Hard Times readalong 2022

[Piggywaspushed]

Hello and welcome to the selected Dickensalong of 2022 : Hard Times.

This is Dickens' shortest novel (yay!) but was still serialised in instalments running from April to August 1854.

I propose shortening this slightly:

January BOOK ONE Chapters 1- 6
February Chapters 7–12
March Chapters 13 -16
April BOOK TWO Chapter 1- 5
May Chapters 6-12
June BOOK THREE Chapters 1 - 5
July Chapters 6 to end.

Some version number chapters consecutively but I have gone for the Wordsworth edition numbering. Hope that is OK.

So this is kind of a pint sized readalong! Might be more manageable for some of those who fall by the wayside normally (naming no names...)

I enjoy Dickens when he does social commentary so am looking forward to this one and to eventually meet Gradgrind.

Thanks Piggy. I haven't read Dickens since GCSE - I wasn't that keen, so have never attempted him as an adult, but maybe it's time to change that? I haven't quite decided but will lurk on this thread until I make up my mind!

You are more than welcome. I never read Dickens at all as youngster (Scottish school largely put paid to that but also Thomas Hardy) and swerved the Victorians module at uni but I really am a convert!

I fell off the Little Dorrit readalong at some point in the summer and still need to finish it but I remember reading Hard Times at university 25 years ago and loved it so will have a go at joining in. Off to Amazon to order book. My original copy is probably still lurking in my parent's loft somewhere!!

Thanks Piggy, looking forward to another Dickens!

Joining in! Thank you for setting it up, Piggy.
I'm looking forward to this one. I read it a long time ago in school and I'm curious to see how much I remember it!

I’m in! I also plan on the War & Peace read along.

Oooh. Can I join in please ?

Yes, of course! Welcome one and all!

Count me in too

Oops, I have just latterly realised that Dickens' instalments were weekly, so we have ended up with a readalong that actually pretty much aligns with his instalments! In fact, ours is a bit slower...

I'm up for this one too (despite still being only three quarters of the way through Little Dorrit 🙈)

I’m signing in for this as well as W&P. I started Little Doritt too late then couldn’t catch up so pleased to be here for the start. I have a hard copy and it looks like it is very handily split into parts.

I have a version on Kindle. I might regret not getting a paperback. I liked writing in comments in the margin as I went along during 'Little Dorrit'. It was useful for jogging the memory and making wry observations!

I make notes on my kindle - it isn’t quite the same but still useful.

I must see if I can do that on mine. It's fairly old though. I was thinking of using a jotter!

I'm in again 👍 thank you Piggy.

I might join in if I have time. It's one of my favourites and I've read Dickens' novels , a lot of them twice. Taught HT and GE for GCSE many years ago.

I'm going to join in too. Never read HT but have just finished my annual read of A Christmas Carol and I love Oliver Twist. I was on the David Copperfield readalong, but fell off the Little Dorrit one, 2021 has been a bit of a year and I read hardly anything since Sept.
Onwards and upwards as they say .....

Count me in! Just finished Little Dorrit this evening so I’m raring to go.

If anyone has Amazon Prime, free Kindle version here:

Hard Times

Thanks @YnysMonCrone ! That’s a bit buried I hadn’t been able to find a free one.

Joining in!!

Thanks Piggy, I'm going to try to keep up with this one!

Jolly good!

I have two chaps to go in Little Dorrit.I think Hard Times will seem manageable, comparatively.

I'd love to join too please, have downloaded a copy onto kindle ready to go. Haven't read much Dickens, just A Christmas Carol, Great Expectations and A Tale of Two Cities so looking forward to this one.