As the end of the world - I mean year, oops! - looms, I'm curious about which book we enjoyed for the first time in 2008.

For me, it was 'To Say Nothing of the Dog' by Connie Willis, unless you want to include 'Complex Analysis' by Priestley and other such Mathematical texts.

Next!

<Leads donkey out of minaret>

<Leads donkey back into minaret>

No, no, cancel that! It was Roger Zelazny: "The Doors of His Face, the Lamps of His Mouth".

<Leads donkey out of small stationery shop>



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/15/2008 03:20PM by EgonSpengler.

I've read and reread a number of books this year, but in the absence of a new book by our esteemed Mr. Fforde, they gave me no satisfaction.

No, that's a complete lie.

I very much enjoyed Terry Pratchett's new book Nation, and I absolutely loved The Ancestor's Tale by Richard Dawkins.

While we're on the subject of mathematics, I finally read The Man Who Loved Only Numbers, a biography of Paul Erdös, which was excellent. (I also enjoyed my topology textbook, the classic Topology by Munkres.)

I too liked Nation by Mr Pratchett.
My daughter lent me her copy of House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne-Jones, the sequel to Howl's Moving Castle. The story was fun but from the start I kept reading the heroine's name as Chairman instead of Charmain!
Also read and enjoyed The Invention of Clouds by Richard Hamblyn about Luke Howard.

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Joint winner Colouring Competition 2007
and outright winner of the 3 time winner of the Ffestival Dodo Feeding competition.
Fforde Ffiesta Ffotos are here - [www.flickr.com]

I forgot to mention Dashiell Hammett's 'The Glass Key', an excellent crime thriller, which somehow manages to avoid grimness. I'll never understand how he did that. Never.

Nation by PTerry
Declare by Tim Powers
Necrophenia by Robert Rankin

all worked for me.

Lamb (The Gospel according to Biff, Christ's childhood pal) by Christopher Moore

This is me

The most astonishing book I read this year was Matt Ruff's "Set This House in Order"

House of Many Ways? Steeljam, is this a different sequel to Howl's Moving Castle? I have one that has Sophie as a cat for most of it and a carpet merchant who fell in love with a Princess. My copy is called Castle in the Air. Is it the same plot/story as mine?

House of many Ways follows Castle in the Air. Please treasure this info as had to brave bedroom of eldest Little geg and her copy of Calcifer in her fireplace to get it.

Now I must search the world for this! I don't think I'll be finding a readbale version in Paris though...

The Book of the Dead.

Found among my father's papers and dating from when he was in Egwhyte during WW2.

Oh dear. My reading hasn't been nearly so intellectual. I think the best *new* book I read this year was Cross Bones, Kathy Reichs.

we got the dvds, Bones, season 1-3 and I have read the back of the boxes. Does that count?

I also bought mrs.SkidMarks a copy of the Shorter Oxford Dictionary, so if she reads it in the right order, she will have read virtually every book written in the English language..........


edited by moving the keyboard back to it's rightful place and re-typing all the offset 1 char bits



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/04/2009 10:35AM by SkidMarks.

But only if she's allowed to read individual words more than once...

I got to read one book that's not officially released til next month:
FOOL- Christopher Moore

Some of you bard fans may find this one particularly entertaining, I'll post more later...

I haven't been around much lately because of all the books I had to read before passing them on last month-
guess I'll have to go through the library lists for the past year-
should take awhile since I go every 3 weeks & check out about 5 books at a time...

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You decide:

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EgonSpengler Wrote:
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> 'Complex
> Analysis' by Priestley and other such Mathematical
> texts.

I don't know how many times I've glanced at this thread over the past couple of weeks... but I've only just remembered that I've read that book. Indeed, I believe I own that book*. An invaluable, view changing book indeed.

But as for something I've read this/ last year that's worth recomending...
Bad Science by Ben Goldsmith

* And it currently resides somewhere up in the loft, along with my lecture notes and other exciting souvenirs from ox.ac.uk.

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That statement is either so deep it would take a lifetime to fully comprehend every particle of its meaning, or it is a load of absolute tosh. Which is it, I wonder?
Terry Pratchett, Hogfather

I enjoyed Nation by Pterry

And I must admit I read my first Fforde book The Eyre Affair and loved it!!!! I'm officially hooked and ordered the next 3 Thursday Next books off Amazon.

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My Karma Ran Over My Dogma

Welcome igorbeatty. pull up a pie and make yourself comfy. There are still some mince pies left, but if you are tired of them try our Victorian kidney pies.

Nation is a fine, if different, book from Sir Pterry, isn't it?

And of course the TN series will grip you!!!

Are they made from real Victorian kidneys?

If they are made in Australia they could be real.