Raven

An obvious one (for me): Bill Mason waking up in hospital to find that the world has come to an end whilst he slept, at the beginning of The Day of the Triffids. I once read this on a quiet winter's evening and I can still remember the hair standing up on the back of my neck as I did so. Great stuff!

Not looking at any of the above just yet - I'm currently watching series four of Angel for the first time - very good!

Last Bus to Woodstock, an Inspector Morse novel by Colin Dexter (finished 03/03/93 - I have records going back to '89!). I don't read a lot of crime novels; I've read a few other Colin Dexter books, and some Patricia Cornwell, but that is pretty much it. I really need to read some Sherlock Holmes, and Poirot.

Coast, from err, Denmark?! Series 10 will have an episode from US.

Not sure, avoiding spoilers! (it's another one of his Culture novels).

^ Pff, where's Surface Detail by Iain M. Banks? That's top of my list!

^ You can download a pdf of that from the BBC's web site (or you used to be able to). If it is no longer there send me a PM with your e-mail address and I'll send you a copy. The Mark Gatiss novel Nightshade is very good, lots of Quatermass overtones, but I think you'll be hard pushed to lay your hands on a copy of it these days.

It was interesting to watch the film in one respect; I didn't realise how much of it - the plane crash in particular - they had spliced into the recent (and also bad) TV adaptation. I've heard that's not very good; The Radio Times only gave it one star when it was on BBC Two a few weeks back. Good film!

^ I've been reading a non-fiction Doctor Who book recently that is starting to make me feel I should go back and re-read some of the early Virgin novels that I never read at the time. It's odd to see just how many names on them are now actively working on the new series (Mark Gatiss, Gary Russell, Paul Cornell etc).

^ I just half watched it, it's dreadful! If they have called it Attack of the Mutant Space Plants!, it would have been much better.

BBC Four tonight, at 9.00pm In Their Own Words: British Novelists looks like it might be pretty good. They are taking the period 1945 to 1969 and featured authors include Tolkien, Golding, Wyndham and Le Carré. It's also followed by the woeful Howard Keel version of The Day of the Triffids!

I've got a book suggestion! Hah, just kidding This is largely a forum for people posting about books they are reading in their own time for pleasure, the subjects you are asking for recommendations on are pretty heavy - you would probably do better on a more academic or specialised web site.

I would imagine that it is almost certainly done at the wishes of the publisher rather than the author. I've been buying Iain M. Banks books since the early nineties, and they have had two overhauls since the cover designs I originally purchased. Part of me (my OCD part!) is annoyed that my book shelf doesn't look consistent, but past that I don't generally have a problem with it (and I have to admit some of the newer covers do look jolly good!). The only time it annoys me, particularly when I come to a new author, is when they don't make it clear what order books were published in (this doesn't have to be on the cover of the book, but something inside to give an idea of the publication/reading order is very helpful. I'm often surprised by the number of series - particularly in science fiction and fantasy, where sagas aren't uncommon - that don't do this).

How did I miss this thread previously? Anyway, yes, I've read several books several times over. Top of the list would have to be The Day of the Triffids and The War of the Worlds, both of which I've read coming on for a dozen times each over the last twenty years. Other books I have read more than once include The Kraken Wakes and The Midwich Cuckoos; most of Mike Gayle's books; The Player of Games and Use of Weapons; the first four Harry Potter Books; most of Mark Wallington's travel books; several Pratchett novels (mostly the earlier ones) and Enigma. I'm sure I've missed some, but as you can tell, I do have a habit of re-reading books I like! I'm actually quite pleased that all of the books I've read so far this year have been new to me, but I don't see that lasting!

If the book was a continuation of a series that already had a natural end, I would probably be wary about reading more (the ole more doesn't necessarily equal better argument), but a completely different book by an author I really liked? No, I'd be picking up that book and reading it the first chance I had. I don't see how one story could spoil my memories of another unconnected story, even if it was written by the same author. In fact, thinking about it, it hasn't. I didn't rate jPod after reading Microserfs, but it's not tinted my memories of the latter, which I will probably read again sometime (and I went on after reading jPod to read The Gum Thief which was excellent again). Similarly, the rather ordinary Juliet, Naked, hasn't coloured my memories of High Fidelity or Fever Pitch.

^ I hate to disappoint, but that article is 2 years old (if it helps, I did see some of it and it was quite good!).

I think we've had this before on here, not sure! I read quite a few Star Wars books in the early nineties, but don't remember much detail at this distance. I think I remember The Black Fleet Crisis trilogy being pretty good, and Truce at Bakura and The Courtship of Princess Leia, but there were some stinkers as well - The Crystal Star springs to mind. I haven't read any since the prequels came out, they greatly diminished my interest in the franchise.

^ You don't have to b . . . Oh, yes, sorry. My mistake . . .

Books being a well known explosive of course!

A plan that fell apart horribly when she reached her Harry Potter books . . . Is it blue, is it red, is it green? Gah!

Picked up three books in Waterstone's this afternoon (as mentioned elsewhere, they have a 3 for 2 on all fiction at the moment): Shogun, by James Clavell The Death of Grass, by John Christopher and The Stories of Ibis, by Hiroshi Yamamoto

Waterstone's currently have a 3 for 2 offer on all fiction and travel novels.

I know everyone's thinking it, so I'll just go ahead and say it: I hope he flushed . . . :ph34r:

^ Someone not trying to escape a very long shadow!

Sounds a bit "River Song is actually the Doctor" to me.