Litsy

RamsFan1963

pick

117/150 It took me awhile to get into this book, I thought it dragged terribly in the beginning, but once Kiven was able to talk and interact with the people in the past, the story got much more interesting. Usually with dual storyline books, I find one part more interesting than the other, but Willis kept both the past and present stories gripping, so I didn't mind when it flipped from one to the other. 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

RamsFan1963 117th book finished for #Readaway2024 @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES @Andrew65 3w

Andrew65 Well done 🎄🎄🎄 I read this many years ago and remember enjoying it. Like you I also remember it taking a long time to get going. 3w

DieAReader 🎉🎄Fantastic! 3w

56 likes3 comments

Ruthiella

Doomsday Book | Connie Willis

Happy Holidays to all who celebrate!

A couple of questions for any who have finished this month‘s #ClassicLSFBC pick. If anyone would like to be added or removed from the tag list, let me know.

2. Kivren comes from her experience in the 14th century very different from when she started. Do you think she will recover and risk time travel again?

#ClassicLSFBC

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KathyWheeler People are very resilient, but I think Kivrin must have PTSD after that experience. If I were her, I‘d never risk time travel again. 4w

Ruthiella @KathyWheeler I think Wiilis excels at writing characters. I really cared for them all and was quite worried about Kivrin‘s state of mind at the end. 4w

rwmg I think she might, but from a position of confidence through awareness of her own limitations and abilities rather than naive optimism. After all people do put themselves in danger again and again for what they see as a good cause.

And hopefully, the researchers will have better protocols in operation - at the very least Kivrin can help train the field operatives on what to do if things go wrong. 4w

See All 12 Comments

Ruthiella @rwmg I like your take on this! I‘ve only read from Willis “Blackout “ and a long time ago. I don‘t know if she has recurring characters outside of Dunsworth. The fact that there‘s no backup plan for a drop gone sideways was a frustratingly unbelievable aspect of the book, IMO. 3w

The_Literary_Jedi Nope, I don‘t think she‘ll go again. Too much to deal with & hopefully the team learned a thing or two from her experience as both @rwmg and @ruthiella stated 3w

Larkken @rwmg there was so much ego and infighting among and between departments! Whew. And do we ever find out what happens to Basingame? 🤪 3w

Larkken @KathyWheeler @The_Literary_Jedi I'm with you, I think it will take Kivrin more than a little while to trust people in her own timeline to not die in front of her, let alone people in the past. 3w

Ruthiella @Larkken I don‘t know from personal experience, but I believe from others that the departmental infighting might also be accurate! 3w

Ruthiella @The_Literary_Jedi I do think she will suffer from serious PTSD. The end chapters were brutal! 3w

Larkken @Ruthiella I'm more familiar with fighting within rather than between! But yea fair enough 😅 3w

swynn Agreed that Kivrin has a future of dealing with PTSD. Hard to tell whether she would go again, but if she does I'd believe her as the hard-nosed sort who wants every test run twice and triple checked. 3w

Ruthiella @swynn For sure if she were to go back, she would arrange for a few alternative drop times! 3w

37 likes12 comments

Ruthiella

Doomsday Book | Connie Willis

Happy Holidays to all who celebrate!

A couple of questions for any who have finished this month‘s #ClassicLSFBC pick. If anyone would like to be added or removed from the tag list, let me know.

1. In writing about the Black Death, Willis had the advantage of hindsight, but much of the 2056 attitudes towards the present day epidemic was recognizable. Did present day Oxford in the novel seem realistic to you?

