and I'm too busy for that right now. :P

Christa - Ron Paul 2012 wrote: "A Tale of Two Cities was really good! I had to read it for English. It took me three try's to get past the beginning but once I got going it was very enjoyable. I got a little lost among all the ch..."

I know A Tale of Two Cities is brilliant but somehow I feel quite bored with this book. probably due to the lack of proper translation (I read this book in my own language).

I've noticed that with translated books! We've had to read some books for Spanish class that were translated specifically for the class, and something just gets lost. It makes them harder to read than they might have otherwise been

Well it is a little boring, some parts, but I think that was because my mind wondered off while I was reading and I had to keep going over the same parts. What language do you speak if you don't mind my asking.

Haley wrote: "I've noticed that with translated books! We've had to read some books for Spanish class that were translated specifically for the class, and something just gets lost. It makes them harder to read t..."

couldn't agree more! IMO, several books lose its essence because of less appropriate in the translation.

My favorite of his, is Little Dorrit. And, interestingly enough...it has a happy ending! Yeah, where the main characters don't die! I've read it like 500 times (slight exaggeration) and I LOVE it!!!!!
If you haven't read it, then you're missing out. ;) lol

Oh no I'm missing out! I will get that book. I saw the movie once when I was small and thought it was boring. No bloody deaths.

In "A Tale of Two Cities" a support charter dies but I don't remember any main charters dying.

Yeah, well, I don't think any support characters die in this one too. It reminds a lot of like a Jane Austen novel.
There's a movie??? I've got to see that. :)

Oh no, I was thinking of "Little Lord Fauntleroy" sorry.

Oh, ok. Yeah, I saw that one couple of years ago.

A Christmas Carol and A Tale of Two Cities will always be my favorites! <333

I have "A Christmas Carol" sitting on my shelf just begging for attention. But it will have to wait just a little longer.

I've actually never read that...just seen plenty of movie versions around Christmas...;)

We should like make that our December book...;)

Agree with Tabi! ...can't wait for December... LOL
And me too, I've never read them but already seen the movie version. :D

Funny how we all know the story but have never read the book. And here we are in this group claiming to love and read old books? lol ;)

I second, or is it third?, the nomination for the December book :)

The books are so thick and intimidating, a great way to get into them is by watching dramatizations on public TV stations. BLEAK HOUSE was utterly thrilling ont he screen, and after seeing it I zoomed through the book like it was cotton candy. And if you've ever seen the old Royal Shakespeare Theatre production of NICHOLAS NICKLEBY (it was filmed and ran on tv) you can see how gripping Dickens can be. He didn't write for the eye -- he wrote for the ear, to be read aloud.

This club is not people claiming to love to read the old classics, it is all the people who love them but never got around to reading them. So there! I defend myself.

Very well Tabi, since it was your idea you will have to remind me our December book is "A Christmas Carol". I like that idea good thinking, but I am very liable to forget before December.

(Sounds like I am picking on you Tabi, which I am, but imagine me saying all that in a very happy tone of voice.)

So true. (not the picking, although I'm cool with that. As long as you don't insult my dog and family...I'm cool. ;)
I've read Nicholas Nickleby and seen the recent-ish movie of it...don't remember when it was made. I liked it..but my since my favorite character died...it's not up there on my "I love it to death and will read it over and over" shelf.

Oh dear, I'm reading Nicholas Nickleby now and can already make a guess as to who dies. Sad and yet so like Dickens. :(
I'm really enjoying the book. It's a light read (if one can say that about a Dickens book and meaning that I'm surprised at how quickly the pages get turned) and quite funny. Dickens' characters are so well portrayed.

pssst Tabi, I added The Christmas Carol onto our shelves here for December reading :D

Yeah, that is one of the lighter ones of his. And Petra, someone always dies in a Dickens. It just wouldn't be the same without it...;)

Sara wrote: "pssst Tabi, I added The Christmas Carol onto our shelves here for December reading :D"

*gasp* you added a book without permission from a mod! Oh no wait, I made you a mod. Never mind, carry on goddess.

LOL - I let my independent side come forward *she says as she shimmers from the room*

You know Christa...maybe we made a mistake in picking someone as crazy as us...lol ;)
Thanks Sara. :)

Agreed, but it is to late now :D

muahahaha

Sweet laugh. :)

Ok, I found out that you can notify everyone about upcoming books...so I put Christmas Carol up where everyone can see that we're reading it for Dec. :)
Aren't I awesome? Lol ;)

Where's the like button? LOL **like**

Thanks!! **like** back! ;)

Haley wrote: "The only thing I've read of his was Great Expectations, and I didn't like it, at all. But it was the story and the characters that irritated me, not the writing. I want to read A Tale of Two Cities..."

