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Post by housesparrow on Jul 19, 2009 12:12:01 GMT
Just a bit of fun, inspired by the other holiday threads.
Suppose you arrive at the airport and realise you have forgotten to pack your holiday reading. Your luggage is checked in, and you only have room for one book in your handluggage. How do you go about selecting it from the airport bookshop?
My extra-slow computer that keeps me waiting for hours got fed up with me and posted this before I'd finished my list, so lots of the options got left out. You can add other ideas in the thread, but are lumbered with voting for what's here.
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Post by riotgrrl on Jul 19, 2009 13:53:23 GMT
For some reason I am 'not allowed to vote in this poll'!!!!! Dunno why. n
But I voted for most pages. I mean really, any old crap so long as it's long.
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Post by housesparrow on Jul 19, 2009 15:04:22 GMT
Perhaps you tried to vote twice?
You have two votes - well, probably not if you have already voted. Never mind.
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Post by trubble on Jul 19, 2009 16:32:11 GMT
I want three votes because I would also judge by the cover. I know you're not supposed to but...
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Post by aubrey on Jul 19, 2009 18:33:34 GMT
By an author I have read before; not only that, it is usually a book I have read before (every other book I read generally, I have read before).
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Post by everso on Jul 19, 2009 21:56:05 GMT
If there isn't a latest Robert Goddard then I'd probably go for one in the top ten list. I like adventure/crime novels. I've gone right off romantic novels and the Catherine Cookson type novels are so predictable. I don't mind a bit of horror so long as it's creepy horror and not slash and stab horror. I can't stand fantasy stuff.
Don't buy me a book, I'm too hard to please.
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Post by housesparrow on Jul 19, 2009 22:14:31 GMT
My choices are "the reviews look good" after a bad mistake on my last walking trip. It was called "The Almost Moon" ; I forget the author, and am unable to enlighten you because I left the thing in a guest house.* The reviews on the back cover said it was a gripping read, but had I looked more carefully I would have seen that it was doomed to a ghastly conclusion. It was certainly a well written book, but such a depressing read that it led to nightmares. Although there were two other books in our room I did not do a swap. One was a book of cartoons, the other a promising novel. Had I taken it, the next guest looking for a swap would have been faced with a choice of the Almost Moon or nothing. I did not want that on my conscience. Which leads me to my second choice : "Will impress other holidaymakers." For if they come up and say "Ooh, I've always wanted to read that!" you can offer to exchange it for theirs when you have finished - thus getting two reads for the price of one. * I can now tell you that Alice Sebold was the author. Yes, I should definitely have read the critics first: NYT review of the Almost Moon |
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Post by Patrick on Jul 19, 2009 22:42:29 GMT
If there isn't a latest Robert Goddard then I'd probably go for one in the top ten list. I like adventure/crime novels. I've gone right off romantic novels and the Catherine Cookson type novels are so predictable. I don't mind a bit of horror so long as it's creepy horror and not slash and stab horror. I can't stand fantasy stuff. Don't buy me a book, I'm too hard to please. Ever read Jonathan Gash's original "Lovejoy" series? So, so much better than the pithy, fluffy TV series, yet you could still see Ian McShane in the role. You get a bit of crime, a bit of (genuine) history, some splendid descriptive writing, the odd bit of violence, and some antiques thrown in for good measure. "Jade Woman" is one of my favourites, where he ends up penniless in Hong Kong and working for the Triads. It's as much a celebration of HK in years gone by as it is a work of fiction. |
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Post by Patrick on Jul 19, 2009 22:45:56 GMT
Holiday reading wise - I'll probably just dig out a favourite from my bookshelves to take.
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Post by everso on Jul 19, 2009 23:34:56 GMT
There are very few books I could seriously re-read. Once I've read something, that's it.
Gone With The Wind I've managed a few times, and The Pickwick Papers (my two desert island books), probably Billy Liar and Three Men In A Boat, and the odd Jeeves and Wooster, where the ending isn't an issue. But adventure or detective novels, definitely not.
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Post by housesparrow on Jul 20, 2009 7:05:50 GMT
I've tried a couple of Robert Goddard; one was much better than the other. Robert Harris' Enigma, Archangel and Fatherland were so good that I took his latest on holiday a couple of years ago and was disappointed. Prolific writers can go downhill fast.
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Post by housesparrow on Jul 20, 2009 7:41:55 GMT
Holiday reading wise - I'll probably just dig out a favourite from my bookshelves to take. Ah - but Patrick, the scenario assumes that the books you carefully selected for your hols got left out when repacking. You only remembered that you put them aside after you've checked in and found that the one that should have been in your hand luggage isn't there. |
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Post by Alpha Hooligan on Jul 20, 2009 10:33:36 GMT
This is an unlikely scenario for me, because I would have a few on my MP3 player anyway, but if shove came to push, I would only buy something by an author I knew and trusted to deliver a good read.
I'd even go as far as to buy something I already owned, but had really enjoyed if I couldn't find anything by somebody I liked.
I wouldn't buy anything with the words "Harry" and "Potter" in the title...I have some standards.
AH
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Post by everso on Jul 20, 2009 10:57:24 GMT
I've tried a couple of Robert Goddard; one was much better than the other. Robert Harris' Enigma, Archangel and Fatherland were so good that I took his latest on holiday a couple of years ago and was disappointed. Prolific writers can go downhill fast. The trouble with Robert Goddard is that his novels have very insipid titles, imo, so I never remember them. I agree, though, that some are better than others. The last one I read (which I believe is his latest) wasn't that great. Still good, but not as good as some. |
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Post by trubble on Jul 20, 2009 11:06:43 GMT
I wouldn't buy anything with the words "Harry" and "Potter" in the title...I have some standards. AH Not even ''Harry the Dirty Dog"?    You are missing out.  |
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Post by Patrick on Jul 20, 2009 11:23:30 GMT
 One Day Harry and his dog walked through the cow field........... |
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Post by Patrick on Jul 20, 2009 11:23:48 GMT
Ah - but Patrick, the scenario assumes that the books you carefully selected for your hols got left out when repacking. You only remembered that you put them aside after you've checked in and found that the one that should have been in your hand luggage isn't there. I'm boring - it'd be the first thing I'd pack! I've very protective about my books!  |
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Post by Patrick on Jul 20, 2009 11:34:26 GMT
There are very few books I could seriously re-read. Once I've read something, that's it. Ah! there's the rub. If I enjoy something I will return to it again and again. I have "comfort" books even, where when I'm feeling a bit down with the world, I'll reach for my Peter Tinniswoods. Rereading books started when I was young. I must have read "Comet in Moominland" 7 times before I was ten! They are another comfort read that I'll return to in times of stress.  In the bathroom at the moment, we have the (nearly) complete "Deric Longden" collection, which (when the moment is called for) are being re-read on a regular basis! I had The Day of the Jackal in there recently too! No, "A book is for life! Not just for Christmas" IMHO. ;D |
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Post by Alpha Hooligan on Jul 20, 2009 11:35:32 GMT
I wouldn't buy anything with the words "Harry" and "Potter" in the title...I have some standards. AH Not even ''Harry the Dirty Dog"? Any use of mass drivers as offensive weapons or secret discoveries of ancient alien planet killing tech in this book? I'm always open to new ideas (so long as they involve acts of genocide or warfare on a massive scale) AH |
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Post by trubble on Jul 20, 2009 11:47:15 GMT
Er... no... but he digs a hole.
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