This is going to be the greatest book in the series!

[Selden]

'Lissa,

Isn't there a public library near where you live?
If they don't have the books you can ask them to get them on "interlibrary loan".

[Melissa]

Nope

[Kathy Li]

I checked the Vermont library catalogs. Doesn't look like they've got Wizard's Holiday yet, anyway.

[Gryphon]

PM:
Possibly. One thing I did in chat was ask how the US school system works, with their junior high or middle schools, and so on. Apparently it depends where you live!

It definitly does depend on where you live!

A lot of schools end in May or June, then starts again in August of September. The school day is normally about 6 hours. Spring Break is somewhere in spring. Actually, I think it came at a different time last year than it did this year. But ah well. Winter break is on the week of Christmas.

Aug, Kathy answered that already.

Kli:
and high school is 9-12 (freshman, sophomore, junior, senior years),

Some highschools, not many, but some, are only three years. Weird. And middle schools can be anywhere from 4 years to 2 years.

PM:
Do you think she will live that long?

Here's one of those moments when Gryphon is easily amused for unknown reasons. Hehe. No, I'm pretty sure she won't die at the end. Well, I dunno about that actually. I didn't think of DD as person who would kill off her main characters, but *shrug*.

[Birdhead]

*waves enthusiastically* I was re-reading HW today, and I found the answer to, like, ALL our questions!!

Okay, maybe not all. But it did say, quite clearly, that Nita was 13 and Kit 12 in SYWTBAW; that SWYTBAW was in March or February (Nita's confusion, not mine) and that HW is the summer of that year- so SY, DW and HW are all in the one year. Oh, and by HW Nita was fourteen and Kit 13, so they must have had a birthday in there somewhere. That's about three months; plus I think a year till Abroad, then Dilemma that autumn, Alone that winter, Holiday that spring... about two years. So by War Nita must be... fifteen, going on sixteen.

[Peter Murray]

And in Deep Wizardry, it says that the events in SYWTBAW happened in May (the Book was given to the eldest on 25 May 1985). All that needs to be done to make a timeline is to reconcile all these minor details, account for Dairine being a year younger in A Wizard Abroad than in SYWTBAW, and for the detail that Nita seems to have been 14 for two years in a row, though I can't find the evidence for that right now ...

Kit's birthday is 25 August, according to SYWTBAW. Mr Callahan's apology about the bike suggests that Nita got the manual within a month of her 13th birthday.

This probably ought to get its own topic, really.

[Birdhead]

*s******s* Yes, well, I tried. Plus, it's the updated version, so it's more right, right?

This probably ought to get its own topic, really.

It's got one. Somewhere. Probably in Miscellaneous, but doubtless it's shut down now.

EDTI: Er, I still can't s******. Oops. Just think *Snickers.*

[Kathy Li]

Good idea, PM! Maybe start a Timeline Issues thread over in the Nitpickery?

[semiramis]

EDTI: Er, I still can't s******. Oops. Just think *Snickers.*

*wrinkles forehead* Now, where in the word "snickers" is there a pootable word?

Something to stick in: TBONWM happens sometime between Abroad and Dilemma; there may be info in there that'd help. Myah. And, yes, there probably should be an independant topic on this; we've already had several topics in which Nita's age has been an object (The Ronan* one comes to mind)...


(*OMG!! I typed his name without trying to spell it "Ronanan!")

[Birdhead]

*wrinkles forehead* Now, where in the word "snickers" is there a pootable word?

*eyeroll* There isn't- but only just, I'm sure. The word I used denotes a similar action to snickering, is all- s******s itself isn't censored, but ******, which is an unpleasant word used by people towards blacks. Uhm. Yeah. Hope that gets the picture.

ooh, how do you know BoNWM is between Abroad and Dilemma? It's after HW, yes, because Nita mentions Dairine; and it's before Dilemma, 'cause Nita already knew Rhiow then. But Abroad? ( I'm sure you're right, I'm just curious.)

[Peter Murray]

Originally posted by kli6:
Good idea, PM! Maybe start a Timeline Issues thread over in the Nitpickery?

Ok, done that. I put the timeline I've got so far onto my webspace (URL in that thread). I included your notes on US schools for handy reference for me.

Originally posted by Tui:
ooh, how do you know BoNWM is between Abroad and Dilemma? It's after HW, yes, because Nita mentions Dairine; and it's before Dilemma, 'cause Nita already knew Rhiow then. But Abroad? ( I'm sure you're right, I'm just curious.)

I cheated, and simply listed the books by copyright date . So far, that just means headings for when I get to them, but at least I got that far.

Afterthought: In Dilemma, Nita refers to the dinosaurs in Central Park, more evidence that BONWM takes place before Dilemma.

Afterthought 2: Pavarotti's performance in Central Park was in June '93, and I've got Abroad taking place in 1986 .

[alla]

Um, Nightvol, how could you have read Wizards at War - its not out yet. Most people here would have read the excerpt (or excerpts depending on when you found out about them), but no-one except DD would know enought to 'give anything away'.

Alla

[Diane Duane]

Originally posted by Nightvol: Lord of the Horde:
That's my sig... >.>

Yes, I've read (Wizards at War.) Please don't push at the subject.

I don't mind pushing a little, as the only people who have a right to see the book before it goes to the "galley" version are staff and employees of its publisher in the US, and those to whom Harcourt has released the book for review.

I'd appreciate it if you'd drop me a PM or an email telling me how you came by a copy of the book at this point.

Thanks.

[Nightvol: Lord of the Horde]

Already done DD. I sent you an e-mail that I hope clears this up. If you wish, I'll change my sig as well.

[Diane Duane]

Got it...we're cool. Don't worry about the sig. But I doubt many other people here will have seen it: you're in an unusual position.

Everybody, stay off Nightvol's case about the details.