Would it be possible to override the usual Chrons rule that states that, to have an author heading of his/her own in the Forums section, an author must have had at least five threads (if I'm understanding correctly)?
If there were a Dickens zone the way there's a Lovecraft zone, a Dick zone, etc., then threads on the various novels and other books could begin there and would be easy to find. As the bicentennial year idea catches on, there might be quite a bit of activity here at Chrons that is related to Dickens.....
I don't think that 'rule' could or should be overridden in fairness to other members and the various threads that do pop up which they are equally keen on promoting over a sustained period of time but certainly we could perhaps try and come up with some sort of novel strategy (pardon the pun) that better satisfies the potential for multiple threads (possibly for those novels which the majority of participants own or seems to attract the most amount of attention) depending as you say on how strongly the whole Dickens discussion progresses. In fact we used to and still do in fact have a specific Book Club thread designed for just such occasions where like minded members can come together to discuss the book of the month that's admittedly been a tad spasmodic over the years
http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/book-club/. Given there are 14 novels divided into the 12 months of 2012 that
could be a possibility. I say that with some hesitation because normally a book is chosen by majority vote by the participating members not all of whom would obviously be Dickens fans (in this scenario) with books therefore featuring
different authors, so it
could be problematic and also remembering Dickens is clearly not SFF which to be fair is the central keystone of these forums not that that in and of itself that should be a sole reason for precluding non SFF. Please note I'm simply throwing that up as a
possible idea with some of the considerations that would need to be weighed up before a decision were made. To be fair I'll need to discuss this with my fellow moderators to see if something can be done. Remember, this is just
one idea, we may come up with a better or seemingly more satisfactory one depending upon the popularity of the discussions in 2012....so please everyone watch this space. Of course don't also forget that the Dickens thread
may not see a large participation rate or one that is sustained over 2012 in which case my preceding thoughts/your enquiry may come to naught.
For now can I suggest we use this single thread to promote further discussion regarding Dickens and the upcoming bicentennial event and frankly see how things progress in the early stages of 2012 when the main event of discussing his novels is in full swing. That's the best I can suggest as a strategy moving forward in the short term anyway....
So onto
Sketches By Boz...are you planning to read your copy soon? I'm going to begin posting general impressions I have of the book next week as I've really only just started it now. Does your copy have the lovely Cruikshank drawings?
