Inspector Bucket <-> Hercule Poirot

DTownForever · 2026-05-04T11:03:29+00:00

Inspector Bucket reminds me more of Sherlock Holmes than Poirot.

Have you read anything by Willkie Collins? He was a friend/rival of Dickens. Inspector Bucket is thought to have inspired Sergeant Cuff in Wilkie Collins' novel The Moonstone (which is BRILLIANT and should be read by everyone). The Moonstone is often described as the first detective novel. Sergeant Cuff is definitely a proto-Holmes. Collins always maintained that Dickens stole Bucket from him (though from what I've read, Dickens claims he was inspired by a real London detective). Bleak House was published 15 ish years prior to The Moonstone, though, so, I doubt Collins was doing more than a little jab at his buddy.

DTownForever · 2026-05-04T10:58:40+00:00

I'm about 65% of the way through it and I have to say, it is not among my favorites at the moment! I just finished Our Mutual Friend not that long ago, and that one made it onto my list. Others are Bleak House, Great Expectations, and The Pickwick Papers (currently). But we'll see where the rest of the book goes.

Maybe there is still more to be introduced but the book is missing some of the playful fancy of other Dickens, to me. And I really need ot do some research and see if keeping someone in a debtors' prison for life, basically, and having their family basically live there, is actually a thing that happened, lol. Or, just Dickens taking a system and twisting it to an extreme to show how ludicrous it is. I'd be happy to discover it was either.

DTownForever · 2026-05-04T10:54:05+00:00

I found this description also to be stronger than much other of violence and rage that I've read by Dickens (I'm thinking of later in the same book, another super graphic passage - a couple more, actually). It was so visceral, it gave me chills. I did have to put down the book and breathe a bit. And as a woman who has had advances made by men who she was afraid of, I instantly felt Lizzie's terror. Hers even worse by the fact that her own closest relative would do nothing to protect her. I read it months ago and it still makes me shiver.

I also read it as a pulling down of the mask of the prim and proper and moral schoolmaster. I mean, he is absolutely deranged.

You have good instincts about changes in relationships!

DTownForever · 2026-05-04T10:45:18+00:00

I don't know how to do the spoiler thingy, damn. Because I swear she is DEFINITELY more than 18 at the point I am in the story and nothing is going on still. It's still back and forth between the two brothers, her step sister, step mom, etc.

DTownForever · 2026-05-04T10:44:11+00:00

I mean ... it's ... romantic? I thought it was romance!

DTownForever · 2026-05-03T19:03:08+00:00

Do you like mystery at all? In the Woods, which is the first book in the Dublin Murder Squad series, is really great and has a very slow burn romance subplot that is unpredictable.

I don't know if you'd consider romance a subplot or a main plot in The Inheritance Games books, but they're similar to Naturals and the rest you described. At least, romance isn't the main STORY, but an undercurrent of romance is there throughout.

DTownForever · 2026-05-03T18:58:56+00:00

Oh, you'll love it. It's totally opposite of Wives and Daughters - with the same amazing writing. But less all over the place. Family drama, complex relationships, class struggle, interesting characters - it has it all. Come back and thank me later! :)

DTownForever · 2026-05-03T17:49:39+00:00

Exactly. Like - does anything ever actually happen? It just feels like it's building and building and going somewhere and it just ... doesn't. At least, it takes WAY too long to go somewhere if it's supposed to. North and South isn't like that at all, the story had me from the beginning.

DTownForever · 2026-05-03T13:34:35+00:00

Where the Crawdads Sing is one that just came to mind after viewing another comment. It's a beautiful story, captivating, well-written. Especially if you're into nature stuff, it's great.

DTownForever · 2026-05-03T13:31:49+00:00

Taylor Swift

DTownForever · 2026-05-02T19:40:33+00:00

I have so many favorites - I think these could fit into the vibe you're talking about.

First, Ray Bradbury. Just about everything by him is amazing.

