The Old Curiosity Club discussion
General Discussion
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Please Introduce Yourself
Tristram wrote: "Welcome to the Old Curosity Club!...It may well be that before starting with our next novel, we will put in some shorter works..."Thanks for the welcome, Tristram. It would certainly be interesting to read some of his shorter fiction too, looking forward to whatever comes after GE
Hi, I'm Souveek from India. I was introduced to Charles Dickens' Great Expectations in high school, which was in the year 2002-04. Though English Literature was one of my favorite subjects in school and college, somehow I managed to graduate with a degree in accounting! After college, till now I have not had any formal education in English literature, however my love for English literature has been stronger than ever. Charles Dickens is my favorite author. The best thing that I like about classics is that it almost acts as a time machine, taking me to those times when the author had jotted down the wonderful stories which are relevant even after so many years.
I had worked in Tech Support for a few years and now I am working as a corporate trainer. I am so excited to be a part of this group where everyone enjoys Charles Dickens' works and learn a lot of new things about Dickens' works.
Thank you.
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This is the perfect place to be if you enjoy Dickens. Welcome.
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I'm Souveek from India. I was introduced to Charles Dickens' Great Expectations in high school, which was in the year 2002-04. Though English Literature was one of my favorite subjects in sch..."
Welcome Souveek, We're so glad you are here. Have fun!
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I'm Souveek from India.."
Welcome. Glad to have you joining us!
Though English Literature was one of my favorite subjects in school and college, somehow I managed to graduate with a degree in accounting
Heck, nothing wrong with accounting! I read literature and philosophy in college, but took a master's degree in Industrial Administration, and worked as a corporate finance exec for many years. But I still read and love Dickens, and most other classic literature.
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Welcome to our Curiosity Club of inveterate Dickensians. If the Inimitable is your favourite author, this is definitely the right place for you because we intend to cover the whole range of Dickens's novels at a leisurely pace. I hope you will find the time and interest to take part in our discussions, seeing that in that case we would have active members from four continents, and so the sun never sets on the Old Curiosity Club.
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When? I can't take it anymore and I now need prove of all the things you have done. There simply haven't been enough years in your life to be a lawyer, teacher, wilderness in Maine guide, or something like that, biking through Ireland or Scotland I forget which, I seem to remember a judge thrown in somewhere, a dance group, and now a master's degree, which I will assume is better than your average degree meaning it took more years of your long, long, life, in Industrial Administration, whatever that is, and also a corporate finance exec. which sounds awful. If I were going to "add" up all the years it would take to do all this, which I'm not going to, you are about 150 years old.
And I used to work answering the phone for a machine tool company, that's what they said they were, the guys in the shop were making taps, dyes, and reamers, I was answering telephones. I wonder if that makes me an Industrial Administration person.
Oh, and when do you get a chance to read?
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Actually, I have a character which gets bored doing routine or repetitive work, once I had "gotten it" I needed to move on to something new. In my financial career I was lucky, got hired by a school which was going bankrupt and a new headmaster and I were able to turn it around in a few years, so I got a reputation for being some sort of rescue genius, which I wasn't, but I loved tackling hard problems and solving them, so got several jobs in quick succession for organizations that thought they needed saving (whereas in most case it was just a case of previous inept financial management which I could fix in two or three years and move on) and got some consulting work, too. It was a blast, I have to admit, but after about fifteen years of that I had had enough, so got involved in starting up a computer company, we sold it, and then I was able to go to law school, which I had wanted to do for a long time but hadn't been able to afford.
Really, it all made sense at the time.
As for reading time now, I'm retired! So I just do a bit of volunteer treasuring for local orgs to keep my hand in, and have plenty of time for reading!
Everyman wrote: "I'm just a butterfly, flitting from one career to another."I'm exhausted just reading about it! I thank God for motivated people like you, because I've never been ambitious and am rarely bored (all the chaos in my brain keeps me quite busy!). But I'm grateful for you Type A personalities who keep the world turning.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODDdY...
Greetings from the Antipodes! I'm a Dickens tragic from way back. I grew up in the UK so that may explain it. Now I live in Australia ... well, we have actually been living here for about 40 years! I retired from full time medicine and now help out where I can and do some "scribbling" too. Thanks for having me in your group. BTW I love Seattle and Bainbrige Island!
Glad to have you with us, Duncan. Jump in anywhere!
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Please join our conversations. Never a dull moment!
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Not the San Juans?
Jo Gargery had some great lines. I love the guy. Some of his quotes have become family folklore - "What Larks" ... and, "That was an uncommon bolt Pip ole chap!" And the way he always quietly helped Pip and even used his own savings when Pip lost everything to his creditors .... that's a real human!
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I am still looking forward to see how Pip is going to make matters up with Joe and to atone for his neglect of his old friend. There are not many chapters to go, so it's high time Pip did something.
