tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6959297.post8029457969699153985..comments2024-03-21T07:37:30.475-04:00Comments on Light reading: Swings, roundaboutsJenny Davidsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02295436498255927522noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6959297.post-84165287356145754832010-03-02T02:53:06.923-05:002010-03-02T02:53:06.923-05:00I'm happy to hear one of my favourite bloggers...I'm happy to hear one of my favourite bloggers loved one of my favourite series! I have to say my attitude towards 'Pawn in Frankincense' oscillates wildly - the orientalism underwhelms me on some readings, while on others I'm able to take it in my stride - but what an adventure novel it is. <br /><br />I have to confess that Francis is possibly my least-loved character in the series, though. My heart, in a thoroughly sublunar way, belongs to Jerott Blyth [and Kate, who I hope takes over the rearing of the grandchildren].roswithahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05506297391055117723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6959297.post-37973494715626422732010-03-01T18:09:24.692-05:002010-03-01T18:09:24.692-05:00I know it may be just an example that you used to ...I know it may be just an example that you used to flesh out the final line, but I'm curious: did you ever want to be a fighter pilot? <br /><br />If so... well, not to sound too childish, but I think that's awesome.Ianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11588050180828473386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6959297.post-41699664000827581292010-03-01T17:43:46.331-05:002010-03-01T17:43:46.331-05:00Oh, I so hear you on the finite range of possibili...Oh, I so hear you on the finite range of possibilities that strikes us all at at certain age (in my case three years older than you). For the longest time it seems we all happily spend time thinking about everything that can be ours but then at a certain point realize that really - if one wants to accomplish much at all we must get to what we can truly do.<br /><br />Or at least something like that. I do like "Little Book of Style" as well!Colleenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18380722344521975869noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6959297.post-71306092509406096222010-03-01T09:56:01.607-05:002010-03-01T09:56:01.607-05:00Yes, it might have to be A Little Book on Style......Yes, it might have to be A Little Book on Style...<br /><br />Huge Trollope fan!<br /><br />I made a strong resolution, as I finished the Lymond books, to dig out my copy of Wyatt when I got home and reread! Took a very good class in grad school on Petrarch, Sceve, Labe, etc. - good stuff.<br /><br />The mournful songs I know best are not quite right, period-wise - "Fain would I change that note..."Jenny Davidsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02295436498255927522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6959297.post-81076925995112021732010-03-01T08:33:01.997-05:002010-03-01T08:33:01.997-05:00I'm quite liking A Little Book on Style as a t...I'm quite liking A Little Book on Style as a title.Sara O'Learyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12072523590967285445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6959297.post-81820119804282754652010-03-01T03:14:04.134-05:002010-03-01T03:14:04.134-05:00Ahhhh! I "knew" you'd lose yourself ...Ahhhh! I "knew" you'd lose yourself in Dunnettworld, but I'm still so pleased you found the trip rewarding. You don't, however, have to mourn that the voyage is over. I assure you that both series, but especially the Lymond Chronicles, get even better and more impressive on re-reading. There are layers and layers of thematic material, imagery, characterization, structural patterns, narrative games, historical details, and gorgeous language woven across and through all the novels that you only start to fully appreciate on the third or fourth time through. :)<br /><br />And speaking of Jo Walton, who has been doing a great series of posts on books she re-reads -- IIRC she's said that Lymond is one of those favorite re-reads that she doesn't blog about because once she starts...<br /><br />I appreciate your point about the "advantage" of age narrowing where you choose to focus your energies. Though as Dunnett (and Dumas) demonstrate, fully-imgained historical series don't require you to give up mystery, suspense or white-knuckle action. If you want your creative juices stimulated without the intimidation of a 3000+ page series, you might try Dunnett's <i>King Hereafter</i>. It's a (long) one-volume retelling of Macbeth, based on her quite serious archival research. I think most Dunnett fans agree that it's the most tightly structured and most poetic of her works, though it's also the most challenging. It doesn't have the fan base that the two big series do. Still, it's got fascinating Scottish history, plenty of (bloody) action, and her tragic hero is simply glorious. (Ugly, but glorious.)<br /><br />Thanks for the YouTube -- it certainly conjures the intro of Lymond at Douai with Piero Strozzi and the cock fight, or the slapstick feasts at the Hotel de Ville and Mary Queen of Scots' wedding. My mental soundtrack for the final novel is more melancholy, however. For me, it's John Dowland -- "Tant que je vive" should be set to Dowland -- and the Wyatt sonnet sung at the engagement party. "The pillar peris'd" knocks me out every time.<br /><br />Just as a matter of curiosity -- are you a Trollope fan? I like the Susan Howatch Anglican series, but I find it somewhat repetitive, and I definitely prefer what I always think of as the Trollope "original".dunnettreaderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01458450047215098334noreply@blogger.com