VICTOBER 2025 discussion

Let's start at the beginning... I'm Katie, one of your hosts (Books and Things on Youtube). I like Dickens and Gaskell and Hardy and Trollope and too many other Victorian writers to name. I am so excited for Victober that I've been planning my TBR since last November...

Hi, I'm Emily! I'm very much looking forward to participating in this readathon.

Hi, I’m Kathy and love Victorian literature! This is my birthday month so I’m excited for this reading experience!

Hello everyone! I'm a fan of victorian era and I am very excited for the victober :). Hugs from Brazil <3

My favorite authors of this period are:

Emily Brönte and Elizabeth Gaskell :D

Joseph wrote: "Katie wrote: "Let's start at the beginning... I'm Katie, one of your hosts (Books and Things on Youtube). I like Dickens and Gaskell and Hardy and Trollope and too many other Victorian writers to n..."

Me too lol <3 her channel is amazing :)

Hello all. Add Victober to my list of reasons to love fall... I love the Victorian sensibility. Perhaps i was born too late.... so excited to jump into some of my TBR. Most beloved Victorian novels on my shelf are North and South, Tess, and Anna Karenina. Can't wait to hear about yours!

Hello, I’m India. I’m from Alabama, US. I am so excited about Victober 2018! I participate every year. I look forward to the announcement, challenges, discussions, and TBRs!

Hi, I’m from California and have only read a few Victorians. I think I got turned off as I’m not a fan of the Brontes, any of them. (I can hear you all gasp). I just recently read North and South and absolutely adored it, so now I’m collecting some books to read for Victober.

I have to say I’m a little bit ignorant as far as other authors besides Dickens, Hardy, and Trollop! Hopefully somebody will take pity on me and suggest some others!

Edited to add: I do have Moonstone by Wilkie Collins which I think would qualify.

Hi, I'm Konstantion. I am a 14-year-old bookworm from Serbia. Although I don't really consider myself a book snob (and will read a thriller here and there), most of my favorites are labelled as either classics, literary or historical fiction. I have a sweet tooth for English history (1500s - 1800s), so this group just gets another plus!

I like Victorian literature (especially Gaskell, Eliot and Dickens), but have quite a few gaps in my reading (Anne Brontë, Hardy and Wilkie Collins to begin with), so I'm immensely looking forward to "Victober".

I discovered YouTube while searching reviews for "Our Mutual Friend", so Katie's video was the first one I watched and her channel the first one I've followed. (Also, sigh for you not getting along with Faber. ☹)

Hi I'm Jane, from Australia. Victober is one of my favourite reading months and I look forward to joining in.

Hello all, my name is Cynthia and I'm here in California. I have never participated in Victober before, but loved watching all the videos on Youtube. I've been following Katie forever and I'm currently doing her read along of Bleak House. So, I'm REALLY looking forward to this Victober!! I better start putting my TBR together!
I think Historical Fiction is my favorite, but I read a lot of other stuff, too.

Hey guys!
I’m Laura, I live in Sydney, and I absolutely adore the Victorian period! I’ve read a lot of non-fiction about the era, but strangely my foray into contemporary Victorian literature has been quite limited (a bit of Dickens and Gaskell, and lately Hugo too). I can’t wait to get started with you all!! My passion is the 18th Century, but I’m so ready to step more fully into the 19th - with my corset cinched and my bustle bustling!

Hi everyone! Thanks to Katie for already upping her Victober game and making it even more fun by making this group! I, like Katie, have been planning my TBR since last November - October and May used to tie for my favorite months but Victober makes it such an unfair contest. My absolute favorite is Elizabeth Gaskell but I also really enjoy many others such as the Bronte’s, Thomas Hardy, Anthony Trollope, Wilkie Collins, and 2 out of the 3 George Eliot I’ve read. I can’t wait to see everyone’s TBRs they come up with. Oh the fun we’re going to have!

