Women's Classic Literature Enthusiasts discussion

Hello, everyone! This month we get to read one of Elizabeth Gaskell's works Ruth. I'm fairly excited because I've never read one of her works before and from what I've read about the book it seems interesting! Here is the discussion schedule that I've drawn up:
Week 1 (August 3-10): Chapters 1-8
Week 2 (August 11-17): Chapters 9-16
Week 3 (August 18-24): Chapters 17-24
Week 4 (August 25-31): Chapters 25-36

Hope this works for everyone! Who will be reading along?

I've got this on reserve through Inter-library loan. I never know when those books will show up - hopefully it will be soon!

I'm planning on joining in with this. I am doing it on audio, so just need to finish my current audio listen and then I'll get started (probably by Monday). I also have the paperback out of the library.

My library copy just showed up! So I should be able to start this tomorrow.

For those of you who read Life of Charlotte Bronte, are you seeing a big difference between Gaskell's writing in this book and her nonfiction?

When I read that biography the only author I could think of comparing her to was Herman Melville. He took 50 words to say what I could say in 10 (and I am rather long-winded lol). Gaskell did the same thing (I felt). But in her fiction she seems to be briefer and more to the point, going off on less rabbit trails. Anyone else feel this way?