A "lunch crowd"

Speaking of which.....

when there are so many other great options out there.

Those links illustrate my beef with NZ fiction, of which Witi Ihimaera is part – everything is nostalgia, mysticism or nostalgic mysticism.

To my knowledge (and *please* let me know otherwise) Craig Marriner is the only NZ author who writes?

Ihimaera knows this. Don't beat yourself up.

And thanks, Ben – kind of you to say so.

Yes, Raymond. Lunch mob: we need more of them.

Rich, you need to read more Chad Taylor, but then everyone needs to read more Chad Taylor. I also think Paula Morris would?

Those links illustrate my beef with NZ fiction, of which Witi Ihimaera is part – everything is nostalgia, mysticism or nostalgic mysticism.

Yes, including such nostalgic mysticists as Maurice Gee, Charlotte Grimshaw, Owen Marshall, Emily Perkins, Carl Nixon and Damien Wilkins. All writing on "contemporary themes with characters who live?

She also noted that Penguin had forbidden the Listener to quote any further from the novel.

They can't actually do that, right? Fair use for review and all.

And even if they could, the spectacle of them taking an action against someone for stealing words would be hilarious.

In fact, Rich of O, that's one the silliest summations of of NZ lit I've ever read. For all his flaws, Allan Duff doesnt do nostalgic mysticism, and Patricia Grace?

Go see some glaciers, before they melt. Stupid glaciers! Don?t they know they?re being played?

The last part of which I'm sure I pretty much read somewhere, but I can't find any source. (That much acknowledged in?

Those links illustrate my beef with NZ fiction, of which Witi Ihimaera is part – everything is nostalgia, mysticism or nostalgic mysticism.

That's funny, 'cos I though the thing wrong with recent New Zild literature was that it was all written by 20-something-year-old BA chicks about 20-something-year-old BA chicks. Often?

That's funny, 'cos I though the thing wrong with recent New Zild literature was that it was all written by 20-something-year-old BA chicks

So basically the same problem we apparently have with journalism, then?

That's funny, 'cos I though the thing wrong with recent New Zild literature was that it was all written by 20-something-year-old BA chicks about 20-something-year-old BA chicks. Often musing about Big Themes while abroad. Which is why we all latched onto the one about the Gay Angel in France.
I?

Those links illustrate my beef with NZ fiction, of which Witi Ihimaera is part – everything is nostalgia, mysticism or nostalgic mysticism.

Really? That's what I like about NZ literature. And non-mimetic fiction is (critically, at least) treated with relative disdain in New Zealand. If its not depressing as all?

So please understand my utter sincerity when I say:

Holy Fucking Shit that was a Good Post.

Holy Fucking Shit that was a Good Post.

Well referenced I thought.

Then again, I still prefer Maurice Gee's kids stuff to his adult stuff, which indicates a certain perspective...

That's because Maurice Gee's YA work is awesome. And the "mystical" stuff (e.g. Halfmen of O, Under the Mountain) is the best of it.

That's because Maurice Gee's YA work is awesome. And the "mystical" stuff (e.g. Halfmen of O, Under the Mountain) is the best of it.

It's the nostalgia, the mysticism, the non-mimeticism that I love the most. I like to suspend my disbelief. It gives it a rest for a bit.

I believe the phrase "stupid glacier" was first used by Greg Pollowitz in his National Review blog, Planet Gore. I am rather ashamed to admit knowing this fact.

Yours ever,

your fact-checking cuz.

On a passing note, I liked your recognition that Google Books is every honest writer's friend, and a plagiarist's nightmare.

Fergus

PS: I think "wracked our brains" should be "racked our brains".

I loved 'The 10pm Question' by Kate de Goldi – my favourite book of the year.

Seconded. It cut to the core of so many aspects of 'New Zilland', IMhO.

It is no wonder that the Prof stole so much, because writing oneself?

Possibly they struck a chord because they are both about?

PS: I think "wracked our brains" should be "racked our brains"

Well spotted. Not sure how that one slipped through. As you know, I am a stickler :-) I've fixed it. There I go again, editing Penguin for free...

I loved The 10pm Question too, although I agree with the?

Possibly they struck a chord because they are both written about the area I grew up in. Not at all sure what the 'popular opinion' is on Maurice Shadbolt, but [Season of the Jew] spoke volumes to me.

I've been meaning to reread that one. I read it in Japan?

My own LUQ:

— How many unshipped warehouse copies were there for Witi to buy back?
— How many copies were returned to Penguin by bookstores?

