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I can't think of any UK examples off the top of my head, but I have always thought of Kerouac's On the Road as a sort of thematic extension of Catcher. You might also want to check out: Loop's Progress by Chuck Rosenthal (now out of print) Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert...

You might also want to check out King Solomon's Mines (or almost any other H. Rider Haggard book). He's thought of as being the quintessential author of "Victorian Adventure".

Welcome, Folly. I don't know if I should admit this, having read this whole thread, but I live about 15 minutes away from the birth place of all of that chocolate stuff, Hershey.

I really don't have a set time for getting out of bed (though it's rarely after 7:30) because my job sometimes dictates working until 1:00 am or getting up at 4:30 am. Sometimes I can only sleep for 3 or 4 hours, sometimes I can sleep all day (though I don't, at least since I quit drinking)...

Like a few of the folks here, I also keep a quote journal (of sorts). I find it best to wait a little while to write them down, though, because they aren't always as great as they seemed at first blush. As for other hobbies, I should say that I have a genetic pre-disposition to collecting. My...

Sapper, If you liked The Long Walk, you might want to see if you can find Endurance by Alfred Lansing (I think) or Escape from Colditz (I don't remember the author). Both are, each in their way, amazing stories of perserverance and inventiveness.

A couple of mine are: - going into a store with 25 registers, only two of which are open. - people who pay for something which costs less than $10 with a credit card. - cell phones (especially when they are in the hands of somebody who should be watching the road). - also people who repeat...

Ashlea, It's funny that you mention Candide. I think I read it at least 15 years ago, but I still find it a very useful vehicle for expressing my thoughts. I use it often as a kind of intellectual short-hand, because it expresses those ideas in such a compact form. I suppose I tend to think...

Lahondas, I don't know. I guess I read it somewhere. Wabbit, That's one of my all time favorite useless facts. Here's another one; some of the most common materials (like cotton) phosphoresce when exposed to extreme cold.

Tig, If I'm not mistaken, it is also the origin of the phrase "buying a pig in a poke". Now then, did you know that the "WD" in WD-40 (stuff you spray on rusty bolts and such) stands for "warhead de-icer"? It was originally developed by the army to de-ice missiles in silos out West. How...

You might want to check out Prairyerth by William Least-Heat Moon. It is non-fiction, but non-fiction of a very special sort. And long.

Well, Halo, I can say with certainty that you are not the only one here without an avatar. As you can see, I haven't got one either, though, like you, I've been thinking about taking the plunge. Actually, I'd sort of like to make my own. Does anyone here know what sort of limitations there are...

Do concussions count? I've had a couple of them (only one was alcohol induced). I also once broke my big toe. Even though it's a little off topic, I've also had a kidney stone (OUCHIE!). The only real serious thing I've had to do with being born 2 months pre-mature.

I discovered Hemingway after reading a lot of Conrad, so the contrast in styles really struck me. Which isn't to say that I didn't like Hem. I haven't read enough of his books to really say a whole lot more. I was under the impression, though, that Hem's suicide was largely the result of the...

Lord only knows why they changed it from 7 to 5. I don't know that one is regarded as being any luckier than the other. However, having read the book, I'm sure that somebody figured "5" had more "symbolic" value or some other crazy thing. Which means, in case you missed it, that I thought the...

Chewbecca, No, you are not the only one. I knew I had a problem when I found myself reading the shampoo bottle in the shower. But, it is less that I am imagining the things in a given book (i.e. putting myself in that environment, at least as a conscious effort), than it is just a matter of...

Q1: Like most here, I don't really remember a time before I read books. I have very clear memories of liking Clifford the Big Red Dog and Curious George when I was 2. I can tell you that my grandmother once told my mother that I should be taken to the doctor because it was abnormal for a kid...

Jinty, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but take whatever you can get. If somebody offers you $10, take it. There are millions of them out there, nearly all in mint condition. People just didn't read them. You may be able to sell them to a decorator or something as shelf furniture, but my...

Idun, You could start with either of the titles I mentioned above. They are both rather short and, if I remember correctly, are written in regular prose (as opposed to, say, Heidegger's Being & Time). However, they are the only Kierkegaard books that I have read, so there may be others out...

I'm quite fond of the hour around midnight. I am usually settling in to bed with a good book about then. But, I also like 6:00 am or so, because the diners haven't started filling up yet. They also have something down south called the "Golden Hour" which refers to the way the setting sun...