The Old Curiosity Club discussion
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Oh no! I knew he had allergies but f..."
Luckily, it's not the whole animal kingdom. He can get along with dogs, which is good for my father has got a dog, and the dog and my two children are best friends.
My son is also very partial to roastbeef, fried chicken and grilled lamb chops - which also happen to be my favourite animals.
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You would probably have sprayed all the curtains with Pam on the theory that the ..."
If I had a cat, and if I had thought of it, that does sound like it just may work. I have to think of something else to spray on them just in case the Pam didn't work.
Mod
When I see how my neighbour is already coming back from walking his dog when I get up in the morning, I feel that I am just not the right person for a dog :-)
Tristram wrote: " I feel that I am just not the right person for a dog"Ladies and Gentlemen, I believe we've found Tristram's flaw! (That, and the whole Little Nell/ice water in the veins thing. :-) )
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When I see how my neighbour is already coming back from walking his dog when I get up in the morn..."
Poor, poor children, who can't have a dog and have a teacher for a parent.
Today, August 13th, is International Lefthander's Day.So for any of my fellow lefty Curiosities, happy lefty day.
As a fellow lefthander...Happy Lefthander's Day to you John.
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Oh, and have a happy day left handed or not. Which got me thinking, my former father-in-law was left handed, unfortunately for him it wasn't allowed to be left handed so they made him write with his right hand all through his school years. Why, I can't imagine.
My Mother was made to do this too Kim. Fortunately the powers that be left me alone.
Kim wrote: "I have to look up sometime how many special days we have, I always mean to and I always forget.Oh, and have a happy day left handed or not. Which got me thinking, my former father-in-law was left..."
Leila wrote: "My Mother was made to do this too Kim. Fortunately the powers that be left me alone."
I had the good fortune and family not have that happen to me, but I did see it happen with others. I think a lot of it was old beliefs about lefthanders. But I daresay that if it happened to me, it would have made for great difficulty to adjust.
The odd thing, when I look at extended family out to second cousins, I am the only lefthander in what amounts to about 50-60 people. I have 12 first cousins, no lefties, and then with their kids, still no lefties. And none in the immediate family, not brother, parents, or grandparents.
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https://www.daysoftheyear.com/
(this is Afternoon Tea Week; tomorrow will be Relaxation Day; etc.)
http://www.holidayinsights.com/moreho...
(this is Admit You're Happy month; today is National Creamsicle Day
https://trackmaven.com/blog/national-...
(this is National Eye Exam month; this is Feeding Pets of the Homeless week;)
Enjoy!
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I like the relaxation day one though. None of these show up on any of my calendars.
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That's because you only allow Christmas calendars in your house. Minimum of four per room, is what I hear.
It's the same in my family and extended family John... Apart from my Mother, I am the only left hander. I have often wondered what it is that causes someone to be left handed. Because my Mother was forced to use her right hand to write she eventually became ambi-dextrous. I was trained to use a knife and fork as all you right-handers do but I use a spoon in my left hand. In all ways I favour my left hand. My left hand is stronger than my right hand. Also I favour my left foot...to kick a ball for example. Strange?
Leila wrote: "It's the same in my family and extended family John... Apart from my Mother, I am the only left hander. I have often wondered what it is that causes someone to be left handed. Because my Mother was..."Leila, it does not sound strange to me at all. The lefthandedness is quirky. I have read several books about lefthanders and also am on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Lefthanded Golfers. We've been around since 1934 and have about 500 members.
I do things mostly lefthanded, but for some odd reason play the guitar righthanded. It sometimes gets tough to figure out the quirks.
There are some very odd statistical aberrations when it comes to lefties. For example, although 10 percent of the population is lefthanded, 80 percent of the men who went to the moon were lefthanded. Maybe we just like the space exploration more!
Hi John, well there you have some interesting information I didn't know about. Actually I play the guitar lefthanded too and my son has had to alter the strings for me each time I bought a new one one.Do you know it never occurred to me that golfers favour either the left or right hand when playing golf.
With regard to statistics... although I knew the approximate percentage of lefthanders as opposed to righthanders, I knew nothing about the statistics re the men who have gone to the moon. If more women eventually also travel into space it will be interesting to see if the same percentages apply.