Given that the novel has been a bestseller week after week, my hunch — and?

I've been meaning to reread that one. I read it in Japan and remember finishing it with tears pouring over the pages. No book had done that to me since Charlotte's Web, and I certainly didn't expect that one to. But it did.

Yes. The helplessness conveyed in the court?

...would be as good an example of writing about what you don't know as you could get.

I think that's the point. Vintner's Luck = unexpected = good. Novels by and about 20-something BA grads... a little bit meh.
But I was merely passing on received wisdom – I know?

Definitely not 20, uh, "yet". I think I'm running out of time to be a child prodigy (thank goodness I didn't publish any of those 20-something mumblings). Am aiming to be a spectacular late-bloomer instead.

Although I quite liked Peter Jackson's comments about the respective roles of the film-maker and the author in respect to The Lovely Bones, even if I sensed a 'hidden' message there.'

Hmmm, I have pretty low expectations of the film, which is not surprising considering I didn't think much of?

but hell as a library? that seems to be re-interpreting to the point of meaningless

Does. Not. Compute.

I have pretty low expectations of the film, which is not surprising considering I didn't think much of the book.

I confess I haven't read it. Too much on the pile already. Ben Elton's Meltdown at the moment. Then I'm off into The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy. That's?

Given we have voted on the "Word of the year', and in light of the literary prowess of the PA writers, and the erudite contributions of the discussion bunnies (Hahemmm!)(Timaru), what about a 'Book of the year' vote? In general I find it quite difficult to find people?

I'm a bit of a pluralist though – Books of the Year sounds good to me. I can never have just one :-)

I'm a bit of a pluralist though – Books of the Year sounds good to me. I can never have just one :-)

Agreed. I find pluralism is essential where books are concerned. You'd end up in a 'genre crisis' for a start.

Hell is a disorganized library.

No, hell is a library *conference*.

No, hell is a library *conference*

No, hell is having to read a history of the New Zealand Library Association (it used to be a requirement for the NZLA Prelim Certificate)

Hell is a disorganized library

Hell, no! Because then you've got *something to do* for eternity.

I've just bought Fiona Farrell's "Limestone" for a friend for?

Am aiming to be a spectacular late-bloomer instead.

Kim Hill told me I was old to publishing my first novel. I was 35 (just).

But really I don't?

-not wrong there mate-

To that end, and with a view to learning lessons and moving forward, sitcom-style, I offer a LUQ. As in, Lingering Unanswered Questions (it?s like a FAQ, but luqier? for some). With seasonal trimmings. Feel free to contribute your own.

You asked for it...

LUQ: If the New Zealand division?

I read The Good Soldier a few weeks back. It takes place in the nine years before the Great War, and has very little to do with soldiering. Mostly, it is about adultery.

It is a great novel, and all in the author's own words.

BenW: you,me and the Colonel are in good company. (Indeed, by comparison to most on that page, Rachael and islander are infant prodigies).

I'm pretty glad Fergus (and Bill Manhire) didn't tell Barbara Anderson to take her zimmer frame and never darken the door of the VUP again. My partner?

It's a bit difficult to be too pedantic about the publishing date (well I'm not the rule maker, but I found it difficult), so can we be a bit vague on that?

Tim Winton Breath. A book that made me want to know more about 'The?

Hmm, perhaps that's true of any novel you're forced to read at school? Then again, maybe not: I bonded fiercely with all my obligatory school reading, and those novels and plays and poems still have a palpable aura for me.

I don't go back to books I studied at school,?

Actually, Craig, that reminds me of another of my own, a variant on yours: if this is the best editing that Penguin NZ's highest profile author gets, then what can the fresh young thing who submits their great but slightly imperfect manuscript expect in the way of editorial guidance?

If,?

(All except Catcher in the Rye, which I still loathe in an unadulterated fashion.)

In that case, you should read King Dork, which is, in part, about how much the main character hates The Catcher in the Rye. It's a very well observed take on the role of that book?

Locas II: Maggie, Hopey & Ray by Jamie Hernandez and Luba by Gilbert Hernandez (both Fantagraphics Books, hardcover).

With these two beautifully produced hardcovers, Fantagraphics continues to keep one of the great comic books (and one of the few in an infamously white male?

And of course by "others" I mean the teacher. I was That Kid.
(But weren't we all? All of us in this room, I mean?)

