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

I thought I might mention some of the books I read here. I've just finished the book 'Foucault's Pendulum' by Umberto Eco. This book is kind of like 'The Da Vinci Code' but much more intellectual - and it came a decade *before* Dan Brown's book. I did read it many years ago and found it very interesting and entertaining - right up my alley with conspiracy theories and whatnot. The book is actually a sort of parody of the conspiracy theory mindset. I'm sure it helped me when I read it originally. I really enjoyed reading it again, as well. Strongly recommended.

Right, the next books I'm reading are the works of Herman Charles Bosman. One of our best short-story writers ever. He actually lived in my town, back when it was called Pietersburg, for a while, and he wrote a book about this town as it was early in the Twentieth Century. The book's name is Willemsdorp, i.e. Willem's Town! But it was just to make something that was similar to the real name, and to avoid scandal. Bosman was a bit of a scandalous character himself, back in the day, with a surprisingly modern outlook and lifestyle for the time ... and got in jail for murder as well (he was guilty and admitted it from the start). But he was a great student of human foibles and at heart a very sensitive person. There's a lot of satire in his short stories, and even the people he's criticising or making fun of, are treated sensitively. Most memorable of his stories are the ones narrated by Oom (Uncle) Schalk Lourens of the Marico.

My dad wrote a tribute short story called 'Koffie en Boeke' (Coffee and Books) also narrated by Oom Schalk, in the eighties. My father often went to the Marico on holiday with relatives.

I'm a big fan of 'Foucault's Pendulum', too, Willem. Eco's very enjoyable.