Everyman wrote: "I'm just a butterfly ..."And now it's Everyman making me spill my coffee. The image I have in my head right now is irresistible :D
Welcome to Souveek and Duncan! Pleased to meet you both :)
Hello Everyone I'm just barging in, if you will. I followed a link on the old Pickwick Club thread to get here, and I trust I can cross the threshold. I know a few of you, I love Dickens, and I have read this entire thread with great pleasure. Peter, and here I thought your beverage of choice was tea. What a curious turn! And Everyman, you do indeed have an unbelievable resume. I bet you've never been a car hop. I was, right after college!
I have to say, when you all started discussing question marks and exclamation points, I knew I was in the right place. My story is, (note segue) I was a children's book editor. We had actual talks about punctuation while getting paid. But I was a teacher in CA briefly before I got to NYC, and I got permanently stuck to the process of teaching reading. Writing easy-to-read books for kids? That sounds like fun! I'm afraid that pretty much covers my usual MO for making decisions.
While you all have been here having so much fun for the past three months), my husband and I have been adjusting to life in a retirement community (no book groups!). We moved from northern CA to northern FL, and to a California girl, that's a big adjustment. But now I'm ready to set myself down and freshen up. May I join you?
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I'm just barging in, if you will. I followed a link on the old Pickwick Club thread to get here, and I trust I can cross the threshold. I know a few of you, I love Dickens, and I h..."
Hello Linda
Join us? Absolutely! It's wonderful you have found us. As you will see we are just wrapping up GE, but jump in.
Ah, as for the beverage thing ... my first choice of beverage will always be tea, but celebrations are another matter. Indeed, now you have joined us let's meet at The Three Jolly Bargemen and see what is on tap.
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Nope. Never was. Closest thing to it was that our house was 100 feet long, with concrete floors, and my sister and I used, on rainy days, to roller skate (those nice noisy metal wheeled roller skates) up and down, down the bedroom wing hallway, through the kitchen, through the laundry room, and into the garage. Turn around and go all the way back. For an hour on end. So I had the roller skate skills to be a carhop, but sadly never got a chance to actually be one (I'm not sure they ever hired male carhops; back then there were no feminist lawyers to sue them for hiring only good looking young women.)
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You're in luck. Since the days of the Three Jolly Bargemen are coming to an end -- it will close its doors when its book is ended -- all the drinks are half price as we clean out the inventory.
But don't worry. In preparation for Our Mutual Friend we're just rolling the barrels into the basement of the Six Jolly Fellowship Porters and hooking them up to the taps ready for our Grand Opening day, coming soon!
Linda wrote: "Hello Everyone...I'm just barging in, if you will."Welcome, Linda! Now there are two of us here. :)
Florida does sound like a huge change. My first thoughts that come to mind are humidity and alligators. I hope you enjoy the new environment!
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Florida ... yes, I'd also think of alligators first, and of Morty and Helen Seinfeld ;-)
Welcome Linda! I too am so pleased you found us all quaffing away in the snug. Punctilious punctuation? Then certainly you will slot right in straightaway ;)
Everyman wrote: "Peter wrote: "let's meet at The Three Jolly Bargemen and see what is on tap. ."You're in luck. Since the days of the Three Jolly Bargemen are coming to an end -- it will close its doors when its ..."
We're bar-hopping? Love it!
Everyman wrote: "we're just rolling the barrels into the basement of the Six Jolly Fellowship Porters ..."Oh wow I did not read this properly at all! I've just posted in Mr Jaggers's Office about what I had thought a grand idea I'd had, and guess which name I suggested ... what a dunce. You'd better send me into a corner without refreshment for a while :(
Still, at least I found a nice picture for you all :)
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Welcome, Linda! Now there are two of us here. :)
Florida does sound like a huge change. My first thoughts that come to mind are h..."
My first reaction to Florida is terror. When I was a child we went there almost every year for our vacation. It would have been fine, a few days at Disney World, then to the beach for awhile, then returning to our home in Pennsylvania. The problem came when it was time to go home. First, my mom used to go tour different homes that were for sale in hopes of one day living there, and then she'd cry when we left the state. I was so scared we would move to the land of heat that the favorite part of the trip for me was seeing that "Welcome to Pennsylvania" sign as we crossed into it from Maryland. All these years and two trips there as an adult, I still get the same feeling. And seeing that "Welcome to Pennsylvania" is something I love, if I fall asleep on our way home from wherever my husband wakes me up when we get close so I can see it.
I didn't realize y'all had switched to/formed this group. I live in Jacksonville, FL with my wife of 35 years and am an avid reader. I look forward to participating in this group. Thanks for facilitating the group and discussions.
Everyman wrote: "Kim wrote: "Welcome Linda! I'm glad you found us. As to Everyman being a car hop, he probably was, he just hasn't mentioned it yet. "Nope. Never was. Closest thing to it was that our house was 10..."
