Flip Martian

Hello, welcome. I'm in the UK and am a big Bryson fan too. Pretty much non fiction based, I am keen on autobiogs, biogs, diaries, memoirs. Currently reading Sir Alec Guinness' "My Name Escapes Me" at the moment.

Hi, welcome! I'm sure someone who knows those will be along at some point.

I couldn't really handle mags on my ipad, even though i take my ipad virtually everywhere. I prefer hard copy I suppose - easier to read, none of that "flicking around the screen" thing. I don't tend to read many mags now - I used to read photography and music tech magazines but eventually they start repeating the same "how to..." articles. Occasionally I pick up Classic Car magazine if there are some interesting motors in there, and when we went abroad last November we read some history magazines too.

I think I'm going to start putting individual hairs somewhere in a book next time I visit my shops... Little time bombs, perhaps...

I rather think you quoted it right I imagine with a job like that you might only be able to take so much before you need to take a break from it. Sometimes even enforced breaks are a good thing in the long run.

We visited Hay in March. Only on a Sunday though. A nice small town but most shops weren't open when we visited. The 2 that were open - 1 was fine, 1 was awful - the worst bookshop I've ever visited. Terribly snotty staff and "we saw you coming" prices for the most average of things. Quite possibly the largest shop in the town too. A sense that most of their clientele are tourists who are there to buy books, so let's milk them a bit". It did rather put me off attending the festival. Lovely part of the world, though I have to say. We stayed in Ross on Wye which has a very good old bookshop.

Sunny and hot here today. Just watered the garden as it was getting dark. Lovely day. Dare say it will be back to rubbish tomorrow!

Wow, that rather sounds like the weekend from hell (at least on the saturday). I've never fancied camping. Your tale hasn't made it any more attractive either. At least it ended well

Thank you, you make me sound quite healthy by comparison! Hopefully the worst is over and things stay positive for you from now on.

If they can't laugh off something like that, they sound like people not worth knowing anyway

No fires here so you should be safe. Friendly lot, on the whole. Welcome!

Maybe if you came across a hair in one at the library, that would put you off libraries too.

I went through a stage of listening to audiobooks quite a bit, for a while. They were often memoirs read by the writer, so they felt more personal - I had 1 of Michael J Fox's, which was all the more moving having him tell me how he first noticed, and coped, with having Parkinson's Disease. I tended to stick to those as it was almost like having them tell ME their story personally. And I could listen while mowing the lawn or something (which very tedious otherwise!). The worst ones are often the free ones where you get someone who's not especially interesting to listen to reading. Just as written books rely on good writing, so audio books rely on good writing AND good narration.

Absolutely, scout's honour!

Hire me! Sorting out books sounds a nice way to pass the time!

I hope so, I have well over a hundred to read here...

Used book shops not for you then, I guess?! Have to say, its quite rare I buy a book new. I've come across a discarded note and bookmark in a book but not hairs yet.

Hello, welcome from me too. Are you enthusiastic about the books you start? I have periods when I don't read a lot - but I have a lot of other things I can do, so I don't stress about it. My enthusiasm usually comes back when the right book comes along - what I want to read changes, depending on what I feel like. Maybe a military book 1 time, a biography another, something else another time. If I struggle to finish a book then I find something else I'm more enthusiastic about. None of that perhaps helps but I suspect everyone temporarily loses that reading mojo at some point.

The noise mosquitoes make is the most irritating sound to man! I used to try sleeping with ear plugs some years ago before I had new windows put in my old house - the morning birds would wake at 4am in the Summer outside my room. But I really hated sleeping with them in. I hope the mosquitoes die off soon!

Maybe something to do with keeping the brain active in a particular way/relieving stress? Either way, reading has to be better than...not reading. Where's the fun in that?

Can't suggest anything (I'm non fiction mainly) but just saying hi and welcome. Plenty of fiction buffs on here, so hopefully someone can suggest something!

Suicide Squad is on my list to see. I have to say if anyone tried to make me sit through My Big Fat Greek Wedding my revenge would be terrible and prolonged! lol

Congratulations, that's great So what was all that worrying for? Enjoy your pizza (and the extra money!).

At least its over with now, that's good. Hopefully you get a better rest tonight!

Well that course and the fact that you've looked into it sounds positive in itself. Small steps. Now repeat after us all - "I will not suck at this interview, its there for the taking! I deserve this job and I'm going to bloody well take it"! 1 relevant story from me and then I'll shut up... The problem manager had long gone. New director came in and made huge changes to our dept and what we did - restructuring for the future. Me, with the longest service but perhaps not the most in depth technical knowledge (which he was very keen on) didn't get slotted in to a role. I was "partially matched" which meant some of my skills matched and I had to be interviewed so they could be sure - by the director and 2 of his project managers. Of course I did a bit of research on what I thought I'd get asked (to be honest most was in my experience already) but I went in thinking "right, I'm going in here, looking you in the eye and daring you not to give me this job. Its the job I already do anyway, ou bar steward!". Most unlike me but I was pretty peed off he'd dared to only partially match me... I got the job - and the informal feedback from our IT manager a few weeks later was that the director had been surprised how good I was... I hope this helps even if just a little bit. Best of luck tomorrow.