You'll find out if you follow the example elsewhere: list 200 books that any self-respecting hipster should have read in 2009 and ask people to?

Hmm, perhaps that's true of any novel you're forced to read at school? Then again, maybe not: I bonded fiercely with all my obligatory school reading, and those novels and plays and poems still have a palpable aura for me.

The only thing I can remember reading and liking at?

(All except Catcher in the Rye, which I still loathe in an unadulterated fashion.)

That's just cause it's shit, Lucy. Nowadays, I have teenagers of my own, so if I want to listen to someone go on and on about how everything so unfair and everybody's so lame and nobody?

The idea that spotty 16 and 17 year olds can have any real understanding of King Lear is ludicrous.

Shakespeare for High Schools: Macbeth, Julius Caesar, Richard III, Othello, Merchant of Venice. Shakespeare Never for High Schools Under Any Circumstances: King Lear, Hamlet. Also, please note, they are PLAYS. They?

My daughter's book of the year (came out last year but won this year's Hugo, so I'm saying it counts) would be Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book,

It also won the Newbery Medal this year, winch is pretty big whoops in the field of kid-lit. What I love about the?

Shakespeare for High Schools: Macbeth, Julius Caesar, Richard III, Othello, Merchant of Venice. Shakespeare Never for High Schools Under Any Circumstances: King Lear, Hamlet. Also, please note, they are PLAYS. They should be watched, not read.

Romeo and Juliet: Most stupid story line ever. I can watch star-crossed lovers with?

Shakespeare for High Schools: Macbeth, Julius Caesar, Richard III, Othello, Merchant of Venice. Shakespeare Never for High Schools Under Any Circumstances: King Lear, Hamlet. Also, please note, they are PLAYS. They should be watched, not read.

We had Macbeth in the sixth form, Lear in the seventh. The cool thing?

Romeo and Juliet: Most stupid story line ever.

You don't go to the movies much, then? :)

We had Macbeth in the sixth form, Lear in the seventh. The cool thing about Macbeth was we got to see the Polanski movie which is as gory as all hell and includes?

You don't go to the movies much, then? :)

OK. 'Top' ten worst then.

And the raving about the Dicaprio/Dane version? Adding a bit 'boys in the hood' lingo and guns doesn't change how crappy the basic premise is.

It *does* now feel tawdry and depressing and even more so because I feel that further discussion is being painted as mean-spirited, rather than what it is – just further discussion.

Yep, and the reason there is "further discussion" is precisely because the original issue was never resolved, merely hushed?

Yep, and the reason there is "further discussion" is precisely because the original issue was never resolved, merely hushed up.

Yes – still a total lack of answers to all the basic questions. "It's a puzzle" is a kind of answer, but not the answer that a leading publisher should?

"Sucks" pretty much sums it up, really. If I'd hit on that word yesterday, I could have saved myself several thousand words.

The whole affair has been a complete let-down and the fact that genuine commentators (as opposed to the more extreme nutter theories that can and should be easily ignored) are basically being told to sit down and be quiet just, well, sucks.

QFT — and I really wish folks like?

I just want to call you BookieMonster all the time. Such a great name :-)

Please do, I've got no problems with that! :)

Craig – excuse my ignorance, but what does QFT stand for?

And I second your other options for the reading and buying public – particularly ANY Judith Binney. Love her work.

Hopefully she recovers from her serious road accident and returns to research and publishing.

Craig – excuse my ignorance, but what does QFT stand for?

Quoted For Truth.

Library first, I may become a buyer from your fine site should the book turn out as good as your review suggests.

FWIW, the only books I've read recently that were published in 09?

That's just cause it's shit, Lucy. Nowadays, I have teenagers of my own, so if I want to listen to someone go on and on about how everything so unfair and everybody's so lame and nobody recognises their unique snowflakeness... no. I'm never going to want to do that.

I?

I particularly remember all my classmates gushing about how much they loved it because they understood Holden, he was like them, and being unable to think anything beyond "But he's a dick."

I think that's the reason for the popularity. A lot of people are dicks. Carrying on about flits?

BookieMonster, I have visited your site and decided to try the Jasper Fforde on your recommendation.

Jasper Fforde is totally excellent. His 'audience participation Shakespeare' got read aloud to my partner in its entirety.

What are your feelings on Henry V and A Midsummer Night's Dream?

Yep, Henry V is?

Paul – Fforde is fantastic! You won't be disappointed (she says confidently). I'm sure we'll see you on the site again soon! :)
I've heard other?