Hi! I'm Marjoree from Peru :) and I'm very much excited to participate in this 2018 Victober, mainly because I've only read a very few victorians so I wanted to get started this year and this seems like the perfect opportunity :)

Hi! I'm Claudia and I'm excited to join Victober again! I can't wait what the challenges will be this year.

All this excitement is fuelling my excitement!

Hi Katie and Everybody!
Thank you for inviting me to the Victober group. I’m Bonnie and I also live in California. I’m looking forward to reading more Victorian literature. I have an old collection of Dickens Classic books (except two volumes (stories) are missing (they are bound to be at another family members home). I also have two very old Bronte books. Oh and I have a Wilkie Collins book in my TBR stack. I hope to learn about other Victorian authors and read their books too. Happy Reading everyone!

Hi! I'm Beatriz from Spain, I have participated in Victober both times before and I'm very much looking forward to this year and to the group reading. My favourite Victorian authors are Gaskell, the Brontes (all of them but I have a soft spot for Anne) and Hardy.

Hello,
I'm Linda and I'm originally from Michigan (50 years) and my family has lived around Kalamazoo for several generations. I have lived in England for nearly 20 years now and mostly love it.
I have always been drawn to Victorian literature, especially the Brontes and Dickens, both of which I begged for copies of and began reading when I was about 11.
Really looking forward to this group as some of my favourite book tubers are here.

Hi all! I'm Emma from the UK. I'm very excited to be part of this group. I'm a huge Brontë fan, and would love to read more Victorian literature. Looking forward to seeing what everyone else is reading 😊.

Hello all! October, to begin with, is my favourite month of the year and Victober makes it even more awesome. I read lots and lots of classics, especially Victorian ones. My favourite authors are Elizabeth Gaskell and Charlotte Brontë. I hope to get more into Dickens and Hardy this Victober and I have some exciting books I am hoping to get into!

I'm Katherine from the UK (Yorkshire) and I've not done Victober before. My first loves are Jacobean revenge tragedy, Restoration comedy and Jane Austen but I do like a good old Victorian doorstop now and again.

I think Trollope and Emily Brontë are my favourites but I also like Dickens, Gaskell and George Eliot.

My biggest Victorian weakness is Sherlock Holmes - I've read all the stories and novels several times over. As far as poetry goes I adore Gerard Manley Hopkins and some Tennyson.

Confession: I have yet to be convinced by Hardy. I was put off by reading Jude at an impressionable age but I think that I maybe wrote him off unfairly and I'm open to giving him a second chance.

Hi, I'm Ashley from Dublin (Ireland). I have not done Victober before, but I am excited. I adore Victorian literature and am looking forward to reading more.

My favourites are probably Dickens, or the Brontës. But I like a wide variety.

Hi, everyone! I'm Whitney, from North Carolina, USA. Im 27, have two wonderful children, and a fiance Ive been with for nearly ten years. I've been reading voraciously for nearly as long as I can remember, and I'm excited to dive into Victorian lit.

My name is Becky. I've been blogging at Becky's Book Reviews (https://blbooks.blogspot.com/) since August 2006. I love to read, and I do read widely--many genres and subgenres. But I love, love, love Victorian literature. I particularly love Anthony Trollope and Elizabeth Gaskell. For several years I've hosted a year-long Victorian challenge.

Hello All, I am Bree. I make YouTube videos @ Bree Hill and am a new romance blogger at www.fallingforromance.com

I am very new to classics, am still trying to find my way but I always look forward to Victober!


Can’t wait to chat with you all.

Hi all. IMy name is Helle and I'm from Denmark. I love Victorian literature but hasn't read any for a while. I have already been planning by tbr for some weeks and am super excited for Victober!

India wrote: "Hello, I’m India. I’m from Alabama, US. I am so excited about Victober 2018! I participate every year. I look forward to the announcement, challenges, discussions, and TBRs!"

I'm from Alabama as well!

