h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Adding my 'thumbs-up' for No 1 Ladies Detectives Agency - I've read them all, except the most recently published.

I'm looking forward to reading his Edinburgh based book.

Currently reading 'The Eagles and the Wolves' by Simon Scarrow. This is the 4th in a series about early Roman Britain.

I'm eagerly awaiting paperback publication of 'Dreaming the Bull' by Manda Scott - which gives a different perspective of the Roman invasion of Britain, from the viewpoint of Boudicca, the Iceni and the other tribes.

My , for the record:
Life's too short to read the Silmarillion.

Actually, it's the other way around. The Silmarillion is too long.

I'm not sure it's the length that's the problem, but then it's probably 25 years since I tried to read it!

But there are some fantastic stories in the Silmarillion, which makes it worth a try-out now and again for me.

I'm so happy: I got my lovely parcel (ordered on Saturday... or was it Friday?) from Mr.Amazon this morning. Now I don't know which book to start first!

I'll look out for the Simon Scarrow books...

Now reading Sharpe's Waterloo - I think I'm suffering an overdose of Sharpe (how can that be?!) but I'll soldier on

*groan*

I had a peek at the Ragged Trousered Philanthropists - looks pretty good, I think I'll do that next.

I'm reading three books at the moment - The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins, Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett and River God by Wilbur Smith

Richard Dawkins has a new book out now, "The Ancestor's Tale, and he's doing the book tour.

The blurb goes, "...a comprehensive look at evolution, ranging from the latest developments in the field to his own provocative views. Loosely based on the form of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales , Dawkins’s "The Ancestor’s Tale" takes us back through four billion years of life on earth. As our pilgrimage progresses, we join with other organisms at the “rendezvous points” where we find a common ancestor. The band of pilgrims swells into a vast crowd as we connect to other primates, then to other mammals, and back to the first primordial organism."

anyway, I'm going to see him lecture (presumably about the new book) at CalTech on the 21st of Nov.


SC

Just finished Peter Helprin's "Winter's Tale" - written with a lovely lilting style but ultimately a little disappointing.
Now starting Alexandra David-Neal's "Journey to Lhasa" and a sci-fi tale of first alien contact called "Empire of Bones" by Liz Williams. The latter is a nice light read so far that should see me nicely through my flight to Galway, Ireland later today

Just finished 'Something Rotten' by Jasper Fforde (excellent).
Previously read 'Be My Enemy' by Chris Brookmyre (also excellent).

Will probably start 'Espedair Street' by Iain Banks when I get home.

Oooh, I love Iain Banks

I bought The Da Vinci Code yesterday. I'm only four chapters in but it's hotting up nicely

I'm looking forward to reading "The Wasp Factory" by Iain Banks, right after I finish "Birdsong" by Sebastian Faulks. What a fine book it is! Sex, violence, more sex, more violence and I'm only half way through!

Finished Sharpe's Waterloo - a tad disappointed that unlike the others (and admitted by the author in his new foreward) there is absolutely no plot whatsoever. Cornwell just gives his version (plus Sharpe, of course) of the battle of Waterloo.

I have the next one in the sequence (published order) but think I really ought to stop reading about 19th century soldiers being hacked apart by cannon and bayonets and read something a bit more up to date.

'The Dark Tower- Wolves of the Calla' by Stephen King
'One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest' by Ken Kesey
'Regeneration' by Pat Barker
'Catch 22' by Joseph Heller

The last three are for A level English. I really can't get into Catch 22, no matter how great it supposedly is. I'm also trying to read the Bourne Identity but I need to clear this lot first. And I'm planning on getting the new Pratcheet book next month. oh, readings so stressful!

Catch 22 can be a tricky one, but just read it for what it is. It works better that way

It's just a tad confusing. I can't remember all those characters. I feel like a yo-yo corkscrew rollercoaster! Plus its pretty hard when I've got four other plotlines going simultaneously.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest had me alternately laughing, crying and feeling very angry. I don't know if it helps that I have never seen the film.

And I'm jealous: we never got to read stuff like that at school, it was all Midlemarch and The Bell Jar for us.

In second year, for a book report I wanted to Silence of the Lambs as someone else was doing Red Dragon. My teacher said did I not want to put that rubbish down and do David Copperfield as that was reading more suited to my intelligence? I really cheesed her off by saying I'd already read it, the Hannibal books were written by a very clever man and I hated Dickens' works (which I do). She made me stand in the corner for the rest of the lesson

eek! Standing in the corner wasn't an option in my school, or else I'd never have been anywhere else!

I have to say that I do really like Dickens, and DC is one of my favourites. But I can understand why people don't like it.