Thursday 8 October 2009

Bookend (the middle bit, and not a Trek book in sight!)


Remember I said I was going on holiday? Well, I went.

And read some books!


These are them:



Trillions, by Nicholas Fisk

This childrens - or, young adult, I should say - story, is a surprisingly chilling tale.

In a small town, a peculiar rain of tiny, multi-faceted, toroidal objects fall. Millions of them. Billions. Trillions! Within hours, they have fallen all over the world. Initially, they appear benign, but soon start to link together forming copies of manmade objects, including tanks, missiles and bombs. One boy finds a way to communicate with them. He asks what humans should do for the Trillions and they reply: Hate us.

I love this book so much! I first read it years ago when I was a boy and have read it many times since. Even though I know the story inside out, I still get something new from it with every read.



The Indispensible Calvin & Hobbes, a treasury of Revenge of the Baby-Sat and Scientific Progress Goes 'Boink' by Bill Watterson.

Ahhhh... A lovely, funny,
absorbing collection of comic strips. I don't think I need say any more.




The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy, by Douglas Adams.

I'd recently watched the film and had found the book stuffed in the wardrobe in the spare bedroom. Anyway, I decided I'd read it on holiday to see how it differed from the TV series I'd watched as a teenager, and from the film too. The film turned out to be a surprisingly faithful adaptation except for Zaphod Beeblebrox keeping Earth's destruction from Trillian (not to be confused with the Trillions from up there ^), and the Heart of Gold's detour to that planet of sneeze worshipers. I was surprised to learn that SP hadn't even read it, despite having owned it for years!


The Lord Of The Flies, the Nobel Prize for literature winning book by William Golding.

I remember reading this book at school and rather liking it - One of the few enforced reads back then that I did enjoy. About five or six years ago, I found this on Indescribable's bookshelf amd decided to 'borrow' it. And now, finally, it's been read!


And that's it for now. I hope to be back tomorrow as it's the fourth anniversary of this blog and also of securing The Host as, well, my host! Of course, laziness could kick in, in which case I'll see you some other time.

6 comments:

  1. Isn't there a character named PIGGY in Lord of the Flies?

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  2. I want to read Trillion now! As for LotF, that book upset me, but is a great tale. One of the unsentimental accounts of kids.

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  3. Wow … you actually read some proper books!

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  4. That Lord of the Flies made me think that I'd never want to end up on a deserted island with a bunch of British school kids! Savages! I'll take my chances with a Uruguayan soccer team that crash lands in the mountains.

    I also read The Restaurant at the end of the Galaxy, the sequel to The Hitchhiker! I thought it was fun!

    Trillions sound interesting. I'm a big fan of sci fi/fantasy books!

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  5. MJ: There is indeed. Unfortunately, Piggy gets knocked off a cliff top by a falling (pushed) rock and smashes to smithereens below.

    * crosses fingers hopefully *

    Snooze: Trillions is absolutely brilliant! A very easy but engaging read. You should also check out Grinny and Mindbenders by the same author.

    Tim: Trek books are proper books, too!

    Eros: Mmmmm... Raw human flesh popsicles!

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  6. Yeah, cooooourse they are.

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Tickle my fancy, why don't you?