I still wonder about why some of us are lefthanded but most are righthanded. I was the only lefthander in my class at school.
I recently discovered a group of lefthanders online and decided to join. However when the newsletters began to come they were mostly all about buying special tools to help lefthanders so to be honest I lost interest. I have managed ok without gadgets all my life so I'm not especially keen on spending any of my rather small pension on them now. LOL.
Have a good day.
Hello! I am an avid reader and Dickens is one of my favorite authors. As a precocious child, who almost always read books that were meant for more mature readers, I picked up A Tale of Two Cities on my 10th or 11th birthday. That was my first Dickens and he has been one of my favorite authors since.
Paperbackreader wrote: "Hello! ..."Welcome, Paperbackreader! (May I call you PBR for short?). I am awed by your precociousness if you read TOTC at that tender age. I'm afraid expectations of children had diminished considerably at my schools, and at that age I was probably reading "The Phantom Tollbooth" which I love, but is not quite on the same level as Dickens and other classic novelists. At any rate, you obviously had great taste, even as a child. We're glad to have you here!
We're getting near the end of Our Mutual Friend -- feel free to jump in if you've read it. If not, you might want to wait until our next novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood. We often will read a few of the Sketches by Boz between novels - not sure if that's been planned yet, but our wonderful moderators will let you know. In the meantime, feel free to find us at the Six Jolly Fellowship Porters discussion, where we have a pint (or a cuppa) and talk about whatever comes to mind.
PS Now I have the Beatles "Paperback Writer" running through my head.... I wonder why.... :-)
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I hope you will find interest and time to join our discussions!
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Mary Lou wrote: "I am awed by your precociousness if you read TOTC at that tender age. I'm afraid expectations of children had diminished considerably at my schools, and at that age I was probably reading "The Phantom Tollbooth"... "Thanks! I am not from the US and English is not my country's first language. So, if you wanted to read English language lit, you were on your own. In other words, I was not only a precocious child, I was also a strange one. I am looking forward to immersing myself in Dickens' words again.
Hello everyone!My name is Débora and, as I could read in all your comments here, maybe I'm one of the few whose first language is not english. I never studied english formally, so I must apologize already for all the grammar and spelling mistakes I'll gonna do here. (It probably will cost me a great amount of time to write a single paragraph here, with my Google Translator open, but I'll take the risk).
I'm brazilian and I don't work with literature at all. But to read was always a treasured hobbie of mine. As you may know (or not), Dickens isn't such a well-known author in my country, but I aknowledged his existence since I was a girl of 12-13 years old. I was looking at a bookcase of my mother with contained a collection of abriged classics for children, and a book gained my attention. I asked my mom about it, and she answered it was about a boy who came to live with his aunt. Maybe this is the worst description of the plot of David Copperfield you will ever hear about, but it got me. I read that abriged copy a couple of times. All the misadventures of that little boy were so sad, and at the same time I was laughing at Mr Micawber lines and Aunt Betsey ideas. I hated Mr Murdstone with all my forces, Mr Heep was absolutely gross and too humble for my taste, I couldn't help feeling sorry about Dora. I was amazed. Who was that Charles Dickens?
I started my little researches. Not all Mr Dickens works were translated to brazilian portuguese. Even those who were translated were very old copies, available only at big libraries. I started to read what I could put my hands on. At 15, I read David Copperfield unabriged, then Great Expectations, Oliver Twist, A Tale of Two Cities (which is probably my favorite)... I bought a very old copy with some of his novels in spanish (which was easier for me than english), and that's how I read The Old Curiosity Shop and Nicholas Nickleby.
As the years passed, it is a little bit easier to find other works of Dickens translated here. We have a copy of Little Dorrit being prepared, we have Nicholas Nickleby. But, at the same time, I felt that if I wanted to enjoy Mr Dickens the right way, I should read it in english. So I tried, and failed, and tried again, and again, and again. I can say now that I read Barnaby Rudge, Martin Chuzzlewit and Dombey and Son completely in english, and this is probably one of the biggest achievements of my life.
I was trying to read one of Mr Dickens novels by year. And I came here at this club and read your posts about Barnaby Rudge, Martin Chuzzlewit and Dombey and Son, but now I decided that I would like to try to continue my readings with you and to interact a bit more. It's so fantastic to find fellow admirers of one of my favorite authors!
