Wolfram, it is fascinating. It is also just beautifully written and oh. I can't wait. Luckily, my life whizzes by so quickly, I hardly have to wait.

I can't wait to finally get some spicy-Cindy-brain posts in our next discussion. (You've read it already haven't you?)

Yes, and more importantly, I have it. I don't have to wait to get the the library or the book store. I can start now as I finish Asher, and skip this new one entirely.

and skip this new one entirely.

starts crying

Um, or get myself to the library this week...

sighs with satisfaction.

I love The Red Tent. I had thought of Barbara Kingsolver, perhaps Small Wonder : Essays. But the title seemed too close to our current book, and, as I mentioned before, I love The Red Tent.

And no, I haven't read our current book yet. I just can't seem to stay away.

Small World: I have not enough good things to say about it. When I wasn't actually cracking up I was all smirks.

There are about a dozen little moments- the fiction writers promising not to write about their encounter, the program that picked apart the genius's books to the point that he couldn't write. All brilliant.

It's going to be this weekend before I can get into anything less superficial- work, personal obligations. But, I don't want this discussion to flounder.

That said, I don't know why, but I had a fondness for Morris and adored Mrs. Maiden (?)- the old lady

It's going to be this weekend before I can get into anything less superficial- work, personal obligations. But, I don't want this discussion to flounder.

Ditto to all that. It really was the little moments. Cheryl's seat meddling. Persse's hitching a ride to Hawaii. Wainwright's 3 page speech. Desiree's wondering what the "reserve" is on Morris and whether the ransom will be tax deductible.

I'm enjoying it and am about half-way through.

I agree it's the little moments. And I enjoy when I see things coming, I like being in on something that none of the characters see.

I am really just beginning -- just finished the 2nd chapter at lunch.

Hm. It’s been much quieter here than I expected it to be. I will white-font a bit, in case people are still reading.

I’ve read more than my fair share of medieval romances, since medieval lit was the focus of my Master’s degree. I got the parallels that Lodge was making, but not until close to the end for most of them. (So much for those critical reading skills.) I about kicked myself for not picking up on “Arthur Kingfisher”.

I really liked Persse’s story, silly as it was. It was a true Romance, and I got that parallel early on. Morris’ story amused me, but I never expected him to complete his quest. I suppose I was disappointed that Lodge didn’t surprise me there. Phillip’s story just annoyed me, but I did love the subversion of the lost-love trope. Poor guy finds his “true love” and it all falls apart.

I liked Angelica; she struck me as my own personal Mary Sue. I loved Miss. Maiden, who reminded me very much of a professor I knew, but never got around to taking a class from. Everyone else I despised, pitied, or just didn’t care about. Maybe I just didn’t care for the juxtaposition of medieval types onto modern people.

There were pieces of writing that I adored. My favorite was when Persse arrived in Toyko and Lodge wrote the whole first paragraph without using any articles. I almost wish he had written the whole section that way, but I think it may have been too much. It was such a simple trick, but I though it was very effective.