GROUP READ -- GREAT EXPECTATIONS

Thought we ought to have a thread for the discussion of Great Expectations. Start is scheduled for February 1st.

Do you have to register or something to join or can you just jump in the conversation anytime you want to? I'm fairly new to this site but Great Expectations is a book listed on my 12 in 12 challenge and I have my last exam on February 1st after which I have no classes for a week and a half so I'd like to join if I can :)

Looking forward to it!

Just jump right in!

Thanks for starting the thread Chèli..... I can't believe it will be February in just a few days. January just flew by.

I have my book ready!

Yes, what happened to January?

I'm all set to start!

I can't believe that I'm going to be working on Great Expectations at the same time as I continue my reading of the Count of Monte Cristo...two classics at the same time?!? A definite first for me!

I'm definitely in!

Just requested the book, so it should show up soon :)

I'm thinking of starting this book right away, as I have a feeling that it may be a slow read for me and I may want to pace myself.

I had no plans on doing this group read and then I picked up Mister Pip and read it is January. After that I had to read Great Expectations so here I am. I should confess I started it on the weekend as I had just finished Anna Karenina. I am around 50 pages in and enjoying it. The language, although not at easy as Tolstoy (or perhaps I should say the translators of Tolstoy), is better than I expected.

I'm going to be joining, but I'm listening to the audiobook (I'd have a lot less time to "read" if I didn't listen to audiobooks a lot!). There are several versions of Great Expecations out in audiobook, but two of them won the Audie Award (which in my experience always means the performance is fantastic). Those are the ones narrated by Charlton Griffin and by Simon Vance. Unfortunately, neither of these was free for me at the library, but I chose another narration (Martin Jarvis) that has good performance ratings. :)

> 11 - Jones' Mister Pip will do that to a reader. The book probably should come with a warning/advice label mentioning Great Expectations....... Hummm, maybe it already does.

I'll be joining in too. I have already started since I was at a good point in my reading so far this year to do so. I've read a few chapters and have found it a bit of a slow start, but I've heard good things so I'm keeping at it.

I'm in! The story of poor Pip drew me in right away. I was expecting this to be a good book that was more 'work' to read, but I found this book funny (in a dark way!) and more of an adventure story. But that is just me. I can see how his work could be published in bits in the papers before being made into a book, people will always want to know what is next!

And that is the start of being sent to the Hulks... asking questions!

Uh oh, I have a problem now....Great Expectations is on my must-read-classics list for this year. And now that I see this GR I feel obliged. Shall I shall I?
OK, I will. Starting it tonight but cant say Ill be finished by March :)

Yay! And you fill find it reads a lot quicker than you thought it would (At least it did for me! :)).

Yeah, it's a lot shorter than I expected it to be (though I haven't even gotten close to finishing yet). It's going good so far though!

Would have been more de rigueur if Havisham had locked herself in a self sustaining property and continued to make beer and grow marrows.... just saying ;)

I am finding this a fairly easy read, the story did grab me right away. I just love the names Dickens bestows upon his characters - Mr. Pumblechook, Mr. Wopsle, Sarah Pocket - these names just roll off my tongue!

All my good intentions fell by the wayside....15 pages in I hear littlest Lenny crying so I ended up being up settling him til after 11pm! That was when I wanted to read until as a Friday night treat (such is my life that that is a Friday night treat!). So I have started....liking so far.

Count me in. Is there a "schedule" of paced reading, or do we just read and comment as we go along?

kac522--I'm almost half-way through now, but there doesn't seem to be much of a schedule that I can tell!

Judy--I love his names too! I've heard that Dickens chose his names by going through the obituaries and writing down names that struck his fancy. He always seems to have names that fit his characters so well! He must have been letting his imagination run wild while reading the obits! Possibly imagining what a person with that name would look and be like?

19: Bcteagirl: At least there was mention that there was enough beer in the cellar to last a long time. Still I am on your side.

I find the total lack of natural light for Miss Havisham amazing. Here I am feeling sun staved on Vancouver Island but at least I have some natural light!

I just read about Mr Jaggers last night and I really like how he was portrayed.

With all the candles/fireplaces used, I am surprised she did not suffocate!

I am pleased to report that I am really enjoying what I have read so far. I was so intimidated by this novel (or this novels author more like it) that I had been a bit nervy about starting it. But I needn't have been as it isn't too hard going, and is in fact quite funny!

>25 Bcteagirl: good point!

I do love the descriptions in the book.. Dickens does a fantastic job with setting 'mood'.... and the 'math quizzes' I found hilarious for some reason... when he expected further questions to be shouted through the gate I actually laughed :P

I am down to five chapters left and frankly, I will be glad to see the end of this book. I love his characters and descriptions, but have found the story dragged on a little too long for me. I am glad I have finally read Great Expectations, and I am still planning on reading David Copperfield in April and, hopefully, A Tale of Two Cities later on this year.

Happy 200th Birthday, Charles Dickens!

I'm happy to report that after a slow start, I'm getting into this book. It has helped me to read aloud passages when I get that glazed over feeling, or at least to really create voices for the characters in my head. (that sounds kind of crazy!). I'm about half way through now.

DeltaQueen - if you think Great Expectations dragged on, I'm not sure what you'll make of David Copperfield, though to be fair, my only attempt to read it was in high school. I loved A Tale of Two Cities though.

I recently started the book and love it so far. It's only my third Dickens novel (after The Old Curiosity Shop which I didn't like very much and Hard Times which I found an improvement regarding TOCS.

This novel gripped me right from the start. I haven't advanced much yet...I'm still around page 70, not because I don't like it but because I haven't had much time to read. I really like the characters and some moments already made me laugh so it's a very pleasant experience.

