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

(Shameless self promotion) Interested in writing? Why not join the h2g2 writer's group? Links through my personal space.

Ooooh, yes, why not. I am a writer IRL, so why not be a writer on Hootoo?

Isn't "The Rulers of the World" a bloomin' conspiracy theories book? If you want a good one, get David Icke's...great detail. Shame about the shoddy research, but great detail all the same.

What is this h2g2 Writers thingymawotsit?

Finally got my dirty hands on a copy of 'A Clockwork Orange' [Anthoney Burgess] and will begin reading tonight ...

Stealth, let me know if it is any good. The film was a let down, so I've kept away from the word-version...

oh, i kinda wanted to see the film to find out what all the fuss was about. isnt it worth it?

just finished reading tom holts 'ye gods' on train back to uni (the 1 good thing bout delayed & slow trains, loads of quality readin time!)
am now reading anne mccaffrey's 'nerilkas story & the coelura'

omy

I'm currently reading Night Watch by Terry Pratchett. And it was just getting exciting when IO had to come into work again.

A Clockwork Orange is quite a hard read... luckily for me, I had my (then) boyfriend on hand while I was reading it, and he was able to provide a translation for the words derived from Russian and other Slavic languages. Otherwise it can be very confusing, especially as I hadn't seen the film when I read the book, so I had no visual cues to help me through it.

I never re-read it, but it stuck in my mind.

I found Clockwork Orange a fascinating if disturbing read but I've never seen the film so can't compare. I thought he introduced the strange dialect words very carefully and cleverly so you never had to take on too much at one go. Made it all the clearer that Alec and the gang were part of their specific close-knit sub-culture. But then I've always been interested in languages and how they develop and change.

I'm currently reading something much lighter and more pleasant. "Apricots on the Nile" by Colette Rossant, a slim volume subtitled a memoir with recipes which is exactly what it is

I haven't read A Clockwork Orange but saw the film. I think I'll put the book to rest. At the moment? As It Is In Heaven by Niall Williams.

Well, I'm a connosieur of extreme cinema...and I was extremely let down by the film of a Clockwork Orange. It's not the time period that it was made in; because I am still shocked by films like The Omen and the Exorcist. It is just...well...dull. Plain and simple. The violence is more akin to comedy than anything.

Anyway; one book I recently reopened is an 80's cheesy gold cover version of Anne Rice's "Interview with the Vampire"...it's still as beautiful...

I conversly foud The Exorcist and The Omen dull... and considered A Clockwork Orange to be very good[as with all Kubrick] I thought it was visually and auditarily powerful as well as providing a thought provoking ovel with a wider audiance... those that see the film simply hoping for something shocking due to tabloid hype will be disappointed...

As for the book, I'm already chatting in Nadsat, it's mostly clear from context as to the meaning... so I'm enjoying it, but then it takes alot to shock me... if you want a fuller report you'll have to wait till I've had a chance to finish it...

I cannot abide Tom Holt, no energy or life to his tales IMO.

Stealth - This is completely off-topic, but have you seen Dancer in the Dark?

So long, and thanks for all the fish- If you don't know....

Below the Beltway- Dave Barry

Farenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury

The film version of Farenheit 451 is *excellent* I must say...

hmm, interesting, i shall have to look into it.

Seem to be stuck on Iain Banks (with and without the M.). On "Against a Dark Background" just now but recently finished "Player of Games", "Use of Weapons", "Walking on Glass" and "The Bridge".
This guy has loads of ideas packed into his pages and is almost laugh-out-loud funny at times although his books are generally pretty dark and depressing.

Didn't much like any of the Omen films or the Exorcist (aprt from the music) but really quite liked "Clockwork Orange". Must read the book, sometime.

Om

I am currently reading two books by Dougal Dixon. One is 'Man After Man: An Anthropology of the Future', in which Dougal Dixon suggests what might happen if mankind throws caution to the wind and starts genetically engineering people for different purposes. The other is 'After Man: A Zoology of the Future', in which he suggests what forms animals might evolve into millions of years after mankind has died out. Both books are thought-provoking, but I hope that man's future isn't as bleak as he seems to think it is.

I am reading "Starshine" by Theodore Sturgeon, and "Venus on the Half Shell" by Kilgore Trout. I prefer the latter, although Sturgeon has some good lines. "She poured him a glass of whiskey so strong I could almost see it put up it's dukes."

Right. An update on my current reading.

Neal Stephenson's "Snow Crash" - set in the nearish future. A guy who works for a provocative enviromental action group gets himself into trouble with a few dodgy groups of people. Great so far - simply for the way Stephenson creates Life!

William Gibson's "Burning Chrome" and hopefully "Neuromancer" when I am done. Cyberpunk : guns, technology, the future.

HHGTTG - the first four books! No explanation needed.

"The World's Greatest Hollywood Scandals" - just a cheapie book I picked up for 99p. Sex, drugs, affairs, marriages etc etc. Very interesting, although not that detailed.

And a book of short poetry/prose of subversive themes like sex, AIDs, and other taboo topics. The title escapes me.