Dickensians! discussion

Welcome to the "Dickensians!" group. Please tell us a little about yourself here, so we can get to know you :)

I'm Jean, your moderator, and I love all sorts of reading, especially anything by Charles Dickens, who is my favourite author. I live in the South of England, am married and used to teach in inner city schools. I'm a "cancer warrior", having given cancer the boot 3 times so far. As well as books, I love animals and nature, Art, Music, crystals and anything purple. We've had lots of pets - dogs, cats and guinea pigs - and at the moment are waiting for our new rescue dog to arrive from Romania.

Hi, I'm Rosemarie. I'm a retired teacher and love to read long books, short books and everything in between!
I live in Toronto and am so glad both my daughters and grandkids live in the same city.
I enjoy travelling and reading books about travel too.

Welcome Rosemarie! It's great to see you here, making the first comment in our group! I love your description of loving to read "long books, short books and everything in between!" A mantra for us all, perhaps :)

Hi everyone and thank you for the invitation Jean! I'm Sue, from the south west coast of England.

I'm retired now, but worked in finance most of my life. I still like the logic and order which drew me to that field - I think that's why I love detective novels so much. (To give you an idea of what I mean, we had a move around of some furniture this week and I spent far too long this afternoon arranging my books just so, taking into account the subject, the size and yes, even the colour!)

I dipped my toe into the Dickens world last year, when I read Bleak House. I really enjoyed it, although I found it a challenge as it's such a long book. I think it would be fun to read Dickens with other people. I'd be interested to pick other people's brains about the author, the books and the general world he lived in and wrote about.

Jean it's a great idea to have a new reading project given that life for many people is a bit odd at the moment. It's something to focus on, something positive and productive. I'm looking forward to it!

Hi Sue and it's lovely to see you here too. Welcome!

Ah I'm not surprised you chose Bleak House, as a lover of mysteries. It's quite complex, having several plots running concurrently - and quite a few mystery elements too, as you'll know :) And one of the first ever fictional police detectives, Inspector Bucket.

Charles Dickens seemed to get more and more keen on mysteries as he got older, and his later novels are packed with them, so I hope you enjoy it here.

Thanks for the welcome, Jean. I would have responded sooner but I forgot to click on group notifications.
I've been reading a Dickens novel a year for the past few years, but last year I discovered his shorter works, including the ghost stories. They're fun.

Oh definitely! He loved his ghosts, sprites and fairies, and they even creep into his main novels too :D

Hi, my name is esraa ,Iam studying veterinary medicine,i love reading all kind of books also i enjoy travelling ,my home country is Egypt.

Hi, Israa!

Hi Israa, and welcome to "Dickensians!" I am pleased you found us, and hope you like the group :)

I do admire the work vets do, and know you have several years study for it.

Thanks.
yes we must study for 5 years before we are able to work.

Hello, my name is Petra and I live in Western Canada, just outside of Vancouver.

I am a retired Biomedical Engineering Technologist, a fancy name for those who maintain, calibrate and repair the equipment used on patients in the hospital. I loved my career. It was interesting, vibrant and the people who work in hospitals (in all capacities) are a close group.
I am now enjoying retirement to the fullest. I practice Tai-Chi (the exercise in the park kind, not the martial arts kind), have started wood carving, garden, jog.
I am married to a wonderful man, who has also just retired. We hope to include a bit of travel in our lives at some point.

I'm looking forward to exploring Dickens with everyone here.

Israa wrote: "Hi, my name is esraa ,Iam studying veterinary medicine,i love reading all kind of books also i enjoy travelling ,my home country is Egypt."

Israa, I wanted to be a veterinarian when I was young. I'm so glad you have this opportunity to study it. What a wonderful career you have ahead of you. Good luck in your studies.
Egypt is my dream vacation spot. I hope to make it there one day.

Hi, Petra.
I lived in B.C. back in 1979-1980. I remember how soon spring came there compared to Toronto, our starting and return point. We've been back since 1986.

Petra wrote: "Israa wrote: "Hi, my name is esraa ,Iam studying veterinary medicine,i love reading all kind of books also i enjoy travelling ,my home country is Egypt."

