Buddy Read Requests

[Bridget]

Cozy-Pug, so sorry I missed your post yesterday, I would LOVE to Buddy read Little Dorrit with you!! Am I too late?

[Bridget]

I just read through all the comments and it looks like you all have settled on D.C. I’m only two Chapters into L.D. so I could change books and join you all if that’s okay because D.C. is also on my list. (Though the first two chapters of L.D. are very good :-)

Jean, I used the threads for L.D. as I read the first two chapters and they were still so helpful - especially the summaries!!

[[deleted user]]

Bridget wrote: "I just read through all the comments and it looks like you all have settled on D.C. I’m only two Chapters into L.D. so I could change books and join you all if that’s okay because D.C. is also on m..."

Bridget yay! I'm so glad you saw these posts! Are you sure you're fine to switch books?

[[deleted user]]

Jenny wrote: "Cozy Pug, a chapter a day sounds good to me, and whatever day to start David C. is fine by me as well :)"

Yay! I'm so excited about this! I'm already missing Dickens after a couple of days :D

If Jean will be so kind as to set up a David Copperfield buddy read thread for us, we'll work out the details and jump into this!

[Bridget]

Cozy_Pug wrote: "Bridget wrote: "I just read through all the comments and it looks like you all have settled on D.C. I’m only two Chapters into L.D. so I could change books and join you all if that’s okay because D..."

I'm sure - I'd rather switch books than miss out on reading with all of you!! Yay!

[Sue]

This sounds great and we can do Little Dorrit in the fall before Bleak House. My hope for reading a lot of Dickens is coming true.

Does the D.C. begin this coming week, on Sunday the 9th or Monday the 10th?

[[deleted user]]

Sue wrote: "This sounds great and we can do Little Dorrit in the fall before Bleak House. My hope for reading a lot of Dickens is coming true.

Does the D.C. begin this coming week, on Sunday the 9th or Monday..."

I've wanted to read Dickens' novels for years but just never got around to it. This year seems to be the right time for me - I can't get enough of him now! Glad it's working out for you, too!

How about starting with chapter 1 on Monday?

[[deleted user]]

Bionic Jean wrote: "Or ... if there are just 2 or 3, it might be better to add your comments in to the main read? The comments there are well worth reading anyway, and you can skip the summaries, (except for enjoying ..."

Jean - we have 5 people for a buddy read of David Copperfield -

Sue, Jenny, Bridget, Fiona, and myself.

We'll also be reading through the group read threads of DC from last year as we go.

May we have a buddy read thread, please? Thank you! :D

[Bionic Jean, "Dickens Duchess"]

It's posted now LINK HERE.

So lovely to have our regulars and new members reading our first group read :)

Jenny, I've put you at the end, since you were part of the first read too. You must really love this book!

[Jenny]

Thanks Jean! I actually didn't read David C, but I did join in with Little Dorrit! I have enjoyed all Dickens books so far though!

[Bionic Jean, "Dickens Duchess"]

Oooh I misremembered then, Jenny! I think you asked for links to the summaries, and Nisa did the earlier ones for us too, so I could copy and paste them in. That must be what I'm thinking of.

So a read of David Copperfield is new to everybody? How marvellous. You're in for a real treat :)

Sorry I didn't spot this conversation earlier Cozy_Pug - I think the notification must have dropped off overnight :(

[Bionic Jean, "Dickens Duchess"]

Fiona - it's so lovely to see you here! Would you like to introduce yourself in our Welcome thread?

[[deleted user]]

Bionic Jean wrote: "Oooh I misremembered then, Jenny! I think you asked for links to the summaries, and Nisa did the earlier ones for us too, so I could copy and paste them in. That must be what I'm thinking of.

So ..."

That's alright, Jean - it's of no consequence! :D

[Bionic Jean, "Dickens Duchess"]

:D

[Nancy]

Is it too late for me to join this D.C. buddy read? If not, where is the discussion thread for it?

[[deleted user]]

Nancy wrote: "Is it too late for me to join this D.C. buddy read? If not, where is the discussion thread for it?"

Hi Nancy! Come on over and join us! We only began last Monday, we've read chapters 1-6. Here's the link to our discussion thread -

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

[Bionic Jean, "Dickens Duchess"]

Fantastic! I was about to suggest that to you Nancy, except that you seemed keen to read Hard Times. But David Copperfield is a much better feel-good read.

I'll add you into the buddies :)

[Rod]

New member here thanks to Nancy! Soooooo much here. I was hoping for a buddy read of maybe Hard Times. Looks like several trains have left the station already.

