Oblomov

There is also that "Dr Somebody's Magic emporium" with Dustin Hoffman. Sounds like it could be fun.

I am sure that almost all of us have felt some empathy towards the bad guy in one or more books that we have read, if not hoping that he wins.......at least that gets away. I certainly have felt that way on many occasions. For me the most notable 'inverse' support is in J Fenimore Cooper's classic Last of the Mohicans. I first 'read' this book as a 11-year old in 1966 when an older boy narrated the story to us 3 youngsters page by page over a week during school summer holidays, complete with arm-swinging dramatisations of key events. All of us (but most particularly I) felt empathy towards Magua, the native Huron who swears vengeance against the white colonials and the Delawares. Despite all the mayhem he creates in the story, I sincerely wished (and still do) that Magua had succeeded in his final bid for freedom at the end. We argued for days afterwards how Cooper should have changed the ending and made Magua successfully evade Hawkeye's bullet. Another book where I am sure that millions share my empathy towards the villain (well, of a sort) who does get away with it is Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island. How can anyone with spirit not admire Long John Silver? What about you? Who is your favourite villain?

These two seem to be the big fantasy films for this X-mas season and I cannot wait to see both. Reviews for Enchanted seem to be uniformly good across the board while it is rather varied on The Golden Compass, many critics feeling that it might be a bit too heavy for kids.

There are several books that I thought were great but very few people have heard of. The Consort by Anthony Heckstall-Smith is by far the leader of this group. 34 East, a brilliant and strangely topical thriller from 1974 by Alfred Coppel The Bormann Brief by Clive Eagleton one of the best WW2 stories ever written. Expressway, an oddly readable 70s cheapo by Howard North The Buckingham Palace Connection by Ted Willis. I think this book might not be as unknown as I think. Almost all the books (fiction & non-fiction) by a Canadian writer named Thomas Raddall. I am sure that there are many others.

The book, while being quite scary, was not the one that frightened me most. But the film certainly is the scariest that I have ever seen. Here's Johnny!!

Absolutely no contest here. It would be The Consort by Anthony Hextall-Smith. The book is a romantic fantasy set in the South Seas, the only work of fiction by a war historian.

Welcome to the forum Renius. As to your question, I would have to say William Peter Blatty's "The Exorcist", because it is so superbly written. I was disappointed with the film though, despite the great choice of Max von Sydow as Lankester Merrin.

I am sure that I do not deserve the complement of "best" Talisman, but you are absolutely right in stating that I consider browsing and buying seconhand books as a pleasant hobby and not an alternative to buying new books. In fact if there is a particular book that I want, I first check to see if it is avaiable new and if it is, more often than not ask my local bookshop in Wootton Bassett to get it for me. My wife is even more particular about using the local businesses than I am. I use the online facility only for very rare and out-of-print books which cannot be obtained easily otherwise.

I have been to hundreds of Italian restaurants around the world in the last 30-odd years, including places like Rome, New York, London, Sydney, Orlando, Munich and Chicago to name a few. I have tried almost every kind of dish of offer just to see if I could like something, but I 'll touch my heart and honestly say - NO. In Rome, the guy suggested that I try Gnochi in a reputable restaurant and by the time I had meandered through a third of the stuff, I was ready to throw-up. There is something about that cheesy, herby taste that seems to be common with almost all Italian dishes that I abhor with a passion. I don't know why, but that is the case. Rome is my favourite city in the world for atmosphere, but to eat quietly seek out non-Italian restaurants.

The only time I liked Pasta was....in Paris! Mexican food is OK once in a way, but I would not crave after it. Thai cuisine is great, sometimes better than Chinese. I don't actually know much about indigenous Spanish cooking, but there used to be a seafront restaurant in Southampton - Los Alamos I think it was called - which was exellent. From the replies I guess, I am the odd person out, but after many years of struggle, I have made the decision to politely decline any invitation to go to an Italian Restaurant anywhere. PS: I was holidaying in northern Queensland last year while diving off the Great Barrier Reef. Staying at a laid back hotel in Palm Cove, I thought it safe to mention my dislike of Italian cuisine to the local waitress when she suggested something. It turned out that duty steward the following evening was an Italian immigrant and word had filtered down of my (non) preferences. He seemed very offended and to appease him, I ordered 2 portions of the only Italian food that I love - their Ice Cream!

