Dickensians! discussion

Please read the three posts, as they may answer your questions, and help us all to navigate around the group.

Main Reads

The group's main read is a work by Charles Dickens, decided usually by a group poll, and hosted by the moderator. We will not read the same book as a group, more than once every five years.

As most of the novels are long, we will generally read this over about three months or so, although members may take it at their own pace. (Please be aware though, that with any work by Charles Dickens - and especially his novels - to get the most out of him, it is best to read quite slowly.)

There may be four to six threads posted, to assist with spoilers. Please make sure you are in the correct one!

Moderator's Side Reads

We also often have a side read, which usually starts a while after the group's main read. This side read is selected by the moderator, either to complement, or to add another perspective on the current main read voted in by members. It may be a work of fiction, or a nonfiction book. It is not a timetabled read, and the start and end dates are flexible. It is not hosted, but we ask everyone to avoid spoilers, on the rare occasion that there are any.

Short Reads and Novellas

In between novels, we have short seasonal reads, which are chosen and led by our members. Every member is very welcome to host one of these, as often as they like. These reads are always of works by Charles Dickens, either singly or in collaboration. The duration of these short reads varies; we have several of these in the summer, and also to take us over the end of the year.

A note about plans moving forward from the end of 2021

The first three posts describe what we read in "Dickensians!" We are still a relatively recent group on Goodreads, being founded on April 9th 2020. At first it was not clear which options would be best, and which would help to keep our unique specialist place in Goodreads's many groups. Now though it is clear that these three types of read above should remain our core activities. There will always be an ongoing group read, (and sometimes two, including a side read).

Over our first year and a half we have also had four buddy reads, which have also been successful and enjoyable for those participating. Two in particular have been "catch-up" buddy reads, for those who missed our group reads, and these have been very special events indeed. Plus we have also had one group read of a book by an 18th Century author who influenced Charles Dickens. This was a big commitment for lovers of Charles Dickens's works. I am grateful to the member(s) who agreed to host this, with flair and diligence. This book was not our common focus, and proved to not always be an easy read. Those who participated, in the main found it to be a valuable experience, but perhaps not one to include in our regular activities each year.

All these extra reads have been useful diversifications, but have nevertheless distracted a little from the focus of the group, which is for us to all read works by Charles Dickens together. For now, we will not offer any buddy reads, nor group reads of 18th century novels. It is important to review things occasionally, to allow for fresh ideas. By far the most popular reads overall have been the "chapter a day" group reads we have had of three of Charles Dickens's novels. The short reads too, have proved to be incredibly successful, with great research by our members, and some of the best and most analytical discussions I have come across in all of Goodreads. These are a huge success, and developing all the time; a unique feature embracing the whole group.

It is important for all members to have a choice, and a chance to choose which works to read. Therefore for our three types of read, one is decided by the individual member who will host it, one by the overall majority (by poll) and one by the moderator (optional side read).

PLEASE NOTE - From January 2022 therefore, there will be no ongoing buddy reads, but otherwise the structure remains the same, with plenty of member choice, and member-led reads. We also have plenty of other threads around the topic of Charles Dickens, which are continually interesting and surprising. Thank you to everyone for making this such an enjoyable and satisfying group to be in :)