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

I know the mysterious death of Anna Nicole Smith is sad and unexpected, but surely there must be some more important news in the US than that?!

Apart from anything else, that was a couple of weeks ago, and hundreds of civilians have died in Iraq since then, global warming hs become a serious issue even in America, and (it seems like) half the Italian government has resigned in shame, is there nothing about any of that in the US media?!

Anyway, back to the thread, a book for holidays... Anything by Bill Bryson, they're all funny, no matter which one you choose! Or a couple of decent biographies, of people you've always wanted to know more about but never had the time to actually find out, usually works well for me!! Or anything by Terry Pratchett will keep me quiet for hours!!

L x

Terry Pratchett keeps me quiet for minutes at best.

What's new and exciting, isn't by Terry Pratchett, doesn't remind me of English Littruchur (so no Steinbeck et al.) but will last me a goodly while on airport/plane/holiday/plane/train?

And is a paperback?

And won't make me want to slit my wrists?

RF

I've noticed the name of this Terry Pratchett-person a few times on this site. I've never heard of him. Who is he, what kind of books does he writes?

Terry Pratchett writes fantasy books, mostly about a made-up environment called Discworld.

They are:

1. The best thing in the world, ever;
2. Really quite good;
3. Started out well, but then got a bit same-y. He's realised this, and tries to vary his books more now (by not locating them on Discworld, to start with);
4. Once you've read one, you've read them all;
5. Utterly pointless.

Please select an opinion from the above.

RF

Fantasy books, not really my cup of

I've read "Lord of the rings" and "the hobbit" some time ago, I found it a waste of time. With all the strange creatures and the terrible "poetry" in it.

Discworld is only the Earth that people thought it was a few hundred years ago, so not so bizarre really, except with real wizards and magic. Alright, I'll go with option 2!! Maybe not the best thing ever but definitely fab!!

Have you tried any of Alexander MacCall Smith's books, eg No.1 Ladies Detective Agency? They're really funny, some serious bits, but definitely make-you-happy books!

Or if you like historical fiction, there's at least two books by Phillipa Gregory, about Queen Elizabeth and that era. Not my kind of thing so I haven't read them, but I've got friends who absolutely adore them!!

L x

I'm unsure why people think Alexander MacCall Smith's are any good. I read the first one and thoght it was no great shakes. So I read another one, in case I was making a poor judgement based on his first book...no. I was right. They're not particularly good.

RF

Ok fair point, maybe you have to be female to get some of the subtle undertones! Nothing against men, please don't get me wrong , but women have a secret under-language that only we understand, it's very useful actually!!

I know a good book if you're ever lacking sleep, The House of Sleep by Jonathan Coe, I've never managed to get beyond page 10 before I'm fast asleep , so I've given up reading it now!! If anyone can tell me if it's actually any good, it would be much appreciated!! (Even just thinking about it I'm starting to !!)

L x

>> maybe you have to be female to get some of the subtle undertones! <<

No, I don't think so. I found the "undertones" obvious and trite, better done by other writers, and the books generally mediocre.

RF

Hi Freddy, I can't be bothered to get into an argument about AMS , I'm sure there's better things, and writers, to talk about!! It was only an idea for an easy holiday read after all!!

Have you ever read The Constant Gardener by John Le Carre? I was given it for Xmas, coz I'm a landscape gardener, but from the blurb on the back it's all about war, so I haven't even started it yet!! Any idea if it's any good?

L x

The House of Sleep by Jonathan Coe, I loved the book when I read it

>> The Constant Gardener by John Le Carre <<

I tried to read one of his books once. Someone told me "oh, you've got to get past the first 100 pages, then it's brilliant!"

Duck off. I want to be gripped by the first sentence.

"It was the day my grandmother exploded"...now *that's* the way to start a book!

I'll probably end up reading a book I've been avoiding for a while..."The Poisonwood Bible". Anyone read this?

RF

Holy moley...........RF, that grandmother quote was 'The Crow road'..... Superb.

RF, have you ever read any James Ellroy? Bloody marvellous, some of them.

>>doesn't remind me of English Littruchur (so no Steinbeck et al.) b

I assume you're refering to Of Mice And Men. Trust me...Cannery Row and Sweet Thursday are about as different to that as you can imagine. *Very* funny. Cannery Row is worth the price of admission for the bit about Mac and the Boys' wining jug alone.

