I'm Busy Reading....

[Scurra]

Actually, the same book had a "Stupid Boy" line directed at a Private Pike which also worked quite well but was a tad predictable when it finally turned up.

[Cenwulf]

These books still give me sneaky little laughs. I'd love to know how many I MISS. I mentioned the 'Still play a good Hamlet' line when I saw it - in this one we have him explaining the lengths you would have to go to in order to wipe out an enemey village:

So you would have to kill everyone. Every man, woman, and child. If even one child is missed then in future years he'll come back as Conan the Barbarian. It's like a rule. He'll be back.

Is this because of a certain Arnold Strong?

[katsmom]

I just picked up a book for Katherine. The Puzzling World of Winston Breen by Eric Berlin

I haven't read it yet, but it looks good and is just full of little puzzles throughout. Maybe she'll have fun with this one.

[MBH]

Thanks katsmom - this is what the thread is all about. I'd never heard of this (and it sounds fascinating), and while I've investigated it I found an older book called The Westing Game which I ALSO have never heard of but will be looking into


Are you hoping to start the young one on puzzles, or is she already an addict?

[Scurra]

Oh yes, The Westing Game is fantastic. (Mind you, I read it when I was ten or so, so that dates it!)

[katsmom]

Westing game? Hmm, have to look into that one.

She's had it "forced upon her" since she was a baby. We started with Dora soduko when she was around 4 or 5. She has a subscription to a couple of different Highlights childrens puzzle magazines, and has been playing with my toys since she could sit up.

[clvrlad]

i know we mentioned robert asprin awhile ago but just come across this

http://studiofoglio.com/Merchant2/merch ... Adventures

i read a web comic by phil foglio call genius girl and this was a link to one of his panels (he's the artist on the books and on the game... i never knew till he linked them....)

[MBH]

I've let this thread slip - probably read a few since my last post - but I've just finished:

The Hunger Games - by Suzanne Collins

Still in the 'teenage fiction' area, but this is a MUST READ for all Big Brother or "I'm a Celeb" fans - just to see where your viewing habits may lead.

12 boys and 12 girls aged randomly between 12 and 16 in a wilderness 'arena' on the only rule is "Kill or by killed" [OK - there's an unwritten rule about 'no eating your dead opponents' but that is just because it doesn't go down well with the viewers ]

Strong characters that you want to read about, and serious jabs at Government and TV programming - a good read. May well be disturbing for parents of children in the 12-16 range but the kids may well enjoy it.

Don't check it out on wikipedia or look up the website, as they contain major spoilers. I looked at them as I was reading the last chapter.

[giraffe]

I think my teenagers are a bit sqeamish for something like that.

[fernando]

No, It sounds like a good book to me.

[Scurra]

The Hunger Games - by Suzanne Collins

Still in the 'teenage fiction' area, but this is a MUST READ for all Big Brother or "I'm a Celeb" fans - just to see where your viewing habits may lead.

Have you seen the movie Battle Royale? This sounds remarkably similar (in the general premise, at least. I'm sure the resolution is massively different.)

[clvrlad]

hmmm why does lord of the flies spring to mind

[giraffe]

Yes that sprang to my mind too.

[MBH]

No - I hadn't heard of "Batoru Rowaiaru" but it does look similar in theme. The natural connection I thought of was "The Running Man", but that put me in mind of the Roman gladatorial games rather than "Big Brother".

Lord of the Flies is in my mental pile of 'Classics' that I never got to

[giraffe]

I associate Lord of the flies with To Kill a mocking Bird. I think we must have read them both in Eng Lit at school at about the same time. I know we went to see the film of at least one of them at the local Arts centre.

[Scurra]

For me, Lord of the Flies is a bit like 1984 in the sense that I'm not sure I read it for "pleasure", even though it is brilliantly written and deeply moving.

I'm currently reading A Tale Etched in Blood and Hard Black Pencil (a title which is too long for the little space on the profile!) which is one of the cleverest and funniest books I've read for ages. It has a certain amount in common with Lord of the Flies in that it's about the power structures and social relationships that children form and which scar them for the rest of their lives, but it's also a rather clever crime novel too.

[Bunnylump]

I associate Lord of the flies with To Kill a mocking Bird. I think we must have read them both in Eng Lit at school at about the same time.

Yep, me too. Did you also do "A Passage to India"?

I've just read The Woman in the Fifth by Douglas Adams. Not an author I've read before. It was well written, sort of a mix of a thriller and a romance and, well, frankly, something quite strange. Enjoyed it though, in a surreal kind of a way!!

[strep98]

I'm reading The revenge of the middle aged woman and it exactly what it says in the title, God help my OH

[Bunnylump]

I think he needs to be VERY worried...

[gill216]

Fraggle mentioned to me a kiddies magazine called Letter something - it follows curriculum. Does anyone know who publishes it or stocks it? Or any other suggestions for a 4 year old?
(He's had the equivalent of reception class in Spain for almost a year now so we need year 2 really) Toybox workbooks are a bit too boring for him now-on the other hand, anything thats not Ben 10 or Spiderman is also boring I'm looking for mags as opposed to books.