Like the Dickens!

[malruniel11]

Charles Dickens is one of the most iconic Victorian authors, well known both for being difficult to read, and being a treasure for all ages.  Of course we all know A Christmas Carol inside out and backwards, or at least a version of it, but who has read Dickens for the pleasure of the way he crafts his stories and the way his words play against

Comments

[malinaldarose]

Who of you, my friends, has read Dickens for the fun of it, and not just for school?

Um, that'd be me.... Many years ago, when I returned to grad school, I took a creative writing course and one component of the course was a reading list. I discovered that some of the stuff I read in high school made a lot more sense and was a lot more enjoyable to someone in their thirties than to someone in their teens. So I decided to reread many of the things I'd been forced to read in high school. Hamlet? Loved it. Dracula? Well, I'd loved it to begin with, but, yup, still loved it. The Scarlet Letter? Loved it. Great Expectations? Loved it. I especially loved what I perceived to be sly humor in Dickens' word choices (especially in A Christmas Carol). I've acquired a number of his other novels, just haven't gotten to them yet.

[malruniel11]

Being a Lit major, I'm exposed to all sorts of the classics, and thankfully I'm a reader, so much of them, I've already read by the time we get there, so I'm studying something I already know and love. Dickens is so much fun. I love his word choices and the way his stories just flow so naturally.

[michikatinski]

Well that's a great recommendation if I ever heard one! I haven't read Dickens since highschool, and that was for fun rather than for an assignment.

With which title should I start? :)

LATE reply is LATE!!

[malruniel11]

Sorry, I thought I had responded, and then I wasn't sure and then I was out of town twice, and I'm just now getting a chance to check!!

Ok, so you're wanting to know where to start with Dickens. I recommend starting with his "easier" books, like Oliver Twist or David Copperfield. Perhaps they are easier because they have "happier" endings in comparison to some of his other books. Great Expectations and Hard Times are on the second tier for me. Or start with his Christmas short stories. They are so sweet and fun and sad and happy and all over the board. Short, and good reads. A Christmas Carol is a must if you've never read it and only are familiar from the movie adaptations.

Re: LATE reply is LATE!!

[michikatinski]

I'm going to start with Great Expectations just as soon as I charge my Kindle--and I'm going to charge my Kindle just as soon as I find it. (Hrmmmm.... darn move!)

Re: LATE reply is LATE!!

[malruniel11]

Good call, and good luck in finding it! Moving is hard on the organization!

[jem0000000]

I loved A Tale of Two Cities when we had it in highschool, but I've never really gone back and read his other stuff. I have some of them; I just haven't taken the time to read them.

[jem0000000]

Wait I read Oliver Twist as a kid! I keep forgetting it's a Dickens novel. I liked it, but found the non-abridged version made more sense than the children's version.

[malruniel11]

Non-abridged tends to make more sense to me because then the side plots are fully fleshed out and make sense, and the full reasons behind the main plot are spelled out. I hate abridging things, unless done for comedic effect.

[jem0000000]

I think it was done on the theory that an elementary-school child shouldn't be reading the full thing? And I did like it well enough to pick up the non-abridged a few years later.