Israa, I wanted to be a veterinarian when ..."

this is such a lovely feeling u give to me, and i hope u can come to eg one day so i can meet u.
Thanks Petra

Rosemarie, Spring has sprung here. It's beautiful right now.

Israa, that would be wonderful. I'd love a meet-up one day. I do hope it happens.

Hi All! Thanks for the invite, Jean! I'm from western New York state and my background is in math and epidemiology but I left the medical field 5 years ago (gosh, I wonder what life would be like right now if I hadn't!). I now work at my local library and am the mother of two wonderful teenagers, one in college and one in high school. I love to read a wide variety of books! As long as they are well-written and engaging, I'm usually a fan :)

Jean, thanks for the invitation to join this group! (I already belonged to 13 Goodreads groups that are actually real book discussion groups (as well as four that aren't); but I figured it couldn't hurt to join one more just to get off of that ill-omened number. :-)

My name's Werner (if you haven't guessed, Jean and I are Goodreads friends!). I'm one of the librarians at a Baptist college in the mountains of southwestern Virginia, where I've been since 1992 (though I was born and raised in the American Midwest). This year, my wife and I will celebrate our 40th anniversary; we have three daughters (all married) and six grandkids. Dickens is an author I count as a favorite, and that I discovered as a grade-school kid; but there's still a LOT of his work that I haven't read.

Most likely, I won't join in very many of the common reads in this group. (I'm an avid reader; but I don't get very much time to read, and I have nearly 400 books on my to-read shelf already.) But there's a long list of Dickens books that I still want to read (or reread), so I may take part sometimes!

Hi Petra, and I'm so pleased you joined us here :) It sounds as though you have made retirement exactly as it should be, which is especially admirable as you enjoyed your job so much. Perhaps you can give a few tips for getting through these tough times of social distancing!

Enjoy the group!

Israa - I wanted to be a vet too, when I was a little girl, but my parents advised against it as they know I would get too upset. (They were right.) That is why I am in awe of people like you, Israa, because you too will love and care about animals, yet you can put emotions and too much personal feeling aside, and do the right things for them :)

Hi Candi and welcome to "Dickensians!" I'm really pleased you decided to join, as I know you too are a busy person! I hope you like it here, and find lots to join in with. Charles Dickens certainly does know how to write well, I think :)

Hi Werner, and I'm delighted that you joined "Dickensians!", as I am with all the new members who have found the group so quickly. I did wonder, since you are in so many groups as you say. But then Dickens is special :) Plus we all need to give ourselves a little treat - something new -while we are in lockdown. And then there's that "unlucky" number LOL ;)

Everything here is optional, so just join in wherever you like, and have fun!

Hi everyone. Thanks for the invite, Jean : )

I live in the United States. Retired. Love to read and love animals. Right now, I only have an elderly cat.

Edit: I have read A Christmas Carol and a couple of short stories by Charles Dickens but nothing else. I always meant to read more, so I will see how this goes.

Hi Debra and welcome to the group! I do hope you'll join in - our first group read of David Copperfield would be ideal for you, I think! But not to worry if you don't fancy it, as nothing is mandatory.

I love cats too :) We let one have kittens once - and kept all of them (except my parents had one, and their neighbours another, so we could keep track of them!) Another time we inherited 3 from a friend who died, even though we had 2 already! We haven't had one for several years now though, and do miss them, especially Chris (my husband). I have to watch him where we're out and about, in case he slips one under his jacket! ;)

Hello Jean and everyone, I'm excited to join a new Dickens group - he has been my favourite author for nearly 50 years, but over the last few years I haven't read him as much as in the past. I have read all the novels several times each and have been concentrating on other authors recently - so it would be great to get back to Dickens with David Copperfield.

I live in Ipswich, a good Dickens location as we have the Great White Horse Hotel here, featured in Pickwick Papers.

Hey Judy! How lovely to see you here! I know you are really keen on Dickens :) I shall be picking your brains as to locations, when some pop up that are able to be identified. We live near the "Maypole Inn" described at the beginning of Barnaby Rudge - it's just a few minutes' drive down the road. I've never been to Ipswich, but know two people whose other halves coincidentally live there - very odd!

