Longitude Discussion

Thanks to those who came last night to discuss Longitude. I think we've all been a bit busy lately, but I'm happy that this group is still going forward. Finding the time to read a novel and having the chance to mull it over can be challenging, but I find it worthwhile. And especially so when there's people to discuss with each month.

Lisa did a lot of the leading of the discussion this time, since she originally suggested the book. We talked a bit about the writing style of Longitude- whether it was a biography or history. We noticed that even though the subtitle of the book suggests its about John Harrison, there's a feeling in reading it that you don't get that many personal details about Harrison-- it is somewhat detached and doesn't quite pull you into his life. We discussed the pros and cons of this style- how it allowed a broader story to be told, and in fact was an interesting contrast to Harrison's somewhat obsessive character. One of us even found it to be a technically useful book -- Vishy discovered that he was not the original inventor of the Gridiron Pendulum!