[Laura]

Hello all,
I'm planning on starting Martin Chuzzlewit
tomorrow - 26th May and hoping to finish by 16th June.
This averages about 3 chapters a day or roughly 40 pages.

I'd be delighted if anyone wants to join me.
Thanks
Laura

[Bionic Jean, "Dickens Duchess"]

Anyone want to take either of these on? I'll happily create a thread if there are 3 of you or more (for each).

Both of these will be group reads at some time, but not imminently!

Please remember our two group reads which begin in a week's time, and the ongoing buddy read of David Copperfield :)

Rod - "Looks like several trains have left the station already" Well we've only had 2 buddy reads so far actually - and 3 group reads of Charles Dickens novels! Maybe it looks like more :D I'm delighted you're enjoying all the threads :)

[[deleted user]]

Laura wrote: "Hello all,
I'm planning on starting Martin Chuzzlewit
tomorrow - 26th May and hoping to finish by 16th June.
This averages about 3 chapters a day or roughly 40 pages.

I'd be deligh..."

Laura I wish I could read this with you! I think my head might explode though if I try to read 2 Dickens novels at the same time :D. Enjoy Martin Chuzzlewit!

[Bridget]

Cozy_Pug wrote: "Laura wrote: "Hello all,
I'm planning on starting Martin Chuzzlewit
tomorrow - 26th May and hoping to finish by 16th June.
This averages about 3 chapters a day or roughly 40 pages.
..."

CozyPug, you made me chuckle!! You are so right. I would love to read both Hard Times and Martin Chuzzlewit, but there are so many characters in Dickens novels I don't think I can read two at once and keep them all straight.

Just this morning I was trying to remember characters from Dombey and Son (which we just finished) and I had to look up the name of Mr. Toots. I had a clear picture in my head of him, but couldn't remember his name at all. Isn't that crazy!! I loved Mr. Toots!!

[Laura]

Cozy_Pug no problem! Two at a time would be quite a challenge..:)

[Fiona]

Sue, Bridget, Angela, Janelle - Little Dorrit buddy read now to be discussed here, if I understood Jean correctly. Have I missed anyone?

[Bridget]

I think you are right Fiona, this is our spot to discuss our Buddy Read of Little Dorrit. I think we left off saying we would wait until Mid-September to start?? That works great for me as well. I've got a couple other books I'm trying to finish right now.

I'm so glad you all want to read Little Dorrit together! This should be so fun!

[Sue]

Fiona, I think that’s the complete list unless someone else decides to join us. I am feeling very good about this. Of course today the sun is shining, the sky is bright blue and the humidity is not tropical, so all is well :-)

I am trying to get moving with my NetGalley books, but once again I requested too many, not expecting to receive as many as I did. I have now begun cutting back my requests but that won’t kick in until later in the fall. So lots to read in addition to a few for other groups. But there are certainly worse problems to have😊 in this crazy world.

[Fiona]

There certainly are worse problems, Sue! I have to control my NetGalley urges too. It’s so addictive.

All - shall we set a tentative date to start? Saturday, 18 September would be roughly halfway. I’ve been up to the attic to retrieve my copy of LD so I’m ready to go!

[Allison]

I’ll join the Little Dorrit buddy read! I knew there was a Dickens book coming up somewhere I wanted to read, it must have been this. I love LD!

[Bionic Jean, "Dickens Duchess"]

Ah ... I suspected that there might be some others who missed the group read of Little Dorrit! It's always better to put it in the right place :)

I doubt whether I can commit so much time again to reprising some of my original comments though, so maybe if you decided on a leader, they could check the original thread as you go? Or even take it in turns? There are 6 threads, and every single chapter is linked at the start of each thread. You could even link to the illustrations there :)

This is supposing you wish to take it at a chapter a day, but you may prefer to do it differently. The first buddy read was to read within a month, for instance.

For comparison. David Copperfield is his longest novel, at 357,489 words. Little Dorrit is his 4th longest, at 339,870 words, but it is a more complex work. It is divided into 2 books. Book I has 36 chapters, Book II has 34 chapters.

[Rod]

Please add me to the LD buddy read....

[Bionic Jean, "Dickens Duchess"]

Another thing to bear in mind, is that we will have an 18th century novel during the Autumn plus at least one end of the year read by Charles Dickens during December, (all booked in with a leader) before moving on to Bleak House.

So you're all set with Charles Dickens for now until mid-September with the short reads, you can skip the influencing 18th century novel and side reads if you like, but then group reads of Charles Dickens start again 2 months later in December.

