NOVEMBER READ - NO SPOILERS - The Nine Tailors

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NOVEMBER READ - NO SPOILERS - The Nine Tailors

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1Morphidae
Oct 15, 2013, 4:08 pm

November is a mystery with The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L. Sayers. I actually own this one for once!

2tardis
Oct 15, 2013, 4:56 pm

ooh, I might actually make the effort to re-read that one. Usually I'm too lazy, even when I like/own/want to read the book chosen, but I do love the Lord Peter Wimsey books and it's been a long time since I re-read that one.

3SylviaC
Oct 15, 2013, 5:02 pm

Yay! One of my favourite books by one of my favourite authors! And the very first book I ever entered on LibraryThing.

4fuzzi
Oct 15, 2013, 9:26 pm

I have not read this in years, decades...I'm in!

5hfglen
Oct 16, 2013, 2:36 am

At least I know where my copy is!

6Meredy
Oct 16, 2013, 2:48 am

I'll join. This will be my first participation in a group read.

This was my first Sayers novel. My mother lent it to me from her bookshelf when I was a teenager. After half a century my recollection of the book is dim. So apart from one or two remembered details--and the meaning of the title--it'll be as if new to me, except that I already know I'll be utterly charmed by Lord Peter.

7MrsLee
Oct 16, 2013, 9:43 am

I'm up for a re-read. I've read this at least two times, possibly three, but it is one of my favorite Wimsey novels.

8SylviaC
Modifié : Oct 16, 2013, 9:52 am

>6 Meredy:

That makes me think about the extent to which my reading preferences were formed between the ages of 11 and 15. During that period I had my first encounter with most of the "grown-up" authors that I still love today: Sayers, Georgette Heyer, John Wyndham, Elswyth Thane, D. E. Stevenson, Nevil Shute, Mary Stewart, Anne McCaffrey, Elizabeth Cadell, Barbara Michaels/Elizabeth Peters, Dick Francis, Lucilla Andrews. Most of these I discovered on my mother's bookshelves, then spent hours scouring library shelves for more. I've found a lot more favourite authors since then, but there's never again been that huge rush of discovery.

9tardis
Oct 16, 2013, 11:23 am

8> yeah, I blame my parents for my love of mysteries, too. First they gave me all those Enid Blyton and Nancy Drew books, and then I started reading the stuff on their shelves: Christie, Allingham, Marsh, Sayers, Innes, Francis, etc. I discovered SF and fantasy on my own, though :)

10fuzzi
Modifié : Oct 16, 2013, 7:38 pm

I can blame my sisters: they are 4 and 5 years older than I, and I regularly raided their bookshelves. I read The Lord of the Rings at 11 as my middle sister was reading it at that time for a class in high school.

But I have to blame Masterpiece Theatre for getting me hooked on Lord Peter Wimsey. I think I was 14 at the time.

11reconditereader
Oct 16, 2013, 11:02 pm

I think I've read it about 4 times. I re-read some of the other Wimsey books more. I think I was introduced to them by my mother. Thanks, mom.

12NorthernStar
Oct 18, 2013, 12:56 am

I'm looking forward to reading this again, as well. Maybe it's time for me to reread all of Sayers' Wimsey books.

13Meredy
Oct 18, 2013, 3:04 pm

I reread the four Harriet Vane books a few years ago, recalling with some amusement that those were the ones my mother forbade me to read as a young teen "because they're a little too old for you." She meant s-e-x, which was anything that went beyond hand-holding, I guess--and certainly anything that smacked of honeymoon stuff. (Maybe this is why my own youthful education was so incomplete.)

14Jarandel
Oct 20, 2013, 4:04 pm

Picked a copy, not sure how much I will enjoy it as blurbs or reviews of other books in the series that I came across earlier seem to hint at the protagonist being of a type I seldom enjoy anymore, conveniently good or knowledgeable in all their endeavors or any obscure questions that may surface, never really challenged or much pushed out of their comfort zones, etc...

15MrsLee
Oct 20, 2013, 11:12 pm

14 - These are mysteries of the Golden Age of mysteries, so, maybe you won't enjoy them. I find them relaxing and delightful. If you read the whole collection of the Lord Peter Wimsey stories, you realize he is struggling mightily with PTSD from his WWI service. Much of his attitude and frivolity is a mask to cover his pain and survive. Yes, he has convenient amounts of money and knowledge to enable him to pull off the miraculous, but that is the fun of it, and I do believe these are meant to be fun. He does not, however, posses the goods to charm the love of his life, although many others would fall into his arms if he was willing. I find him much more of a well-rounded character than say, Poirot or Holmes.

16Meredy
Oct 23, 2013, 12:06 am

Do the rules for group reads forbid starting early? Is there a schedule to follow?

17Morphidae
Oct 23, 2013, 8:02 am

Start whenever you like! The spoiler thread won't open until November 1st though.

18Jim53
Oct 23, 2013, 8:27 am

I read this a million years ago and have just started re-reading it. I must confess I'm finding the beginning a bit dull, with the lengthy descriptions of the area. But I shall attempt to keep calm and carry on.

19Sakerfalcon
Oct 23, 2013, 9:07 am

I really liked the setting and slow build when I read this before. I hope I'll be able to fit in a reread and join the discussion next month.

20pgmcc
Oct 23, 2013, 10:39 am

Our house is coming down with copies of Dorothy L Sayers, Agatha Christie, Collin Dexter, etc... as my wife is great fan of these stories. I went hunting through the mostly paperback volumes and found a copy of a hardback, 1972 Victor Gallancz edition of The Nine Tailors. It will be the first Lord Peter Wimsey I will have read but I remember enjoying the TV series in which Ian Carmichael played the sleuth.

