Books 2008 #28

1. "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" by Roald Dahl (read to the children at bedtime)
2. "Bush Falls" by Jonathan Tropper
3. "A Bear Called Paddington" by Michael Bond (read to the children at bedtime)
4. "I Hate Myself And Want To Die: The 52 Most Depressing Songs You've Ever Heard" by Tom Reynolds
5. "The Islamist" by Ed Hussain
6. "Dawn of the Diesels: The First Volume" by John Spencer Gilks
7. "Memoirs of a Spymaster" by Markus Wolf
8. "Dawn of the Diesels: The Second Volume" by John Spencer Gilks
9. "Britain Under Fire" - a book published in 1941 showing photographs of air raid damage in British towns and cities
10. "Dawn of the Diesels: The Third Volume" by John Spencer Gilks
11. "The Boy's Book of Survival: How to Survive Anything, Anywhere" by Guy Campbell
12. "Postwar: A History of Europe since 1945" by Tony Judt
13. "The Necropolis Railway" by Andrew Martin
14. "As Far As My Feet Will Carry Me" by Josef M. Bauer
15. "Love Jude" by Annie Porthouse
16. "He Never Said..." by Steve Chalke
17. "Dear Bob" by Annie Porthouse
18. "Affluenza" by Oliver James
19. "Live and Work in Scotland" by Nicola Taylor
20. Extract from "What Are We Doing Here?" by Brian Norris (the part about his time in East Germany) - sent to me by the author
21. "Working for Yourself" - Which? Essential Guides
22. "Cell" by Stephen King
23. "Out of the Tunnel" by Rachel North
24. "The Historic Locomotive Pocketbook" by H.C. Casserley
25. "The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams
26. "Mysterious Britain" by Janet and Colin Bord
27. "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe" by Douglas Adams
28. "Life, The Universe and Everything" by Douglas Adams
29. "Railway: Identity, Design and Culture" by Keith Lovegrove
30. "So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish" by Douglas Adams
31. "How to be Free" by Tom Hodgkinson
32. "The Essential Guide to Festivals: Tents and Mud and Rock 'n' Roll" by Sharon Watson
33. "Mostly Harmless" by Douglas Adams
34. "Roadblock: How People Power is Wrecking the Roads Programme" by John Stewart, Jonathan Bray and Emma Must
35. "Is Britain Great?" by The Caravan Gallery

So...a recent flurry of literary activity, I've finished off the Hitchhiker's "trilogy". The last book is good, but depressing and dark compared to the others. Douglas Adams said it was a dark book because he'd had a difficult time when he wrote it. I don't think he intended it to be the last book, but he bumped off Trillian, Arthur and Ford, so the series would have had to take a rather different direction. Probably just as well it ended where it did.

The "Roadblock" thing was a short document, originally published in the mid-90s, that I downloaded as a PDF and printed. It was all about a lot of the road protests in the early 90s, including Twyford Down, Newbury and the M11 link road, as well as some of the more successful ones. Quite inspiring stuff, really - it was a time when non-violent direct action was at a peak and actually got a few things done. Twyford Down got built, but the government lost the stomach for more pitched battles and quietly dropped the Roads to Prosperity programme. I was quite inspired by the actions of people like Rebecca Lush and Alex Plows - they're still quite active in transport and social campaigning.

"Is Britain Great?" is a photographic anthology that's brilliantly funny and inspiring - a bit like "Boring Postcards". It's full of odd and quirky images showing off Britain at its eccentric best. I particularly like the picture of "Cupid Marital Aids Boutique" - which is just about the most unromantic looking place ever. I also like the "Area Monitored by CCTV" sign which has a sticker on it saying "Watch Me Masturbate"...

Quite an inspiring selection of images. It makes me want to shoot more wierd and wonderful everyday pictures.