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May 2020 BOTM - A Tale Of Two Cities
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I have a copy of the book. My library has challenges and I won a stack of 11 classics and this is one of them.
Count me in. I think I'm going to find an audiobook version.
I actually started reading this on my own before it was nominated for this month. I like it so far and I look forward to the discussions.
Count me in! Luckily this is one of Dickens's shorter books, therefore I'm cautiously optimistic that I'll be able to finish it within a month. Looking forward to it!
I’m in too! I had a copy on my shelf but haven’t read it before
I just placed a reserve (hold) on the book at the public library. I have to wait for it to come in. I enjoyed the movie and look forward the reading this novel.
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If you are in a similar situation as me, you can get the free kindle version at this link below and get the kindle application for you phone or computer (If you don't have a kindle):
https://www.amazon.com/Tale-Two-Citie...
Dropping a quote from Book 1 I loved: “A wonderful fact to reflect upon, that every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to every other”
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I like the narrator of my audiobook, Adam Henderson. He definitely makes it easier to follow and enjoy as he does accents really well.So far it's better than I was expecting. Dickens almost reminds me of Steinbeck, especially at the wine part.
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Hello everyone, I finished Book 1, and I don't think there's much to comment about it. I must say I liked it, definetly with a faster pace than I was expecting.
If my memory doesn't fail me, this first part was set in 1774, so I'm looking foward to the transition to 1789, to see how the French Revolution will be portrait in the book.
I also liked the wine scene, Dickens' refletions about people and society were my favourite aspect about the book so far.
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@Vera - I also liked the part where the wine casks breaks - I think that it is probably foreshadowing of the revolution to come.
I enjoyed this one when a finally read it a few years back. I found it pretty readable. And of course, it has the most famous and best opening lines to a novel ever. :)
I am a bit behind schedule, too. At first, I had a little trouble keeping track of who is who, but luckily now I can distinguish between the different characters.I noticed that whereas Dickens often creates memorable characters, notable for saying specific phrases over and over again (i.e. Uriah Heep in David Copperfield), there aren't any/many in "A Tale of Two Cities", are there?
I finished book 2 and this time I occasionally zoned out. It seems like there are a lot of sections that add nothing tangible to the story. Is it me, or did the storming of the Bastille come out of nowhere?
And just to be clear, is Charles going to France to find Monseigneur?
This is what I get for baking while listening to an audiobook. Everything gets muddled.
Colleen wrote: "I enjoyed this one when a finally read it a few years back. I found it pretty readable. And of course, it has the most famous and best opening lines to a novel ever. :)"Yes, I have to agree with you! I haven't finsihed book 2 yet, but I don't think there's a really memorable character, as one can see in Great Expectations, for example.
Althought, I must say that Sydney Carton is a curious character, and I think he might be relevant to the story.
The Damsel in the Library wrote: "I finished book 2 and this time I occasionally zoned out. It seems like there are a lot of sections that add nothing tangible to the story. Is it me, or did the storming of the Bastille come out o..."
I thought so too, the storming of the Bastille did come pretty abruptly. :-)
There's also lots of spontaneous travelling between London-Paris, which must have taken several days in the 18th/19th century, but happens within the blink of an eye in the book?!
Book 1 took me a while to understand what was happening, and I admit I even read an internet summary of book 1 to make sure I understood it. Now that I am in Book 2 I know what is going on and it's more enjoyable to read it.
I am late but will finish. I have read Book 1 and will start Book 2 tomorrow.
I finished it! I'm not sure exactly what rating I'd give it; I'll work on a full review soon.SPOILERS FOR THE END
What is it that makes them convict Darney a second time? Some connection to Defarge, but what is the exact reason?
I finished. I gave it a 5 star. I kept thinking of the movie with Ronald Colman and could picture the characters.
I have a review up now. You can read it by following the link in my profile.
The Damsel in the Library wrote: "I have a review up now. You can read it by following the link in my profile."I read your review. I agree on so many points but I still gave it a 5 star. I kept picturing the 1939 movie with Ronald Colman, especially the knitting, and it helped me picture the characters.
I just finished it today and enjoyed the book. Sometimes I had to reread parts so I could fully comprehend what was going on but overall I liked it. My first Dickens book was A Christmas Carol and is my favorite, and wanted to try one of his other works. I did not enjoy Great Expectations in high school so I like Tale of Two Cities better than that but A Christmas Carol is still my favorite.
I've just started reading this...maybe I'm a little late but I'm a fast reader..I'll let you know what I think later..I'm on chapter 4 so far...
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SPOILERS FOR THE END
What is it that makes them convict Darney a second time? Some connection to Def..."
I finally finished this book. The first offense was being an emigrant. The second offense was the association with his family name.
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The winner of May's BOTM is Charles DIckens' A Tale of Two Cites.
I am still waiting for my book to arrive in the mail, so I will just make a rough reading schedule based on the table of contents I found online:
Week 1 May 1-7 Book 1
Weeks 2&3 May 8 - 21 Book 2
Week 4 May 22-31 Book 3
Please post your thoughts on this novel to this thread. This novel has been on my to-read list forever, so I am very excited that we are doing it!