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Hi folks I just finished this, and I'm not sure what to make of it. It was a pastiche of ideas which do the rounds regularly on right-wing Internet sites. It also contains ludicrously garish sex scenes which are designed to shock but after a while become staid. Stylistically it is neither...

Hi folks Here's my two cents on Philip K. Dick - he was a writer with brilliant ideas who was a poor writer. Stepping into flame suit now.....

Hi folks I can't believe there's no thread for Tim Winton. I've only just discovered him, but I'm glad I did. I can't believe a writer of such calibre slipped under my radar for so long. In the last couple of weeks I've read Dirt Music and The Riders. The latter completely blew me...

Hi Thanks for these suggestions. I will definitely check them out as I am currently fascinated by economics and sociology.

Hi His book provoked some public discussion a couple of years ago, but seems to have faded. We have our own home-grown Jared Diamond, Tim Flannery (former Australian of the year), who has carried the torch. It is generally accepted that Diamond is on the money (in fact, much of what he says...

Hi y'all I just finished this. Although I normally read fiction by literary heavyweights, I have to say this was probably the best novel I've read in the last year. I read it in one sitting, it was so engrossing. It's like a perfectly-formed miniature sculpture. Wonderful stuff.

Hey Bookishwormish I agree wholeheartedly. Have you read his autobiography, "Moab is my washpot"? It's great. I've only read one of his novels ("The stars' tennis balls/Revenge"), which was not exactly a great work of art, but was very funny nonetheless.

Hey Morty I agree wholeheartedly that McEwen is one of the top five writers of the current era. His prose is a model of clarity. What I loved about this novel is the multitude of levels it operates on. I loved the mixture of common-sense observations (the way he deals with his daughter's...

Diamond makes some interesting points, and here in Oz we are addressing some of them already. The east coast (where most people live) has been in deep drought for about 7 years. This year was an El Nina (the opposite of an El Nino) which meant we actually got some rain. Even still, just about...

I second what you've just said. It really is an important book. I'll quote a great paragraph from it: Of course, though, people with long-term stakes don't always act wisely. Often they still prefer short-term goals, and often again they do things that are foolish in both the short term...

Hi folks I know there are a few Aussies on this board. Did anyone get along to this weekend's bi-annual Lifeline book fair in Canberra? I did, and it was fantastic as usual. There are other Lifeline book fairs around Oz - does anyone else go to them? If so, what are they like?

I just finished this, and I have to say it was one of the best autobiographies I've read in a very long time (and I read a lot of them). For those of you not in the know, Stephen Fry is one of England's greatest wits, perhaps even a successor to Oscar Wilde. His book is the antithesis of...

I'm a terminal skinflint, so I'd love to get my books from libraries. However, all the libraries in my neck of the woods cater for the low-brow only. I swear that 50% of all the novels they have are by Danielle Steele. Besides, I like having a well stocked library I can dip into when the mood...

Well, here goes..... Narcissus and Goldmund by Hermann Hesse. Twenty years have passed since I read it, but I still feel its effects. It was one of those moments where I first felt an author personally talking to me. A Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man by James Joyce. Ooh, that last...

Hi folks I've only just finished reading this book, so I've come into the discussion a tad late. Anyway, I loved it, although there were some flaws which I will detail later in this post. Dawkins really drove the final nail into the coffin of Intelligent Design by pointing out that...

An intelligent, attractive woman who reads and likes beer.......marry me now!!!!!!:D :D :D The Doogster

Buddenbrooks is my favourite Mann novel, although as you state, it is not a novel of ideas (perhaps that's why I like it). I agree that Death in Venice is hauntingly beautiful - I still actually remember the day I read it 18 years ago, and the effect it had on me. I'll have to go and read it...

It's tough call, but I have to narrow it down to either Hermann Hesse or Knut Hamsum. Such a tough choice........OK, make it Hermann Hesse. My favourite Hesse novel is Narcissus and Goldmund (it's also one of my all-time favourite novels), although there are so many great ones to choose...

Hi Stewart This is one of my favourites as well. I read it when I was 17. If you liked this book, check out Alain-Fournier's Le Grande Meaulnes (which is my second favourite book of all time!). I guarantee you will love it. The period between the world wars is indeed rich with...

Does The Davinci Code by Dan Brown count as a sad book? I found it both depressing and sad that such arse-dribble got published in the first place, let alone how is sold 958 billion copies.