I know the Willis was a sideline to the Vorkosigan conversation, but I wanted to chime in as loving To Say Nothing of the Dog, and then loving Jerome's Three Men in a Boat, which is where Willis got the title and inspiration. Kind of depends on a love for the early-20th-century foppish-young-men-at-Oxbridge genre, which I have in spades. Er, if it's a genre.
Xander: Am I right, Giles? Giles: I'm almost certain you're not. Though, to be fair, I haven't been
listening.
'Sleeper'
Literary Buffistas 3: Don't Parse the Blurb, Dear.
There's more to life than watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer! No. Really, there is! Honestly! Here's a place for Buffistas to come and discuss what it is they're reading, their favorite authors and poets. "Geez. Crack a book sometime."
Emily - Apr 09, 2007 7:45:41 pm PDT #2509 of 28175
"In the equation E = mc⬧, c⬧ is a pretty big honking number." - Scola
meara - Apr 10, 2007 1:41:40 pm PDT #2510 of 28175
I tried reading "To Say Nothing...", and didn't get it. And then I read Domesday Book (LOVED), and then REread To Say Nothing, and liked it much better. I think I need to go back and re-read Belwether, though.
Ginger - Apr 10, 2007 1:49:31 pm PDT #2511 of 28175
"It didn't taste good. It tasted soooo horrible. It tasted like....a vodka martini." - Matilda
"To Say Nothing of the Dog" is much improved by having read Dorothy Sayers, not to mention "Three Men in a Boat."
brenda m - Apr 10, 2007 3:23:17 pm PDT #2512 of 28175
If you're going through hell/keep on going/don't slow down/keep your fear from showing/you might be gone/'fore the devil even knows you're there
Hmm. I loved "To Say Nothing", can't stand Sayers, and have never read "Three Men." Which is not to say you're wrong.
I read Domesday so long ago I barely remember it. Must dig that one out again.
-t - Apr 10, 2007 3:41:19 pm PDT #2513 of 28175
I am a woman of various inclinations and only some of the time are they to burn everything down in frustration
Domesday and "Fire Watch" were the beginning of my Willis love. Lincoln's Dreams was interesting but unsatisfying. I don't think I've been disappointed in anything of herssince.
To Say Nothing of the Dog made me want to read Three Men in a Boat, but I haven't, yet. I think I've read all the Sayers there is, but ages ago, so I don't really know how much stuck. I don't think I could dredge up a single detail from any particular work. But that might have been enough familiarity to inform To Say Nothing, I don't know.
Dana - Apr 10, 2007 5:25:38 pm PDT #2514 of 28175
I'm terrifically busy with my ennui.
can't stand Sayers
t gasp
t shuns Brenda
Ginger - Apr 10, 2007 5:43:47 pm PDT #2515 of 28175
"It didn't taste good. It tasted soooo horrible. It tasted like....a vodka martini." - Matilda
can't stand Sayers
Maybe we can get you therapy.
Emily - Apr 10, 2007 6:41:13 pm PDT #2516 of 28175
"In the equation E = mc⬧, c⬧ is a pretty big honking number." - Scola
Hmm, yeah, The Doomsday Book does provide some explanation that comes in at least handy for To Say Nothing of the Dog.
Volans - Apr 10, 2007 9:38:37 pm PDT #2517 of 28175
move out and draw fire
It's okay, brenda...I can't stand Willis.
I guess we all have our deep dark secrets.
JohnSweden - Apr 11, 2007 7:25:06 am PDT #2518 of 28175
I can't even.
I love Connie Willis, starting with Lincoln's Dreams, which held up for me on a recent re-read. Here's the weird thing though: Doomsday Book, which should have been tailor-made for me, fell kind of flat. I was doing a lot of reading about the 14th century at the time, and that might have been part of the problem, everything just blended in for me.
My dissatisfaction with the book may be pettier than that, however. The title just irks me. When I heard about the book, I thought it would have some connection to the 11th century survey ordered by William the Bastard. NSM.