Search results

Its humour, not humor, and it is possibly the greatest contribution Britain has made to the world, not just in literature but on stage and screen as well. I have no idea why that should be, it just is. Ten funny British writers of various eras: the aforementioned Wodehouse and Adams, plus...

I've read "Whatever" and "Lanzarote". The misanthropic cynic in me believes he says a lot of things about modern life a lot of people would rather not admit to. He's a modern day Camus. The one thing I did object to, though, was paying £6.99 for the 80 pages of "Lanzarote" :( !

I have my father to thank. I used to be read to at bedtime every night from when extremely tiny until I could read for myself, and I still get books for birthdays etc. and always give him books. He's had a lot to do with shaping my tastes over the years and we talk books when we see each other.

The collected works of Bo Fowler - two novels and counting thus far: SCEPTICISM, INC (taken from the book jacket) The narrator of this brilliantly original novel was made on November 3, 2022, in an industrial estate on the outskirts of Chelmsford. After three weeks of childhood he is sent...

'It was a bright, cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.' Gives you an instant, uneasy, "what's wrong with this picture?" feeling.

Its a whopper, missus My "To Read" mountain consists of a complete bookcase plus a selection of Amazon boxes of varying sizes piled at its base as if praying to a great deity. Probably 300+ all told, which I reckon is about 5 years reading at the speed I go. My problem is that for every one...

Hiaasen would put me off going to Florida. Although he's very funny, he doesn't make it sound an attractive place.

Guess escapism is my primary motivation, hence more fiction than non-. I can switch off the outside world while I have my nose in a book. I like to exercise my mind - TV or film does all the work for you re: what characters and places look like and how they sound. And no other story telling...

I regard entering my local library, which I love to bits, in much the same way as going into a 2nd hand book store. I like diving in, having a rummage, and coming up with a gem, possibly saving a few quid in the process. I actually look forward to the day my books are due back - any excuse to...

I've maxed out my library card (12 books). It might take a few renewals to get around to reading these... "The Confusion" - Neal Stephenson (Vol.2 of The Baroque Cycle, still got 350 pages to read of "Quicksilver", which is Vol.1). "The Dark Tower" - Stephen King (still got 3½ books to...

A recent rummage outside the NFT yielded "A Farewell to Arms" by Ernest Hemingway and "Galilee" by Clive Barker. My last Amazon box included: "Pandora's Star" - Peter F. Hamilton "Metroland" - Julian Barnes "The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy" - Tim Burton "GB84" - David Peace

Those who like Bill Bryson and Tony Hawks might also want to check out Australian writer Peter Moore, especially his guide "No Sh*tting in the Toilet", which is certainly enough to put the virgin backpacker off. He has a pretty good website here . Although not related to the above, Brit Tim...

Grandma Mazur for President!! For funny funerals, see "Six Feet Under". Another male Plum fan here. Only read three so far but these are the funniest crime books that I've ever read that aren't written by Carl Hiaasen. In a similar vein, can also recommend from the U.K. Lauren...

Surprised to see James Ellroy hasn't appeared on this thread yet. Not only are all his characters totally obsessive, corrupt and quite scary, so's the author :eek:! Read his memoir "My Dark Places" to see what I mean. Start with "L. A. Confidential" or "Clandestine". "The Black Dahlia"...

I'm gratified to see the number of posters who buy from my beloved employers, Tesco. Thank you for doing your bit to pay my wages :D . I get a 10% staff discount so £3.73 comes down to £3.36. My problem is the unpredictability of what will be stocked in each branch. I guess my tastes...

A scarily large amount, even accounting for the fact a significant percentage come from charity and 2nd hand shops. I suffer from the curse of Amazon - buying online feels less like spending real money :( .

Looks like I'm in need of a good editor then :D . I just have too much time on my hands, really. The idea of writing appeals but I've yet to think of a plot that inspired me to put pen to paper and start collecting publishers' rejection letters.

Thank you all for your welcomes. I'm particularly looking forward to having less ironing to do :p . I've been a supermarket drone for longer than I'd care to admit :( , although I got out of store a while back and have been in head office for the past few years. American Studies, when I...

Every time I get on public transport, in bed, occasionally on lunchbreaks, audiobooks in the car.

I've only read Motherless Brooklyn, which is a masterpiece, one of the most original crime novels for years. I shall definitely be reading more by this chap.