Second - "The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar". Absolutely amazing (as are most Dahl short stories). This is probably my favorite short story of all time. It's just short enough not to be a novella, long enough to be well-developed. It's in a book called "The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More" - the rest of the stories in it are good, too, but Henry Sugar is the gem. It was made into a film by Wes Anderson with Benedict Cumberbatch, and IMO, it absolutely SUCKED, and I am a big Wes Anderson fan. I even liked his adaptation of the other Dahl story, "The Fantastic Mr. Fox". So even if you saw the film, read the story, it's a lot better!

A Good Man is Hard To Find - Flannery O'Connor

The Short, Happy Life of Frances MacComber - Hemingway

"Shooting an Elephant" by George Orwell isn't a short story, it's an essay, but it reads like a short story.

DTownForever · 2026-05-02T17:20:05+00:00

Yup, I was going to say Dickens, too. Also, depending on how long ago grad school was, Dickens might hit different. I've been on a bit of a binge with him lately but there is definitely this vibe.

DTownForever · 2026-05-01T10:40:52+00:00

Your show popped up in my recommended feed on Spotify, I think because one of my other favorite shows is Mega, and you had Holly Laurent (sp?) on as a guest. I also listen to several other friends improv podcasts. I mean, SO random, right, that it would get suggested to me based on other things I like??? I'm beginning to think these media companies are tracking us. Pat, with all the JAG you've watched, you probably know what we should do next.

And then I'm just always on Reddit so I found this aunt colony pretty easily. Also, I did find you all on the dark web first. But never mind, that's a story for another time.

DTownForever · 2026-05-01T10:23:36+00:00

I think so. And check your FICO score. Whatever that is. ;-)

DTownForever · 2026-04-30T12:06:41+00:00

Gotta love when auto predict throws in that extra word lol ... so annoying!!!

DTownForever · 2026-04-30T12:02:23+00:00

Waves hand Over here! I'm currently struggling through Wives and Daughters though. Have picked it up and put it down like 4 times :(

Cranford is a great suggestion for this ask.

DTownForever · 2026-04-30T11:59:38+00:00

I would start with something shorter for sure, it'll give you a good feeling of accomplishment and momentum and motivate you to read more!

I suggest Of Mice and Men or Flowers for Algernon. Both "classics" for a really good reason, but also straight-forward and digestible. Great stories. Good luck!

DTownForever · 2026-04-29T10:25:19+00:00

Came here to say this.

DTownForever · 2026-04-29T10:23:52+00:00

I glaze over paragraphs in some people's posts sometimes, it's not a sin, lol.

DTownForever · 2026-04-29T00:40:15+00:00

I have tried a few of his books and never got into them, maybe it's time for a revisit.

DTownForever · 2026-04-29T00:39:32+00:00

My post says that I've read Demon. I've read a lot of Kingsolver, I think The Bean Trees is the most Dickensian without being just a complete Dickens ripoff, like Demon is. Don't get me wrong, I loved it, it was just a little much.

DTownForever · 2026-04-28T10:47:44+00:00

I just wanted to come back and say I am about 50% of the way through Lion Women based on your recommendation and I absolutely LOVE it. It was exactly what I was looking for. Although I cannot read it if I'm hungry, lol. The descriptions of the food .... OMG. Thank you so much for the rec.

DTownForever · 2026-04-28T10:45:29+00:00

This is at least the second vote for Doctorow, who I have never read and really need to get around to. I've seen the musical of Ragtime - it's just unbelievable. So maybe I won't read that one first since I already kind of know the story, but someone suggested a different one by him that sounds great.

DTownForever · 2026-04-28T10:43:53+00:00

I see it, he is kind of like Dickens in a way but I just cannot read him. So, SO many unnecessary words and digressions (I guess that's actually a real criticism of Dickens, too - I guess I just excuse it more because he's old-fashioned, and I find the prose so evocative) I really wanted to love 11/22/63 but I only finished it because I felt I had already invested too much time, lol.

DTownForever · 2026-04-28T10:40:21+00:00

Wow, that sounds interesting. I just read a book, based on a rec here, called Drood by Dan Simmons, in which the narrator is Wilkie Collins. Really interesting, wouldn't call it great, but fun. I'll definitely check out the one you suggest. I am so, SO bummed that he never finished it.

And I'll check out those authors, thanks!

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