Book Seven
There's no denying it. I am definitely onto something here. I have just polished off Book Seven in just over a week, and what a beauty it was too. At 320 pages I think I have just set my own "Jonny Does Reading in Australia" Personal Best.
I'm not quite sure how I found myself looking at the shelf of Ben Elton books in Dymocks on George Street last week. I had been looking for (what will now be) Book Eight but I couldn't remember who the author was (and one of the shop assistants couldn't help me either). Anyway I do remember seeing the Ben Elton books as I walked around the shop and I remembered how bloody good High Society was. I'd read that book on the flight back to England, from Sydney, via a quick pit-stop in Bangkok, last year. Yes, I can read books quite quickly if I put my mind to it and have nothing else to do, in a confined space with no leg room, for the best part of 24 hours.
As it says on the cover, Popcorn is an "Award-Winning No.1 Bestseller". I was intrigued. But then don't all books say that they are award-winning these days? And if they don't say that, then they almost always say that they are a Bestseller. Anyway, I was sucked in. I read the comments on the back, got a phone call from my agency to say I'd been offered the job I was after, walked around the shop a little bit trying not to be too noisy, ended the conversation, returned to Popcorn, picked it up and bought it. Job Done!
So far as the book is concerned I thought it was excellent, and at times (dare I say it?) "un-put-downable". I guess that's why I polished it off so quickly. I'll be sure to read some more of Ben Elton's stuff at some point.
I managed to find Book Eight over the weekend as well. I'd used good old Google to find out who the author was and I got H to buy it as she needed a book to read. She's just finished it (the Manly ferry affords the user plenty of reading time) so I'll be starting that today.
Oh, and while on the subject of Popcorn, thanks to Mr Skinner, H and I now can't sit through a movie without cooking up some "Popping Corn". We're addicted.
I'm not quite sure how I found myself looking at the shelf of Ben Elton books in Dymocks on George Street last week. I had been looking for (what will now be) Book Eight but I couldn't remember who the author was (and one of the shop assistants couldn't help me either). Anyway I do remember seeing the Ben Elton books as I walked around the shop and I remembered how bloody good High Society was. I'd read that book on the flight back to England, from Sydney, via a quick pit-stop in Bangkok, last year. Yes, I can read books quite quickly if I put my mind to it and have nothing else to do, in a confined space with no leg room, for the best part of 24 hours.
As it says on the cover, Popcorn is an "Award-Winning No.1 Bestseller". I was intrigued. But then don't all books say that they are award-winning these days? And if they don't say that, then they almost always say that they are a Bestseller. Anyway, I was sucked in. I read the comments on the back, got a phone call from my agency to say I'd been offered the job I was after, walked around the shop a little bit trying not to be too noisy, ended the conversation, returned to Popcorn, picked it up and bought it. Job Done!
So far as the book is concerned I thought it was excellent, and at times (dare I say it?) "un-put-downable". I guess that's why I polished it off so quickly. I'll be sure to read some more of Ben Elton's stuff at some point.
I managed to find Book Eight over the weekend as well. I'd used good old Google to find out who the author was and I got H to buy it as she needed a book to read. She's just finished it (the Manly ferry affords the user plenty of reading time) so I'll be starting that today.
Oh, and while on the subject of Popcorn, thanks to Mr Skinner, H and I now can't sit through a movie without cooking up some "Popping Corn". We're addicted.
posted by Jonny @ 10:32 AM
6 Comments:
At 24/8/06 8:23 AM,
RJL said…
Ah, you've discovered popping corn...I always have some of it in the cupboard. Dare I say...the perfect snack.
At 24/8/06 10:03 AM,
Andy said…
That stuff's lethal - I managed to burn some in the microwave a couple of months back (which I thought was impossible). The whole kitchen was full of thick black smoke. Go careful guys!
At 24/8/06 1:48 PM,
RJL said…
Best if you do it on the hob I find..although, I have to confess to scarring the odd pan.
At 24/8/06 10:21 PM,
Jonny said…
Yep, we've also burnt a pan a couple of times (we haven't got a microwave here). It's all about having the right amount of oil and giving them a good old shake while they're cooking.
At 25/8/06 8:27 PM,
swisslet said…
oooh books. Maybe I've missed this, but what kind of stuff are you into? I'm sure Mike is probably on at you about this all the time, but I'm not an English teacher and I'd be *delighted* to make a few recommendations, if that'd be at all helpful?
Dawn surfing? drinking at the opera bar? I don't even surf and I'm insanely jealous.
Grrr.
ST
At 26/8/06 12:01 AM,
Jonny said…
Hi ST
I have to admit that it is a bit strange that I blog about the books I have been reading since I arrived here but if you check out my profile (which was written when I first set this blog up back in the UK) you will see why. My "Favourite Books" were those that "I don't have to read" (I'll probably update it at some point).
This has now changed and I actually enjoy reading now. I'm now on my eighth book in four months. Up until my move here I don't think I read eight books in eight years.
As for the stuff I am into, crikey, I haven't got much of a clue. I've definitely read a random selection over the last few months and am open to suggestions. I don't like Shakespeare though or anything a bit technical like that.
Yeah - the surfing and beers in such great locations is a bit special.
Jonny
Post a Comment
<< Home