Nostromo gets better, too. I'd recommend it despite the slow beginning.

Arwen. Hell, I don't remember! I'm not one of the real fans; the ones who can tell you which page it all happened on, in each of the publications! None of the women get much of a look-in in the books, certainly. It's mostly a story about men. Or males, rather, since the principal character isn't a man.

"Someone's got to fight the good fight."

46664 - Play Music - Fight AIDS

I remember Aragorn looking at in the first one or something and thats about it.

'Thats me favourite shirt...Thats me only shirt!'

Well I'm glad that everyone thinks that it's going to be slow going because I'm a fast reader and I want to take something that's going to last more than a couple of days. Have a fancy copy that I bought but I'm just going to buy some old dog-eared one so I can leave it in a hostel when I'm finished. It's a bit big to carry all that way! Trying to think of other books that I can take that are big and will last a while. Just bought the collection of H. G. Well's work but the book's too nice so I don't want to trash it. Will have to scout around some book shops, I can tell.

I'm the girl who lost her reputation and never missed it.

Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast trilogy! Nice big chunky book if you get all three in one. And it's so wonderful.

"Someone's got to fight the good fight."

46664 - Play Music - Fight AIDS

Certainly the films have made Lord of the Rings more popular. But I knew a LOT of people who claimed to love it before the films came out. As I understand it the books were huge during the seventies so my theory is if you grew up (or had already grown up, I guess) during the seventies (or in my case, and the case of a bunch of my friends, had older siblings who grew up during the seventies and still had the books when we were growing up in the eighties!) you read Lord of the Rings and claimed to like it (apart from me). Then there's a big gap where nobody really read it or claimed to have (apart from the younger siblings of seventies children). Film comes out, everybody's 'read it' again. Swings and roundabouts. It'll be forgotten again in a few years. Then, ten years on the films'll count as 'nostalgia' and it'll all come round again. It's a 'Lord of the Rings' loop which will run throughout history...

Peter Ackroyd's 'London - The Biography' is a weighty tome, Absolom. It's good and educational!

"A poor life this, if full of care."

And Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman is neither weighty, nor educational, but serves as an excellent companion piece and is very good!

"Someone's got to fight the good fight."

46664 - Play Music - Fight AIDS

Was thinking on how full my bag will be and I might only be able to fit LOTR in anyway. We'll see.

I saw Gormagast and Neverwhere on telly and wasn't inpressed, but I suppose you'll tell me that it was all the TV's fault.

Becca, I don't think that you and I have the same taste in books, but thanks for the suggestion.

If only I hadn't already read Peter F. Hamilton's trilogy. Each one of those is HUGE, I think the term space opera was used!

I'm the girl who lost her reputation and never missed it.

quote:

---

I saw Gormagast and Neverwhere on telly and wasn't inpressed, but I suppose you'll tell me that it was all the TV's fault.

---

If you didn't like Neverwhere on TV you probably won't like the book. The book is better, but the TV version was very well done. Gormenghast though... yikes. Imagine if, instead of three long films, Peter Jackson had tried making the entire LOTR trilogy as three fifty minute episodes of a TV show. Think he could have captured it all?! The essence? The plot? The characters? The deep complexity?! Well Gormenghast is a hundred times deeper and more complex than LOTR. Seeing it all squeezed into that little TV show was heartbreaking. The books are awesome. (Though maybe not the last one quite so much).

"Someone's got to fight the good fight."

46664 - Play Music - Fight AIDS

One to think about. What about the Dune books?

I'm the girl who lost her reputation and never missed it.

A lot of people find the Dune books too dry. No pun intended! You really shouldn't really go on a trip without some Kerouac, though.

"Someone's got to fight the good fight."

46664 - Play Music - Fight AIDS

Stop being obscure an tell me who he bloody well is then Just because you have an encyclopeadia for a brain does not mean that I have *jealous*.

I'm the girl who lost her reputation and never missed it.

I'm not being obscure! Jack Kerouac. Highly famous author! Look out On The Road, which is his most famous book.

"Someone's got to fight the good fight."

46664 - Play Music - Fight AIDS

quote:

---

Originally posted by absolom:
I want to take something that's going to last more than a couple of days.

---

War & Peace would be my suggestion.

Kerouac isn't obscure. I'm very surprised that you haven't heard of him.