Hi everyone, I'm Charlie, and it's been a long while since I last read Victorian literature, which is a shame because it is such a brilliant time in literary history. I was only thinking about Victober the other day so I'm quite looking forward to getting back into the swing of things.

Hi, I'm Becky. I've been watching Victober on Booktube since 2016, but this will be my first year participating. I have loved Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's works since my early teens, but only recently began exploring other Victorian authors. So far I find myself drawn to sensation, mystery, or Gothic novels and have enjoyed works by Bram Stoker, the Brontës, and Wilkie Collins.

Hi everyone, I'm matthew.blooking forward to reading some more Victorian fiction, and hoping there will be some crime novels in there to read...that is if we have to read from a limited selection!

Beatrice-Joanna wrote: "I'm Katherine from the UK (Yorkshire) and I've not done Victober before. My first loves are Jacobean revenge tragedy, Restoration comedy and Jane Austen but I do like a good old Victorian doorstop ..."

Katherine, I would recommend giving Hardy another try. My first Hardy was Tess and I didn't love it on a first read - it took me several years to discover how much I really love his books. I'd highly recommend Far From the Madding Crowd and the Woodlanders :)

Hi everyone, I am Carol from Ottawa (Canada). I am really looking forward to this reading challenge as I haven't read a classic in a very long time. Can't wait to start!

Matthew wrote: "Hi everyone, I'm matthew.blooking forward to reading some more Victorian fiction, and hoping there will be some crime novels in there to read...that is if we have to read from a limited selection!"

Matthew,
I hope you find some crime fiction from this era that you can enjoy! I think both The Woman in White and The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins are excellent along with Lady Audley's Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon. I'm hoping to get to Clara Vaughn by R. D. Blackmore this year and it looks to be a murder mystery of sorts.

Hi, I'm Ash and I'm looking forward to Victober. This is going to be my first experience with Victober, but I have high expectations for it because Victorian literature is my favorite.

Hi! I'm Ashleigh and I'm in the East of England! I have a mountainous stack of classics to read and after reading so many of them last year I've just not been in much of a mood for them this year - but Autumn is the season for classics for me!

My personal favourite Victorian author is George Eliott (though not Middlemarch!), but I have a special place in my heart for Anne Bronte. This Autumn I'm actually intending to get around to The Moonstone by Collins and maybe some more Dickens!

Katie wrote: Katherine, I would recommend giving Hardy another try. My first Hardy was Tess and I didn't love it on a first read - it took me several years to discover how much I really love his books. I'd highly recommend Far From the Madding Crowd and the Woodlanders :)

Yes, I know that I really should get over my irrational aversion. I've been thinking I ought to try again for some time but kept putting it off. I had thought FFTMC might be a good place to start, so thank you for your recommendation. I really want to like Hardy - I think maybe we just got off on the wrong foot. :)

Hello, I'm Bethany and my love for Victorian classics began in my teen years, reading absolutely anything by Dickens. So far, I've also fallen in love with books by Wilkie Collins, Charlotte Brontë, Elizabeth Gaskell, and Anthony Trollope. I'm looking forward to reading some books by Thomas Hardy this fall. Victober forever!

Hi, I'm Michelle and i'm from Brisbane, Australia. This will be my third year of participating in Victober. I enjoy reading Hardy, Gaskell, Trollope, Eliot, Dickens etc but this year i'm planning on reading some of the lesser read authors like Amy Levy, Fergus Hume, & Weedon Grossmith.

Katie wrote: "Let's start at the beginning... I'm Katie, one of your hosts (Books and Things on Youtube). I like Dickens and Gaskell and Hardy and Trollope and too many other Victorian writers to name. I am so e..."

Hi!
I'm Tanya, host of The Sampler Girl Knits & Reads, and last year was the first I'd heard/particpated in VICTOBER and it was such fun! I especially enjoyed AGNES GREY so I want to delve especially into more by Anne Bronte as well as Mrs. Oliphant's works.