Jasper Fforde is totally excellent. His 'audience participation Shakespeare' got read aloud to my partner in its entirety.

Yes. We need a literary detective agency, and on current form, Jolisa can head it up. The Chesire Cat is ffantastic ;-)

I think that's the reason for the popularity. A lot of people are dicks.

In that case, they should try not to advertise it quite so openly.

In that case, they should try not to advertise it quite so openly.

Dicks aren't allowed to express their dickness? How else can the non-dicks know to avoid them?

Dicks aren't allowed to express their dickness? How else can the non-dicks know to avoid them?

Telepathy. Duh.

The telepathically challenged don't get a fair shake.

In context that choice of words is, well, unbeatable.

The telepathically challenged don't get a fair shake.

Seconded, as far as sentences out of context go, that is climactic.

As for The Knife of Never Letting Go etc, I won't ruin them by raving too much, but they were very enjoyable. I also just read Watership Down , my?

particularly ANY Judith Binney. Love her work.

I know that the publisher hosted a scheme (launched before the accident) to help get Encircled Lands to Tuhoe, because although the price is pretty reasonable it?s outside the means of many of the marae whose history is told in the book.

If?

If you feel like supporting Judith Binney?s work this way, contact www.bwb.co.nz to see about donating a book to a Tuhoe marae. It?s a practical gift that would mean a lot to the author.

?

He is no longer compulsory in Year 12. Teachers can teach a play instead of a novel but not as well as. I mean in terms of what is tested in the NCEA exams.

In Year 13 there is an achievement standard dedicated to Shakespeare?

I'm tempted to try Jasper fforde again on the basis of the enthusiasm here. I so wanted to love him (for the?

Should we give up teaching Shakespeare to the whole class?

How can you know which kids are getting something out of it? I think they should all be exposed to at least some Shakespeare. The benefit is not easily counted (my greatest beef with the current standards drive). I'm damned?

I'm tempted to try Jasper fforde again on the basis of the enthusiasm here. I so wanted to love him (for the dodos alone!) but it just all got a smidge too whimsical for me. At the time, anyway. I'll try again.

I would recommend trying the Nursery Crimes series?

Flummoxing Unanswered Questions

Love it. "That'll FUQ em".

Literature like Shakespeare expands your imagination, so it doesn't matter that they won't get every nuance, or that the content is 'adult' in theme.

There is, of course, the peril of putting some of them off – but I think quite a few get more out of it than you'd?

Should we give up teaching Shakespeare to the whole class?

I'm not a big Shakespeare fan, and I've only read or seen a minority of his works, but I certainly wouldn't agree with that. A bunch of them are good, others are reasonable. Certainly a very significant author that should?

It's witterary. Yuk yuk.

Obviously something's connecting.

"There's none of you so mean and base that hath not noble lustre in your eyes" finally makes sense to me. Right now today. Here, just then.

My true feelings for the lead characters would be pushing the audience of Emma's blog to blush, let alone Jolisa's, so I'll restrain myself.

You want to spank them?

Ahem. Only an hour until beer o'clock :)

Lucky you — I'm all the way to Milo o'clock already — but?

Ngaire, two hairy orange thumbs up to Unseen Academicals! I can hardly bear the thought that it might be the last, so I am refusing to think that. BTW, has anyone cracked the Iradne Comb-Buttworthy anagram yet?

Ack, perish the thought. But, it does look likely. Which is an huge,?

There is, of course, the peril of putting some of them off.

I'm inclined to think if they're susceptible to that, then dumbed down Shakespeare won't help. There's a peril in trigonometry of putting some students off maths too, but you do actually need to know trig if you want?

__'Tis better to be vile than vile esteemed,
When not to be receives reproach of being,
And the just pleasure lost which is so deemed
Not by our feeling but by others' seeing.
For why should others' false adulterate eyes
Give salutation to my sportive blood??

I'm inclined to think if they're susceptible to that, then dumbed down Shakespeare won't help.

I was thinking more "texts in modern English" rather than dumbed-down Shakespeare; plenty of my classmates were really put off by the language. It shouldn't be some sort of gateway to higher learning. But you?

I don't want to seem like a dick (too late) but what's this all about again?

If you feel like supporting Judith Binney?s work this way, contact www.bwb.co.nz to see about donating a book to a Tuhoe marae. It?s a practical gift that would mean a lot to the author.

?

