The Old Curiosity Club discussion
General Discussion
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Please Introduce Yourself
Boz as in "Bose"?? Oh my, I've been saying it wrong in my head all these years as well. And the proper pronunciation just makes me think of the brand of speakers and headphones.
Mary Lou--I have never spent much time around boxers but now that you call them clowns, I want to. I've been thinking Boz as "Bahz" all along as well. But there's something to be said for popular tradition.
Thanks to all who welcomed me to the Christmas read. I'm guessing a discussion board with the reading assignment will pop up at the appropriate time--is that how it works? I usually re-read Christmas Carol this time of year so it will be fun taking a crack at a story I don't know already. I did steal a glance at the first few pages of Haunted Man already. When I had a chance. Looking forward to the rest.
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Yes, Julie, the weekly threads are usually opened on Sunday.
Tristram wrote: "Julie wrote: "I'm guessing a discussion board with the reading assignment will pop up at the appropriate time--is that how it works?"Yes, Julie, the weekly threads are usually opened on Sunday."
Got it. Thanks.
And I've never imagined it as "Bahz" but simply as "Boz" as in "odd". Or is the American pronunciation of that, "add"?
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Except the good people who work for "Bose". But then maybe they pronounce that another way ... and anyway they can't spell ;)
Jean wrote: "Except the good people who work for "Bose". But then maybe they pronounce that another way ... and anyway they can't spell ;)"Lol! Now that made me laugh, Jean. :)
As I would expect most others did, I read a number of Dickens books in high school and college, some for school and some on my own. At some point in the late 90's, I got it into my head to read a Dickens novel every year at Christmas time. I started with The Pickwick Papers and read all the novels, plus "American Notes." At some point I read all the Christmas stories as well. Since finally reading "Drood," I've tried to read several Christmas related books and short stories throughout December. This includes several sequels, prequels and re-imaginings of "A Christmas Carol," which, I must admit, is a bit of an obsession of mine. This year or next, I plan to go back to Dickens, but not the well known books, each of which I've read at least twice.
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Hi George
I’m glad you found us. If you like Dickens you have come to the right place. We are beginning with Pickwick again in the new year, and hope you will join us. In a couple of days we will be reading The Haunted Man.
Please join in in the conversation.
Name is Matt.I am a junior in college studying Economics and I absolutely love Dickens. I did not read any Dickens in high school like it seems most people did however I did start with Great Expectations. Some of my favorites include Tale of Two Cities (there is a Sydney Carton in all of us) as well as Oliver Twist. Looking forward to Pickwick as that is one of the few titles I have not read yet.
**Forgot to mention that I'll be quite busy for the remainder of December as my semester here at school comes to an end. I plan to join in the discussion after the New Year with Pickwick.
Welcome to George and Matt. We are a very mixed group here, with members who have read the novels many times over, and others who have the thrill of coming to him for the first time. I like to read reaction from both ends of the spectrum, and very much appreciate the input from everyone :)Oddly, although I'm so obsessed with him now, I never read any works by Charles Dickens at school either, (except one as a "home reader" ie., we were not examined in it). I say "oddly", since I am English, but he was perhaps out of favour at the time. So when I read him with delight in my 20's, I felt as if I had discovered him all by myself!
(Edited Matt's name, as per Mary Lou's kind comment!)
I think Jean meant to welcome George and *Matt*, as do I. :-) Building on what Jean said, the wonderful thing about Dickens is that each subsequent reading of his novels reveals new things that previously went unnoticed. Our group discussions are so insightful; we all pick up on different themes, hints as to the characters motives, etc. I'm sure you'll love it here, and look forward to your observations!
Oh my - thank you Mary Lou! I must have been half asleep, and will edit my post pronto ...
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As for Christmas ... The thread for our reading of The Haunted Man will be posted later today. It’s about the length of A Christmas Carol. A good way to greet the holiday season.
Hi, I'm a stranger here myself.I am a retired small company accountant/bookkeeper.
I've been a reader since who can remember when.
I'm married and we have a dog who has consented to let us live with him.
I first read Dickens in high school, A Tale of Two Cities. Since then I went through most of his output in the early 70's and very recently started a reread with The Pickwick Papers, which I will put aside until January, when the group reads it.
In the mean time I will read The Haunted Man and hopefully have something to add to the discussion.
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I am a retired small company accountant/bookkeeper.."
Trust me, if you participate in the discussions you won't be a stranger for long,
I was also a small company accountant. Nice to have another Dickens lover here who isn't intimidated by mathematics!
Everyman wrote: Nice to have another Dickens lover here who isn't intimidated by mathematics! That makes two of you. I'm afraid I can't add myself to that number (because that would require math skills). But it's nice to have you here, Gilbert! I love that we have so many new members joining us in time for our holiday selection.
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I am a retired small company accountant/bookkeeper.."
Trust me, if you participate in the discussions you won't be a stranger for long,
I was also ..."
Welcome Gilbert! Even if you did start a math conversation. I don't believe in math conversations, they're too confusing. As for you Eman, let me know if you can think of a job you did't have, I can't.
And again, welcome Gilbert!
Welcome Gilbert. This is the perfect time to join this group :)
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Lots. Plumber. Truck driver (though I was a school bus driver and had a commercial driving license). Aerobics instructor. Macy's Christmas window decorator. Crop duster. Will those do for a start?
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Lots. Plumber. Truck driver (though I was a school bus driver and had a commercial driving license). A..."
But did you have as many jobs as Homer Simpson?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhKQ6...