I wasn't the biggest fan of Great Expectations, but I just read Oliver Twist last week and I really liked it! It was a really good story! :)

As for a Christmas Carol, I started it last year on Christmas Eve but never got around to finishing it. I liked what I read though!

Lauren wrote: "Haley wrote: "The only thing I've read of his was Great Expectations, and I didn't like it, at all. But it was the story and the characters that irritated me, not the writing. I want to read A Tale..."

I read Great Expectations one or two months ago, at the same time as watching the TV series on ABC and I absolutely loved it. If I'm honest though, I sort of "squint read" it": where you don't worry about the words you don't understand and you don't worry about the sentences that don't make sense. It totally works! Everything makes sense even though you're not trying :)

I read David Copperfield when I was quite young (more than 10 years ago) and I loved it but would like to read it again.

A Christmas Carol is a really good book (yes, I've actually read it!! haha) but I'd love to read it again in December.

I haven't read any of his other books yet, though I own Oliver Twist.

The BBC has been filming all the Dickens novels for a couple years now, to some acclaim. They'll probably save CHRISTMAS CAROL for last, to ensure a big finish.

Katherine wrote: "Lauren wrote: "Haley wrote: "The only thing I've read of his was Great Expectations, and I didn't like it, at all. But it was the story and the characters that irritated me, not the writing. I want..."

I understand exactly what you mean about "squint reading!" I don't understand every word or sentence or phrase, but I get the gist of what is being said. :)

Since I have all of Dickens novels...I've read quite a few...about five or six I think. And yes, Katherine, sometimes in the really dull parts of books, (mainly in older books) I squint read as well...;)

I read parts of Oliver Twist for school and Great Expectations as well. I enjoy both. I've just finished A Tale of Two Cities for fun. It was a little bit too long winded and over done, he has a great grasp of prose but after reading and writing contemporary fiction his language does come across as superfluous most of the time.

Dicken's creates fantastic characters, Fagin, Nancy, Miss Havisham, the Defarges etc. I could go on forever. He writes brilliant people, for which, I will always admire him.

And how he creates such rich characters, is the way he gives them their personalities through dialogue.

To read Dickens (and many other older books) you have to sort of get into the mindset. People didn't have Wikipedia or TV or even photography. So it was important for authors to take a lot of words and describe Paris, or the slums of London -- to paint the picture for the readers to see.
The other thing they didn't have was blogs, newsletters, email, or free libraries. If you wanted to read a periodical, you had to be well-off enough to buy one (or join a library or club where they subscribed). So crusaders against evil had to embody their campaigns in novels. One of the things BLEAK HOUSE is about is the abusive legal system in place at the time in Britain; the book excited great outrage and led to legislative reforms. And JANE EYRE's expose of crappy orphan boarding schools caused a great scandal and kicked off a cleanup of the system.

I want to read Bleak House, but am afraid it will be too boring. I mean just look at the name!

Talia wrote: "I've read Great Expectations and read A Christmas Carol with my class back in December. There were pieces of both that I loved and pieces that just drove me bonkers in Great Expectations (it could..."

I agree with that statement about Great Expectations. The book was thick, and more parts were unnecessary than necessary, which is just irritating. A Christmas Carol is good though!

Lauren wrote: "Katherine wrote: "Lauren wrote: "Haley wrote: "The only thing I've read of his was Great Expectations, and I didn't like it, at all. But it was the story and the characters that irritated me, not t..."

Squint reading makes everything easier!

@Tabi, which would you say is your favourite Dickens novel?

I finished Nicholas Nickleby today and really loved it. It has Dickens' signature evil & pure people and is humorous and entertaining throughout. I would hazard to guess that this book was written in a time of Dickens' life when things were going really well for him.

While I enjoyed Great Expectations, I wasn't enthralled with a lot of the middle section. It could have been shortened by a lot, I think.
Although I'd have to reread it in order to discuss it in any length, I remember enjoying Oliver Twist quite a bit.

Katherine wrote: "Lauren wrote: "Katherine wrote: "Lauren wrote: "Haley wrote: "The only thing I've read of his was Great Expectations, and I didn't like it, at all. But it was the story and the characters that irri..."

Hands down....Little Dorrit. LOVE that book!!!!!

I haven't read all of Dickens, but Bleak House is my favourite of those I have read. It's very dark, and complex so be prepared to put a lot of work into reading it, but it's worth it. Dickens is certainly not all doom and gloom though. Pickwick Papers is very funny, as are parts of Sketches by Boz.

I want to read Bleak House but I haven't had time. From the title, simply make a curious but it also make me feel about a dark story.