Books on a train? Better than snakes on a plane.
Books, lovely books! I discovered the second hand bookshop in town recently. It's the size of a large wardrobe, shelved floor to ceiling and just crammed with books. There's a fair mix of last year's paperbacks, classics, some truly random things from the past (there was a long and beautifully line-illustrated guide to the social history of the lavatory, I kid you not), and rare editions. All the prices are written on the inside in pencil, and the proprietor, who sits in a little cubby hole in the corner, has no till - he adds up in his head. I managed to leave with an armful of books, and would have bought more, but I ran out of money.
So, books I have been reading lately.The following would all be good to read on a train; not too heavy, entertaining, and compelling enough to keep you turning those pages.
Lost in a good book by Jasper fforde is rather entertaining; his books (and this is plucked from the middle of a series) feature an alternative England where Neanderthals and dodos exist, Wales is independant, you can travel through the centre of the earth to Australia in 40 minutes, time travel occurs, and fictional characters have lives of their own. They can enter (briefly) the real world, and real people can enter books. The main character, Thursday Next, has to do this to save her husband, who was erased and now only exists in her memories. The best part is the library containing every book ever published (with a basement containing every book every written), run by the Cheshire cat. Worth reading for that alone, and I always have a soft spot for a book where each chapter is headed with a quotation, even if they are from fictional books.
Overtime by Tom Holt has a lot in similar with Douglas Adams. There is an bemused everyman hero, Guy, who is swept along the tides of events, and fantastical events are given an everyday twist - the time travelling is accomplished by mean of beaurocracy, for example. There are lots of clever ideas about time, it is well written and gently funny throughout, if not the most affecting book in the world. I'm starting another of his, Grailblazers, so I'll let you know how that turns out.
P.G. Wodehouse's Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves made me laugh out loud several times. The Jeeves and Wooster series, about the adventures of an upper class idiot and his butler, is classic comedy and I shall definitely be reading more.
Apart from this one; I tried to read 1984 for the third time recently, and still didn't get to the end. I only got as far as I did because it was a very long train journey. I know it is very important and influential, it's just such an effort to read. I think I shall admit defeat gracefully.
Yuletide! I am excited about my assignment, not least because I shall have to review the fandom I am writing in, which means it is not procrastination, it is research. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Should my Yuletide Santa read this, I will be delighted with anything involving my requested fandoms and characters, so please let the Yuletide plot bunnies take you where they will.
So, books I have been reading lately.The following would all be good to read on a train; not too heavy, entertaining, and compelling enough to keep you turning those pages.
Lost in a good book by Jasper fforde is rather entertaining; his books (and this is plucked from the middle of a series) feature an alternative England where Neanderthals and dodos exist, Wales is independant, you can travel through the centre of the earth to Australia in 40 minutes, time travel occurs, and fictional characters have lives of their own. They can enter (briefly) the real world, and real people can enter books. The main character, Thursday Next, has to do this to save her husband, who was erased and now only exists in her memories. The best part is the library containing every book ever published (with a basement containing every book every written), run by the Cheshire cat. Worth reading for that alone, and I always have a soft spot for a book where each chapter is headed with a quotation, even if they are from fictional books.
Overtime by Tom Holt has a lot in similar with Douglas Adams. There is an bemused everyman hero, Guy, who is swept along the tides of events, and fantastical events are given an everyday twist - the time travelling is accomplished by mean of beaurocracy, for example. There are lots of clever ideas about time, it is well written and gently funny throughout, if not the most affecting book in the world. I'm starting another of his, Grailblazers, so I'll let you know how that turns out.
P.G. Wodehouse's Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves made me laugh out loud several times. The Jeeves and Wooster series, about the adventures of an upper class idiot and his butler, is classic comedy and I shall definitely be reading more.
Apart from this one; I tried to read 1984 for the third time recently, and still didn't get to the end. I only got as far as I did because it was a very long train journey. I know it is very important and influential, it's just such an effort to read. I think I shall admit defeat gracefully.
Yuletide! I am excited about my assignment, not least because I shall have to review the fandom I am writing in, which means it is not procrastination, it is research. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Should my Yuletide Santa read this, I will be delighted with anything involving my requested fandoms and characters, so please let the Yuletide plot bunnies take you where they will.