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This time is absolutely thrilled to be joined by Keith Law of ESPN (author of Smart Baseball) to discuss Connie Willis’s hilarious To Say Nothing of the Dog, winner of the 1999 Hugo Award. Huge thanks to Keith for taking the time to chat!
Time Codes:
| Start – 13:08 | Intro/getting to know Keith |
| 13:09 – 27:24 | Non-Spoiler discussion |
| 27:25 – end | Spoiler discussion |
Notes & Links:
Keith’s social media links:
https://twitter.com/keithlaw
https://www.facebook.com/KeithLawWriter/
https://www.instagram.com/mrkeithlaw/
Keith’s Board Game reviews on Paste:
https://www.pastemagazine.com/writers?name=keith+law
Keith’s newsletter:
https://tinyletter.com/keithlaw
Keith’s personal blog:
http://meadowparty.com/blog/
Great episode! I was excited to see this one pop up in the feed and it didn’t disappoint. My wife and I read both Three Men in a Boat and To Say Nothing of the Dog together last year and loved them both. It seems like an underappreciated book, so I was glad to hear it get some love.
My only quibble would be that I think the time travel is pervasive enough that I might not recommend the book to someone uninterested in or unfamiliar with time travel. Willis handled the topic as well as in any other book I’ve read, but I could see it being confusing and possibly off-putting to that audience. Although I prefer this book, I would probably pick something like Frederik Pohl’s Time Patrol stories as better time-travel-for-non-sci-fi-fans.
Keith was a great guest, and I enjoyed hearing about his reading/baseball/board game interests, which I share. Looking forward to your future episodes. Thanks Seth!
Thanks, Brian! I’m really looking forward to more Connie Willis in the future, though at present all of her other winners are still up for grabs. I don’t love every book my guests choose (Neuromancer, for instance), but it’s always great to talk to someone who’s excited about their choice. It was awesome to talk to Keith since I’ve been such a fan of his for years now. Thanks again for your kind words.
Also, I totally get what you’re saying about the time travel aspect being perhaps off-putting to non-nerds. But I do think the literary aspects of this one would win the day.
I was pleasantly surprised to hear Keith Law on here as I have read his book and frequently hear him on the Buster Olney baseball podcast.
Am I wrong but aren’t the Time Patrol stories Poul Anderson?
Not sure about those stories. I actually just reached out to Keith for a return episode since he’s finished the whole list. I’m hoping to record with him next month for a bonus episode.
I will look forward to that. I think when you finish the novel winners you can start on the novella winners. To me those are really novels albeit short ones. If Keith wants to talk more about Connie Willis he will have many novellas to choose from. I’ll bet you’ll find that mode often than not the novellas are superior to the novels. That is how Jo Walton felt after writing An Informal History of the Bible a book you should definitely check out if you haven’t.
Speaking of Jo Walton I am looking forward to reading Among Others as I enjoy hearing Juan San Miguel on your podcasts. I don’t know if you have had the peerless Cora Buhlert on your novel podcasts but that would be great. Also the “I’m just a reader” guy from Scotland, sorry forgot his name but he’s a hoot.
I’ve only had Cora on for panel discussions. And yeah I’d love to have Ivor on for a regular episode.
I know Cora has reviewed Van Vogt so she might be someone to help you get through Slan. Good luck.
I read Slan years ago and I think I’ve got someone booked for it already.
Yes. Brian Koser above said the Time Patrol series was Frederick Pohl but it was Poul Anderson, who wrote as many time travel works than anyone other than maybe Robert Silverberg. I would say that many of my favorite books are time travel stories- Kindred by Octavia E. butler, Doomsday book by Willis, Replay by Ken Grimwood, No Enemy But Time Michael Bishop, The Man who Folded Himself by David Gerrold, Guns of the South by Harry Turtledove, Time Travelers Never Die by Jack McDevitt, The Hemingway Hoax by Joe Haldeman, Houston, Houston Can you Read by James Tiptree, and Hawksbill Station by Silverberg. I could go on.