It's worked out well with this buddy read just gone, as we still have 3 short reads for the summer left, (unless you can read more than one Dickens at a time!) but it's worth planning carefully so that you don't miss out, (and that it doesn't fracture the group's reading too much, either, but then I would tell you if it does :) )

[Janelle]

I’m happy with midSeptember too. Yes I also have too many books to read but I have really enjoyed my daily Dickens reads. I think there will probably be more to discuss with LD so I’m sure we will be referring to the original group read a lot, Jean!

[Laura]

I'd like to join for Little Dorrit please. I'm aiming to read it from mid Sept - early Oct

[Sue]

Welcome Laura. Looks like we will have another great group.

[Bionic Jean, "Dickens Duchess"]

Good to see you Laura! Are you still on target with your monthly Dickens reads?

[Laura]

Thanks Jean.. Yep, so far so good. I'm really enjoying it. Just finished Dombey & Son and now reading David Copperfield.

[Laura]

Thanks Sue. I look forward to it.

[Bionic Jean, "Dickens Duchess"]

Wow!

[Angela]

September 18 sounds good to me, I have to warn though that I will be out of the country YAY from the 24th - October 3. I am taking my Kindle, so will be able to keep up depending on our travel schedule.

[Sue]

Angela, it seems we will be having a comfortable reading schedule once again so everything should be fine.

[Sue]

Laura, it sounds like you will be reading on a faster schedule than the rest of this group. We may slow you down!

[Laura]

Sue wrote: "Laura, it sounds like you will be reading on a faster schedule than the rest of this group. We may slow you down!"

No worries - I'll still to my schedule and can drop in and out of the discussion as it goes. No pressure from me :)
I'm trying to read all the Dickens novels this year so have given myself a fairly rigid timetable.

[Bionic Jean, "Dickens Duchess"]

Janelle wrote: "I think there will probably be more to discuss with LD so I’m sure we will be referring to the original group read a lot, Jean! ..."

I confess this gladdens my heart! :)

When I created "Dickensians!", as well as hoping enthusiasts would have some fun (!), I had in mind to create an ongoing resource, without spoilers which pepper so many books, or articles online.

That's why I devoted so many hundreds of hours to writing comprehensive summaries (simplifying and highlighting, but never interpreting) and researching extra "a little more" information posts. Then come personal reactions and discussion from everyone, which is lovely :) There are no spoilers in our group reads, because everything is carefully linked by Nisa, so you know exactly where you are as you go. I think it is unique, and completely different from looking back at other groups' reads, (including those I moderate!) which may be interesting, but are not particularly helpful.

If you are having a quick read-through, taking just a couple of weeks or so, then this wouldn't be appropriate - that's just reading for the story really. But the buddy read of David Copperfield, and - as Sue says - this one of Little Dorrit are both to be just one chapter a day. This might be to enable other reading, but also, it means there is a more relaxed time frame to look at things in depth - which clearly many enjoy.

Yet I know several buddies have not looked at the original threads, and it really is a shame :( Each summary chapter includes 2 or 3 illustrations as well, for instance!

I'm sorry but I really cannot commit so much time again, to paraphrase my posts from there, or keep linking to them. (For a start, I've started preparing the work for Bleak House, even though it's 6 months away!)

So Janelle, would you like to co-ordinate the buddy read please? And be responsible for checking the original thread, mentioning key facts, or linking to whatever you choose? If this is too onerous, then perhaps you could take 2 threads, and Lori and Bridget could take 2 others? A simple link to the new thread might help those buddies who can't scroll and find it, too. I'm only naming names because I know you three have referred to the original thread a few times :) Any volunteers would be welcome.

I really would appreciate this, and do need an answer, since this is an official buddy read. I'm not starting up any buddy reads of Charles Dickens' novels when we are reading one as a group read, as it would be too divisive, (and have added an edit about this to the rules in "What Do we Read?") but am happy to create a thread once this is decided, for any dates between now and January. It looks as if mid-September might be your start date, so if that's settled, we're almost ready to finalise it.

If you know you've never looked at the group read threads, then please just pick any of the group read threads for David Copperfield (which you now know) at random, link to a random chapter from the start, and hopefully, you might see what I mean.

[Bionic Jean, "Dickens Duchess"]

It's a comfortable time frame, as Sue said, but also happily inclusive for members like Laura, who is able to join group or buddy reads for part of the time. It's great that your reading has coincided with this one Laura, and for those who don't know, Laura and Cozy_Pug did our first ever buddy read, taking just one month over it. I must say I think you're doing very well, sticking to your timetable.

