Bellwether

[hildy89]

Book #1: Bellwether by Connie Willis

I started my reading project with an old friend. This is one of those books that I frequently reread. I was little surprised to realize today that Bellwether is ten years old. Some of the trends and fads described do date it somewhat, but the big ones mentioned are the historical ones, like hair bobbing and the Hula Hoop. Almost everyone now has cell phones now. They were still enough of a novelty at the time of "Bellwether". Strangely very little else has changed. Corporate America is still changing policies and paperwork every other year in some attempt to stay ahead. Science may not have the Niebnitz award, but people are still discovering things in the damndest of ways. Barbie is still as popular as ever. If anything, frappucinos and lattes have taken up hold in the mainstream, rather than disappearing. The non-smoking bans have become more pronounced in recent years with whole cities banning them in public places. And sheep... are just sheep. What more can you say?

I do find myself playing Sandra Foster occasionally at Media West, studying trends in fandom and how they appear. Which fandoms will be big this year? Can I spot the signs before they appear? Or are they like the source of the Nile hidden in the recesses of the Net? Chaos only seems to reign on Friday morning of registration. And the big furry animals around are the con chair's Samoyeds.

Comments

[queenbookwench.livejournal.com]

I got to ask Connie Willis a question when she came to the book festival last year (she was a great speaker and very funny, btw!) and I asked if Sandra's habit of checking her favorite books out of the library to save them from being weeded was in any way based on Connie herself, and she said of course! Bellweather is one of the 3 Connie Willis books I passionately love, along with Doomsday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog, and I was Quite Excited when I managed to pick up a copy for 75 cents at McKay's a couple of weeks ago.