Talisman

I do hope so - it would make a wonderful Christmas present for someone I can think of, who at the moment is snuggled up in bed. I might go and join him in a minute ...

I am about 100 pages in to Steve Toltz' A Fraction of the Whole and am loving it - it is hilarious in places and for once I am glad it is such a large book, as the more I read the funnier it gets.

I don't have an Ipod so I cheated and used media player instead (sorry ! ) Dexter Wansel - Holdin' On Anita Baker - You're My Everything Evelyn Thomas - Weak Spot Aretha Franklin - Freeway of Love Phyllis Hyman - Under Your Spell Norah Jones - Sinkin' Soon Rodney Franklin - Return to the Source Bliss - Love Peace and Wisdom Medwyn Goodall - Misty Morning Water George Benson - Cast Your Fate to the Wind

It is memorable though, and you can't fail to know who it's for. The one I like best is the meerkats - compare the market - they're brilliant. The advertising copywriter who thought up that is a genius. As for ads that I hate - Vanish stain remover, cilit bang and that awful double glazing ad - you buy one you get one free - I wish he would BOGOF !

egg, chips and peas for us with Quorn ham - plus of course ketchup !

Mine is about 80 percent non fiction, 20 percent fiction. It is only in recent years that I have started to read fiction again, after 5 years writing my own non fiction book. My library contains lots of different types of books - popular science, religion, mythology, alternative history, mind, body and spirit, travel books, cook books, reference books - dictionaries, thesaurus etc (essential for any writer) and of course books about writing. I used to me like MMMM and read purely for knowledge - this is fine, but I got to the point where I had forgotten what it was to read simply for pleasure. I missed that, so it has been a joy to rediscover good novels.

Me too if I wanted it badly enough. I know that the relatively high price tag does put some people off buying my own book though - you can to a certain extent get away with higher prices with non-fiction. You are right though about the discounting - as an author it's something I know all about as it costs so much of my own profit. I remember reading on The Bookseller not that long ago that more books are now sold at discount in our country than at full price. An example of how stupid it has become is The Lost Symbol which in some incidences was being sold at 80 percent off - how does it make sense that one of the years best sellers, if not the best seller is sold at such discount. Think of the money that is being lost because of this and how it could be used to invest in new writers and better equipment and staff training for the retailers. And then there is the returns system - whatever you do don't get me started on that ! What a way to run a business.

I finished The Vagrants yesterday - brilliant read which I would highly recommend. Have now started No Destination by Satish Kumar. Satish is the Editor of Resurgence magazine and is of the Jain faith. I remember reading a review of his book maybe 20 years ago, and have been looking for it on and off ever since, so was delighted to find a copy of it in Growing Needs in Glastonbury (the best book shop in town - they even stock my book!). It is basically the story of his life, and a very interesting one at that. He became a monk at the age of 9 and when he turned 18 began a journey basically hitch hiking around the world with no money, as a kind of peace troubadour. I have just finished chapter one and can't wait to read more.

Absolutely - the latest 'thing' I hear is something called 'vooks', which combine words with music and video. I thought the whole point of reading was to read without distractions, and well to be honest, I don't see the point ! I agree with you Fiona, give me books any day.

I did think about getting one, (I love the purple nano's), but the trouble is, it doesn't stop with the Ipod. I would also need cases, arm bands, a speaker dock, an FM transmitter - the list goes on. Unfortunately my red suited friends aren't rich enough for that lot.

Depends how you look at it - we all have different priorities. To me an Ipod is a luxury as it costs the same as over 20 books (with 3 for 2's). Personally I think books are good value when you consider the work that goes into them, but what do I know, I just write them !

I can't, as I don't have an Ipod.

I rarely buy songs from anywhere else now - they are brilliant as there is no DRM which means you can move them between devices or different computers without having to download them again. Napster have just introduced this on their site as well, although Amazon are usually cheaper and faster.

I would highly recommend it - to the best of my knowledge, it is the only, and certainly the first series, to have the five year story arc. My favourite characters are definately G'Kar and Marcus. I couldn't believe it when he died - that was so sad. I would have loved to have seen him and Ivanava get together. As for those Shadows - they were scary !

Will swap and add the one you have just read to my wish list as well !

Does anyone else on here like Babylon Five ? I know I have probably asked this before ...

Well I didn't see that one coming ! When Shirley and Denise find out they will skin him alive. Being EastEnders we all know it's only a matter of time. I wonder what Libby will have to say as well - can't blame him for running out in some ways, as he is really just a child, and has only just engaged. He should have thought of that though before he asked for that 'special cuddle'.

I have almost finished The Vagrants - about 30 or so pages to go, so will no doubt finish it this weekend - maybe today. It has been a really interesting read - one of the best books I have read this year. I had forgotten how interesting Chinese history and culture is. I used to read a lot of Chinese literature, and will be on the look out for more of the same.

I think it will be the man from the hospital who treated her on Valentine's night after her ashtma attack. Can't remember his name, but I remember the episode.

As POD author, the reason I chose a larger format for my own book was economic - bigger pages mean that less of them are needed. Less pages means a cheaper book to produce. Simple economics really. I could get away with it though as my book is non fiction, where larger books are the norm anyway.

Me too - in a few years time the technology will have improved and prices will come right down anyway - that's what always happens with these things. I must admit that I would probably buy more as well if books were cheaper, but it is difficult. As an author I can see both sides of the argument - the book chain (authors, publishers, book sellers etc) need to make money and cover their costs, but if they hike their prices up too much people just buy second hand instead - and then they make even less money ! They have to find the middle ground, which isn't always easy ...

The reason that book prices have risen so steeply is to counteract the huge discounts that are demanded by retailers in order to place books in three for two's and so on. If a book is sold by the publisher at say 50 percent discount (which is increasingly the norm), 50 percent of