Melodious

Sounds like a lot of fun

I liked Electric Sheep. It's very different from the film (which is astounding) and I really liked the religious aspect of it. I may have to re-read it at some point. I haven't read any of the others you mentioned. Any of them really stand out?

My new favourite thread

Yup. Not played that much since the expansion came out but its a great fun little game. I think my tag is Melodious85 on there. I don't play much games these days but this I play frequently: http://www.cardhunter.com/

Thanks Julie. I think after reading The Road every book is blue skies and rainbows in comparison

I haven't seen anything positive about the last Hobbit film. I've only seen the first two and the encounter with smaug was disappointing and underwhelming to say the least. I thought LotR was done brilliantly and probably the best it could be considering the material but the Hobbit is another story. LotR was made with care and passion but I feel these ones were made with ego and trying to replicate the grandeur of the first trilogy. How on earth could anyone suggest stretching a 300 page children's book into three films? I think putting in some scenes about the council driving out Sauron makes sense given the context of bridging the two stories but the unnecessary love triangle and overbloated action scenes were just frankly waffle. I'm looking forward to when it's released on dvd and seeing what the different fan edits will be produced. There may be a decent film in there somewhere.

I've read a few of Orwell's essays and enjoyed them very much so I'll be interested to know how both you and Devi rate this collection. Down and Out in Paris and London is a goal for this year. Enjoy

I've seen many versions of Sagan's Pale Blue Dot but not that one before. I liked the inclusion of Chaplin's speech, another inspiration. Some great books there in your Christmas haul. I've read 'The Difference Engine' and 'Gatsby', both good reads. The Kafka, Orwells and Camus are on my TBR. I've read a few Philip K Dick but not 'Valis'. I have so much more to explore with him. I read 'The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch' last year which was enjoyable but the best I have read by him is still probably 'The Man in the High Castle'. Best get a move on if you're going to read 'Pale Blue Dot'

Thanks all I never wanted EoE to end, I place it as one of my all time favourites now along with Cosmos. It's so good to see so many fans of Carl.

I might be interested in this. The only 'poet' I've read in depth is Charles Bukowski and even though he's produced some brilliant pieces of work he may not be for everyone. http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/bluebird/ Maya Angelou is one I want to read more of http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/178942 http://emilyspoetryblog.com/2013/11/16/still-i-rise-by-maya-angelou/ Edit: Well I just went ahead and bought 'and still I rise' by Maya Angelou.

Born a Lion is a great album by Danko Jones. I've been listening to a lot of Tom Waits this week. One of a kind.

That is my next Sagan book, it's out of print in the UK but easily obtainable at least second hand. I have the audio book of Pale Blue Dot but sadly Carl only recorded a few chapters before he died. He's such a captivating speaker that I read Cosmos entirely in his voice.

The lady working at the bookshop was very happy with my choice and even said it was a good place to start with Gaiman. The Remains of the Day will probably be my next read although I am tempted by the reading group on the Guardian as they are looking at The Unconsoled by Ishiguro this month.

I loved the Time Machine. It's how I like my sci-fi, a reflection on society and the 'big questions' rather than just about lazers and spaceships. It remains the only Wells I have read but it won't be for too long.

Thanks pontalba. You're right, the number of books isn't important but how much we get out from the ones we do.

