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

I just bought a book titled "The Novel 100: A Ranking of the Greatest Novels of All Time" by Daniel S. Burt, a professor at NYU and Weslayan. After admitting the subjectivity, personal slant, etc., he gives first prize to "Don Quixote". I haven't read it recently, so I am off topic, but I did take an entire course on it once (non-credit continuing ed., but still ..) Dr. Burt expands on Flaubert's opinion in 1852 about the "perpetual infusion of illusion and reality which makes the book so comic and so poetic".

I have to agree its a great story - the Don and Sancho are a big part of many, many subsequent works. Too bad Terry Gilliam and Johnny Depp got washed away (literally) in the Spanish desert, trying to make "The Man Who Killed Don Quixote". All we have is the excellent documentary "Lost in La Mancha", which "presents Gilliam's quest to make this movie as eerily similar to Quixote's quest to become a hero." (Wikipedia). Depp's discusion of jets flying over and hail stones in pockets is hilarious, if a little heart breaking.

In any case, nice job, Senor Cervantes.

Also reading: The Day the Universe Changed by James Burke. Interesting stuff, I wish I could get the TV series on DVD.

Silly me ... I just ordered and got a book from 'Stephen Fry - The Ode less travelled!' I must have miss clicked by Amazon. I was however interested in his Bi-Polar affliction.

Still, as I am a bit of a writer (also tried a bit of poetry too), I began to read ... excellent! I am really amazed at how he explains poetry to a novice (like me). I highly recommend it to all those that wish to become a poet(ess)!!

I've recently started reading Anna Karenina by Tolstoy. It's a book I found more boring than War and Peace when I first read it. I'm hoping I'll find it less so this time round.

I've also picked out my reading for my holiday next week. I'm taking Midshipman Bolitho by Alexander Kent, and A Short History of Islam by Karen Armstrong. I was originally planning to take White Gold by Giles Milton, about the trade in white slaves in North Africa. As we're going to a Muslim country (Syria) and the cover illustration includes a half-naked woman, I thought it best to take something else.

Having lost my copy of Daniel Dennett's Breaking the Spell on the way to work*, I've now embarked upon The Algebraist, by Iain M Banks.

* Oddly enough, I also left Christopher Hitchens' 'God is Not Great' on a railway platform when I was reading it, although I realised I'd done it almost immediately, so I was able to get it back. I've no idea what happened to the Dennett.

Perhaps God is trying to tell me something.

Since The Guardian went up to 80p I've started reading books on the bus again!

Currently: The Restaurant At the End Of The Universe. Some of you might have come across it before.

Any comment on the Hitchens, Jim?

I liked the Karen Armstrong's 'History of Islam'. Also her 'Muhammed: The Biography of a Prophet' - this despite her readiness, as a 'freelance monotheist', to allow that he might have been getting at something.

I enjoyed the Hitchens - regardless of whether you agree with him, he's worth reading. I almost described it as righteous indignation, although I'm not sure righteous is appropriate. It was less rigorous than either the Dennett or Dawkins' 'God Delusion' but no worse for that. I doubt it will be read by many believers, though, and will affect even fewer. But I bet he enjoyed writing it.

I like Hitchens even when I disagree with him. Yes - less rigorous than Dawkins or Dennett, and less focussed on the 'obvious' science bits. But I liked that. He's making a moral argumant against religion and showing that it's not just a matter of science v religion.

His Mother Theresa book sounds like a hoot, too.

so Karen Armstrong's other books are worth a peek? I read Through The Narrow Gate yonks ago and it was

Just pre-ordered the new Terry Pratchett.

Now reading Neil Gaiman's "Anansi Boys". Excellent fun so far

The curious incident of the dog in the night time - Michael Haddon

Its about an autistic teenager, who, obsessed with Sherlock Holmes, sets out to investigate the death of a neighbours dog.

I thought that was a lot better than it ought to have been. It's clearly written for tenagers, but it worked as an adult novel.

I've only just started it really but it is very different, I'm enjoying so far

I'm reading literature on jobs mainly and magazines and have loaned several books from the library. I keep getting reading block though. There's so many wonderful books and so little time to read everything.

Richard Temple by Patrick O'Brian (of Master and Commander fame). WWII British spy remembering his own life story. I like it.

I'm also still reading Edmund Hillary's autobiography. The actual subject matter is interesting, but I get bored with it occasionally. Am I making sense?

makes sense to me interesting but heavy going

Tom Holt, Earth Air Fire & Custard, in an attempt to get over the withdrawal symptoms post-HP; but it's a sort of damp squib. It's the first one I've read, and it's not engaging me...

Also, Anne McAffrey's Get Off The Dragon, some short stories that aren't really engaging me...

Help!!!

Have you read Artemus Fowl?