Happy 200th Birthday Charles!

Today is Charles Dickens 200th birthday.  Several years ago, I set out to read all of his works.  But, I have learned after reading all of Jane Austen in about a month period, that reading the same author back to back is not as good as savoring their works with breaks in between.  When I set out on my quest about 14 years ago, I finished A Tale of Two Cities and was so moved by it, that I said, "For now, I rest with this work of Dicken's in my heart. "  Honestly, that book changed me.

Well, the time has come again to revisit Charles Dickens.  This past December I did read, "A Christmas Carol", "The Chimes" and "A Cricket on the Hearth"  and "The Life our Lord".  "The Life of Our Lord" is absolutely wonderful and really shows Dickens in a unique light.  It is a fast read and I highly recommend it.  For various reasons, that book is often not included with his works.  (If you buy the book, the forward explains it).

Anyway, below is a list of his novels.  I hope to read most of these this year.  I have already read about 1/2 on the list, so I think this is doable.

The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club (Monthly serial, April 1836 to November 1837)[92] The Adventures of Oliver Twist (Monthly serial in Bentley's Miscellany, February 1837 to April 1839) The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (Monthly serial, April 1838 to October 1839) The Old Curiosity Shop (Weekly serial in Master Humphrey's Clock, 25 April 1840, to 6 February 1841) Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of 'Eighty (Weekly serial in Master Humphrey's Clock, 13 February 1841, to 27 November 1841) The Christmas books: A Christmas Carol (1843) The Chimes (1844) The Cricket on the Hearth (1845) The Battle of Life (1846) The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain (1848) The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit (Monthly serial, January 1843 to July 1844)

Dombey and Son (Monthly serial, October 1846 to April 1848) David Copperfield (Monthly serial, May 1849 to November 1850) Bleak House (Monthly serial, March 1852 to September 1853) Hard Times: For These Times (Weekly serial in Household Words, 1 April 1854, to 12 August 1854) Little Dorrit (Monthly serial, December 1855 to June 1857) A Tale of Two Cities (Weekly serial in All the Year Round, 30 April 1859, to 26 November 1859) Great Expectations (Weekly serial in All the Year Round, 1 December 1860 to 3 August 1861) Our Mutual Friend (Monthly serial, May 1864 to November 1865) The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Monthly serial, April 1870 to September 1870. Only six of twelve planned numbers completed)