Simon Callow's Charles Dickens

Two people have recently said exactly the same thing to me: that I must be planning to assign a lot of Dickens to my high schoolers this fall, because I'd loaded my Goodreads to-read shelf with a bunch of his novels. The real reason is that I've just finished Simon Callow's new biography, Charles Dickens (or called Charles Dickens and the Great Theatre of the World in the U.S.), which I picked up in London to coincide with Callow's one-man play on Dickens which I saw (it was wonderful, by the way). For nearly two hours Callow gave the audience Dickens' bio, hitting all the highlights of his interesting life. Sound a little boring? It wasn't. Callow was highly entertaining. So was his book. I'd learned a lot of new information about Dickens on my 2010 trip to London when I visited his house museum in Bloomsbury. A lot of what Callow did for me though was give both extra information and a fresh perspective on what I already did know about Dickens. Also while reading the bio, I realized how few novels by Dickens I've actually read (only Bleak House, Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities and A Christmas Carol), so I'm motivated to change that. I've got Oliver Twist downloaded onto my Kindle to start when the right moment comes. Here are a few photos from the Charles Dickens Museum:

 

It's Monday! What are you reading?

 

This event is hosted by Sheila from Book Journey. Go check out her blog. Meanwhile, here's what I'm up to this week:

Currently reading: State of Wonder by Ann Patchett (I'm completely engrossed)

Currently listening: The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Migration by Isabel Wilkerson

Reading this week:  

Charles Dickens by Simon Callow (this one keeps getting bumped back but it's next in the queue)
Anne Leigh Parrish's Our Love Could Light the World, a short story collection I'll soon be reviewing

It's Monday! What are you reading?

 

This event is hosted by Sheila from Book Journey. Go check out her blog. Meanwhile, here's what I'll be reading this week. I'm feeling ambitious:

Lipstick Jungle by Candace Bushnell (I need to get in a book where I don't have to think after Before I Go to Sleep by S. J. Watson, which I finished over the weekend. If you've read this book you probably understand.)
Rereading Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt. I've assigned this to my high school literature class to read over spring break. I hope they're enjoying it.
Z by Therese Anne Fowler (I can't wait to start this one!)
Charles Dickens by Simon Callow (I saw the play in London back in the fall.)

Charles Dickens Turns 200

Last month lovers of Victorian literature around the world noted the 200th anniversary of Charles Dickens' birth. NPR ran a story to mark the occasion that I particularly enjoyed, as it reminded me of my visit to the Charles Dickens Museum in London about 18 months ago. Perhaps it's time for a reread of one of his novels. 

Rereading

The other day on Twitter I came across an article published in the Mail called "Reading a book really is better the second time round - and can even offer mental health benefits." I completely agree! I've reread several things in the past several years for the second time, and found those stories to be much more wonderful the second time around.

Here are a few of my favorite rereads:

Lord of the Flies (blog post coming soon on this one) by William Golding
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
The Scarlett Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Pride and Prejudice (OK, anything Jane Austen)
The Color Purple (turning 30 this year, by the way) by Alice Walker
A Wrinkle in Time (my most recent reread) by Madeleine L'Engle
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The Diary of Anne Frank
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

What are your favorite rereads?

Happy 200th birthday to Charles Dickens

A week ago marked the 200th birthday of British author Charles Dickens. I was reminded of my visit to London's Charles Dickens Museum, which is at 48 Doughty Street in a home Dickens lived in with his family after he had had some success with his earlier novels. On February 7 to mark the occasion, Price Charles and his wife made a visit, which you can read about here.

Westminster Abbey

While in London, I got to visit Westminster Abbey twice - once for a tour, and one for a service. Both were wonderful. If you haven't been to Westminster, anything I told you about its magnificence still wouldn't do it justice, so just take my word for it. Of particular interest to me here was the Poets' Corner, where over 100 writers are buried and/or celebrated. I was most interested in seeing the Williams (Shakespeare, Blake and Wordsworth), Chaucer, Burns, Coleridge, Shelley, Keats, Austen, Byron, Dickens, Lewis Carroll, the Bronte sisters, George Eliot, Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Henry James. It was really overwhelming to see so many important literary contributors all mentioned together. Luckily, I had been able to study up on everything before my visit, thanks to a book Teresa bought for me on the Poets' Corner during her London trip three years ago. What fun!  

Charles Dickens Museum

While in London, we visited the Charles Dickens Museum, located at 48 Doughty Street in a quiet (comparatively speaking) residential section of London called Bloomsbury. Dickens grew up in poverty, and such a life is reflected in many of the stories he wrote later as an adult. He and his growing family moved several times once he gained acclaim for his books, and this home was where he lived near the beginning of his career. He shared the home with his wife and his first child. Two other children were born during the two and a half years Dickens and his family lived here. His home has been a museum since 1925.

The house has many pieces of furniture and personal items that belonged to the Dickens family, and lots of interesting information about the life and works of Charles Dickens. There is a special display of Oliver Twist and the subsequent musical, Oliver! Oliver Twist was written while Dickens lived at this address, as were several other works, including Pickwick Papers and Nicholas Nickleby. And, in the spirit of manuscripts (see the British Library post), a manuscript of some of Pickwick Papers is on display at the Charles Dickens Museum. Many of his other manuscripts can be found at the Victoria and Albert Museum (which I didn't get to visit this time). In fact, the Victoria and Albert is actively seeking funds right now for the preservation of three of Dickens' novels. To contribute, click here.

I except we'll be hearing more about Dickens and his contributions to literature, as 2012 marks the 300th anniversary of his birth. The Charles Dickens Museum is gearing up for some special events to celebrate, called the Great Expectation Vision. To learn more about that, click here.


The museum had a beautiful garden out back. Here I am.

London

All writing, editing, blogging, networking, freelancing and other professional endeavors came to a halt last week as I visited London for the first time with a friend. I hope you enjoyed Lori's entries during my time off.

As I do with many of my travels, I read and watched related movies ahead of my trip that relate to London in preparation. I soaked up everything I could and read a lot while I was there, so it's no surprise to me that the list of "homework" I've given myself to do now that I'm back in the States is lengthy.

Before I went, I read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, and watched Tim Burton's recent movie version (I recently blogged about that here). I listened to Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens and Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest on my iPod. I watched the Hugh Grant/Emma Thompson/Kate Winslet movie version of Sense and Sensibility. I watched Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law's version of Sherlock Holmes that came out a couple years ago. I watched Great Expectations starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Ethan Hawke (I don't recommend it). I watched PBS' recent productions of Emma and Northanger Abbey. So, as you can see, I went feeling prepared to experience Literary London.

I picked up about 10 books while I was there, found new subjects to read about, got book recommendations from my travel buddy, and listed out additional books and movies I hadn't gotten to before the trip, but that I intend to watch and read now that I'm back.

In the coming weeks I'll be blogging about my trip as it relates to literature, and reporting on my related reading. Keep checking back for more!

Listen up!

I've found the perfect way to pass the time while putting the miles in to train to walk my second half marathon: book podcasts. Listening to books seems to keep my mind occupied more than just listening to music. Before I know it, I'm finished with a workout! Currently, I'm listening to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and I have A Tale of Two Cities waiting in the wings.

To find your own free audiobook podcasts, search iTunes. Two of the podcasts I like most are called LoudLit and Audiobooks by Annie.