One GR group has a "real time Victorian read" - i.e. as the Victorians first accessed serial stories - and for a novel by Charles Dickens, this read took just over a year and a half. Plenty began but very few finished it! I admired the moderator, who kept on preparing little video commentaries each month, for everyone to watch, even though there were only a couple of faithfuls in the end. (I've never done it by the way - just came across these once.)

Your "a Dickens novel every month" group is like the counterpart of that one Laura! But still, I think some readers may feel the pressure, and move to pastures new. So Kudos to you!

[Janelle]

Jean, I think your summaries are quite brilliant and certainly I wouldn’t expect you to devote your time again to our buddy read so I’m happy to start the days discussion. With DC I was reading the chapter and then usually going straight to your summary and the comments in the original discussion, I’ll just have to figure out how to link it!

[Bridget]

I second Janelle's thoughts. Jean, your work on the original threads is wonderful and there is no need for you to recreate it, or monitor our progress on this Buddy Read. (Though of course drop in to chat at any moment!)

Janelle, thank you for volunteering. I follow the same pattern as you, read the chapter, read the original thread, then open the buddy read thread. I'm happy to help out as well. I'm probably not geographically ideal because I live on the West Coast United States, so I think I'm still asleep when other members are commenting. But you won't have to carry this alone. I'm so looking forward to this.

By my calculations, there are 70 chapters in Little Dorrit, so if we start September 18th, and read one chapter a day, we should be done by the last week of November. That gives us plenty of time to join in on the Christmas Dickensians! read.

[Lori]

Buddies, I haven’t decided to commit to reading Little Dorrit just yet. I really, really want to after such a wonderful experience with you all on David Copperfield. I’m torn about reading the fall read (whatever that might be) with the group and then with getting caught up overall with the missed reads (as I missed out on Little Dorrit). Give me a bit to make a decision and if I do decide to read the buddy read, I would be more than happy to help out with Bridget and Janelle as Jean suggested.

[Bionic Jean, "Dickens Duchess"]

Thank you so much Janelle, Bridget and Lori for your lovely words and fantastic spirit of co-operation :) I'm sorry to have posted at such length, but wanted to be clear from the start, and not misunderstood. And when a buddy read is as thorough, well supported and carefully timetabled as David Copperfield has been (thanks Fiona!) it is worth planning a little. That's partly why I navigated you all here :)

So if Janelle is official coordinator, does that suit? We cover all time zones anyway, Bridget. I personally only ever overlap with most US times, and Janelle is in Australia, of course, about as far away in time to me as it's possible to be! But the "daily chapter" is pretty free and easy, as we don't keep to the exact time every day, in our personal reading habits. I found that when I tried to post at the same time every day, thinking it would help, whatever time I chose didn't suit everybody! So although our days are all different, I'm sure it will work out if the same person has a block of time in which to post first.

As for linking, Janelle, the only thing extra to remember when you are trying to link to a specific post, is to click on the date and exact time at the top right hand side of the box, before you make your link. That brings the post to the top, and if you link as normal to that address bar, you will find that clicking on your link takes everyone to the exact post :)

Bridget, I'm sure you and Janelle can sort out between you how to share the work, if Janelle finds she prefers to just do one thread, then pass it on - maybe alternate? But since you regularly read the original group comments, of course you can add links or pick out points too! It's just as well to know who is starting it off. And I didn't mean to exclude anyone - just to get it started.

Lori, sure - sorry - I didn't mean to push! As for the Autumn read, I'll post a poll at the beginning of August, and that might help you decide. It won't be a hosted read, as I don't feel confident about doing that for an 18th century novel! But it will be held over the same time frame. Then we have two reads for Christmas - just being planned. They may overlap a week or so into November and January.

[Sue]

Jean, thank you for all of your wonderful work. I am one of those who didn’t check in with the original DC thread more than once or twice, I think. Time and concentration have been my bugbears that I have to keep working on...and I will. I also will make more of a point of checking out the original thread this time.

Good luck with all your work for Bleak House too. I am looking forward to reading that.

And I’m looking forward to reading Little Dorrit with this great group too and working to get some of my other reading done now. Thanks Janelle and Bridget for taking on your tasks too.

[Bridget]

Lori wrote: "Buddies, I haven’t decided to commit to reading Little Dorrit just yet. I really, really want to after such a wonderful experience with you all on David Copperfield. I’m torn about reading the fall..."

I totally understand Lori! No rush to decide, and no worries if you can't join in (tho you will be missed ;-)