jennybaby

I'm definitely not the mad dictator Osmanakhian, though he is my favourite character Perhaps I'm Anna, the transsexual athlete from Transcausia, who has crossed glaciers and deserts to warn of a bomb plot planned for the London 2012 Olympics - or am I one of the athletes who helped to foiled it? Definitely would love to be Leonardo who is mobbed by women wherever he goes - not that I want to be mobbed by women but if we say the female version 'mobbed by men' hmm, better!. That would be me. All characters in a book called Dreams of Gold by Jonathan Chamberlain that I'm finding very funny.

This list seems in danger of petering out! Anyway, to re-invigorate it I'd like to tell you about Jonathan Chamberlain's very funny book Dreams of Gold, which I've just read. This novel tells the story of the various problems faced by a number of athletes - from poverty to politics, sexual harrassment, religious belief and in one case to being a woman in an Islamic country (very on the ball - reference the current issue of whether Saudi Arabia will send any female athletes!). But although this novel touches (very lightly) on these issues this is really a romp - very surreal in places and having some very bizarre characters. I really do recommend it. I notice on Amazon one reviewer commented that it was similar to Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett - I don't know about that but it will certainly make you laugh - and there's a very interesting twist at the end which I'm not going to give away. And there must be other books out there relevant to the Olympics?

1. Did you grow up in a book-loving household, and did your parents read to you? Pick a favourite book from your childhood, and tell us about it. No. We hardly had any books in the house - I started to read only because I didn't have any friends. Perhaps the first book that really shone for me was My Family and Other Animals, Gerald Durrell's story of his family's move to Corfu. Delightful book - pity he himself became a pompous bore in late middle age. 2. What was one of the first 'grown-up' books that you really enjoyed? Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck 3. Pick a favourite book that you read in early adulthood - especially if it's one which helped set you off in a certain direction in life. I had a big rush of great books when I was around 16: Hemingway (For Whom The Bell Tolls); Malcolm Lowry (Under the Volcano); Joseph Heller (Catch 22), Catcher in the Rye and the Franny and Zooey books, Evelyn Waugh (his comic novels) - and of course Kerouac and the beat writers. 4. What's one of your favourite books that you've found in the last five years? The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon 5. Finally - a guilty pleasure, or a favourite that might surprise people! The first four Harry Potter books - sadly I fell by the wayside after that

My family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell The Little Prince one of the short story collections by William Saroyan - a little old fashioned now but probably exactly the right thing Saki and Wodehouse are very English The Education of Kaplan Hyman

Well, we're all gearing up for the Olympics and I thought it might be fun to see if there were any books that might get us in the mood. I found some branded 'London 2012' stories for teenagers - but I want a good adult read - any suggestions? The one book that I did find was Dreams of Gold by Jonathan Chamberlain. It seems to have got some good reviews so I'm going to try that. Does anyone else have any other suggestions?

my total is 33! maybe 35 as I couldn't remember if I'd read the other two Jane Austens - and if you can't remember maybe that's the same as not having read any. I was surprised there was nothing by Kafka on the list.