I hope you enjoy the group :)

Bionic Jean wrote: "It sounds as though you have made retirement exactly as it should be, which is especially admirable as you enjoyed your job so much. Perhaps you can give a few tips for getting through these tough times of social distancing!..."

Gosh, I'm winging this as we go along.
I'm a bit of an introvert, so time on my own is something I can navigate.....up to a point. I also enjoy being around people.
As luck has it, I have a couple of phone numbers of Tai-Chi and carving groups members. I touch base with them, my friends, the neighbours (especially those who live alone) on a regular basis. I call, email or text someone every day to keep a rotation going. I think it's important to keep that contact, even if I am not seeing them in person.

Today is my brother's birthday and we can't be together. We usually travel to Vancouver Island to spend the day or weekend with him & family. I anticipated that his choice of dinner would be sweet & sour pork (his favorite) and cooked up a batch yesterday. Sure enough, he is having S&S pork for dinner tonight.....and so are we, He also chose a pound cake for his birthday cake, which his wife baked him. So, we also now have a pound cake in the oven for dessert. It's not much but it's a way of sharing the experience of his birthday together in these separate times.

As for each day, we try to plan something different each day to give some variation. I go running 3 times a week, practice Tai-Chi a couple of times, carve once or twice, read (I do this every day). I will start a knitted afghan as soon as I choose a pattern. I signed up for a free course through Yale University (just signed up....haven't started the course yet. LOL).
Then there's sodoku and crossword puzzles, mahjong and solitaiare (on the computer; most Microsoft programs have these in their programs).

Every day has been active and goes by quickly. Would I like to go out more and meet with people? Yes, but in these times, virtual is best.
As the weather gets warmer, I will make arrangements to meet a friend (one at a time) in a park and visit (at a social distance) for a short while. It's not the same as sitting side by side or across a small coffee shop table, but it is a face-to-face contact meeting, which will be nice.
UV light can kill this virus, so Summer could be our friend, as long as we remain socially distanced. :D

So my suggestions would be to follow up on things that interest you, keep contact in every way possible with family & friends, help a neighbour who is alone, try something new, bring out those dusty hobbies. If my eyesight were better I'd bring out the largest and hardest jig-saw puzzle I could find. That would be great fun.

Also, reach out to everyone here. I think that by keeping connected and thinking of others keeps us grounded, as well as filling our days in ways that make us smile and feel better about our circumstances.

Jean, I meant to ask: you're getting a rescue dog from Romania?! That's terrific! When does he/she arrive? How exciting!

Thanks for the invitation to join, Jean.

This is my fourth reading group and my second Dickens group. I look forward to participating. Although I am under a shelter in place order in New Jersey, I must admit to feeling rather behind in my reading. I’ve enjoyed Charles Dickens as far back as my memory takes me.

Petra, there are some great suggestions for everyone to pick and choose there! Thank you. I especially like the idea of coordinating your meals, so that it feels as though you are sharing it virtually, if you are not able to do so in person, such as now.

Oh our rescue dog is put on hold, as they cannot send him, nor can our country receive him, until this virus is over. It's quite a saga, in fact. We are very sad, as we chose him ages ago, but he had been so traumatised that he could not trust anyone enough to accept a lead. We have waited, and kept faith with him, and they send us little videos, but it is so hard. He's a lovely collie-type dog, and has done nothing to deserve the terrifying memories in his mind. We just want to give him a few happy years and not give up on him.

Hi John, and welcome to the "Dickensians!" I'm so pleased you found us, as I know you really like Charles Dickens too :) I hope you enjoy it here!

I'm in the same position as you, in that I'm not allowed out of the house (except for my little garden) for 12 weeks. It's a bit grim, isn't it? And like you, I'm finding that it isn't really turning out as I thought. In my case I am still reading, but getting so very behind with my reviews. I think I have 5 to write now :( But I have no complaints of course really, as medics etc., are just trying to keep me safe. Many folk are not so lucky.

Jean, I hope he finds his way to you soon. He sounds like a dog who needs a bit of love and a good hug. You and hubby are dears for taking him in. Will he be ready to travel when this travel restrictions are lifted or does he have more rehab before he can travel?

I've been thinking lately of life in the homesteading days. Everyone in that time was isolated, too. Imagine being on one's own with only chores to do! LOL! Day after day of chopping firewood, darning & sewing, cooking, milking the cows. Few (or no books), no internet, no puzzles, no one to reach out to...… we've got it lucky.

