By coincidence, I just picked up Canticle for Lebowitz in a local bookshop. Your post feels like intuition confirmed. Unfortunately, the ‘read it at the end of the sequence’ proposal falls. I may try The Road afterwards and compare notes.

For want of a less ironic word: hubris.

‘This book will challenge the dogma of [insert cultural tradition]’ is a claim that can only fail. You can critique, create a parody of or out right mock a set of beliefs. You seriously have your work cut out to challenge it in a meaningful way and your material needs to be better known for your novel to make any difference.

Particularly in this case, people lose sight of the shear breadth of Christian thought and belief. The source material for this book are The Books of Enoch’. They are wierder than Revalations, Daniel and Ezekiel put together. For the Ethiopian Orthodox, they are canonical and for many other branches they don’t even count as Apocrypha. I suspect most Evangelicals have never heard of them, or of Lilith for that matter.

How The Whale Became (Ted Hughes) probably had more impact.

Sets up the plot twist because a forced marriage is not a legal marriage and therefore the heroine/hero/ace protagonist is free to make alternate arrangements.

I have decided that I disagree with you.

I started with Mr Midshipman Hornblower. In terms of the order they were written in, Lieutenant is quite late. I think Forrester was trying to bridge gaps by then while never getting worked up about consistency. Weird the The Happy Return was the first.

Has to be the genre where the first contact spoiled me. Pope and O’Brian always seemd to not make the class of Forrester.

Green Eggs and Ham

Well? Did you like it?

The World of Pooh by A. A. Milne. Aged about 3, going on 4. It’s Winnie the Pooh and The House At Pooh Corner bound into a single, lovely hardback book with a map of The Hundrd Aker Wood inside the cover.

Gateway drug into a life of addiction without a hint of rehabilitation. I think I am past salvation now.

There are only two circumstances where comparisons make any sense:

1. Mates in the pub arguing based on personal prejudice.
2. Journalists desperate to sell copy and make themselves sound insightful.

In other words, can be fun but is always bollocks.

Frankly, I know rather than think.

What insightful geniuses we must be.

I guess we could waste our time on Reddit instead :-)

I always find the African Cup of Nations a more exciting tournament to watch. More teams that just want to have a go rather than scared of losing.

Adopting a nation to support is a slightly weird thing but always better to watch when you care about the result.

Yep. Watched Arse vs France in 89.

Because the admins, journalists and accountants get all dewy eyed about the Mersey Derby. Like you could have that not happening?

In my view, there is definitely a pecking order of clubs in the mind of the FA and Journos. None of them gave a fuck when Coventry were relegated for the first time ever. They only started caring about City or Chelsea when they started spinning money.

And for the record:

1: While I think there has to be some sanity brought to the transfer market, I’m not sure the FFP Profitability and Sustainability as they stand rules are really the solution.

2: There are rules and a process (which includes appeals). If they apply the rules and your club comes up wanting, how about shout at your club’s management rather than scream “Waaa! Not fair”.

Biblio

They often offer me things from US, Canada and further afield.

I often buy hardbacks from Biblio.com because library books smell nice.

Could anyone explain to the ignorant what ‘Southern Gothic’ is and how it differs from proximate genres?