Doomsday Book

by Connie Willis | Science Fiction & Fantasy |
ISBN: 0553351672 Global Overview for this book
Registered by wingGoryDetailswing of Nashua, New Hampshire USA on 8/27/2003
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This book is in the wild! This Book is Currently in the Wild!
10 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by wingGoryDetailswing from Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Wednesday, August 27, 2003
Another find at the library book sale, this is a hardbound edition, in moderately decent shape after some mending. I'd read the book years ago and enjoyed it; it's a nice blend of time travel/historical/disaster stories, in which a team of researchers from a future not that different from our own sends a graduate student into the England of the Middle Ages. The trip's supposed to be safe - she's been innoculated against anything she might catch, given lessons in the culture and language, etc - but (of course) things soon go very wrong. The most interesting part of the story is her adventures in a medieval community beset with the plague, but it alternates nicely with a new-and-different (or is it?) plague that strikes her modern-day cohorts, interfering with their attempts to get her back to her own time. The historical setting is excellent - and chilling; and the reminders about flawed science and human hubris are (if you'll pardon the expression) timely.

Journal Entry 2 by wingGoryDetailswing from Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Monday, September 1, 2003
Bookray:

I ask that each participant journal the book when you receive it, PM the next person in line for their address, read the book reasonably promptly [it's a good long read, and from the number of bookrings some of you guys have I suspect this may be a fairly, um, leisurely bookray, but if you don't think you'll be able to get to it within 4 to 6 weeks perhaps you could ask to switch places with someone farther down the list], journal your comments when you're done and then send it along. [This is a moderately hefty hardcover book, so cheap-but-slow shipping is OK.]

Participants, in mailing order:

Eskielover (WA)
fruitbat (OR)
anabanana (CA)
16stepper (AZ)
Kernow8 (VA)
ciaracat (TX)
[removed at her request] jenny-lou-who (Canada)
Sossap (Portugal)

Journal Entry 3 by wingGoryDetailswing from Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Saturday, September 6, 2003
Controlled release:

I sent this off to BCer Eskielover in Washington, to kick off the bookray. Hope you enjoy it!

Journal Entry 4 by Eskielover from Olympia, Washington USA on Tuesday, September 16, 2003
Just received this in the mail today. I now have 4 rings here, I have to read fast.

Journal Entry 5 by Eskielover from Olympia, Washington USA on Sunday, October 12, 2003
This was a fascinating read, joining as it did the past and a not too far off future. It has time travel, a lost time traveler, and an epidemic run amok in an era where vaccinations and T-cell enhancements are routine.

The future and past are linked to a crisis that strands Kivrin, a young historian, in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The epidemic hampers the monitoring and retrieval of Kivrin, and her history professor, Dunworthy, leads an all out attempt at rescuing her.

This kept me up severl nights. Thanks GoryDetails for starting this bookring.

Journal Entry 6 by Eskielover from Olympia, Washington USA on Tuesday, October 14, 2003
Sent this book on to fruitbat today.

Journal Entry 7 by fruitbat from Cottage Grove, Oregon USA on Friday, October 17, 2003
Received in the mail today! Will read this week and send along.

Journal Entry 8 by fruitbat from Cottage Grove, Oregon USA on Sunday, October 19, 2003
It took me a LONG time to really get into this book -- nearly halfway thru before it really engaged me. Usually if I'm not engaged by about page 20, I put the book aside, but I figured I'd give this one a bit long, being a bookring and all, and thinking that maybe it just took awhile to warm up. I was bored with the 21st century part of the story most of the time -- too many characters to keep track of, too much University politics (I get enough of that in real life!) -- but the medieval aspect was intriguing and seemed far more real.

All in all, I'm glad I read it; I'll probably read more Willis in the future. Thanks, GoryDetails!

On its way to anabanana ASAP.

Journal Entry 9 by fruitbat at on Tuesday, October 28, 2003
Released on Tuesday, October 28, 2003 at bookring in postal release, postal release USA.

sent today to anabanana -- I'm sorry it took me so long to be able to get to the post office!!

Journal Entry 10 by anabanana from Pasadena, California USA on Tuesday, November 4, 2003
I received this book from fruitbat. I am in the middle of another book and will finish it asap so that I can get to this one and keep the ray moving. Thanks so much for sending it on!

Journal Entry 11 by anabanana from Pasadena, California USA on Saturday, November 15, 2003
Thanks for sending this! I had wanted to read another book by Connie Willis since reading To Say Nothing of the Dog last year. While this book also involved time travel, it was very different than the whimsical To Say Nothing of the Dog. I was drawn into this book and enjoyed the way the stories in the past and future were woven together. Both stories were intense, but that of the middle ages was more so and much more devastating.

And where WAS Basingame??

Mailed today (11/19) to 16Stepper. Enjoy!

Journal Entry 12 by 16stepper from Gilbert, Arizona USA on Friday, November 21, 2003
Doomsday has arrived in Gilbert. Will add to my pile of rays and keep you posted on when I'm reading it.