29: japaul22: I like your idea of reading it out loud as there have been times that I struggle with finding the meaning in a paragraph. That and deciphering Joe is always a challenge.

I am around half way through and it is not slowing down on me although I find I don't tend to read lots each day.

I'm almost done with Great Expectations as well. Should finish later today. I think it was a great book with very well-developed characters (as is usual with Dickens), though it's not my favorite Dickens so far. I've read five of them, and I think my favorite so far is Hard Times. I loved Little Dorrit as well, but I think some of my enjoyment of that book was due to the wonderful BBC miniseries that came out a few years ago. I wish there were a similar BBC miniseries of Great Expectations, all I've found is old movies. I will shame-facedly admit that I enjoy Dickens better after I've seen the mini-series. I think it helps me to understand what's going on in the "slow" parts and why the "slow" parts are important to the story.

Is this a spoilers thread, by the way? I was planning on asking a discussion question but it would definitely be a spoiler.

#32 There was a new TV adaptation of Great Expectations (in 3 or 4 episodes) broadcast just last month, so your wish has already come true! I don't know how quickly it will become available.

Yikes. I better get into it fast because I'm only a chapter or so in.

>34 Kassilem: dont worry, Im not even a quarter through yet!

Don't tell my boss but I ended up reading about eleven chapters at work this week and I quite like this book. Other than A Christmas Carol, I have never read Dickens but I am enjoying it so far. Poor Pip! I just want to adopt the poor little guy and feed him all the pork pies he can handle.

I meant to start it over the weekend but will start it sometime this week. I have a fatty (Forgotten Garden) I need to finish for book club.

Should we start a separate thread for spoilers? I've finished the book but don't want to say too much.

It might be nice to have a spoilers thread if there are people who want to have in-depth conversations. There seem to be a lot of people who haven't finished yet (understandably, since we're only in the first week of February). But I could always wait until later to ask my spoiler question, too.

http://www.librarything.com/topic/132490

A spoiler thread by popular demand!!

I got started, will be back later!

I'm about halfway through. I'm surprised by how readable it is.

I finished but again, a classic that just didn't fit my tastes....SIGH....

Finished! Great Expectations is one of those classics I had always intended to read, but never got around to, so thank you to this Group! For the most part I enjoyed it. The portrayal of Miss Haversham was somewhat compromised for me by the fact that I had just read Fforde's Lost in a Good Book, and I kept looking for hints of the Jurisfiction agent in her.

Just finished Great Expectations and loved it. I listened to the audiobook version narrated by Michael Page and it was terrific. I think Dickens is much better read aloud.

#45--Interesting...I am listening to an audiobook read by John Lee (Books on Tape). I originally was listening to an American guy reading it, but it just didn't sound right without a good British accent! And I agree with you that it is better read aloud. I finished reading the book last week, but now as I listen again, I'm really appreciating the delightful phrases and sounds of the words. Whole sentences have new meaning read aloud.

maybe I need to go audio!
Im having trouble- mainly with staying awake long enough to read more than 3 pages. I try so hard, and its not that Im not interested or dont like what Im reading, Im just too dog tired to read big chunks.
Grrrr, frustration.

I listened to the Martin Jarvis one--it was well read, too. I can't imagine listening to Dickens by an American performer. Why would they even try such a thing? Awkward! (Though, admittedly, I don't have to concentrate as much when I'm listening to an American!)

I started reading it on-line (at work... don't tell!) then switched to my paper version and now I am finishing up with the audio book (Michael Page). I definitely prefer the latter method. Very well done!

I also "read" this book on audio - I had the Martin Jarvis version. Fabulous! All Joe's awkward phrasing just rolled off his tongue. I'm sure it would never have been so easy to comprehend reading in print.

I just finished, a fun read. I agree some parts were slow, but I enjoyed them too. I can see where an audio version would be great.

>44 paeonia: I agree, I read Fforde's books last year and that was my only exposure to Great Expectations before this month.

Finished! I have difficultly following some of the slang and some of the customs, but I enjoyed his characters.

Finished yesterday.... just in time to list it as a February book completed. Off the visit the spoiler thread.

Finished yesterday evening and loved it!
Rated

If it wasn't for this group read, this book would still have been on my TBR pile for I don't know how long. I liked it so much that I ventured to write my first review;
http://www.librarything.com/work/7554/reviews/82047381

Now on to the spoiler thread!

Has everyone finished it now, I wasn't reading along with you all but I am about halfway through and if people are still working on it i'd love to join in?

Hi Hope, I'm not sure if anyone is still reading Great Expectations but if you have any comments and/or question, please add them here and one of us will be around. Enjoy your read.

>55 Hope97: I'm done reading, but still checking in for any comments/observations. Read away!

I'm still enjoying the comments and observations too!

I read Mister Pip this week and it was interesting "reading" the book again with the children on the island as their teacher read it to them.

I have been planning on reading Mister Pip but have been waiting until I actually read Great Expectations. I can now move it up the wishlist.

So there is a connection betweenMister Pip and Great Expectations! I wondered if there was.
I have nearly finished it, but have taken my time in getting this close to the end. I am finding that I havent been able to read it in large time chunks so nearing half way got a bit lost with the characters. Have figured it all out again now, but the story lost its lustre for me for a while....

I read Mister Pip last year and absolutely loved it. It was definitely one of the reasons why I joined this group read.

I read Mister Pip earlier this year and it is wonderful. I think it was the only reason I considered Great Expectations.

Yes, there is a good connection between Mr. Pip and Great Expectations. I found Mr. Pip to be a great read when I read it last year, and it helped that I was still able to remember the basic premise of Great Expectations from my high school days while reading it.