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

'What If: Military Historians Imagine What Might Have Been' ed. Robert Cowley.

Interesting, but it's weird because it's written by American historians, and they have a very different bias from most history I've read, being by British historians.

On the 'What If' subject have you read Fatherland by Robert Harris

As it's not busy at work at the moment, in the last 2 weeks I have read To Dream In The City Of Sorrows (a Babylon 5 book), Full Tilt by Charlotte Hughes and Janet Evanovitch, Wow by Claudia Patterson, Playing James by Sarah Mason and Apocalipstick by Sue Margolis *phew*

Just finished "The Fowler Family Business" by Jonathan Meades ... a bit predictable it has to be said but decidedly black in it's humour and vaguely enjoyable.

Now reading Ferdydurke by Witold Gombrowicz ... translated, obviously, as my polish isn't up to scratch ... only just started it so can't begin to say what it's like ... I'll let you know though as I'm sure you're just dying to hear ...

I've read bits of the "What If..." book - mostly the stuff dealing with the ancient world, since that's where my interests mainly are - it's fascinating stuff.

I'm currently in the middle of China Meieville's 'Perdido Street Station' which is proving fantabulous.

The last book I read was "Electronic Speech Recognition" by G.Bristow, I'm in the midle of "Spoken Dialogues with Computers" by Renato De Mori, and if I turn around I can see "Industri-robot-teknikk" by T.K.Lien.

Oh my - I need to finish this project, and get time to read something not school related soon...

I've just read most of the Majipoor Cycle by Robert Silverburg: excellent!

Just about to start China Mieville's "The Scar", just out in paperback. I thoroughly enjoyed Perdido Street Station and if you haven't tried an older novel of his called "King Rat", that's worth a read too.
Also at the beginning of Anthony Bourdain's "A Cook's Tour : in search of the perfect meal" which promises to be a rollicking read if a little stomach churning at times

My copy of "Men at Arms" - hell BOTH my copies of "Men at Arms" have gone AWOL, so I am reading "Only you can Save Mankind", which is odd to read now - it is set very firmly in January 1992, during the previous Gulf War.

B

I've got the historians book ,along with a similar book 'Virtual History.'

I'm reading 'Catch 22', by Joseph Heller. It's great, and very funny!

I couldn't resist, I started "Are You Dave Gorman?" again

Immortality by Milan Kundera. good so far.

"The Best Democracy Money Can Buy", by Greg Palast (new and updated UK/Commonwealth paperback edition). Frightening and funny in quick succession, and often at the same time. It's nice to read polemic writing like this when it's backed up by thorough research and plenty of hard evidence.

I've just abandoned Murakami's "The Wind Up Bird Chronicles" - unusually for me, I just can't get into it just now.

Frogspawn and Floor Polish by Mary Mackie.

Her third book about life at Felbrigg Hall, Norfolk, where her husband was employed by the National Trust.

I'm still on the same books I was on last time I posted here, Primary Colors and The Bourne Identity. It's been a bit busy at work lately, but I'm about halfway through both of them

Catch 22 was hilarious!

I'm still in Gibson mode and reading Mona Lisa Overdrive.

Liam *kicking himself for reading Idoru, All Tomorrow's Parties _and_ then Virtual Light*

Last Chance To See (again)

"Solitude" by Anthony Storr - a book which suggests that the ability to relate to other people is not the only metric for a healty psyche, but that the ability to be alone is as important for many and more important for some. My copy was printed in '94, which is probably when I last read it.

B

Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell, it's been a quiet week at work and I need something that's not going to take me a couple of days to read

I recently finished House Of Cards & was stunned to find that Urquart died at the end!?! (Surely the best resurrection since old JC himself! ) I'm now racing through Ballard's Super-Cannes (which currently seems a thematic rehash of Cocaine Nights) & preparing myself for The Emperor's New Mind which contains equations ("Aargh!") & even Q spaces (bigger "Aargh!")

But yes to the above: Catch-22 IS fantastic & is one of the few (far too few) books to make me laugh out loud!

Hm, reading back my last post, it does sound like a spoiler, but it's not "really", it's just ... "confusing", OK?