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Books & Reading
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Pickwood Papers is the worst of his book IMO. Agree on DC and GE. Bleak House and Our Mutual Friend make up my top 4 with those.captainbob said:
I agree. I struggled too with A Tale of Two Cities but pushed through to the end on my third attempt; it was worth it though. That's why I advise starting with the likes of David Copperfield, Great Expectations, Nicholas Nickelby...or Pickwick Papers which is light on plot but an easy, fun read.Chunes said:
I loved David Copperfield, so I tried A Tale of Two Cities. I was surprised to find it was written in a different style, and nowhere near as readable and fluent as DC.captainbob said:
I agree with that. Incidentally, the graveyard which features in the opening pages can be found in Cooling in North Kent where you can see the lozenge-shaped small headstones (infant deaths) which in the book mark where Pip's siblings lie.EveshamAddick said:
Great Expectations is a good Dickens entry point - great story, great characters, not quite as long as the doorstops!CaptainRobbo said:
Only read Tale of Two Cities by Dickens when I was a kid, absolutely loved it.captainbob said:Favourite author: Charles Dickens
Favourite novel: David Copperfield
'David Copperfield' was Dickens' favourite novel and is largely based on his own childhood and youth. I would recommend this as the second novel to read by him.
After that, I think most readers would pick out 'A Tale of Two Cities' and 'Bleak House' as top of the league.
One mentioned less often is his first novel, 'Pickwick Papers', which is set principally in Kent and is Dickens at his most light-hearted.
If you want to time travel back to Victorian England, the closest you can get to this is to read Dickens and wallow in his detailed, evocative descriptive language.1 -
I read Pickwick Papers 40 years ago so I am not sure I trust my judgement on that one, come to think of it! What I meant was that I seem to recall it being very accessible so perhaps a way in to Dickens before the more challenging works that you highlight.Jints said:
Pickwood Papers is the worst of his book IMO. Agree on DC and GE. Bleak House and Our Mutual Friend make up my top 4 with those.captainbob said:
I agree. I struggled too with A Tale of Two Cities but pushed through to the end on my third attempt; it was worth it though. That's why I advise starting with the likes of David Copperfield, Great Expectations, Nicholas Nickelby...or Pickwick Papers which is light on plot but an easy, fun read.Chunes said:
I loved David Copperfield, so I tried A Tale of Two Cities. I was surprised to find it was written in a different style, and nowhere near as readable and fluent as DC.captainbob said:
I agree with that. Incidentally, the graveyard which features in the opening pages can be found in Cooling in North Kent where you can see the lozenge-shaped small headstones (infant deaths) which in the book mark where Pip's siblings lie.EveshamAddick said:
Great Expectations is a good Dickens entry point - great story, great characters, not quite as long as the doorstops!CaptainRobbo said:
Only read Tale of Two Cities by Dickens when I was a kid, absolutely loved it.captainbob said:Favourite author: Charles Dickens
Favourite novel: David Copperfield
'David Copperfield' was Dickens' favourite novel and is largely based on his own childhood and youth. I would recommend this as the second novel to read by him.
After that, I think most readers would pick out 'A Tale of Two Cities' and 'Bleak House' as top of the league.
One mentioned less often is his first novel, 'Pickwick Papers', which is set principally in Kent and is Dickens at his most light-hearted.
If you want to time travel back to Victorian England, the closest you can get to this is to read Dickens and wallow in his detailed, evocative descriptive language.0 -
Love reading Michael Connelly books (especially The Lincoln Lawyer stories) but if I had to name the three books I’ve enjoyed the most they would be in no particular order:
The Godfather - Mario Puzo
London - Edward Rutherfurd (the story of London from the first settlement to 1997)
and a recent read
A Calamity of Souls - David Baldacci.1 -
Fair enough - probably 30 years for me TBH. From recollection it's really just a loosely connected series of sketches/short stories but it really established him as a popular writer and made his fortune. Martin Chuzzlewit should also be swerved although it certainly has plenty of good bits.captainbob said:
I read Pickwick Papers 40 years ago so I am not sure I trust my judgement on that one, come to think of it! What I meant was that I seem to recall it being very accessible so perhaps a way in to Dickens before the more challenging works that you highlight.Jints said:
Pickwood Papers is the worst of his book IMO. Agree on DC and GE. Bleak House and Our Mutual Friend make up my top 4 with those.captainbob said:
I agree. I struggled too with A Tale of Two Cities but pushed through to the end on my third attempt; it was worth it though. That's why I advise starting with the likes of David Copperfield, Great Expectations, Nicholas Nickelby...or Pickwick Papers which is light on plot but an easy, fun read.Chunes said:
I loved David Copperfield, so I tried A Tale of Two Cities. I was surprised to find it was written in a different style, and nowhere near as readable and fluent as DC.captainbob said:
I agree with that. Incidentally, the graveyard which features in the opening pages can be found in Cooling in North Kent where you can see the lozenge-shaped small headstones (infant deaths) which in the book mark where Pip's siblings lie.EveshamAddick said:
Great Expectations is a good Dickens entry point - great story, great characters, not quite as long as the doorstops!CaptainRobbo said:
Only read Tale of Two Cities by Dickens when I was a kid, absolutely loved it.captainbob said:Favourite author: Charles Dickens
Favourite novel: David Copperfield
'David Copperfield' was Dickens' favourite novel and is largely based on his own childhood and youth. I would recommend this as the second novel to read by him.
After that, I think most readers would pick out 'A Tale of Two Cities' and 'Bleak House' as top of the league.
One mentioned less often is his first novel, 'Pickwick Papers', which is set principally in Kent and is Dickens at his most light-hearted.
If you want to time travel back to Victorian England, the closest you can get to this is to read Dickens and wallow in his detailed, evocative descriptive language.0 -
I am an avid reader (and writer) and it is almost impossible to pick a favourite book or indeed writer but I have a short list.
Novels:
All the Light We Cannot See - Anthony Doerr. A really atmospheric book set in Germany and France during the second world war. Netflix did a pretty good mini series adaptation, but if you like reading I'd go for the book.
Alone in Berlin - Hans Fallada. The author lived in Berlin through the second world war and wrote this shortly afterwards. It is about a couple who decide to passively resist the Nazi's after the death of their son. There was a film made with Emma Thomson which I felt was terrible and lost so much of the essence of the book.
The Silence of the Lambs - Thomas Harris. I read this book when I was sixteen when the film came out but before seeing the film. It was my first introduction to proper, not for the faint hearted crime fiction and I have loved it ever since.
The Day of the Jackal - Frederick Forsyth. My dad gave me his copy when I was a young teenager and I read it several times and it is probably the book that got me into adult reading. I loved the way the author weaved real world history and events so cleverly in the story so you almost didn't know what parts of the book were actually true.
In terms of authors it is so hard to narrow down, but my long list order are:
Philip Kerr - I love the Bernie Gunther series and so well written in the first person.
MW Craven - The Poe and Tilly books are all fantastic.
JD Kirk - The Logan Series and the Hoon books are well written and often laugh out loud funny.
Robert Harris - A great selection of books and I have thoroughly enjoyed most of them.
Ken Follett - The Fall of Giants trilogy are great books and a really interesting look at the 20th century.
Val McDermid - I find her later work to be the best and she crafts great stories.
Mo Hayder - The Jack Caffery series is fantastic and the early books set around South East London so lots of places familiar to most Addicks fans.
I could go on and on but should probably stop there!1
