tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post8668352829525983958..comments2024-03-29T03:04:00.853-05:00Comments on Wuthering <br>Expectations: One sat looking at his task in stony stupefaction and despair - Dombey and Son is a long book, but I'm in no hurry - plus a brilliant blog ideaAmateur Reader (Tom)http://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-16057760709202872512009-11-22T18:04:01.030-06:002009-11-22T18:04:01.030-06:00What, I'm not going to do it. What a terrible...What, I'm not going to do it. What a terrible idea!Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-39261203700140927122009-11-21T21:01:10.438-06:002009-11-21T21:01:10.438-06:00Well, your idea wouldn't work for me because I...Well, your idea wouldn't work for me because I wouldn't be able to keep all the stories straight, which is why I only have two books going simultaneously at the most.<br /><br />I do like the idea of reading Victorian novels that were serialized at their original pace, and as you know from my blog, am about to do that with The Woman in White.<br /><br />And I do like the idea of reading an author's books in the order they were written. <br /><br />Bottom line: I don't like Dickens enough to devote all my reading time to him :)<br /><br />But go for it and tell us how to goes :)JaneGShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11094501834387622997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-35964113074996734282009-06-12T15:40:55.803-05:002009-06-12T15:40:55.803-05:00No one is taking this seriously, right? People are...No one is taking this seriously, right? People are just <i>playing</i> with the idea of taking it seriously. I hope.<br /><br />If not, the Penguin Classics editions have the serial divisions marked out already. <br /><br />One result of this experiment would be insights into how the structure of Dickens' introductory chapters evolved blah blah blah. But what I am really hoping for is described above - the creation of MegaDickens, the 12,000 page super-novel.<br /><br />Neil, I do not believe I have ever seen one of the serial volumes in real life - just photos. The idea that the Dickens volumes are all green, while Thackeray's are all yellow, and presumably other authors had their own trademark colors, appeals to me.<br /><br />SpSq, thank you - in just a few lines you bring up so many interesting issues. Why does genre matter, for example? And why is it enjoyable to care about fictional people?Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-437387198988829192009-06-12T12:57:52.296-05:002009-06-12T12:57:52.296-05:00Talk about challenges. When I first read this yes...Talk about challenges. When I first read this yesterday I didn't take it seriously, but now I see that people are actually gravitating towards it. <br /><br />I need to figure out how it would work--should look more closely. How many books are there? How many installments per Baggy Monster? Aren't there other miscellaneous installments too--Master Humphrey's Clock or whatever it is, just a random reference that comes to mind. All that is simple enough I suppose. I don't think you need to do Neil's program and read it in actual original parts, and you'd just want a guide to the divisions.<br /><br />The impressive thing would be to pile the Infinite Summer on top of the Dickens Serial Killing, or whatever you want to call it. Too bad I have a fake job and a weak mind, and I'll probably be sticking with Chekhov.zhivhttp://zhiv.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-90413838401660882412009-06-12T08:25:02.895-05:002009-06-12T08:25:02.895-05:00I'm frightened to agree with nicole and verbiv...I'm frightened to agree with nicole and verbivore that this is a great idea. Fortunately, I am not as foolish (obessed? compulsive? literary?) as they to think that it is something that I might actually do. Still I look forward to reading their results.<br /><br />By the way, I'm working on a statement about sympathetic characters for you (why I like them and how I define them-- I'm not going to try for any larger message) and I'm having a hard time of it, largely because it feels so self-evident: I enjoy stories more when I care about the characters. This is particularly true if I believe something is intended to be a romance. I could not read Wuthering Heights as a romance when I could not stand the characters involved. Years later when I did read it, I could appreciate it as a brilliant weird book, but could not enjoy it the way that I enjoy stories with characters I care about.Sparkling Squirrelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10899640164757220074noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-76816736729579433962009-06-12T05:29:23.416-05:002009-06-12T05:29:23.416-05:00see..now I'm with Nicole, my brain is just war...see..now I'm with Nicole, my brain is just warped enough to think this kind of project would be really fun. And now that you've suggested the idea, I'll be thinking about it until I give in...double fie on you!verbivorehttp://incurablelogophilia.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-62089434978827297822009-06-11T17:26:06.665-05:002009-06-11T17:26:06.665-05:00Ha! But seriously, have you ever read a Victorian ...Ha! But seriously, have you ever read a Victorian novel in the original serial parts? It requires good eyesight (such as I no longer possess), as the type is incredibly small. In the old eagle-eye days I read several Dickens in this way, and also Armadale by Wilkie Collins. I have to say I didn't wait patiently for a month between reads, but it was still an interesting experience.Neilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18020242863144175965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-11370825511078966742009-06-11T17:25:27.567-05:002009-06-11T17:25:27.567-05:00I love the idea. You read all of Dickens simultane...I love the idea. You read all of Dickens simultaneously, so that you've got Rogue Riderhood and Quilp slinking along the riverbanks, while kind Captain Cuttle is looking after Florence and Mr. Wemmick is firing off the cannon, while far away, Nicholas and Paul are at Dotheboys Hall and poor Jenny Wren, Smike, Barnaby and Joe are out sweeping the crossroads with dolls' brooms . . . <br /><br />Also, the blogger should spent part of the year teaching a raven to speak.die geneigte Leserinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-38696504598403764732009-06-11T15:22:56.627-05:002009-06-11T15:22:56.627-05:00I hope somebody else follows the plan so that I ca...I hope somebody else follows the plan so that I can just read the results--sounds hectic skipping about all of Dickens like that.Arthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07615345242334094697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-29969521116035909822009-06-11T13:21:20.598-05:002009-06-11T13:21:20.598-05:00Oh man. This appealed to me even before "book...Oh man. This appealed to me even before "book contract"--because I am at least a little bit insane. Oh, fie on you for bringing up such a crazy plan!nicolehttp://www.bibliographing.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-42985299221622218242009-06-11T11:54:09.973-05:002009-06-11T11:54:09.973-05:00Dickens was a very smart man and very kind to his ...Dickens was a very smart man and very kind to his audience and funny to even make a joke of his characters having trouble remembering his characters. I think your Dickens idea is a good one. You should do it and I'll buy the resulting book too ;)Stefaniehttp://somanybooksblog.comnoreply@blogger.com