Journal Entry 13 by 16stepper from Gilbert, Arizona USA on Thursday, January 15, 2004
Sorry this has taken me so long to get to. My dad read it in December and really enjoyed it. I've just finished it, and I can't wait to read more of Connie Willis' books. Excellent story. I love anything with a medical theme, and the juxtaposition of the modern medicine coping with an ancient illness and medieval superstition failing to cope with a brand new illness was fascinating. So this book gets two thumbs up here at the 16stepper household. Will get the next person's address and pass on. Thanks for sharing this book with us, GoryDetails!

Journal Entry 14 by Kernow8 from Southampton, Hampshire United Kingdom on Wednesday, January 28, 2004
This arrived yesterday in the snow and freezing rain, although I didn't find it until today because we really didn't think the mail would be delivered in those conditions! The USPS mail carriers are an intrepid bunch...

I should be able to get this out to the next person in a month or so - watch this space... And thanks!

Journal Entry 15 by Kernow8 from Southampton, Hampshire United Kingdom on Wednesday, March 17, 2004
Just to reassure you all - I've started reading this and will be sending it on shortly. Sorry about the delay!

Journal Entry 16 by Kernow8 from Southampton, Hampshire United Kingdom on Friday, March 26, 2004
I enjoyed this book much more than I expected to from the cover (even my husband kept glancing at it on my nightstand and wondering what it was doing there, it looked so out of place!). In fact I thought it was a fantastically gripping read, once I'd got into it. Getting into it involved learning to overlook several cases of Engish characters using un-English names for things (muffler instead of scarf, etc.), and some anachronisms in the future (the pound note was already out of production when the book was published so how it was expected to still be legal tender in 2054 I don't know!) but once I forced myself to stop being so pedantic it was a great read.

It was fairly mind-blowing in places too - the thing that really got me was Montoya's search for the corder - just thinking about it sent my mind spiralling into all kinds of knots trying to work that one out - eventually I just had to accept that we don't understand time travel so I should just accept the story as it's written, but even now I'm doing mental somersaults trying to figure it out!

Thanks for the read Gory - sorry I held onto it for a bit long. It'll be on its way again later today when the mail pick-up happens, or if I miss the mailvan I'll run it over to the post office this weekend.

Journal Entry 17 by ciaracat from Sugar Land, Texas USA on Wednesday, April 14, 2004
Thanks! To be read! :)

Journal Entry 18 by ciaracat from Sugar Land, Texas USA on Wednesday, May 19, 2004
Wow. I didn't know this book took place in the same 'universe' as To Say Nothing of the Dog! Such VERY different books though!

Again, wow. Which has been my reaction to everything I've read by Connie Willis so far. :)

I love this universe she has created. I loved this book, too. The characters, the story. I have to say, for me at least this book was a lot more predictable than To Say Nothing of the Dog.. but it probably helped a lot that I'd already read one book from this universe, and my professional background let me see where one of her plot lines was probably going.

Even though a lot was predictable, still such a totally engrossing book. Almost impossible to put down. Totally emotionally immersed.

For those who haven't read it yet, remember the title.. there are some VERY sad parts in this book! As I got towards the end, I had to stay up all night to finish the book because I couldn't put it down. I cried pretty much solid for the last several hours of reading. (I'm a slow reader. :)) Even with all that, though.. even though there was obviously a lot of tragedy, the ending left me with a very strong ray of hope, and left me actually feeling better about the world.

Journal Entry 19 by ciaracat at Bookring/ray in -- Mailed, -- By post or by hand/ in person -- USA on Wednesday, May 19, 2004
Released on Wednesday, May 19, 2004 at Bookring/ray in USPS, postal release USA.

The next person on the list asked to be removed when I PM'ed for her address, so I'm sending the book today to Sossap.

Thanks so much for letting me borrow it for awhile! :)

Journal Entry 20 by Sossap on Thursday, July 15, 2004
arrive well and will be read in a pille of other books. all be back with comments.

Journal Entry 21 by usedtobe on Thursday, August 5, 2004

I brought this book back from a BC meeting yesterday. I never read anything by Connie Willis so I'm curious! :-)


Journal Entry 22 by Xeyra from Seixal, Setúbal Portugal on Wednesday, August 3, 2005
I've wanted to read this book for a long while now so I didn't hesitate to borrow it from Virgulina. Although I joined a bookray of this book, it appearently died so this is a better opportunity to read this book by an author I immediately liked after reading a portuguese translation of Bellwether. It'll be a while before I can read the book, what with the bookrings that are coming my way, but I promise not to take an ungodly amount of time to return it to you, Virgulina. I hope. Thank you!

Journal Entry 23 by usedtobe on Monday, July 9, 2007

It's back with me!


Journal Entry 24 by usedtobe at By Mail in RABCK, A Bookcrossing member -- Controlled Releases on Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Released 16 yrs ago (12/12/2007 UTC) at By Mail in RABCK, A Bookcrossing member -- Controlled Releases

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

RELEASE NOTES:

This book is now going to travel to Israel, directly to Alexandra, who mooched it from me. Enjoy! :-)


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