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seduced by lord peter stop send help stop
Dec. 29th, 2006 06:16 pmAhhhh. So much more relaxed than I was this time last week. My break has been quite enjoyable--lots of good food, family time, presents, SLEEP, etc. I've even been *gasp* getting up pretty regularly at 9am or earlier each day. It's quite bizarre. I was possibly going to go camping in Mexico with friends, but that didn't pan out. Instead, I've read three Lord Peter Wimsey books in rapid succession over the past few days. I'm about to start on my fourth. I haven't been on a reading binge like this (well, reading not related to school or fanfic) for far, far too long.
Lord Peter's a joy to read; Dorothy Sayers knows how to write a tight little mystery, and the characters peopling her novels pop right off the page. I've been reminded of both Jane Austen and Lois McMaster Bujold during my reading--the former is quite possibly an influence, and I have the more-than-sneaking suspicion that the latter was heavily influenced by Sayers. Regardless, all three have that same neat trick of crystalline characterization. Austen usually gets there through a few remarkable introductory sentences which exhibit her uncannily astute observations on human nature. Sayers scatters her similar summations of type more widely, assisting them with the unique voices in her dialogue and personality-appropriate actions. Bujold learns from both, although I think her ear for dialogue is less sensitive (a lot of her characters sound similar, whereas Sayers' are more distinct) and employs varying combinations of the techniques when appropriate. Each has her own particular style and purpose, of course, but I'm quite admiring of their characterizations. Anyway, the mysteries are intelligent, and find that nice balance between being so convoluted that you're left entirely in the dark and being so simplistic that you're left wondering why the detectives are so much stupider than you. I'm looking forward to the appearance of Harriet Vane. :D
Unfortunately, all this reading leaves me at about skip=100 for my flist, with none of the things I was already behind on come finals dealt with. *sigh* That's what I get for being literary, eh? ;) I'm off to whittle away at the pile before allowing myself to get sucked in by The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club. Cheerio!
(*eyes subject line* Telegram humor never gets old. *g*)
Lord Peter's a joy to read; Dorothy Sayers knows how to write a tight little mystery, and the characters peopling her novels pop right off the page. I've been reminded of both Jane Austen and Lois McMaster Bujold during my reading--the former is quite possibly an influence, and I have the more-than-sneaking suspicion that the latter was heavily influenced by Sayers. Regardless, all three have that same neat trick of crystalline characterization. Austen usually gets there through a few remarkable introductory sentences which exhibit her uncannily astute observations on human nature. Sayers scatters her similar summations of type more widely, assisting them with the unique voices in her dialogue and personality-appropriate actions. Bujold learns from both, although I think her ear for dialogue is less sensitive (a lot of her characters sound similar, whereas Sayers' are more distinct) and employs varying combinations of the techniques when appropriate. Each has her own particular style and purpose, of course, but I'm quite admiring of their characterizations. Anyway, the mysteries are intelligent, and find that nice balance between being so convoluted that you're left entirely in the dark and being so simplistic that you're left wondering why the detectives are so much stupider than you. I'm looking forward to the appearance of Harriet Vane. :D
Unfortunately, all this reading leaves me at about skip=100 for my flist, with none of the things I was already behind on come finals dealt with. *sigh* That's what I get for being literary, eh? ;) I'm off to whittle away at the pile before allowing myself to get sucked in by The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club. Cheerio!
(*eyes subject line* Telegram humor never gets old. *g*)