21Meredy
Oct 23, 2013, 4:00 pm

Thank goodness! I started it already. I have no problem with slow beginnings when they're so richly textured and evocative. My distant memory of it is awakening with moments of recognition. I remember loving the sound effects. Tin tan din dan bim bam bom bo. {goosebumps}

22jjwilson61
Modifié : Oct 23, 2013, 4:08 pm

I found the first 100 pages or so mostly tedious. All the endless discussions of the techniques of change-ringing and the architecture of churches which I mostly couldn't follow. It does pick up once they find the body though. Is that a spoiler?

ETA: And are the maps of the church and the surrounding area in all editions or just the one I picked up at the library? Are the details in the maps important to the story? I'm afraid they're hard to read in my book.

23Jim53
Oct 23, 2013, 5:36 pm

My HBJ paperback from 1962 has the maps. I have to remove my glasses and hold them very close.

24pgmcc
Oct 23, 2013, 5:44 pm

The maps are in my 1972 edition.

25fuzzi
Modifié : Oct 23, 2013, 7:32 pm

(21) Ooh, I loved that part too, Meredy!

I'm probably going to wait until November to start reading it, though, as I have three books I'd like to finish before next Friday.

26MrsLee
Oct 24, 2013, 10:34 am

22- What you dislike, the whole change-ringing discussion, is what sets this apart as one of my favorite Wimsey novels! :) Also the architecture. It helps that I have a book on architecture of churches in England, but I love reading in detail about things I never have and am never likely to experience. When I first started the whole social internet thing, I was in a group which read the whole Wimsey canon every year. It was lovely. There were bell ringers in it and talking to them brought it to life even more. I hope I can hear change-ringing someday.

27hfglen
Modifié : Oct 24, 2013, 10:53 am

(BBC4 Bells on Sunday -- changes every Sunday) may do for you, MrsLee.

#22-24 The maps are in my 1946 el cheapo edition.

28jjwilson61
Oct 24, 2013, 11:15 am

It doesn't help that all my reading is on the train or at lunch hour during work, so I don't have the opportunity to consult a dictionary or google as much as I'd like.

Speaking of googling, a Boche is a disparaging term for a German, especially a German soldier in WWI or WWII.

29fuzzi
Oct 24, 2013, 12:48 pm

If anyone is interested in more about change ringing, there are many videos available.

Here's one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-g27o0G0H4

30MrsLee
Oct 24, 2013, 10:48 pm

27 - I thought for a minute I had been Rick-Rolled when the clip started out with Pinky and Perky singing!

Thank you for the links.

31hfglen
Oct 25, 2013, 3:16 am

#30 BBC clips do tend to start with a few seconds of the preceding item!

32pgmcc
Oct 25, 2013, 3:54 am

Awww! Pinky and Perky. I haven't seen them in ages; decades probably.

33Meredy
Oct 26, 2013, 5:35 pm

I still need a little help understanding the spoilers-vs.-no-spoilers rules of group reads. Once the spoilers thread begins on Nov. 1, why would anyone who's reading the book want to visit it? Especially for a mystery, it seems odd to allow spoilers. Won't they spoil it? Are there any limits set, such as "no spoilers for the second half yet"?

Sorry to be dense, but I seem to be missing some essential concept.

34Jarandel
Oct 26, 2013, 6:38 pm

>33 Meredy: Well, I think people who care about spoilers will keep away from the spoiler thread until they've finished the book, those who don't care or have already finished will participate gradually though from what I've seen so far indirect references whenever possible are often preferred over outright naming or description of later key plot points, especially early on.

Coordinated advancement through the book is probably too much to expect for a relatively small group such as this one.

35jjwilson61
Oct 26, 2013, 8:09 pm

I finished it :) Now I have to wait until November to discuss it? :(

36Morphidae
Oct 26, 2013, 8:21 pm

>33 Meredy: If you don't want any spoilers, you'll want to avoid reading the spoiler thread. It's for those who have either read the book or don't mind spoilers.

>35 jjwilson61: You can discuss it here as long as you don't post any spoilers. Otherwise, yes, you need to wait until November 1st as this is the November group read.

37Finley1882
Oct 31, 2013, 1:22 am

This will be my first book discussion group. What are the ground rules? Is there a schedule? Do we just respond to a thread? I read this book several years ago and will enjoy reading it again.

38Morphidae
Oct 31, 2013, 8:06 am

No rules other than don't post spoilers here, wait for the spoiler thread. No schedule other than the spoiler thread opens on the 1st. Yes, you just respond on a thread.

Easy peasy!

39MrsLee
Nov 1, 2013, 11:00 am

Morphy, you forgot about the rule that first-timers have to buy the rest of the group a round of drinks. ;)

40Finley1882
Nov 1, 2013, 12:13 pm

Okay on the drinks. I'm buying at the Starbucks in Poulsbo, Washington.

I find the description of East Anglia fascinating. My wife's family emigrated from the Norwich area about 400 years ago and we have been back once. So to read about East Anglia is delightful. Also, my wife and family had a willow tree growing on their property which had special meaning for the family. To our amazement and surprise we found out that willow trees have a special place in the folklore of East Anglia.

Okay, let's get started. 'It was a dark and stormy night..'. when Peter Wimsey and his manservant drove off the road.

41BarbN
Nov 1, 2013, 9:43 pm

Well, I joined the group to participate in this one, because I love Sayers and this story is the first Sayers I read and one of the finest.

42Jarandel
Nov 2, 2013, 4:42 pm

The bell-ringing bits are flying well over my head.
Finding the depiction of the countryside and the villagers fairly enjoyable though.

But Lord Peter is apparently just as eminently gifted at whatever is convenient for him to be as I feared.