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

@ little mischief, last year i only managed to read 4 books because of housework and DIY.previously it was that many a week (seriously lazy, but with the excuse that i'm educating myself) this is intolerable housework is evil and must b stopped! give it up, just read.

Sputnik Sweetheart by Harumi Murakami.

Whilst on jury duty I read:

Ben Elton - Dead Famous (Better then I thought it would be)

John Connelly - The White Road (sequel to another book I had read so I felt I had to read it)

Sarah Walters - Tipping the Velvet(Fan-flaming-tastic)

Recommend the last one most of all - I thought it was a lot better then the tv adaptation. Her writing style is fantastic.

Thanks for the advice, kirriea But with a little help I managed to clean (most of) the house in time for my guests' arrival yesterday evening.

Also finished Snow Crash (finally!) last week, I thought the ending was rather abrupt. I would have been interested in a little more "...and then they all lived happily ever after..." or something to that effect. I suppose that isn't the point in a cyber-punk novel.

At any rate, I've started Friday the Rabbi Slept Late by Harry Kemelman and I've poked around in Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Book, while I'm still in the midst of the McNally and the Pratchett.

"Also finished Snow Crash (finally!) last week, I thought the ending was rather abrupt."

Endings don't seem to be Neal Stephenson's strong point. Have you read 'Cryptonomicon'? *Very* abrubt ending. Haven't read 'The Diamond Age' though so that might be better (not that either of those are bad books, just badly ended).

Just started short stories by Saki.

I don't remember Diamond Age having an abrupt ending, but then I don't remember it of Snow Crash either.

But it would be in keeping with the genre. Gibson and Sterling aren't reknowned for thier interest in their characters after the action has finished either...

maybe you dshpould try Jack Womack, whose interwoven stories allow him to do the happily ever after (or usually not) bit from different angles.

The Salmon of Doubt - some rather amusing pieces so far - how could I have doubted it tho, given the author?

Just finished Michael J Fox's autobiography... you really get the feeling he looks back on his early showbiz life and feels like he's looking through binoculars, it's so far from the shape of his being these days...

whoops that was a bit too deep for lunchtime!

Also just re-read Devil's Cub (G Heyer) just to completely destroy any trend analysis of my reading habits... she's one of my fave authors...

finished stupid white men, very amusing, yet slightly worrying.
managed 2 get Taltos (anne rice)out of oxfam for 1.49 so no housework today. SUPERB!

Going back to the ending of Diamond Age again, I don't remember it being particularly abrupt, but I don't think I found it a very satisfying conclusion. As Blues Shark said, this is by no means intended to disparage the book, which I thought excellent, but Stephenson seems to have a preference for letting the readers imagination run free on what happened afterwards instead of neatly tying up every loose end.

Just added my Rough Guide to Poland to my current reading material, in preparation for my forthcoming holiday.

It wasn't that I didn't enjoy Snow Crash... for the most part I did although it seemed most of the finer parts went over my head. I still managed to follow the gist of the story enough to want to find out what happened at the end. The end just wasn't to my liking. Fortunately I have loads of other things to read without having to worry if I'll pick up another of his in the future.

In the meantime, I've finished McNally's Chance and Friday the Rabbi Slept Late and I'm on to The Subtle Knife.

(and I cleaned house today too )

Yesterday I finished Bad Wisdom by Bill Drummond & Mark Manning. Now there's a mad book. Today I started The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger.

~~~~Stupid White Men. Great, innit?

Finished 'Northern Lights' a couple of days ago and I've moved on to 'The Subtle Knife'

Henry VIII, King and Court by Alison Weir.

Prey by Michael Crichton

Re: Prey by Michael Chrighton... Will ypou let us [me] know if it is any good? Please.

I'm re-reading Fandom of The Operator by Robert Rankin... very Clockwork Orangesque;p

Just finished Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes again

Still halfway through Salmon of Doubt - can't bring myself to start the story...I've read the first half twice though!

And last week I finished 'Uther', the last (?) in Jack Whyte's excellent septology about King Arthur - it's all from a Roman/Briton perspective, and starts with Arthur's great-grandfather. It's excellent.

Finished 'The Last Hero' and have started 'The Color of Magic'. It's been a few years since I've read it, can anyone think of any reasons it wouldn't be appropriate for an unusually bright 8-year-old? Aside from the fact that most of the best humor will be entirely lost... After finishing 'The Last Hero' he begged for more Discworld. I really thought he'd be eager to get back to some of his other stories, especially since the other Discworld's aren't illustrated, but he insisted.

I've also started 'The Alienist' by Caleb Carr

Im coming to the end of the Mammoth Book of Comic Fantasy which I enjoyed more than I thought I would. Next on the list is the second in the Wind Singer trilogy... I forget what its called.

So many books to read, so little time. I was talking to one of my German collegues, and he suggested a book by Peter Ustinov titled somthing along the lines of God and Mr Smith (based on the German book). Anyone read it? It does sound like a very good read...

Tom Sharpe - Porterhouse Blue