The Readers Review: Literature from 1714 to 1910 discussion

Here is the proposed reading schedule for Charles Dickens' The Old Curiosity Shop. All you guys have to do is let me know when you want to start and I'll go ahead and set up the folder and we'll be on our way. I have broken the book up into 12 largely equal sections, encompassing several chapters and about 45-50 pages in each weekly section.

Reading Schedule

Week 1: Chapters I-V (Apr 22-28)
Week 2: Chapters VI-X (Apr 29-May 5)
Week 3: Chapters XI-XV (May 6-12)
Week 4: Chapters XVI-XXI (May 13-19)
Week 5: Chapters XXII-XXVIII (May 27-Jun 2)
Week 6: Chapters XXIX-XXXIV (Jun 3-9)
Week 7: Chapters XXXV-XL (Jun 10-16)
Week 8: Chapters XLI-XLVI (Jun 17-23)
Week 9: Chapters XLVII-LIII (Jun 24-30)
Week 10: Chapters LIV-LIX (Jul 1-7)
Week 11: Chapters LX-LXVI (Jul 8-14)
Week 12: Chapters LXVII-End (Jul 15-21)

This looks quite manageable. I am very much looking forward to reading this book. Cheers! Chris

A short break was suggested, maybe we could start April 15?

Sounds great! I'll mark my calendar and get everything up and ready to roll for the 15th. I'm really looking forward to reading a little Dickens with all of you, and this'll be my first read of this book too. I'm really not sure why I've not read this before either...

I am already getting antsy:-) The chapters are not as big as in the previous book, so it looks pretty manageable to me. Christopher, do you think it is a good idea to send a generic message to every member of the group, asking them to join the discussion? It might be a way to attract new readers or remind people about this project. April 15 is reasonable enough:-)

Chris, thanks for the reading schedule.

Chris, Zulfiya, Robin, I must admit that I would prefer starting on April 22, just due to my personal situation, as I am very busy at work the next couple of weeks and I am trying to read Pickwick Papers, too, so I will be up-to-date with all the books of the Dickens project ;-)
I do not know how that would work with you all. Otherwise I will have to just catch up at the end of April...

I am absolutely flexible with the date. I am going to start now because I am expecting 'crazy' things happening at work quite soon, namely the end of the semester; this overload will be followed by my multi-flight trip. So I am going to read for a rainy day. I am fine with any date. But the later we star, the more I will be prepared for my maelstrom later in May.:-)

April 22 is fine by me as well. It would give us a couple weeks down time between books.

And I think an email to members letting them know that we are starting a new book in the Dickens Project would be nice.

Lynnm wrote: "April 22 is fine by me as well. It would give us a couple weeks down time between books.

And I think an email to members letting them know that we are starting a new book in the Dickens Project..."

April 22nd it is! I will also send out a quick note this weekend to the group announcing the read and the start date, and then send out another one just prior to the 22nd. Thanks for the feedback! Have a wonderful weekend, all! Cheers! Chris

Thanks for starting on 04/22. I am already looking forward to it.

Thanks, Chris!

April 22 is fine with me, as usual I am in the middle of reading about 4 other books (one audio, one mystery, one humorous, one more serious), so I can actually finish some for a change.

Christopher, thank you for the schedule. Robin, I believe we are in the same boat. I am lost in the plots of the books I am reading now.:-)

As we've discussed, we won't have a moderator; we can all contribute.

But unless someone else wants to do it, since I have to set up the thread for The Magic Ring thread every Sunday, I will be more than happy to set up the thread for The Old Curiosity Shop as well - it only takes a few seconds.

Lynn, I am going to participate, so I can help moderate too. I am going to send out an announcement with the schedule this afternoon (i.e., starting on the 22nd). Cheers! Chris

The participants can take turns and prepare the questions and quotations for a future discussion for the group:-) Just my two cents.

I am sure that we'll just percolate along quite merrily.

I am getting restless. Two weeks without Dickens:-) This is definitely an aberration. LOL

Zulfiya wrote: "I am getting restless. Two weeks without Dickens:-) This is definitely an aberration. LOL"

I feel the same way! I miss my daily Charles Dickens.

In the meantime, I have been able to read the Pickwick Papers and watch the BBC series to it. :-) I really loved it in its own way. I am a little busy at work till the middle of next week, but then I am ready. I am already looking forward to it, esp. as I do not know much about that novel at all.

Just started this morning. Only read the 1st chapter but I'm intrigued already. I'm looking forward to this as I don't really know the story.

I have just posted the folder for the first week of discussion of The Old Curiosity Shop. We are good to go! Have fun!

As the original schedule had a week off that we actually skipped, maybe we should update the reading schedule accordingly, in case someone is trying to catch up.
I think it would then be the following, which ends one week earlier than the original one:

Week 1: Chapters I-V (Apr 22-28)
Week 2: Chapters VI-X (Apr 29-May 5)
Week 3: Chapters XI-XV (May 6-12)
Week 4: Chapters XVI-XXI (May 13-19)
Week 5: Chapters XXII-XXVIII (May 20-May 26)
Week 6: Chapters XXIX-XXXIV (May 27-Jun 2)
Week 7: Chapters XXXV-XL (Jun 3-9)
Week 8: Chapters XLI-XLVI (Jun 10-16)
Week 9: Chapters XLVII-LIII (Jun 17-23)
Week 10: Chapters LIV-LIX (Jun 24-30)
Week 11: Chapters LX-LXVI (Jul 1-7)
Week 12: Chapters LXVII-End (Jul 8-14)

I hope it is ok for me to post this ...

Hedi wrote: "As the original schedule had a week off that we actually skipped, maybe we should update the reading schedule accordingly, in case someone is trying to catch up.
I think it would then be the follo..."

Hedi - looks great! Thanks for making the changes.

Yes, thank you, now everyone will be literally on the same page!

Thank you, Hedi