Did your roller skates have a key, and did you call it a "lagger", and did you use it for hopscotch? Or did hopscotch discriminate against males too?
Linda wrote: "Linda wrote: "Hello Everyone...I'm just barging in, if you will."Welcome, Linda! Now there are two of us here. :)
Florida does sound like a huge change. My first thoughts that come to mind are h..."
Oooh, here's a reason to change my GR name. I did originally register as Linda H but my last initial wasn't picked up. Nice to meet another Linda.
Kim wrote: "Welcome Linda! I'm glad you found us. As to Everyman being a car hop, he probably was, he just hasn't mentioned it yet. And we now have another teacher! I guess I'll get used to being surrounded by..."Thanks for the welcome, Kim. I see, further on, that Everyman was an Almost-Car-Hop.
Tristram wrote: "Florida ... yes, I'd also think of alligators first, and of Morty and Helen Seinfeld ;-) "Oh yes, good ol' Morty and Helen. lol. :)
Tristram wrote: "Welcome Linda! I think you picked a very good moment for joining because it will not be long before we start with one of Dickens's finest novels, Our Mutual Friend, and you can already join the war..."Hi Tristam. I loved Our Mutual Friend. I read it relatively recently and I will definitely join the discussion.
Linda wrote: "Oooh, here's a reason to change my GR name."Oh no, don't change, I am happy to share. It's a good name! :)
Jean wrote: "Welcome Linda! I too am so pleased you found us all quaffing away in the snug. Punctilious punctuation? Then certainly you will slot right in straightaway ;)"Wow, this a friendly place!!!!I've been doling out my exclamation points sparingly, but could not resist. Hi Jean!
Mary Lou wrote: "Everyman wrote: "Peter wrote: "let's meet at The Three Jolly Bargemen and see what is on tap. ."You're in luck. Since the days of the Three Jolly Bargemen are coming to an end -- it will close it..."
I'm with you on that, Mary Lou, but I may be running behind you all. I just sat myself down on a settle at the Three Jolly Bargemen.
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Oh yes, good ol' Morty and Helen. lol. :)"
Yes, I like them quite a lot. I think I could even have got on with them - but never with Frank and Estelle ;-)
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I am looking forward to your participation in that discussion. As it happens, OMF is one of my favourite Dickens novels, right after Bleak House.
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Yes, we have formed this new group but we did not want to leave a link there because it was not our intention to drain the old group. However, of course, you are most welcome here in our group, Francis. I hope you'll have the time and motivation to join us in our discussions!
Peter wrote: "Linda wrote: "Hello Everyone I'm just barging in, if you will. I followed a link on the old Pickwick Club thread to get here, and I trust I can cross the threshold. I know a few of you, I love Di..."
Hello Peter
Glad I finally found this group. Lately my reading has been all over the place but now I can focus on Dickens. (She says with great expectations...)
I've been wanting to read Pickwick Papers with company. And what great company this is. I'm going to have to brush up on my Dickens just to keep up.
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I'm just barging in, if you will. I followed a link on the old Pickwick Club thread to get here, and I trust I can cross the threshold. I know a few of ..."
Linda
We are all in a constant state of brushing up. Indeed, we all carry brushes, perhaps metaphorical brushes, but brushes nonetheless.
This is the most wonderful group of people. And to think everyone enjoys reading Dickens.
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Yes, no, no, and no. I played hopscotch, of course, but didn't use a roller skate key -- they were too valuable to risk losing, because if you lost yours, you couldn't skate until you found somebody to loan you one. We usually used stones for hopscotch, and the skill was in finding a stone of the right weight and shape to land properly and not roll or jump or slide out of the box.
Everyman wrote: "Linda wrote: "Did your roller skates have a key, and did you call it a "lagger", and did you use it for hopscotch? Or did hopscotch discriminate against males too?."Yes, no, no, and no. I played ..."
Everyman, I sense a glimmer of formative difference here. I don't remember attaching any value to that lagger. It was the right weight and size to land right where I wanted it, but of the iffiness of its being available when hopscotch landed in my neighborhood, I have no memory. I think my mom always had my back.
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)
It sounds bizarre, but nowadays there are so many university classes online (that vary enormously in quality) that assess students in that particular fashion. It is complex to design..."
The problem with taking tests at home, even those which are not based on facts but on deduction, analysis, interpretation and other mental operations, is that some students have ambitious and educated parents at home who would probably help them. They might not actually write the whole test for them but sit next to them and discuss things, preventing their kids from making bad mistakes.
One good thing about the Internet is that it has helped make it easier to find out plagiarism because most students who plagiarize are too daft to take anything from out of real books but just copy things from websites. So if suddenly the style becomes more elevated and lucid, I usually go to google and type in parts of sentences - et voilà, if it turns out a plagiarism, even in parts, the whole essay is a Fail. Plagiarism from books, however, is much more difficult to detect.