Hell is actually a hugeeverybookfoundeverywhere library with an irreliable index and an enormous shifting stack. The librarians grin insanely and do not answer in any language you know. They frequently talk at your enquiries, and laugh when you cry.?

Attach a note saying "For Encircled Lands marae copy" or something. We're hoping to get one copy to each marae in the area.

Thanks.

I was thinking more "texts in modern English" rather than dumbed-down Shakespeare; plenty of my classmates were really put off by the language

So, genuinely asking and not being snarky, how do you preserve the layers of meaning and pun in Shakespeare's language in modern English, where 'will' no longer?

I can't see how it could be 'translated' without losing some of its meaning.

I can't profess to any expertise on Shakespeare, or maybe that was obvious. It just seemed to fit with the BenW missives, and I like cross-pollination. For some reason I memorised that poem years back, and?

Generally I ended up with a vague distaste for texts we studied at school. The text was only a means to an end, viz. passing, and that obviously ends?

Internet Translation Issues here: I meant to say

I understood you. Perhaps my telepathy came on ;-) But by 'dumbed down Shakespeare', I actually meant 'the easy Shakespeare' eg R&J, so maybe the telepathy's gone half-duplex.

As for modern English, of course most of an English course should be spent on?

As for modern English, of course most of an English course should be spent on that.

Nope, I'd say the opposite — then again I had an English teacher who made the rather salient point that she had little patience for 7th formers who were mastering science and maths courses,?

I'm not sure how gobbetization relates to modern vs archaic ratios. Will a lip curl convey all of this to me? If so, consider: this profound source you suggest is ... modern.

And of course by "others" I mean the teacher. I was That Kid.

(But weren't we all? All of us in this room, I mean?)

Lordy, no. Me and teh wordz, we have reached a detente of sorts, but in English class? Between the future Rhodes-Scholar/English-Prof and the terrifying volume?

I'm not sure how gobbetization relates to modern vs archaic ratios. Will a lip curl convey all of this to me? If so, consider: this profound source you suggest is ... modern.

Yeah, but if you want to get rid of anything that's too "difficult", you might as well chuck?

'Are you deaf?'
'Am I dead?'
'Yes or no?'
'Is there a choice?'
'Is there a God?'
'Foul, no non sequiturs'

Brilliant.

Yeah, but if you want to get rid of anything that's too "difficult"

It's not difficulty that makes me think modern should get more air. It's relevance. Got no problem with teaching old stuff, it's the groundwork, the basis, the context of the modern world. But it's the modern world?

It's not difficulty that makes me think modern should get more air. It's relevance.

No, I think "relevance" is somewhat irrelevant. We live in the modern world, it is within the realms of possibility that the classroom is a place to exposed to the notion that it wasn't always like?

It seems, yet again, that sporting prowess is of higher public concern than any indiscretions that might serve to tarnish the good person's name. Frankly I like my 'role models' to have a bit more substance, and at least a modicum of integrity.

Having?

it is within the realms of possibility

Not only possibility, but the actual curriculum too, and I have no problem with that, as I said. But seriously, I don't think that a subject called "English" should be largely confined to "what the long since dead said". Latin, maybe. Living language?

It seems, yet again, that sporting prowess is of higher public concern than any indiscretions that might serve to tarnish the good person's name. Frankly I like my 'role models' to have a bit more substance, and at least a modicum of integrity.

[...]

While it may have the makings?

Role model my fat black arse, and those who try to come up with a public interest case for their crotch sniffing are desperately unimpressive.

Not having had a CraigSlap before, what's the protocol here? Do I fall on my rhetorical sword, or would you prefer another form of public?

Not having had a CraigSlap before, what's the protocol here? Do I fall on my rhetorical sword, or would you prefer another form of public humiliation?

None of the above — sorry, that was just a general rant, and you just happened to be the occasion for it. :)

None of the above — sorry, that was just a general rant, and you just happened to be the occasion for it. :)

That's Ok. I went over here and got some free love, so no harm done. ;-)

recordari, Craig is that wicked character you invite to the dinner party so it doesn't?

I agree with him in this case though, I can't even get interested in Tiger Woods enough to get bitter on what is none of my business anyway. Seems to me like the kind?

Craig is that wicked character you invite to the dinner party so it doesn't devolve into a tame evening of agreeable nods and murmurs and "oh how interestings." There ought to be a word for it.

I'm happy with CraigSlap(tm) for the moment. Having offended too many people myself over?

Sword.
Falling.
Impaled.

