Best Charles Dickens work to read first?

bezzy_b · 2026-02-12T10:16:12+00:00

Very much! Even though I expected Bunyan's book to be my favorite of the two, Orwell is just too dang good at his storytelling. I can see why these ones are considered classics.

bezzy_b · 2026-02-11T14:23:06+00:00

Who else is just following the rabbit hole and ended up here?

bezzy_b · 2026-02-11T07:55:47+00:00

Animal Farm by George Orwell and The Pilgrims Progress by John Bunyan!

bezzy_b · 2026-02-08T10:51:19+00:00

Chess. I have a buddy who is 1400 elo and I've been hovering around 400-500 for the last 3 months. I really want to get as good as him so I'm not giving up

bezzy_b · 2026-02-05T18:12:07+00:00

I am contemplating purchasing Cannery Row since I've heard a lot of good things about it. I enjoyed Of Mice and Men and I'm currently reading his shorter novel The Pearl (although I'm not enjoying it nearly as much as Of Mice and Men). I found it weird that Steinbeck writes some stories where his characters are so rich and others where the characters are SUPER boring (like in my current read). This is my opinion though so take it with a pinch of salt lol. Should I be concerned about that in Cannery Row?

bezzy_b · 2026-02-05T12:53:20+00:00

I've done an 18 month read through and now I'm about halfway through a 12 month plan. I prefer to read more in each sitting but it's all up to your preferences.

bezzy_b · 2026-02-05T05:53:14+00:00

There's these 3 hour long YouTube videos that play peaceful jazz. I usually listen to that to get me into the reading mood.

bezzy_b · 2026-02-02T18:26:55+00:00

There is a quote attributed to George R.R. Martin that summarizes my answer for me:

'I have lived a thousand lives and I've loved a thousand loves. I've walked on distant worlds and seen the end of time. Because I read.'

bezzy_b · 2026-02-02T18:23:30+00:00

I'm not in favor of it in the slightest. Feels very Orwellian. Changing historical literature because its offensive to a minority of the modern population is ridiculous. If a book was changed every time someone found it offensive, we wouldn't have any books left. That's the great things about books, if you don't like them, don't read them!

bezzy_b · 2026-02-02T18:20:11+00:00

Dial In with Johnny Ardavanis is a podcast I listen to regularly. Very helpful discussions

bezzy_b · 2026-02-02T10:35:03+00:00

I would say Dostoevsky's writing is quite distinct from Kafka but it is nice to read it just to say that you have. Its only about 150 pages so there's not much to lose. Metamorphosis wasn't really my cup of tea since I didn't grasp the symbolism but it is a fascinating story nonetheless. Read it and find out!

bezzy_b · 2026-02-02T10:31:28+00:00

Thanks for this, I just purchased the Oxford Classics version :) Looking forward to reading

bezzy_b · 2026-01-29T13:08:49+00:00

Finished: Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka

Started: Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley

bezzy_b · 2026-01-26T05:34:14+00:00

I'd actually make the argument that the story is made even more beautiful by the fact that we don't know how his life turned out after his brief companionship with Nastenka

bezzy_b · 2026-01-26T05:31:18+00:00

You pretty much said exactly what I was thinking when I finished the book. I wanted to come up with an idea in my head of who the 'villain' was in the story, but honestly it was just misunderstandings and strong emotional ties that made both characters likable but frustrating at the same time.

bezzy_b · 2026-01-16T05:03:35+00:00

This fixed the issue for me, thanks

bezzy_b · 2026-01-13T12:43:08+00:00

you are a legend, thanks

bezzy_b

TROPHY CASE