#ClassicLSFBC

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KathyWheeler It did seem realistic. If I‘d read this book before 2020 though, I would have it wasn‘t because people would not act like that if faced with an epidemic or pandemic. (edited) 4w

Ruthiella @KathyWheeler While she obviously didn‘t predict cell phones or the internet, I agree that the behavior of people facing a quarantine and a pandemic was all too familiar. 4w

rwmg And this was the present day's 2nd epidemic/pandemic, which does not bode well for our future. 4w

See All 11 Comments

The_Literary_Jedi I was annoyed with the general incompetence of the people involved with the project itself once Badri got sick; not one knew how to operate the machine? I first read this back in the 90‘s in HS & I remember thinking there was no way authorities would be so stupid or people be so panicky…lol. 3w

Ruthiella @rwmg I suspect our experience with the next pandemic (not a question of if but when) will be equally divisive and difficult, unfortunately. 3w

Ruthiella @The_Literary_Jedi While overall I enjoyed it because I was particularly invested in the Middle Ages story line, the ridiculousness of the missed calls, etc. drove me crazy. It was just to extend the plot tension, but it only annoyed me. (edited) 3w

Larkken The picketing for useless reasons, general confusion/breakdown of services, and blaming of minorities was painfully familiar. @Ruthiella I did a lot of skimming during the missed connections parts, for sure not my favorite parts either. (edited) 3w

Ruthiella @Larkken I remember similar issues in “Blackout”, with break downs in the technology and endless (ENDLESS) dialogue about how to get back. 3w

Larkken @Ruthiella ew... Even though I really liked it, I have to admit that my tear-to-page quota was exceeded in this book so I already wasn't rushing to read the sequel, and that info pushes it still further down the list! 3w

swynn In terms of the resistance to public health measures and conspiracy-suspicious responses to quarantine, she was spot-on in ways I probably would not have appreciated before 2020. I do think, though, that she also used some comic exaggeration, that for me didn't fit well with the desperate and tragic scenes in the past, and also the future's final act 3w

Ruthiella @swynn I‘m glad you brought that up. I also found it a bit disconcerting the switch from the light comedy in the present day compared to the drama and trauma of the past. Agnes, in particular, gutted me. 3w

35 likes11 comments

swynn

Doomsday Book | Connie Willis

pick

(1992) Oxford historians send a time traveler to the 14th century, just as a viral pandemic breaks out in their own time, complicating every aspect of the project. Much to admire here: author Willis's style, her 14th-C. worldbuilding, her narrative structure that parallels medieval and modern pandemics. For me there are tonal inconsistencies that complicate my response, but I found the story engaging and, in the final act, gripping.

30 likes

Larkken

Doomsday Book | Connie Willis

This post contains spoilers

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Omg I‘m so annoyed. Is this the origin of this trope?!? #classiclsfbc

PuddleJumper 🤣🤣 1mo

9 likes1 comment

KathyWheeler

The Doomsday Book | Connie Willis

pick

Well, that was one depressing and thought-provoking Christmas-adjacent book! I did like it though. It got a little repetitive and long-winded in some places; at a couple of places, I actually said out loud, “Will you just get to the point?!” Willis‘ take on pandemic behavior is absolutely right. #ClassicLSFBC #audiowalk

kspenmoll Lovely walk! 1mo

KathyWheeler @kspenmoll It‘s one of my favorite places. Five rivers converge here, so it‘s called Five Rivers Delta Center. 1mo

23 likes2 comments

KathyWheeler

The Doomsday Book | Connie Willis

I‘ve got about 3 hours left in this book, and I‘m holding out for a happyish ending. Probably not realistic, but I sure wouldn‘t mind one. It got up to 79° here today, so I was walking in shorts again. #ClassicLSFBC #audiowalk

16 likes

KathyWheeler

The Doomsday Book | Connie Willis

Well, something happened in this book that I wasn‘t expecting, but when I look back, it‘s not surprising. A friend and I went on a historic homes and churches tour, and it was such a beautiful day, I went for another walk when we were done. #audiowalk #ClassicLSFBC

26 likes

KathyWheeler

The Doomsday Book | Connie Willis

It was such a beautiful day for walking today — sunny, not too hot, not too cold, and a nice breeze. #audiowalk

22 likes

KathyWheeler

The Doomsday Book | Connie Willis

I‘m predicting that someone Kivrin meets in the past is not who we and Kivrin are lead to think he is. I‘m not that great with figuring things out, so we‘ll see if my prediction is right. #ClassicLSFBC #audiowalk

16 likes

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