Raven

Thank you, that's very kind of you to say so. I took a break after being told that having an opinion was being offensive. ------------- Anyway, moving on, I've decided to buy no new books this year because: 1) I need the money (food being kind of useful and all) and 2) I have load to read as it is. It is early days, but I hope to get to at least February before this plan goes under the bus...

I love my unicorn. Daily.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story This is how Star Wars prequels should be done, but it's not without it's faults. Good characters, excellent effects, but a middling story. Should have had more Vader. Star Trek Beyond Which is surprisingly enjoyable, once you get past the whole bit. Batman v Superman (Extended version) Call me a sucker for punishment, but I borrowed this off of a friend and the extended version actually makes a lot more sense than the cinema release. It is still grim as hell, and I cannot see the DC universe ever challenging the Marvel one without a major revamp. X-Men: Apocalypse Poor. Had some good bits, but a big let down after Days of Future Past, which was very good.

That's gonna be one bleak TV show... Still, will be good to see George Smiley on the screen again.

There's always Stingray! They must have done some books!

I'm sure Nike must do one.

Cross trainer at home - good idea or not? I'd suggest you go with a happy trainer, it will probably make for a more pleasant experience.

Post WWII, but I can recommend Fatherland, by Robert Harris (it is set in an alternate future where Germany won the war).

Yeah, it's a bugger when people post things on an open forum without giving due notification. Personally, I try to let off fireworks, or taser people, just so they know I'm commenting on their precious words. If that is the case, I'd suggest you try to widen your circle of friends.

There is no need to be offended, this is just a personal view! If I read a book, as in my eyes passing across printed text, I process the information in a different way to what I do when I listen to someone reading me a story. When reading a book I have time to digest the information being presented. I can stop and ponder what I have read and I can more easily go back and re-read the last paragraph or page. With audio I get someone else's take on the story; I hear their inflections, they give weight [or not] to text I may not have done and no matter how much I enjoy it I am hearing someone else's version of the story. When I listen to an audio book I am not reading a book, I am listening to a story. I'm not saying you are, but that doesn't mean you are processing the story in the same way as you would if you read the actual text. No. Again, with someone else's spin on the story. It may not be an option for all blind people, but I would say reading a braille book would be reading where listening to an audio would be being read to. There is a difference. If you have had a story read to you - no matter how competent or good the source - you have not read the story yourself, you've heard someone else's version of it. In my opinion, audio books are not reading, they are listening to a text that someone else is reading to you.

^ But, playing Devil's Advocate, you haven't actually read it, have you? You've listened to it. You may end up knowing (and enjoying) the story, but the processes (and I would argue, the results) are different. People don't say they've "read the news" when listening to it on the radio, why would fiction be different?

I don't count listening to audio books as having read the book the audio recording is based on; you are just listening to someone else read the book to you. As you say, there are a lot of great audio books out there, but it's the person who reads it that sets the tone and puts their own spin on the words. Reading a book means your brain does all that, and you have time to pause and reflect on text which you don't get to do with an audio book. Also, I'm a pretty slow reader so it takes me a lot longer to finish a book myself (running my finger along the bottom of each word, sounding them out ) so I wouldn't put the two in the same category as the latter takes a lot more effort on my part!

Ah, bugger it! I meant to say cheerio.

That is looking a lot better than the first trailer.

I finished a book this week. A real one with words and stuff.

It's very sad, he was far too young. It's going to make Star Trek: Beyond more poignant next month.

No, but I did see the article on the BBCs web site. I'm guessing photography was new and boundaries had yet to be set(?).

^ Thanks for the update! (I'd missed that completely).

Amazon currently have a Kindle sale on first novels, as in first novels in a series.

The Truman Show is one of Carrey's best films, and the soundtrack by Philip Glass is excellent. Captain America: Civil War (For a second showing). Marvel's best film to date bar none, great stuff!

At least the Kindle and print version release dates agree with each other now (20th October). This is the second time this has been pushed back, it was originally due out last year. I wonder why there is a delay?

I really enjoyed it for the most part, but felt that the end was a little weak. Spoiler free review here. I suspect you might enjoy it.

I checked this again this morning and it is now listing as June 2nd on Kindle, June 16th for the large format paperback and December 1st for the mass market paperback. I'll have to check the e-mail I received last night as I'm sure it said available now...

In a surprise move (well, for me, anyway), Stiletto, book 2 of The Checquy Files by Daniel O'Malley (and sequel to The Rook) is now available as a Kindle download from Amazon.

Edge is trying to be the browser that does things [Microsoft] right, whilst ignoring how everyone else does things, consequently a lot of web pages (including this forum) don't display correctly. I've set my preference for IE on Windows 10 at work, but that seems to be having occasional problems now as well. Hey-ho.