​Dickens in December

A few months ago, a simple comment on Caroline’s blog sparked an idea. That idea was an event to celebrate Dickens’ work, and also his 200th birth anniversary. The name of the event was inspired by Roof Beam Reader’s Austen in August.

Caroline and I will co-host this event which includes book and movie reviews, a read-along, and two give-aways. We decided to post about it in advance in order to give people some time to arrange their reading schedule.

About the event:

1 December – end of the month: book reviews. You can choose any novel or short story by Charles Dickens, also books by other authors that are connected in some way to Dickens or his work. An excellent book is Drood, by Dan Simmons. If I hadn’t read that last year, it would have been a great choice for this event.

9-15 December: watch-along. This week is dedicated to watching movies based on Dickens’ books.

16-21 December: give-away. There will be two give-aways, one on Caroline’s blog, the other one here.

21st December: a read-along of A Christmas Carol

End of the month: wrap up post. This will be a post containing all the links of the participants. You can join Caroline and I at any time during December. Choose a badge and tell us about your plans in a comment. Your level of involvement is entirely up to you. It can be only a movie, or a short story, or five books if you like. Just make sure you come and tell us about it so we can add your link.

I will start with three short stories by Charles Dickens:

To Be Taken with a Grain of Salt

The Signalman

The Story of the Bagman’s Uncle

They are part of a short story collection, The Wordsworth Book of Horror Stories, which I bought today.

Many thanks to Caroline (Beauty is a Sleeping Cat) for co-hosting this event. You can find her introductory post here. I’m already looking forward to next month!

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50 Responses to ​Dickens in December

  1. Great idea, Delia! Things are really busy for me at the moment and I’m going back to London in early December, so not sure if I’ll be able to participate in this. But I’ll certainly watch along with interest, and maybe pick up a Dickens if I have time!

    • Delia says:

      That must be exciting, going back home for the holidays. 🙂
      A book might be a big commitment, but you can always watch a movie. It would be great to have you along for this event if time allows.

  2. Vishy says:

    This is wonderful news, Delia! I will join in for the readalong of ‘A Christmas Carol’ and for the watchalong. It will be interesting to think of movies which are based on Dickens’ works and pick one or more to watch. I have wanted to read ‘The Pickwick Papers’ for a while now, but it is a chunkster and so I don’t know whether I can do it in December. I will have to think of a ‘thin’ Dickens book to read 🙂 Love the badges – they are so beautiful!

    • Delia says:

      Thanks for joining in, Vishy. Have you read Hard Times? This one is around 400 pages, maybe less, depending on the edition. I’ve read it years ago and liked it.
      I know what you mean about the chunksters, I have two Dickens novels and they are both over 800 pages.
      I had fun creating those badges, I’m glad you like them.

      • Vishy says:

        Thanks for recommending ‘Hard Times’, Delia. I think I might have my sister’s copy of ‘Hard Times’. I remember looking at it when I was in school – the cover was beautiful and the font was nice. I also remember the first chapter starting with the words ‘Facts, facts, facts’. I will see whether I still have it and if I do, I will keep it on my desk. To be read next month 🙂

        • Delia says:

          Go for it, Vishy!
          I am still trying to decide which novel(s) I should tackle for December but for now I have the short stories to start with.

          • Vishy says:

            I searched my bookshelf today evening and found ‘Hard Times’ in it 🙂 It has 249 pages, but the font is small. But it is still a ‘thin’ book by Dickensian standards and I can’t wait to read it. Thanks for recommending it, Delia 🙂 I can’t wait for ‘Dickens in December’ to start.

          • Delia says:

            That’s great, Vishy, it looks like you’re all set for December. No surprise the font is so small if the book is only 249 pages long.

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  4. Mel u says:

    Great idea. I will be joining in. It was Caroline’s reading of my post on The Dicken’s Dictionary that got her interested in Dickens so I am proud to see this event inspired my post. I have read all of Dicken’s novels long ago. I may, if I can fit it in, try to reread Bleak House for your event. I have, incidentally, spent a good bit of time in Bangkok and currently live in the Philippines.

    • Delia says:

      Hi Mel,
      I’m glad you are joining us. I haven’t read The Dickens Dictionary but I’d love to. Maybe I should wait until I’ve read more of his novels, though. Hard Times and Great Expectations are the only ones I’ve read so far.
      Reading all of Dickens’ novels, now that’s an accomplishment!
      How did you like Bangkok?

  5. Mel u says:

    Delia. I loved Bangkok for is wild confusion, it is a stunning city for the senses. The food is wonderful.

  6. I’ve already posted on Caroline’s blog – but this sounds a wonderful idea. Please do count me in!

  7. Bellezza says:

    Oh, I want to do this! I’m already committed to Little Women, but I’ll try to squeeze in at least one Dickens novel. Great idea from you and Caroline!

  8. Bellezza says:

    I could have sworn I’d signed up here earlier when I came to thank you for commenting on Anna Karenina. I believe I’m leaving an invisible presence wherever I go these days. 🙂 Anyway, consider me signed up. I wish that I could read more than one, but at least I’ll set aside time for one Dickens. Now, which one? I’ve loved Bleak House, Tale Of Two Cities, Great Expectations, and of course Christmas Carol. Perhaps I’ll open the long owned copy of Drood which Frances gave me years ago…Thanks for co-hosting!

    • Delia says:

      You did sign up earlier but the comments are moderated and I wasn’t around to do it until now.
      I’m happy to have you join us. Drood is a great book, I liked it very much and I’m looking forward to your review.

  9. claire says:

    Hi, I signed up at Caroline’s blog, thanks so much for hosting! Will be reading The Old Curiosity Shop.

    • Delia says:

      Hello Claire,
      Thank you for joining us, and for taking the time to come over and say hi. I haven’t read The Old Curiosity Shop so I’m curious to see what you think of it.

  10. This certainly sounds like a fun idea and I would love to join in, but this time of the year I have too much going on, but I will indeed follow with interest.

  11. Elisa says:

    What a fun idea! I love rereading Christmas Carol – I will try to come and read along with you 🙂

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  14. Vasilly says:

    I think I’ll join! I plan on reading A Christmas Carol anyway this month so why not read it in a group? 🙂

  15. ReBelle says:

    I’ll do a review on a short and hopefully join in on the read-a-long.

  16. Brian Joseph says:

    Hi Delia – I will be reading and commenting upon A Tale of Two Cities. I am already about two-thirds through so I should have plenty of time to get a post up.

    P.S. – I discovered your blog via Caroline’s and the Dickens event. It is fantastic and I will be frequent visitor!

  17. Erin says:

    Completely joining – linked to the blog post 🙂

    Will be doing GREAT EXPECTATIONS for my personal book.

    Not sure on the movie yet though, hm.

    • Delia says:

      Hello Erin,
      I’m so glad so many people are joining us for this event. You are most welcome.
      Great Expectations is a beautiful book, I hope you’ll enjoy it. As for the movie/s, there’s still time to decide.

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  22. Thanks for the nice comment on my Dickens in December post! I also wanted to thank you for hosting the event. Have a great holiday season!

    Cynthia
    http://thethingsyoucanread.blogspot.com/

  23. Rowena says:

    Hi Delia! I’ve written a review for Bleak House. Where should I post it on your blog?

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