Some of my other favorite authors are: Victor Hugo, Alexandre Dumas, Lucy Maud Montgomery, Machado de Assis (which is brazilian and it's brilliant and he was a big fan of Dickens also, so you should check him out!), Tolstoi, etc. I could talk about them for hours.
I also like a lot to watch TV adaptations of classics, to play the piano and to draw and paint (watercolor is my current favorite). I don't have any children, but I have two beautiful dogs who have literary names and they are everything.
That's it for now! I probably talked too much already... I'm really excited to start Edwin Drood with you next week! :)
Débora wrote: "Hello everyone!My name is Débora and, as I could read in all your comments here, maybe I'm one of the few whose first language is not english. I never studied english formally, so I must apologiz..."
That's a terrific and interesting story. Welcome Debora.
John wrote: "Débora wrote: "Hello everyone!My name is Débora and, as I could read in all your comments here, maybe I'm one of the few whose first language is not english. I never studied english formally, so ..."
Thank you, John! I can't wait to learn a lot with you all! :)
Mod
My name is Débora and, as I could read in all your comments here, maybe I'm one of the few whose first language is not english. I never studied english formally, so I must apologiz..."
Oh my, there were a few times reading your story I thought I could have written it! Your favorite authors are also mine, except the one you mentioned I must go look up after this, you play the piano, paint, and like dogs better than kids, oh wait, that's me, I tell my kids that pretty often. I only have one dog now, Willow, she's a black cocker spaniel whose picture is probably on here somewhere.
And as for English, it is my first language and second, and I still don't understand it at times. Welcome to the group and have fun.:-)
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Welcome to our group. My wife is Portuguese and we just returned from a two week visit with her family in Sintra. Your English is much, much better than my Portuguese. I speak a few words and can’t write in Portuguese at all.
I hope you enjoy our upcoming read with us. As you have no doubt seen and read we are all interested in learning about Dickens and very supportive of each other. Do not worry about any translation issues. Just share your joy of reading and all will be perfect.
Glad to meet you.
Peter
Kim wrote: "Débora wrote: "Hello everyone!My name is Débora and, as I could read in all your comments here, maybe I'm one of the few whose first language is not english. I never studied english formally, so ..."
Thank you, Kim! I should say you have a pretty good taste on things! ;)
Peter wrote: "Ola DeboraWelcome to our group. My wife is Portuguese and we just returned from a two week visit with her family in Sintra. Your English is much, much better than my Portuguese. I speak a few wor..."
Thank you for your "Ola", Peter, that was very kind of you!
That's so nice that your wife is portuguese! Surprisingly or not, I may understand a British person speaking english better than a Portuguese speaking portuguese... They have a very different accent from my region!
I certainly will enjoy our readings together here! Thanks!
Hi, I just began to re-read Pickwick...
Would anyone like to go through this with me?
I am at chapter 6... but I can take a pause to discuss and let you catch-up.
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My name is Débora and, as I could read in all your comments here, maybe I'm one of the few whose first language is not english. I never studied english f..."
Let me give you a belated welcome to the group, Débora! I hope you'll enjoy it here and find time to discuss Dickens's wonderful novels with us!
Mod
I just began to re-read Pickwick...
Would anyone like to go through this with me?
I am at chapter 6... but I can take a pause to discuss and let you catch-up."
Hi Kris,
The group is going to read "Pickwick" in early 2018 - because we read the works in their chronological order, starting again as soon as we have reached the end. So if you could decide to have a go at Drood first, you might be reading Pickwick with the rest of us in a few months.
Hey, all. Here to join in on the fantastic collection that Dickens wrote over his lifetime. He is an inspiring and thoughtful author whose (in my mind) books must be read. I look forward to this journey with you all.
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Welcome to our group. Perfect timing as we are about to begin The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Please join in the conversation with us.
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Welcome to Débora, Kris, Svalberd and any more new members I may have missed. I'm looking forward to getting to know you all, through our common enthusiasm for Dickens.You may not see me for a couple of weeks in our next read, but be sure I'll be with you all in the readings of The Mystery of Edwin Drood very soon :)
Hello,I did an amazing tour of London last year, in which, I did all the tours in Lee Jackson's 'Walking Dickens London'!