Hi everyone! I'm Samantha, and I'm from the Twin Cities in Minnesota. I took a class for my English degree on detective literature in the Victorian era which I found to be so interesting. Wilkie Collins, Lady Audley's Secret and, of course, Sherlock Holmes are my jam! This year I have a Wilkie Collins I've been saving for Victober, but I'd also like to maybe dip my toes into some Dickens, as I've only read Tale of Two Cities (which was great). His books always seem intimidating, but I know so many people love them!

Samantha wrote: "Hi everyone! I'm Samantha, and I'm from the Twin Cities in Minnesota. I took a class for my English degree on detective literature in the Victorian era which I found to be so interesting. Wilkie Co..."

If you like Wilkie Collins, maybe try Dickens's Bleak House - it may be a bit huge and intimidating, but like Collins often does Dickens does interesting things with structure and perspective in this book, and there are a lot of mysteries and even a detective :)

Is there a murder mystery in Martin Chuzzlewit? :)

Konstantin wrote: "Is there a murder mystery in Martin Chuzzlewit? :)"

Sort of... Perhaps a little one!

Hi i'm Milly from the UK so am loving this/ am eager to read some more Victorian authers! i'v read some Dickens including Bleak House, Great Expectations, Nicholas Nickelby and David Copperfield as well as from the Brontes Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre, i'v also read all of Oscar Wilde and most of Edgar Allen Poe (does he count as a Victorian writer?). I am not a massive crime/detective/ horror fan, more of a fantasy/ sci fi/weird fiction fan also love biting social commentary eg. Dickens. I'v added the Egoist and am thinking Vanity Fair as well but would love to hear any suggestions.

Millystargirl wrote: "Hi i'm Milly from the UK so am loving this/ am eager to read some more Victorian authers! i'v read some Dickens including Bleak House, Great Expectations, Nicholas Nickelby and David Copperfield as..."

Eager Allan Poe's American, so wouldn't count as Victorian (for Victober, we go by the definition of British or Irish, 1837-1901). If you enjoy science fiction, do give H.G. Wells a shot! On the more social commentary line, I'd recommend Gaskell, especially North and South.

Millystargirl wrote: "Hi i'm Milly from the UK so am loving this/ am eager to read some more Victorian authers! i'v read some Dickens including Bleak House, Great Expectations, Nicholas Nickelby and David Copperfield as..."

I always recommend Elizabeth Gaskell! I think North and South or Wives and Daughters would be a great place to start.

Katie wrote: "Millystargirl wrote: "Hi i'm Milly from the UK so am loving this/ am eager to read some more Victorian authers! i'v read some Dickens including Bleak House, Great Expectations, Nicholas Nickelby an..."

In response to your second comment - we're going to have several "challenges" if those interest you - they will be fairly flexible and you can pick books that suit your specific interests for those. We're also planning on doing a group read for those interested so keep a lookout for a poll on Katie's social media for what author people are interested in reading together.

Hi I'm Saranya from India. I love Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre is my favorite. This is my first ever Victober, really excited and looking forward for the challanges.

Hi :D My name is Nada ("Dew" in Arabic not "nothing" in Spanish xD). I'm 22 years old and books are my one true love! I love reading classics, literary fiction, literary historical fiction, cozy mysteries, history, children's and middle grade stories, high fantasy, social and political philosophy, science....almost anything as long as it sounds interesting to me, though I don't usually tend to read much science fiction or apocalyptic books. I have been unable to participate in Victober 2016-7 because I was too busy with university but now I'm free and cannot wait for the readalong to begin! So far I've read only Dickens, the Brontës, Oscar Wilde and Elizabeth Gaskell, though I've read books by other non British authors from the same time period. I hope Victober will give me the chance to finally get around to reading authors whose books have been on my TBR forever, especially Trollope. And who knows maybe I'll even conquer my fear of Thomas Hardy. In any case I'm so very excited for my very first Victober experience and am very much looking forward to getting to know all the amazing fellow participants :D