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

Just finished Nick Hornby's "A Long Way Down"

Blimey it takes me months to get through a book! Must try harder...

Thoroughly enjoyed it, especially Martin's rationale for why everyone should have an ex-wife

Finished The Prisoner of Zenda. Hmmm, 6/10. Choked a bit on the convoluted sentences, but there's a good plot in there as well.

Please don't think of these as childrens books. Despite the fact that I read these from age 8 to age 11, I actively saught them out as an adult, bought them, re-read them and still got as much pleasure if not more.

Fattypuffs & Thinifers - Andre Maurois. In a world obsessed with body image this book is more relevant today than it has ever been.
My Friend Mr Leakey - J.B.S. Haldane. This chap was a scientist and only ever wrote 1 childrens book, and it's a wonderful world of magicians and djinns.
Uncle, Uncle and his detective, Uncle cleans up, Uncle and the treacle trouble, Uncle and the battle for badgertown, Uncle and claudius the camel - J.P.Martin. These books are now so hard to find, I had to use all my web searching skills to find the 1st 3. These are an excellent series that children and adults alike will enjoy.

>>'The Cold Six Thousand' by James Ellroy, in hardback too. It's pish. Not a patch on American Tabloid, which was its predecessor.

That mas my conclusion, too - after waiting ages for it to come out in paperback. But I loved American Tabloid...even though most of the time I only had a vague idea what was going on.

So called 'childrens' books' can be of great value sometimes. The best one I've read recently, is 'A Wrinkle In Time', by Madeleine L'Engle, who wrote fantastic science fiction for, probably, 10-15 year olds.

I've finished Waylander II and have three books on the go:
Merlin, Stephen Lawhead
Deathstakler's War by Sion L Green and The Stone Fields by Courtney Angela Brkic, the only non-fiction, which is about her work in Bosnia as an anthropologist.

A conversation from another thread has got me rereading Robert Sheckley's 'The Alchemical Marriage of Alistair Crompton'. One can indeed see where Adams perhaps garnered some of his witticisms from. A very funny book indeed.

"Raptor Red", by Robert T. Bakker.

It's about a girl and a boy, about 130 million years ago.

I love this book!

SC

Robert Sheckley:

(from Wikipedia)
"His novel Dimension of Miracles is often cited as an influence on Douglas Adams, although in an interview for Neil Gaiman's book Don't Panic: The Official Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy Companion, Adams claimed not to have read it until after writing The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy."

It reminds me of David Lodge's 'Small World' in which one of the characters is researching a thesis on the influence of TS Eliot on Shakespear

Oh and of course Adams was daft enough to say yes to the question if it was true? Frankly, it bears no resemblance whatever to TS Eliots influence on Shakespeare.

Though of course one would allow DNA might be telling the trurth about that one volume of Sheckley's output.

Easy now...I was only having a giggle, not being familiar with Sheckley (so looking him up).

It's often an interesting question, though, of who's influencing who. It's quite possible that two unrelated authors might have been influenced by the same sources. I'd have thought that Beachcomber *must* have been an influence - but I have no way of knowing.

Interestingly, Douglas tried to get Robert Sheckley to write the novelisation of Starship Titanic, but it didn't work out in the end.

I recently read The Earthsea Quartet by Ursula Le Guin*.

Is this a children's book? Or a work of fantasy for all ages? Or what?

Currently reading Ian McEwan's Saturday. Good so far...

RF

* sometimes Ursula K. Le Guin...to distinguish her from all the *other* Ursula Le Guins who are published authors, presumably?

>I recently read The Earthsea Quartet by Ursula Le Guin*.

Is this a children's book? Or a work of fantasy for all ages? Or what?<

Why? Would the classification make any difference to how you read the book?

Ursula Le Guin...an interesting one. She definitely falls into the category of 'litratcha'. I think she's one of the few SF writers who'll continue to be read when others are past their sell-by date. I'd put Bradbury and Dick in the same category. (By the way...I know I'm being provocative here).

Oddly enough, I've just bought Saturday from Oxfam, and it's next on my list.

Same Oxfam trip, I bought 'A Cook's Tour' by Anthony Bourdain - a chef visiting various countries and eating the kind of food he likes. A book for foodies. Quite enjoyable, for all that he's a bit of a macho d**k. Light reading, obviously.

Just finished reading Stephen King's The Shining. Pretty good although must confess I don't normally like the swaggering American style in such works.

This morning I started on Jonothan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke and think I'm going to love it. Anyone else read this?

Theoretically I'm also still reading Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco but I confess to have stalled about 30 pages from the end a few months ago and the book just sits on the shelf taunting me now. It's a battle of wills which will no doubt end in me either picking it up and skimming through the rest or just biting the bullet and dropping it into the nearest Oxfam for someone else to experience the punishment.

Only Forward - Micheal Marshall Smith. for the 3rd time. it's really, really good. please buy it, sci-fi fans will like it.

>> Why? Would the classification make any difference to how you read the book? <<

Well, it doesn't really...just wondering whether other people classified it with HP, Narnia et al, and whether these are really "children's" books or not.

RF

I think Le Guin thought of the Earthsea Books as definitely aimed at a younger audience than Left-Hand of Darkness etc.

Though that doesn't mean they belong with HP etc.

Largely because they're by Le Guin.

She's recently released a new volume of *Earthsea* writings.

*Note to self:- Purchase new LeGuin book.

Next in line: 'Death in Venice' by Thomas Mann. Seriously insular, repressed fiftysomething bloke falls in love / becomes obsessed with blond teenager in and around Venice. And well, I think you can guess the ending. It's probably the best example I can think of of a book informing the film, and I did get some things out of it, but it was also turgid and unremarkable: 4/10 and a slap in the face with a