DickensInSeptember

The Unquiet Dead: A Novel | Ausma Zehanat Khan

It‘s time to begin this month‘s #Whodunituk selection.

The book‘s summary sounds fascinating. Thanks so much for selecting it, @ScorpioBookDreams , & for administering our club. Thanks for sending it on to me, @DeborahSmall , along with the lovely chocolate, which is long gone! It all arrived after I returned from Poland, and as I was working on #DickensInSeptember I‘m starting this a bit late. It‘ll be on its way to you soon, @Caroline2 !

Melissa_J I loved that book! 6y

Caroline2 Oh exciting! No rush tho so don‘t worry! 😉 6y

MallenNC I love that series! 6y

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ScorpioBookDreams Hope you enjoy it! 6y

DGRachel I love this series! Enjoy!! 6y

Libby1 @Melissa_J , @Caroline2 , @MallenNC , @ScorpioBookDreams , @DGRachel - oh, good heavens above, I love it so far! 6y

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Libby1

The Old Curiosity Shop | Charles Dickens

so-so

This book played like a twisted fantasy from the mind of the author. The book itself is like a shop displaying its curiosities, which in this case, are characters that are so completely good or evil that they cannot be real.

I‘ll select one character to make a point. Sally Brass is portrayed as being as smart as a man, and daring to function in the male sphere of law. She is ugly, mean, and ‘unnatural‘. Dickens has a serious problem with women👇

Libby1 Continued - There is a darkness in this book which I think is the author‘s attempt at working through grief. There is also some thinly veiled anti-semitism and an inability to create complex female characters. The book is like an allegory, and while it is the work of a master, I feel almost disturbed after finishing it. I‘ve never experienced this with one of his books before. There is one scene with a factory worker that shines with beauty. 6y

Libby1 #DickensInSeptember 6y

BarbaraBB How many Dickens‘ have you read? 6y

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Libby1 Hi, @BarbaraBB ! This is the 11th Dickens novel I‘ve read. I had already experienced some of the issues I noted in other books, but for some reason they felt more stark in this one. Maybe I‘m just in a particularly bad mood at the moment? That is completely possible! I love his work: the heart for social justice, the keen eye on social conditions, the humour. For some reason the contrast between female characters was so stark I became annoyed. 6y

BarbaraBB I think you are a real expert on Dickens after reading 11 of his novels. You are probably right in what you think. Impressive! 6y

Libby1 @BarbaraBB - not an expert at all! I‘m sure many people love this book but there were underlying themes I found to be sinister. Dickens may have been a social justice campaigner, but his record of anti-Semitism is appalling. I felt one particularly odious character was hinted vaguely as being Jewish. It bothered me, & when I looked into it the commentary on this came from white supremacists. Made me feel ill and may be the cause of my discomfort. 6y

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Libby1

The Old Curiosity Shop | Charles Dickens

One of the joys of reading #DickensInSeptember is discovering the seriously odd names in his books.

Last year in Barnaby Rudge the winner of the Weird Name Contest was Simon Tappertit.

Dick Swiveller takes the cake.

#ReadingTheClassics

Tanisha_A 😂 6y

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @KVanRead it‘s another one for the #Spankle list! 😂. Although honestly this one might be the best! (edited) 6y

Riveted_Reader_Melissa I think the funniest I found wasn‘t one of his weird names, but I definitely laughed when Michael Jackson made an appearance in Bleak House 6y

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EchoLogical 🤣 6y

TrishB 😂😂 6y

Velvetfur 'Dick Swiveller takes the cake' sounds like a 'specialist interest film'! 😂😂 6y

Zelma @Velvetfur 😮😂 I am loving the idea of a whole series of “special interest” films using Dickens character names. And even using Dickens in the series name would open a lot of options. #LitsyAfterDark. 😆 6y

Velvetfur @Zelma Hahaha! I think we're on a roll now...! 6y

Eggs 😂😂😂 6y

AJones 🤣 6y

Libby1 @Velvetfur and @Zelma “special interest films”? 🤣🤣🤣 6y

Libby1 @Tanisha_A , @EchoLogical , @TrishB , @Eggs , @AJones - my first thought was, “SERIOUSLY?!?!?!” 6y

Libby1 @Riveted_Reader_Melissa and @KVanRead - I missed this #Spankle list! What‘s the origin of the name. Yes, I too remember Michael Jackson incongruously moonwalking his way into that scene in Bleak House! 6y

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Libby1

The Old Curiosity Shop | Charles Dickens

Each September I choose a book written by Charles Dickens. #DickensInSeptember has been a tradition for me for the last 7 or 8 years. I was only able to start reading this one a week ago, but as the napkin says, “Better latte than never”!

