Conversation:

I think there are a lot of OU people avoiding what they should be doing...

Started Black Diamonds by Catherine Bailey. It's the tale of how the Wentworth family lost their fortune and mines.

Snuff.

But I really must spend more time reading. This one is taking me ages to get through.

And I'm going to the start of a sci-fi reading group tomorrow night.

PP.

A thorough grounding in the Old Norse Tales helps in understanding the Silmarillion.

I'm currently reading "The Last Days of Patton" by Ladislas Farago.

I just finished Redshirts. Its a deconstructive parody of sci-fi, especially Star Trek, and to a lesser extent of the television industry. I was afraid it would just rehash Galaxy Quest, but instead it took things in a really interesting direction.

Galaxy Quest is currently top of our list of DVDs to track down ...

Mol

Children Of Men, by PD James. Not her usual detective fayre, but a dystopian tale of a world where everyone is infertile, and the problems of an aging population. It started slowly, but by the end I was hooked.

Finished Rumpole and the Golden Thread. I must get some more of those books. Fortunately some are available for Kindle.

I feel like reading some 'old friends', so my bedtime/bathroom book is Dead Cert by Dick Francis.

Oh, and I've started A Game of Thrones - again! This time I'll finish it.

Waverley by Walter Scott. These old books have a seemingly interminable amount of build up describing the hero's life story before something interesting happens. In this case the interesting thing should be the Jacobite rebellion.

I started The Winter Sholdiers which is the 4th (for me) in a set of 5 about the Crimean War. Sort of Sharpe in reverse, not as good as Sharpe, but hugely enjoyable.

This time it's a Gentleman who for reasons of his own joins as an enlisted man and rises to the rank of Sergeant.

I read Waverley earlier this year. It took so long for anything remotely interesting to happen that I almost gave up on it more than once.