100 Books Challenge discussion

This thread is for discussion of A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens which is our January 2015 group read. Here is the breakdown of parts and chapters in case you want to begin reading early. Discussion is scheduled to begin on Jan. 20, but I'll leave the thread open now as it is a bit longer than our usual month read.

Part 1 has Chapters 1-6 (I-VI)
Part 2 has Chapters 1-24 (I-XXIV)
Part 3 has Chapters 1-15 (I-XV)

That's a total of 45 chapters so if you wanted to divide it equally over 4 weeks, it would be 11-12 chapters per week. Here's a suggested reading schedule:
Week 1 - Part 1, Chapter 1/I through Part 2, Chapter 5/V (11 chapters)
Week 2 - Part 2, Chapter 6/VI through Part 2, Chapter 17/XVII) (12 chapters)
Week 3 - Part 2, Chapter 18/XVIII through Part 3, Chapter 4/IV (11 chapters)
Week 4 - Part 3, Chapters 5/V through 15/XV (11 chapters)

My copy is on my Kindle Fire and doesn't have page numbers so I have no idea how long or short the chapters are. If you have page numbers, there might be a better way to divide them more equally.

Happy Reading!!

I've requested the audio book from the library. It's not at my branch so I'll have to wait for it to arrive from another one.

I have to say that I am really looking forward to reading this. I was supposed to read it in high school, but I'm pretty sure I just skimmed and relied on the Cliff's notes.

:-) I'm having trouble getting back into Dickens. It's a lot like reading the KJ version on the Bible. Read a section and think, 'What??' I found a site with a synopsis of chapters. I read the chapter, then the synopsis, then the chapter again. So far I'm up to chap 4, but I've read the 1st 3 chapters multiple times. This is what happens to me when I don't read classics regularly. My own fault. LOL

I’m currently on Chapter 9 in Section 2 and I can honestly say I am not a fan. I might just read a chapter a day and concentrate on the content a bit more. I may be missing something since I’m reading just like I would read any other book.
Martha can you please post the website you found the synopses. I think I might want to read them after I read a chapter.

OK. I'll have to find it online. It's on my phone. :-)

Here it is ... has a lot more info than just the chapter summaries, but I didn't look at anything else as I didn't want spoilers.

http://m.sparknotes.com/lit/twocities/

Thank you...I just read the section for chapters 7-9 and it does help explain his way of writing. This is the first book I read from him.

I love A Christmas Carol and Bleak House, but hated Little Dorrit. Thankfully, he wrote enough that we can pick and choose. Many love Little Dorrit, but I was miserable reading it. LOL

Thanks for the link, Martha.

I'm listening on audio,but do have a copy of the text handy to reference.

Almost half-way done and am starting to see a little romantic rivalry ....

I finished the first section of the reading plan I posted above ... 1/4 done with the book. The summaries are helping. I do find it similar to his other books in that I'm waiting for the main idea of the story, how all these people will be connected and what effect Manette's past will have on everyone. It keeps being mentioned so it must relate. I know I read this in school, but remember very little.

Martha wrote: "I finished the first section of the reading plan I posted above ... 1/4 done with the book. The summaries are helping. I do find it similar to his other books in that I'm waiting for the main idea ..."

About all I remembered from high school was Madame Defarge's knitting ...

Oh ... as of this afternoon I'm on disk 11 out of 12. So I'll probably have it finished on Monday's commute to work.

Haven't quite finished ... half-way through the final disc. I'm going to go "out" for lunch and drive around listening .. LOL

I do find the long set-up rather frustrating ... but it's classic Dickens. He has many characters to introduce and the reader frequently finds out much later that some small item plays a major role. I do find it interesting how he weaves all these disparate characters together and the sometimes unbelievable connections between them.

Classic Dickens. Yes, that and the long sentences & descriptions. :-)

Oh and I think I'm up to chapter 7 or 8 in Part 2.

Anybody else tackling this classic?

I'm still working on it. Had to quit to get some library books read. Hope to finish this week. So I can move on to another.

Don't think I'll read Emma again, but might read S&S as I've never read it.

I was able to finish it last week, but it was a struggle.

My granddaughter was with us for 2 days. I have very little reading time for my books when she's here. :-)

Giovanna wrote: "I was able to finish it last week, but it was a struggle."

Dickens is a challenge, but frequently worth the effort.
Hope you were able to find something to appreciate in the book.

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens – 4****
This is a classic tale of resurrection and redemption set against the backdrop of the French Revolution. It wouldn’t be Dickens without a huge cast of supporting characters, several twists in the plot, secret identities, unexpected connections, and long discourses wherein the characters expound on various issues, while the reader is anxious for the action to continue. But don’t let that dissuade you. It’s a marvelous story and the last hundred pages just flew by for me. Frank Muller does a wonderful job performing the audio book.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...