Monday, January 2, 2012

Charles Dickens Month, in which I finally tackle The Pickwick Papers, um, correction Our Mutual Friend


Thomas led me to Amanda's Charles Dickens Month, which excited me because I realized I could indulge in triple action by reading either a copy of The Pickwick Papers or Our Mutual Friend (but not both) that have been festering on my TBR pile: participating in Charles Dickens Month, the Tea & Books Reading Challenge as they are both biggies, and stay true to the TBR Double Dare all at the same time! Rock on.

Update: Let's make that, Our Mutual Friend.

5 comments:

Christy said...

Just read Our Mutual Friend not long ago and really loved it. So, good choice (though I've never read Pickwick Papers).

Guy Savage said...

Actually I was going to read Our Mutual Friend this month but picked up a Dostoevsky instead. I'll get back to Dickens shortly.

Ted said...

Christy - I took a look at the beginning of both and decided on OMF, glad to hear that you liked it.

Guy - I'm hoping to get to The Idiot this year, it has been on my TBR pile for too long.

Runs Like A Gay said...

I want to like Dickens, but I find his work so very hard to read.

What could you recommend as a way into his writing?

Ted said...

RL - His style takes some getting used to, not just because it's 150 years old, but also because he was paid for volume. Some of his stuff is not very accessible. I could not get into Pickwick Papers at all. You might want to try some of his shorter novels like Oliver Twist, Tale of Two Cities or Great Expectations - all three are great stories with memorable characters. Barring that, see the movie.