Being in the house for 12 weeks is daunting. You have great spirit, Jean, and will see your way. The garden is a lovely retreat. Can you make a project out of one small corner? Something not too strenuous that you've been meaning to get to for some time now? How about painting a few rocks to decorate the garden? Enamel paints and brushes and a spray finish would be available on-line. Rocks are in the garden......at least, they are in mine.....never a shortage. LOL

Petra - He had just been outside, and was keen to follow his carers, which is good, but so far is not really ready, as he is mistrustful of anything near his head.

Yes indeed, we are all looking for ways of entertaining ourselves, forgetting the drudgery of earlier generations, working at chores all the time!

Thank you, the garden is a project! Chris just pulled out some firethorn - which I'd said we should allow to flower and then pull up :( Talking at cross purposes. It's difficult to get plants at the moment, though we have some geraniums in the house which we overwintered. A splash of colour to come.

I talked to my little cousin on the phone the other day, She is 4, and had been to the beach (near their house) with her dad to get some pebbles to paint. Then they will leave them to be found. I love this idea. It must be exhausting dealing with young children with no respite though, especially when you are nearly 60, as he is.

Off to bed now :) Thank you everyone for getting this group off to such a grand start on its first day.

Oh, the poor dog! I'm so glad he's been removed from the circumstances that have made him so unsure of people. He'll find so much love with you and Chris.

I've heard of the rock painting-and-leaving project. I haven't come across any painted rocks on my jogs but it would be fun to find one.

Sleep well.

Bionic Jean wrote: "Hi Werner, and I'm delighted that you joined "Dickensians!", as I am with all the new members who have found the group so quickly. I did wonder, since you are in so many groups as you say. But then..."

Thanks, Jean! :-)

Hi, Jean -- Thank you for the invite to join this group and so glad to accept! As you know, but others may not, I am a retired nurse living in Las Vegas, married for over 50 years! with 3 grown sons, two grandchildren (who live in Australia), and share our home with our rescue cat, Brandy. It has been a while since reading Dickens - which is shameful as I was an English major in school. Looking forward to re-reading David Copperfield with the group and more of Dickens' works. As with John, this is my 2nd Dickens group and I am originally from New Jersey

Yay! This group already makes me happy :)
Dickens is tied for my favorite author (although I’m embarrassed I haven’t read all his works).

Hello fellow fans, I’m Allie from Michigan. I’m single with no children so I can read pretty much whenever I want and prefer it all that way. Although I do have a niece and nephew who are the loves of my life :)

Since this seems to be a group of not only Dickens devotees but animal lovers too, I’ll let you know I was into animal rescue for over 10 years. Had to stop 5 years ago when I moved into my current apartment because I’m not paying the prices for having animals so no fostering or keeping animals I rescue here. I do however have a cat that’s living his 21st year! He lives here incognito so shhh! It’s a secret lol.

Looking forward to rereading some of my most favorite books (and getting to some new ones for the first time)!

Hello all, and thank you for the invite Jean. My name is Sara, I live in Virginia currently, but I will always be a Georgia girl. I am delighted to find I already have a number of friends in the group. I love both Dickens and anything Victorian, so the group is a perfect fit for me. I am working my way through Dickens' novels, reading some I had missed and others that are always worth visiting again. I am doing it at the rate of two a year, but this group might help me speed up my progress.

Thank you for the lovely invitation, Jean. This will be another great way to keep busy and connect with people while we are socially distancing during the virus scare. I'm from the state of Connecticut in the northeastern US. I'm retired from working in healthcare, married with two adult daughters. It's been a long time since I've read Dickens so this will be a real treat.

Hello everyone, I'm Pamela from England. I saw some of my good GR friends heading for this group so I thought I'd come along too!

I'm newly retired after working in IT for many years and then taking a Master's in Translation, I'm also a dog person devoted to my crazy beagle, and I really love the 19th century classics. I've read most of Dickens' work, some novels twice, but David Copperfield is one I haven't yet read in its entirety (we often had to read and comment on extracts from it at school!)

Looking forward to discussing Dickens with this group, it looks like it will be fun!