I used to use a dictionary very regularly as a student to look up the meaning of unusual or ambiguous words. I still do, but less often than beofre. I want to mention here that for over 40 years I found Chambers' Dictionary superior to the Oxford one.

You bet! I read them myself regularly, but nobody but nobody is allowed to borrow them.

That's right, mainly Fantastic Universe and Fantasy & Science Fiction. I too have read many great Sci-fi short stories; two of my favourites are Harlan Ellison's In Lonely Lands and William Tenn's Eastward Ho! I think Ellison had that special gift of being able to strike a chord with the readers.

I have been to many parts of the world and tried local cuisines. I seem to be an odd man out because I absolutely cannot stand Italian food. The very thought of that cheesy, herby taste makes me nauseous and I have tried to eat in many reputable Itralian restaurants, including in Rome. Ugh! By contrast, I generally like French cuisine (not frog legs though!), Chinese and of course, Indian food. But what I cannot understand is why my UK acquaintances think that I am nuts because I don't like Italian food.

I'd say I own about a thousand or so fiction paperbacks and around 250 non-fiction reference books. But my classic comic collection exceeds the 7000 mark.

I agree that authors like Isaac Asimov, Arthur C Clarke, Robert Heinlein, Philip K Dick etc are the bog standard when it comes to classic sci-fi novels. But rather different are Sci-fi short stories, of which there are thousands, many with innovative storylines and brilliant ideas. The entire approach is different and a lot is left to the reader's imagination. I suggest you look for Sci-fi anthologies from the 50s & early 60s; Groff Conklin has edited the best Sci-fi short story collections, followed by those like John Carnell, Judith Merrill, Hans Stefan Santesson, Sam Muscowitz etc.

Most connoisseurs do not buy used books to save money as such. As I metioned before, there is something very enjoyable about poking around in a secondhand bookshop and finding something unexpected or simply buying on a whim. Many of the most interesting stories that I have are from books that I was not even looking for - just happened to come across them in a secondhand shop and bought on impulse. It is pastime that I am not willing to sacrifice. Having saud that, the used book hobby has never stopped me or the wife from buying new books. We both have our own special interests and continue to get non-fiction publications regularly. As for fiction, we continue to buy books with reasonable regularity - the traditional paperback bought before a flight, popping into the local Waterstones while visiting the local mall etc.

In The Times today; A single Italian Alba (white) truffle weighing 750g was sold at a Hong Kong auction recently for a whopping

Should be a very interesting evening. I can imagine the passionate Cleopatra trying to seduce Cary Grant while Pratchett and QE1 are busy tearing each other's hair out!

Ha, yes! I guess I have mentioned the round glasses bit before.

I need another choice because there are 4 others with whom I have something in common; it will be fascinating to find out if there are more similarities. 1. Mahatma Gandhi 2. Heinrich Himmler 3. John Lennon 4. Harry Potter Can anyone guess what this common factor that the five of us have?

1. Roger Bacon - the enigmatic 13th Century English mystic and early scientist. There is so little known about him, but what IS known is fascinating. 2. Thomas Raddall - A writer born in Kent but emigrated to Canada with family as a boy. Wrote fascinating short and long stories about early settlers in Nova Scotia. 3. Martin Bormann - The ultra-secretive Nazi Reischsleiter. No one was really sure whose side he was on or what really happened to him. 4. Dolores Hart - A small time Hollywood actress who suddenly gave it all up and became a nun in 1963...and still is.

Sadly true; I think by and large writers have a perverse streak in them as far as animal stories are concerned. They think that they are striking a chord with their readers by killing off the poor creatures. I recall reading an otherwise great story called Bel Ria by Sheila Burnford back in 1981; the ending really traumatised me for a long time and I am an animal lover.

One of the most (in)famous pieces of verse must be Coleridge's incomplete opium induced dream of Kubla Khan. I have been fascinated by it since I was a kid.

It is damp. When we moved into our present house 10 years ago, one wall had a bit of unnoticed dampness, but this was unnoticed. We built a wall-to-wall bookself in front of it and over the next 4 years the damp got into some of the books. Fortunately, only 2 were ruined (and these were replaceable contemporary books). We have corrected the problem now.