Everyman wrote: "Kim wrote: "As for you Eman, let me know if you can think of a job you did't have, I can't. "Lots. Plumber. Truck driver (though I was a school bus driver and had a commercial driving license). A..."
Were you ever a department store Santa? ;-)
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Not department store. But school.
Hi, I am a former actress/theater critic/person who has read
(bought the book while on a break from canvassing for Clinton, and thought: "This book is so long that by the time I finish Trump will be impeached, and alas, I was wrong.) Do not mean to discuss politics here. I am open to conflicting opinions. I can not help it in this instance.
I've read and loved
, and
, and got 50% through
, (I got cast in a show, and I never finished that one, even though I loved it.) Started reading
with Kris earlier this year, before a kind of devastating very public thing occurred in my "career", so I kind of put it down after reading the Stroller's Tale, in which Dickens accurately captures just how harsh life in the theater is (then and now). ---it makes me feel better. Although, I wish I read it while attending Drama school. Ha! I love Dickens so much: his wit, and characters, and his obvious love for the theatre which I, unfortunately, share with him. (He writes like an actor). I am glad that you are reading
. I think I ready to plunge past page 58 now.
Longtime Dickens reader here. I have completed 11 of the 15 major novels, although I really need to return to David Copperfield and Great Expectations, which I read SO long ago. The four novels that I need to tackle for the first time are Pickwick, Nickleby, Dombey, and Barnaby Rudge. The Uncommercial Traveller and Sketches by Boz are on the top of the list of "secondary" works I want to get to soon. I have read all five of the Christmas short novels.
Patrick wrote: "Longtime Dickens reader here. I have completed 11 of the 15 major novels, although I really need to return to David Copperfield and Great Expectations, which I read SO long ago. The four novels tha..."Welcome, Patrick! Nickleby and Rudge are two that I've also yet to read. I'm hoping the group will get to Nickleby in 2018. We often do a Sketch or two between novels, which is a nice, leisurely way to tackle them. We look forward to having you join the discussions! If I may ask, where are you from? We have members from all over the world, which makes the discussions even more interesting!
From New Jersey originally, lived all over the US, but now resident in the beautiful city of Querétaro, Mexico, where I teach Business and Conversational English to private students, and also do some freelance writing and editing.With respect to Nickleby, I DID see the 8-hour Royal Shakespeare Company version on Broadway in the early 1980s. No substitute for reading the novel, though.
My last Dickens completed was Edwin Drood, which I thought was spectacular. He was at the height of his powers when he died.
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Welcome. What perfect timing. We begin our reading of The Pickwick Papers this week. A new year, Dickens’s first novel, and a group of Dickens lovers.
Please join us.
Yes, I noticed that! I will try. As usual, I have too many books going right now, but this is one that I planned for 2018 anyway, so...
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Welcome to the Curiosity Club! As Peter said, it's indeed a good moment for joining because Mr Pickwick is already waiting in the wings, peeking through the curtain and ready to appear. It's just that the icecream man has not made his round yet.
Looking forward to your comments and hoping for lots of good discussions.
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Yes, that was me. I started in on The Pickwick Papers the past couple of days. A very ingratiating read, the pages just fly by.
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The opening pages of Pickwick have a brio that is completely arresting, and helps to explain why the novel made such a smash. The energy certainly comes partly from the running commentary of Mr. Jingle, which was one of Dickens's first experiments in giving a character a unique speaking style.
Jess wrote: "Hi, I am a former actress/theater critic/person who has read
(bought the book while on a break from canvassing for Clinton, and thought: "This book is so lo..."
Hi Jess, I hope you can pick up where you left off in Pickwick, as I am sure you will enjoy the story.
I am currently reading 'Death and Mr. Pickwick' by Stephen Jarvis which has a lot of references to the orig.
I am glad you are back!
Hi, I'm Sue and couldn't resist joining this group after seeing it come through Milena's feed. I'm a recent Dicken's lover after having joined the Catching up on Classics group last year and reading Bleak House. It was love at first book! Well, I had read A Christmas Carol, but I don't really count that.
After Bleak House, I read read A Tale of Two Cities, and Great Expectations both of which were 5 star reads for me. I also read Hard Times but wasn't as impressed with that.
I probably won't be able to jump in with a group read until the Summer, but I couldn't resist joining now.
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Glad you did join us. We'll be sorry not to have you commenting on Pickwick, but that will last us almost to summer so we'll be able to look forward to you joining us for the next book.
Everyman wrote: "Sue wrote: "Hi, I'm Sue and couldn't resist joining this group after seeing it come through Milena's feed. I'm a recent Dicken's lover after having joined the Catching up on Classics group last yea..."Thanks! I'm glad I won't miss 2.
Hello Sue, welcome, I'm glad to see you here! And I'm looking forward to you jumping in with a group read, when you can. :-))
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Milena wrote: "Hello Sue, welcome, I'm glad to see you here! And I'm looking forward to you jumping in with a group read, when you can. :-))"Thanks Milena!
Sue wrote: "Hi, I'm Sue and couldn't resist joining this group after seeing it come through Milena's feed. I'm a recent Dicken's lover..."Welcome Sue! Your discovery of Dickens sounds similar to mine. I also read Bleak House with another GR group for a first experience (besides A Christmas Carol) and I instantly fell in love. I've now journeyed through about half of Dickens' works, this time all with this fine group of people. I'm glad you found us!
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)
Life of Charles Dickens
Commentary:
Boz [boz]: Boz was a very familiar word to me, long before I was an auth..."
Well, that answers the question of the correct pronunciation, but now if I say it correctly the few people who know who Boz is will still think I'm saying it wrong. Such a conundrum!