Milo MInderbinder Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 (edited) Finished Martin Chuzzlewit yesterday. Great novel. I feel lucky that I'm fairly new to Mr.D and that with the bicentenary there is loads of good informative tv docus and talk shows about him. So that was my second Dickens book, can't wait to get stuck into everything else. On my KIndle awaiting my purusal I have: Bleak House A Tale of Two Cities David Copperfield I will probably go with Bleak House as it was recommended to me by Ruth. With Dickens I have that real buzz you get when you want to read everything by a certain author. Edited March 4, 2012 by Milo MInderbinder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted November 23, 2012 Share Posted November 23, 2012 Hi itsmeagain, I've struggled with Dickens, and I've only ever managed to get through A Christmas Carol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted November 23, 2012 Share Posted November 23, 2012 (edited) Threads merged. ETA: I've just seen you linked it, Claire, but as I've merged them I've removed the link. Edited November 23, 2012 by Janet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booknutt Posted November 24, 2012 Share Posted November 24, 2012 Hi itsmeagain, I've struggled with Dickens, and I've only ever managed to get through A Christmas Carol. What about trying "The Chimes" another C.D. Christmas story, Chesil? It's not long, and I found it just-nicely scary It's the right time of year for you to venture into it, too. . Just added to my bookshelves recently - "Dickens Dictionary" by Rodney Dale (from the Wordsworth reference series) Very valuable in giving a good accounting of each of his novels and their major characters. I'm sure to find it helpful for years to come as some of them spin a wonderful but meandering "yarn" . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted November 24, 2012 Share Posted November 24, 2012 Thanks for the recommendation Booknutt - I've just downloaded it as it's a freebie on the Kindle. I'll be sure to come back and let you know how I get on with it! I'll probably save it for a few weeks time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiameseCat Posted November 26, 2012 Share Posted November 26, 2012 Dickens is one of my favourite authors. Yes, he's a bit wordy, but nothing is excessive. (Unlike PD James for example; you could condense her writing to a quarter of the volume, and nothing would be missing.) I also tried some of the Bronte stuff and found that far too wordy to follow, apart from all the insanity and bleakness. Dickens is sharp and witty in his writing, very unflattering and insightful about human nature and that of society. I've read Great Expectations, Nicholas Nickleby, David Copperfield and Bleak House. Bleak House is a bit hard to get into, but that's over quickly. The only problem I had with it were the first person narratives. I find the extreme self-effacing modesty of the narrator irritating and hard to believe. Still love the book on the whole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booknutt Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 I've read Great Expectations, Nicholas Nickleby, David Copperfield and Bleak House. Bleak House is a bit hard to get into, but that's over quickly. The only problem I had with it were the first person narratives. I find the extreme self-effacing modesty of the narrator irritating and hard to believe. Still love the book on the whole. Esther Summerson was a bit of an uncomfortable character for me too, SiKat - her abused childhood made her over-retiring, and then I felt guilty as I realised that, and still got annoyed with her timidity! Fortunately, she's got years ahead of her - and improvement can be the only result of an unfortunate start to life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 I've just reread A Tale of Two Cities and I had forgotten just how descriptive those French executions were. Was totally riveted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGhay Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 Great Expectations is definitely my favourite, I was intorduced to it after we studied it at school. It has a great story behind it too, Dickens wrote it in extracts which were submitted to a popular newspaper (I forget the name), in New York people queued at the docks to get their hands on a copy. When the final edition arrived people were so annoyed by the ending that Dickens actually changed it to the ending we all know now. It's like an ancient social media storm! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booknutt Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 Reading "Oliver Twist" in between other books at the mo. C.D. gves us a fine example in Oliver of how it's possible to live among the blackest villains and abuse, while still staying true to his sweet nature - and surviving. "David Copperfield" likewise, too. It's us adults that make life complicated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 Dickens is one of those authors that I always convince myself I'll read more of, and then for some reason never get around to it. I've read Great Expectations and A Christmas Carol but shamefully that's all. Saying that, I own copies of Bleak House, A Tale of Two Cities, and The Old Curiosity Shop which I do intend to read sooner rather than later. His verbosity is something that actually attracts me to his books, as opposed to dissuades, like it does some others. Particularly as I've got used to reading Eliot and Gaskell in my studies this year, and they make me appreciate the knack Dickens has for being gripping and interesting as well as lengthy. I think it's being a fan of words and language in general. It reminds me of when Stephen Fry said that if something could be said in a couple of words, he'd much rather say it in ten. I'm often of the same opinion, and Mr Dickens has that natural wittiness and liveliness that brings his language to life. As a result I tend to not mind his sentences being on the lengthier side, but I can understand why it'd frustrate some people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booknutt Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 Try Bleak House next, Ben, it's got a great cast of characters - some you'll love, some you'll hate, but all memorable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Try Bleak House next, Ben, it's got a great cast of characters - some you'll love, some you'll hate, but all memorable. By some way, my favourite Dickens novel so far, and in my top 5 of all time. How Dickens manages to juggle that cast list, and all the threads, is soooo impressive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 Dickens is one of those authors that I always convince myself I'll read more of, and then for some reason never get around to it. I've read Great Expectations and A Christmas Carol but shamefully that's all. Saying that, I own copies of Bleak House, A Tale of Two Cities, and The Old Curiosity Shop which I do intend to read sooner rather than later. If you need/are looking for any persuading, read A Tale of Two Cities! It's on my top five of books ever read. I'm eternally grateful it was on an English lit course and I had to read it. Blimey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booknutt Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 I do think it's such a shame that our oldie classic authors are so much ignored in schools, nowadays. It's a fact that they're harder work - but there are childrens or abridged versions available too. Once the seed is planted, even if it take a decade or two to blossom, another classic will be picked up eventually, and another fan born! Every now and then returning to a Dickens novel reminds us of the cleverness and skill of such authors - they may take longer, but what's the rush? Happy New Year to All - may it be filled with the pleasures of for each. