» Books

Here are some of my favourites, literally...
Evelyn Waugh (early ones) - Funny and beautifully written.
Robert Graves Goodbye to All That - A good introduction to some of the realities of war
John Betjeman Summoned by Bells - Amusing and moving
Lewis Carroll The Hunting of The Snark - Mad and amusing
Kellow Chesney The Victorian Underworld - An exhaustive look at our proud heritage of criminality
Derek Robinson Goshawk Squadron - Painfully realistic WW1 aviation fiction
George MacDonald Fraser Quartered Safe Out Here - Excellent WW2 soldier's autobiog (couldn't stand Flashman)
P. G. Wodehouse - still makes me lol (particularly Jeeves and Wooster)
Terry Pratchett - subtle propaganda about basic human decency imho
Christopher Hitchens - stuck it to Mother Theresa, need I say more
Ian McEwan - thinks before he writes
The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám translated by Edward Fitzgerald
Brian Thompson A Half-baked Life: My Story So Far by Claude Jenks - the delusions of a man with a Rudge
Henry Mayhew London Labour and the London Poor - convinced me to try to avoid being poor
George Orwell (particularly Down and Out in Paris and London)- see previous comment
Jung Chan The Wild Swans, Mao: the Unknown Story - background to modern China
Bill Bryson - generally well written, amusing and informative
Jonathan Swift Gulliver's Travels - probably one of T. Pratchett's influences
Charles Darwin The Voyage of The Beagle - not just because of what it led to

The Harry Potter books were great inasmuch as they started a fair few people reading and created quite a lot of work in the film industry. Could have used a more rigorous editor. Authors who really annoyed me include Tolkien, Dickens, Paul Auster, Don Delillo and, of course, D. Brown. I find that buying books for a quid or two second-hand makes them that much easier to fling across the room when they fail to please.
(Thu 12th Jan 2012, 0:19, More)