Thursday, November 16, 2017

Bookish conversations

Last Saturday I joined the celebrations of International Dorothy Dunnett Day. Around the world, people gathered at 1 PM (their local time) to celebrate Lady Dunnett, her books, and the unforgettable characters that she created. I had a celebratory lunch with two other Houston Dunnett readers, one of whom was the very first Dunnett reader I ever met, 20 years ago, when I had just discovered (and fallen into literary love with) Francis Crawford and the Lymond Chronicles. (The other was the generous friend who took me and my three cats in when we became Harvey refugees, also a fellow Janeite and Heyerite.)

It's been a good while since I had the chance to talk about Dorothy Dunnett - about her different series, the characters who feel so fully alive, about the friends I've made and the places I've visited because of her books, about meeting Dorothy Dunnett herself. I've missed that kind of immersive book talk. I've also missed the bookish conversations in blogging. Writing here can be a monologue, my chance to talk about what I'm reading, the books I'm discovering (or rediscovering), the ones I'm adding to the (still growing) TBR stacks. It's with the comments that it becomes a conversation, and I mean to get back to visiting and commenting. I've missed those discussions as well, and the suggestions that keep adding to the TBR shelves. I should check my blog roll as well, I think some people have moved house and I need to catch up with them.

I've missed this.

14 comments:

  1. What was that line about meeting Dorothy Dunnett?! Details please. I started reading Niccolo Rising because Dunnett is the perfect author to curl up with and immerse yourself in on cold winter nights. The problem is I have hardly been home so I haven't made much progress. I suppose that is what weekends are for.

    I was wondering how you were doing after Harvey. I hope all is well.

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    1. I love the first two Niccolo books almost as much as the Lymond Chronicles.

      I went to a convention of Dunnett readers back in 2000, just after the last Niccolo book was published. (There were two that year. I went to Philadelphia and will always regret not going to the Edinburgh gathering.) Dorothy Dunnett came to both. There was time set aside when she was signing books - and I was so nervous and overwhelmed meeting her that I could hardly speak! But she was also around during the events and sessions, very happy to meet people and chat.

      One of the women at the lunch with me traveled to Edinburgh in the 1970s and visited DD at her home - then corresponded with her for years, and met her at different events. I am still green with envy over that.

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  2. And you have also been missed! I was happy to see your post pop up this morning and look forward to chatting about books with you again :)

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    1. Thank you :) I've just added three books to my library list, after your books-about-books post!

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  3. It's good to see a new post from you, Lisa - I've missed you and your blog! I'm glad you enjoyed your IDDD celebrations. :)

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    1. Maybe with the reissue of her books in the UK there will be more people celebrating next year :)

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  4. It is so nice to see you posting! The Dunnett celebrations had me wanting to reread the Niccolo books. I've only read those once (and the Lymonds only twice). But I need to finish the Patrick O'Brian books before embarking on that project. Something to look forward to!

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    1. Thank you, Teresa! I've had Niccolo Rising in mind for a while, but the other day I was thinking it's been a while since I've read O'Brian - and I had Post Captain in mind. But then I got side-tracked into Laurie R. King :)

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  5. Hey lady, it's lovely to see you around! I've been so busy lately that I haven't been bloghopping or responding to comments as much as I've wanted, and I always miss my blogging pals when that's the case.

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    1. Thank you too, Jenny! I've been blog-hopping, but feeling very lethargic & tongue-tied about commenting. I do hope to post Something on Sunday before too long!

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  6. It's lovely to see you back, I had no idea you were in Harvey's path. I hope things are fine for you now. I'm going to be reading The Disorderly Knights soon, for the first time.I've always wished I had written to Mary Stewart while she was alive, I had some questions to ask her, but was too shy to do it. It's good to hear that DD was so approachable.

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    1. Yes, my neighborhood flooded but thankfully didn't get into my house or garage, but I was evacuated (by boat) because we were told to expect another rise of 2-3 feet.

      Disorderly Knights is such a good book! I can envy you having it to read for the first time.

      I wrote to Elizabeth Peters once, and I was so thrilled when she answered - but I never wrote again. And Anne McCaffrey, I still have the postcard that she sent. I'm always tongue-tied meeting authors though - partly awe of anyone who can write real books.

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  7. Good to hear your 'voice' again, Lisa!

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    1. It's lovely to hear from you as well. I hope all's well.

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Thank you for taking the time to read, and to comment. I always enjoy hearing different points of view about the books I am reading, even if we disagree!