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil1980 Posted January 20, 2013 Share Posted January 20, 2013 I'm reading David Copperfield at the moment, I knew nothing of the story if i'm being honest and I'm really enjoying it. But this kid sure is having some bad luck. Not a single thing is going right for the poor boy. I hope he gets his revenge later on in the book lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil1980 Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 I'm still reading David Copperfield, its a mammoth book. I just can't believe all these years I've refused to read anything written by Charles Dickens. I think having to read these types of books at school probably put me off. So I decided to give it another go. And so glad I did. It is quite possibly one of the best books I've ever read! Its so refreshing to read a book where the English language is used to its full potential. And Mr Dickens has a God given talent of drawing you into characters lives and actually caring about them. The book has on several occasions brought a tear to my eye, and put a smile on my face. Great stuff!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 I'm currently reading Dombey & Son, which I've never read before, and have no idea of the story. I love the language that Dicken's uses. In modern terms it seems very wordy, but after a chapter or two to acclimatise, it feels (to me anyway), that there isn't a word wasted. A book to linger over rather than to devour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julie Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 Phil Have you read Great Expectations yet ? I loved that story .It was so easy to get into from page one . I know this sounds stupid ,but I always thought all the Classics type writers would be real "stuffy" and maybe not have much of a sense of humor,but Dickens shows his on every single page. From the part where he says his older sister "raised him by hand ", the chuckles start from there . Dickens was such a whiz at describing people .Their looks and personalities. He must have spent a great deal of time studying people,to get all the ideas he had for the characters in his books . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil1980 Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 Hi Julie, I will be reading Great Expectations next, I've downloaded it to my ipad (which is how I read) best part about it is these books are free to download! I believe I read it years ago at school but I wasn't much of a reader back then and really wouldn't have appreciated it. I'm so glad I've decided to try Dickens out. For me its exceptionally realistic storytelling, sad and funny. And it has sparked an interest in me about the Victorian lifestyle. And you can't get much more authentic these books were written in the 1800s after all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsmeagain Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 I'm reading David Copperfield at the moment, I knew nothing of the story if i'm being honest and I'm really enjoying it. But this kid sure is having some bad luck. Not a single thing is going right for the poor boy. I hope he gets his revenge later on in the book lol John Forster says in his biography of Dickens, that Charles used his own menial factory employment as a child, to inform the narrative of David Copperfield. It is part autobiography. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julie Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 Yes it's definitely great to be able to get so many free classics . Dickens is probably my favorite ,with Wilkie Collins coming up a close second . They remind me a lot of each other in their writing styles . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 Yes it's definitely great to be able to get so many free classics . I'm a fan of the Delphi Classics collections, and bought the complete works of Dickens for the princely sum of £1.67. The vastly improved formatting, the inclusion of the original illustrations, and other bits and pieces make this definitely worth paying the peanuts charged compared to the freebie downloads, which I've found so inconsistent and skeletal in their format. Finished David Copperfield a couple of weeks ago for my book group. Has to be one of the greatest collections of characters in a single book ever, and worth it for them, even when the plotting flagged a tiny bit in places. I'd still put Bleak House out in front, but it's a thoroughly worthy contender, and a possibility for my top 20 favourite book list! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsmeagain Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 I like the way that scenes and main topics change during a Dickens novel. Am reading Barnaby Rudge, it alters the scene a lot, with sudden in depth information on the United Bulldogs, a band of Protestant fanatics wanting to rid the world of Catholics. Dickens takes a swipe at all forms of bigotry, in a sarcastic and humorous way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ummlilia Posted March 29, 2013 Share Posted March 29, 2013 Try Bleak House next, Ben, it's got a great cast of characters - some you'll love, some you'll hate, but all memorable. I'd totally agree there..I read it recently..but came to it by a circuitous route.There's a fairly recent book out by Lynn Shepherd called Tom All-Alone's which is a victorian detective story based on some of the characters who appear in Bleak House. I'd heard this discussed on The Readers podcast, and it inspired me to read Dickens first, so that when I did get to it I'd 'get all the references' (although you could read it as a stand-alone' work ) The upshot of this long story is that I read both, and surprised myself because apart from reading the usual 'Great Expectations' and 'A Christmas Carol', I hadn't got past the idea that Dickens was too long-winded, or complex. I was wrong on both counts.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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