Books I Read

These are the books which have made me laugh, think and wonder.

* Gerald Durrell - A truly remarkable man. This man pioneered zoo keeping and conservationalism. My all time favourite author. His best books? Can't really say, they're all good but these are my favourites. Bear in mind that only the first one is a novel. The rest are all non-fiction. This man not only had a full and admirable life but wrote like no other. The best descriptive writer I have ever come across.

Rosy is My Relative, My family and Other Animals, The Bafut Beagles, Zoo in My Luggage, Three Singles to Adventure, The Drunken Forest, The Whispering Land, The Picnic and Such Like Pandemonium.

* James Herriot - Another autobiographic author like Durrell. And similarly like Durrell, it's about a profession in the animal world except Herriot (real name, Alf Wight) was a vetinarian. Next to Durrell, a very good descriptive writer. Herriot loved his wife, children, friends, animals and countryside (Agricultural Yorkshire). What made his stand out are his experiences and the fact that you could feel the love he had for all stated above in his words.

All Things Bright and Beautiful, All Creatures Great and Small, All Things Wise and Wonderful

* Frank Herbert - Frank Herbert wrote the Dune series. Quite possibly the greatest science fiction book. There will be arguments whether it is or not but no one will deny it's right up there.

Dune, Dune Messiah, Children of Dune, God Emperor of Dune, Heretics of Dune, Chapterhouse: Dune

* J.R.R. Tolkien - I discovered Tolkien through my mum who's a big fan. So one fine day, tired of studying for my Penilaian (Std 5 exam) I picked up Lord of the Rings. Finished it in 5 days. Not bad for an 11 year old. Next, after the exam, I read The Hobbit. I make it a point to read Lord of the Rings every few years.

The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings

* Michael Crichton - A really good writer whose books were unfortunately massacred by Hollywood. If you really think about it, Jurrasic Park was a crap movie and all the successive films just kept getting worse.

Jurrasic Park, The Lost World, Congo

* Richard Preston - Preston wrote one truly captivating and terrifying book called The Hot Zone. The network which is the international travel routes can carry a virus around the globe at anytime and to anywhere. There was an outbreak of a strain of the Ebola virus in Reston, just outside Washington D.C. some years back. Just dumb luck had this strain as the only one which was non-lethal to humans. Every other strain killed about 8 to 9 out of 10 people. Maimed the rest. Ebola and its sister virus Marburg can be transmitted by touch, air and through sexual intercourse. Horrifically infectious. Imagine if a lethal strain travelled via infected passengers on airline planes. From one point to spread to wherever the planes took them to. We might end up having a situation not unlike Stephen King's The Stand.

The Hot Zone

* Terry Pratchett - Possibly the most talented satrical writer I am familair with. Created the Discworld and its various characters. Absolutely brilliant humour. Two Dogs Fighting. Blink and you've missed it. The books I've listed are his best. Pratchett occasionally misses the mark.

Going Postal, Jingo, Night Watch, Thief of Time, The Truth

* Dean Koontz - Made girls cry with Watchers. Over a dog too. Had a good book, Phantoms, massacred by Hollywood as well. Come to think of it, Watchers received the same B-movie treatment. Totally pissed me off with Tick Tock. Were it my book, it would have flown out the window.

Watchers, Phantoms

* Stephen King

The Stand, Delores Claiborne

* Murray Ball - Creator, writer and artist of Footrot Flats. A very honest, simple yet powerful series of cartoons.

Footrot Flats

* Bill Watterson - Calvin and Hobbes. A very very clever comic series.

Calvin and Hobbes

* Gary Larson - The Far Side. A very very clever comic series in the other direction.

The Far Side