Serenity

I personally hated English as a subject, because they made us read shit I basically didn't like, then pore over it in ways that I didn't like, then discuss it with people I didn't like, then write about it in a format I didn't like.

Me too, absolutely hated the?

I think I realized?

Sword.
Falling.
Impaled.

I know that one! The whole last act of Julius Caesar!

Makes for good company, but.

Why, thank you Sacha, I'd like to think so but actually it makes me a crashing bore. Early in life I learned to recognise that weird look people get when they fall asleep with their eyes open.

dyan, precocious sounds like an understatement. I was?

I know that one! The whole last act of Julius Caesar!

I prefer the Wayne and Shuster version, which we did as a play in 5th form. It was a hoot...

__...HE burst in to my office.
Brutus: You Flavius Maximus, private eye?
Flavius: I certainly am. What can I?

Speaking of couches, what's with all this abject honesty on this blog?

Dude, you're asking us? You're the one who just admitted liking Wayne and Shuster.

Dude, you're asking us? You're the one who just admitted liking Wayne and Shuster.

Yes well on reflection, and listening to it, it's pretty crap really, but the 'prefer' was loitering longer than the edit button. I'll claim nostalgia from the fact we did it at school. ;-)

The tachycardia I experienced from intellectual overload whilst talking to Sacha might have proved fatal ;-)

Crikey, what were we talking about? Was that the part of the evening by the waterfall when the martinis had definitely kicked in?

Jackson, you look.. more anonymous.
Was it something we said?

No, I was about to send RB a message. My picture just disappeared. Was it something I said?

Didn't seem to be anywhere to upload new one.

Other people's gravatars still seem OK

It will be adding an email address or changing email address.
Gravatars seem attached to email. Mine did it as I changed my address, while keeping other detail the same although I did change my location. Gotta go back and do it again. Note?

OnT- I really loved English at all my schooling, and I was very good at it. I was irritated in the 3rd form at AHS by being told that I couldnt take Maori (my dear, we?

Gravatar sorted. Was a change of email. Going for seasonal appropriacy.

dyan, there's truth in the idea of precocity being a difficult path. But it's not a guaranteed fail any more than a guaranteed pass.

Perhaps not guaranteed, but there is a well documented link between "profound giftedness" in childhood and – if not failure – certainly a tendency to __not__?

Not to mention the fact that they're?

Clear....

Well, I'm far from a thread doctor, but just feel there's more books that we could cover. Is there another book thread hiding somewhere?

Honourable mention to Iain Banks Transition. It is either so obvious it?

Meanwhile, Giovanni, yes very apposite. The issue of originality and ownership of the written word is not going to go away any time soon.

Meanwhile, this seems apposite.

A major focus of Reality Hunger is appropriation and plagiarism and what these terms mean. I can hardly treat the topic deeply without engaging in it. That would be like writing a book about lying and not being permitted to lie in it.

Let's hope that?

Let's hope that Shields never writes a book about, say, genocide.

He could call it Human Shields.

A major focus of Reality Hunger is appropriation and plagiarism and what these terms mean. I can hardly treat the topic deeply without engaging in it. That would be like writing a book about lying and not being permitted to lie in it.

Let's hope that Shields never writes a?

I suspect though that a generation is fast sneaking up who spend hours everyday reading on 1.5 inch?

Some publishing contracts from the 1980s did have a clause that read (more or less) ' this clause pertains to technology already existing or which may be developed in future."

And there's been some pretty interesting litigation over clauses like that already, and I don't think publishers' have been too?

I suspect though that a generation is fast sneaking up who spend hours everyday reading on 1.5 inch screens, or 2 inch iPhones, who may think we're all just being old school.

My eyes have started to age, and although I can read screen and page with the naked eye,?

Quality Standards. They are updated regularly, and if you take for example the Health & Disability Standards, they are huge. Add the Laboratory and Environmental Standards, and there's?

But I find screens easier to read than a paperback book.

Can't say I'm there yet. While these online communities have meant I'm reading much more on both computer screen and phone, and the mobility factor is a definite plus, if I?

Like Philip, I did MacBeth for 6th form English (oops, sorry actors and luvies !!!, "The Scottish Play". Oh Jesus no, whatever have I done ?!!!?

dyan, there's truth in the idea of precocity being a difficult path.

Ben, I don't mean to say I had a hard time... that's what's wrong with the concept of "giftedness". Apart from genuine talent in music or math, "gifted" is almost invariably a measure of environment. Environment and __nutrition__?