Last week we met and discussed Charles Dickens’ The Old Curiosity Shop. It’s not one of his most well known stories. As with many of his novels, this was written as a serial. The chapters were being published as he was writing them, so there was no going back and changing the story!
A few of our members reviewed the book, and I have linked to them below. I apparently liked the book more than they did, but I’m a pretty big fan of Dickens! I like his foreshadowing, flowing sentences, and just the general way he paints a picture in your mind. This story has some pretty wacky characters in it, and we shared some pictures and quotes that made us laugh as we were reading along. Even though it wasn’t a favorite, I think most people enjoyed it at least a little bit, and we had a lively discussion.
More reviews can be found at: A Spirited Mind, The Deliberate Reader, & Simply Sarah
As always, babies are very welcome at book club! Next month we are discussion Sense & Sensibility on Valentine’s Day.
Broadened Horizons Book Club 
I like Dickens, too, for the same reasons you mentioned as well as all of his understanding of human nature and how to put that into a word picture. None of his works are an easy read with all of the interweaving stories and odd characters, not to mention the more difficult language, but there is always much to enjoy even if it is hard to get through.
Agreed! Not sure if it’ll happen this year, but I would like to read another by him (even if I’m re-reading one I’ve read) I think my 2nd time through his work I might even “get it” better. 🙂
I like the book a lot more when I read it at a slower pace, in the segments as it was serialized. Trying to read it straight through like I would usually read a novel I’m a lot more critical of all of the elements.