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

I like to read, especially just before I go to sleep at night, and I enjoy quite a variety of subjects, not least Boarding School stories ranging from Enid Blyton to JK Rowling via Anthony Buckeridge. I have been through some phases, though, and there are genres of books that I used to enjoy but which don't interest me now, whereas others that I wouldn't have chosen in the past are what I read now.

For example, I used to enjoy a nice Teen Horror book when I was about 14 (although not for bedtime reading) - I would sit in a comfortable armchair on a Saturday afternoon and read a whole book in one go. I also had a taste for bleak prose, like Chekhov, and fantasy tales of detailed worlds by Julian May or Roger Taylor (the author, not the drummer from Queen).

I then moved on to lighter books, such as The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Robert Rankin's books and Star Trek novels, interspersed with classic fiction by Jane Austen and the Brontes, and Ancient Greek and Roman comedy for even more variety!

These days I like biographies of my favourite celebrities, plus Manga books and mildly adult fiction, the latter being a type of book I never thought I would enjoy. I don't think I would have been bold enough to buy such a book in a shop, but a colleague of mine happened to have a clear out and brought some books into work to give away, so I picked up the Alan Hollinghurst book when nobody was around.

Hollinghurst's first novel was amazingly powerful - short and well crafted with an ending that I didn't guess, but which was just right. His later books (which I was bold enough to buy in a shop) are still very readable, but not so tightly plotted in my opinion, even though they received literature prize nominations.

One of the most disappointing endings to a book I have read was a Manga series - the initial tale was beautifully romantic and the book even contained a weird but cute watermelon-eating dream sequence , but the finale degenerated into unnecessary and inaccurate stereotype, which was a real let down...

My two favourite books are:

Maurice by EM Forster, that was so gripping I had to read it again soon after finishing it because I has hardly taken the words in as I was so excited to find out what happened next
The Naked Civil Servant by Quentin Crisp that I have referred to several times for its words of wisdom and sharp phrases.

I'm currently, at 46, ploughing my way through The Oz Collection by L Frank Baum. I'm finding them surprisingly readable considering they're for children and were written almost 100 years ago. I'm reading them because coincidentally the day after I watched the recent Wonderful Wizard of Oz film, Amazon were offering the entire collection for 99p on kindle.

My favourite book is Pride & Prejudice, which is like an old friend & one I turn to when in need of comfort.

Deb

[Amy P]