I stayed in the Seven Dials neighborhood and it was far different than the rookeries of the 19C.
I also mixed-in about visits to about 70 different pubs.
The pictures are all posted on Twitter.
I have read all of Dickens, some several times, and am currently re-reading The Pickwick Papers, as I picked-up a nice 1938 edition on Amazon for only $5.
I look forward to reading all of the comments here.
Cheers,
Kris
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Hello Kris! I'm always happy to meet fellow Dickens enthusiasts! Great tour you did there. I'm one of the rare English members here :) Hope you enjoy our leisurely reads of the Inimitable.
Thanks, all! I hope to join in on the new read. Dickens was certainly a masterful author that will never be forgotten in the great realm of literature. I have read Oliver Twist and A Christmas Carol (and enjoyed both), but that's as far as it goes! I need to expand my knowledge of this author and hopefully complete the journey of going through all of his works with the rest of you. :)
Thank you all for your warm welcoming! I started The Mystery of Edwin Drood a few days ago and I'm already enjoying it a lot! I can't wait for our discussions here!
Hello all. I’m Milena from Italy. I joined the group some time ago and I had planned to start reading with the group in January, but I couldn’t wait and I’ve just started reading Edwin Drood. I’ve read David Cooperfield many years ago (in Italian), A Christmas Carol (in English) and Hard Times a few months ago (in English). I work in an office and I spend most of my time in front of a computer, >:-( but when I get out of work, I like taking long walks in the country and reading. My English is not so good yet, but I’m working on it. :-) Looking forward to reading MED with you all.
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Hi Melina
Your English is just fine. We look forward to sharing our reading of MED with you.
Welcome!!
Milena wrote: "Hello all. I’m Milena from Italy. I joined the group some time ago and I had planned to start reading with the group in January, but I couldn’t wait and I’ve just started reading Edwin Drood. I’ve ..."Welcome, Milena. I am in awe of those of you who not only speak English as a second (or third, or more!) language, but are able to read 19th century English literature, which even some native speakers find challenging. I hope you'll enjoy Drood!
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Welcome Milena, your English looked just fine to me, probably better than mine. :-) I'm glad you are joining us for MED it should be fun. :-)
Thank you Peter, Mary Lou and Kim for the warm welcome and the support. I've read chapters 1-4 so far. I'm looking forward to jumping in the thread and pitch (as Dickens would say) in the conversation.
Mary Lou, I also bought an italian translation of MED and when I find a complicated sentence, I take a quick peep. :)
Milena wrote: "Hello all. I’m Milena from Italy. I joined the group some time ago and I had planned to start reading with the group in January, but I couldn’t wait and I’ve just started reading Edwin Drood. I’ve ..."Welcome, Milena!
I work on an office in front of a computer all day too, and nothing like a good reading (like Dickens) to bright my day. I hope we'll have a lot of good discussions together!
Hi all! Ami let me know about this group, knowing I've been meaning to get more into Dickens and read more than most of the groups tend to like (usually one a year is plenty or more than plenty for most groups) so going through all of his works sounds wonderful! I've got a stack of books I'm reading right now (I have book ADD) so I probably won't jump in right away, but as soon as I get time I will do so.I grew up in Washington State, where my mom instilled a love of reading into me (I was the kid who got a literal stack of books almost as tall as myself from the library each week and read them all in that week) and while I didn't read much for fun while in college, I got back into it a few years later. I'm in Colorado now with my hubby who goes through spurts of reading a ton of books at a time, and spurts of no books at all for months on end (which my brain can't fathom). I read a little of everything, but the few Dickens novels I've had the opportunity to read are always wonderful and I'm looking forward to getting into all of them.
The Old Curiosity Club
Books mentioned in this topic
A Christmas Carol (other topics)A Christmas Carol (other topics)
The Pickwick Papers (other topics)
The Pickwick Papers (other topics)
Bleak House (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Charles Dickens (other topics)Bryan Kozlowski (other topics)
Thomas Hardy (other topics)
Thomas Hardy (other topics)
You would probably have sprayed all the curtains with Pam on the theory that the cat would just slide down the greased curtains without doing any damage. Fits with your approach to household chores!