House of Sleep I've not read - but I rate Coe's 'What A Carve Up' very highly. Apart from anything else, his dedication (For Janine, 1992) refers to an Alasdair Grey novel ('!982, Janine').

Ooh! There's an idea: 'Poor Things' by Alasdair Grey. A Victorian-era Pygmalion/Frankenstein with a twist. *Don't* attempt Grey's 'Lanark'. It's wonderful, but too confusing for a holiday read.

Or how about 'American Tabloid' by James Ellroy?

One more: 'The Namesake' by Jhumpa Lahiri.

>> Holy moley...........RF, that grandmother quote was 'The Crow road'...../dna/h2g2/alabaster/Smiley - magic/dna/h2g2/alabaster/Smiley - magic Superb.

And you wonder why I remember it? Exactly!

>> RF, have you ever read any James Ellroy? Bloody marvellous, some of them <<

Don’t think so, name one I could reference?

>> Ooh! There's an idea: 'Poor Things' by Alasdair Grey. A Victorian-era Pygmalion/Frankenstein with a twist. *Don't* attempt Grey's 'Lanark'. It's wonderful, but too confusing for a holiday read. <<

I’ve read most of Grey’s oeuvre…I started on Lanark (20 years ago!), and got sucked in. He’s written some good stuff, some great stuff, some ducking great stuff, and Lanark.

This kinda begs the question…who is doing the kind of work now that will still be regarded 20 years later as being a great work of fiction? With Iain Banks, everyone still quotes The Wasp Factory, which is rubbish, he should be known for The Bridge, Espedair Street and The Crow Road. IMHO. And yet, even so, what has he done recently that’s any good? The last good book he wrote was the whisky one.

RF

He's written about 10 books, the best of which are;
The Black Dahlia
The Big Nowhere
LA Confidential
White Jazz

which make up his 'LA Quartet'. They're police thrillers set in 40s/50s Los Angeles. Great dialogue, densely plotted, sparse written style, morally corrupt characters teetering on the brink. Obsessive, neurotic, exceptional, all of them. It helps, but isn't necessary, to read them in that order. I think you can buy them as a set.

American Tabloid follows on (slightly) from White Jazz, but isn't a sequel. It deals with the build up to JFK's assassination, and is also superb.

Alright, I don't much like reality fiction, I prefer sci-fi or fantasy fiction, but there is a series of books that is (apparently) aimed at children, called "A Series of Unfortunate Events", by Lemony Snicket. It's kinda reality, kinda fiction, part horror, part fairy tale, and I don't know what other genres get melded into it!!

If you've got a very vivid imagination, then these books are well worth reading.... just not on your own, in a dark room, late at night!!

They're quite freaky, they explore the REALLY dark underside of the human race!!

They can also be read as just silly, stupid, scary kids' stories, but if you actually manage to apply some brain-power to them, they're extremely clever!!

Enjoy!!

L x

"I know the mysterious death of Anna Nicole Smith is sad and unexpected, but surely there must be some more important news in the US than that?!

Apart from anything else, that was a couple of weeks ago, and hundreds of civilians have died in Iraq since then, global warming hs become a serious issue even in America, and (it seems like) half the Italian government has resigned in shame, is there nothing about any of that in the US media?! "



I think Anna Nicole was a pathetic figure, but even she doesn't deserve the ghoulish coverage she's getting. We hear about Iraq almost all the time; more about what's happening to us over there, than anything else.

You'll be pleased to know that the U.S. has finally acknowledged Global Warming. Now the discussion is whether the cost of doing anything about it will be bad for business. I am not making this up, I'm listening to a radio program on it right now. And it's one of the NPR programs, miles better than the mainstream media.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7551080&ampsurl=http%3A//www.scpr.org/programs/totn/&ampf=module-TOTN

Oh, and we've been told that someone or other resigned in Italy due to political embarrassment. We've had so much of that here, I guess the talking heads don't feel the need to go into any detail about Italy's.

I did know about the above topics, but only because I listen to NPR and I'm on the BBC all the time...

Quick, will some kind soul recommend a good book on revolution?

ReddyFreddy, how about Keith Hart's "Money in an Unequal Society", about the underground economies -- black market, barter...I think that's the title, anyway. Not a comedy, but interesting.

You're a bit hard to please, mainly as you seem to have read nearly everything already!