Hard Times Reading Schedule

[Zulfiya]

Hello, the ardent supporters of the Dickens project. Let me be brief due to the simple reason - lack of time :-)

Below is a reading schedule for Hard Times, a notoriously hard novel by Dickens because of its pessimism.

The credit for the schedule goes to Lynnm, because I only added dates. According to this schedule, we will start in ten days, September 15.

If you need more reading time to regroup or finish your other projects, we can easily do this. The book is not too long, and I am sure that the reading company of Dickens soul-mates is the best incentive.

September 15, Week 1 - Book the First, Chapters 1-5
September 22, Week 2 - Book the First, Chapters 6-10
September 29, Week 3 - Book the First, Chapters 11-16
October 06, Week 4 - Book the Second, Chapters 1-6
October 13, Week 5 - Book the Second, Chapters 7-12
October 20, Week 6 - Book the Third, Chapters 1-5
October 27, Week 7 - Book the Third, Chapters 6-9

Feel free to contact me about the schedule either posting here or sending me a personal message (my profile is public) if you want to change something in the schedule or change the amount of pages per week.

Some might be surprised that according to the schedule, it will take only a month and a half to read the book, but it is the smallest novel ever written by Dickens.

Obviously, there are a lot of free e-books for a price less than a dollar, but Audible also offers an unabridged recording of Hard Times for only .95 cents. Not a bad bargain for commuters and those who do not like wasting time while cooking/cleaning/commuting/ or exercising.

[Lynnm]

The book is short, and the chapters are short as well. We probably could have made the schedule for half the amount of time, but this way if people are busy, they can still easily read the chapters for the week.

[Sarah]

I'm happy with the slow pace for this one. I've got a lot going on at present and hope to be able to join in.

[Alana]

I'm already in the middle of this book! lol

[Hedi]

I will be very busy, too, therefore, this slower pace will meet my schedule very well. Thanks again. I am already looking forward to it. I am missing my weekly Dickens :-)... and this another novel that I do not know at all.

[Renee]

I agree, Heidi. Although, I welcomed a little break after Bleak House. I've never read Hard Times before, but am glad it's a bit shorter, especially since it's likely to be bleaker. ;)

[Emma]

Bleaker but hopefully not harder...

[Hedi]

Emma wrote: "Bleaker but hopefully not harder..."

:-) Together we will make it, hopefully, no matter how bleak it is and how many hard times we will have with it. That is actually the nice thing of discussing it together.
I guess I should find a group for Joyce's Ulysses as well, one of the very few books I have never finished :-(

[Henrique]

I might just join this one, depending on whether I find the book or not.
I'm also considering reading bleak house, but I'm a bit late for that one :P, still, your past reviews will surely help!

[Frances, Moderator]

I'm in, I've got the book, now I just have to read the book…

I also prefer the leisurely pace.

[Pip]

I never realised this was a notoriously hard Dickens novel. Maybe I found it easier because I'm familiar with the background of the industrial revolution, the rise of the unions, and "developments" in education at the time. Perhaps this is a novel which would benefit from some decent background info? I'll have a look around the interweb and see what I can find, though Victorian web is almost certainly a good start. Here's the link for the section on technology, which includes the Industrial Rev: http://www.victorianweb.org/technolog...

[Zulfiya]

A very good source of information. I often use in when I read Victorian and neo-Victorian fiction.

Thank you, Pip.

[Pip]

It's a pleasure Zulfiya :-)

I think perhaps the most important things to understand at the outset, for those totally unfamiliar with the country and period are:

1. Industrial output was reaching a peak
2. Industrial magnates saw themselves as social innovators (and saints?!) not least because they provided housing and education for their workers and their children.
3. Many factory workers chose factory work over, for example, domestic service, because it gave them a level of freedom and, crucially, free time which other employment options denied them.
4. ...which also meant they had more time to organise themselves as a workforce and to create societies (unions) to help out other members in times of difficulty.
5. An intellectual conflict arose between aestheticism and pure utilitarianism - beauty and art versus the efficient and the useful. Fancy vs Facts.

With those points in mind, I think anyone should be able to enjoy this novel without too many of their own Hard Times.
For me, it's very different from everything Dickens wrote up to this point - perhaps partly because we've left London for Coketown?

[Lynnm]

Thanks, Pip, for the information.

It's not my favorite book, but it does have an important message about industrialism, capitalism, and the treatment of workers. It actually is right up my alley, and completely concur with Dickens! So, it isn't the message that I have issues with, but I'm more of a fan of his satirical and exaggerated comical style in dealing with weighty topics than the heavier style of his later books.

And these topics are one of the reasons why I like 19th century authors. Now, most westerners are so enamored with capitalism, that it is difficult to find many books that take it on and that are taken seriously by a vast majority of the public. But that wasn't true in the 19th century - people wrote about and knew the negatives of capitalism...not that it stopped it.

[Lynnm]

I started reading the book this weekend. No details since we haven't started yet, but just to say that it isn't as dark as I remember it to be. Maybe as a high schooler I just didn't understand - couldn't understand - exactly what Dickens was talking about? But now I do, and at least in the first few chapters, I find he has his usual amusing way of getting his point across.

[Zulfiya]

Only facts and nothing but facts :-) and the circus is obviously out of question.

[Sarah]

Just the facts, ma'am. (Sorry, I couldn't resist!)

[Lynnm]

Sarah wrote: "Just the facts, ma'am. (Sorry, I couldn't resist!)"

Dragnet!!! :-)

[Everyman]

Lynnm wrote: "Sarah wrote: "Just the facts, ma'am. (Sorry, I couldn't resist!)"

Dragnet!!! :-)"

Yep. The story you are about to see is true.

And I bet I'm one of the few people here who watched the original series when it was first broadcast. Had to watch it at a friend's house since we didn't even own a TV in those days.

[Everyman]

Can we get Hard Times put up on the home page in place of Bleak House?

[Zulfiya]

Yes, sir.

I have just come home after teaching my evening class ... Thank you for noticing it. I changed the book in one group and forgot about the other. Bias, bias :-)