Do you have any annual reading traditions?

#ReadingTheClassics

Prairiegirl_reading Since I visited New Orleans in 2015 I read at least one book set in or about the city in April, which was the month we went. I really loved it there. 😄 6y

KarouBlue Out curiosity (hey! Ba dum bum) Why September? 😜 6y

Libby1 @Prairiegirl_reading - great idea! Which books set in NOLA would you recommend? A Confederacy if Dunces is in my TBR. Have you read it? 6y

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Libby1 @MellieAntoinete - good question! I just decided that Dickens felt autumnal! I have this weird thing about reading books in certain seasons. It stems from when I tried to start reading Wuthering Heights on a sunny June day. Nope. 6y

Prairiegirl_reading @Libby1 I have that one on my tbr too. I thought Zeitoun by Dave Eggers was super interesting. About a Muslim man living in the city during Katrina and what happened to him. I have a whole shelf of Nola related stuff, enough for a few Aprils anyway! Lol! 6y

Libby1 That is fantastic, @Prairiegirl_reading . I love that. I visited NOLA when I was 12 and it made a huge impact on me. As a midwestern girl, it was the first place I‘d visited that felt vaguely European to me. It made me want to go to Europe as soon as possible. 6y

KarouBlue @Libby1 OMG book kismet here! Totally feel the same! 6y

Prairiegirl_reading @Libby1 I loved it so much! I loved the vibe but also the history. Although I spent most of my time in the French quarter so not the more troubled neighbourhoods. I want to go back very badly. I would love to go to Europe but I don‘t think I could manage the flight! Not a good flyer. 6y

Libby1 @MellieAntoinete - glad I‘m not alone in that! My husband thinks it‘s awfully funny. 6y

Libby1 @Prairiegirl_reading - don‘t let that fear of flying hold you back! I hope you get here some day. I moved to Northern Ireland 18 years ago. 😃 6y

Prairiegirl_reading @Libby1 it‘s fear which I can control but it‘s also my ear, which I can‘t. 😕 I hope to get there too! What made you move to Ireland? 6y

Libby1 @Prairiegirl_reading - oh no about your ear. 😟 I came to NI to study for a masters and then stayed. A perk of living here is that when possible I‘m able to travel to a diversity of places so easily. I‘m really grateful. 6y

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Libby1

Barnaby Rudge | Dickens Charles

My Dickens Read 2017 has been selected!

Each year for the last number of years I've chosen a Dickens novel to read every September. I may not finish it this month but I will try.

Do you have any bookish routines or traditions?

I was sold on this one by the blurb on the back cover that calls it "a powerful, disturbing blend of historical realism and Gothic melodrama".

Bring it ON!

#ReadingTheClassics
#DickensInSeptember

TobeyTheScavengerMonk Horror all October long and a Doctor Who novel every November. 7y

batsy Ooh that does sound good! Both the book and the tradition! 7y

Hoopiefoot I read Steinbeck every year in November for some reason. 7y

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awishman I reread Pride and Prejudice every new year! 7y

Notafraidofwords I've never read dickens. I'm intimidated. 7y

Libby1 @Notafraidofwords - I can understand that. I like him but his stuff can be a bit heavy. If you're ever tempted to try him I'd recommend A Christmas Carol first. Happy reading! 😃

A Christmas Carol

Libby1 @awishman - that's fun! Do you read it at any particular time of year? 7y

Libby1 @Hoopiefoot - I may make November my month for Steinbeck, too! Great idea. I've only read of Mice and Men and The Pearl so far so there are many left to choose from. 7y

Libby1 That's fun, @TobeyTheScavengerMonk ! I've not read any Doctor Who novels. Do you have a favourite? 7y

Libby1 Thanks, @batsy ! ⭐️ 7y

awishman @Libby1 it's always January 1st-ish. It's always the first book I finish every year. 7y

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