How lovely it is to find that so many members have joined overnight! (for me, anyway) And that several are friends already. That is such a good start, 20 members in the first day. Thanks for giving it a whirl :)

Welcome Elizabeth! It's lovely to see you here, and I'm delighted to know you'll be joining in with our group read of David Copperfield. If you need your interest in Charles Dickens rekindling, this is the place to be! And I'm sure his writing in that novel is so entertaining that it will do that all by itself :)

Hi Allie, and welcome to "Dickensians!" It sounds as though the group is just your cup of tea - and I'm glad being here makes you happy, as it makes me feel excited too :)

Oh my goodness, there's no need to feel embarrassed at not reading all of Charles Dickens ... I know you're a big fan! Hopefully we can even welcome some readers who have never read a single one, but are keen :) How lovely it will be when they see how he can write!

I think perhaps you mean his novels? I wish I had a "new" one to read - but then you see something "new" in a way, every time you read one again :) Then there are all his short pieces, both fiction and factual, all his letters, all the biographies ... It's a lifetime's work really. (Though far more fun than work :))

Aw, your lovely elderly cat sounds as if he has a charmed life - and is very lucky! We got into animal rescuing big time years ago, (not so much now) and at one time had 25 guinea pigs, all living indoors with us away from Mr. Fox LOL!

Hi Sara, and I'm so glad you've joined us too! I know how much you love Charles Dickens, and have been following all your reads of his novels :) I too count him and Thomas Hardy as two of my favourite authors, so I was amazed to see that you do as well! Largely because they are so very different, aren't they - like chalk and cheese - and I thought it was a bit eccentric and inexplicable of me to like both.

I'm looking forward very much to your contributions, and hope you like it here :)

Hi Connie: another friend to join us :) Welcome to "Dickensians!" Yes, it's a good time to start a new group, isn't it?

You know, if I'm reading other authors for a while, and don't read anything by Charles Dickens, when I return to his books, it is such a joy! I forget just how entertaining they are. I do hope you find it a treat too. It's so great to have company to share your thoughts, especially when you are reading a classic.

And David Copperfield has so many wonderful characters. I hope you can be a part of that read :)

Hi Pamela, it's really nice to meet you. And especially so as you are English like me! I too am pretty amazed that so many friends are already here, and hope that anyone I don't know, will soon feel at home :)

I like the idea of a "crazy beagle" LOL! We've always had border collIes, as I did when I was a child, but I love all dogs :) And cats. And ...

Isn't it great that the one book by Charles Dickens that you've never read right through, happens to be our first read! In a way it's even better when you know bits - or recognise something from a film adaptation - as then it's familiar, plus there's even more to enjoy. I hope you enjoy "Dickensians!"

Hi Jean, thank you for the welcome - I will try my best to help with locations! Lovely to see that so many people have joined the group. Looking forward to rereading David Copperfield.

On the animal theme, I am a cat lover but haven't had one for a few years. I just need to persuade my husband. :)

Judy wrote: "Lovely to see that so many people have joined the group ..."

Yes, my hope for the first week (20) was filled in a day :) I was thinking we need a core for a good group read - and for polls to be meaningful.

I'm so glad you will also be reading David Copperfield. Now about the cat. Is presenting him with a fait accompli an option? I mean, who could resist? ;)

How can life without a cat be purrfect? Give him that winning smile and give a needy animal a home.

Hi Jean, many thanks for the invite to join this group.
Firstly I have to say, and please forgive me although I have watched many BBC adaptations of Dickens (over many years), I have to say with the exception of A Christmas Carol I have never read any Dickens.
Like Jean and a few other members, I am English (a Londoner), I retired from my IT job at 50 and set up my own one man gardening business. After spending 5 years living in France we moved to the Midlands (where my wife's family are) and now live in the historic town of Ironbridge (our sons now live in London (x2) and Berlin).
We rescued 4 cats in France and paid a fortune to get them back to the UK, but hey ho. Unfortunately we now have only two of them left (the two we have said goodbye to are those in my avatar).

Anyway with the exception recently of the BBC Dickensian program and Bleak House (Gillian Anderson), I am a real novice, but will certainly be joining in.

Thanks again Jean