I also plan on reviewing a select number of books that I read last year but didn't get around to, either because I loved them or they have some interest or obscurity. I'll start with Cosmos by Carl Sagan. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55030.Cosmos Cosmos was published in 1980 as a companion to the television series of the same name. The catalyst for both works was to bring complex scientific ideas to the public in an accessible and captivating way. Carl was a stout believer that science and the discoveries they reveal were not just for academics but to be enjoyed and understood by anyone who has even a slight interest and that the general public possessed a greater intelligence and thirst for knowledge than TV executives gave credit for. Cosmos addresses a wide variety of topics from the birth of the universe, the human brain, the burning of the library of ancient Alexandria to the death of the stars and Carl possessed a great ability to communicate these subjects in an inspiring and engaging manner. Carl just doesn't hit you over the head with chapters upon chapters of hard facts, although that is a substantial factor, but he has a wonderful ability to connect philosophically mankind’s endeavor to understand ourselves and our place within the universe. He shows quite masterly that the facts and mechanisms of the cosmos are far more revealing, astounding and spiritual than anything man has written in ancient religious texts and the inception of Cosmos was to bring that to the masses. The same need and drive that took hold of our ancestors to sail across the globe in search of new lands is the same that drives us now towards the stars so we may better understand ourselves and that the unknown is not to be feared but something to be challenged. A chapter that may be of great interest to us readers is The Persistence of Memory. In it Carl examines the data that can be stored via DNA and Genes and the great capacities and limitations of those to us and the need to put our thoughts and wisdom down on paper to preserve the knowledge that cannot be transferred by procreation. The library of Alexandria was the greatest library of its time, a great institution that sort books from all corners of the globe so they could make copies and be stored within its walls. “A book is made from a tree. It is an assemblage of flat, flexible parts (still called "leaves") imprinted with dark pigmented squiggles. One glance at it and you hear the voice of another person, perhaps someone dead for thousands of years. Across the millennia, the author is speaking, clearly and silently, inside your head, directly to you. Writing is perhaps the greatest of human inventions, binding together people, citizens of distant epochs, who never knew one another. Books break the shackles of time ― proof that humans can work magic.” “Books permit us to voyage through time, to tap the wisdom of our ancestors. The library connects us with the insight and knowledge, painfully extracted from Nature, of the greatest minds that ever were, with the best teachers, drawn from the entire planet and from all our history, to instruct us without tiring, and to inspire us to make our own contribution to the collective knowledge of the human species. I think the health of our civilization, the depth of our awareness about the underpinnings of our culture and our concern for the future can all be tested by how well we support our libraries.” This is simply one of the greatest books I have ever read and if I read this while I was in high school who knows what changes it could have made. It often gets labelled as the science book for non-scientists. The writing is beautiful and poetic and a true inspirational body of work that its legacy still continues to make waves. Indeed another series of Cosmos was aired last year fronted by Neil Degrasse Tyson, someone who shares Carl’s ability to communicate science in an engaging and insightful way. This book and the television show inspired a whole new generation of scientists and communicators and it still continues to do just that, for many Cosmos is where it all started. If the world’s teachers were just half as engaging and passionate as Carl was then the world would be a brighter place.

So after a period of being away and not reading much I am hoping to remedy this in the new year. For those who are my friends list on Goodreads know I set a target of 40 books to read this year but it is a loose target and it won't bring down the walls if I don't quite reach it. I started off the year with Lord of the Rings which I haven't read in over 10 years now. I'm just getting towards the end of the Two Towers and it's been a joy to go back to it after so long and after the not-so-great Hobbit films. I recently bought Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman and this will be my first novel from him, the only other work I have read by Gaiman was the first volume of the Sandman graphic novels. I also got The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro, another first for me as well. There are only a couple of books that I plan on reading this year while anything else will just be as I move along. The Grapes of Wrath by Steinbeck is on my list as I read East of Eden last year and absolutely loved it. I also planning on reading more Vonnegut probably starting with God bless you, Mr Rosewater and A man without a country.

Led Zeppelin - Celebration Day

Yeah it is. I need to head back to the docs though as I think they may have given me a higher doseage. Thanks Athena

Melodious Thunk was the nick name given to Thelonious Monk by his wife. He was a jazz pianist. His full name was Thelonious Sphere Monk. Hippy parents I guess

Hello there and welcome to BCF

You're right it is about popularity since it is a reader's award and not a critic award but these things do help for peopple to notice other books they may have missed. The more people talk about books then the more people will read and influence other people to read and that IMO can't be a bad thing for the industry.

Thanks Kylie I may take a look at that one. It's not a topic I am particulary interested in but I just get fascinated by a lot of things and just came across the above youtube channel by accident.