AC Milan - League Champions 2003/2004

War & Peace is a little turgid. Not his best work, IMHO. Harry Potter and the Order Of The Phoenix is nearly as big, however. Nearly as turgid, actually, come to that. Okay, strike that suggestion...

Ivanhoe is quite big and chunky. (That's not a personal comment - I meant the book ).

"Someone's got to fight the good fight."

46664 - Play Music - Fight AIDS

I wasn't saying that War & Peace was a real page turner just that it would last more than two days.

I hope Potter 6 is better than the last one.

How about The Stand by Stephen King. 1,200 (approx) pages & no boring bits.

AC Milan - League Champions 2003/2004

Well I've never heard of that author, what kind of genre does he write?

I was thinking of taking some of the Harry Potter books actually. That's the main genre I read, except that I read the adult ones, not the kiddie ones. That's was what put me off. I think everyone got so worked up about them because they don't read that kind of thing usually. Suppose it's good because it gives more support to the sf&f genre, but they are kids books and so I thought they'd just sound too young.

Might as well see what everyone was going on about. Can always leave 'em in a hostel if they're pants. Thank you guys . Although I'm sure War and Peace is a wonderfull book but it doesn't really sound like my bag baby

War And Peace isn't a wonderful book. I don't know what all the fuss was about! As for Harry Potter, you'll enjoy the first three. They're not very childish at all, really; and the third one is fantastic, whatever age you are.

Kerouac was one of the leading lights of the Beat generation, although he never really liked to be classified that way. He tended to write about restless people, either on road trips, or moving from one job to another. It's hard to define, but somehow it all makes perfect summer reading.

I've nearly finished Blood Work, it's been a fab read. I might read some Stephen King next.

Two good, big novels that I'd recommend are 'The Power Of One' and its sequel, 'Tandia' by Bryce Courtenay. I really enjoyed reading those.

Jack Kerouac was an American writer, absolom. It isn't surprising you haven't heard of him. I only knew of him in a vague way until I went to the States where he's still popular and everyone's read 'On the Road'. His book was on the reading list my American pals gave me (along with Jim Dodge's 'Fup', Jack London's 'Call of the Wild - and selected stories', Norman Maclean's 'A River Runs Through It - and other stories' - and some others but those were my favourites and I recommend them all as insights into the American soul, the part of it that resides on the west coast and likes the forests, anyway).

Kerouac's worth a read but I'm not sure I'd read 'On the Road' while I was on holiday, it'd probably make your own holiday seem a bit lame and boring! I read it in the week before a road trip down the west coast, which seemed right. It is good though, find time to read him. His prose reminds me a little of Raymond Chandler. And, by the way, anyone who has read Kerouac... You remember the second Guinness commercial? Was that a quote from Kerouac? The first one was from 'Moby Dick', I got that one... eventually! But I can't pin down the second one. I have a feeling it's Kerouac, but can't be sure.

I tend to read much lighter books on holiday and in the summer because I'm less inclined to concentrate. Usually I invest in a new Dave Barry and a new Terry Pratchett, both of whom I know are easy and amusing to read. A heavy thing like 'War and Peace', I'd never read on holiday. I've never read it all the way through, anyway. It's one of those 'skip a bit' books! I probably wouldn't read Ackroyd's 'London' on holiday either, that's too educational. Take a lot of little books, it's more fun that way! At least then, if you don't feel like one book once you get on holiday you've got a few others to choose from. And a few little paperbacks don't really take up any more room than one big book.

quote:

---

You remember the second Guinness commercial? Was that a quote from Kerouac?

---

I don't remember those ads. You'd have to dig up the quote.

Good idea Becca Will take all sorts My trip will be much more exciting than anything it his books. Going to the jungles of Borneo for a start!

Take The Motorcycle Diaries with you then!

Well? What's it about?

It's about a bloke and a motorcycle!

Ché Guevara, pre Ché, travelling with a friend around South America (okay, no Borneo, but with jungle ). Kinda Kerouacky, which is why I bought it originally, and now a film I believe. Starring who, I don't know, but presumably somebody South American. Or so I would hope, anyway. Let's face it, Hollywood is just as likely to cast Kevin Costner or Tom Hanks!

Bruce Cambells book if Chins Could Kill arrived today . Will be the next book I read. Looks funny.