It's time to ask the annual question - which books did you get for Christmas?

I usually get lots of books for Christmas but this year I only got one! "Angel Puss" by Colleen McCullough. She is one of my favourite authors and I have all her books. Some of you may not recognize her name right away but she was the author of "The Thorn Birds".

Maynooth likes Ken Follett so I bought him Follett's latest - "White Out" - a somewhat selfish present since I'll get to read it too!

I got a book of knitting patterns, called Hip Knits. My daughter got a Spongebob Squarepants book with a electonic guitar attached that she can play along to the book. Besides that, between my husband and I we got $100 of gift certificates to Barnes and Nobel Bookstores.

I got the same thing i get every year, a cook book for spicey food. Apparently that's all people think i eat!! I did manage to borrow The Patagonian Express by Paul Theroux while i was at dinner though.

I got gift certificates, too (some heavy hinting helped, here). Fifty dollars in the new bookshop in the city, and 20 for the used shop here in town.
My daughter got her own (non library) copy of HP Order of the Phoenix, and a collection of ghost stories, my son got a couple of giant fantasy books, one that looks good - it's a fantasy set in a Pacific Islands mythos, by Garry Kilworth, who's usually very good. The other is called Darwinia, an alternate history of some sort.

The 3 books I got for Christmas are: the complete paintings of Leonardo DaVinci, a book on cryptic crosswords (my favorite puzzles, next to jigsaws) and the Mammoth Book of Zingers, Quips and One-Liners.

Outside of a dog, Man's best friend is a book. Inside, it's too dark to read. Groucho Marx

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Oh I've read Darwinia couple of years ago, curious concept but probably not living up to its potential, ok though. Actually i think i bought it for my dad for xmas one year!
Here's what happens in the book... just kidding.

Got the new Bryce Courtney, Brother Fish ...also "Looking for Alibrabdi" and "The Bushies". Faired very well!

I haven't read nearly as much American literature as I have British literature, so I requested a few classic American titles. I received "O Pioneers!" by Willa Cather and "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith. I'm reading Cather now. I also received "Grace Notes" by Bernard MacLaverty. I enjoyed reading "Cal," his novel about the Irish Troubles in 1970s Northern Ireland, so I'm anxious to read another book by this talented writer.

I got only one book, thankfully one which I'll enjoy - 'The Pythons, autobiography by the Pythons'. It weighs 'a ton', but fascinating for Python fans.

Oh! I totally forgot... My husband got me Jon Stewart's new book, America, A Citizen's Guid to Democratic Inaction. I'm really looking forward to it!

I can't believe 'The da Vinci Code' hasn't been mentioned. I don't get much time to read books which annoys me but seeing as I have the week off I have devoured this book until the wee hours of the morning.

These two lasted a day and a bit - fascinating reading: The Art of The Steal by Frank W Abagnale,
and Catch Me If You Can by Frank W Abagnale with Stan Redding.

I got biographies of John Peel and Douglas Adams, and with my Christmas money I bought The Book of Lists, "POSH and other language myths" (nothing to do with Victoria Beckham) and Stephen Fry's Incomplete and utter History of Classical Music. I've been nodding off over novels lately so I have a fair few of those still to catch up on, and thought I'd stick to reference books. You don't lose the thread too much if you fall asleep over them!

I got "She's Come Undone" by Wally Lamb, excellent book by the way. I also got many Amazon gift certificates, so I'm keeping an eye on this thread so I can spend them wisely.

I ordered "Unnatural Death:Confessions of a Medical Examiner" by Michael Baden and "Raising the Devil:Satanism, New Religions and the Media" by Bill Ellis. Both of which are still in transit.

Thanks,Exit10, for reminding me that I need to order "The Da Vinci Code."

>>>Thanks,Exit10, for reminding me that I need to order "The Da Vinci Code."


Don't you wish we had a FT library?? Often I've had a book that someone has wanted and thought if they just lived down the street I'd send it down ... but alas it would be expensive to send the book to FTers around the world than it was worth

I got 3 books of Ah! My Goddess Manga which I can't wait to read.

I also got the complete Alvin Maker series by Orson Scott Card:

Seventh Son
Red Prophet
Prentice Alvin
Alvin Journeyman
Heartfire
The Crystal City

Good thread, MotherGoose! My daughter gave me "Cosa Nostra, a History of the Sicilian Mafia," by John Dickie. It's my Italian heritage that enjoys Mafia stories. The Godfather series of books and movies got me interested in the lifestyle of what might have been my grandfather's. Not a good Christmas story, granted, but another insight into the Sicilian concept of honor, insult and vendetta.

"Don't you wish we had a FT library? "

I've often wished we had a library. It certainly would make things more convenient. But, alas, we would spend a fortune shipping books back and forth to eachother.

I didn't get any books for Christmas. Darn it! I like stuff that is under the radar, mostly. So nobody knows what to buy for me. But I get gift certificates now, so that works.

I like the FT library idea. I'd swap books with any of you!

A FunTrivia library. Imagine that! I'd be a member straightaway if that existed, especially with the great taste and depth of books all of you read.

I received a copy of Michael Crichton's newest piece, State of Fear, from my mother's fiance. I'd never read Crichton, but it turned out to be extremely interesting. (The plot was a bit elementary, but the concepts of politicized science and media fascinated me )

I too would love a copy of the DaVinci code-thanks for the reminder! My $20 gift certificate to Borders is burning a hole in my pocket...

I got the follow-up to the 'Da Vinci Code'- it is 'Digital Fortress', and am looking forward to getting stuck into it- the original was brilliant.

I also got two books on etymology, a passion of mine. One is 'Weeds in the Garden of Words', a history of the incongruity of English, and 'Language Most Foul' which is a dissertation on rude words. I will NOT be providing a book review on that one, for obvious reasons.

I recently bought "Blooming English" and "Weeds in the Garden of Words" (both by Kate Burridge) but haven't got around to reading them yet.

Who wrote "Language Most Foul"? Sounds intriguing. Bill Bryson did a chapter on this topic in his book "Mother Tongue". It's absolutely fascinating. Highly recommended!

MG, that book was written by Ruth Wajnryb (and that is the correct spelling!), and it focuses on the Aussie 'usages'- engrossing stuff, but a bit heavy in places!

'Weeds' is next on the 'to-read' list

I got a book called the Golem's eye by Johnathan Stroud. It is the sequel to the Amulet Of Samarkand book and is the second book out of the Bartimaeus trilogy. Both books are very good, I would highly reccomend them to anybody who wants a good read.
TBoy2