Take a photo of a barcode or cover
teresatumminello 's review for:
Pickwick Papers
by Charles Dickens
After reading this book the first time, years before Goodreads, I hoped to never read it again, though I knew I would eventually “have to” with the local Dickens Fellowship. I always look forward to the meetings (tea, treats, and talk with the most generous people you can imagine) and this stayed true during the dreaded reread. Our intrepid leaders posited a different format than the usual for these monthly meetings, and having a different member present each month (starting in September) worked very well. In order to fully understand other viewpoints and to participate in the ensuing discussions, I “had to” reread, so I’m glad I did for those reasons only, because...
… yes, I know this is Dickens’s first novel and he was very young at the time and he was teaching himself how to write while writing. Yes, I know how popular this series was at the time of original publication. Yes, Sam Weller is humorous. So was the court scene: I even chuckled out loud once. A few of the stories-within-the story were okay, even moderately entertaining. But none of that remotely comes close to ameliorating how much of a slog this was for me to read, so much so that I can’t conceive how I managed reading it straight through the first time without the benefit of a monthly schedule, so much so that I had to force myself some nights to read at least two pages before putting it aside until the next day.
When I originally added this book to my Goodreads account, I gave it my default three stars. But if a three-stars rating means I “like” a book (and it typically does for me), I can’t give it three stars. I didn’t like it.
… yes, I know this is Dickens’s first novel and he was very young at the time and he was teaching himself how to write while writing. Yes, I know how popular this series was at the time of original publication. Yes, Sam Weller is humorous. So was the court scene: I even chuckled out loud once. A few of the stories-within-the story were okay, even moderately entertaining. But none of that remotely comes close to ameliorating how much of a slog this was for me to read, so much so that I can’t conceive how I managed reading it straight through the first time without the benefit of a monthly schedule, so much so that I had to force myself some nights to read at least two pages before putting it aside until the next day.
When I originally added this book to my Goodreads account, I gave it my default three stars. But if a three-stars rating means I “like” a book (and it typically does for me), I can’t give it three stars. I didn’t like it.