Mention must possibly be made of the Dorothy Dunnett debacle by way of explanation for my reluctance to let her onto my blog, she's big trouble and anyone who was there will know this is bravery verging on foolhardiness.
I have a legion of lovely online reading friends across the world and in 2005 quite a few of us caught Dunnettmania with a vengeance.We were quarantined in an online reading list of our own and left to indulge ourselves, yes like children in a sweet factory and it all went horribly wrong.
Far too many D numbers.
Like many of these things they run out of steam, expectations vary wildly, tempers fray and the whole thing implodes in a flurry of huffiness...or was it a fluffy of hurriness.
After retiring to our respective continents to recover we very quickly shook virtual hands, regrouped at a new online venue completely cured of our Dunnettmania and have read and continued to share our thoughts on books and life very happily ever since.Dorothy was firmly boxed and gaffer taped up and booted out to the garage.
Unruly passions can be aroused and factions develop when you embark on a online group read of the six books of The Lymond Chronicles. The writing is dense and intensely well researched historical fiction and it can take what seems like an age to read just a few pages, there is so much to take in.
There are several approaches to Dunnett reading as a group.
One is never to start in the first place and this could be the wisest course.
Failing that you can gallop headlong through in a cloud of great unknowing and some of it will eventually be revealed, or you can sit with Elspeth Morrison's Dorothy Dunnett Companion at your side and be turning to it approximately every twenty seconds.Looking things up gives you a minor history degree by the end but expect to fall far behind everyone else.
I managed a wholesome three of the series but then just couldn't face another.Too much revving of the engine had flattened my Dunnett spark plugs completely.
So it was with some trepidation that I finally plucked up the courage and tentatively moved Pawn in Frankincense, number four off the shelves.Then I put together a 3 step aversion therapy plan.
- Just look at it for a while and see if I could do that without feeling sick.
- See if I could summon up enough voltage to start the Dunnett engine up again.
- Gently into first gear, signal and pull away slowly having checked your mirrors first.
A few of the old guard have crept out of the woodwork and we are tentatively picking up where we left off (someone who shall be nameless is on the final one) but we've signed a pre-read agreement.
There will be no dissent over this Dunnett-fest.
Recent Comments