Wherein we make a proposal for a possible change to our reading schedule; with a poll.
Friends, a quick check-in after these months of Dickensian joy…and a proposal. (Don’t worry, we’re not about to file a declaration…)
How is everyone faring in the pacing of the Club’s reads? Priscilla recently commented that she was still finishing Pickwick, and Steve is reading the last of Pickwick together with starting Oliver Twist. Of course, some of our members will probably pop in and out for some reads and not others. But the wonderful comments over the past week or so sparked a question: Do we need to slow it down?
I asked Boze about it, and he had an alternative idea: How about keeping the pace of each read as it is, but in between each book having a break of a week or two? (I’m personally inclined towards two.) Many of us are reading several things simultaneously, of course, Dickensian or otherwise.
So, here are a few advantages to the proposal:
1.) Those who need to catch up can do so.
2.) Some of us can work on special-interest blog posts. (Such as the one I intended to do about Sam Weller, but ran out of time for!)
3.) We can do more of what Chris calls “in-between reading.”
4.) Boze had the wonderful thought of possibly organizing some group watching of an adaptation ~ after we’ve completed the book ~ for those interested. (E.g. the recorded stage Nicholas Nickleby; the 2005 miniseries of Bleak House; the two wonderful miniseries productions of Little Dorrit…)
Thoughts? It will extend our whole schedule ~ which may be either an advantage or disadvantage for you! Let us know what you think in the poll and/or the comments below, if you have the opportunity.
On another note, the site will have a few small changes. It had started as a personal bookish blog, but it really is becoming more of a little Dickensian community ~ and so much the better for that! ~ so just wanted to give everyone a heads-up about the adjustments; substantially it’ll be just as it is now.
All the (Dickensian) Year Round 
Rach – I will do whatever the group decides. I have the benefit of being semi-retired and I’ve read the books before so it’s easy for me to keep up. But I certainly do understand how the quick paced schedule can be difficult for others. And, I’ll be happy to have more time to do In Between Reading!
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I fully concur with the “modest proposal” of a two-week break between works. I utter a full-throated “AMEN: to Chris’ comments, although I don’t have a fraction of Chris’ knowledge and expertise on things Dickensian!
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I’d rather the schedule stayed as it is….but I’m not actually participating in the read along. I’m a Dickens fan, but frankly I don’t to only read books by one author for two years or so. And there are actually only six or so Dickens books that I own, so I’d either have to do a lot of online reading (of which I do enough already) or I’d have to be always scrambling to get the necessary books from the library. I’m just here for the discussion. (There aren’t many people I personally know who enjoy Dickens much, so blogs like this are the only place I can get discussions about his books.) When we get to the books I own, I’m planning on reading along with the schedule. In the meantime, you should listen to the real members of this reading club.
I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s the best one, but I have the 2005 Bleak House on DVD, so it gets my vote.
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I’m like Chris, well sorta, retired, so what ever works for the group works for me. I found OLIVER a fairly quick read, but would like the time to catch my breath between novels. Maybe a week would work, but I don’t want us to stray too far from our Dickensian interests. But I too, want to read a bunch of other books which I’ve set aside. That week off would help. But I still hope we can continue the commentary on the novel we’ve just read during the breaks. I have leftover things to say about the SKETCHES and PICKWICK that maybe would be useful in the interlude between novels. Interestingly, these things occur to me as I’m reading TWIST, but I’m afraid to lose the thread of our discussions so don’t get those ideas off my mind. In between novels we could throw those kind of ideas in to spice up the pot a bit, as well as catch our breaths and get in some other reading. Well, that’s my two bits worth….
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I’m new to this group (website) and am finding the content amazing! My question is am I following along as best I can via this site or are there other ways to follow conversations? I have submitted my email address to receive blog updates.
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Hi Francis!! Warm welcome to the group! So happy to have you here 🙂 and it’s a great question. I do post on twitter also (@wren_and_paper), mostly with the hashtag #DickensClub, but most of our conversation happens here on the comments to the post. I sum up each week’s chapters and discussions from the previous week, and we have introductions for each new read, which our wonderful Boze (@SketchesbyBoze) will be doing from here on out. I think the first couple of times anyone comments, it makes Boze or I approve it, but then they’ll be automatically approved after that. 🙂
We’re still experimenting with other ways to communicate, and might eventually offer some zoom times and other means, but for now it has been mostly the comments on each week’s blog post. They’re so rich, and we’d love to have you! This week we’re reading Chapters 23-34 of Oliver Twist, and I’ll do the weekly wrap-up of those chapters on Monday.
I’ll be working up a new overall schedule soon, to accommodate the recent vote on having a break in between each book! 🙂
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