BOOKS RECOMMENDED

• The Hotel new Hampshire - John Irving. Possibly the best book ever written, comedy drama tragedy and social commentary all tied up in a good story.
• Good Omens - Terry Pratchet and Neil Gainman, especially recommended for Christians
• Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Robert M Prisic. Heavy stuff, not for the faint hearted
• The Alchemist - Paulo someone other, best read in the middle of a desert or ocean. Inspiring. A fable for those who want to understand the nature of the universe
• A brave new World - Aldous Huxley The future?
• The Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy - Douglas Adams, needs no introduction
• Spycatcher - a spy, the The book Maggie didn't want you to read
• The Art of Course Sailing - Mike Green, written in the 50's on the Norfolk broads the only good sailing book I have ever read.
• The Damage Done - Warren Fellows, 12 years in a Bangkok Prison, a must for all Tabloid readers.
• A good children's Book - even if you read it when young read it again, I suggest the Hobbit (tolkien) Swallows and amazons (Arthur Ransom), anything by Roal Dahl or a Harry Potter book. Regain your sense of perspective.
• Angela's Ashes, memoirs of a childhood - Frank McCormick (wrong spelling probably)
• Adolf Hitler My part in his downfall - Spike Milligan
• Reeds Nautical almanac 5 minutes before hitting something. Don't put it off, it could be too late.

BOOKS NOT RECOMMENDED

• Metal Corrosion in boats - Nigel Warren
  this book is Horribly dull, keep the corrosion its more interesting
• Goats - Mark Porvir, this guy couldn't right decent stuff if god gave it to him on stone tablets.
• Gulivers Travels - Jonathan Swift, good idea for the 1700s, but 2/3 of the book is him going on about why he cut stuff out!
• The grapes of wrath - Steinbeck. There are many books written about the horrors of the poor or nasty situations, this isn't one of them, its uninteresting depressing and dull. See Angela's Ashes/the damage done in the other column these people were there when it all went wrong Steinbeck wasn't!
• The bible - God (apparently), he wasn't into boats see Revelation! This book has killed more people than AIDS, and still is. Well meening book but widly misinterpreted, espeially by successive Popes.
• The Hitch Hikers guide to the ocean - a 1800's blind scottish crofter could have written more autoritativly on sailing on other peoples boats!
• Ian (M) banks - don't waist your time, especially with his novel 'The Business', absolute tripe.

FILMS (movies) YOU SHOULD SEE

• Clerks - Written Directed and Staring Kevin Smith and the 7 11 he woked in.
  
• Bad Boy Bobby - Australian film about the important things in life such as insest and not clingfilming (glad wraping) the cat. Sick twisted and highly entertaining.
• Dr Strangelove - Stannley Kubrick
• Apocalypse Now - Martin sheen and the horros of vietnam.
• Blade Runner - the version without the voice over
  The Abyss - James Cameron Film
• National Lampoons Animal House - do not get this wrong and accidently watch any of the other abismil national lampoon films.
• Withnail and I, watch for the Camberwell Carrot and don't try and play dinking games with the movie.
• Quadrphenia, one of 2 films ever filmed in my home town (I'm not going to mention the other one).*
• Terry Gillingham's Brasil, a version of George Orwells 1984 with a pythonesque twist.
• The Usual suspects.
• South Park Longer bigger and uncut (the movie)
• Dune, one of the few movies thats better than the book.

Many of these movies are not available from BLOCKBUSTER video. Try a real video store.

Recently there have been a whole host of good movies, even from hollywood, including Fight Club and American Beauty and the rival of British films such as Trainspotting and Lock Stock and 2 Smoking barrels, the future looks bright remember the rambo series and films starring Chuck Norris!

FILMS (movies) YOU SHOULD avoid

• Natural Born Killers - This was a joke right?
• Attack of the killer tomatoes
• Forest Gump (aka T.Hanks) American feel good crap with a bloody irritating deep south accent. Good Bless America!
• Matilda - allegedly based on the Rohl Dahl Book, I've not seen this film but the trailers looked awful READ THE BOOK or get your kids too.
• The long run home starring Jean Clude Van god Damn. DO NOT WATCH THIS FILM ON ANY ACCOUNT!
• The Water Boy/Big Daddy - Adam saddler is not worth the ticket (hell he's not worth the electricity for the telly) watch the fish tank instead.
• Born on the 4th of July - I'm sorry but this film is dull, sod the fictiscious Vietnam vet, what about the poor (dead, maimed and still dying)) Vietnamese? Platoon was a good film and showed the suffering of the Vietnamese at least a little as well. Well meaning film...but.
• Star Trek Movies - some say the odd numbered ones are all right. The dead horse has now been thouraly flogged give it up guys!
• Water World - Kevin bloody Constner in a nautical farce, if you concentrate really hard you may find a plot amongst the continuity errors, if you do please tell me. Redeeming factor, the idea of Kevin as a fish. This guy can't sail.
• Castaway - Tom hanks stranded on an uninhabited island. Not actually a bad film at all but criticized due to the fact that they removed Tom Hanks from the island after finishing the movie. I would have liked Brad Pitt to have really speant 7 year in Tibet too.

All these can be got on video in BLOCKBUSTER